Willem Jeths

(Amersfoort, 1959)

Suzanne Blanchard

Suzanne Blanchard

Componist des Vaderlands (Composer of the Nation), Willem Jeths sees himself as an innovator of the sound of the symphony orchestra. In doing so, he is following in the footsteps of a wide range of composers like Berg, Mahler and Debussy. In the colourful oeuvre of Jeths, tradition and innovation are not mutually exclusive, but go hand in hand.

Archetypes are important in the music of Jeths. His emotion is the guiding factor in that respect, with major themes such as death, pain and transience. In his own words: “Death is a mystery that lies in front of us. It is a subject that fascinates me endlessly and which is the central theme of my musical career.”

This theme can be found in many of his works, such as his First Symphony (2012) in which Jeths uses poems of Goethe to give voice to the transformation to another world. Or in the opera Hôtel de Pékin (2008), in which the fall of the old empire is the main focus and the Empress of China advocates an intrinsic rejuvenation of that same empire. A rejuvenation that ultimately culminates in a type of ‘love-death’, serving as a companion piece to the final scene of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde.

The themes of love and death, decay and rejuvenation are not only the main focus of his First Symphony, but also of his Recorder Concerto that Jeths was commissioned to compose for the NTR ZaterdagMatinee for Dutch recorder player Erik Bosgraaf and the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest. Jeths is currently finishing a requiem for the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, vocal soloists and the Groot Omroepkoor (Netherlands Radio Choir).

www.willemjeths.com