Lambertus Reiner "Reinbert" de Leeuw (8 September 1938 – 14 February 2020) was a Dutch conductor,

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

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 ...

Life

Lambertus Reinier de Leeuw's mother and father were both psychiatrists: Cornelis Homme 'Kees' de Leeuw (1905-1953) and Adriana Judina 'Dien' Aalbers (1908-1957). From age 7, he took piano lessons. He studied

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

and piano at the Amsterdam Conservatoire and composition with Kees van Baaren at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. He taught at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague. He was a well-known conductor and pianist performing mainly

contemporary music Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...

. He was the founder of the “Dutch

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, actuary and businessman. Ives was among the earliest renowned American composers to achieve recognition on a global scale. His music was largely ignored d ...

Society”. Since 2004, he was a professor at the

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

in 'performing and creative arts of the 19th, 20th and 21st century'. In 1974, he founded the Schönberg Ensemble. They mainly focused on performing works by the

Second Viennese School The Second Viennese School () was the group of composers that comprised Arnold Schoenberg and his pupils, particularly Alban Berg and Anton Webern, and close associates in early 20th-century Vienna. Their music was initially characterized by late ...

and the avant-garde. He composed the piece ''Etude'' (1983–1985) for the strings of the ensemble. De Leeuw regularly conducted the Netherlands' major orchestras and ensembles, including the

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, established in 1888 at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). It is considered one of the world's leading orchestras. It was known as the Concertgebouw Orchestra u ...

, New Sinfonietta Amsterdam, ''Residentie'' Orchestra The Hague and ensembles such as the Netherlands Chamber Choir, the ASKO, the Netherlands Wind Ensemble, and the orchestras of the Dutch Public Radio. In the 1995–96 season, he was the centre point of the 'Carte Blanche' series in the

Concertgebouw Concertgebouw may refer to one of the following concert halls: * Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Netherlands * Concertgebouw, Bruges, Belgium * Concertgebouw de Vereeniging, Netherlands {{disambiguation Buildings and structures disambiguation pages ...

Amsterdam. He was involved in the organization of the series 'Contemporaries' at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. He was a regular guest in most European countries (France, Germany including the

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

, England, Belgium) and the United States (

Tanglewood Festival The Tanglewood Music Festival is a music festival held every summer on the Tanglewood estate in Stockbridge and Lenox in the Berkshire Hills in western Massachusetts. The festival consists of a series of concerts, including symphonic music, cha ...

, New World Symphony,

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

Chamber Music Group New York, in

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in Minneapolis, and lectured at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

of Music in New York), in Japan and Australia. De Leeuw was involved in various opera productions at the

Dutch National Opera The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a m ...

in Amsterdam as well as with the '' Nederlandse Reisopera''. Productions included works by

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...

('' The Rake’s Progress''), Louis Andriessen ('' Rosa - A Horse Drama''; '' Writing to Vermeer''),

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...

('' Le Grand Macabre''), Claude Vivier (''Rêves d’un Marco Polo''), Robert Zuidam (''Rage d‘Amours'') and

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

( ''The Turn of the Screw''). In 2011, De Leeuw conducted Schoenberg's monumental ''

Gurre-Lieder ' (''Songs of Gurre Castle, Gurre'') is a tripartite oratorio followed by a Melodrama, melodramatic epilogue for five vocal soloists, narrator, three choruses, and grand orchestra. The work, which is based on an early song cycle for soprano, te ...

'', which was the realisation of an old ambition of his. In 1992, he was guest artistic director of the

Aldeburgh Festival The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the town of Aldeburgh, Suffolk and is centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festi ...

and from 1994–1998 artistic director of Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music. De Leeuw was artistic advisor for contemporary music with the

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney. With roots going back to 1908, the orchestra was made a permanent professional orchestra on the formation of the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1932. ...

, and from 2001 to 2010, he served as artistic leader at the ''Nederlandse Orkest- en Ensemble-Academie'' (NJO; Dutch Orchestra and Ensemble Academy). He is particularly noted for his shows and recordings of

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (born 17 May 18661 July 1925), better known as Erik Satie, was a French composer and pianist. The son of a French father and a British mother, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conservatoire but was an undi ...

's works. He recorded an album, Socrate, with Barbara Hannigan, a Canadian contemporary opera singer, consisting of largely forgotten works by Erik Satie. On January 13, 2020, he held his last concert in

Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ ( English: "Music Building on the IJ") is the main concert hall for contemporary classical music on the IJ in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The building opened in 2005 and is located above the IJtunnel, a ten-minute walk from ...

. On February 14 of the same year, he died at his home in Amsterdam, aged 81, survived by his brothers, Kees and Hans de Leeuw.

Awards

On his 70th birthday, de Leeuw was made a Knight of the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

Recordings

Perhaps de Leeuw's most notable and stunning recordings are those of early piano music of Erik Satie. De Leeuw recorded mostly for

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

, Koch or Nonesuch. One of his last studio recordings was, however, for Alpha Classics: a piano-accompanied reading of

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

's own late and devotional ''Via Crucis'', reflecting De Leeuw's faith. He had previously recorded ''Via Crucis'' twice, in the 1980s for Philips and in 2012 for Etcetera.

Compositions

Stage

* 1969 '' Reconstructie'', opera jointly composed with Louis Andriessen, Misha Mengelberg, Peter Schat and Jan van Vlijmen * 1977 ''Axel'', opera in 3 acts, jointly composed with Jan van Vlijmen

Orchestral

* 1965 ''Interplay'' for orchestra * 1971–1973 ''Abschied'', Symphonic poem for large orchestra * 2013 ''Der nächtliche Wanderer'', Symphonic poem for large orchestra

Works for Ensemble

* 1970 ''Hymns and Chorals'', for 15 brass instruments, electric guitar, electric bass, electric organ and electronics

Vocal music

* 2003 ''Im wunderschönen Monat Mai'' 21 songs with excerpts of works by

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

and

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

, for voice and 14 instruments (or piano)

Chamber music

* 1962–1963 ''Quartetto per archi'' * 1983–1985 ''Etude'' for string quartet

Piano works

* 1964 ''Music for piano I'' * 1966 ''Music for piano II''

Arrangement

* 1982 ''Vorspiel und Isoldens Liebestod'' by

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

, for ensemble * 1983 ''

Kindertotenlieder (''Songs on the Death of Children'') is a song cycle (1904) for voice and orchestra by Gustav Mahler. The words of the songs are poems by Friedrich Rückert. Poems and setting The original were a group of 428 poems written by Rückert in 1833 ...

'' by

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and ...

, for voice and ensemble * 2010 '' Das Lied von der Erde'' by

, for 2 soloists and 15 instruments

Notes

References

* ''

'' (1969, together with J. Bernlef) * '' Over de grens. Klassieke muziek na 1900'' (2022, together with Dap Hartmann), Prometheus, ISBN 9789044651225

External links

REINBERT DE LEEUW, PIANIST, CONDUCTOR AND COMPOSER

ASKO, Schönberg Ensemble
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leeuw, Reinbert de 1938 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Dutch classical composers 20th-century Dutch conductors (music) 20th-century Dutch male musicians 21st-century Dutch conductors (music) 21st-century Dutch classical pianists 21st-century Dutch male musicians Dutch male classical composers Dutch male conductors (music) Dutch male classical pianists Dutch music educators Edison Classical Music Awards Oeuvreprijs winners Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year – Vocal or Choral Performance winners Academic staff of Leiden University Musicians from Amsterdam Burials at Zorgvlied Cemetery Royal Conservatory of The Hague alumni Academic staff of the Royal Conservatory of The Hague