Picture caption:
Bruno Maderna, Farah Diba, Lothar Faber (oboe) and Cathy Berberian (soprano) with Koos Verheul. He is holding a Rudall Carte bass flute.

With gracious permission of Cristina Berio

Obituary: Koos Verheul

Koos Verheul, Dutch flautist, died at his home in Leiden on 8 October 2010, aged 82.

Koos Verheul studied with Johan Feltkamp at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague. He won the Kranichsteiner Musikpreis in Darmstadt in 1954. Although he never specialised, Koos Verheul was a promoter of contemporary music and composers. He joined the Residentie Orchestra The Hague in 1956, becoming solo flautist in 1959 under the baton of Willem van Otterloo.

He and the pianist Jan van der Meer worked together for fift-seven years and made many recordings and radio broadcasts. The broadcasts alone would fill about eighty CDs. His recording of Debussy’s L’Après midi under van Otterloo is particularly noteworthy.

One of the highlights of his career was the first performance of Bruno Maderna's Ausstrahlung, together with mezzosoprano Cathy Berberian and hoboist Lothar Faber. The composition was commissioned by Farah Diba, the wife of the last sjah of Persia, and it was performed for the first time in 1971 in Persepolis.

As a teacher, Koos Verheul taught among others Abbie de Quant, Rien de Reede, Harrie Starreveld, Eline van Esch, Jacques Zoon, Eleonore Pameijer, Nine Sligter, Ingrid Geerlings and Maurice Heugen.

Koos was performing until his eightieth year. Dutch musical life lost a great musician and a man of utmost integrity.

Maurice Heugen.