Bernard Zweers
Encyclopedia
Bernard Zweers (Amsterdam
, May 18, 1854 - December 9, 1924) was a Dutch
composer
and music teacher.
in Leipzig
in 1881-1883. Of crucial importance to Zweers' musical education was his first exposure to the work of Richard Wagner
when he was present at the Berlin
premiere
of the Ring des Nibelungen, in 1881:
After his return, he became active in Dutch musical life and took on various appointments, including the conductorship of various choirs. However, due to deterioration of his hearing abilities and his own wish to concentrate on teaching, he relinquished most of these. From 1895 to 1922 he was head of teaching and composition at the Amsterdam conservatory
but rather than impose his own music on his pupils, he left them the freedom to develop their own style - a break with the policies of his predecessor Johannes Verhulst
. He became a highly-esteemed, even revered teacher to a whole generation of Dutch composers.
Aside from his didactic abilities, Zweers was renowned for his sense of humour. At one meeting of the Dutch Musicians’ Association (Nederlandse Toonkunstenaars Vereeniging), Zweers’ Second Symphony was programmed along with Huyschenruyter’s Concert Overture. Just before the concert, Huyschenruyter approached Zweers to tell him how much he’d enjoyed his symphony (in rehearsal). After a moment’s silence, Zweers responded: “Sir, I have not heard your overture, but I am certain that my symphony is on a higher level”. Dumbstruck by this display of artist’s arrogance, Huyschenruyter stood silent until Zweers burst out laughing: “Of course, because your overture is in D, and my symphony is written in E flat!”
published a rebuttal, in which he claimed that ‘true’ Dutch music could be characterised by a ‘simple, spirited or firm melody, by a a sense of the cosy and quietly sensitive, a sharp rhythm and, finally, a sense of humour’. Wagenaar named two works as an example: Peter van Anrooy’s Piet Hein Rhapsody, an orchestral pot-boiler based on a popular song about a seventeenth century Dutch pirate, and Bernard Zweers’ Third Symphony, subtitled ‘To My Fatherland’. Indeed, Zweers could be said to be the most overtly nationalistic of all Dutch composers. Not in the sense that, like so many other European composers, he based his music exclusively on folk music, but more in his exploitation of national themes.
However, there is a strange dichotomy in Zweers’ ideas about music. On the one hand, he strove to develop a specifically Dutch
brand of music, free from foreign influence. For instance, his vocal music only employs Dutch-language texts, and when it has a programme, that is frequently inspired by Dutch themes: Rembrandt, Vondel’s Gijsbrecht van Aemstel, Dutch landscapes, and so forth. His aim was the greater good of Dutch art, because “Never will art get a foothold with a people, when it uses a foreign language in song, or when it takes in art by means of foreign tongues”. On the other hand, the German
influences in his music are undeniable. His Second Symphony is thoroughly Wagnerian; his Third, gave him the epithet ‘the Dutch Bruckner’. One cannot imagine Zweers much appreciating that honour (and it really is undeserved as well, since the only Brucknerian thing about the work is its length).
That Third Symphony (1887-1889) was to become by far Zweers’ most famous work. Its large scale prohibited it from being performed very often and made publication expensive (the publisher A.A. Noske experienced a great loss as sales were poor), but the work was, and is, regarded as a milestone in the development of Dutch music, combining folk tunes with a lyrical description Dutch landscapes. It was therefore unavoidable that Wagenaar
should use it as an example of ‘typical’ Dutch music.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, May 18, 1854 - December 9, 1924) was a Dutch
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 music teacher.
Life
Bernard Zweers was born in 1854 as the son of an Amsterdam book- and music shopkeeper. Although his father was an amateur singer, he strongly disapproved of his son’s musical interests, expecting him to follow him in the family business. Being fundamentally self-taught, he had some minor musical successes before his parents finally approved and sent him to study with Salomon JadassohnSalomon Jadassohn
Salomon Jadassohn was a German composer and a renowned teacher of piano and composition at the Leipzig Conservatory.-Life:...
in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
in 1881-1883. Of crucial importance to Zweers' musical education was his first exposure to the work of Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
when he was present at the 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...
premiere
Premiere
A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...
of the Ring des Nibelungen, in 1881:
I, who never ventured farther than Nijmegen and who had never heard even a normal opera before, I was in Berlin, listening to Wagner's Ring! ... and I returned a full-blooded Wagnerian.
After his return, he became active in Dutch musical life and took on various appointments, including the conductorship of various choirs. However, due to deterioration of his hearing abilities and his own wish to concentrate on teaching, he relinquished most of these. From 1895 to 1922 he was head of teaching and composition at the Amsterdam conservatory
Conservatorium van Amsterdam
The Conservatorium van Amsterdam is a Dutch academy of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, the city's vocational university of arts...
but rather than impose his own music on his pupils, he left them the freedom to develop their own style - a break with the policies of his predecessor Johannes Verhulst
Johannes Verhulst
Johannes Joseph Hermann Verhulst was a Dutch composer and conductor. As a composer mainly of songs and as administrator of Dutch musical life, his influence during his lifetime was considerable.-Life:As a boy, Verhulst sang in a catholic choir; here he distinguished himself by his gift for music...
. He became a highly-esteemed, even revered teacher to a whole generation of Dutch composers.
Aside from his didactic abilities, Zweers was renowned for his sense of humour. At one meeting of the Dutch Musicians’ Association (Nederlandse Toonkunstenaars Vereeniging), Zweers’ Second Symphony was programmed along with Huyschenruyter’s Concert Overture. Just before the concert, Huyschenruyter approached Zweers to tell him how much he’d enjoyed his symphony (in rehearsal). After a moment’s silence, Zweers responded: “Sir, I have not heard your overture, but I am certain that my symphony is on a higher level”. Dumbstruck by this display of artist’s arrogance, Huyschenruyter stood silent until Zweers burst out laughing: “Of course, because your overture is in D, and my symphony is written in E flat!”
Work
In 1907, the Leyden professor Pieter Blok published the last part of his History of the Dutch People, dedicated to the arts. However, he totally ignored music, claiming Dutch music did not possess any ‘national character’. The composer 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...
published a rebuttal, in which he claimed that ‘true’ Dutch music could be characterised by a ‘simple, spirited or firm melody, by a a sense of the cosy and quietly sensitive, a sharp rhythm and, finally, a sense of humour’. Wagenaar named two works as an example: Peter van Anrooy’s Piet Hein Rhapsody, an orchestral pot-boiler based on a popular song about a seventeenth century Dutch pirate, and Bernard Zweers’ Third Symphony, subtitled ‘To My Fatherland’. Indeed, Zweers could be said to be the most overtly nationalistic of all Dutch composers. Not in the sense that, like so many other European composers, he based his music exclusively on folk music, but more in his exploitation of national themes.
However, there is a strange dichotomy in Zweers’ ideas about music. On the one hand, he strove to develop a specifically Dutch
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...
brand of music, free from foreign influence. For instance, his vocal music only employs Dutch-language texts, and when it has a programme, that is frequently inspired by Dutch themes: Rembrandt, Vondel’s Gijsbrecht van Aemstel, Dutch landscapes, and so forth. His aim was the greater good of Dutch art, because “Never will art get a foothold with a people, when it uses a foreign language in song, or when it takes in art by means of foreign tongues”. On the other hand, the German
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...
influences in his music are undeniable. His Second Symphony is thoroughly Wagnerian; his Third, gave him the epithet ‘the Dutch Bruckner’. One cannot imagine Zweers much appreciating that honour (and it really is undeserved as well, since the only Brucknerian thing about the work is its length).
That Third Symphony (1887-1889) was to become by far Zweers’ most famous work. Its large scale prohibited it from being performed very often and made publication expensive (the publisher A.A. Noske experienced a great loss as sales were poor), but the work was, and is, regarded as a milestone in the development of Dutch music, combining folk tunes with a lyrical description Dutch landscapes. It was therefore unavoidable that Wagenaar
Johan 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...
should use it as an example of ‘typical’ Dutch music.