René Defossez (Composer, Arranger)

Born: October 4, 1905 - Spa, Belgium
Died: May 20, 1988 - Brussels, Belgium

The Belgian conductor, pedagogue, and composer, René Defossez, studied with Rasse at the Liege Conservatory, winning the Belgian Prix de Rome in 1935 with his opera-cantata Le Vieux Soudard.

René Defossez was conductor at the Theatre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels from 1936 to 1959, and professor of conducting at the Brussels Conservatory from 1946 to 1971. In 1969 he was elected a member of the Royal Belgian Academy.

Works

Dramatic: Opera:
Le Subterfuge improvisé (1938)

Opera-Cantatas:
La Conversion de St. Hubert (1933)
Le Vieux Soudard (1935)

Ballets:
Floriante (1942)
Le Sens du divin (1947)
Le Rêve de l'astronome (1950)
Les Jeux de France (1959)
Le Regard (1970)

Ballet-Cantata:
Le Pêcheur et son ame (1965)

Historoc Fresco:
Lièges libertes (1981)

Oratorios:
Bê Pretimps d'amour (1939)
La Frise empourprée (1939)

Orchestral:
Aquarium (1927)
Images sousmarines (1930)
Symphonie wallonne (1935)
Poème romantique, for strings (1935)
Amaterasu (1935)
Variations, for piano & orchrestra. (1939)
Adagio et Scherzo, for flute & orchestra (1941)
Recitativo et Allegro, for trumpet & orchestra (1945)
Marche funebre (1946)
Trombone Concerto (1948)
Violin Concerto (1951)
Piano Concerto (1956; revised for 2 Pianos, 1963)
La Chasseur d'images (1966)
Sinfonietta de printemps (1975)

Chamber:
2 String Quartets (1934, 1950)
Wind Trio (1946)
Petit quartet, for violin, piano, saxophone & percussion (1973)
Piano pieces

Vocal:
Choruses and songs

Source: Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of 20^th Century Classical Musicians (1997); Telnet Foto Website (Photos)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (November 2011)

René Defossez: Short Biography | Arrangements/Transcriptions: Works | Recordings

Links to other Sites

René Defossez (Belgian Centre for Music Documentation) [French]
Telnet Foto: René Defossez [Photos]

René Defossez (Wikipedia) [French]
Les compositeurs wallons: René Defossez [French]

Bibliography