Röntgen, Julius (EN)

Röntgen Julius, *9 May 1855 Leipzig, †13 September 1932 Bilthoven (near Utrecht), Dutch composer, conductor and pianist, son of Engelbert. He took piano lessons with L. Plaida (from 1868) and with C. Reinecke; he studied harmony and counterpoint with M. Hauptmann (1866–1868), composition with F. Lachner (1871–1873). In the years 1873 to 1874, he was accompanist to the baritone J. Stockhausen in Cannstatt. He took part in the Bachverein concerts in Leipzig from 1874 to 1878. In 1877, he moved to Amsterdam, where he taught piano at the music school until 1926. The school transformed into a conservatory in 1884, of which he was a co-founder, and he served as director from 1912 to 1924. He performed as a soloist and a chamber musician (including with P. Casals), conductor of orchestras and choirs of the Excelsior (1884–1886) and Toonkunstkoor (1886–1898) singing societies. He was friends with J. Brahms, who visited the Netherlands in 1884 and 1885, and with E. Grieg (an extensive correspondence from 1883 to 1907 survives), who dedicated the Lyrische Stücke Op. 54 to him. In 1925 Röntgen retired, settled in Bilthoven, and devoted himself to composing.

Julius Röntgen’s first wife – Amanda née Maier (1853–1894), a violinist of Swedish origin, studied at the Stockholm Conservatory and later with Engelbert Röntgen in Leipzig. Their sons, Julius Röntgen junior (1881–1951) and Engelbert Röntgen (1886–1958), were musicians. Julius was violinist, student of J. Joachim, member of the Kneisel Quartet, professor at the Institute of Musical Art in New York and the Amsterdam Conservatory. Egelbert was cellist, soloist of the Metropolitan Opera House orchestra, professor at Mannes College of Music in New York and chamber musician, performing with his father in the Röntgen Trio before 1914. The sons from Julius Röntgen’s second marriage to a Dutch woman, Abranamina des Amorie van der Hoeven, were also musicians. Johannes Röntgen (1898–1969) was composer, conductor, and chamber pianist, played among others with P. Casals, H. Marteau and in a trio with his younger brothers. Joachim Röntgen (1906–1989) was violinist, professor at The Hague Conservatory and founder of the Röntgen Quartet, and Edward Frants Röntgen (1902–1969) was cellist.

Julius Röntgen’s rich compositional legacy belongs to the post-Romantic period. The early works show influences from Schumann and Brahms. Röntgen was keen to use elements of folk music from various countries (including Scandinavian countries) in his work, which appeared in his pieces even before he met Grieg. In his later works, there is a noticeable influence of the polyphony of M. Reger and the harmonics of C. Debussy.

Literature: Brieven van Julius Röntgen (“Letters from Julius Röntgen”), published in A. Röntgen, Amsterdam 1934; J.H. van der Meer Julius Röntgen 1855–1932, “Mededelingen Gemeentemuseum van Der Haag”’ X, 1955; H. de Vries Stavland Julius Röntgen og Edvard Grieg. Et musikalsk vennskap (“Julius Röntgen and Edvard Grieg. A musical friendship”) Bergen 1994; Edvard Grieg und Julius Röntgen. Briefwechsel 1883–1907, published by F. Benestad and H. de Vries Stavland, “Bouwstenen voor een geschiedenis der toonkunst in de Nederlanden” (“Cornerstones for a history of tonal art in the Netherlands”) VII, 1997.