Désiré Defauw
Désiré Defauw | |
|---|---|
 The Mayor of Montreal, Camillien Houde, shakes hands with Desiré Defeau under the eyes of the impresario Peter Béique. | |
| Born | 5 September 1885 |
| Died | 25 July 1960 (aged 74) |
| Occupation(s) | violinist, conductor |
Désiré Defauw (5 September 1885, Ghent, Belgium – 25 July 1960, Gary, Indiana, United States) was a Belgian conductor and violinist.
Defauw was a pupil of the violinist Johan Smit (1862-1932) and gave his first London performances in 1910. During World War I he became a refugee working in London, founding the Allied Quartet with Charles Woodhouse (second violin), Lionel Tertis and Emile Doehaerd.[1] In 1917 he appeared at the Steinway Hall on 26 June 1917 to perform the first British performance of Debussy's Violin Sonata with Joseph Jongen, about six weeks after the French premiere.[2] The same year he also appeared at the Wigmore Hall performing John Ireland's Violin Sonata No. 2 with the composer at the piano.[3]
He was professor of conducting at the
Defauw later served as music director of the Grand Rapids Symphony in Grand Rapids, Michigan, from 1954 to 1958, retiring through ill-health. He was simultaneously the conductor of the Bloomington-Normal Symphony Orchestra (IL) from 1953 to 1958.[5]
References
- ^ a b Arthur Jacobs. 'Defauw, Désiré', in Grove Music Online (2001)
- ^ John Scott Whiteley. Jongen and His Organ Music, in The Musical Times, Vol. 124, No. 1681 (March 1983), p. 189
- ^ Phillips, Bruce. "John Ireland's Chamber Music" in Foreman (2011): p. 227
- ^ M. Herzberg. Désiré Defauw (Brussels, 1937)
- ^ The Bloomington-Normal Symphony Orchestra, McLean County Museum of History
Sources
- ISBN 978-1-84383-686-5
External links
- Désiré Defauw biography at the Bach Cantatas Website
- Désiré Defauw biography at Rootsweb
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