The Most Famous
COMPOSERS from Netherlands
This page contains a list of the greatest Dutch Composers. The pantheon dataset contains 1,451 Composers, 11 of which were born in Netherlands. This makes Netherlands the birth place of the 22nd most number of Composers behind Romania, and Sweden.
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Dutch Composers of all time. This list of famous Dutch Composers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Dutch Composers.
1. Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562 - 1621)
With an HPI of 63.98, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck is the most famous Dutch Composer. His biography has been translated into 36 different languages on wikipedia.
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck ( YAHN PEE-tər-sohn SWAY-link; April or May, 1562 – 16 October 1621) was a Dutch composer, organist, and pedagogue whose work straddled the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras. He was among the first major keyboard composers of Europe, and his work as a teacher helped establish the north German organ tradition.
2. Antonia Brico (1902 - 1989)
With an HPI of 61.46, Antonia Brico is the 2nd most famous Dutch Composer. Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Antonia Louisa Brico (June 26, 1902 – August 3, 1989) was a Dutch-born American conductor and pianist.
3. Johann Adam Reincken (1643 - 1722)
With an HPI of 59.76, Johann Adam Reincken is the 3rd most famous Dutch Composer. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.
Johann Adam Reincken (also Jan Adams, Jean Adam, Reinken, Reinkinck, Reincke, Reinicke, Reinike; baptized 10 December 1643 – 24 November 1722) was a Dutch/German organist and composer. He was one of the most important composers of the 17th century, a friend of Dieterich Buxtehude and a major influence on Johann Sebastian Bach; however, very few of his works survive to this day.
4. Gustav Leonhardt (1928 - 2012)
With an HPI of 59.69, Gustav Leonhardt is the 4th most famous Dutch Composer. His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.
Gustav Maria Leonhardt (30 May 1928 – 16 January 2012) was a Dutch keyboardist, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. He was a leading figure in the historically informed performance movement to perform music on period instruments. Leonhardt professionally played many instruments, including the harpsichord, pipe organ, claviorganum (a combination of harpsichord and organ), clavichord, fortepiano, and piano. He also conducted orchestras and choruses.
5. Willem Mengelberg (1871 - 1951)
With an HPI of 59.00, Willem Mengelberg is the 5th most famous Dutch Composer. His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.
Joseph Wilhelm Mengelberg (28 March 1871 – 21 March 1951) was a Dutch conductor, famous for his performances of Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler and Strauss with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic conductors of the 20th century.
6. Jacob Clemens non Papa (1510 - 1555)
With an HPI of 56.54, Jacob Clemens non Papa is the 6th most famous Dutch Composer. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.
Jacobus Clemens non Papa (also Jacques Clément or Jacob Clemens non Papa) (c. 1510 to 1515 – 1555 or 1556) was a Netherlandish composer of the Renaissance based for most of his life in Flanders. He was a prolific composer in many of the current styles, and was especially famous for his polyphonic settings of the psalms in Dutch known as the Souterliedekens.
7. Jacob van Eyck (1590 - 1657)
With an HPI of 54.54, Jacob van Eyck is the 7th most famous Dutch Composer. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Jonkheer Jacob van Eyck ( van EYEK, Dutch: [ˈjaːkɔp fɑn ˈɛik]; c. 1590 – 26 March 1657) was a Dutch nobleman, composer and blind musician. He was one of the best-known musicians of the Dutch Golden Age, working as a carillon player and technician, a recorder virtuoso, and a composer. He was an expert in bell casting and tuning, and taught Pieter and François Hemony how to tune a carillon. Van Eyck is credited with developing the modern carillon together with the brothers in 1644, when they cast the first tuned carillon in Zutphen. He is also known for his collection of 143 compositions for recorder, Der Fluyten Lust-hof, the largest work for a solo wind instrument in European history.
8. Louis Andriessen (1939 - 2021)
With an HPI of 52.79, Louis Andriessen is the 8th most famous Dutch Composer. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.
Louis Joseph Andriessen (Dutch: [luˈʋi ˈɑndrisə(n)]; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Although his music was initially dominated by neoclassicism and serialism, his style gradually shifted to a synthesis of American minimalism, big band jazz and the expressionism of Igor Stravinsky. Born in Utrecht into a musical family, Andriessen studied with his father, the composer Hendrik Andriessen as well as composers Kees van Baaren and Luciano Berio. Andriessen taught at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague from 1974 to 2012, influencing notable composers. His opera La Commedia, based on Dante's Divine Comedy, won the 2011 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition and was selected in 2019 by critics at The Guardian as one of the most outstanding compositions of the 21st century.
9. Simeon ten Holt (1923 - 2012)
With an HPI of 52.44, Simeon ten Holt is the 9th most famous Dutch Composer. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Simeon ten Holt (24 January 1923 – 25 November 2012) was a Dutch contemporary classical composer. Ten Holt was born in Bergen, North Holland, and studied with Jakob van Domselaer, eventually developing a highly personal style of minimal composition. Van Domselaer's influence on ten Holt's musical philosophy was considerable, with the younger composer picking up van Domselaer's interests in the links between music and visual art, in music's relationship with mathematics, and in the use of the piano as a principal instrument in his compositions. Ten Holt generally used consonant, tonal materials and his works are organized in numerous cells, made up of a few measures each, which are repeated ad libitum according to the player's preference. Many of his works are for piano or ensembles of multiple pianos. His most famous work is Canto Ostinato, which he wrote in 1976 and is considered one of the most famous works in contemporary classical Dutch music history. Ten Holt died 25 November 2012 in Alkmaar, the Netherlands, aged 89.
10. Junkie XL (b. 1967)
With an HPI of 46.31, Junkie XL is the 10th most famous Dutch Composer. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.
Tom Holkenborg (born 8 December 1967), also known as Junkie XL, is a Dutch composer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, producer, and engineer. Originally known for his trance productions, he has moved to producing electronica and big beat music and film scores. His remix of Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" became a worldwide hit in 2002. In film scores, he has worked with Hans Zimmer and his company Remote Control Productions on Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as composing the scores for Zack Snyder's Justice League, Divergent, Mad Max: Fury Road, Deadpool, Tomb Raider, Alita: Battle Angel, Terminator: Dark Fate, Sonic the Hedgehog (and its sequels), Scoob!, Godzilla vs. Kong, Army of the Dead, and Three Thousand Years of Longing.
People
Pantheon has 12 people classified as Dutch composers born between 1510 and 1970. Of these 12, 2 (16.67%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Dutch composers include Junkie XL, and Michel van der Aa. The most famous deceased Dutch composers include Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Antonia Brico, and Johann Adam Reincken. As of April 2024, 1 new Dutch composers have been added to Pantheon including Antonia Brico.
Living Dutch Composers
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Deceased Dutch Composers
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Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
1562 - 1621
HPI: 63.98
Antonia Brico
1902 - 1989
HPI: 61.46
Johann Adam Reincken
1643 - 1722
HPI: 59.76
Gustav Leonhardt
1928 - 2012
HPI: 59.69
Willem Mengelberg
1871 - 1951
HPI: 59.00
Jacob Clemens non Papa
1510 - 1555
HPI: 56.54
Jacob van Eyck
1590 - 1657
HPI: 54.54
Louis Andriessen
1939 - 2021
HPI: 52.79
Simeon ten Holt
1923 - 2012
HPI: 52.44
Anthony van Hoboken
1887 - 1983
HPI: 45.96
Newly Added Dutch Composers (2024)
Go to all RankingsOverlapping Lives
Which Composers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 6 most globally memorable Composers since 1700.
