Philibert Mees (13 May 1929, in

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

– 29 June 2006, in Mechelen) was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He was murdered in June 2006. In 1952, Mees obtained a degree at the Koninklijk Conservatory, the Royal conservatory of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. He studied under the pianists Stevan Bergmann and Geza Anda. Mees formed a duo with

BRT BRT may refer to: Transportation * Block register territory, a method for dispatching trains * British Rail Telecommunications * Brookhaven Rail Terminal * Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, a former transit holding company in New York City * Bro ...

violist ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

Roger Nauwelaers since the 1980s. In 1999, Mees received the ''Fuga'' prize, awarded by the

Union of Belgian Composers Union of Belgian Composers (Dutch language, Dutch: Unie van Belgische Componisten - French language, French: Union des Compositeurs Belges) is a Belgium, Belgian professional organization of composers founded in 1960. It is closely linked to the Be ...

. Mees was killed in his home in Mechelen in July 2006 by two knife wounds to his chest. His body was concealed in a bed cover and plastic hidden under his bed. Two days later, police apprehended a suspect after investigation of Mees' phone records. The musician's twenty-year-old neighbour, Bilel Gheribi, a

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

n immigrant, was sentenced for his murder in 2009.

References

*''

De Standaard ''De Standaard'' (meaning ''The Standard'' in English) is a Flemish daily newspaper published in Belgium by Mediahuis (formerly Corelio and VUM). It was traditionally a Christian-Democratic paper, associated with the Christian-Democratic and F ...

'', ''Verdachte bekent moord op Mechelse pianist'', 13 July 2006 *''

Het Nieuwsblad ''Het Nieuwsblad'' (; en, The Newspaper) is a Flemish newspaper that mainly focusses on "a broad view" regarding politics, culture, economics, lifestyle, society and sports. History and profile In 1929, ''Het Nieuwsblad'' was published by ...

'', ''Speurders zoeken naar dader en motief'', 4 July 2006 *'' VRT Nieuws''
''Flemish pianist murdered''
6 July 2006 *''Radio 1'' ( VRT), ''Het Journaal'' (15h), 6 July 2006 * 1929 births 2006 deaths Belgian composers Male composers Belgian pianists Belgian murder victims People murdered in Belgium 20th-century pianists 20th-century Belgian male musicians {{belgium-composer-stub