Search results
The music of Belgium is a cultural mix where Flemish Dutch-speaking and Walloon French-speaking traditions mix with those of German minorities and of immigrant communities from Democratic Republic of the Congo or other distant countries.
- Guillaume Du Fay
- César Franck
- Django Reinhardt
- Johannes Ockeghem
- Henri Vieuxtemps
- Adrian Willaert
- Wim Mertens
- Henri Pousseur
- Eugène Ysaÿe
- Guillaume Lekeu
Famous Guillaume du Fay was born sometime at the end of the 14th century and was one of the leading composers of the early Renaissance. During his lifetime, he was widely known and revered and held various prestigious positions, including Maestre de Chappellein Savoy. He was also an ordained priest and worked closely with the influential Catholic C...
Cesar-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck was a famous Romantic composer. Born in Liege, he spent most of his career in cosmopolitan post-Revolutionary Paris. As a composer, his most famous works are symphonic, keyboard, and chamber music. Franck was widely renowned for his improvisational abilities, and he spent part of his career traveling to Fr...
Born Jean Reinhardt in 1910 in Belgium, Django was a French-Romani jazz musician and composer. He is best known for his effective use of the guitar as a leading instrument in gypsy jazz music. He helped popularize jazz throughout Europe and remains one of Europe’s most renowned jazz musicians. He formed the Quintette du Hot Club de France in 1934, ...
A contemporary of du Fay, composer Johannes Ockeghem, was born sometime between 1410 and 1425 in present-day Belgium. We have limited information about his early life, but he was nonetheless one of the most influential composers of the Franco-Flemish School. Like Cesar Franck, he also made his mark by teaching some of the next generations of compos...
Henri Francois Joseph Vieuxtemps was a 19th-century Belgian composer and violinist who helped solidify and popularize the Franco-Belgian violin school style. Born in 1820, Vieuxtemps was something of a child prodigy and began playing publicly around the age of 6. Throughout his lifetime, he traveled throughout Europe and played to adoring audiences...
Adrian Willaert was born in Roeselare around 1490 and helped spread the polyphonic Franco-Flemish music style to Italy when he moved there. He is also famous for founding the Venetian School. Like many of his contemporary composers and artists (including du Fay), a Catholic cardinal employed him before being appointed the maestro di cappella of St....
Wim Mertens is a modern composer born in Neerpelt in 1953. He studied music at the University of Ghent, the Ghent Conservatory, and the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. By 1980, he had made a name for himself as a talented composer with his ensemble piece “Struggle for Pleasure” and “Maximizing the Audience,” played as part of a play in Venice. Mert...
Henri Pousseur passed away relatively recently in 2009 at the age of 80. During his lifetime, he gained notoriety as a composer, music theorist, and teacher. He taught throughout Europe (including his home country of Belgium) and even in the United States at SUNY Buffalo. Pousseur was heavily influenced by his contemporaries and was very collaborat...
Eugene-Auguste Ysaye earned the nickname “The King of the Violin” through his incredible performances, but he was also an accomplished composer and conductor. Born in Liege in 1858, his career spanned two centuries until he died in 1931. While Ysaye was incredibly talented and came from a family of musicians and music artisans, he struggled early i...
Guillaume Lekeu (1870-1894) made an indelible mark on Belgian music despite his short life. His compositions are highly cyclic in style and fit into the long tradition of 19th-century orchestral practices. His works were highly original but certainly influenced by Beethoven, Wagner, and fellow Belgian Franck. His works include orchestral pieces, ch...
- César Franck (1822-1890): César Franck, a figure central to the Romantic era in music, is celebrated for his profound impact on the French musical tradition.
- Guillaume Dufay (c. 1397-1474): Guillaume Dufay, a prominent figure of the early Renaissance, significantly influenced the musical landscape of the 15th century with his innovative approach to harmony and form.
- Orlande de Lassus (1532-1594): Orlande de Lassus, also known as Roland de Lassus, was a prolific and versatile composer of the late Renaissance, whose career flourished in the cosmopolitan environment of the Duchy of Bavaria.
- Adolphe Sax (1814-1894): Adolphe Sax, best known as the inventor of the saxophone, was a Belgian musical instrument designer and musician whose innovations extended beyond this single invention.
Jul 3, 2024 · List famous Belgian bands and solo musicians, listed by popularity with photos when available. These popular bands from Belgium come from a number of different musical genres, including rock, pop, metal, electronic, jam, punk and acoustic.
- Reference
- J'aime la vie - Sandra Kim. Despite having taken part in the Eurovision final 59 times – more than any other country except Germany, France and the UK – Belgium has won just once.
- Ne me quitte pas – Jacques Brel. No list of famous Belgian songs could be complete without Brussels native Jacques Brel, perhaps the most internationally recognised musical name the country has ever produced.
- Daar gaat ze – Clouseau. In big hair and oversized leather trench coats, pop duo Clouseau skyrocketed to the top of the charts in 1990 with this sugar-sweet love song (which means "there she goes").
- Suds & Soda – dEUS. The screech of a violin will send a generation of Belgians tumbling into the same nostalgic reverie that those first rough chords of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" do to an American.
Jul 3, 2024 · Whether they're known for painting, sculpting, etching or drawing, the famous Belgian artists on this list have kept that tradition alive by creating renowned pieces of art that have been praised around the world.
People also ask
Who are the greatest Belgian composers?
What are some famous Belgian songs?
Who are some famous Belgian musicians?
Who are the most famous Belgian opera singers?
Another Belgium tradition has been of virtuoso performers, notably of the violin, and the most famous of these in the 19th century was Henri Vieuxtemps (1820-1881), composer of well-known display concertos as well as a soloist.
