# Jan van Gilse



## Joachim Raff (Jan 31, 2020)

Jan Pieter Hendrik van Gilse was born in Rotterdam on May 11, 1881, the youngest son of Jan Albert van Gilse and Maria Auguste Höckelmann. He had two brothers and two sisters. His father was a lawyer, journalist and involved in political activism; from 1897 to 1901, he was a member of the government (Liberal Union Party).

At an early age, Jan knew that he wanted become a conductor and composer. He enrolled at the Conservatory in Cologne in 1897. His teachers were Franz Wüllner for conducting and composition, and Max van de Sandt for piano. Still a student, he already enjoyed his first successes with his Concert Overture and 1st Symphony. After leaving Cologne, he continued his studies for some years with Engelbert Humperdinck in Berlin.

In 1905, van Gilse got his first job: rehearsal conductor at the Stadt Theater in Bremen. That same year he completed and conducted the performances of his 3rd symphony Erhebung, in Bremen and Amsterdam. The work received a prestigious German music award, enabling him to work in Rome for two years. Unfortunately, he didn't enjoy his time in the "Eternal City;" he was too homesick to work. Much to his relief that period ended in May 1911 and he and his wealthy spouse Ada Hooijer settled in Munich. Once there, he worked on an opera Frau Helga von Stavern, which was never performed, and completed his first song cycle (with orchestra) on texts from Rabindranath Tagore's Gitanjali. Their two children were also born in Munich: Janric (1912) and Maarten (1916).

Meanwhile, World War I was ongoing and conditions in Munich were worsening by the day. Consequently it seemed wiser to return to the Netherlands. But van Gilse couldn't find employment to his liking. In the past he had applied for a job as a conductor with the Residentie Orchestra (The Hague) and the Concertgebouw Orchestra (Amsterdam) but was rejected by all kinds of intrigues. A job application in Arnhem was also unsuccessful. Finally in 1917, he was appointed as a conductor at the Utrecht Municipal Orchestra, because its conductor Wouter Hutschenruyter, after decades of dedicated service, became director of the music school in Rotterdam.


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## Joachim Raff (Jan 31, 2020)

Recommended listening:









Jan van Gilse: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2

Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, David Porcelijn


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