Trombonist Cleber completed his obligatory military service early so that he could join the jazz orchestra of
Paul Godwin. During a performance with Godwin in 1936, he received a commission to play with the
Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, where he remained until 1939, when the threat of
World War II became too great. He returned to the Netherlands and began playing violin and trombone for the
Tuschinski Theatre, Amsterdam, under the direction of
Max Tak.
World War II Cleber came into contact with
AVRO, a Dutch public broadcaster, and in 1940, he joined their orchestra as a trombonist under the direction of
Elzard Kuhlman. A year later, this orchestra became part of the Groot Amusementsorkest of the
Nazi-organised
Nederlandsche Omroep, and in 1942, by virtue of obligatory membership in the
Nederlandsche Kultuurkamer, he became a trombonist in the
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. During this time, he also continued his studies at the
Conservatory of the Muzieklyceum Society in
conducting,
harmony, and
counterpoint, receiving lessons from
Kees van Baaren. After a meeting with
Theo Uden Masman in May, 1945, Cleber joined Masman's dance orchestra
De Ramblers, again as a trombonist. He continued playing with De Ramblers until 1945, when on the request of conductor
Dolf van der Linden, he became a trombonist and arranger for the new
Metropole Orkest. He remained with them until 1948, making several studio recordings with van der Linden, and at the same time, he led Selecta, his own ensemble of twelve musicians.
Conductor In 1948, Cleber left the Netherlands to work for
Radio Batavia in the
Dutch East Indies, forming the
Cosmopolitain Orkest. His wife and daughter followed later. Cleber returned to the Netherlands to share the direction of AVRO's theatre orchestra with
Gerard van Krevelen. In 1952, he formed
De Zaaiers, a pops orchestra, for AVRO, which with additional string players expanded to become a newly formed Cosmopolitain Orkest a year later. In 1957, his orchestra won the ‘Golden Gondola’ in
Venice. He also worked as an arranger not only for his own orchestra but also for the Metropole Orkest and
Promenade Orkest. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Cleber also worked as a staff conductor for
Phonogram, making recordings with
Conny Stuart,
Corry Brokken,
Mieke Telkamp,
Jules de Corte, and
Willy Alberti, among others. From 1962-64, Cleber lived in
South Africa, trying unsuccessfully to start a new orchestra in
Johannesburg. While in South Africa, Cleber recorded a long playing record titled "Charles Segal's Compositions", featuring the compositions of South African pianist and composer
Charles Segal. Cleber returned to conduct De Zaaiers and the Cosmopoitain Orkest until 1966, when AVRO dissolved them during a period of cost-cutting. and
Corry Brokken (1962)
Producer Even after his orchestras had disbanded, Cleber was in demand for developing new musical talent. He remained at AVRO for two years as a music advisor, and from 1968 until his retirement in 1981, he produced the program
Jonge mensen op weg naar het concertpodium.
Composer Orchestration of Indonesia Raya In 1950, Jusuf Ronodipuro (then the Studio Head of
Radio Republik Indonesia), requested that Cleber arrange
Indonesia Raya for orchestra, upon which Cleber began a preliminary study on the history and actual impression the anthem intended to convey, and concluded that he sensed a
Marseillaise impression in
Indonesia Raya. Cleber's first arrangement was subsequently recorded in the RRI Studio,
Central Jakarta, in early 1951, involving Cleber's orchestra and two other RRI orchestras. The initial response to the orchestration was warm and Cleber joined Ronodipuro to present the recording to President
Sukarno. However, upon hearing it, Sukarno commented that the arrangement was too embellished. Sukarno wanted
Indonesia Raya to be as majestic as the Dutch national anthem,
Wilhelmus.
Wilhelmus has a slow tempo (
largo), whereas
Indonesia Raya was intended to have a march tempo (Tempo di
marcia), which led to Cleber's initial disagreement with the president over the orchestration. He began to work on the second arrangement, and the tempo was changed to
Maestoso con bravura, ("majestically and with bravura"). Sukarno liked the second arrangement better; however, he thought that there should be a part in the anthem that expresses beauty, softness, and sweetness, just prior to the climactic refrain. In the third arrangement, Cleber modified the verses right before the chorus to employ the string section, whereas the chorus itself was accompanied by the timpani, cymbal, and brass section. Sukarno considered this arrangement perfect and approved it. ==Personal life==