Jurriaan Hendrik Andriessen (November 15, 1925–August 23, 1996) was a Dutch composer, whose father, Hendrik, brother Louis, and uncle Willem have also been notable composers. Andriessen studied composition with his father at the Utrecht Conservatory before moving to Paris where he studied with Olivier Messiaen. November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... Events January-May January 3 - Benito Mussolini announces he is taking dictatorial powers over Italy. ... August 23 is the 235th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (236th in leap years), with 130 days remaining. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The word Dutch when used alone, has several possible meanings in the English language. ... Louis Andriessen (born June 6, 1939) is a Dutch composer and the son of the composer Hendrik Andriessen (1892-1981). ... The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Olivier Messiaen (December 10, 1908–April 27, 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist. ...

The bulk of Andriessen's output is for the stage; his study in Paris was primarily in writing film music. He had a variety of musical influences which he drew upon, including American film music, Aaron Copland's ballets, folk music of various cultures, neoclassicism, and serialism; this eclecticism combined with his compositional skill made his writing well-suited to scoring dramatic works. His first stage composition was incidental music for "The Miraculous Hour", a play premiered at the celebration of the 50th year of Queen Wilhelmina's reign, in 1948. In 1954 the Haagse Comedie (now the Nationaal Toneel, or "National Theatre") appointed him resident composer, where he wrote scores for Eugene O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra and Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, among numerous others. A film score is the background music in a film, generally specially written for the film and often used to heighten emotions provoked by the imagery on the screen or by the dialogue. ... Aaron Copland (born Aaron Cohen) ( November 14, 1900 – December 2, 1990) was an American composer of modern tonal music as well as film music. ... Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the people. ... Neoclassicism in music was instigated by Igor Stravinsky, according to himself, but attributed by others to composers including Ferruccio Busoni (who wrote Junge Klassizität or New Classicality in 1920), Sergei Prokofiev, Maurice Ravel, and others. ... Serialism is a rigorous system of composing music in which various elements of the piece are ordered according to a pre-determined ordered set or sets, and variations on them. ... Queen Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Orange-Nassau (August 31, 1880 - November 28, 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948 and Queen Mother (with the title of Princess) from 1948 to 1962. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Eugene O’Neill photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1933 Eugene Gladstone ONeill ( New York City, October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953 in Boston) was an American playwright. ... Mourning Becomes Electra is a play by Eugene ONeill. ... Sir Tom Stoppard OM is a British playwright, famous for plays such as The Real Thing and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and for the screenplay for Shakespeare in Love. ... Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is a humorous, absurdist, tragic and existentialist play by Tom Stoppard, first staged in 1966. ...

His stay in the United States on a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship from 1949 to 1951 was a fruitful one for his orchestral writing, another notable area of his work; during this time he composed the Tanglewood Overture for Serge Koussevitsky, and the Berkshire Symphonies, later used as ballet music by George Balanchine. His compositions were commissioned for state celebrations, including the wedding and the coronation of Queen Beatrix and the silver jubilee of Queen Juliana. The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... The Rockefeller Foundation is a charitable organization that operates out of New York City. ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Sergei Aleksandrovich Koussevitzky (July 26, 1874 – June 4, 1951), better known as Serge, was a Russian-born conductor. ... George Balanchine (January 9 (O.S.) = January 22 (N.S.), 1904–April 30, 1983) was one of the 20th centurys foremost choreographers, and one of the founders of American ballet. ... Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands reads her countrys Speech from the Throne. ... A Silver Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 25th anniversary. ... Queen Juliana Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, (April 30, 1909 - March 20, 2004) of the House of Orange-Nassau was Queen of the Netherlands from her mothers abdication in 1948 to her own abdication in 1980 and Queen Mother (with the title of Princess) from...

In addition to the theatre works he is most noted for, Andriessen was also a prolific composer of chamber and vocal works, many of which were meant to be performed by amateurs; he has also been a director for television.

Selected works

• Het wonderlijke uur (The Miraculous Hour), incidental music (1948)
• Berkshire Symphonies, orchestral (1949)
• Rouw past Elektra (Mourning becomes Electra), incidental music (1954)
• Entrata Festiva, orchestral, for the wedding of Princess Beatrix (1966)
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, stage score (1968)
• Een Prince van Orangien, orchestral, for the silver jubilee of Queen Juliana (1973)
• Entrata della regina, orchestral, for the coronation of Queen Beatrix (1980)

References

• Jos Wouters and Ronald Vermeulen: "Andriessen". Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy. Accessed 7 Mar 05.

The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is a dictionary of music and musicians, generally considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. ...

External links

• IMDb entry on Jurriaan Andriessen (http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0028990/)