Willem Mengelberg: Difference between revisions
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'''Willem Mengelberg''' ([[March 28]], [[1871]] – [[March 22]], [[1951]]) was a [[Netherlands|Dutch]] [[conducting|conductor]] who was the principal conductor of the [[Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra]] from 1895 to 1945. |
'''Willem Mengelberg''' ([[Utrecht]], Netherlands on [[March 28]], [[1871]] – [[Chur]], Switzerland on [[March 22]], [[1951]]) was a [[Netherlands|Dutch]] [[conducting|conductor]] who was the principal conductor of the [[Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra]] from 1895 to 1945. |
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In 1902 he met [[Gustav Mahler]] and became friends with him; he was instrumental in introducing most of Mahler's work to The Netherlands, and founded the long-standing Mahler tradition of the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Mahler regularly visited The Netherlands to introduce his work to Dutch audiences. In fact, he edited some of his symphonies while in the Netherlands, making them sound better for the [[acoustics]] of the Concertgebouw, which is perhaps one reason that this concert hall and its orchestra is renowned for its Mahler tradition. |
In 1902 he met [[Gustav Mahler]] and became friends with him; he was instrumental in introducing most of Mahler's work to The Netherlands, and founded the long-standing Mahler tradition of the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Mahler regularly visited The Netherlands to introduce his work to Dutch audiences. In fact, he edited some of his symphonies while in the Netherlands, making them sound better for the [[acoustics]] of the Concertgebouw, which is perhaps one reason that this concert hall and its orchestra is renowned for its Mahler tradition. |
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Revision as of 09:13, 14 April 2006
Willem Mengelberg (Utrecht, Netherlands on March 28, 1871 – Chur, Switzerland on March 22, 1951) was a Dutch conductor who was the principal conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from 1895 to 1945.
In 1902 he met Gustav Mahler and became friends with him; he was instrumental in introducing most of Mahler's work to The Netherlands, and founded the long-standing Mahler tradition of the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Mahler regularly visited The Netherlands to introduce his work to Dutch audiences. In fact, he edited some of his symphonies while in the Netherlands, making them sound better for the acoustics of the Concertgebouw, which is perhaps one reason that this concert hall and its orchestra is renowned for its Mahler tradition.
Nevertheless, Mengelberg's importance as a conductor was not only due to his Mahler interpretations. He was also, for example, an exceptionally gifted performer of Richard Strauss; and even today his recordings of Strauss's tone poem Ein Heldenleben are widely regarded by critics as among the best - if not the very best - of this piece ever made. In addition, he left valuable discs of symphonies by Beethoven and Brahms, not to mention a wildly controversial but gripping reading of Bach's St. Matthew Passion.
Because of Mengelberg's co-operation with the occupying regime in The Netherlands during World War II, he was banned from conducting in the country by the Dutch government in 1945, and was stripped of his honours and his passport. He retreated in exile to Switzerland, where he remained until his death.
Willem Mengelberg was the uncle of the musicologist and composer Rudolf Mengelberg and of the conductor, composer and critic Karel Mengelberg who was himself the father of the prominent improvising pianist and composer Misha Mengelberg.