THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 18, 1995 TAG: 9504180248
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B6 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Dr. Friedrich Ludwig Diehn, 85, renowned composer, died on Easter Sunday morning at Sentara Leigh Hospital.
Born in Singapore in 1910, of German parents, his father, August Diehn, was CEO and general manager of the firm Behn, Meyer & Company and his mother, Teresa Slottko, was a concert pianist of international reputation.
As a boy, Diehn lived in Java, then under Dutch rule, where he was privately tutored. In 1920 he went to Holland, and then to Germany, where he attended a Gymnasium (high school and junior college) in Mecklenburg and the Universities of Frankfurt, Munich and Rostock. From the latter he received the degree Doctor of Jurisprudence. Having studied music under several private teachers, he had his first work, a symphony for piano and orchestra, performed by the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra when he was 22 years old, his mother playing the piano solo.
In 1937, Diehn left Germany because of the political climate and came to America to work in the international potash industry, joining his father's business. During his early years in this country he worked first in San Francisco, then Washington, D.C., and finally in Norfolk. He became an American citizen in 1947, and the following year married Virginia Peter. On Feb. 1, 1986, she died, and on Feb. 7, 1987, he married Maude Harding of Washington, N.C.
Diehn saw himself as a modern composer with one eye on traditional classicism. ``I use modern trends but stick basically to the principal classic technique,'' the composer has said. ``I am not an arch conservative. I don't believe you must write only major and minor chords. I use 12-tone chords.''
The music of Ludwig Diehn has been heard around the world - in Oslo, Norway; Vienna; Munich; Jamaica; Washington, D.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Middleton, Ohio; Albany and Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; and, of course, Norfolk, Va.
Diehn has also been generous in his support of music activities at Old Dominion University. He has donated original manuscripts of his compositions to be housed with those of other eminent composers in the F. Ludwig Diehn Composers Room, to be constructed in 1996 as an addition to the F. Ludwig Diehn Fine and Performing Arts Center. In addition he has endowed a chair in music at the University and a fund to support visiting musicians, including performers in the F. Ludwig Diehn Concert Series. Also the Diehn Composer Room will have a fund for staff and visiting composers and other scholars and musicians.
Diehn is survived by his wife, Maude Harding Diehn.
Memorial contributions may be made to the F. Ludwig Diehn Foundation, 1200 Nations Bank Center, Norfolk, Va. 23510, or to the Virginia Symphony Association, P.O. Box 26, Norfolk, Va. 23501.
A funeral service will be conducted Wednesday, April 19, 1995, at 2 p.m. in the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd by the Rev. Ross Wright. The family will receive friends at 7320 Glenroie Ave., Apt. 12D, Norfolk, Va. 23505, following the funeral services. H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Norfolk Chapel, is handling arrangements.
KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY
by CNB