Johan Berghout
Johan Cornelis Berghout was born on 2 September 1869 in Rotterdam (Netherlands). From 1886 to 1891 he studied at the Toonkunst-Muziekschool in Rotterdam under Friedrich Gernsheim (composition, music theory, piano), Ferdinand Blumentritt (instrumentation) and Willy Hess (violin). There is little biographical information about Johan Berghout, but it seems that he made a living from being a conductor and composer. For example he was the conductor the of symphony orchestra „Polyphonia“ in Rotterdam, an orchestra affiliated with the local Catholic circle. But his main activity must have been composing. In 1941 a Dutch newspaper reported the completion of the 500th composition by Johan Berghout. In his last years Johan Berghout moved to Velsen where he continued to compose. He died on 20 May 1963 in Amsterdam (Netherlands).
Berghout archive
In my possession are several autograph manuscripts by Johan Berghout. That include:
- Symphony No.2 (1928)
- Concert piece for harp and orchestra op.265 (1930)
- Scenes from the New Testament, for women's choir, string orchestra, piano and harp (1932)
- Symphony No.6 (1954)
- Concert-Ouverture, for orchestra (1959)
- Marche de concert, for orchestra
- Veni Creator Spiritus, for men's choir and organ
- Romance en Humoreske, for oboe (or clarinet) and orchestra
- Marche triomphale, for orchestra
as well as the written manuscript for the book "Nederlandsch-Instrumentatie-Leerboek".
Due to the fact that none of these works were published before, I have typeset the compositions and the scores can be downloaded for information purposes below.
Symphony No.2
The Symphony No.2 for orchestra was composed in 1928. It became quite important in the output of Johan Berghout because it won the 3rd place in the International Columbia Graphophone Competition for the country section V (Germany and the Netherlands) in 1928.
The competition is also know as the "Schubert competition" because at first the Columbia record company wanted to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the death of Franz Schubert and asked for a completion of the "Unfinished Symphony". But the rules were changed very soon and composers could submit original symphonies as well. Composers from all around the world could participate and so the world was divided into country sections. Johan Berghout submitted his Symphony No.2 for the section V which included Germany and the Netherlands. According to the manuscript of Johan Berghout the jury for this section was made up of Hermann Bischoff, Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek, Max von Schillings, Johan Wagenaar and Ernst Wendel. Berghout's symphony received a honourable mention (i.e. 3rd place). The winner of the section V became the Symphony No.5 by Hermann Wunsch, the final winner of the whole competition was the Symphony No.6 by Kurt Atterberg.
Symphony No.6
The Symphony No.6 for orchestra was composed in 1954 for the 125th anniversary of the founding of the "Maatschappij tot bevordering der Toonkunst" (Society for the promotion of music).
Concert piece for harp and orchestra
The Concert piece for harp and orchestra op.265 was composed in 1930. It is dedicate to the daughter of Johan Berghout. His daughter Sophia Berghout - called "Phia" - was a renowned solo harpist. At the time of the creation of the Concert piece Phia Berghout was 21 years old and still studied at the Amsterdam Conservatory under Rosa Spier.
Concert-Ouverture for orchestra
The Concert-Ouverture for orchestra was composed in 1959. According to the manuscript is was finished on 26 July 1959. I found no information about a performance so it is very likely that the work is still awaiting its world premiere.
Romance and Humoreske for oboe and orchestra
The original title of the composition is "Romance en Humoreske voor Hobo-solo (of Clarinet-solo) met Orkestbegeleiding" and shows that the solo part can be played by an oboe or clarinet. The manuscript gives no date and I could not find any information about a performance either.
Scenes from the New Testament
The composition "Tafereelen uit het Nieuwe Testament" (Scenes from the New Testament) is scored for women's choir, string orchestra, piano and harp and was composed in 1932. In my possession are the autograph full score as well as several parts for soprano and alto voices. This fact indicates that a performance of the work very likely had happened, but I have no information when or where such a premiere took place.
Marche triomphale, for orchestra
The composition "Marche triomphale" is scored for orchestra. The manuscript gives no date when the work was composed and I could not find any information about a performance either.
