Matthijs Vermeulen

Vocation

Dutch composer and music journalist. At the age of fourteen he wrote a letter to his brother stating that he had had a kind of epiphany: from that moment on he would aspire to be a composer. He received private tuition from the well-known Dutch composer Alphons Diepenbrock, whose daughter, Thea, later became his second wife. Apart from composing, Vermeulen was also active as a journalist From 1909 to 1920 he worked as a music critic for several magazines and newspapers, such as De Groene Amsterdammer and De Telegraaf. It was in this capacity that he gained his greatest public notoriety. Vermeulen’s dissatisfaction with the artistic policies of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and its leader Willem Mengelberg came to a head in November of 1918. After a performance of the Seventh Symphony by Cornelis Dopper, conducted by the composer, Vermeulen stood up and shouted “Long live Sousa!” from the stands of the Concertgebouw (a part of the audience thought that the socialist leader Troelstra, who had attempted a revolution days earlier, was meant, and therefore interpreted Vermeulen’s words as incitement), leading to great turmoil and a flurry of publications. The orchestra considered whether or not they could ban specific journalists from the hall. The incident also highlighted the existing conflict between traditionalists (represented by Dopper and chief conductor Willem Mengelberg) and avant-garde figures such as assistant conductor Evert Cornelis. Even though the Concertgebouw’s board admitted Vermeulen again after a while, his relations with the orchestra were tainted forever. As a consequence, his second symphony, written 1919–20 and entitled Prelude à la nouvelle journée, had to wait until the 1950s for its premiere; Mengelberg publicly stated that he would not even look at it. As a result of numerous conflicts, Vermeulen decided to settle and work abroad for many years, particularly in France and the then the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). His symphonies, especially the last six of his seven, are atonal but also extremely contrapuntal, involving many musical lines combining simultaneously. His works also include lieder with piano (one of these he orchestrated), chamber music including two cello sonatas, a string trio (1923) and a string quartet, and incidental music for The Flying Dutchman. He died on 26 July 1967 in Laren. Link to Wikipedia biography