What is the influence of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel on twentieth-century Flemish composers? This question will be the central theme of De Vorige Eeuw on August 6th.
Debussy, who preferred not to describe his music as “impressionistic,” sought colour, rhythm, and a new musical reality. We open with his second series, Images (1907), performed by the legendary pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli.
We explore the influence of Debussy, of Impressionism, on the work of three Flemish composers. Each built upon Debussy’s legacy in their own way. Arthur Meulemans, for example, wrote this work, also known as the Pine Symphony, in 1930, inspired by the forests of the Kempen region.
There is also Nacht en Morgendontwaken aan de Nete (1957), an atmospheric symphonic poem by Renaat Veremans, dedicated to his fellow townsman Felix Timmermans.
We conclude with the String Quartet in F by Godfried Devreese – a work with impressionist influences, written in the 1920s but not completed until 1934. Conductor: Gie Thijs
Flemish Composers and Impressionism: The Previous Century, August 6th (7:00-8:00 PM)
