Bernard van Dieren
Encyclopedia
Bernard Hélène Joseph van Dieren (27 December 188724 April 1936) was a Dutch
composer
, critic, author, and writer on music.
Van Dieren was the last of five children of a Rotterdam
wine merchant, Bernard Joseph van Dieren, and his second wife, Julie Françoise Adelle Labbé. Details of his education are unknown but it seems that his early training was as a scientist, as a research assistant in a laboratory. Gifted both in science, extremely intelligent and with a phenomenal memory, he was also well-versed in literature as well as an able violinist and amateur artist. His career as composer began when he was twenty when some of his early works were published in Holland. His early music was influenced by Delius
.
In 1909 he relocated to London with his wife-to-be, Frida Kindler (1879–1964), a very gifted concert pianist whom he married on 1 January 1910. By this time he had decided to study music seriously. A son, Hans Jean Jules Maximilian Navarre Benvenuto Bernard van Dieren (1910–74), was born the same year.
He was largely self-taught, though he spent 1912 in Europe where he met the composers Busoni
and Schoenberg
. His early contact with the music world was as a musical correspondent for several European newspapers and periodicals. During the First World War he was for a short time involved in secret service in Holland, as a cypher expert in the Intelligence Department.
He suffered most of his life from ill health and had numerous operations for kidney-related complaints. To relieve the recurring pain, morphine was prescribed, and it is thought that in later life he became addicted to the drug. Because of these recurring bouts of illness, his wife, a former pupil of Busoni, supported the family by teaching the piano and by giving recitals. They also relied on financial support from a group of admirers and friends, which included notable personalities such as Jacob Epstein
, Osbert
and Sacheverell Sitwell
, Augustus John
, Philip Heseltine
(the composer Peter Warlock) and Cecil Gray
. The latter two were especially drawn by his charismatic and powerful personality and gave untiring support for his cause by prompting performances and publication of his works. Heseltine made van Dieren his heir in his will, inspiring claims by Heseltine's son Nigel Heseltine
that van Dieren murdered Heseltine.
In 1925 van Dieren worked for the Philips
electrical company but recurring illness forced him to resign the following year. Some of his works were published in 1927 and in the same year his fourth string quartet was performed at the Frankfurt Festival. In 1930 he completed his opera 'The Tailor' (begun in 1916 at Heseltine and Gray's request). He also wrote a book on Epstein (1920) and published a collection of controversial essays entitled 'Down Among the Dead Men' (1935). Eventually two of his more important works were broadcast by the BBC: 'Diaphony' in 1934 and the 'Chinese Symphony' in 1935. He died on 24 April 1936 in London, and is buried on the edge of the graveyard of St Laurence's Church, West Wycombe
.
Van Dieren was influenced by the early 20th century atonal composers. His writing is characterised by extremely complex contrapuntal elements. His compositions include a wide variety of works which have yet to be rediscovered.
Constant Lambert
claimed that the theme for the opening movement, "Palindromic Prelude", from his 1938 ballet Horoscope
, was dictated from beyond the grave by van Dieren.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, critic, author, and writer on music.
Van Dieren was the last of five children of a Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
wine merchant, Bernard Joseph van Dieren, and his second wife, Julie Françoise Adelle Labbé. Details of his education are unknown but it seems that his early training was as a scientist, as a research assistant in a laboratory. Gifted both in science, extremely intelligent and with a phenomenal memory, he was also well-versed in literature as well as an able violinist and amateur artist. His career as composer began when he was twenty when some of his early works were published in Holland. His early music was influenced by Delius
Frederick Delius
Frederick Theodore Albert Delius, CH was an English composer. Born in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family of German extraction, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce...
.
In 1909 he relocated to London with his wife-to-be, Frida Kindler (1879–1964), a very gifted concert pianist whom he married on 1 January 1910. By this time he had decided to study music seriously. A son, Hans Jean Jules Maximilian Navarre Benvenuto Bernard van Dieren (1910–74), was born the same year.
He was largely self-taught, though he spent 1912 in Europe where he met the composers Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni was an Italian composer, pianist, editor, writer, piano and composition teacher, and conductor.-Biography:...
and Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
. His early contact with the music world was as a musical correspondent for several European newspapers and periodicals. During the First World War he was for a short time involved in secret service in Holland, as a cypher expert in the Intelligence Department.
He suffered most of his life from ill health and had numerous operations for kidney-related complaints. To relieve the recurring pain, morphine was prescribed, and it is thought that in later life he became addicted to the drug. Because of these recurring bouts of illness, his wife, a former pupil of Busoni, supported the family by teaching the piano and by giving recitals. They also relied on financial support from a group of admirers and friends, which included notable personalities such as Jacob Epstein
Jacob Epstein
Sir Jacob Epstein KBE was an American-born British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British citizen in 1911. He often produced controversial works which challenged taboos on what was appropriate subject matter...
, Osbert
Osbert Sitwell
Sir Francis Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell, 5th Baronet, was an English writer. His elder sister was Dame Edith Louisa Sitwell and his younger brother was Sir Sacheverell Sitwell; like them he devoted his life to art and literature....
and Sacheverell Sitwell
Sacheverell Sitwell
Sir Sacheverell Sitwell, 6th Baronet CH was an English writer, best known as an art critic and writer on architecture, particularly the baroque. He was the younger brother of Dame Edith Sitwell and Sir Osbert Sitwell....
, Augustus John
Augustus John
Augustus Edwin John OM, RA, was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a short time around 1910, he was an important exponent of Post-Impressionism in the United Kingdom....
, Philip Heseltine
Peter Warlock
Peter Warlock was a pseudonym of Philip Arnold Heseltine , an Anglo-Welsh composer and music critic. He used the pseudonym when composing, and is now better known by this name....
(the composer Peter Warlock) and Cecil Gray
Cecil Gray
Cecil Gray was a Scottish music critic and composer. He published books on the composers Jean Sibelius, Peter Warlock and Carlo Gesualdo, the last of these co-authored by the same Warlock; also a history of music, collections of essays on music, a play about Gilles de Rais and an autobiography.He...
. The latter two were especially drawn by his charismatic and powerful personality and gave untiring support for his cause by prompting performances and publication of his works. Heseltine made van Dieren his heir in his will, inspiring claims by Heseltine's son Nigel Heseltine
Nigel Heseltine
Nigel Heseltine was a Welsh writer, of travel books, short stories, plays, and poetry.-Biography:Heseltine was born in London, the son of Philip Heseltine, the composer better known as Peter Warlock...
that van Dieren murdered Heseltine.
In 1925 van Dieren worked for the Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
electrical company but recurring illness forced him to resign the following year. Some of his works were published in 1927 and in the same year his fourth string quartet was performed at the Frankfurt Festival. In 1930 he completed his opera 'The Tailor' (begun in 1916 at Heseltine and Gray's request). He also wrote a book on Epstein (1920) and published a collection of controversial essays entitled 'Down Among the Dead Men' (1935). Eventually two of his more important works were broadcast by the BBC: 'Diaphony' in 1934 and the 'Chinese Symphony' in 1935. He died on 24 April 1936 in London, and is buried on the edge of the graveyard of St Laurence's Church, West Wycombe
West Wycombe
West Wycombe is a small village situated along the A40 road, due three miles west of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England.The historic village is largely a National Trust property and receives a large annual influx of tourists - being the site of West Wycombe Park, West Wycombe Caves and the...
.
Van Dieren was influenced by the early 20th century atonal composers. His writing is characterised by extremely complex contrapuntal elements. His compositions include a wide variety of works which have yet to be rediscovered.
Constant Lambert
Constant Lambert
Leonard Constant Lambert was a British composer and conductor.-Early life:Lambert, the son of Russian-born Australian painter George Lambert, was educated at Christ's Hospital and the Royal College of Music...
claimed that the theme for the opening movement, "Palindromic Prelude", from his 1938 ballet Horoscope
Horoscope (ballet)
Horoscope is a ballet created in 1937 by Frederick Ashton with scenery by Sophie Fedorovich and music by Constant Lambert. It is based on astrological themes, and is reminiscent of Gustav Holst's The Planets in its musical exploration of the mystical. The story of the ballet concerns a young man...
, was dictated from beyond the grave by van Dieren.