Piet Kee

Pieter William Kee (30 August 1927 – 25 May 2018) was a Dutch organist and composer.
Biography.
Born in Zaandam, Netherlands, Kee studied organ, piano and composition at the Amsterdam Conservatory, obtaining the Prix d'Excellence, and won first prize at the annual Haarlem International Improvisation Competition three times in succession (1953 to 1955). This was the start of a worldwide career as a concert organist.
Kee taught at the Music Lyceum and Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam from 1954 until 1988, and at the Haarlem International Summer Academy for Organists. He was organist of the Hagerbeer-Schnitger organ in St. Laurens church in Alkmaar from 1952 to 1987, and city organist of the world-famous Müller organ at St. Bavo church in Haarlem from 1956 until 1989.
Kee's improvisation skills were renowned. His compositions included the "Haarlem Concerto", which received its first performance by Thomas Trotter in March 2006. His numerous recordings, several of which received awards, include a series of CDs on the Chandos label, covering the repertoire from Sweelinck to Messiaen, recorded on important European historical instruments.
In 1988, with Olivier Messiaen, Kee received an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal College of Organists.
In February 2014, several of Kee's compositions were performed in a "Composer's Portrait" concert at the Orgelpark in Amsterdam. This included a version of "The Organ" for five pipe organs.
Kee died in Haarlem 90 years old.
Compositions.
The list below is selective. Publishers include Bärenreiter-Verlag (BA), Donemus (D), Harmonia (H), Hinrichsen/Peters (HP) and Boeijenga Music Publications (BO).
Recent compositions (see further below for details) include:
Discography.
Earlier recordings, released since 1954, can be found on the Telefunken, HMV, Philips and Guild labels. Starting in 1989, Piet Kee made a series of eleven recordings for Chandos Records, including works of Sweelinck, Pachelbel, Bruhns, Buxtehude, Bach, Walther, Mendelssohn, Franck, Alain, Reger, Hindemith, Andriessen and Messiaen on notable European instruments including St. Bavo Haarlem, St. Laurens Alkmaar, Roskilde Cathedral Denmark, Basilika Weingarten, Martini Church Groningen and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Several of these recordings are now available as MP3 downloads.