Richard (or Rijk) Hol (23 July 1825, 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 ...

– 14 May 1904, in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

) was a Dutch

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 ...

and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

, based for most of his career at

. His conservative music showed the influence of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

, and

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 the Leipzig school, though as a conductor he offered Dutch audiences the more revolutionary music of

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

and

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 ...

Life

Richard Hol followed a course in piano under Jan George Bertelman at the royal conservatory of Amsterdam; after his graduation in 1844 he made a living as piano accompanist. In part on the basis of his choral compositions he was appointed director of the Amsterdamse Toonkunstkoor in 1857. In 1862, when Johannes Verhulst was appointed to the position, Hol removed to

, where he came to occupy the center of musical life, taking up the post of Ferdinand Kufferath in directing the city concerts (''stadsconcerten'') and the Utrecht Toonkunstkoor for the remainder of his life. In addition he was organist at the cathedral, 1869–1888. From 1875 he served as director of the Stedelijke Muziekschool at Utrecht, teaching music theory and history himself. Among his prominent pupils were

Johan Wagenaar Johan Wagenaar (1 November 1862 – 17 June 1941) was a Dutch composer and organist. Life Born in Utrecht (city), Utrecht, out of wedlock, he was the son of Cypriaan Gerard Berger van Hengst and Johanna Wagenaar. Wagenaar's parents were of diffe ...

, who succeeded him as teacher and cathedral organist, Catharina van Rennes, and Hendrika Tussenbroek. In his last years Hol published pieces in numerous journals and served from 1894 until his death as editor of the

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

journal ''Het Orgel''. When the Nederlandsche Toonkunstenaars-Vereeniging was founded in 1875, he served as its first director. Among the many decorations he received was his appointment in 1875 as a corresponding member of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. He composed an anthem for

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

, in use until the British occupied it in 1887. His posthumous reputation remained largely confined to Dutch audiences and choral singing groups, until his four symphonies began to be recorded at the close of the 20th century. His ''vaderlandische legende'' ("patriotic legend") for chorus, orchestra and organ, ''De Vliegende Hollander'' ("The Flying Dutchman"), Op. 70 (1874) was described in 1904 as frequently performed, in ''

Le guide musical ''Le Guide musical'' (English: The Music Guide) was a weekly French-language Belgian and French classical music periodical founded 1 March 1855 in Brussels by Peter Bernhard Schott (1821–1873), of the Brussels music publishing house Schott frèr ...

'', reviewing a concert with a performance of the ballad, 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 ...

. His daughter, Jacoba, was a physical geographer.

Incomplete list of compositions

Symphonies

*No. 1 in C minor (1863) *No. 2 in D minor, op. 44 (1866, published 1868 by Th. J. Roothaan & Co. of Amsterdam) *No. 3 in B, op. 101 (1867/1884) *No. 4 in A minor (1889)

Operas

*''Floris V'' (premiered Amsterdam, 1892)Baker, Theodore; Remy, Alfred (1919). . G. Schirmer. page 408. *''Uit de branding'' (premiered Amsterdam, 1894)

Other music with voices

Ballads

*Der blinde König, Ballade after

Ludwig Uhland Johann Ludwig Uhland (26 April 1787 – 13 November 1862) was a German poet, philologist, literary historian, lawyer and politician. Biography He was born in Tübingen, Württemberg, and studied jurisprudence at the university there, b ...

, op.39 (published 1866 or 1867) *De vliegende hollander, op. 70 (about 1880)

Songs and song cycles

*See also *Des visschers bruid. Gedicht van Frisius (pseud. of H. G. H. Groenewegen) voor mezzo sopraan met piano. Op. 7. (pub. 1855) *2 Lieder, ''Warum'' and ''Wanderlied''. *Drie liederen : voor mannenstemmen (solo en koor), op. 22 (texts by Nicolaas Beets and by Frisius) *Liederen for 2 singers and piano, op. 53 *Prijsliederen, op. 56 (texts by Th. van Rijswijck) *Uw naam, op. 67 (after Frisius) *De jeugdige zanger, op. 71

Oratorios and Cantatas

*David, ''Dramatisches Gedicht für Chor, Solo und Orchester'', op. 81 (pub. 1881)

Liturgical Music

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

no.1, op.28 (pub.1865) *Psalm 23, Op.35 (published 1864)HMB 1864, page 98.

Organ music

*Fugues (1862) *Andante funèbre, A minor (1869) *Prelude and fugue, C minor (1872) *Pastorale, G major (1872, revised 1875) *Élégisch toonstuk, op. 131, F major (published 1890s. For organ or harmonium)

Piano music

*Impromptu in A minor *Sonatines, op. 118 (in C, G and in A minor)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hol, Richard 1825 births 1904 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century conductors (music) 19th-century organists 20th-century Dutch classical composers 20th-century Dutch conductors (music) 20th-century Dutch male musicians 20th-century Dutch organists Conservatorium van Amsterdam alumni Dutch classical organists Dutch male classical composers Dutch Romantic composers Dutch male conductors (music) Dutch male classical organists Musicians from Amsterdam Musicians from Utrecht (city)