ROTH-DALBERT, Anny

Anny (Anna Marta) Roth-Dalbert was a Swiss composer, conductor and pianist. She grew up in Bern and Zurich. Anny's musical talent was encouraged by her parents early on. At the age of sixteen, she was an organist at the Reformed Church of Wipkingen and deputy director of the church choir. At the age of 16, Anny wrote songs for children's choir setting Catholic texts and attended Zurich Conservatory a year later in 1917, where she was the first female student, completing courses in piano, singing, counterpoint and conducting.

In September 1970 she was awarded honorary citizenship by the municipal council of St. Moritz. In 1985, she received the recognition prize from the canton of Graubünden. Anny Roth-Dalbert lived in St. Moritz until she was 94 years old and then moved with her daughter Ursina and her husband to Sent. In 2000, her 'Ode to the Engadin', commissioned by the Swiss Tonkünstlerverein, was premiered by the Ensemble Opera Nova. She celebrated her 100th birthday in St. Moritz, where she was presented with the city's first cultural prize. In October 2003 she saw a concert in Malans for the last time, in which works by her were also played. That evening, Anny Roth-Dalbert improvised publicly for the last time.