Wim Statius Muller awarded with the Silver Carnation of the Prince Bernhard Culture Fund

THE HAGUE, Netherlands –

Her Majesty Queen Beatrix on Tuesday June 19th, 2012 awarded the Silver Carnations “Zilveren Anjers” of the Prince Bernhard Culture Fund (Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds) at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam.

The Prince Bernhard Culture Fund, awarded this year three Silver Carnations to people who are entirely dedicated without any obligation and whom voluntarily are working for culture or nature conservation in the Netherlands or the Caribbean part of the Dutch Kingdom.

Among the winners there was the Curaçaolean Wim Statius Muller (Curaçao, 1930).
Statius Muller received the Silver Carnation for his outstanding contribution as a composer and pianist of the Curaçaolean music.

The Plenipotentiary Minister of Curaçao, Mr. Sheldry Osepa, and the Governor of Curaçao, Mr. Frits Goedgedrag, were also present on this special morning.

Wim Statius Muller is known for his plate Antillean Dances. His Nostalgia Waltz, Waltz Pieter Maal, Bo tei?, Mazurka in A Minor and duets with Izaline Calister.

Muller was born on January 26, 1930. At seventeen, he gave his first performance and that was a resounding success. Then he left to New York.

Wim Statius Muller studied at the Juilliard School in New York , taught piano and music history at Ohio State University in Columbus , Ohio , later combined his life-long dedication to music with a career in government.

His last posting before retirement in 1995 was at NATO Headquarters in Brussels , from where he returned to his native Curaçao. He has since been active again as a performer in the islands, in Europe and the United States .

Many of his short piano pieces in Antillean rhythms have been recorded by Wim Statius Muller and – since the publication of a selection of his works by the American Music Company – by other pianists as well.