Allard de Ridder (3 May 1887 – 13 May 1966) was a Dutch–Canadian
conductor,
violist
; german: Bratsche
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, image=Bratsche.jpg
, caption=
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, hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
, range=
, related=
*Violin family ...
, and
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
. He was notably the first conductor of both the
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The VSO performs at the Orpheum, which has been the orchestra's permanent home since 1977. With an annual operating budget of $16 million, it is ...
and the
Ottawa Symphony Orchestra The Ottawa Symphony Orchestra (OSO) is a full size orchestra in Ottawa, Canada, including professional, student and amateur musicians. With around 100 musicians, the OSO is Ottawa's largest orchestra, which allows it to perform large symphonic rep ...
, the latter of which he founded in 1944. As a composer he produced several
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
l works, including a
violin concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
, four
symphonic poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...
s, a Sketch for flute, violin, and orchestra, ''Overture in D'', and ''Intermezzo''. He also wrote a
string quartet
The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...
, the
scherzo
A scherzo (, , ; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often ref ...
''Beware of Love'' for
a cappella
''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
, and a number of songs.
Early life and career in Europe and the United States
De Ridder was born in
Dordrecht
Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...
,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, as the son of Eudia Lina Pierson and Willem de Ridder, banker, cellist and president of the Dordrecht Music Society.
[Erik Watt]
Banker-Musician's Son Had Dreams Fulfilled
The Evening Citizen, Ottawa, 4 May 1946 From 1899 he studied violin in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
with Carl Bayer, and between 1903 and 1909 he studied violin and conducting at the
Cologne University of Music
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...
under
Fritz Steinbach
Fritz Steinbach (17 June 1855 – 13 August 1916) was a German conductor and composer who was particularly associated with the works of Johannes Brahms.
Born in Grünsfeld, he was the brother of conductor Emil Steinbach. He studied at the Leipz ...
and
Hermann Abendroth
Hermann Paul Maximilian Abendroth (19 January 1883 – 29 May 1956) was a German conductor.
Early life
Abendroth was born on 19 January 1883, at Frankfurt, the son of a bookseller. Several other members of the family were artists in diverse dis ...
.
[ His conducting career started in ]Arnhem
Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...
. Here Willem Mengelberg
Joseph Wilhelm Mengelberg (28 March 1871 – 21 March 1951) was a Dutch conductor, famous for his performances of Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler and Strauss with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest s ...
saw him and was so impressed that he invited him to be guest conductor with his Concertgebouw Orchestra
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, based at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). Considered one of the world's leading orchestras, Queen Beatrix conferred the "R ...
in Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
. He later conducted the Residentie Orchestra Het Residentie Orkest (literal translation, ''The Residence Orchestra''; known also in English as ''Residentie Orkest The Hague'') is a Dutch orchestra based in The Hague. The orchestra is currently resident at the Amare performing arts centre in T ...
in The Hague, where he took composition lessons from Johan Wagenaar
Johan Wagenaar (1 November 1862 – 17 June 1941) 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 stra ...
. He was conductor of the Netherlands National Opera (''Nederlandsche Opera'') from 1917 to 1919. In April 1918 in Amsterdam, he married Pauline E.E. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (grand-niece of the famous composer), whom he had met in Cologne.[
In 1919 De Ridder emigrated with his wife to the United States where he first worked as a violist in the ]Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...
and then the Richmond Symphony The Richmond Symphony is based in Richmond, Virginia and is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia and one of the nation's leading regional orchestras. The organization includes a full-time orchestra with more than 70 musicians ...
. In the early 1920s he became assistant conductor and principal violist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...
(LAP). Many of his orchestral compositions were premiered by American orchestras like the LAP during the 1920s.
Life and career in Canada
De Ridder was appointed the first conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The VSO performs at the Orpheum, which has been the orchestra's permanent home since 1977. With an annual operating budget of $16 million, it is ...
in 1930, a post he held until 1941. Initially the post was part-time, as the orchestra performed only four concerts annually during its first three seasons. However, in 1933 Ridder moved to Vancouver as the orchestra's concert offerings began to expand significantly. Shortly after moving to that city he formed the chamber group the Allard de Ridder Chamber Music Quartette which he actively directed and performed with during the 1930s. In 1934 he established a summer concert series for the VSO at the newly built Malkin Bowl
The Marion Malkin Memorial Bowl, or Malkin Bowl, is a 2000-seat outdoor theatre in Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.Alison Appelbe. Secret Vancouver 2010: The Unique Guidebook to Vancouver's Hidden Sites, Sounds and Tastes'. ECW Pr ...
in Stanley Park
Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and Coal ...
, a venue which he was instrumental in convincing William Harold Malkin
William Harold Malkin (30 July 1868 – 11 October 1959) was the 21st mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia. He was born in Burslem, Staffordshire, England. He served as chairman of the Vancouver Board of Trade in 1902.
Malkin succeeded L. ...
to build. He also worked as a guest lecturer at the University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
during the late 1930s.
In 1941 De Ridder left Vancouver for Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
to join the music faculty at the Toronto Conservatory of Music
The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Con ...
. Shortly after his arrival he joined the Hart House String Quartet. He also served as a guest conductor of the Promenade Symphony Concerts
An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...
in 1942 and both the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...
and National Symphony Orchestra
The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It also performs for the annual National Mem ...
in 1943. He left Vancouver in 1944 to found the Ottawa Philharmonic Orchestra (now Ottawa Symphony Orchestra), serving as the group's first conductor through 1950.
In 1952 De Ridder moved back to Vancouver where he remained until he died 13 May 1966. He conducted the Holland Choir in that city during the 1950s, notably leading the group in a performance of his own ''Variations on a Swabian Folk Song'' in 1957 with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. He continued to teach conducting, viola, and composition in Vancouver up until his death there in 1966 at the age of 79. Among his notable pupils are John Avison
John Henry Patrick Avison, (April 25, 1915November 30, 1983) was a Canadian conductor and pianist. From 1938 to 1980, he was the founding conductor of the CBC Vancouver Chamber Orchestra. He was a longtime member of the Vancouver Symphony Orche ...
, Lloyd Blackman
Lloyd Jason Blackman (born 24 September 1983) is an English retired semi-professional footballer who is assistant manager of Tonbridge Angels. As a player, he played as a forward in the Football League for Brentford and after his release in 2 ...
, Bryan N.S. Gooch, Hans Gruber
Hans Gruber is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the 1988 action film ''Die Hard'' portrayed by Alan Rickman.
Gruber is a cunning thief and criminal mastermind from East Germany who holds the Nakatomi Plaza hostage to steal $640 ...
, Klemi Hambourg, Ricky Hyslop
Ricky Hyslop (26 April 1915 – 2 June 1998) was a Canadian violinist, conductor, composer, and arranger. He was commissioned to write works
by the Buffalo Philharmonic (the symphonic poems ''Toronto 1830'' and ''Mizu Uni''), clarinetist Avr ...
, and Doug Randle.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridder, Allard De
1887 births
1966 deaths
People from Dordrecht
Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln alumni
Dutch composers
Dutch conductors (music)
Male conductors (music)
Dutch classical violists
Canadian male composers
Canadian classical violists
Musicians from Vancouver
The Royal Conservatory of Music faculty
20th-century Canadian conductors (music)
20th-century Canadian male musicians
20th-century violists
Dutch emigrants to Canada