Karel Mengelberg

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Karel Mengelberg (born July 18, 1902 in Utrecht , † July 11, 1984 in Amsterdam ) was a Dutch composer , conductor and music writer .

Mengelberg came from an old family of artists. His uncle was the conductor Willem Mengelberg . His first composition teachers were Berthe Geuer and Willem Pijper . From 1923 to 1927 he studied conducting at the Berlin State Academic University of Music with Julius Prüwer , composition with Leo Schrattenholz and Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek and choral conducting with Siegfried Ochs . He also studied with Hermann Scherchen and completed an acoustics course with Karl Willy Wagner at the Berlin Technical University from 1929–1932 .

In addition to his studies, Mengelberg worked in Berlin as a drama musician and choir conductor and created piano reductions for the Universal Edition , among other things . From 1927 to 1930 he received his first engagements in Greifswald and Königsberg . Until 1933 he worked as a consultant for the Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft and sound engineer for the German broadcaster in Berlin. In 1933 he left Berlin for political reasons, worked in Barcelona and Kiev until he returned to the Netherlands in 1938 and settled in Amsterdam. There he worked mainly as a teacher at various conservatories and as a freelance conductor. 1947–1956 he directed the Toonkunstmuziekschool in Amersfoort . From 1945 to 1972 he also worked as a music critic for the daily newspaper Het Vrije Volk and various specialist magazines. From 1938 to 1962 he was First Secretary of the Netherlands Composers' Union. The orchestras he conducted included the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam and the Utrecht Symphony Orchestra.

Mengelberg created works for orchestra, chamber music and various vocal works, as well as drama, film and radio play music. He won the Grand Prize for Composition of the City of Amsterdam twice (1950 and 1954) and the Prix ​​Italia in 1951 for his radio play music .

Mengelberg is the father of the Dutch composer and pianist Misha Mengelberg .

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personal data
SURNAME Mengelberg, Karel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch composer, conductor and music writer
DATE OF BIRTH July 18, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Utrecht
DATE OF DEATH July 11, 1984
Place of death Amsterdam