Willem van Hoogstraten (March 18, 1884 – September 11, 1965) was a Dutch violinist and conductor. Van Hoogstraten was born in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

, and studied the violin from age eight including studies with Alexander Schmuller, and enrolled at the conservatory in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

at age sixteen where he studied with Bram Eldering. He also studied violin with Otakar Ševcik in Prague. He began his career as the conductor at a health resort, and then conducted the orchestra at Kleefeld 1914-1918. He was married for sixteen years, from 1911–1927, to the pianist

Elly Ney Elly Ney (27 September 1882 – 31 March 1968) was a German romantic pianist who specialized in Beethoven, and was especially popular in Germany. Career She was born in Düsseldorf, where her mother was a music instructor and her father was a r ...

. They met in 1907 at the conservatory in Cologne where Ney was a teacher. They traveled throughout Europe performing chamber music, recruiting cellist Fritz Reitz to form a trio. They made their home at

Tutzing Tutzing is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany, on the west bank of the Starnberger See. Just 40 km south-west of Munich and with good views of the Alps, the town was traditionally a favorite vacation spot for thos ...

on the Starnberger See. The two recorded the final three Beethoven piano concertos together for Colosseum Records. A daughter was born to them, the actress Eleonore van Hoogstraten. The couple divorced in 1927. Van Hoogstraten conducted a Brahms festival in Vienna, and the Mozart festival in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

, as well as guest conducting throughout Europe. He conducted the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

at the

Lewisohn Stadium Lewisohn Stadium was an amphitheater and athletic facility built on the campus of the City College of New York (CCNY). It opened in 1915 and was demolished in 1973. History The Doric-colonnaded amphitheater was built between Amsterdam and Conven ...

summer concert series from 1922 to 1939 where he was also served as associate conductor from 1923 to 1925. At the Lewisohn, in 1927 he conducted the New Yprk Philharmonic playing ''

Rhapsody in Blue ''Rhapsody in Blue'' is a 1924 musical composition written by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work premiered i ...

'' and ''

Concerto in F Concerto in F is a composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and orchestra which is closer in form to a traditional concerto than his earlier jazz-influenced ''Rhapsody in Blue''. It was written in 1925 on a commission from the conductor an ...

'' with

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

as soloist. Van Hoogstraten was appointed by the Philharmonic Society to serve as director of the orchestra between Josef Stránský and

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 ...

, serving half of the orchestra's season until Mengelberg was available. After the untimely death of

Theodore Spiering Theodore Bernays Spiering (September 5, 1871 – August 11, 1925) was an American violinist, conductor and teacher. Spiering was born in Old North St. Louis, Missouri, where at age five he took his first lessons in violin from his father, co ...

in 1925, Van Hoogstraten was appointed music director of the

Oregon Symphony The Oregon Symphony is an American symphony orchestra based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded as the 'Portland Symphony Society' in 1896, it is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States, and oldest in the Western United States. I ...

, where he served for thirteen seasons. From 1939 to 1945, he was permanent conductor of the

Mozarteum Salzburg Mozarteum University Salzburg ( German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the “Mozarteum” moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Mo ...

. Van Hoogstraten died in 1965 in

, and is buried there with his ex-wife, Elly Ney, at Neuer Friedhof.

References

* Living Musicians (1940) * Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (2001) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoogstraten, Willem Van 1884 births 1964 deaths Dutch conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Musicians from Oregon Oregon Symphony Musicians from Utrecht (city) 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Dutch male musicians