Bob van Marken

Henri “Bob” van Marken was born on 5 February 1915 in Utrecht (Netherlands). A nephew of the conductor Willem Mengelberg, he began studying the cello at an early age and later received lessons from Cor de Wilde in Haarlem. From 1934 to 1940 he studied at the Amsterdam conservatory, where he continued his cello training with Max Orobio de Castro and also studied composition with Ernst W. Mulder.
After completing his studies, Bob van Marken worked as a cello teacher at the Muziekinstituut Haarlem and at the choir school of St. Bavo in Haarlem. In 1942 he joined the Noordhollands Philharmonisch Orkest as a cellist, a position he held until 1980. He was also a member of the Kennemer Trio and served as organist at the Roman Catholic Church of St. Engelmundus in Driehuis.
Alongside his orchestral career, Bob van Marken remained active as a composer, producing a substantial catalogue of orchestral, choral, chamber, and sacred works. His orchestral output includes three symphonies, the orchestral compositions “Naomi", the funeral cantata “A City of Remembrance,” written in memory of John F. Kennedy, “Martin Luther King Spring Tragedy,” and the “Churchill Mass – Requiem for a Statesman” for soloists, double choir, orchestra, and organ in memory of Winston Churchill. In addition, he composed a Sonata for Cello and Piano (1948), “Three Pieces” for viola and piano (1950), “Passacaglia and Fugue” for four cellists (1958), works for piano four hands commissioned from Edinburgh, “Prélude pour la main gauche” (1959) for the pianist Cor de Groot, “Ballata e danza” (1959) for the violinist Sylvia Rosenberg, and a Concerto for Strings.
On 29 April 1980, Juliana of the Netherlands awarded him the Royal Gold Medal attached to the House of Orange. 
Bob van Marken died on 2 December 1996 in the Velsen/IJmond region of the Netherlands.

In my possession is the autograph manuscript of the "Berceuse pour Baudoin" for flute and piano by Bob van Marken. The work was composed in 1961 and is dedicated to flutist Pieter Ode and his wife Margriet.