Metadata: Daniël Sternefeld archives
Collection
- Country:
- Belgium
- Holding institution:
- Artesis Plantijn Hogeschool – Library of the Royal Conservatory Antwerp
- Holding institution (official language):
- Artesis Plantijn Hogeschool – Bibliotheek Koninklijk Conservatorium Antwerpen
- Postal address:
- Desguinlei 25, 2018 Antwerpen
- Phone number:
- +32 (0)3 244 18 20
- Web address:
- www.libraryconservatoryantwerp.be
- Email:
- bibliotheek.kca@ap.be
- Reference number:
- LRCons-Antwerp-Archief van Daniël Sternefeld
- Title:
- Daniël Sternefeld archives
- Title (official language):
- Archief van Daniël Sternefeld
- Creator/accumulator:
- Sternefeld, Daniël
- Date(s):
- 1900/1999
- Date note:
- 20th century
- Extent:
- ca. 95 items
- Scope and content:
- In this fond we mainly find archival material related to the work of Daniël Sternefeld between 1930 and 1980. We note manuscripts and sketches, mainly of orchestral, chamber and stage music. In addition we also find sheet music (partly manuscripts, sometimes printed) of work by i.a. Paul Gilson, F.A. Gevaert, Léon Artes and Jan Broeckx. We also note press cuttings, photos and programs related to various topics i.a. Sternefeld’s concert tour to Argentina and the performance of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem. Lastly, we point out the correspondence with other Belgian and international composers.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- Daniël Sternefeld (1905-1986), one of the best known Belgian composers and conductors, was born in Antwerp in 1905. After studying at the Koninklijk Vlaams Conservatorium (KVC), he joined the Koninklijke Vlaamse Opera (KVO) in 1922, with the ambition of becoming orchestra leader. To this end Sternefeld had private lessons with i.a. Frank van der Stucken, Renaat Veremans and Paul Gilson, as well as at the Mozarteum in Salzburg (1931-1932). In this period he also started conducting amateur ensembles such as the Cercle Musical Juif, the choir Arti Vocali and the choir of the Peter Benoitsfonds. Sternefeld made his debut as orchestra leader of the KVO in 1935, at the performance of his opera Mater Dolorosa. He was also attached to the Koninklijke Nederlandse Schouwburg. He wrote his masterpiece Symfonie in C during the Second World War, when Sternefeld lived in hiding and was able to escape deportation several times. In the post-war period, Sternefeld became first conductor at the KVO (1945), second conductor (1948) at the Radio Symfonie Orkest Brussel, teacher at the KVC (1948), visiting professor at the conservatory of Rio de Janeiro (1962) and member of the jury (in 1965 and 1968) of the Queen Elisabeth Competition. From 1957 until 1971, Sternefeld was head conductor of the Radio Symfonie Orkest. He was often requested as a guest conductor in Belgium and abroad, and was known for his performances of modern music (often by Belgian composers). After retiring he devoted much of his time to composing. He was mainly influenced by Mozart, Stravinsky, Strauss, Wagner and Mahler. After his death, his widow founded the Daniël Sternefeld prize, awarded in the framework of the Queen Elisabeth Competition. (“Archief van Daniël Sternefeld (1905-1986)”, in Muziekbank Vlaanderen, Resonant (ed.), 07/01/2013, description number: 2013.1, accessible on http://www.muziekbankvlaanderen.be ; J. Dewilde, “Sternefeld, Daniël”, accessible on http://www.svm.be/content/sternefeld-daniël ; J.-P. Schreiber, “Sternefeld, Daniël”, in J.-P. Schreiber, Dictionnaire biographique des Juifs de Belgique. Figures du judaïsme belge, XIXe-XXe siècles, Bruxelles, De Boeck, 2002, pp. 326-327.)
- Access points: locations:
- Argentina
- Access points: persons/families:
- Sternefeld, Daniël
- Finding aids:
- The sheet music can be found on the catalogue of the Koninklijk Conservatorium – see http://anet.ua.ac.be/opac/ap/opacdkvc
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
