Marga Höffgen was a German contralto, admired in Bach, Beethoven and German concert repertory. Her dark, steady voice made her especially valuable in sacred and choral-symphonic music.

In the Pristine catalogue she appears in Schuricht’s stereo Beethoven Ninth from Paris, with Wilma Lipp, Murray Dickie, Gottlob Frick and the Elisabeth Brasseur Chorale.

Höffgen’s singing brought gravity, focus and a centred lower line to Beethoven’s choral writing, where the contralto must anchor without weighing the music down.

Her page is justified by stature and catalogue context. Höffgen gives the Beethoven shelf a deep, disciplined contralto glow.