Willem Kes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Willem Kes
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Born | 16 February 1856 Dordrecht, Netherlands |
| Died | 22 February 1934 (age 78) Munich, Germany |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupation(s) | Conductor, pedagogue |
| Associated acts | Concertgebouw Orchestra Scottish Orchestra |
Willem Kes (born in Dordrecht, Netherlands, on February 16, 1856 – died in Munich, Germany, on February 22, 1934) was a famous Dutch conductor, composer, and musician. He played both the viola and the violin. He is best known as the very first main conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. He led this orchestra from 1888 to 1895.
Contents
Willem Kes's Life Story
Early Musical Training
Willem Kes was the son of Adrianus Stoffel Kes, who was a dairy trader, and Cornelia Maria Krekelenbrug. From a young age, Willem began his musical journey in Dordrecht. He learned to play the viola and started composing music. His teachers helped him learn about harmony, violin, and piano. During this time, he also performed with the local orchestra in his hometown.
Willem later went to the Leipzig Conservatory to continue his studies. There, he learned from well-known composers like Ferdinand David and Carl Reinecke. While in Leipzig, he married Bertha Auguste Elise Koch. He then moved to the Brussels Conservatory. He studied with the famous violinist-composer Henryk Wieniawski and Louis Brassin. To help pay for his studies, he often performed in concerts. He also studied composition and fugue in Berlin with Joseph Joachim, Friedrich Kiel, and Wilhelm Taubert.
In 1877, Willem Kes became the leader of the first Amsterdam Park Orchestra. He also led the Amsterdamsche Orkest-Vereeniging. A year later, in 1878, he became the director of the Dordrecht branch of the Rotterdam Music Society. By 1883, he was conducting the new Park Orchestra in Amsterdam.
Leading the Concertgebouw Orchestra
Because of his experience, Willem Kes was the perfect choice to become the chief conductor of a brand new orchestra. This orchestra was created for the Concertgebouw building in 1888. His main job was to build the Concertgebouw Orchestra from scratch. He chose all the musicians himself. His goal was to help music grow and become more popular in the Netherlands.
Willem Kes changed how people viewed musical performances. Before him, concerts were often seen as social events. People would chat and eat during the music. Kes believed that the music itself should be the most important thing. He brought strict rules for both his musicians and the audience. Musicians who were late for practice had to pay a fine. Those who played poorly had to stay after and practice their parts. He also demanded silence from the audience during performances. He even stopped people from eating snacks during concerts and rehearsals.
Under Kes's strong leadership, the Concertgebouw Orchestra became famous around the world. He introduced new music to the Netherlands, like the symphonic poems by Richard Strauss. These included Don Juan in 1891 and Macbeth in 1892. He also started "theme concerts" in 1893. The first one featured only modern French composers. Famous composers like Vincent d'Indy and Ernest Chausson even attended. The orchestra also performed Antonín Dvořák's famous New World symphony for the first time in the Netherlands in May 1895. Many international soloists played with the orchestra under Kes. These included violinists like Pablo de Sarasate and Joseph Joachim, and pianists like Eugen d'Albert.
Willem Kes also taught music. He taught the viola and cello. One of his students in Amsterdam was a young Dutch cellist named Kato van der Hoeven.
After the Concertgebouw
Willem Kes's salary at the Concertgebouw Orchestra was 5,000 guilders a year. This was much less than what other conductors earned in other countries. The orchestra members also earned little money. Because of this, Kes decided to move to Scotland for a better-paying job. He left the Concertgebouw in 1895 to join the Scottish Orchestra in Glasgow.
When Kes left, his successor, Willem Mengelberg, played Franz Liszt's Piano Concerto in E flat major at his farewell concert. Thanks to Kes, Mengelberg took over a very well-trained orchestra. Under Mengelberg's leadership, the orchestra grew into one of the world's top orchestras.
In 1898, Kes brought his Scottish orchestra to the Netherlands for several concerts. After his time in Scotland, he moved to Moscow that same year. He finished his musical career in Koblenz, Germany. There, he was the director of the conservatory and conductor of the Musikverein from 1905 to 1926. He passed away in Munich when he was 78 years old.
Awards and Recognition
In 1894, Willem Kes was made a knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau in the Netherlands. Around the same time, the Russian Empire also honored him with the Knighthood of the Order of Saint Stanislaus. Today, there's a street named Willem Kesstraat in Amsterdam. Dordrecht also has a Willem Kes Park. Other cities have named public places after him too.
Willem Kes's Compositions
Willem Kes wrote many musical pieces. These included works for orchestras, chamber music (for small groups of instruments), and songs. His music style is mostly "late romantic," which means it has rich melodies and harmonies. Besides his own music, he also arranged and copied works by other composers. His Violin Concerto No. 1 was often performed, sometimes with Kes himself playing the solo part.
Orchestral Works (Examples)
- Concert Overture No. 1 (1874)
- Charakteristische Tanzweisen for violin & orchestra, Op. 3 (1876)
- Violin Concerto No. 1 (before 1883)
- Cello Concerto (1886)
- Symphony in E flat major (1894)
- Violin Concerto No. 2 in F sharp major (1904)
- Slovakian Rhapsody for violin and orchestra
Chamber Music (Examples)
- Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 4 (1869)
- Große Sonate for violin and piano No. 2 (1874)
- Serenade (1885)
- Sonata for String Quartet, Op. 28
Choral Works (Examples)
- Der Taucher, a Cantata based on a text by Friedrich Schiller, Op. 9 (1877)
- Kriegslied (1914)
Songs (Examples)
- Winternacht, for baritone, based on a text by Eichendorff, Op. 13
- Stimmen des Lebens
Piano Works (Examples)
- Ungarischer Tanz (1872)
- Mazurka No. 1 in D sharp (1876)
- Fantasie-Stück No. 2
Weblinks
- 90 Compositions by Willem Kes in the archives of the Nederlands Muziek Institut
- Willem Kes: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Concertgebouw 125 jaar (in Dutch), documentary by Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld & Geluid (YouTube)
- Digital realization of Willem Kes' Symphony in E flat major by mdmusics (YouTube)
