Bernardus Franciscus van Oosten (born 8 April 1955) is a Dutch

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

. He is titular organist of the Grote Kerk in his hometown of

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 ...

and is an organ professor at Rotterdam Conservatoire.

Biography

Ben van Oosten, as he is professionally known, was born in

in 1955. He gave his first organ

recital A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety an ...

in 1970 at the age of 15. He was accepted at the prestigious

Sweelinck Conservatory The Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) is a Dutch Music school, conservatoire of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, Amsterdam University of the Arts, the city's vocational ...

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 ...

and studied the

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

with Albert de Klerk and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

with Berthe Davelaar. He graduated

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

in 1979 with a diploma in organ solo. He completed advanced studies in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, with

André Isoir André Jean-Marie Isoir (20 July 1935 – 20 July 2016) was a French organist and pedagogue. Biography André Isoir was born in 1935 in Saint-Dizier in Grand Est, France. Isoir studied with Édouard Souberbielle (organ) and Germaine Mounier (p ...

and Daniel Roth. Whether by geographical influence or artistic choice, he gravitated toward the French Romantic Organ school of the 19th century that had its origins in the new

symphonic organ The symphonic organ is a style of pipe organ that flourished during the first three decades of the 20th century in town halls and other secular public venues, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom. It has roots in 19th-century ...

s of

Aristide Cavaillé-Coll Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (; 4 February 1811 – 13 October 1899) was a French organ builder. He has the reputation of being the most distinguished organ builder of the 19th century. He pioneered innovations in the art and science of organ buildi ...

. Van Oosten subsequently became one of the greatest practitioners and interpreters of organ works from that era. Among his recordings are the complete works of

Charles-Marie Widor Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the mid-Romantic era, most notable for his ten organ symphonies. His Toccata from the fifth organ symphony has become one of the ...

, of

Louis Vierne Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French organist and composer. As the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death, he focused on organ music, including six organ symphonies and a '' Messe solennelle ...

, and of

Marcel Dupré Marcel Jean-Jules Dupré () (3 May 1886 – 30 May 1971) was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue. Biography Born in Rouen into a wealthy musical family, Marcel Dupré was a child prodigy. His father Aimable Albert Dupré was titular o ...

, as well as the eight sonatas of

Alexandre Guilmant Félix-Alexandre Guilmant (; 12 March 1837 – 29 March 1911) was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of La Trinité from 1871 until 1901. A noted pedagogue, performer, and improviser, Guilmant helped found the Schola Cantor ...

and organ works of

Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens Jacques-Nicolas (Jaak-Nicolaas) Lemmens (3 January 1823 – 30 January 1881), was an organist, music teacher, and composer for his instrument. Biography Born at Zoerle-Parwijs, near Westerlo, Belgium, Lemmens took lessons from François-Josep ...

and

Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wély Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ...

. Besides maintaining a heavy recital schedule and an active private teaching practice, he serves as organist for the Grote Kerk (The Hague) and is a professor of music at the

Rotterdam Conservatory Codarts University for the Arts ( nl, Codarts hogeschool voor de kunsten) is a Dutch vocational university in Rotterdam that teaches music, dance and circus. It was established in its present location in 2000. History Codarts can trace its origin ...

. Among the honors and awards he has received are the ''Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik'' and the ''

Diapason d'Or The Diapason d'Or (French for "Golden Tuning Fork") is a recommendation of outstanding (mostly) classical music recordings given by reviewers of '' Diapason'' magazine in France, broadly equivalent to "Editor's Choice", "Disc of the Month" in the ...

''. In 1998, the French government awarded him the honorary rank of

Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and letters, Arts and Letters) is an Order (distinction), order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Ministry of Culture (France), Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the w ...

for his efforts in reviving the French Romantic tradition. van Oosten is also known for possessing a 16-stop 3-manual

residence organ A residence organ (also known variously as a house, box, cabinet, choir, continuo, home, practice, trunk, or chamber organ) is a musical organ installed in a personal home. Strictly speaking, the names ''residence'' and ''house'' organ are the m ...

by the Dutch organbuilders Van den Heuvel.

Discography

: Complete Works for Organ (vol. 1–12), 2000-2010 *

: Complete Organ Sonatas, 2007 *

: Organ Works, 2005 *

: Organ Works, 2000 *

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

: Complete Organ Works, 2012 *

: Complete Organ Symphonies, 1997 *Louis Vierne: 24 Pièces de Fantasie, 1999 *Louis Vierne: 24 Pièces en style libre and other works, 2001 *Charles-Marie Widor: Complete Works for Organ (vol. 1–7), 1993- 1998 *Les Angélus: French Sacred Music for Soprano and Organ (with Margaret Roest), 2000 *Festival of French Organ Music (with music from

Bonnet A Bonnet is a variety of headgear, hat or cap Specific types of headgear referred to as "bonnets" may include Scottish * Blue bonnet, a distinctive woollen cap worn by men in Scotland from the 15th-18th centuries And its derivations: **Feath ...

, Gigout, Dubois and Boëllmann), 2011 *Festival of English Organ Music (with music from Hollins,

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

, Whitlock and

Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

), Vol. 1, 2014 *Festival of English Organ Music (with music from Elgar, Hollins,

Parry PARRY was an early example of a chatbot, implemented in 1972 by psychiatrist Kenneth Colby. History PARRY was written in 1972 by psychiatrist Kenneth Colby, then at Stanford University. While ELIZA was a tongue-in-cheek simulation of a Rogeria ...

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, Vol. 2, 2015

Bibliography

* ''Vater der Orgelsymphonie'', biography of Widor,

References

External links

Ben van Oosten
biography on ''Haags Orgel Kontakt'' (Dutch) {{DEFAULTSORT:Oosten, Ben van 1955 births Living people Dutch classical organists Male classical organists Musicians from The Hague Conservatorium van Amsterdam alumni Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 21st-century organists 21st-century male musicians