Nicola van Westerhout

Nicola van Westerhout (also Niccolò; 17 December 1857 – 21 August 1898) was an Italian composer. Biography Early life and education Of Flemish origin, the family van Westerhout settled in Apulia in the seventeenth century, first in Bari and then in Monopoli. Nicola van Westerhout, grandfather of Niccolò, moved to Mola di Bari, where the composer himself and his father, Onofrio Augustine, were both born. At the age of 13, van Westerhout composed an opera on the subject of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, showing remarkable musical talent. He was then helped, by the City Council of Mola di Bari, to move to Naples and attend the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella, where he studied composition with Nicola De Giosa, Nicola D’Arienzo and Lauro Rossi. Career and musical style Westerhout spent the rest of his life in Naples, where he established himself as a pianist and composer. In 1897, one year before his death, he returned to the Naples Conservatory as harmony teacher. While the majority of Westerhout’s compositions are instrumental and vocal chamber music, he is perhaps best known for his operatic works. His operas include: Tilde, which has been lost; Cimbelino, which was first performe