Peter Schat
The Dutch composer, pianist, writer, activist and designer Peter Schat was born in Utrecht on 5 June 1935.
He studied with Henk Stam, Kees van Baaren, Mátyás Seiber and Pierre Boulez, was a member of the young composers' group Notenkrakers and developed the Tone Clock - a simple method of creating atonal harmony. He won the Gaudeamus International Composers Award in 1957.
He was one of the co-founders of STEIM (the studio for Electro-Instrumental Music) in Amsterdam in February 1969, and also a member of Provo, a group of activists who tried to provoke violent responses from the authorities using non-violent means. Also in 1969 he was part of the notorious notenkrakersactie (Nutcracker action) protest in which a group of young composers interrupted a Concertgebouw Orchestra concert, demanding an open discussion on music policy.
Peter Schat died from cancer in Amsterdam on Monday 3 February 2003, aged sixty-seven.