Dolf van der Linden

David Gijsbert van der Linden (22 June 1915 – 30 January 1999), known as Dolf van der Linden, was a Dutch conductor of popular music. HIs reputation extended beyond the Netherlands. He was a three-time Eurovision Song Contest winning conductor.

Early life David Gijsbert van der Linden was the son of a salesman of musical instruments. He was born in Vlaardingen, near Rotterdam. Before World War II, he was a pianist in bands and arranged music for them. His colleagues started calling him "Dolf", because he reminded them of a former colleague.

Career In 1945, he was asked by Dutch authorities who had returned from exile in London to form an orchestra for light music. Picking musicians known to him from across the Netherlands, he founded the Metropole Orchestra. Artists from these early years included Benny Behr, Sem Nijveen (violinists), Kees Verschoor (clarinetist) and Manny Oets (pianist).

On 22 June 2015, which would have been van der Linden's 100th birthday, the Metropole Orchestra played a concert of his compositions and arrangements. At this occasion, the first copy of van der Linden's biography, written by Bas Tukker, was presented to Dolf's younger brother Rob.