Willem van Otterloo

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Willem van Otterloo was born in Winterswijk in 1907. He began studying medicine in Utrecht, but switched to cello and composition at the Amsterdam conservatory. After graduating in 1932 he became a cellist with the Utrecht Municipal Orchestra and won a composition prize from the Concertgebouw Orchestra with his Suite no. 3, which he performed that same year at his conducting debut. In 1937 he became principal conductor of the Utrecht Municipal Orchestra. During the occupation that orchestra was placed under a German propaganda broadcaster in order to shield its members from the Arbeitseinsatz. After the war the Honorary Council (Ereraad) banned him from conducting until 1 May 1946 for this.

Music and breakthrough

From 1949 to 1973 he was principal conductor of the Residentie Orchestra in The Hague, which enjoyed great success especially in the 1950s, partly thanks to a recording contract with Philips. He recorded extensively, with the Residentie Orchestra but also with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna Symphony. He was known for his performances of nineteenth- and twentieth-century music. He also wrote music himself, such as a Sinfonietta for sixteen wind instruments from 1943.

Influence

In 1967 he became principal conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and in 1971 of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, where he remained until his death. He died in Melbourne in 1978 as a result of a car accident. His son Rogier also became a conductor and composer. Van Otterloo was one of the most important Dutch conductors of the post-war years, and he raised the orchestra in The Hague to an international level.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1953Concerto no. 2 in C minor for Piano and Orchestra / Mélodie in E major, op. 3 no. 3 / Prélude in B minor, op. 32 no. 10
• 1960Orthel: Piccola Sinfonia / Andriessen: Ricercare + Kuhnau-Variations
• 1960Symphony In D Minor / Les Eolides
• 1963Symphonie N°7 - Ouverture du "Roi Étienne"
• 1988Piano Concerto in A minor / Kinderszenen / Waldszenen / ABEGG-Variationen
• 2003Ragtimes & Serenades
• 2023Violin Concerto / Sanctus (Missa solemnis)
• ?Concerto N° 1 Pour Piano Et Orchestre / Krakowiak
• ?Piano Concerto no. 1 in B-flat minor, op. 23
• ?Water Music / Feux d'artifice

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

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