Leopold van der Pals

Leopold van der Pals (St. Petersburg 4 July 1884 – Dornach 7 February 1966) was a Danish/Dutch modernist composer who developed a personal and lyrical style in composing by involving elements of late romanticism, expressionism and impressionism. From an early age, Van der Pals expressed himself as a composer, writing at least 50 works before the age of 18. He studied with Professor (Van der Pals’ grand father), Alexander Denéréas (Lausanne) and Reinhold Gliere (Berlin). Van der Pals also studied piano under Alexander Siloti and cello under Tom Canivez. Leopold van der Pals debut as a composer took place in 1909 with Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Symphony nr. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 4) and an extensive tour of performances throughout Europe and America followed until WWII. The main part of his 252 works consists of music for singers (8 operas, 9 cantatas and 650 lieder), but it also includes orchestral works and chamber music. He was in close contact with authors, musicians, artists and poets his whole life. Among them were Rudolf Steiner, Andrei Belyj, Rainer Maria Rilke, Friedrich Lienhard, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Serge Koussevitzky and Alexander Scriabin. Biography St. Petersburg 1