Alle Lust will Ewigkeit

Julius Röntgen. He was a Dutch-German musician, born in Leipzig. The musical greats of the day were frequent visitors to his parents’ home. His mother was a pianist, his father a violinist with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra who rose to the position of concertmaster. Already at a young age, their son Julius exhibited an unbridled passion for musical composition. He quickly showed himself to be a child prodigy. In 1878, he was offered a job as a piano teacher in Amsterdam. As pianist, conductor, concert organiser and co-founder of the first conservatory there, he was one of the pillars of a developing musical life in the Netherlands. In 1920 he acquired Dutch nationality, and in 1924 he moved with his second family to Bilthoven, near Utrecht. This selection of lieder is from his Dutch period.