Wassenaer, Count Unico Wilhelm van

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Wassenaer, Count Unico Wilhelm van

Wassenaer, Count Unico Wilhelm van, Dutch government official and talented amateur composer; b. Twickel, Nov. 2, 1692; d. The Hague, Nov. 9, 1766. He received his education in Leiden and assumed control of the family estate in 1717; later held government posts and served as the United Provinces ambassador abroad. His 6 Concerti armonici, publ, anonymously in 1740, were attributed to Pergolesi and then to Ricciotti before being confirmed as the work of Wassenaer.

Bibliography

A. Dunning, Count U.W. v.W. (1692-1766); A Master Unmasked; or, The Pergolesi-Ricciotti Puzzle Solved (Buren, 1980); R. Rasch and K. Vlaardingerbroek, eds., U.W. v. W., 1692-1766: Componisi en staatsman (Hilversum, 1993).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire