Willem Kersters

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Willem Kersters (born February 9, 1929 in Antwerp ; † December 29, 1998 ibid) was a Belgian composer , professor and musician.

Life

Willem Kersters graduated from the Royal Flemish Conservatory in Antwerp in 1945 in the subjects of harmony and piano . He then completed his skills through further studies at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels with Jean Louël ( counterpoint ), Jean Absil and Marcel Quinet ( fugue ), Marcel Poot ( composition ) and René Defossez ( orchestral direction ). After graduating as a music teacher, he worked for several years in the cities of Tienen , Löwen and Aarschot . From 1961 to 1968 he held the position of music program director at Belgian Radio and Television (BRT) .

From 1962 he was a member of the teaching staff of the Royal Flemish Conservatory in Antwerp as a lecturer in harmony, later also in composition. In 1967 the Conservatory in Maastricht , Netherlands appointed him professor for music theory subjects. He ended these teaching activities in 1989. One of the students included a. Jan De Maeyer and Wim Henderickx .

Kersters has received national and international prizes and awards for his compositions. In 1990 he became a member of the Koninklijke Academie voor Wetenschappen, Letteren en Schone Kunsten van België .

style

In the early works of the 1950s there are influences from late Romanticism and Expressionism . Then Kersters developed his own composition technique based on tritone relationships. From 1960 he also dealt with twelve-tone technology and serialism , later he returned to tonal elements. From the mid-1970s he turned increasingly to vocal and choral music. His work comprises a total of over 120 compositions, including stage works (ballet, opera), orchestral works (including symphonies), chamber, organ, vocal and choral music.

Works

ballet

  • 1956 Parwati opus 10
  • 1959 Triomf van de geest opus 17
  • 1973 Halewijn opus 62
  • 1976 Uilenspiegel de geus opus 67

Opera

Works for orchestra

  • 1953 De geestelijke bruiloft opus 1 for soprano, English horn, clarinet, piano and string quartet
  • 1953 Concertino opus 2 for oboe and string orchestra
  • 1955 Sinfonietta opus 7 for chamber orchestra
  • 1958 Sinfonia Piccola opus 12
  • 1958 Divertimento per archi opus 13 for string orchestra
  • 1962 Vier oudvlaamse liederen for choir and orchestra
  • 1962 symphony no.1 opus 22
  • 1963 Plechtige overture - Overture solennelle op. 24 for large orchestra
  • 1963 symphony number 2 opus 26
  • 1964 Concertmuziek opus 28 for strings, piano, percussion and timpani
  • 1965 Drie bagatellen opus 34 for string orchestra
  • 1966 A Hymn of Praise opus 38 for speaker, vocal trio, choir and orchestra
  • 1967 symphony number 3 opus 39
  • 1968 symphony number 4 opus 45
  • 1968 Meditation on the name BACH opus 46 for trumpet in D, piano and strings
  • 1969 Contrasten opus 50 for percussion and orchestra
  • 1972 Capriccio opus 59
  • 1978 Concerto opus 69 for piano and orchestra
  • 1985 De dans der Kristall opus 80 for medium voice and string orchestra
  • 1986 Het zonnelied opus 81 for choir and orchestra
  • 1987 symphony number 5 opus 83
  • 1987 Ballade opus 84 for alto saxophone and string orchestra
  • 1989 Concerto opus 86 for violin and orchestra
  • 1995 De feesten van angst en pijn opus 96 for tenor, alto, reciter, choir, harp, piano, percussion and strings
  • 1997 Concerto "Filia Guilmin" opus 103 for guitar and chamber orchestra
  • 1998 Serenade No. 2 opus 105 for string orchestra, harp and percussion

Works for wind orchestra

  • 1962 Psalms opus 21 for alto, male choir, brass, organ and timpani
  • 1967 Sinfonietta opus 42 for wind orchestra
  • 1973 Laudes opus 61 for brass and percussion
  • 1974 Halewijn Ballade opus 62
  • Three Rondos for brass quintet opus 48
  • Valerius Overture opus 13

Works for organ

  • 1961 Twee preludes opus 20
  • 1965 Koraalfantasie opus 31
  • 1967 Small suite - Petite suite opus 40
  • 1967 Fantasia opus 43
  • 1978 Variazioni opus 70

Other works

  • 1969 Anaglyphos opus 51 for percussion orchestra
  • 1970 Barbaarse dans opus 54 for alto, tenor, female choir and instrumental ensemble
  • 1971 Angst - een dans opus 57 for tenor, speaker (recitatives), mixed choir, harp, piano and percussion orchestra
  • 1974 Coïncidences opus 65 for 9 percussionists

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Kris Gabriels: Kersters Willem (1929–1998) ( Memento from April 26, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), bio, biblio, discography, list of works on: Matrix 2001 (English)
  2. ↑ a b c Mark Delaere:  Kersters, Willem. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Second edition, personal section, volume 10 (Kemp - Lert). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 2003, ISBN 3-7618-1120-9  ( online edition , subscription required for full access)
personal data
SURNAME Kersters, Willem
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian composer
DATE OF BIRTH February 9, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Antwerp
DATE OF DEATH December 29, 1998
Place of death Antwerp