Cornelis 'Kees' Dopper (7 February 1870,

Stadskanaal Stadskanaal () is a town and municipality with a population of 32,715 in the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. It was named after the canal Stadskanaal. From 1800 until 1900 this area was ideal for its peat mining, and so ...

– 19 September 1939,

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 ...

) was a Dutch

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 ...

, conductor and teacher.

Life

Born in the northern Dutch town of

, he came to study at the

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

conservatory with, among others,

Carl Reinecke Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (23 June 182410 March 1910) was a German composer, conductor, and pianist in the mid-Romantic era. Biography Reinecke was born in what is today the Hamburg district of Altona; technically he was born a Dane, as ...

. After his studies he settled in

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

, not far from his place of birth. His first opera, ''De blinde van Castel Cuillé'' (''The Blind Girl of Castel Cuillé''), was premiered in Amsterdam in 1894 by the Nederlandsche Opera under the baton of Cornelis van der Linden, and in that same year he entered the service of that company; there he worked as a violinist, chorus master and conductor. During the years 1904–1905 he worked as a music critic for the Amsterdam newspapers ''De Echo'' (The Echo) and ''Het Leven'' (The Life). A year later, Dopper joined the Savage Opera Company and began to tour the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In that capacity, he was responsible for the American premiere of

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long lin ...

's ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

'' (1906). He subsequently toured the country with that opera for two seasons ('06-'07 and '07-'08). Having grown tired of touring life, he returned to Amsterdam in 1908 to become second conductor of the Amsterdam

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 ...

, assisting the famous conductor

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 ...

. He would remain there until his retirement in 1931. In recognition of his compositions, his name still adorns one of the balustrades in the

Concertgebouw The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls i ...

's great hall, between those of

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

and

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

. Dopper composed well over a hundred works. Because of his great love for Dutch folk song, culture and landscape, he was sometimes referred to as the 'most Dutch composer of all Dutch composers'. The titles of his symphonies attest to that sentiment: the '

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

' Symphony (No. 3), the '

' Symphony (No. 6), the '

Zuiderzee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee'') was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands, extending about 100 km (60 miles) inland and at most 50 km (30 miles) wide, with an o ...

' Symphony (No. 7). Beside seven symphonies, Dopper wrote many other works for orchestra. Of these, his ''Ciaconna Gotica'' is the most famous, and is often considered to be Dopper's masterpiece. Many of his works were performed in great concert halls by famous conductors (e.g.,

Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in ...

and

Otto Klemperer Otto Nossan Klemperer (14 May 18856 July 1973) was a 20th-century conductor and composer, originally based in Germany, and then the US, Hungary and finally Britain. His early career was in opera houses, but he was later better known as a concer ...

). In addition, Dopper wrote chamber music (e.g., 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 ...

, a

violin sonata A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, often accompanied by a keyboard instrument and in earlier periods with a bass instrument doubling the keyboard bass line. The violin sonata developed from a simple baroque form with no fixed form ...

, and a sextet for

woodwind Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...

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 ...

). His interest in musical education for the young caused him to write a great number of works for children's choir. In Amsterdam, Dopper introduced specific youth concerts. Dopper died in 1939 and was buried at Zorgvlied cemetery.

Reputation

Dopper's reputation as a composer has suffered from the accusation of being 'too German' for much of his career. Very popular with concert audiences, his works never received much critical acclaim in his home country (unlike abroad). His reputation among the musical avant-garde further suffered because of the so-called 'Vermeulen incident' of November 1918. After a performance of Dopper's Seventh Symphony (which ends with a march) under the baton of the composer, his dissatisfied colleague

Matthijs Vermeulen Matthijs Vermeulen (born Matheas Christianus Franciscus van der Meulen) (8 February 1888 – 26 July 1967), was a Dutch composer and music journalist. Early life Matthijs Vermeulen was born in Helmond. After primary school he initially wante ...

stood up in the hall of the Concertgebouw and shouted: "Leve Sousa" ("Long live Sousa"); the implication being that Dopper was of little more value as a composer than the critically reviled American marchsmith

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dist ...

(1854–1932). This caused uproar, not just because of Vermeulen's affront, but also because a great part of the audience understood it to be "Long live '' Troelstra!''" (the name of the socialist leader who'd attempted to unleash a revolution days before), and therefore as a call to revolution. In the aftermath, Vermeulen was banned from attending the Concertgebouw for one week, but the subsequent scandal also caused the orchestra board to 'relegate' Dopper. The same piece, the Seventh Symphony, played a more positive role when it was played at the

in November 1940, six months after the

German occupation of the Netherlands Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of Fall Gelb (Case Yellow). On 15 May 1940, one day after the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces surrendered. The Dutch government and the royal family re ...

. The piece contains many songs from Valerius' ''Nederlandtsche Gedenck-Clanck'' (Dutch Song of Remembrance), a collection of anti-Spanish songs originating from the

Revolt of the Netherlands The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

against the Spanish in the 16th and early 17th century. The finale ends with an 'anti-march', composed by Dopper as a reflection of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, similar to the way in which

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

's ''La Valse'' is a perversion of the sorrowless waltzes of Vienna before that war. The performance, obviously programmed before the German invasion and conducted by Mengelberg, erupted into a patriotic ovation. The recording of that event can be heard today in what is one of two performances of the Seventh Symphony available on record.

Revival

Although most of Dopper's works slid into oblivion after his death, a revival has done much to rekindle interest in his music.
biography
was published in 1998 by Joop Stam (revised in 2009), and the British Chandos label released two CDs with works by Dopper (the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th symphonies, and two symphonic poems). In February, 2005, Dopper's First Symphony ''Diana'' received its world premiere by the Noord Nederlands Orkest in

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...

. Dopper's two masterworks, the Seventh Symphony and the Ciaconna Gotica, were recorded in 1995 under the baton of

Kees Bakels Kees Bakels (born 14 January 1945, in Amsterdam) is a Dutch conductor. Bakels began his musical career as a violinist, and later studied conducting at the Amsterdam Conservatory and the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy. He has appear ...

. They are also available in vintage and (in the case of the Ciaconna) severely cut versions, conducted by Willem Mengelberg. Th
Stichting Cornelis Dopper
in

works to keep the memory of Cornelis Dopper alive. In 2009-2010 a ''Dopper festival'' took place at several venues in the north of the country, at which the revised version of Joop Stam's biography was presented and Dopper's

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

from 1935 was premiered. In the decade afterwards, Dopper's works slipped into oblivion once more.

Selected works and discography

Stage works

*''De Blinde van Castel-Cuillé'' (''The Blind Girl of Castel-Cuillé''), opera on a libretto by H.C. Meursinge-Offers (composed 1892, premiered

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 ...

, 1894) *''Frithjof'', opera after Bueninck (1895, unperformed) *''William Ratcliff'', opera in 2 acts after

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...

(1896-1901, premiered

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

, 1909) *''Het Eerekruis'' (''The Cross of Honour)'', opera in 1 act on a libretto by H. Engelen (1903, premiered

, 1903) *''Don Quichote'', opera based on

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...

's ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

'' (unfinished)

Symphonies

*''Symphony No. 1, "Diana", Ballet Symphony after

'' (1895, revised 1921) **1. Meeting of the Gods in Diana's temple **2. The ball in the knight's lair **3. The wandering knight in the woods **4. In the Venus mountain *Symphony No. 2, ''"Scottish"'' (1903; recorded by

Matthias Bamert Matthias Bamert (born July 5, 1942 in Ersigen, Canton of Bern) is a Swiss composer and conductor. In addition to studies in Switzerland, Bamert studied music in Darmstadt and in Paris, with Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen, and their influ ...

, Het Residentie Orkest (Hague Philharmonic), Chandos CHAN 9884 (2001)) **1. Andante molto moderato - allegro con brio **2. Allegro vivace, alla burla **3. Adagio sostenuto **4. Rondo: allegro molto, energico *Symphony No. 3, ''"

"'' (1892, revised 1904; recorded by

, Het Residentie Orkest (Hague Philharmonic), Chandos CHAN 9923 (2002)) **1. Adagio ma non troppo **2. Andante **3. Allegro **4. Allegro *Symphony No. 4, ''"Sinfonietta"'' in A minor (1905); orchestration of the Violin Sonata) **1. Allegro moderato **2. Andante **3. Allegro **4. Allegro *Symphony No. 5, ''"Symphonia epica"'' for large orchestra and choirs based on

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

(1908) *Symphony No. 6, ''"Amsterdam"'' (1912; recorded by

, Het Residentie Orkest (Hague Philharmonic), Chandos CHAN 9923 (2002)) **1. Allegro **2. Adagio **3. Scherzo: allegro **4. Finale: allegro non troppo Symphony No. 7, ''"

"'' (1917; recorded by Willem Mengelberg, Concertgebouworkest (recorded 1940), Audiophile Classica Concertgebouw Series (2013) and

, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, NM Classics 92060 (1995)) **1. Allegro animato **2. Humoreske: moderato **3. Andante rubato **4. Finale

Orchestral

*Cello Concerto (1910, revised 1923) *Concerto for trumpet, 3 timpani, and orchestra (1910) *''Päân No. 1'' (1915; recorded by

, Het Residentie Orkest (Hague Philharmonic), Chandos CHAN 9884 (2001) *''Päân No. 2'' (1915); recorded by

, Het Residentie Orkest (Hague Philharmonic), Chandos CHAN 9884 (2001) *''Ciaconna Gotica'' (1920; recorded by Willem Mengelberg, Concertgebouworkest (recorded 1940), ''Dutch Composers'', Audiophile Classica Concertgebouw Series (2001) and

, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, NM Classics 92060 (1995)) *''Nocturne'' in F major for viola and orchestra (1937) *''Old Netherlands Suite'' (Recorded by Ernst Frimmel, Stockerau Symphony Orchestra, Aries Records LP-1609)

Chamber music

*Violin Sonata (1904) *''Canto triste'' for piano and violin *Sextet (Prelude, Scherzo & Finale) for woodwinds, horn, and piano (1909) *String Quartet 'Pallas Athene' (1914) *''Klankstudie'' for woodwinds, horn, and piano (1915)

External links

The website of the Cornelis Dopper Foundation

A review of the Chandos recording of Dopper's Second Symphony
(ClassicsToday.com).
A review of the Chandos recording of Dopper's Third and Sixth Symphonies
(ClassicsToday.com). {{DEFAULTSORT:Dopper, Cornelis 1870 births 1939 deaths Dutch male classical composers Dutch classical composers Dutch Romantic composers 20th-century classical composers Dutch conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Dutch classical violinists Male classical violinists Dutch music educators People from Stadskanaal Pupils of Salomon Jadassohn 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Dutch male musicians 19th-century Dutch male musicians