Anton Sistermans (5 August 18655 March 1926) was a Dutch baritone during the late 19th-early 20th century. He is particularly notable for interpretations of lieder and

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

s. During his career, Sistermans premiered important compositions by Johannes Brahms and Gustav Mahler, and also had lieder dedicated to him by

Hans Pfitzner Hans Erich Pfitzner (5 May 1869 – 22 May 1949) was a German composer, conductor and polemicist who was a self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera ''Palestrina'' (1917), loosely based on the life of the ...

Eugen d'Albert Eugen (originally Eugène) Francis Charles d'Albert (10 April 1864 – 3 March 1932) was a Scottish-born pianist and composer. Educated in Britain, d'Albert showed early musical talent and, at the age of seventeen, he won a scholarship to stud ...

and

Alexander von Zemlinsky Alexander Zemlinsky or Alexander von Zemlinsky (14 October 1871 – 15 March 1942) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher. Biography Early life Zemlinsky was born in Vienna to a highly diverse family. Zemlinsky's grandfather, Anton S ...

. In his later years, Sistermans served as a teacher at the

Royal Conservatory of The Hague The Royal Conservatoire ( nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium, KC) is a conservatoire in The Hague, providing higher education in music and dance. The conservatoire was founded by King William I in 1826, making it the oldest conservatoire in the Nether ...

and conductor of a church choir in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

Biography

Anton Sistermans was born in

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

, in 1865. He was initially a choir boy, then studied under

Julius Stockhausen The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the c ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

. His solo debut was in 1889, in a performance of the Verdi ''Requiem'' in Strasbourg. He performed Beethoven's ''Kantate auf den Tod Kaiser Josephs II'' (cantata in memory of

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

) and Ninth Symphony in a concert in

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; "''Wupper Dale''") is, with a population of approximately 355,000, the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the 17th-largest city of Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of the cities and tow ...

on 17 December 1892, which also included Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 and was conducted by

Hans Haym Hans Haym (29 November 1860 – 15 February 1921) was a German conductor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As musical director in the town of Elberfeld he championed the works of the then unknown English composer Frederick Deli ...

. On 16 March 1896, he premiered the orchestral version of Gustav Mahler's ''

Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen ''Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen'' (''Songs of a Wayfarer'') is a song cycle by Gustav Mahler on his own texts. The cycle of four '' lieder'' for medium voice (often performed by women as well as men) was written around 1884–85 in the wake of ...

'' in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, with the composer conducting the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

. On 9 November of the same year, Sistermans gave the first performance of Johannes Brahms's ''

Vier ernste Gesänge ''Vier ernste Gesänge'' (''Four Serious Songs''), Op. 121, is a cycle of four songs for bass and piano by Johannes Brahms. As in his ''Ein deutsches Requiem'', the texts are compiled from the Luther Bible. Three songs deal with death and the t ...

'' in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

with pianist

Coenraad V. Bos Coenraad Valentijn Bos (7 December 1875 - 5 August 1955) was a Dutch pianist, most notably as an accompanist to singers of lieder. His peers such as Gerald Moore considered him the doyen of accompanists in his day. Life He was born in Leiden ...

. The composer declined Sisterman's requests to be the pianist at the premiere performance, likely because Brahms could not bear to hear the songs in light of the imminent demise of

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

, for whom they were closely associated. Whether Brahms attended the premiere at all is a matter of dispute among sources.

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

requested Sistermans, who was then "by some considered the best singer of Lieder", to sing his ''Scenes from Olav Trygvason'' at the

Leeds Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...

on 16 October 1907. Sisterman appeared in operatic performances, but these were fewer in number. His performances included Gurnemanz in ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival ...

'' and Pogner in '' Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'', at the 1899 Bayreuth Festival; Titurel in ''Parsifal'' in Amsterdam in 1919; and Tommaso in

's '' Tiefland'' in the Hague in 1923. He made a few sparse recordings in 1904 and 1906, limited to selected lieder of Brahms. He later taught at the

Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory The Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory (german: Klindworth-Scharwenka-Konservatorium) was a music institute in Berlin, established in 1893, which for decades (until 1960) was one of the most internationally renowned schools of music. It was formed f ...

in Berlin, the

, and conducted a church choir in

. Works dedicated to him include: *

: Songs, Op. 21 *

: Five Lieder, Op. 9 * Erich Jaques Wolff: song, ''Tag meines Lebens'', Op. 13/2 *

: Thirteen Songs, Op. 2 Anton Sistermans died in the Hague in 1926, aged 60.

References

External links

*
Anton Sistermans
401dutchdivas.nl 2007 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sistermans, Anton 1865 births 1926 deaths 19th-century Dutch male singers Dutch operatic baritones Dutch music educators Operatic baritones People from 's-Hertogenbosch Royal Conservatory of The Hague faculty Voice teachers