Arthur De Greef (composer)
Arthur De Greef (10 October 1862 – 29 August 1940) was a Belgian pianist and composer.
Life and career
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
- 1919: Commander of the Order of the Crown.[3]
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)[4]
- 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, but he had earlier recorded a cut version. He also recorded with Isolde Menges.[5]
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
- Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 22 (with the New Symphony Orchestra of London and Landon Ronald)
A complete discography can be found Earthlink here.
External links
References
- Naxos
- Musicweb International
- Royal Decree of H.M. King Albert I on 14.11.1919
- Several sources list this piece as being in B-flat minor, but a scan of the original handwritten score available at https://uurl.kbr.be/1842245 reveals that it is in B minor. (Its original title specifies "si mineur" and its key signature is two sharps.)
- Answers.com