Background
Gertrude van den Bergh was baptized in Cologne, the eldest daughter of Dutch farmer Henderik van den Bergh and German Maria Theresia Leydel.
Gertrude van den Bergh was baptized in Cologne, the eldest daughter of Dutch farmer Henderik van den Bergh and German Maria Theresia Leydel.
She studied composition with Johann Burgmüller and piano with Ferdinand Ries.
Van den Bergh showed talent for music at an early age, took piano lessons at six and published a harpsichord sonata at the age of nine. The family moved to The Hague about 1813, and afterward Van den Bergh seldom played in public. She continued to perform in private circles and remained well known.
In 1830 she was invited to join the Society for the Promotion of Music, which had not been previously open to women.
In 1834 the society held a two-day festival in The Hague where Van den Bergh participated. She directed the first mixed voice choir from The Hague and from 1837 or 1838 the Vocal Society.
As an unmarried woman, Van den Bergh lived with her mother and gave singing and piano lessons. She wrote a music instruction manual around 1830 to aid in this work, and in 1840 she died in The Hague of breast cancer at the age of 47.