Cornelis Dopper

His first opera, De blinde van Castel Cuillé (The Blind Girl of Castel Cuillé), was premiered in Amsterdam in 1894 by the Nederlandsche Opera under the baton of Cornelis van der Linden, and in that same year he entered the service of that company; there he worked as a violinist, chorus master and conductor.

A year later, Dopper joined the Savage Opera Company and began to tour the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Many of his works were performed in great concert halls by famous conductors (e.g., Richard Strauss, Willem Mengelberg, Pierre Monteux and Otto Klemperer).

In addition, Dopper wrote chamber music (e.g., a string quartet, a violin sonata, and a sextet for woodwind and piano).

His interest in musical education for the young caused him to write a great number of works for children's choir.

Very popular with concert audiences, his works never received much critical acclaim in his home country (unlike abroad).

In the aftermath, Vermeulen was banned from attending the Concertgebouw for one week, but the subsequent scandal also caused the orchestra board to 'relegate' Dopper.

A biography was published in 1998 by Joop Stam (revised in 2009), and the British Chandos label released two CDs with works by Dopper (the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th symphonies, and two symphonic poems).

In February, 2005, Dopper's First Symphony Diana received its world premiere by the Noord Nederlands Orkest in Leeuwarden.