composer
Ton de Leeuw was born on November 16, 1926 in Rotterdam. He died on May 31, 1996 in Paris (France).
In 1949, after some years of composition lessons with Henk Badings, ...
related works
Midare : for marimba, (1972) / Ton de Leeuw
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Percussion
Scoring:
mar
Certus : for chamber orchestra, 1997 / Hanna Kulenty
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
fl-a ob cl cl-b fg 2h trp trb 2perc pf str(8.7.6.5.4.)
Symphonie no. I : (1932) / Guillaume Landré
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
3333 4331 timp perc str
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
2222 4230 timp str
composition
Ombres : voor symfonieorkest, 1960/1961 / Ton de Leeuw
Description:
Program note (English): (Première: 7-10-1962 - Concertgebouw, Amsterdam - Concertgebouworkest, Bernard Haitink, conducting) - In an earlier orchestral composition, "Mouvements rétrogrades", music was compared to a rotating crystal which, remaining the same, reflects ever changing light-values. This same static conception appears again in this composition; now, however, realised with wholly different formal means. The movements in the music might here be compared to the mysterious and balancing forces of nature, and to its wondrous complex world of forms whose laws can only be approached along the lines of human intuition. The title denotes that music, being a humanly ordered movement, can only give a shadow of all this. The above comparison is only relevant when light is shed on its background. The reflection of forces outside and above man implies that music is no longer a too subjective expression. The artist's "ego" recedes. What becomes primary is not the act of the will, but the surrender, which
does not necessarily preclude a personal touch. This conception runs counter to that of most music heard in the European concert-halls. Contrariwise, it is decisive - if we may limit ourselves to living music - for the most important music cultures outside Europe. It is therefore not just coincidental that, besides a selection of serial means, a number of music-technical aspects from India, in particular, play an important part. It is of little use to enter into details here. Furthermore, the composition consists of four parts, and the scoring is for a normal orchestra, although an important task is allotted to the percussion and plucked instruments. - TON DE LEEUW