Jan Koetsier
Jan Koetsier was born on 14 August
1911 in Amsterdam, the son of the
singer Jeanne Koetsier and the
teacher Jan Koetsier-Muller. From an
early age he received musical
encouragement and support (piano
lessons). Koetsier decided to study
music early on, entering college
straight after leaving school. He
moved to Berlin in 1913 with his
family, and aged 16, was the
youngest student of his day to pass
the entrance audition in piano to
the Berlin Hochschule für Musik.
There, as well as studying piano, he
studied score-reading and music
theory with Walther Gmeindl, and
conducting with Julius Prüwer from
1932. Also encouraged by Artur
Schnabel, signs of his future
direction in music began to emerge –
composing and conducting. In 1933,
Koetsier took up a position as a
répétiteur at the Stadttheater in
Lübeck. But after just one concert
season, he returned to Berlin and
began working as a conductor touring
with theatre ensembles such as the
‘Deutsche Musikbühne’ and the
‘Deutsche Landesbühne’; his
repertoire expanded to include music
theatre works.
From 1936/37 he had the opportunity
of working as a freelance conductor
for the short-wave broadcasting
station in Berlin, directing
broadcasts of his own folk music
arrangements, including arrangements
of South American and African songs.
Because of the political situation,
Koetsier gave up his position at the
Berlin radio station in 1940 and
took up an offer of working as piano
accompanist to the dancer Ilse
Meudtner on a year-long tour.
Following on from this, he worked as
conductor of the newly-founded
Kammeropera in The Hague, during
which he travelled to numerous Dutch
towns and cities (1941/42). He then
became second conductor of the
‘Concertgebouw Orchestra’ in
Amsterdam (1942-48), a central point
in his artistic development, which
brought with it valuable stimuli and
experience, including collaborating
with the orchestra’s chief
conductor, Willem Mengelberg.
He then spent a short period as
conductor of the ‘Residentie Orkest’
and as conducting teacher at the
Royal Conservatory in The Hague
before being invited by Bavarian
Radio to become principal conductor
of its newly-founded Symphony
Orchestra in 1950. Koetsier held
this position for sixteen years,
working intensively on studio
productions of all periods and
styles which were required for daily
broadcasting. He also conducted
public concerts, including some in
the Bavarian Radio ‘musica viva’
series. In 1966 he became professor
of conducting at the Hochschule für
Musik in Munich, in which position
he was involved in reforming the
teaching schedule.
After his retirement, Koetsier
concentrated mainly on composing at
his home in Rattenkirchen, Upper
Bavaria. In these years, he founded
the International Jan Koetsier
Competition for the encouragement of
young brass ensembles, since 1999 at
the Hochschule für Musik und Theater
Munich.
Koetsier’s work with
instrumental soloists and ensembles
led to numerous commissions.
Musicians he frequently worked with
included the ‘Philip Jones Brass
Ensemble’, the ‘Trio Armin Rosin’
and the ‘Brass Philharmonie’ founded
by Armin Rosin, the ‘Slokar
Quartet’, the ‘Rennquintett’, the
‘Leipziger Hornquartett’ and the
‘Münchner Blechbläsersolisten’, as
well as numerous string soloists and
pianists. For many of these groups,
his works have become an established
part of their repertoire. The fact
that in his composing, Koetsier
always bore practical musical
considerations and requirements in
mind is also a basic reason for his
choice of instrumental combinations
and scorings; examples of this are
his combination of horn and harp
(Sonata, Op. 94), four tubas or
trombones (‘Wolkenschatten’, Op.
136, for tuba quartet; ‘Die Bremer
Stadtmusikanten’, Op. 138, for
trombone quartet) or brass quintet
and harp (‘Introduction and
Variations on the ‘Vyšehrad’ Theme
by Friedrich Smetana’, Op. 71). As
well as chamber music for wind and
strings in various combinations,
Koetsier also composed solo concerti
(e.g. the ‘Echo Concerto‘ for 2
piccolo trumpets and string
orchestra, Op. 124, or the Concerto
for Brass Quintet and Orchestra, Op.
133) and numerous orchestral works
including symphonies and serenades.
Then there is piano and organ music,
a few songs, choral works and an
opera (‘Frans Hals’, Op. 39).
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Many of these
compositions have a firmly established
place in programme planning in Germany
and abroad. Apart from the chamber
music, the solo concerti and orchestral
works in particular make worthwhile
listening; for example, performances of
his Concerto for Trumpet, Trombone and
Orchestra, Op. 17, by Rafael Kubelik and
the ‘Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen
Rundfunks’ and the 3rd Symphony given by
the ‘Philadelphia Orchestra’ in
Philadelphia and New York were
outstanding events.
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In 2002 Koetsier gave up composing
and moved with his wife Margarete into
the Augustinum Home in Munich. He died
there on 28 April 2006.
© Stephanie Mauder
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