Maarten van Regteren Altena (born January 22, 1943) is 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 ...

and contrabassist. Altena attended the

Conservatorium van Amsterdam The Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) is a Dutch conservatoire of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdam University of the Arts, the city's vocational university of arts. The Conservatorium van Amsterdam ...

(he studied

contrabass Contrabass (from it, contrabbasso) refers to several musical instruments of very low pitch—generally one octave below bass register instruments. While the term most commonly refers to the double bass (which is the bass instrument in the orchest ...

) and graduated in 1968. Between 1980 and 1985, he studied composition with

Robert Heppener Robert Heppener (9 August 1925 in Amsterdam – 25 August 2009 in 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 ...

Career

Altena first recorded with Theo Loevendie, after which he had the opportunity to be part of

Marion Brown Marion Brown (September 8, 1931 – October 18, 2010) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, writer, visual artist, and ethnomusicologist. He was a member of the avant-garde jazz scene in New York City during the 1960s, playing alongs ...

's trio that recorded ''

Porto Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of G ...

'' along with

Han Bennink Han Bennink (born 17 April 1942) is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, banjo and piano. Though perhaps best known as one of the pivotal fig ...

. After graduation, Altena played in a number of ensembles, such as various formations around

Willem Breuker Willem Breuker (4 November 1944 – 23 July 2010) was a Dutch bandleader, composer, arranger, saxophonist, and clarinetist. Career During the mid 1960s, he played with percussionist Han Bennink and pianist Misha Mengelberg, co-founding the Insta ...

and

Theo Loevendie Johan Theodorus Loevendie (born 17 September 1930 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch composer and clarinet player. Loevendie studied composition and clarinet at the music academy (Conservatorium) of Amsterdam. Initially he concentrated on jazz music. A ...

. He also played in the Dutch Ballet Orchestra and other orchestras. In the mid-1970s he started performing solo, playing his own pieces, partly composed, partly

improvised Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

. Altena also founded his own ensemble, the ''Maarten Altena Kwartet'' (Maarten Altena Quartet) which expanded into the ''Maarten Altena Ensemble'' (MAE) in 1980. From that point onwards, his career focused on composition. In 1997 he stopped being an active member of this ensemble, and he left it completely in 2005 in order to be able to spend more time composing for other ensembles.

Compositions

* ''First Floor'' (1989) for the

Netherlands Wind Ensemble The Netherlands Wind Ensemble ( nl, Nederlands Blazers Ensemble, NBE) comprises musicians from all the major Dutch symphony orchestras. The NBE is regularly featured in special concert series at Amsterdam’s main venues: the Concertgebouw, Para ...

* ''Speaking'' (1990) for the Nieuwe Slagwerkgroep

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 ...

* ''Pitch'' (1990) for the Mondriaan Kwartet * ''Stave'' (1988) for tenor saxophonist Peter van Bergen * ''Toonzucht'' (1991) for singer

Jannie Pranger Jannie is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Jannie Blackwell, American politician * Jannie Bornman (born 1980), South African rugby union player * Jannie Boshoff (born 1986), South African rugby union player *Jannie Chan, Singapo ...

* ''Puls'' (1993) for percussionist Johan Faber. * ''Secret instructions'' (1992) for the Nederlands Studenten Orkest * ''Code'', (1992) of which Henk van der Meulen made a film for the

NPS NPS may refer to: Organizations * National Park Service, U.S. * National Pension System, India * National Pension Service, Korea * National Phobics Society, UK charity * National Piers Society, UK charity * National Poetry Slam, competition * N ...

* ''Zijdelings Afgesproken'' (1996) for the Maarten Altena Ensemble and Maatschappij Discordia * ''Mijlpaal er trilt iets'' (1998), music theater based on a text by

Remco Campert Remco Campert (28 July 1929 – 4 July 2022) was a Dutch author, poet and columnist. Early years Remco Wouter Campert was born in The Hague, son of writer and poet Jan Campert, author of the poem ''De achttien dooden'', and actress Joekie Bro ...

for Theatergroep Hollandia * ''Een geestelijk verschiet / Horizon'' (1999) * ''Eluard/Beckett'' (2000) for the Maarten Altena Ensemble * ''Album'' (2001) for

clarinetist This article lists notable musicians who have played the clarinet. Classical clarinetists * Laver Bariu * Ernest Ačkun * Luís Afonso * Cristiano Alves * Michel Arrignon * Dimitri Ashkenazy * Kinan Azmeh * Alexander Bader * Carl Baermann * ...

David Kweksilber * ''Mouthpiece II'' for the Netherlands Wind Ensemble * ''La Dolce Ferita (Torquato Tasso)'' (2002) for the vocal Kassiopeia-kwintet and the Maarten Altena Ensemble * ''Der tolle Mensch'' (Nietzsche) (2003) for the Netherlands Wind Ensemble * arrangement of the

Kindertotenlieder (''Songs on the Death of Children'') is a song cycle (1904) for voice and orchestra by Gustav Mahler. The words of the songs are poems by Friedrich Rückert. Text and music The original were a group of 428 poems written by Rückert in 1833� ...

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

for 15 instruments for the Netherlands Wind Ensemble * ''Dans'' for the Maarten Altena Ensemble

Prizes

In 1978 Altena received the

Wessel Ilcken Prize The VPRO/Boy Edgar Award, is an annual award given to a Dutch jazz musician, composer, or bandleader. The individual must have made significant contributions to the Dutch jazz scene over a significant period of time. The award is a sculpture by Dutc ...

for

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and improvised music.

References

External links

* * on

Donemus Donemus (compounded from Documentatiecentrum nederlandse muziek) is the Dutch institute dealing with the documentation of contemporary music composed in the Netherlands. Originally a publisher of scores, between 1960 and 2000 Donemus also publis ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Altena, Maarten 1943 births Living people Dutch composers Dutch jazz double-bassists Conservatorium van Amsterdam alumni Musicians from Amsterdam 21st-century double-bassists