Baeyens, August
Baeyens, August
Baeyens, August, Belgian composer; b. Antwerp, June 5, 1895; d. there, July 17, 1966. He studied at the Royal Flemish Cons, in Antwerp. From 1911 he was a violist in Belgian orchs., and later served as director of the Royal Flemish Opera in Antwerp (1944-48; 1953-58). Despite his intimate assn. with the Flemish currents in the music of Belgium, he turned away from the dominant national direction and wrote music in a distinctly expressionistic style, rooted in a quasi-atonal chromaticism.
Works
DRAMATIC: De Dode Dichter, ballet (1920); De Liefde en de Kakatoès, a “grotesque” (1928); Coriolanus, radio opera (1941); De Ring van Gyges, opera (1943); De Triomferende Min, opera (1948). ORCH.: Entrata (1917); Niobé (1918); 8 syms. (1923, 1939, 1949, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1961); 4 Small Pieces (1923); Arlequin (1924); Cyclops (1925); Sinfonia Breve (1928); Arkadia, chamber sym. (1951); Notturno (1953); Viola Concerto (1956); Trumpet Concerto (1959); Horn Concerto (1960); Rhapsodie for Clarinet and Orch. (1966). CHAMBER: 6 string quartets (1922, 1925, 1927, 1949, 1951, 1962); Wind Quintet (1950); Concertino for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon (1951); Piranesi Suite for Flute and Cello (1951); Violin Sonata (1952). Piano: Sonata (1930). VOCAL: Lofzang aan de haven, cantata (1929); Barabbas for Narrator and Orch. (1949); songs.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire