Paul van Katwijk
Encyclopedia
Paul van Katwijk was a Dutch
-American
pianist
, conductor
, composer
, and music educator
. He was an important figure in the classical music
culture of Dallas, Texas
, for much of the 20th century. He served as the music director
of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra
for eleven years.
in the Netherlands
. He was a pupil of Carl Oberstadt (who was in turn a student of Robert
and Clara Schumann
) at the Royal College of Music
in The Hague
, Netherlands. He subsequently studied in Vienna
and Berlin
with the eminent pianist Leopold Godowsky
.
faculty of Christian College in Columbia, Missouri
, then to similar positions at the University of Chicago
and at Drake University
in Des Moines, Iowa
.
In 1918 van Katwijk accepted the post of head of the piano department at Southern Methodist University
in Dallas. He would remain on the SMU faculty until 1955. He served as dean
of the school of music from 1919 until 1949, then as head of the piano department for the remaining six years of his tenure. He continued teaching piano privately for the remainder of his life. A great number of van Katwijk's students had successful professional musical careers as soloists and teachers.
Throughout his years in Dallas, van Katwijk remained highly active as a performing artist. He performed as a soloist with orchestras including the Houston
, Minneapolis
, New Orleans
, and Saint Louis
Symphonies, and performed recitals throughout the United States, both as a soloist and in a piano duo with his wife, Viola Beck van Katwijk. Paul van Katwijk was called "a most remarkable pianist" by the great Finnish
composer Jean Sibelius
.
Van Katwijk was also noted as a conductor. While teaching at Drake, he conducted the Des Moines Symphony, and during his years in Texas he was the music director of the Dallas Symphony from 1925 to 1936. He also conducted the Dallas Oratorio Society, the Dallas Civic Opera
, and the Dallas Municipal Chorus.
Van Katwijk composed many works of which over a dozen were published. His "Hollandia Suite" was performed at the Hollywood Bowl
and by the Wiesbaden
Symphony Orchestra in Germany
, and was also played for a national radio broadcast by the Groningen Symphony Orchestra in the Netherlands.
Van Katwijk was active in numerous professional societies and organizations, often serving in leadership positions. In 1962 he was honored as Teacher of the Year by the Texas Music Teachers Association.
Paul van Katwijk died in Dallas in 1974 at the age of 89. The van Katwijks had no children.
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...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
, 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 music educator
Music education
Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It touches on all domains of learning, including the psychomotor domain , the cognitive domain , and, in particular and significant ways,the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity...
. He was an important figure in the classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
culture of Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, for much of the 20th century. He served as the music director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra. It performs its concerts in the Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, United States....
for eleven years.
Early life and musical training
Van Katwijk was born in RotterdamRotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
in the Netherlands
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...
. He was a pupil of Carl Oberstadt (who was in turn a student of Robert
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
and Clara Schumann
Clara Schumann
Clara Schumann was a German musician and composer, considered one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era...
) at the Royal College of Music
Royal Conservatory of The Hague
The Royal Conservatory of The Hague is a conservatorium of music, providing higher education in music and dance, it is located in The Hague, Netherlands.-The Conservatory:...
in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, Netherlands. He subsequently studied in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
with the eminent pianist Leopold Godowsky
Leopold Godowsky
Leopold Godowsky was a famed Polish American pianist, composer, and teacher. One of the most highly regarded performers of his time, he became known for his theories concerning the application of relaxed weight and economy of motion in piano playing, principles later propagated by Godowsky's...
.
Career
Following several years of teaching in Europe, during which van Katwijk had begun to develop a reputation as a fine teacher, he came to the United States in 1912. He was appointed to the pianoPiano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
faculty of Christian College in Columbia, Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
, then to similar positions at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and at Drake University
Drake University
Drake University is a private, co-educational university located in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The institution offers a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and pharmacy. Today, Drake is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the country....
in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
.
In 1918 van Katwijk accepted the post of head of the piano department at Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
in Dallas. He would remain on the SMU faculty until 1955. He served as dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of the school of music from 1919 until 1949, then as head of the piano department for the remaining six years of his tenure. He continued teaching piano privately for the remainder of his life. A great number of van Katwijk's students had successful professional musical careers as soloists and teachers.
Throughout his years in Dallas, van Katwijk remained highly active as a performing artist. He performed as a soloist with orchestras including the Houston
Houston Symphony Orchestra
The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. Since 1966, it has performed at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston....
, Minneapolis
Minnesota Orchestra
The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Emil Oberhoffer founded the orchestra as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, and it gave its first performance on November 5 of that year. In 1968 the orchestra changed to its name to the Minnesota Orchestra...
, New Orleans
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra is an American orchestra based in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only full-time, professional orchestra in the Gulf South. The music director is Carlos Miguel Prieto....
, and Saint Louis
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the SLSO is the second-oldest symphony orchestra in the United States as it is preceded by the New York Philharmonic.-History:The St...
Symphonies, and performed recitals throughout the United States, both as a soloist and in a piano duo with his wife, Viola Beck van Katwijk. Paul van Katwijk was called "a most remarkable pianist" by the great Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
composer Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
.
Van Katwijk was also noted as a conductor. While teaching at Drake, he conducted the Des Moines Symphony, and during his years in Texas he was the music director of the Dallas Symphony from 1925 to 1936. He also conducted the Dallas Oratorio Society, the Dallas Civic Opera
Dallas Opera
The Dallas Opera is an opera company located in Dallas, Texas . The company was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civic Opera by Laurence Kelly and Nicolà Rescigno, both of whom had been active with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the first as administrator, the second as artistic director.-The company's...
, and the Dallas Municipal Chorus.
Van Katwijk composed many works of which over a dozen were published. His "Hollandia Suite" was performed at the Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
and by the Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
Symphony Orchestra in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and was also played for a national radio broadcast by the Groningen Symphony Orchestra in the Netherlands.
Van Katwijk was active in numerous professional societies and organizations, often serving in leadership positions. In 1962 he was honored as Teacher of the Year by the Texas Music Teachers Association.
Personal
Paul van Katwijk married pianist Viola Beck in 1922. Like her husband, Beck was a composer and a member of the piano faculty at Southern Methodist University. Paul and Viola van Katwijk toured extensively as a duo-piano team.Paul van Katwijk died in Dallas in 1974 at the age of 89. The van Katwijks had no children.
Sources
- "Dr. van Katwijk, Pianist, Dies." The Dallas Morning NewsThe Dallas Morning NewsThe Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
, 12 December 1974. - "Professor and Mrs. Katwijk Return from Honeymoon." The Dallas Morning News, 25 July 1922.