Willem Pijper and the organ culture

One would not readily expect the name of the composer Willem Pijper to appear in a journal devoted to organ culture. After all, he did not compose a single work for the organ, as was the case with many composers. Other twentieth-century composers—including Benjamin Britten, Louis Andriessen and Rudolf Escher—wrote only one organ work. Arnold Schönberg (1874–1951) composed two, one of which remained unfinished. Although the organ does not feature in Pijper’s compositional output, it nevertheless played a role in the professional life of this Dutch composer, particularly in the period 1917–1922. This article describes Pijper’s relationship with the organ.
Kees Weggelaar, who proposed the subject to the editorial board, wrote the first part. In it, he outlines the personality of Willem Pijper and provides a brief introduction to his compositional oeuvre. The second part of the article (from the paragraph The organ in Pijper’s youth) is written by Jan Smelik.