The Most Famous

COMPOSERS from Netherlands

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This page contains a list of the greatest Dutch Composers. The pantheon dataset contains 1,451 Composers, 12 of which were born in Netherlands. This makes Netherlands the birth place of the 21st most number of Composers behind Finland, and Denmark.

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.

Photo of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck

1. Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562 - 1621)

With an HPI of 71.04, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck is the most famous Dutch Composer.  His biography has been translated into 37 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.

Photo of Jacob Clemens non Papa

2. Jacob Clemens non Papa (1510 - 1555)

With an HPI of 69.00, Jacob Clemens non Papa is the 2nd 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.

Photo of Gustav Leonhardt

3. Gustav Leonhardt (1928 - 2012)

With an HPI of 67.23, Gustav Leonhardt is the 3rd 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.

Photo of Willem Mengelberg

4. Willem Mengelberg (1871 - 1951)

With an HPI of 66.13, Willem Mengelberg is the 4th 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.

Photo of Johann Adam Reincken

5. Johann Adam Reincken (1643 - 1722)

With an HPI of 65.59, Johann Adam Reincken is the 5th 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.

Photo of Antonia Brico

6. Antonia Brico (1902 - 1989)

With an HPI of 62.73, Antonia Brico is the 6th 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.

Photo of Jacob van Eyck

7. Jacob van Eyck (1590 - 1657)

With an HPI of 61.59, 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.

Photo of Junkie XL

8. Junkie XL (b. 1967)

With an HPI of 60.31, Junkie XL is the 8th 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, Three Thousand Years of Longing and Rebel Moon as well as Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver.

Photo of Louis Andriessen

9. Louis Andriessen (1939 - 2021)

With an HPI of 59.70, Louis Andriessen is the 9th 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.

Photo of Anthony van Hoboken

10. Anthony van Hoboken (1887 - 1983)

With an HPI of 59.03, Anthony van Hoboken is the 10th most famous Dutch Composer.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Anthony van Hoboken ( HOH-boh-kən, Dutch: [vɑn ˈɦoːboːkə(n)]; 23 March 1887 – 1 November 1983) was a Dutch musical collector, bibliographer, and musicologist. He became especially well known for his scholarship on the music of Joseph Haydn and in particular for being the creator of the Hoboken catalogue, the standard scholarly catalogue of Haydn's works.

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, Jacob Clemens non Papa, and Gustav Leonhardt. As of April 2024, 12 new Dutch composers have been added to Pantheon including Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Jacob Clemens non Papa, and Gustav Leonhardt.

Living Dutch Composers

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Deceased Dutch Composers

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Newly Added Dutch Composers (2024)

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Overlapping Lives

Which Composers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 6 most globally memorable Composers since 1700.