Jan Pieter Hendrik van Gilse (

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, 11 May 1881 –

Oegstgeest Oegstgeest () is a town and municipality in the province of South Holland in the western Netherlands. Its population was in . Etymology The portion ''geest'' in the name refers to the geest lands, which were excavated in the seventeenth cen ...

, 8 September 1944) was a Dutch composer and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

. Among his works are five

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

and the Dutch-language

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

'' Thijl''.

Life

Coming from a family of theologians, Jan van Gilse showed an early aptitude for piano playing and composing. From 1897 onwards, he studied at the

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

conservatory. After his teacher,

Franz Wüllner Franz Wüllner (28 January 1832 – 7 September 1902) was a German composer and conductor. He led the premieres of Wagner's ''Das Rheingold'' and ''Die Walküre'', but was much criticized by Wagner himself, who greatly preferred the more celebrate ...

, died in 1902, he continued his studies with Engelbert Humperdinck in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

. From 1909 to 1911, he studied in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. In 1901, van Gilse received the Beethoven-Haus Prize in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

for his ''(First) Symphony in F major''; In 1906, the Michael Beer Prize was awarded to him for his ''Third Symphony, 'Erhebung' ''('Elevation'; for soprano solo and orchestra). In addition to composing, van Gilse soon developed an interest in conducting. He started out with the

Bremen Opera Theater Bremen (Bremen Theatre) is a state theatre in Bremen, Germany, with four divisions for opera, straight theater, dance, and student programs. Its venues are located in a city block, connected in architecture and seating up to 1,426 spectato ...

, a post which was followed by appointments in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. After the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

made travel difficult, he moved back to the Netherlands. From 1917 until 1922 he was the conductor of the Utrecht Municipal Orchestra (Utrechtsch Stedelijk Orkest). In 1921, van Gilse resigned the post after a conflict with the orchestra's board of directors. Van Gilse had been attacked for some time by the composer and music critic

Willem Pijper Willem Frederik Johannes Pijper (; 8 September 189418 March 1947) was a Dutch composer, music critic and music teacher. Pijper is considered to be among the most important Dutch composers of the first half of the 20th century. Life Pijper was b ...

in the daily ''Utrechts Dagblad'', attacks that grew in viciousness as time progressed. Van Gilse's request that Pijper be denied access to concerts was stalled for so long that he lost faith and resigned. The board subsequently refused him a farewell concert. Eight years later van Gilse put the experiences from his tenure in Utrecht on paper. The

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English p ...

that materialised was sizeable and contained almost 350,000 words. However, because he didn't spare anyone or anything (including himself), van Gilse doubted whether the manuscript would ever see the light of day. It was eventually edited and published in 2003. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, van Gilse became actively involved with the resistance movement against the

German occupation of the Netherlands Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of Fall Gelb (Case Yellow). On 15 May 1940, one day after the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces surrendered. The Dutch government and the royal family r ...

. Both his sons, who were also resistance fighters, were killed by the occupiers before van Gilse himself succumbed (probably to

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

) in the autumn of 1944. To protect his shelter, he was buried in an unmarked grave outside the village of

Organiser

From 1933 to 1937, van Gilse served as director of the

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Nethe ...

conservatory. He was also active in protecting the interests of composers in the Netherlands. In 1911, van Gilse was one of the founders of the Society of Dutch Musicians (Genootschap van Nederlandse Componisten or GENECO). One year later, he was instrumental in founding the Dutch Bureau for Musical Copyrights (Buma).

Work and reputation

Van Gilse's early style is indebted to German late romanticism. After about 1920, however, it becomes more modernist. His opera ''Thijl'' (1940), often regarded as his masterpiece and arguably the most important opera in Dutch musical history, is one of his last works and a totally individual conception. An attempt by the German occupiers to destroy all of van Gilse's work was prevented by his collaborators. Recently, interest in van Gilse has increased, helped by the publication of his autobiography (edited by Hans van Dijk) and a biography. The German label CPO has recorded his four completed symphonies, with plans under way to record the

''Thijl'' in the near future, all under the direction of conductor David Porcelijn.

Selected list of works

*Symphonies: **' (1900–01; recorded) **' (1902–1903; recorded) **'', "Erhebung"'' for soprano and orchestra (1903; recorded)Dutch Wikipedia has May 1906-June 1907. **''Symphony No. 4 in A major'' (1910–1915; recorded) **''Symphony No. 5 in D major'' (Fragment; 1922) *Orchestral works: **''Concert Overture in C minor'' (1900; recorded) **''Variations on a St. Nicholas Song'' (1908; recorded) **''Three Dance Sketches'' for piano and small orchestra (1925–26; recorded as "Piano Concerto") **''Prologus brevis'' (1928) **''Praeludium to "Der Kreis des Lebens"'' (1928) **''Small Waltz'' (1936) **''Treurmuziek bij den dood van Uilenspiegel'', from the opera ''Thijl'' (1940; recorded) **''Andante con moto'' (date uncertain, after 1935) *Works for voice(s) & orchestra: **''Sulamith'', cantata for soprano and orchestra (1901–02; recorded) **''Eine Lebensmesse'', cantata after

Richard Dehmel Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (18 November 1863 – 8 February 1920) was a German poet and writer. Life A forester's son, Richard Dehmel was born in Hermsdorf near Wendisch Buchholz (now a part of Münchehofe) in the Brandenburg Province, Kin ...

(1903–04; recorded) **''Gitanjali Songs'' for soprano and orchestra **''Der Kreis des Lebens'', cantata (1928–1929) **''Rotterdam'', declamatorium on a text by Jan Prins (unfinished; 1942) *Operas: **''Frau Helga von Stavern'', opera on a text by Van Gilse, in German (1911–13) **''Thijl'', opera after Charles de Coster's novel ''The heroic, jolly and notorious acts of Uilenspiegel and Lamme Goedzak in Flanders Country and elsewhere'', on a libretto by Hendrik Lindt (1940; recorded) *Chamber Pieces: **''Nonet'', for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, 2 violins, viola, cello and double bass (1916) **''String Quartet'', an unfinished string quartet (1922) **''Trio for flute, violin and viola (1927)

Citations

External links

Biography of Jan van Gilse (in Dutch) at the Institute for Dutch History in The Hague
.">The Hague">Biography of Jan van Gilse (in Dutch) at the Institute for Dutch History in The Hague
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilse, Jan van 1881 births 1944 deaths Dutch male classical composers Dutch classical composers Dutch conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Dutch Romantic composers 20th-century classical composers Musicians from Rotterdam Dutch opera composers Dutch resistance members Deaths from pneumonia in the Netherlands 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Dutch male musicians 19th-century Dutch male musicians