Description

JOHANNES HENDRIKUS PHILIP KINDLER (ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS JANUARY 8, 1892 – WATCH HILL, RHODE ISLAND, USA AUGUST 30, 1949)

Johannes Hendrikus Philip Kindler was a Dutch American cellist and conductor who founded the National Symphony Orchestra. He was married to painter Alice Kindler and Persis Chase Myers. Kindler was born in Rotterdam as the child of Johan Karl Eduard Kindler (1838–1899) and Johannetta Filippina Maria Hanken. Kindler made his public debut aged 10 and took first prizes in cello and piano at the Rotterdam Conservatory in 1906. He studied under Jean Gerardy and Pablo Casals and in 1910 appeared as a soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic. He made a considerable reputation in Europe but when he went to the USA in 1914 to further his career, the outbreak of the First World War prevented his return. He immediately joined the Philadelphia Orchestra and was appointed first cello by Stokowski in 1916. That same year he gave the world premiere of Bloch’s Schelomo at Carnegie Hall. He stayed in Philadelphia until 1920 but then resumed his solo career, both as a concerto soloist under such conductors as Mengelberg, Monteux and Reiner, and collaborating in chamber music recitals with Ravel and Rachmaninov. He gave first performances of works by Ravel and Schoenberg, and Ferruccio Busoni dedicated an arrangement of Bach’s Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue for cello and piano to him. In 1929 he made extensive tours of the USA and Europe and also visited the Far East. But by now he had become an American citizen and taken up conducting and this led to a new career. Kindler made his conducting debut in 1927 with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the following year conducted the world premiere of Stravinsky’s ballet Apollon musagète in Washington, commissioned by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge. He then devoted himself entirely to conducting, a move which led him to found a brand new orchestra. This occurred in 1931 when he formed the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) in Washington, DC. Despite the Depression, the venture was a great success and resulted in many nationwide tours. Kindler was a champion of modern composers and introduced many new works to his audiences. He also achieved high praise for his moulding of the NSO and it was soon being ranked alongside the orchestras in Boston and Philadelphia. He stayed with the NSO for many years and in David Ewen’s Dictators of the Baton (1948) the author wrote: “Kindler may not rise to those empyrean heights to which some other conductors may soar, but he is a self-respecting and respected musician who does justice to the great music he performs, and serves his art with humility.” That same year he guest-conducted in Europe and received plaudits from critics in Germany and Denmark who compared him with Weingartner and Toscanini. However, post-war conditions at the National Symphony Orchestra had deteriorated, as had Kindler’s health, so he resigned on 30 November 1948 and gave his farewell concert the following March. Following a serious operation he died a few months later, on August 30, 1949 at Watch Hill, Rhode Island.

TRACKLIST

1. Le Cygne (Saint-Saëns) Victor 45096
2. Melody in F (Rubinstein) Victor 45096
3. Arabian melody (Glazunov) Victor 66026
4. A Dream (Bartlett) Victor 45102
5. Fond Recollections (Popper) Victor 64861
6. Orientale (Cui) Victor 64896
7. Sonata (Harsányi) Columbia DFX5 WLX 1065
8. Traumerei (Schumann) Victor 45102
9. Gavotte no. 2, op. 23 (Popper) Victor 45116
10. Menuet (Valencin) Victor 45116
11. Menuett (Handel) Victor 64841
12. Song without words, op. 12, no. 1 (Daniel van Goens) Victor 74682
13. Nina (Pergolesi) Victor 64932
14. Rêverie (Dunkler) Victor 66049
15. Simple confession (Thomé) Victor 66011
16. Wiegenlied (Cradle song) (Schubert) Victor 66053
17. Killarney (Balfe) Victor 704
18. Berceuse (Cradle Song) with Jarnefelt (as conductor) Victor 10-1245-B
19. Praeludium with with Jarnefelt (as conductor) Victor 10-1245-A
20. Two Sixteen Century Dutch Tunes See How Strong (Merck Toch Hoe Sterck) (as conductor) Victor 18071-B