Arthur De Greef (composer)
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Arthur De Greef (10 October 1862 – 29 August 1940) was a Belgian classical pianist and composer of the romantic era.
Life and career
[edit]Born in Louvain, he won first prize in a local music competition at the age of 11 and subsequently enrolled at the Brussels Conservatoire. His main teacher there was Louis Brassin, a former pupil of Ignaz Moscheles, although he also took lessons from other staffers at the institution, including Joseph Dupont, François-Auguste Gevaert and Fernand Kufferath.[1]
After graduating with high distinction from the Conservatoire at the age of 17, De Greef went to Weimar to complete his studies under Franz Liszt. He was a pupil of Liszt for two years.[2]
Following the Weimar sojourn, De Greef embarked on a career as a concert pianist, travelling widely. He was a friend of Edvard Grieg, whose Piano Concerto he had played publicly in 1898, and who called him "the best performer of my music I have met with". In addition, he enjoyed the endorsement of Camille Saint-Saëns. British critic Jonathan Woolf has written: "De Greef was, in all respects, an intensely musical, non-sensationalist, eloquent and impressive musician and whilst not being averse to some of the interventionist tactics of his contemporaries (retouching of the score) remained sympathetically self-effacing".[2]
De Greef composed a sizeable quantity of music, virtually all of which is now unknown. Among his works are two piano concertos. He was a devoted teacher, and taught piano at the Brussels Conservatoire for many years.[2]
Honours
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/Arthur_De_Greef_memorial_plaque%2C_Bruxelles.jpg/220px-Arthur_De_Greef_memorial_plaque%2C_Bruxelles.jpg)
- 1919: Commander of the Order of the Crown.[3]
Selected compositions
[edit]Orchestral
[edit]- The Marketeeress (1878)
- Slanting rays of the sun (1913)
- Humoresque (1928)
- Italian Suite
- Suite for Orchestra in G (sometimes referred to as Flemish Suite)
- Autumn Impressions
- Four Flemish songs with accompaniment of Vielles
- Ballade in Form von Variationen über ein flämisches Volkslied (Ik zag Cecilia komen)
Concertante works
[edit]- Fantasy on Flemish Folk Songs for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 3 (1892)
- Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in C minor (1914)
- Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in B minor (1930)[4]
- Cinq chants d'amour, for Soprano and Orchestra
- Piano Concertino (Concerto pour piano et petit orchestre)
Chamber music
[edit]- Quatre pièces caractéristiques pour violon et piano (ca. 1883).
- Sonata No. 1 in D for violin and piano (1896)
- Sonata No. 2 in C for violin and piano
- Six New Concert Studies
- Trio in F for violin, cello, and piano (1935)
Piano
[edit]- Coucher de Soleil
- Slanting rays of the sun (1913; Orchestrated version exists)
- Five études in concert form (Cinq études de concert) (1914–1918)
- Sonata in C minor for 2 Pianos (1928; 2 pianos)
- Valse-caprice (2 Pianos)
Recordings
[edit]His was the first complete recording of Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor, but he had earlier recorded a cut version. He also recorded with Isolde Menges.[5]
Other recorded works included:
- Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
- Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op 35
- Waltz No. 1 in E-flat, Op. 18
- Waltz No. 5 in A-flat, Op. 42
- Waltz No. 6 in D-flat, Op. 64, No. 1
- Waltz No. 11 in G-flat, Op. 70, No. 1
- Soirée de Vienne No. 6, arr. Liszt
- Serenata in D, Op. 15, No. 1
- Etude in G, Op. 18, No. 3
- Waltz in E, Op. 34
- Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 22 (with the New Symphony Orchestra of London and Landon Ronald)
A complete discography can be found at Earthlink here.
External links
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Naxos
- ^ a b c Musicweb International
- ^ Royal Decree of H.M. King Albert I on 14.11.1919
- ^ A scan of the original handwritten score available at https://uurl.kbr.be/1842245 reveals that it is in B minor, not B-flat as is sometimes given. (Its original title specifies "si mineur" and its key signature is two sharps.)
- ^ Answers.com
- 1862 births
- 1940 deaths
- Belgian classical composers
- Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)
- Belgian male classical composers
- Romantic composers
- Belgian classical pianists
- Musicians from Leuven
- Pupils of Franz Liszt
- Royal Conservatory of Brussels alumni
- Academic staff of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels
- Male classical pianists
- 19th-century Belgian male musicians