Emile Enthoven

Henri Emile Enthoven was born on 18 October 1903 in Amsterdam (Netherlands). From an unusually early age, he displayed exceptional musical ability. At only fourteen years of age, Emile Enthoven completed a symphony that, despite being the work of a teenager, was considered remarkably accomplished. The work was performed in 1918 by the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam under the direction of Willem Mengelberg, an event that brought the young composer early national recognition. For his formal musical education, Emile Enthoven studied composition with Johan Wagenaar at the Royal Conservatory of Music in The Hague. He later continued his studies in Berlin with Franz Schreker. Alongside his musical education, he also studied philosophy in Utrecht and later law in Amsterdam.
Although composition occupied his early years, Emile Enthoven gradually developed parallel intellectual interests and eventually redirected much of his energy away from a full-time musical career. Trained as a jurist, he became active not only as a composer but also as a legal scholar and cultural intellectual. Over time, his professional profile expanded beyond composition, and his later life was increasingly shaped by legal and historical interests rather than sustained musical production.
Emile Enthoven’s surviving catalogue reflects the concentrated but comparatively brief period of his compositional activity. His orchestral output included three symphonies, composed in 1917, 1924, and 1931. Among his major works was a Violin Concerto completed in 1920. He also composed chamber music, songs, and additional orchestral works. One notable contribution to Dutch cultural life was the music for Ichnaton, the lustrum play of Utrecht students in 1926; from this project emerged the orchestral Ichnaton Suite, Op. 19, which later received wider public exposure and was also performed during the opening ceremonies of the Amsterdam Olympic Games.
With the outbreak of the Second World War, Emile Enthoven emigrated to New York and spent his final years in the United States. He died on 27 December 1950 in New York City (USA).

In my possession is the autograph of the "4 Klavierstukken" op.7 by Emile Enthoven. The work was composed in 1920, shortly afterwards revised and the new version was published by Universal Edition in 1921. My manuscript is the original version from 1920 and it consists of the four piano pieces: 1. Romance; 2. Cappriccio (sic!), 3. Gavotte: Musette; 4. Burleske. The revised and published version has also the pieces 2 and 4, but other works for 1 and 3.