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Josef Willem Mengelberg Biography

Josef Willem Mengelberg

(Utrecht, 1871-Zuort, 1951) Dutch conductor.He studied in his hometown with Richard Hol, Henri Wilhelm Petri and Anton Averkamp and later moved to Cologne (Germany), in whose conservatory he studied theory and counterpoint with G.Jensen, piano with I.Seiss and organ with F.W.Franke, in addition to directing and composing with Franz Wüllner.

He was musical director of the Lucerne Conservatory in 1892 and years later, in 1895, he obtained the position of director of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, a position he held until 1945.He also continued directing the Museum Concerts group in Frankfurt between 1907 and 1920.From 1899 he annually conducted the Amsterdam Toonkunst Choir in its interpretation of the Passion According to Saint Matthew by JS Bach.

He also conducted the American National Symphony Orchestra in New York between 1920 and 1929 and was principal conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 1921 until he left it due to differences with conductor Arturo Toscanini, who was also in front of the aforementioned group.In 1928 he was made an Honoris causa doctor by Columbia University and in 1934 he obtained a chair of music at the University of Utrecht.From 1945, and given his sympathy for the Nazi regime, he was prohibited from directing in Holland, so he decided to move his residence to Switzerland, where he died in 1951.

Mengelberg was a great enthusiast of the music of his contemporaries.Among his friends were composers such as Richard Strauss, Max Reger (whose Konzert im alten Stil premiered in 1912), and G.Mahler, whose work he tirelessly promoted.In 1920 Mengelberg conducted the complete symphonies of Mahler on the occasion of his 25th anniversary at the head of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw orchestra.

As a director he had great energy and dynamism and managed to bring out the small details and nuances of the musical work.Sometimes he gave the scores a certain vagueness in the tempo, which is why his interpretations were criticized in his time.

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