{{Short description|Dutch jazz pianist and singer}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Pia Beck | image = N rondje theater van KRO-TV Pia Beck tijdens opname, Bestanddeelnr 928-2661.jpg | caption = Pia Beck in 1975 | birth_name = Pieternella Beck | birth_date = {{birth date|1925|9|18|df=yes}} | birth_place = The Hague, Netherlands | death_date = {{death date and age|2009|11|26|1925|9|18|df=yes}} | death_place = Málaga, Spain | occupation = Jazz pianist, singer | genre = Jazz, boogie-woogie | years_active = c. 1940–2003 | partner = Marga Samsonowski | website = {{URL|piabeck.com}} }}
'''Pia Beck''' (born '''Pieternella Beck'''; 18 September 1925 – 26 November 2009) was a Dutch jazz pianist and singer. She was one of the most popular entertainers in the Netherlands during the 1950s and achieved international success in Europe and the United States.<ref name="huygens">{{cite web |title=Beck, Pieternella (1925–2009) |url=https://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/vrouwenlexicon/lemmata/data/Pieternella_Beck |publisher=Huygens ING |access-date=8 January 2026 |language=nl}}</ref>
== Early life == Pieternella Beck was born into a middle-class family in The Hague. She was the daughter of Floor Beck, a merchant and procuration holder, and Johanna Westerbaan. From an early age she displayed musical talent and later claimed that she could play several instruments as a child. Beck eventually focused on the piano. Attempts at formal musical training were unsuccessful; according to Beck, her teacher, the later conductor Bernard Haitink, dismissed her because of her 'unique gypsy talent' and advised her to pursue her music elsewhere.<ref name="huygens"/><ref name="elsevier">{{cite web |title='Ik heb een fantastisch leven gehad' |url=http://www.elsevier.nl/Algemeen/nieuws/2009/11/Ik-heb-een-fantastisch-leven-gehad-ELSEVIER251839W/ |publisher=Elsevier |access-date=8 January 2026|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606223138/http://www.elsevier.nl/Algemeen/nieuws/2009/11/Ik-heb-een-fantastisch-leven-gehad-ELSEVIER251839W/ |archive-date=6 June 2013 |language=nl}}</ref>
== Musical career == During the German occupation of the Netherlands (1940–1945), Beck performed with the female vocal group the Samoa Girls. After the Second World War, she joined the Miller Sextet as a pianist and singer. With this ensemble she toured Europe, performed for American soldiers in Germany, and spent six months entertaining Dutch troops in the former Dutch East Indies (Indonesia).<ref name="huygens"/>
In 1949 Beck left the Miller Sextet and formed her own trio. Throughout the 1950s she performed across the Netherlands, particularly at the venue De Vliegende Hollander in Scheveningen. Her repertoire consisted mainly of boogie-woogie and jazz standards, alongside German and French songs. Her first major hit was ''Pia's Boogie''. From 1952 she also performed regularly in the United States where she appeared in major jazz clubs and gained international attention. In 1956 Beck was featured in ''Time'' magazine, which referred to her as "The Flying Dutchess". Despite appearances in Las Vegas in the early 1960s, she never permanently established herself in the American music scene, which she attributed partly to homesickness for the Netherlands.<ref name="huygens"/><ref name="elsevier"/>
== Later life and comeback == From the mid-1960s Beck's popularity declined as boogie-woogie fell out of fashion. Around 1965 she moved to Torremolinos in southern Spain, where she lived with her partner Marga Samsonowski and helped raise Samsonowski's children. Beck largely withdrew from public performance and ran various businesses, including a pianobar and a radio programme. Following that she worked in real estate and wrote travel books about the Costa del Sol.<ref name="huygens"/><ref name="ad">{{cite news |title=Jazz-pianiste Pia Beck overleden |url=https://www.ad.nl/muziek/jazz-pianiste-pia-beck-overleden~a63022cd/ |access-date=9 January 2026 |work=Algemeen Dagblad |date=26 November 2009 |language=nl}}</ref><ref name="parool">{{cite news |title=Jazzpianiste Pia Beck (84) overleden |url=https://www.parool.nl/nieuws/jazzpianiste-pia-beck-84-overleden~bb2a877f/ |access-date=9 January 2026 |work=Het Parool |date=26 November 2009 |language=nl}}</ref>
In the mid-1970s she made a successful comeback in the Netherlands, attracting an older, nostalgic audience. In 1977 Beck drew public attention by participating in protests against American anti-gay activist Anita Bryant. She continued performing until 2003, when she retired at the age of 78. Beck remained in Churriana near Torremolinos, where she died on 26 November 2009, aged 84, several months after the death of Samsonowski.<ref name="huygens"/><ref name="elsevier"/> According to a friend the cause of death was heart failure.<ref name="parool"/>
== Reputation == Beck was widely regarded as a flamboyant and charismatic performer, noted for her distinctive piano style, stage presence, and ability to connect with audiences. The Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson once described her as "the best jazz pianist in the world".<ref name="elsevier"/> Although she achieved international recognition, her later success was largely nostalgic. Beck was open about her long-term relationship with a woman but did not consider herself a spokesperson for the gay rights movement, consistently emphasizing that her artistic career rather than her sexuality defined her public identity.<ref name="huygens"/>
== Discography (selection) ==
=== Albums ===
{| class="wikitable sortable" ! Year ! Title ! Format ! Notes |- | 1977 | ''Play Beck'' | LP | Studio album featuring jazz standards and Boogie-woogie|Boogie-woogie. |- | 1979 | ''Call Me Beck'' | LP | Jazz and popular songs recorded during Beck's peak popularity. |- | 1982 | ''Pia's Party – P.S. I Love You'' | LP | Studio recordings aimed at a broad popular audience. |}
=== Compilation albums ===
{| class="wikitable sortable" ! Year ! Title ! Format ! Notes |- | 1976 | ''Beck to the Fifties'' | LP | Compilation of Beck's 1950s repertoire. |- | 1980 | ''The Pia Beck Story'' | LP | Retrospective compilation of recordings from the 1940s and 1950s. |- | 2009 | ''Dutch Jazz Legend 1925–2009'' | 2×CD | Posthumous overview of Beck's recordings. |- | 2010 | ''50 Years'' | 2×CD, 1 DVD | Career-spanning retrospective marking her long career. |- | 2021 | ''Dutch Treats: Hot Boogie, Cool Bop and More 1946–1960'' | CD | International anthology of early jazz and boogie-woogie recordings. |}
=== EP's ===
{| class="wikitable sortable" ! Year ! Title ! Notes |- | 1955 | ''Flip Flop and Fly'' | Jazz and popular repertoire in multiple languages. |- | 1956 | ''Get Up Them Stairs'' | Early trio recordings. |- | 1956 | ''Lullaby of Birdland'' | Covers of American jazz standards. |- | 1957 | ''Get Happy'' | Vocal and piano performances. |- | 1958 | ''C’est Mon Gigolo'' | Includes French-language repertoire. |}
== Bibliography== * ''De Pia Beck story'', 1982, Tiebosch – Amsterdam, {{ISBN|90-6278-782-7}} * ''The touch of my life: Elise over Pia'', 2000, Best Publishing Group – Best, {{ISBN|90-802019-4-4}}
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons category}} *{{IMDb name}} *{{Discogs artist}} *{{cite web |title=Biography of Pia Beck |url=http://www.piabeck.com/biografie/ |website=piabeck.com |access-date=9 January 2026 |language=nl}} *{{cite web |last1=Schutte |first1=Xandra |title=Pia Beck – In memoriam |url=https://www.groene.nl/artikel/pia-beck |website=De Groene Amsterdammer |publisher= |access-date=9 January 2026 |language=nl |date=9 December 2009}} *{{cite web |last1=Faber-Wittenberg |first1=Nicolette |title=Doe Doe Die Doep, over "onze" Pia Beck |url=https://haagsgemeentearchief.nl/ontdek-de-stad/verhalen-van-de-stad/doe-doe-die-doep-over-onze-pia-beck |website=Haags Gemeentearchief |access-date=9 January 2026 |language=nl}}
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Category:1925 births Category:2009 deaths Category:Dutch jazz pianists Category:Dutch women pianists Category:Dutch jazz singers Category:Dutch LGBTQ singers Category:Musicians from The Hague Category:20th-century Dutch women musicians