Bernard van Dieren

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Bernard van Dieren, bust by Jacob Epstein

Bernard Hélène Joseph van Dieren (born December 27, 1887 in Rotterdam , † April 24, 1936 in London ) was a Dutch composer and music writer who spent much of his life in England.

life and work

Bernard van Dieren came from a family with Dutch and French roots. He learned to play the violin when he was a child, but was also interested in science and did not decide on music until 1908. A decisive factor was his friendship with Frida Kindler , a piano student of Ferruccio Busoni , whom he followed to England in 1909 and married in London in 1910. It was there that the first larger compositions were self-taught. In 1911/12 he visited Berlin as a music correspondent, where he became friends with Busoni and Arnold Schönberg , who encouraged his compositional work.

The first symptoms of painful kidney disease appeared in 1912, which resulted in several operations and an addiction to morphine . Van Dieren stayed in London through the First World War, except for a short period as a cryptologist for the Dutch secret service. In England he worked as a music correspondent for various newspapers and became the central figure of a group of artist friends, including the sculptor Jacob Epstein (who created a bust of him), the painter Matthew Smith , the writer Osbert Sitwell , the composer Peter Warlock and the music critic Cecil Gray . His other friends also included the composers Sorabji , Ernest Moeran and Constant Lambert . Thanks to the efforts of his friends, some of van Dieren's works were also performed, but without achieving great success. In 1922 he performed his 2nd string quartet at the Donaueschinger Musiktage , and in 1927 the 4th string quartet at the Frankfurt Festival. In 1935 the BBC broadcast its "Chinese Symphony".

Bernard van Dieren's compositions are characterized by complex counterpoint and pronounced polyphony . Under the influence of Busoni and Schönberg, he turned to a largely atonal spelling, which he later toned down again. Van Dieren wrote the opera “The Tailor” (1917–1930), vocal and orchestral works, including the “Chinese Symphony” for 5 solos, choir and orchestra (1914; the underlying texts by Hans Bethge come from the same collection as those of Gustav Mahler's " Song of the Earth " ). Outstanding among his chamber music works is a series of 6 string quartets (1912 to 1931), as well as numerous songs and piano compositions.

In 1935 Bernard van Dieren published a collection of music aesthetic essays under the title “Down among the Dead Men”, and he also published a book about the sculptor Jacob Epstein.

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Dieren, Bernard van
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dieren, Bernard Hélène Joseph van (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch composer and music writer
DATE OF BIRTH December 27, 1887
PLACE OF BIRTH Rotterdam
DATE OF DEATH April 24, 1936
Place of death London