Allard de Ridder (3 May 1887 – 13 May 1966) was a Dutch–Canadian conductor, violist, and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. He was notably the first conductor of both the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, the latter of which he founded in 1944. As a composer he produced several

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

l works, including a violin concerto, four

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ( ...

s, a Sketch for flute, violin, and orchestra, ''Overture in D'', and ''Intermezzo''. He also wrote a

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

, the

scherzo A scherzo (, , ; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often r ...

''Beware of Love'' for

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

, and a number of songs.

Early life and career in Europe and the United States

De Ridder was born in

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Western Netherlands, lo ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, as the son of Eudia Lina Pierson and Willem de Ridder, banker, cellist and president of the Dordrecht Music Society.Erik Watt
Banker-Musician's Son Had Dreams Fulfilled
The Evening Citizen, Ottawa, 4 May 1946 From 1899 he studied violin in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

with Carl Bayer, and between 1903 and 1909 he studied violin and conducting at the Cologne University of Music under Fritz Steinbach and Hermann Abendroth. His conducting career started in

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

. Here Willem Mengelberg saw him and was so impressed that he invited him to be guest conductor with his Concertgebouw Orchestra in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. He later conducted the Residentie Orchestra in The Hague, where he took composition lessons from Johan Wagenaar. He was conductor of the Netherlands National Opera (''Nederlandsche Opera'') from 1917 to 1919. In April 1918 in Amsterdam, he married Pauline E.E. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (grand-niece of the famous composer), whom he had met in Cologne. In 1919 De Ridder emigrated with his wife to the United States where he first worked as a violist in the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...

and then the Richmond Symphony. In the early 1920s he became assistant conductor and principal violist of the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

(LAP). Many of his orchestral compositions were premiered by American orchestras like the LAP during the 1920s.

Life and career in Canada

De Ridder was appointed the first conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in 1930, a post he held until 1941. Initially the post was part-time, as the orchestra performed only four concerts annually during its first three seasons. However, in 1933 Ridder moved to Vancouver as the orchestra's concert offerings began to expand significantly. Shortly after moving to that city he formed the chamber group the Allard de Ridder Chamber Music Quartette which he actively directed and performed with during the 1930s. In 1934 he established a summer concert series for the VSO at the newly built

Malkin Bowl The Marion Malkin Memorial Bowl, or Malkin Bowl, is a 2000-seat outdoor theatre in Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.Alison Appelbe. Secret Vancouver 2010: The Unique Guidebook to Vancouver's Hidden Sites, Sounds and Tastes'. ECW P ...

Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada, that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Vancouver, Downtown peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay, Vancouver, English Bay. The park bor ...

, a venue which he was instrumental in convincing William Harold Malkin to build. He also worked as a guest lecturer at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

during the late 1930s. In 1941 De Ridder left Vancouver for

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

to join the music faculty at the Toronto Conservatory of Music. Shortly after his arrival he joined the Hart House String Quartet. He also served as a guest conductor of the Promenade Symphony Concerts in 1942 and both the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The NSO regularly ...

in 1943. He left Vancouver in 1944 to found the Ottawa Philharmonic Orchestra (now Ottawa Symphony Orchestra), serving as the group's first conductor through 1950. In 1952 De Ridder moved back to Vancouver where he remained until he died 13 May 1966. He conducted the Holland Choir in that city during the 1950s, notably leading the group in a performance of his own ''Variations on a Swabian Folk Song'' in 1957 with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. He continued to teach conducting, viola, and composition in Vancouver up until his death there in 1966 at the age of 79. Among his notable pupils are John Avison, Lloyd Blackman, Bryan N.S. Gooch, Hans Gruber, Klemi Hambourg, Ricky Hyslop, and Doug Randle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridder, Allard De 1887 births 1966 deaths People from Dordrecht Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln alumni Dutch composers Dutch conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Dutch classical violists Canadian male composers Canadian classical violists Musicians from Vancouver Academic staff of The Royal Conservatory of Music 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) 20th-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century violists Dutch emigrants to Canada Music directors of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Players of the Boston Symphony Orchestra