Oscar van Hemel (3 August 1892 – 9 July 1981) was a Dutch-Belgian violinist, music teacher and composer of contemporary classical music. His work includes two operas and symphonies.

Oscar van Hemel
Oscar van Hemel (1962)
Born(1892-08-03)3 August 1892
Antwerp, Belgium
Died9 July 1981(1981-07-09) (aged 88)
Hilversum, Netherlands
EducationRoyal Conservatoire of Antwerp
SpouseAnna Johanna (Anneke) Wouters
Children6 daughters, 4 sons

Life and education

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Van Hemel was born in 1892 in Antwerp, Belgium, where he studied with August de Boeck and Lodewijk Mortelmans[1] at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp.[2] During World War I he was wounded at the Battle of Halen. With the help of the Red Cross, he fled in May 1915 to Roosendaal in the Netherlands during the bombardment of Antwerp.[3] He subsequently played violin in the orchestra of the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam.[4][5]

In 1918 he moved to Bergen op Zoom, where he became a teacher of violin, piano, and music theory at the municipal music school.[4] Here, he also met his future wife, Annie Wouters, whom he married in August 1923. Together they eventually had 10 children.[2] From 1931 to 1933 he studied music composition with Willem Pijper in Rotterdam.[2][4] In 1949, van Hemel and his family moved to Hilversum, where the Katholieke Radio Omroep (Catholic Radio Broadcasting) commissioned an opera, Viviane on a libretto by Louis Lutz, to celebrate its 25th jubilee.[2]

Works and reception

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Van Hemel composed chamber music, sacred music, songs and choral music, music for orchestra, including symphonies, and for concert band, and two operas, Viviane[6] and De prostituée (The Prostitute).[7]

Van Hemel's music was at times praised as "lovely" and spontaneous, albeit at times "constructed". His Pianokwartet was praised as "powerful, quirky interbellum music".[8] Others were more critical and lamented a lack of originality.[5] Nevertheless, in the 1950s, van Hemel's music was very popular in the Netherlands.[5]

In 1962, van Hemel received the ANV-Visser Neerlandiaprijs [nl] for his Quartetto di strumenti ad arco no. 6.[4] In the same year, he was knighted in the Order of Orange-Nassau.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Romijn, Clemens (2001). "Hemel, Oscar van (1892–1981), composer". Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.12762.
  2. ^ a b c d "Biografie". www.oscarvanhemel.nl (in Dutch). Stichting Oscar van Hemel. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  3. ^ "Oscar van Hemel" (in Dutch). Donemus Publishing House of Contemporary Classical Music. November 2016. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Oscar van Hemel". Muziekencyclopedie van Beeld en Geluid (in Dutch). Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  5. ^ a b c Samama, Leo (2006). Nederlandse muziek in de 20-ste eeuw: voorspel tot een nieuwe dag (in Dutch). Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. pp. 139–142. ISBN 9789053568620.
  6. ^ "Munich Invites 300 To Attend Opera Festival". Victoria Daily Times. No. 147. 1951-06-23. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  7. ^ "Werken". www.oscarvanhemel.nl (in Dutch). Stichting Oscar van Hemel. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  8. ^ van der Waa, Frits (2018-05-31). "In het werk van Oscar van Hemel hoor je de opkomst en ondergang van het modernisme terug (****)". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 2019-01-01.

Further reading

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