Willem Mengelberg

Willem Mengelberg (1871-1951) was the conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

He has become quite well-known because of his friendship with Gustav Mahler; he introduced most of Mahler's work to the Netherlands, and founded the long-standing Mahler tradition of the Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Mahler regularly visited The Netherlands to introduce his work with the Dutch audience. In fact, he edited some of his symphonies while in the Netherlands making them sound better for the acoustics of the Concertgebouw, which is maybe one reason that this concert hall and its orchestra is renowned for its Mahler tradition.