Paul van Kempen (16 May 1893 – 8 December 1955) was a Dutch conductor.

Personal life

Van Kempen was born in

Zoeterwoude Zoeterwoude () is a municipality in the province of South Holland, Western Netherlands. It covers of which is water. It had a population of in . Located to the southeast of Leiden and north of Zoetermeer, the municipality of Zoeterwoude consist ...

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 ...

. He studied at the Amsterdam conservatory from 1910 to 1913, including composition and conducting with

Julius Roentgen 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 ...

and Bernard Zweers, as well as violin with Louis Zimmerman. From 1913, he was a second violinist with the

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 ...

. One year later, he was in the first violin section. After 1916, he began to make his career more in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and served as concertmaster in orchestras in Posen, Bad Nauheim und Dortmund. In 1932, Van Kempen became a German citizen. He died in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

at age 62.

Career

Van Kempen was music director in Oberhausen for 2 years. From 1934 to 1942, he was principal conductor of the

Dresden Philharmonic The Dresdner Philharmonie (Dresden Philharmonic) is a German symphony orchestra based in Dresden. Its principal concert venue is the '' Kulturpalast''. The orchestra also performs at the Kreuzkirche, the Hochschule für Musik Dresden, and ...

. In 1942, he succeeded

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

as ''Kapellmeister'' in Aachen, serving through 1944. Several years after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, in 1953, Van Kempen became general music director of the city of Bremen. In 1949, Van Kempen returned to the Netherlands as principal conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, based in Hilversum. Moreover, his conducting activities during

made him a controversial figure in the Netherlands, such as conducting concerts for the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

. On one occasion, in 1951, Van Kempen was engaged as a substitute conductor at the Concertgebouw Orchestra in place of the ill

Eduard van Beinum Eduard Alexander van Beinum (; 3 September 1900 – 13 April 1959, Amsterdam) was a Dutch conductor. Biography Van Beinum was born in Arnhem, Netherlands, where he received his first violin and piano lessons at an early age. He joined the A ...

. During the first night, audience members protested strongly, but the concert took place. On the second night, the audience disruptions were so severe that 62 musicians left the stage and refused to continue. Van Kempen recordings included the Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 3, 7 and 8 with the Berlin Philharmonic, Nos 2 and 5 with the Dresden Philharmonic, the five Beethoven piano concertos with Wilhelm Kempff and the Berlin P.O., and the Tchaikovsky Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6 with Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw. He conducted the Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux on an EPIC recording, LC 3349, year unknown, of Rossini: ''William Tell'' Overture and ''Barber Of Seville'' Overture, and Donizetti: ''Daughter of the Regiment'' Overture. On the same recording he also conducted the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam on Tchaikovsky: ''Marche slave'', Op.31, Strauss, Sr: Radetsky March, Op. 228, and Schubert: Marche militaire in D Major, Op. 51, No. 1. He recorded von Weber's Oberon Overture with the Radio-Philharmonische Orchester Hilvesum in 1953 on Philips S06003 R.

Literature

* Kees de Leeuw: ''Dirigeren is geen beroep maar roeping. Leven en werk van Paul van Kempen (1893-1955)''. Uitg. Gopher, Amsterdam, 2007. 269 p. (Dutch)

References

External links

Paul van Kempen Biography
1893 births 1955 deaths Dutch conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Naturalized citizens of Germany People from Zoeterwoude Players of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Dutch male musicians {{Netherlands-conductor-stub