Edith Rieber

Edith Finton Rieber, a longtime resident of Berwyn, PA passed away at Broomall Manor on July 22, 2019.

Edith was a pianist, teacher, lecturer, and founder and president of the Scriabin Society of America. She began her piano studies with her father, Louis Finton, who was a Gold Medal winner from the Vienna Conservatory and Assistant to the famous pedagogue Theodore Leschetizky in Vienna as well as friends with famed pianists Ignaz Friedman, Benno Moiseiwitsch, Harold Bauer and Artur Rubinstein. She continued her training with New York pianists Betah Reeder, Edwine Behre and Adele Marcus of the Juilliard School and also had the distinction of studying in Moscow with Boris Moiseiwitch Berlin of the prestigious Institute Gnessin (now the Russian Academy of Music).

Ms. Rieber began a lifelong interest and dedication to the music and culture of Russia in 1958, when she was fortunate to have participated with her husband Prof. Alfred Rieber, professor of Russian history at the University of Pennsylvania, in the first cultural exchange between the USSR and the USA. She spent over three years in Moscow studying with Professor Berlin and sharing the Master Classes of Professor Neuhaus at the Moscow Conservatory, as well as becoming friends with many prominent Russian musicians during this time, including Vladamir Ashkenazy, Victor Stolin, Vladimir Tropp and Sviatoslav Richter.

Her passion for Alexander Scriabin's music and ideas began when she was introduced to his works by Professor Berlin, and was enhanced by countless visits to the Scriabin museum in Moscow where she was able to study tapes by the composer as well as attend concerts by the legendary pianist Sofronitzky.

Upon her return from Moscow, she choreographed a multi-media show devoted to Scriabin's piano music, which was hailed by critics. She performed in New York at Merkin Concert Hall, and in 1991, she performed a program for two pianos in Moscow at the Gnessin Institute with her colleague, the well-known Russian pianist Irina Zakharova.

An active teacher and lecturer, as well as a pioneer in bringing the music and ideas of Scriabin to American audiences, she regularly conducted workshops on college campuses and maintained studios in Philadelphia and New York City where she taught private students.

In 1995 she helped found the Scriabin Society of America and became its president, arranging Gala Concerts at Steinway Hall in New York City, where pianists from all over the world came to perform only the music of Alexander Scriabin. She was part of the prestigious piano jury at the Second International Scriabin Piano Competition in Moscow in June 2000 and was one of the jurors at the Hilton Head International Piano Competition in March 2003. Ms. Rieber's efforts in championing the music of Scriabin were recognized by the Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Yuri Ushakov and Mrs. Ushakov when they hosted a gala at their Washington, D.C. official Residence celebrating the 130th Anniversary of the birth of Alexander Scriabin in April 2002 and paid tribute to Ms. Rieber as president of the Scriabin Society of America.

A memorial service will be held at The Donohue Funeral Home, 1627 West Chester Pike, West Chester, PA on Thursday, August 1, 2019, calling hours from 10AM to 12PM.