Johannes Verhulst

Johannes Joseph Hermann Verhulst (March 19, 1816 in The Hague – January 17, 1891 in Bloemendaal) was a Dutch composer and conductor. As a composer mainly of songs and as administrator of Dutch musical life, his influence during his lifetime was considerable.

As a boy, Verhulst sang in a Catholic choir; here he distinguished himself by his gift for music. In his teens, he succeeded in becoming a first violinist in the court chapel of King William I. In 1836, Felix Mendelssohn, who was on holiday in Scheveningen, was shown an overture written by Verhulst, and took him as a pupil; he began studying with Mendelssohn in 1838.

In Leipzig, Verhulst was appointed as conductor of the Euterpe orchestra, for which he wrote his Symphony in E minor. King William II urged him to return to The Hague in 1842, where he dedicated himself to the writing of Dutch songs for some time. Six years later, he became the chief conductor of the Rotterdam Music Society (Maatschappij tot Bevordering der Toonkunst). For the celebration of its fifty-year anniversary in 1854, he succeeded in engaging many prominent musicians, such as Franz Liszt.

The following years would bring a number of other appointments: 1860 as conductor of concerts at the scientific society Diligentia Society in The Hague, and 1864 at both the orchestral society Caecilia and the Felix Meritis Society in Amsterdam. By accepting these positions, Verhulst had acquired a great amount of power and influence on Dutch music life. However, his conservative taste led to an increasing amount of criticism, particularly his refusal to endorse or execute performances of the music of Berlioz, Franz Liszt, and most of all Wagner. If orchestra directors wished to see works by these composers performed, they had to handle the organisation themselves and engage a guest conductor - and risk the wrath of Verhulst, which could be considerable. This led to a public backlash, and in 1883 Diligentia imposed Richard Hol as a substitute conductor for performances of Wagner. In 1886, Verhulst was appointed an honorary member of Diligentia on the occasion of his seventieth birthday, but the membership was revoked after less than three months. Hereupon he withdrew from his other positions and from public life. He died in the town of Bloemendaal, aged 74.

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