Bernard Zweers was
born in 1854 in Amsterdam. Discouraged
by his father, he was largely self-taught.
As a young man he was bowled over by
Der Ring des Nibelungen although
his music was not overly influenced
by Wagner. In Amsterdam, he established
himself as a composer, conductor and
musical educator, serving on the faculty
of the Concertgebouw’s Orchestral School
from its establishment in 1890. In 1895
he was appointed professor of analysis
and composition at the Amsterdam Conservatory
serving in that post until his retirement
in 1922.
Saskia is a
musical portrait of Saskia, Rembrandt’s
wife. The music shows that she was humble
and kind and also pious (Zweers incorporates
a Catholic hymn tune into this piece)
but hints that the marriage weathered
some stormy patches and perhaps she
might have been a bit tetchy too?
The programme notes
to this album are not always pertinent
to the music and those referring to
the Symphony include many uncomplimentary
observations and cutting remarks by
a contemporary critic. In truth this
is not an impressive work. The opening
movement is outgoing and pleasant enough.
It is often heroic and noble, its influences
quite plainly Beethoven and Brahms.
The middle two movements are quite the
reverse in mood and style. The Andante
is dainty, feminine ballet music in
style and rather fey with slight disturbances
as though one of the ballerinas is having
the sulks and the others rushing around
in circles. The third movement the Andante
lingers in fairyland. The finale is
an odd mix of Beethoven-ish bombast
and Tchaikovsky-ian ballet steps. Wit
does what he can with this; what can
I say, less than impressive material.
Joost van den Vondel’s
stage play Gijsbrecht van Aemstel
was an epic drama concerning the antagonism
between the Lord of Aemstel (Gijsbrecht)
and his enemy Gerard van Velzen. The
old city of Amsterdam is destroyed:
its citizens flee and in exile, they
dream of a new reborn city. Courage,
acceptance, faith and hope are the themes
of the play. Zweers’ music begins well,
portentously enough but the inspiration
soon dries up and the music becoming
pedestrian and repetitive without variety.
Too often Zweers’ music sounds as if
the laser ‘needle’ has stuck. Only one
movement of this work impressed this
reviewer – the third which is very Brahmsian.
This is tenderly romantic and has an
endearing melody, speaking of pathos
(but spoilt by some rather poor horn
playing) crescendoing to a passionate
outburst.
Dull, uninspired music
– a disappointment
Ian Lace
see also review
by Guy Rickards who did find more to
enjoy
* Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra/Antoni
Wit 
