Willem Mengelberg

Vocation

Dutch conductor of the Amsterdam Symphony and the London Symphonic Orchestra, the Concertgebouworkest. He was the 4th of fifteen children of the Dutch-German sculptor Friedrich Wilhelm Mengelberg (1837–1919). From 1895 to 1945 he was the principal conductor of the Concertgebouworkest. Since 1902 he was befriended with Gustav Mahler, who also came to Amsterdam to conduct and edit his symphonies so that they better fitted the the famous acoustics of the Concertgebouw. He lost his job after WW2 , because of his loyalty during WW2 to the Nazi occupiers. He was banned to conduct for six years (initially life-long). Between 1922 and 1928, Mengelberg was music director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Since January 1926, he shared the podium with Arturo Toscanini. They often clashed about interpretations. The autocratic Mengelberg was described by Fred Goldbeck as "the perfect dictator/conductor, a Napoleon of the orchestra". Mengelberg died March 21, 1951 in exile place Zuort, Sent, Switzerland. Link to Wikipedia biography