Diderik Wagenaar
Encyclopedia
Diderik Wagenaar is a Dutch
composer
and musical theorist.
, he began playing piano at the age of eight and by the time he was fourteen had set his sights on a musical vocation. As a teenager in the early 1960s he loved Renaissance music, Bach
, Ravel
, and Thelonious Monk
; at the age of eighteen he began studying music theory with Jan van Dijk, Hein Kien and Rudolf Koumans and piano with Simon Admiraal at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. As a composer he is essentially self-taught.
It was during his student years in the mid-60s that Wagenaar began to develop as a composer. Although fascinated by the concerts given by Pierre Boulez
and Bruno Maderna
with the Hague Philharmonic, he admits to having "no real grip" at that time on the musical avant-garde, and began to look around for other starting-points for his own music. In addition to his fascination with jazz, an important encounter at that time was with the music of Charles Ives
, which taught him the value of inclusivity. It also encouraged his tendency to attempt a synthesis between tonality and atonality, to connect previously disparate systems of musical thought. Today Wagenaar feels that the notion of a "music of inclusion" can be seen as an important aspect of the new Dutch music as a whole.
His music is closely linked with that of his friend Louis Andriessen
and treats similar ideas in perhaps an even more rigorous manner. Though the ideas may be complex, they are always presented in a clear and straightforward manner. His other influences include Stravinsky
, a key figure for the composers of the Hague school, but also importantly Monk and John Coltrane
.
His works include commissions for the ensembles Orkest de Volharding
, Hoketus
, Slagwerkgroep den Haag and Icebreaker
and for the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and musical theorist.
Life and work
Wagenaar has lived and worked all his adult life in The Hague. Born to a musical family that includes Johan WagenaarJohan Wagenaar
Johan Wagenaar was a Dutch composer and organist.-Life:Born in Utrecht, out of wedlock, he was the son of Cypriaan Gerard Berger van Hengst and Johanna Wagenaar. Wagenaar's parents were of different social strata: his father was an aristocrat, while his mother was of more humble origins...
, he began playing piano at the age of eight and by the time he was fourteen had set his sights on a musical vocation. As a teenager in the early 1960s he loved Renaissance music, Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
, Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
, and Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
; at the age of eighteen he began studying music theory with Jan van Dijk, Hein Kien and Rudolf Koumans and piano with Simon Admiraal at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. As a composer he is essentially self-taught.
It was during his student years in the mid-60s that Wagenaar began to develop as a composer. Although fascinated by the concerts given by Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
and Bruno Maderna
Bruno Maderna
Bruno Maderna was an Italian conductor and composer. For the last ten years of his life he lived in Germany and eventually became a citizen of that country.-Biography:...
with the Hague Philharmonic, he admits to having "no real grip" at that time on the musical avant-garde, and began to look around for other starting-points for his own music. In addition to his fascination with jazz, an important encounter at that time was with the music of Charles Ives
Charles Ives
Charles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
, which taught him the value of inclusivity. It also encouraged his tendency to attempt a synthesis between tonality and atonality, to connect previously disparate systems of musical thought. Today Wagenaar feels that the notion of a "music of inclusion" can be seen as an important aspect of the new Dutch music as a whole.
His music is closely linked with that of his friend Louis Andriessen
Louis Andriessen
Louis Andriessen is a Dutch composer and pianist based in Amsterdam. He teaches composition at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague...
and treats similar ideas in perhaps an even more rigorous manner. Though the ideas may be complex, they are always presented in a clear and straightforward manner. His other influences include Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
, a key figure for the composers of the Hague school, but also importantly Monk and John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
.
His works include commissions for the ensembles Orkest de Volharding
Orkest de Volharding
Orkest de Volharding is a Dutch music ensemble, founded in 1972 by Louis Andriessen and saxophonist Willem Breuker, named after the eponymous Andriessen work. The line up for the original concert, on May 12, 1972, was three each of trumpets saxes and trombones, plus Andriessen on the piano...
, Hoketus
Hoketus
Hoketus was an amplified musical ensemble founded by Dutch composer Louis Andriessen in the Netherlands in 1976. The group was originally formed to perform Louis Andriessen's minimal composition Hoketus, but remained together and began to perform music composed for the group by other composers...
, Slagwerkgroep den Haag and Icebreaker
Icebreaker (band)
Icebreaker is a UK-based new music ensemble founded by James Poke and John Godfrey. The group have established themselves as one of the UK's leading new music interpreters specializing particularly in post-minimal and "totalist" repertoire. They always play amplified and have a reputation for...
and for the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Works
- 2006 Ricordanza, for orchestra
- 2003 Tango waltz, Scherzo da ballo, for orchestra
- 2002 Pantomima, for large ensemble
- 2000 Galilei (on texts by Galileo GalileiGalileo GalileiGalileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
, Roberto Bellarmino, Blaise PascalBlaise PascalBlaise Pascal , was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic philosopher. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen...
), for orchestra - 1998 Rookery Hill, for ensemble (IcebreakerIcebreakerAn icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
) - 1998 Musica dopo l'epistola for brass quintet
- 1995 (revised 1996) La caccia, for trombone
- 1995 Trois poèmes en prose (on a text by Baudelaire), for soprano and orchestra
- 1995 Metrum (arrangement by John GodfreyJohn Godfrey (composer)John Godfrey is a composer and performer, co-founder and musical director of Icebreaker , founder member of Crash Ensemble , founder of the Quiet Music Ensemble, and lecturer in music at National University of Ireland, Cork....
), for ensemble (IcebreakerIcebreakerAn icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
) - 1994 Cat music for two violins
- 1993 Lent, vague, indécis for instrumental ensemble
- 1992 Solenne, for six percussionists
- 1991 Tien vocale minuten, for mezzo-soprano and bass
- 1990 Tessituur, for orchestra
- 1989 La volta, for piano solo
- 1988 Triforium, and wind orchestra and percussion
- 1988 Festinalente, for solo trumpet with brass orchestra and percussion
- 1987 Schigolch, two voices and two mouth organs and string or wind instrument
- 1985 (revised 1986) Limiet for string quartet
- 1985 Crescent, for 34 wind instruments
- 1984 (1986) Metrum, for symphony orchestra and obligato saxophone quartet
- 1981 Stadium, for two pianos
- 1980 Canapé, romantic music for piano, clarinet, violin and cello
- 1979 Vier min één, three pieces for three trumpets
- 1979 Tam Tam, for 12 instrumentalists (HoketusHoketusHoketus was an amplified musical ensemble founded by Dutch composer Louis Andriessen in the Netherlands in 1976. The group was originally formed to perform Louis Andriessen's minimal composition Hoketus, but remained together and began to perform music composed for the group by other composers...
) - 1976 (revised 1978) Liederen, for brass instruments, two pianos and double bass (Orkest de VolhardingOrkest de VolhardingOrkest de Volharding is a Dutch music ensemble, founded in 1972 by Louis Andriessen and saxophonist Willem Breuker, named after the eponymous Andriessen work. The line up for the original concert, on May 12, 1972, was three each of trumpets saxes and trombones, plus Andriessen on the piano...
) - 1975 Tango for Jet, for ensemble (Orkest de VolhardingOrkest de VolhardingOrkest de Volharding is a Dutch music ensemble, founded in 1972 by Louis Andriessen and saxophonist Willem Breuker, named after the eponymous Andriessen work. The line up for the original concert, on May 12, 1972, was three each of trumpets saxes and trombones, plus Andriessen on the piano...
) - 1973 (revised 1990) Praxis, symphony for two grand pianos with oboe ad lib
- 1969 Kaleidofonen I, for alto saxophone and piano
Recordings
- Diderik Wagenaar: Composers' Voice Portrait Gerard Bouwhuis, Netherlands Wind Ensemble and Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Geert Van Keulen, Arie Van Beek, and Lucas Vis. Donemus CV 29
- Diderik Wagenaar: Composers' Voice Portrait Ensemble Icebreaker. Donemus CV 94
- Wie is bang voor Nederlandse muziek? includes Rookery Hill by Wagenaar performed by Ensemble Icebreaker.Donemus NM 93007