Composer Ruud Bos, known for iconic Efteling music, passed away

Composer Ruud Bos passed away at the age of 87. Music rights organization Buma/Stemra and Buma Cultuur report this on Friday on behalf of the Van Bos family, writes ANP news agency. He was known for, among other things, the music he wrote for attractions in the Efteling amusement park, such as Droomvlucht, Fata Morgana and Villa Volta. He also composed music for the children’s series Bassie and Adriaan, The Fabeltjeskrant and Paul the Forest Gnome.

In addition to music for television – not only children’s series but also the eighties hit Say aaa – he made music for theatre. He worked with big names such as Toon Hermans, Wim Sonneveld, Willeke Alberti, Gerard Cox and André van Duin. He also provided the music for more than twenty films, including The intruder and Naked over the fence. He was a ‘musical centipede’, according to Buma/Stemra and Buma Cultuur.

Bos was born in Amsterdam in 1936 as the son of an orchestra leader. He studied piano for some time at the conservatory in Amsterdam. After moving, he continued his studies at the Muziekschool van Toonkunst in Bussum. In 1996 he was awarded the Order of the Netherlands Lion because of his comprehensive musical oeuvre. In 2021, the Buma Oeuvre Award became Multimedia assigned to him. Frank Helmink, director of Buma Cultuur, then said: “His compositions are rich in melody and imagination and are therefore recognizable to millions of people from the very first note.”

Also read about another genre in which Bos composed music: Ruud Bos meant a lot to jazz

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