Frida Kern

Who was Frida Kern?

Frida Kern née Seitz was an Austrian composer. She was born in Vienna and grew up in Linz, studying piano with Anna Zappa, and later at the Linz Music Academy with August Göllerich.

She married Max Kern in 1909 and began composing in 1911. In 1923 she entered the Vienna Academy where she studied composition with Franz Schmidt and conducting with Robert Heger. She continued her studies with Eusebius Mandyczewski and Alexander Wunderer, graduating in 1927. Kern established a women's orchestra which toured Europe and North Africa, and in 1942 took a teaching position at the music school in Vienna. In 1960 she was honored by the Austrian Republic. She died in Linz.