Willem van Otterloo
| Willem van Otterloo | |
|---|---|
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|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jan Willem van Otterloo |
| Born |
27 December 1907 Winterswijk, Netherlands |
| Died | 27 July 1978 (aged 70) Melbourne, Australia |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupation(s) | Conductor, pedagogue |
| Associated acts |
Residentie Orchestra Sydney Symphony |
Jan Willem van Otterloo (27 December 1907 – 27 July 1978) was a Dutch conductor, cellist and composer.
Van Otterloo was born in Winterswijk, Gelderland, in the Netherlands, the son of William Frederik van Otterloo, a railway inspector, and his wife Anna Catharina van Otterloo (née Enderlé). He qualified to study medicine at Utrecht University but switched to studying cello and composition at the Amsterdam Conservatoire. While playing as a cellist in the Utrecht Stedelijk Orkest, he won a composition prize from the Concertgebouw Orchestra for his Suite No. 3, which he presented in his 1932 conducting debut, also with that orchestra. He held posts with the Utrecht Stedelijk Orkest, before being appointed chief conductor of the Residentie Orkest in The Hague (1949–1973).
He spent his last 11 years in Australia. From 1967 to 1970 he was chief conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and in 1971 he was appointed chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, where he remained for the rest of his life.
Particularly prized for his performances of 19th and 20th-century music, he made numerous commercial recordings, mostly for Philips Records, with Residentie Orkest, Concertgebouworkest, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Orchestre Lamoureux and (on much rarer occasions) the Sydney Symphony.
He died in the Melbourne suburb of East St Kilda in 1978 from injuries suffered in an automobile accident. His body was flown to The Hague for cremation.
His notable students include Graham George and Miroslav Miletić.
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