Johann Wilhelm Wilms

Dutch-German composer Johann Wilhelm Wilms was born in Witzhelden, Germany and was baptised on 30 March 1772. He studied initially with his father and oldest brother - piano and compositiion, and learned to play the flute on his own.

As a young man in 1791 he moved to Amsterdam, where his various jobs included working as a church organist, a solo and orchestral flautist, teaching piano, composing patriotic hymns, writing for the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung and judging composition competitions.

Most famously, he won a competition for the Dutch national anthem with Wien Neêrlands Bloed, which was used between 1815 and 1932.

Wilms died in Amsterdam on 19 July 1847, aged seventy-five.

 

A selection of articles about Johann Wilhelm Wilms

CD Spotlight. A Delectable Programme - Piano concertos by Johann Wilhelm Wilms, heard by Gerald Fenech. 'Brautigam's advocacy for these works borders on the obsessive, and his playing is not only full-blooded but captures the spirit of the age with immense fidelity.'