Arthur De Greef (10 October 186229 August 1940) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Life and career

Born in

Louvain Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

, he won first prize in a local music competition at the age of 11 and subsequently enrolled at the

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Conservatoire. His main teacher there was Louis Brassin, a former pupil of

Ignaz Moscheles Isaac Ignaz Moscheles (; 23 May 179410 March 1870) was a Bohemian piano virtuoso and composer. He was based initially in London and later at Leipzig, where he joined his friend and sometime pupil Felix Mendelssohn as professor of piano at the ...

, although he also took lessons from other staffers at the institution, including Joseph Dupont,

François-Auguste Gevaert François-Auguste Gevaert (31 July 1828 in Huysse, near Oudenaarde – 24 December 1908 in Brussels) was a Belgian musicologist and composer.N. Slonimsky, Ed., ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', 8th ed., Schirmer Books, NY Li ...

and Fernand Kufferath. After graduating with high distinction from the Conservatoire at the age of 17, De Greef went to

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

to complete his studies under

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

. He was a pupil of Liszt for two years.Musicweb International
/ref> Following the Weimar sojourn, De Greef embarked on a career as a concert pianist, travelling widely. He was a friend of

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

, 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 Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

. 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". De Greef composed a sizeable quantity of music, virtually all of which is now unknown. Among his works are two

piano concerto A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...

s. He was a devoted teacher, and taught piano at the

Brussels Conservatoire The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (french: Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles, nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Provid ...

for many years.

Honours

Arthur De Greef memorial plaque, Bruxelles

* 1919 : Commander of the Order of the Crown.

Selected compositions

Orchestral

* ''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

* ''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-flat minor (1930) * ''Cinq chants d'amour'', for Soprano and Orchestra * Piano Concertino (''Concerto pour piano et petit orchestre'')

Chamber music

* ''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

* ''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

His was the first complete recording of Grieg's

Piano Concerto in A minor The Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, composed by Edvard Grieg in 1868, was the only concerto Grieg completed. It is one of his most popular works and is among the most popular of the genre. Structure The concerto is in three movements: ...

, but he had earlier recorded a cut version. He also recorded with

Isolde Menges Isolde Marie Menges (16 May 189313 January 1976) was an accomplished English violinist who was most active in the first part of the 20th century. Life The daughter of George Menges, a native of Germany, she was born in Sussex, England. Her ...

.Answers.com
/ref> Other recorded works included Liszt: * Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 Chopin * 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 Schubert * ''Soirée de Vienne'' No. 6, arr. Liszt Moszkowski * Serenata in D, Op. 15, No. 1 * Etude in G, Op. 18, No. 3 * Waltz in E, Op. 34 Saint-Saëns * Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 22 (with the New Symphony Orchestra of London and Landon Ronald) A complete discography can be foun
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External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Greef, Arthur 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