Daniël de Lange started composing at the age of eleven. His father, who was organist in Rotterdam, was his teacher on the organ and piano. He also learned to play cello. At the Rotterdam Music School his teachers were Johannes Verhulst and Johannes Franciscus Dupont. When he was 14 he went to the Brussels conservatory.

In 1858 De Lange went to Vienna, with his piano playing brother Samuel, with whom he performed on the cello. They both worked at the Lwów conservatory from 1860 till 1863. After a short stay in The Netherlands he left for Paris in 1865, where he met composers like Berlioz, Massenet, Lalo and Bizet. He worked as organist, choir conductor and composition teacher (he tought Chausson).

During a holiday in Rotterdam, the French–German started, so De Lange decided to stay in The Netherlands. In various functions he played an important role in the development of music education in The Netherlands. Daniël de Lange founded the Amsterdam Conservatory in 1884, for which he also was director from 1894 till 1912.

In 1913 he went to Point Loma, California, USA, with his second wife. This was the world center for theosophical community. He died there in 1918.

[source: Het Honderd Componisten Boek, Gottmer, 1997]