Mengelberg - Willem Mengelberg

Dutch conductor. One of the great masters of the first half of the 20th century. He studied at the Conservatory in his hometown of Utrecht, and then at the Cologne Conservatory. In 1891 he became the conductor of the Lucerne Orchestra, but in 1995 he was chosen as the second principal conductor of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, a position he held for half a century, developing it into one of the world's leading orchestras. He was also very active internationally, and in the 1920s he also served as the principal conductor of the New York Philharmonic, where he made a name for himself. However, he was accused of collaborating with the Nazis and was forced out of his position in 1945, and retired to Switzerland, where he died in despair. He consistently maintained a style of rich romantic expression, and made frequent use of tempo rubato, making even Bach appear sweet, a quality he made the most of in Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and R. Strauss.

[Hiroyuki Iwai]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

オランダの指揮者。20世紀前半を代表する巨匠の一人。生地ユトレヒトの音楽院、ついでケルン音楽院で学ぶ。1891年ルツェルン管弦楽団の指揮者となったが、95年アムステルダム・コンセルトヘボウ管弦楽団の2代目の常任指揮者に選ばれ、以来半世紀にわたって在任、これを世界有数のオーケストラに育て上げた。国際的な活動も活発で、1920年代にはニューヨーク・フィルハーモニーの常任指揮者も兼任、名をあげた。しかしナチス協力者とされて45年にその職を追われ、スイスに引退して失意のうちに世を去った。ロマン的な表情付けの濃厚な芸風を一貫して保持、テンポ・ルバートを多用して、バッハさえも甘美に表出したが、この持ち味はチャイコフスキー、マーラー、R・シュトラウスで最高度に生かされた。

［岩井宏之］

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