Reinbert de Leeuw (1938-2020) studied music theory and piano in Amsterdam and composition at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. In the 1970's he was widely lauded for his interpretation of the music of the 'forgotten' modern composer Erik Satie. In 1974 De Leeuw along with some students from the Royal Conservatory The Hague formed the Schönberg Ensemble, today called Asko|Schönberg, which he has been the conductor of ever since. He has also conducted many other ensembles and symphony orchestras both in the Netherlands and abroad, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the The Hague Philharmonic and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. In the 1995-1996 season the Concertgebouw's Carte Blanche series was exclusively dedicated to De Leeuw. As well as concerts, he also conducted operas with De Nederlandse Opera and the Nationale Reisopera, including operas by Stravinsky, Andriessen, Ligeti and Vivier. For three seasons De Leeuw worked as artistic advisor in modern and contemporary music at the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. In 1992 he was artistic director at the Aldeburgh Festival and from 1994 to 1998 he held the same post at the Tanglewood Festival for contemporary music in the United States. De Leeuw received many prizes and awards for his groundbreaking work. In 1994 he was awarded a honorary doctorate by Utrecht University and in August 2004 he was appointed professor at Leiden University. Reinbert de Leeuw received a number of Edison Awards – prestigious Dutch music awards -, including one in 2007 for the ‘Schönberg Ensemble Edition’, a publication of 25 CD's and DVD's on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the ensemble, and one in 2008 for the recording of his Schubert adaptation Im wunderschönen Monat Mai with Barbara Sukowa and the Schönberg Ensemble. From 2001 to 2010 De Leeuw was artistic leader of the Summer Academy of the Dutch National Youth Orchestra. In 2008, on his 70th birthday, he received a knighthood in the Order of the Dutch Lion.