Jan Boerman has been a composer working in electronic music studios since 1959. He was born in The Hague. The Delft Polytechnic in Utrecht, from which the Institute of Sonology was developed, housed the first electronic music studio in the Netherlands after the Philips laboratory in Eindhoven, which was not generally open to composers. A select few composers were invited to work at Eindhoven, including Edgard Varèse but, by 1960, Philips decided to close the facilities. It passed its equipment on to the Delft Polytechnic, which became the primary site for electronic music in the Netherlands. Administrative problems, however, caused both Boerman and Dick Raaijmakers to leave Utrecht in 1963, whereupon they began setting up a private studio in the Hague. Their facility eventually became incorporated into the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, and both men became members of the faculty. Years later, in 1986, the Institute of Sonology echoed their move by transferring from Utrecht to the Royal Conservatory in the Hague. Boerman was trained in the traditional manner as a pianist and composer, and his initial exposure to the electronic music studio was both a shock and a revelation. There was relatively little "repertoire" in this new domain, so, while he had been struggling with serialism and "finding his voice", Boerman intuited that here was a vast new terrain to explore, free from the stylistic pressures that were so powerfully felt at that time in Europe. Raaijmakers, on the other hand, had been studying broadcasting, recording, and applied electronics at Philips, so was more drawn into the world of studio composition.
Life and career
Boerman studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music in his home town, with Léon Orthel and, from 1945, with Hendrik Andriessen. From 1956 onwards, Boerman worked in the electronic studios of Delft Polytechnic, Utrecht State University and of The Hague Royal Conservatory of Music, where he has also taught electronic composition and piano. Since the 1970s, he has integrated live electronic music with instrumental and vocal music. Boerman has also composed theatre and ballet music, "music for the listening museum" and, in collaboration with architect Jan Hoogstad, "music as architectonic space". Since 1974, as Professor of Electronic Composition at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague, he has assisted many young composers in finding their way forward. Notable students include Sinta Wullur.
Boerman has composed a number of orchestral and chamber music works; the main part of his oeuvre, however, consists of electronic music. He is one of the few composers who persisted in composing for tape. It was not until 1976, that Boerman ventured to include "live" sounds in his work: the result was Vocalise - Voorstudie . It was followed by an "orthodox" tape: Kompositie 1979. For the ensemble Het Nieuwe Leven, he composed "Weerstand" for tape and percussion, and later "Ontketening", for tape and metal instruments. Boerman has also written electronic ballet music, including "De touwen van de tijd" and "Monument voor een gestorven jongen". "Muziek voor slagwerk en orkest" was performed during the Holland Festival of 1991.
no date Adagio, for orchestra no date Scherzo, for orchestra
no date Symfonisch rondo, for orchestra
no date Muziek tegen 2 dansers, balletmusic for piano
1950 4 Stukken voor piano 30'
1955 Kleine toccate, for piano
1956 Prelude, Rondo, Fantasia, Finale, for 2 piano's* 30'
1964 De bouwers van het rijk, electronic theatermusic
1965 Monument voor een gestorven jongen, electronic balletmusic
1965 De zee I, electronic music* 26'
1966 De zee II, electronic music* 18'
1968 Zonnesteen, for speaking voice and electronic music* 35'
1970 The ropes of time, electronic balletmusic
1970 Negen varianten, electronic music
1970 Kompositie voor twee piano's, for two piano's
1972 Kompositie 1972, electronic music* 13'
1974 Kompositie 1974, electronic music 12'
1976 Vocalise-voorstudie, electronic music
1979 Kompositie 1979, electronic music* 18'
1980 3 Stukken voor 2 piano's 45'
1981 Weerstand, music for el. guitar and tapes* 22'
1983 Ontketening I, for 3 aluminium plates and tapes 28'
1984 Ontketening II, for percussion, electronics and tape* 30'
1988 Maasproject, for brass, Fairlight computer-synthesizer and 16 track tape
1988 Vlechtwerk, electronic music* 13'
1989 Kompositie 1989,, electronic music* 19'
1989 Die Vögel, for choir, brass quartet and 2 tapes* 40'
1990 Voor de Fabriek, electronic music
1991 Tellurisch, electronic music*32'
1991 Muziek voor slagwerk en orkest*, for percussion and orchestra 22'
1992 Cortège, for 2 pianos* 17'
1993 Scherzo, for 2 pianos* 15'
1993 Vocalise, electronic music 32'
1994 Vocalise 1994, electronic music*
1994 Fuga, for 2 piano's
1994 Maasproject, electronic music* 36'
1994 Kringloop I-II-III, electronic music* 40'
1995 Muziek voor het Maasproject I-II, electronic music*
1995 Kringloop I-II, electronic music*
1996 Introductie en fuga, for 2 piano's* 11'
1997 Ruïne, electronic music* 16'
The complete tape music of Jan Boerman is published on CD by NEAR / Donemus: CV-NEAR 04/05/06/07/08. See for more information: the NEAR Composer's Voice cd's. * score published by Donemus, Amsterdam.
