Elly Ney

Elly Ney (27 September 1882 – 31 March 1968) was a German romantic pianist who specialized in Beethoven, and was especially popular in Germany.

[1] After winning the Mendelssohn Scholarship in 1901, she studied in Vienna with Theodor Leschetizky, with whom she only had two lessons, and Emil von Sauer.

During the Third Reich she joined the Nazi Party in 1937,[3] participated in "cultural education" camps, and became an honorary member of the League of German Girls.

[5] She held antisemitic views: in 1933, Ney refused to perform in Hamburg after she was asked to replace a Jewish pianist (Rudolf Serkin),[6] although she did record at least one Mendelssohn Song without Words in 1960 or shortly afterward.

[7] Nevertheless, after finally renouncing Hitler a full seven years after the end of WWII,[8] she was named Honorary Citizen of Tutzing in 1952.

Bust of Elly Ney