Simeon ten Holt

Simeon ten Holt (born January 24, 1923 in Bergen , North Holland Province , † November 25, 2012 in Alkmaar ) was a Dutch composer .

Life

After studying with the Bergen composer Jacob van Domselaer , ten Holt moved to Paris in 1949 , where he studied with Arthur Honegger and Darius Milhaud at the École Normale de Musique de Paris .

In 1954 he returned to the Netherlands. Until the 1970s, his music was committed to various avant-garde directions; serial compositions , electroacoustic music and musical theater were in the foreground.

His work Canto Ostinato , completed in 1979 and on which he had worked for several years, represents a complete break with his previous music . Canto ostinato is a minimalist composition of variable length and structure for one or more pianos, written in a harmony of the late Romantic period. The composition, which is now available on numerous CD recordings, is one of the most played and popular works of contemporary classical music in the Netherlands.

The following compositions (e.g. Lemniscaat (1983), Horizon (1985), Incantatie IV (1990) and Méandres in 1999) move within this style and are usually written for one or more pianos.

Works

piano

• Composition I, II, III, IV (1942–1945)
• Sonata (1953), duration: 30 ′
• 20 bagatelles (1954), duration: about 35 ′
• Allegro ex machina (1955), duration: 5 ′
• Diagonaalsuite (1957), duration: 20 ′ to 25 ′
• Muziek voor Pieter (Music for Pieter) , 7 small pieces (1958), duration: 9 ′
• Diagonalsonate (Diagonal Sonata) (1959), duration: 17 ′
• Soloduiveldans I (Solo-Teufelstanz I) (1959), duration: 5 ′
• Epigrams (1959), duration: about 30 ′
• 5 Etudes (1961), duration: about 10 ′
• Cyclus aan de Waanzin (Cycle to Madness) (1961–1962), duration: about 30 ′
• Sekwensen (Sequences) , for 1 or 2 pianos (1965)
• Interpolations (1969)
• 5 Pieces (1970–1972), duration: about 10 ′
• Canto Ostinato (1976–1979), duration: variable, from approx. 80 ′
• Natalon in E (1980), duration: about 45 ′
• Lemniscaat (1982-1983)
• Horizon (1983–1985), duration: variable
• Soloduiveldans II (Solo-Teufelstanz II) (1986), duration: variable
• Incantatie IV , for piano (and other) instruments, a total of 5 (1987–1990), duration: variable
• Soloduiveldans III (Solo Devil Dance III) (1990)
• Schaduw noch Prooi , for 2 pianos (1993–1995), duration: variable
• Eadem sed Aliter (the same but different) (1995), duration: variable
• Méandres , for 4 pianos (1997), duration: variable
• Soloduiveldans IV (1998), duration: variable
• '' Aforisme II '' (1972) for piano alone (2012), duration: 4 ′

Chamber music

• Suite , for string quartet (1954–1955)
• Diagonaalmuziek , for string instruments (1958), duration: 20 ′ to 25 ′
• Quartetto: per archi , for string quartet (1965), duration: about 10 ′
• Differenties , for ensemble, (3 clarinets, piano, vibraphone) (1969)
• Scenario-X , (2 trumpets, horn, trombone, tuba) (1970)
• Palimpsest , for string septet (4 violins, viola, cello and double bass) (1990–1992, revised 1993), duration: variable
• Capriccio , for violin alone (1999), duration: 5′04 ″

Electronic music

• '' Seven Play '' (1970), duration: 7′06 ″
• '' Aforisme I-VI '' (1972–1974), duration: I: 6′12 ", II: 4′36", III: 8′36 ", IV: 5′18", V: 4′50 " , VI: 8′20 ″
• Inferno I & II (1970–1971)
• Module IV (1970–1972), 4-track electronic music (graphic notation), duration: 10 ′, commissioned composition for the Buma Culture Fund
• I am Sylvia but somebody else (1973)

Vocal music

• ..A / .TA-LON , for mezzo-soprano and 36 playing and speaking instruments (1967–1968)
• Koorprojekt 75 , for 3 choirs, 4 speakers and electronics (1975), scenario: HC ten Berge and Rein Bloem, duration: 9'18 ″
• Bi-Ba-Bo for vocal quartet (1980), duration: 10 ′ or 20 ′, commissioned for the government of the Netherlands

Other works

• Tripticon , for percussion (1965)
• Kockyn: een kermiskroniek (Kockyn: Eine Jahrmarktschronik) , film music for piano, guitar and metallophone (1966)
• Centri-fuga (1976–1979) for orchestra, duration 25 ′, commissioned composition for the Johan Wagenaar Foundation
• Une musique blanche for orchestra (1980–1982), duration: 20 ′, commissioned composition for the government of the Netherlands

literature

• John Heymans: Arabesk. Over Simeon ten Holt , Uitgeverij Ijzer: Utrecht, 2019, ISBN 978-90-8684-186-8 (biography)

Web links

• Simeon ten Holt - Official Website (English)
• Video of the Canto Ostinato on four pianos in a recording by Elizabeth Bergmann, Marcel Bergmann, Sandra van Veen and Jeroen van Veen in Eindhoven on April 2, 2011