MENGELBERG, JOSEF WILLEM,
leading conductor of Holland and one of of great conductors the our time, was born in Utrecht, Holland, on March 28, 1871. His father was a well known authority on Gothic architecture who took a prominent part in restoring the Cathedral of Cologne.  At the School of Music in Utrecht, Mengelberg first began to study music, Photo by Campbell specializing in t h e playing of the piano. His studies were completed at the Cologne Conservatory with Seiss, Wüllner and Jensen.
     He was only twenty-one when he was chosen from among eighty candidates for the post of Director of Music of the City of Lucerne. This appointment changed the direction of his artistic life from the career of a piano virtuoso to that of a conductor. In Lucerne, Mengelberg conducted town concerts and several opera performances.
     After four years in Lucerne, Mengelberg was called back to his native country to become the principal conductor of the Concertgebouw orchestra of Amsterdam. This position he has held to the present time. His achievement in elevating the Concertgebouw orchestra to a rank of major importance among the orchestras of the world has brought him worldwide fame. His festivals devoted to the music of Beethoven, Mahler, and Richard Strauss assumed the stature of musical events of international importance.
     Invitations came to Mengelberg to appear as guest of the foremost orchestras of Europe. In 1903 he appeared for the first time in London on the occasion of a Richard Strauss festival. In 1905, he paid a brief visit to the United States as guest of the New York Philharmonic. Two years after this he was appointed conductor of the Museum Concerts in Frank fort-on-the-Main, and one year later he also became conductor of the St. Cecilia Club in the same city. From 1911 to 1914 he conducted in London regularly, alternating between the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic.
     In 1920, Mengelberg was invited by Artur Bodanzky as guest conductor of his newly organized National Symphony orchestra. making his first appearances with that organization in January, 1921. Coming to America at a time when there was a dearth of outstanding conductorial talent, Mengelberg soon became the object of extravagant enthusiasm. The critics were effusive in their praises. Richard Aldrich called his interpretations "so conscientious, so devoted, so intelligent" in every detail. The audiences were idolatrous. One writer commented at the time that the scenes following some of the Mengelberg concerts were disgraceful episodes for a dignified concert hakll: Mengelberg was kissed, caressed and mobbed by the swarming crowds of his admirers as if tie were a screen star.
     When Bodanzky’s orchestra was amalgamated with the New York Philharmonic, Mengelberg was appointed permanent conductor, succeeding Josef Stransky. For eight years he remained the principal conductor of this great orchestra. His was a brilliant one. His performances of
music of Richard Strauss and Mahler, fox example, were the last word in authority and understanding. His interpretations of the classics had dignity, often a majestic breadth
and proportion. To old music he brought a touch of sensitivity, music a galvanic energy.
     In 1930 Mengelberg resigned as conduct of the New York Philharmonic. He left under a cloud; his one-time public had not remained true to its idol, and he became subjected to severe criticisms. The reason for Mengelberg’s loss of prestige is not difficult to explain. For one thing, it became evident toward the close of his regime in New York that his art was suffering deterioration. Confronted with the enormous rising popularity of Arturo Toscanini (who first came to conduct the Philharmonic in 1926) Mengelberg attempted pathetically to retain his enormous following by resorting to some exaggerations of interpretation. Equally important in bringing about the dusk of Mengelberg’s popularity was the insistence on the part of the directors
of the Philharmonic that he change his programs more frequently; and Mengelberg was always a slow worker who required detailed preparation. By changing his programs more often, his performances became hurriedly prepared and poorly articulated.
     With no little bitterness Mengelberg returned to Europe, vowing never again to return to America. Back with his Concertgebouw, where his word was the final law, Mengelberg could reestablish his position as a conductor. His concerts in Holland, and his tours with his orchestra in England and France, emphasized once again that when he is given full command, he can become one of the great leaders of our time..
     It should not be forgotten that at his best Mengelberg is an extraordinary conductor. "He is among the two or three excelling. masters of orchestral technique," wrote Lawrence Gilman. "His knowledge of sonorities, of instrumental resources, of the long and difficult path that leads from conception to realization is unquestioned and complete. And it is this superb command of his medium that gives the special note of authority to his performances. . . . Beyond question he is a great conductor. His lapses may try one sorely, but his virtues are magnificent. When he is in the vein, his passion, and energy and momentum, his amazing power, his breadth and sweep of imagination carry everything before them."
     It should also not be forgotten that Mengelberg has been a powerful influence in the musical development of this country. As this writer has commented in his book on conductors, The Man with the Baton: "In a short while he had created a standard of performance so incomparably higher than what had preceded him that it soon became necessary for such conductors as Josef Stransky and Walter Damrosch to withdraw from the scene and confess that their day was over; and, as a direct result, a higher type of conductor was demanded by every major orchestra in the country. . . . Then, as the conductor of the New York Philharmonic, he brought about such a metamorphosis in its technique and artistic attainments that, when he finally yielded his baton to Toscanini, it had already become one of the major symphonic bodies in the world."
     In her valuable biography, Edna R. Sollitt wrote as follows about Mengelberg as a personality: "Mengelberg can be severe; it is even terrible to watch him in a rare moment of anger, when he maintains a silence that is absolutely thunderous. But there is always dignity, always reason and control to the fore, and he never indulges in nerves, hysteria and temper. And never does a rehearsal finish in anger, or a player leave his presence with a weight of pain or injustice in his heart."
     Mrs. Sollitt gives us a picture of Mengelberg during rehearsals which further directs illumination on his personality. "Mengelberg uses a specially designed stand for rehearsing, with side pieces and a narrow seat across the back. Theoretically, he rests his arms often on the sides and sits at ease while working. Actually, this seldom happens; he is too interested. When strenuously reminded of long strains to come, and urged with more than usual vehemence to save himself a little, he begins by sitting still, sometimes for several minutes, and using a trifle less energy in his beat. But comes a passage full of interest and, for him, what passage is not ? and up he springs as if electrified, which indeed he is. . . . Never lived a man who better loved a bit of fun. Not long ago, at the end of an hour s repolishing of an overture already familiar to the players, and after allowing them to play the last section through, Mengelberg led with full vigor up to the final chords before he laid down his baton and maliciously awaited results. Anything more comic than the bewildered sheep-like confusion which followed would be hard to imagine and the rehearsal ended in gales of laughter."
     Mengelberg, apart from music, is respected by many authorities of art in Holland for his knowledge of great paintings; he is, at times, consulted by them on disputed questions in connection with Dutch art.
     He loves the simple life and the mountains. He has a small chalet in Switzerland far off the beaten track, to which he escapes every summer when his season’s work is over. He is an enthusiastic walker, and covers great stretches which often tire his companions but which seem to leave him fresh. Returning to his chalet after a long excursion on foot, he likes to relax in a soft chair, smoke Russian cigarettes and pore over scores by modern composers.
     In 1936, the fortieth anniversary of Mengelberg’s position as conductor of the Concertgebouw was celebrated in Amsterdam with a festival devoted to Dutch music, and Edna R. Sollitt has written several books on the Mengelberg, including a biography, translated into English, and a volume entitled Mengelbcrg Speaks, in which the conductor speaks his views on different phases of music.
     Richard Strauss dedicated his Ein Heldenleben to Mengelberg.
     Mengelberg has made many recordings for COLUMBIA with his Concertgebouw Orchestra including symphonies by Tschaikovsky Lou and Brahms, and smaller works by Tschaikovsky, J. C. Bach, Cherubini, Ravel, Beethoven, Weber, Von Suppé and Liszt.