Julius Röntgen, a German-Dutch composer, was born in Leipzig to a famous musician father and a German mother. He received his first piano lessons from Carl Reinecke, and was heavily influenced by composers such as Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, and Johannes Brahms. At the age of 14, Röntgen traveled to Weimar where he played his original compositions for Liszt, who was impressed and invited him to a soiree. Röntgen furthered his studies in Munich with Franz Lachner. In 1878, he became a piano teacher at the Amsterdam School of Music, which later became the Amsterdam Conservatory. Röntgen had a successful career in Amsterdam and was known for his work in chamber music and as an accompanist for singers. He was one of the founders of the Amsterdam Conservatory of Music and became its director until 1924. Röntgen's music was heavily influenced by folk music due to his friendship with Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. He completed Grieg's Second String Quartet in F major after Grieg's death. Röntgen's compositions include over 800 works in all classical genres, and he was open about the influences of other composers on his music. He married twice and had six sons, five of whom became dedicated and well-known Dutch musicians. The Röntgen Archives are housed in the Music Department of the Municipal Museum of The Hague.
