Rudolf George Escher was born on 8 January 1912 in Amsterdam as the son of the Swiss Emma Brosy and the geologist Berend George Escher, who gave him piano lessons. In his youth he moved with his family to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies, where he encountered gamelan music, which was significant for his musical development.
In 1935 Escher made his debut as a composer with his first piano sonata. He wrote a relatively small oeuvre of orchestral works, chamber music and vocal music, and also examined the musical applications of electronics. One of his most important works is Musique pour l'esprit en deuil, which he composed during the Second World War. This work immediately made him the most important composer of the Netherlands. Most of Escher’s student works have been lost due to the bombing of Rotterdam on May 14, 1940.
Escher’s music is lyrical, expressive and elegiac, with a great driving force. He mainly joined the French music of Debussy and Ravel, although he disliked being constantly connected with the French tradition. He was also influenced by Renaissance polyphony, Gustav Mahler, Gregorian chant and gamelan music.
