Bernard Zweers - Symphony No. 1

Bernard Zweers (1854-1924)

Symphony No. 1 in D major : for orchestra (1881)

1. Andante - allegro - 00:00
2. Adagio - 09:48
3. Scherzo (Presto) - 15:19
4. Finale. Allegro assai - 18:57

Orchestra: Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Ed Spanjaard


As a composer Zweers sought to create a truly Dutch music, free from foreign influences, German in particular. To that end he chose to set Dutch texts, finding his main inspiration in the poetry of P.C. Boutens. His vocal works were performed mostly by his wife and former pupil, the soprano Dora de Louw. Although he was twice honoured by the Queen of the Netherlands, and highly regarded in musical circles, his ideas on Dutch music never took root. His best-known work is the Third Symphony, Aan mijn vaderland (1887-1890), first performed in its entirety in April 1890. A large-scale work lasting over an hour, it makes extensive use of melodic and motivic transformation and requires an enlarged brass section (including saxhorns in the fourth movement). The style is distinctive but conservative; here as in other mature works there are reminiscences of Tchaikovsky, Brahms and especially Wagner. Other important works include the Preludes and Choruses for Joost van den Vondel's Gijsbrecht van Aemstel (1892-1894), commissioned for the reopening of the City Theatre in Amsterdam; the Saskia Overture (1906), for the Rembrandt tercentenary; Aan de schoonheid (1909); and two Tagore settings, Wijzangen (1914-1915).