Willem Jeths (born 31 August 1959) is a Dutch classical composer.

Early life

Jeths was born in

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the second- ...

. He started his musical career as a child with piano and

music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

lessons in the Music School of

with Paul Seeling. He originally studied in the Sweelinck Conservatory in

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 ...

, from 1980 to 1982. He continued with

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

in the Conservatory of Utrecht with Hans Cox and

Tristan Keuris Tristan Keuris (3 October 1946 in Amersfoort – 15 December 1996 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch composer. Life and career Keuris initially studied with Jan van Vlijmen in Amersfoort. At the age of 15 he started his studies with Ton de Leeuw at the U ...

. He finished his studies with Keuris in 1988. Parallel to composition Jeths studied

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

. He completed his studies with a doctoral dissertation about

Elisabeth Kuyper Elisabeth Johanna Lamina Kuyper (13 September 1877 – 26 February 1953) was a Dutch Romantic composer and conductor. Life Elisabeth Kuyper was born in Amsterdam, the eldest of three children. At the age of twelve, she began the formal study of ...

(1877–1953), which was later published in the book ''Zes vrouwelijke componisten''.

Activities

Jeths is composition teacher at the Conservatory of Amsterdam since 2007. He was composition teacher at the Fontys Conservatory in

Tilburg Tilburg () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601 (1 July 2021), it is the second-largest city or municipality in North Brabant after Eindhoven and the seventh-larg ...

from 2003 to 2007. In the 2004–2005 season Jeths was ''composer-in-residence'' with ''Het Gelders Orkest'' and the Brabant Orchestra, and during the 2006–2007 season with the

Orkest van het Oosten The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra () is a Dutch symphony orchestra. The home of the orchestra is the Muziekcentrum in Enschede. The orchestra was previously known in Dutch as Orkest van het Oosten (literal translation "Orchestra of the East"), b ...

. In the year 2000 there was a three-day ''Willem Jeths Festival'' in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

. In November 2014 he was appointed by copyright organization

BUMA/STEMRA BUMA/STEMRA are two private organisations in the Netherlands, the Buma Association (Dutch: ''Vereniging Buma'') and the Stemra Foundation (Dutch: ''Stichting Stemra'') that operate as one single company that acts as the Dutch collecting society for ...

as the first "Componist des Vaderlands" of The Netherlands.

Compositions

Jeths has written many works for

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

but he is mainly focused on works for orchestra. Some of his compositions are: * '' Ritratto (opera)'', premiered 2020 by the Dutch National - for Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Tenor, and vocal ensemble. Opera, with costumes by

Jan Taminiau Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

. * ''Symfonie Nr. 1'' (2012) – for orchestra and

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

, commissioned by ''Zaterdag Matinee concert series'' from 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 ...

in Amsterdam. * ''Metanoia'' (2012) – for

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

, commissioned by the

Holland Symfonia Het Balletorkest (literal translation, ''The Ballet Orchestra'') is a Dutch symphony orchestra, based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, affiliated with Het Nationale Ballet and the Nederlands Dans Theater. In 1965, the ''Nederlands Balletorkest'' (Nether ...

. * ''Scale -le tombeau de Mahler-'' (2010) – written for the

Royal 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 ...

. * ''Monument to a universal marriage'' (2011) – for string quartet,

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

and two voices, commissioned by

Best Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation ...

. * '' Hôtel de Pékin – Dreams for a Dragon Queen'' (2008) – an opera with libretto by Friso Haverkamp. The premiere was in 2008 to celebrate the opening of the new opera theater in

Enschede Enschede (; known as in the local Twents dialect) is a municipality and city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region. The eastern parts of the urban area reaches the border of the German city of Gronau ...

. * ''MEME'' (2006) – for two

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

s and ensemble. * ''Intus Trepidare'' (2003) – his 3rd

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 ...

commissioned by

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...

. * ''Flügelhorn Concerto'' (2002) – commissioned by

. * ''Chiasmos'' (2000) – a

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of musi ...

commissioned by the Osiris Trio. * ''Vertooning'' (1997) – for harp solo, written for harpist Godelieve Schrama, who received the ''Philip Morris Finest Selection'' for music in 1994. * ''Fas/Nefas'' (1997) – a piano concerto commissioned by the symphony orchestra of

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

, Japan. * ''Throb'' (1995) – written for the

Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (RPhO; nl, Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest) is a Dutch symphony orchestra based in Rotterdam. Its primary venue is the concert hall De Doelen. The RPhO is considered one of the Netherlands' two principal orc ...

and where the B-A-C-H theme is used. * ''A bout de souffle'' (1993) – for the

Asko Ensemble Asko or ASKO may refer to: * Asko (name), a male given name common in Finland and Estonia * Askø, a Danish island * Asko Cylinda or Asko Appliances AB, a Swedish company producing household appliances * AskoSchönberg, a Dutch chamber orchestra * ...

. * ''Arcate'' (1990) – for the Raphaël String Quartet, a commission from the VARA-Matinee.

Prizes and awards

Jeths won the Composition price from the Conservatory of Utrecht in 1988. His composition ''Novelette'' for violin and piano (1986) was selected for the

ISCM World Music Days The ISCM World Music Days is an annual contemporary music festival organized by the International Society for Contemporary Music, originally created in 1923 as the ISCM Festival as a means to support the most advanced composition tendencies.

in 1990 in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. During the ''Carl-Maria-von-Weber-Wettbewerb für Streichquartettkompositionen'' in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

in 1991, Jeths received a distinction award for his string quartet ''Arcate'' (1990). The following year Jeths received another distinction for the same work, but in the

string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first ...

version, part of the ''Music for string compositions competition'' from the Oare String Orchestra in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. His work ''Novelette'' was chosen by listeners of the radio program ''concertzender'' as the second prize for a competition celebrating 80 years of the existence of BUMA in 1993. In 1996, Jeths received the third prize in the ''Internationaler Wiener Kompositionswettbewerb'' for his violin concerto ''Glenz'' (1993).

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeths, Willem Dutch male classical composers Dutch classical composers 1959 births Living people People from Amersfoort 20th-century classical composers 20th-century Dutch composers 20th-century Dutch male musicians 21st-century classical composers 21st-century Dutch composers 21st-century male musicians Utrecht School of the Arts alumni University of Amsterdam alumni Academic staff of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam