DAVID PORCELIJN

David Porcelijn

David Porcelijn is a conductor and composer. For most of his conducting career, he has worked abroad, for example as the chief conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. He was briefly the chief conductor of the North Holland Philhamonic Orchestra in the Netherlands. Porcelijn has ...
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Mentioned in the biography of

1951   Leo Samama
1969   Marcel Beekman
1993   Irene Maessen

Biography David Porcelijn

David Porcelijn is a conductor and composer. For most of his conducting career, he has worked abroad, for example as the chief conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. He was briefly the chief conductor of the North Holland Philhamonic Orchestra in the Netherlands. Porcelijn has recorded a large number of CDs, most of them of contemporary music. His work as a composer shows two distinct periods: from 1967 to 1979, when he composed in a serially based style; and 1985 and 1986, when he wrote several more tonally oriented works.

1947 - 1972

David Porcelijn is born in Achtkarspelen (Friesland) on January 7. He studies the flute with Frans Vester and composition with Kees van Baaren and Jan van Vlijmen at the Conservatory of Music in The Hague.

1972 - 1974

Porcelijn and Ton Hartsuiker begin Ensemble M. After graduating at the Royal Conservatory Porcelijn studies orchestral conducting, composition and music theory in Geneva with Michel Tabachnik. He becomes the conductor of the Netherlands Radio Wind Ensemble.

1974 - 1978

David Porcelijn is deputee director, and instructor of orchestral conducting, music theory, and performance practice of 17th- and 18th-century music at the Rotterdam Conservatory. He composes 'Shades' (1975) for the Reger Trio. The NRC-Handelsblad writes in a review of a performance of 'Shades' in 1977 that it “has exciting passages: the beginning is strong, and the conclusion, too, is convincing. There is a lot of similar, rising motion, and when the textures are thinned it goes wrong”. Porcelijn resigns in 1976 as Tabachnik's assistant conductor. In 1977 he leaves the Netherlands Radio Wind Ensemble and becomes chief conductor and artistic director of the Gewestelijk Orkest van Zuid Holland [Regional Orchestra of South Holland province]. The Netherlands Dance Theatre names him its conductor and music director.

1982

He resigns as chief conductor and artistic director of the Gewestelijk Orkest van Zuid Holland.

1986

Porcelijn relinquishes his conductor and music director posts with the Netherlands Dance Theatre. He conducts the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra for the first time, during the Adelaide Festival, accompanying a series of Netherlands Dance Theatre performances. He composes the 'Symphonic Requiem' for orchestra and dedicates it to Mozart, Berlioz, Brahms, Verdi, and Britten. He designates the work, which breaks with his previous, serial style, as his Opus 1. De Volkskrant writes: “Porcelijn's new style is distinguished particularly by its alternation of tonal melodic fragments with massive orchestral outbursts. Set against beautifully scored passages are less successful attempts at a sort of Klangfarbenmelodie, and interspersed among diffuse chord blocks are many triads – that's allowed again. Hurrah!”

1991

Porcelijn makes his opera debut with the State Opera of South Australia conducting Verdi's 'Rigoletto'.

1992

He becomes the principal guest conductor and artistic adviser of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. He receives the BMW Music Theatre Prize for musical direction at the Munich Biennial for his conducting of the opera 'Snatched by the Gods/Broken Strings' by the Indian composer Param Vir.

1993

Porcelijn becomes the chief conductor and artistic director of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. He receives an Edison award for his recording with the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra of music by Hendrik Andriessen.

1994

He is named principal conductor of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. He makes his British opera debut with an Opera North production of Verdi's 'Oberto'. He receives the ABC Classic FM Australian Recording of the Year Award for his CD of Messiaen's 'Éclairs sur l'Au-délà' with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

1996

As successor of Lucas Vis, he becomes the chief conductor of the North Holland Philharmonic Orchestra on August 1.

1997

Porcelijn writes the artistic commission of the North Holland Philhamonic Orchestra stating that he no longer wishes to work with the programmer Piet Veenstra. Porcelijn finds Veenstra's difficult, adventuresome programmes too taxing for the orchestra. The director and board side with Veenstra. Porcelijn becomes chief conductor and artistic director of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.

1998

He resigns from the North Holland Philharmonic Orchestra after the board reports that the orchestra has lost faith in him. In the Haarlems Dagblad he says: “If you try to add some pep to such an orchestra, a lot of people feel like you're breathing down their neck. Then they complain. I say that the board and directors did not act upright in this matter. (…) I had to work very hard to arrange things like discipline, orchestral sound, and the studying of parts”. He also resigns as chief conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

2000

He resigns as chief conductor of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.

2003

Porcelijn conducts the Nieuw Ensemble at the Edinburgh International Festival.

2004

He goes on tour with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

2006

He begins recording a CD cycle of the works of the Dutch composer Henk Badings.

2010

Porcelijn is named the chief conductor of the Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester in Denmark.

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