Johannes Wagenaar started receiving lessons relatively late, at the age of thirteen, even though he displayed a talent for and interest in music much earlier. His first teachers were the composer Richard Hol and the organist Samuel de Lange Jr. In 1892 he went abroad for a while, taking lessons in counterpoint with Heinrich von Herzogenberg in Berlin. Soon after finishing his studies, he started a brilliant musical career as principal of the Utrecht School of Music. Next to his activities as a teacher, a conductor, an organist and administrator, he was also a composer.

 

The leading Dutch composer of his generation, he produced operas, cantatas and organ music as well as an impressive list of orchestral works. The music of Berlioz exerted a slight influence on his overtures and symphonic poems, but the most important influence was that of Richard Strauss. His orchestral works show a great talent for orchestration and a predilection for dramatic subject matter. These are compelling works full of joyous moments, mild sarcasm and Greek drama. The Larghetto is a small pastoral gem.