Jakob van Domselaer (15 April 1890 in Nijkerk,

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

– 5 January 1960) was a Dutch composer. Domselaer was born at Nijkerk,

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 ...

. In 1912, he traveled to Paris where he met the Dutch painter

Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (), after 1906 known as Piet Mondrian (, also , ; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), was a Dutch painter and art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He is known for being ...

(1872–1944), eventually becoming a part of Mondrian's artistic circle known as " De Stijl." Domselaer's piano suite ''Proeven van Stijlkunst'' (Experiments in Artistic Style, 1913–17) represented the first attempt to apply principles of Neo-Plasticism to music, and Mondrian asserted that pieces were created under the influence of the plus-minus painting he created around the year 1915 . This austere, mathematically based music represents an important but as yet unacknowledged precedent to

minimalism In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

and has been little performed or recorded. He died at

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

. Domselaer's students have included the Dutch composers Nico Schuyt and

Simeon ten Holt Simeon ten Holt (24 January 1923 – 25 November 2012) was a Dutch contemporary classical composer. Ten Holt was born in Bergen, North Holland, and studied with Jakob van Domselaer, eventually developing a highly personal style of minimal ...

. At the Berlage Concourse in 1988, the Dutch pianist

Kees Wieringa Kees Wieringa is a Dutch pianist, composer, writer and cultural entrepreneur. He came to prominence for his performances of the Dutch composers Jakob van Domselaer, Daniel Ruyneman and Simeon ten Holt. Biography Kees Wieringa graduated from the ...

was one of the prize winners, playing piano music by Domselaer. He released a recording featuring the music of Domselaer in 1994 (DO Records CD, DR 001). He married Maaike Middelkoop, with whom he had three children. His son, Jaap van Domselaer (1923–1944), was a promising young poet when he was shot while trying to escape from

German-occupied 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 ...

to the liberated zone in 1944 . His daughter, Matie van Domselaer, married the

situationist The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...

s Constant Nieuwenhuys on 13 July 1942 and Asger Jorn in 1950 .

Recordings

Recording by Kees Wieringa

Recording on the Donemus Foundation's Composer's Voice label

References

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External links

Jakob van Domselaer Archive
and biography at the

Netherlands Music Institute The Netherlands Music Institute (Nederlands Muziek Instituut, NMI) is the central institution for the preservation of the musical heritage of the Netherlands. History of the institute The NMI has existed as a foundation since 1996; it became full ...

1890 births 1960 deaths People from Nijkerk 20th-century classical composers Dutch male classical composers Dutch classical composers De Stijl 20th-century Dutch male musicians {{Netherlands-composer-stub