Reinbert de Leeuw
Reinbert de Leeuw established a reputation as one of the most eloquent and persuasive conductors of contemporary music in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He became well known in the 1970s for his interpretations of the piano music of Satie but then focused his energies largely on conducting the works of contemporary composers, particularly mavericks who bucked the tradition of serialism that dominated the new music scene for nearly half a century following the Second World War.
De Leeuw was born on September 8, 1939, in Amsterdam. He studied piano and theory at the Amsterdam Conservatory and composition at The Hague Conservatory. As a student, he was interested in new and experimental music. He was one of the founders of the Dutch Charles Ives Society, and in 1969, he wrote a biography of Ives with poet J. Bernlef. In 1974, de Leeuw founded the Schoenberg Ensemble, based in The Hague, which specialized not only in the composers of the Second Viennese School but a broader repertoire ranging from the late 19th into the 21st centuries. The group performed and recorded so extensively with another new music ensemble, the ASKO Ensemble, that the two officially merged, and de Leeuw served as principal conductor. He was a guest conductor at the Aldeburgh Festival, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the New World Symphony, the RIAS-Kammerchor, the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra, and the Netherlands Opera. From 1994-1998, he was the artistic director of the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music, and he served as the artistic advisor for contemporary music for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
In his mature career, de Leeuw focused almost exclusively on works ranging from the early modern period through the contemporary. He was most closely associated with the music of Olivier Messiaen, György Ligeti, and Louis Andriessen. Each of the three composers employed musical languages of considerable complexity and sophistication that were notoriously difficult to perform, but their music was notable for an expressivity and directness of communication that was uncommon in an era when the majority of new music was considered "difficult" by audiences. De Leeuw's grounded understanding of distinctive idioms, and his commanding interpretations, made his performances of their music particularly riveting. As a pianist, he recorded works by Satie, Bartók, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Ustvolskaya, Messiaen, and Górecki, as well as non-Europeans with a strong streak of individualism, including Ruth Crawford Seeger, George Antheil, Henry Brant, Steve Reich, Percy Grainger, and Claude Vivier.
De Leeuw was most active as a composer during the 1960s and '70s. He wrote several orchestral pieces, chamber music, and an opera, Reconstructie, based on the life of Che Guevara, written in collaboration with Andriessen, Misha Mengelberg, Peter Schat, and Jan van Vlijmen. In 2003, de Leeuw wrote Im wunderschönen Monat Mai, a radically free reimagining of 21 lieder by Schubert and Schumann, for singer and orchestra. In 2013, he wrote Der nächtliche Wanderer, a symphonic poem for orchestra. De Leeuw died in Amsterdam on February 14, 2020.
© Stephen Eddins /TiVo
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Ustvolskaya: Compositions I, II & III
Reinbert de Leeuw, Schönberg Ensemble
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Górecki: Kleines Requiem für eine Polka etc.
Schönberg Ensemble, Reinbert de Leeuw
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 7 Jul 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Andriessen: Racconto dall'Inferno; De Staat / Pärt: Tabula rasa
Los Angeles Philharmonic, Reinbert de Leeuw
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mauricio Kagel: 5 Stücke der Windrose, Phantasiestück
Reinbert De Leeuw, Schönberg Ensemble
Classical - Released by naïve classique on 1 Jan 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Oiseaux Exotiques
Peter Donohoe, Netherlands Wind Ensemble, Reinbert de Leeuw
Sacred Vocal Music - Released by Chandos on 1 Oct 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Messiaen: Works for Wind Ensemble
Netherlands Wind Ensemble, Reinbert de Leeuw, Peter Donohoe
Chamber Music - Released by Chandos on 1 Oct 1994
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gubaidulina: Jetzt immer Schnee; Perception
Reinbert de Leeuw, Schönberg Ensemble
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 11 Jan 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Antheil: Ballet Mécanique; A Jazz Symphony; Violin Sonata No. 1; Violin Sonata No. 2 (Netherlands Wind Ensemble: Complete Philips Recordings, Vol. 16)
Vera Beths, Netherlands Wind Ensemble, Reinbert de Leeuw
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 Jan 1977
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schönberg: Pierrot Lunaire, Op.21 - Suite, Op.29
Reinbert de Leeuw, Schönberg Ensemble, Barbara Sukowa
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Walden / Wald
Calefax Reed Quintet, Asko Schoenberg Ensemble, Reinbert de Leeuw
Classical - Released by Winter & Winter on 19 Jul 2013
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
I (Remastered)
Reinbert de Leeuw, Vera Beths, Harmen de Boer
Classical - Released by hat[now]ART on 1 Jan 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Martin: Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke
Jard van Nes, Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam, Reinbert de Leeuw
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 9 Feb 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Janácek: Choral Works
Reinbert de Leeuw, Netherlands Chamber Choir, Schönberg Ensemble
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 13 Jun 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rage d'amours
Asko Schönberg, Reinbert de Leeuw, Claron McFadden, Barbara Hannigan, Young Hee Kim
Classical - Released by Attacca on 3 Oct 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Donaueschinger Musiktage 2006, Vol. 4
Schönberg Ensemble, Reinbert de Leeuw
Chamber Music - Released by NEOS Music on 1 Jan 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Quirinus' Liebeskuss
Schönberg Ensemble, Chœur de chambre des Pays-Bas, Reinbert de Leeuw
Classical - Released by Winter & Winter on 17 Nov 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Antigone
Martine Mahé, Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra, Reinbert de Leeuw
Classical - Released by Donemus Composers' Voice on 1 Jul 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Die Stücke der Windrose
Reinbert de Leeuw, Schönberg Ensemble
Classical - Released by Winter & Winter on 15 Nov 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
De Tijd
Asko Schönberg, Reinbert de Leeuw
Classical - Released by Attacca on 18 Feb 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo