Bulterys, Nini

Preface

Nini Bulterys – Trio for piano, violin and cello

(Temse, 20 November 1929 – Wilrijk, 12 December 1989)

(1961)

Nini Bulterys received her first music lessons from Jozef D‘Hooghe (1891-1944), who was sacristan and organist at the decanal church in her home town of Temse. She originally studied commerce, and in 1947 obtained a degree in commercial bookkeeping, graduating magna cum laude. She undertook private piano lessons with the piano virtuoso Yvonne Van den Berghe, after which she graduated cum laude from the Belgian Music College in Antwerp with an advanced degree in piano in 1952. Shortly afterwards she entered the official higher music education system and began studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, where she earned First Prize diplomas in solfège with Marcel Slootmaeckers (1954) and harmony with Rosa Granjé (1955).
On the advice of composer Vic Legley she then moved to the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels, where she obtained a First Prize diploma in counterpoint with pianist and composer Jean Louel in 1957, followed by a First Prize diploma in fugue with composer Jean Absil two years later. When Louel was appointed as composition tutor at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Argenteuil in 1959, she followed him there. Over the years she composed works including the cantata De terugkeer van de krijgsgevangene (The Return of the Prisoner of War, 1959), with text by Marcel Coole; a Sonata for Two Violins and Piano (1960); a Piano Concerto (1961), which she dedicated to Yvonne Van den Berghe who performed the piece on 8 June 1962 with the BRT Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Sternefeld; and a String Quartet (1962). In 1962, she obtained a degree in composition with a score of 86% for her cantata Triumph of Blood, with text by Karel Jonckheere. Her teacher Louel supported her when it came to performances of her work, both as a chamber musician and conductor. For example, he conducted the Radio Orchestra when they performed her Mouvement symphonique (1960).
Bulterys cemented her reputation as a promising composer when she won ‘first second prize’ in the prestigious Prix de Rome for her cantata Arion, with text by Bert Decorte. In 1965, she was then awarded second prize at the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition in 1965 with her Symphony. Several of her early works were played on the radio or released on vinyl, such as the recording of her Symphony performed by the National Orchestra of Belgium and conducted by Daniel Sternefeld (Hedendaagse Belgische muziek – Cultura/Alpha Brussels, 5071-1). …

read more / German and Flemish preface … > HERE