Jozef Cleber (June 2, 1916, Maastricht – May 12, 1999, Hilversum), also known as Jos Cleber or Jozef van Cleber, was a Dutch composer and conductor. He worked in the Netherlands, South-Africa and the Dutch East Indies/Indonesia. He wrote numerous arrangements (amongst others to Heel de wereld, the Dutch Eurovision Song Contest entry in 1958) and conducted De Zaaiers, one of the orchestras of Dutch radio, until he left for South Africa in 1962. However, he is best known for orchestrating the Indonesian national anthem Indonesia Raya.
Cleber was born in Maastricht the son of Gerardus Josephus Cleber, an organist and choir conductor, and Anna Maria Bastian. His family was Catholic. He studied music with his father (piano). Married on February 8, 1939 with Elisa Magdelijns (1917–2007). From this marriage was born a daughter (Yvonne Charlotte). After divorcing on September 25, 1951, he married on December 12, 1951 (in Jakarta) with Johanna Dirkje de Bruijn (b. 1923), a cabaretière. From this marriage was born a daughter (Karian).
After graduating from junior high school, he entered the music school (muzieklyceum), and continued to study violin and piano. He also studied jazz, and admired Duke Elington, and advised to study the saxophone and clarinet, but he preferred to study the trombone (the mouthpiece fit his lips).
He started to play with local orchestra since he was 15 years old as violist. He also play with Paul Godwin as trombonist. During the World War II, he played in the Zurich Orchestra. After World War II ended, he returned to the Netherlands. Then he joint the Metropole Orchestra under direction of Dolf van der Linden as trombonist, as well as arranger. After that he played as trombonist in the Concertgebouw-Orkest in Amsterdam. He also studied directie, harmony and counterpoint from Dutch composer Kees van Baaren in Amstredam.
He became a musician in the style of Mantovani. He traveled to Indonesia in June 1948 and founded the "Cosmopolitan Orchestra" for Radio Batavia, composed of 40 musicians of many different nationalities. At that time Cleber arranged many Indonesian songs for orchestra, such as "Di Bawah Sinar Bulan Purnama" and "Rangkaian Melati."
In 1950, Jusuf Ronodipuro (then the Studio Head of Radio Republik Indonesia), requested that Cleber arrange Indonesia Raya for philharmonic 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 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 Netherlands' 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.