D’Haene, Rafael

D’Haene, Rafael – Negen stukken voor piano (Nine Pieces for Piano) op. 1

Gullegem, 29 September 1943)

(1967-1968)

Rafael D’Haene undertook his advanced musical studies at the Conservatoire Royal de Musique de Bruxelles (1962-1967), where he studied with Eduardo del Pueyo (piano), Victor Legley (harmony), Jean Louël (counterpoint) and Marcel Quinet (fugue). He then furthered his studies in composition with Henri Dutilleux at the École Normale de Musique de Paris (1967–1968) and with Victor Legley at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel (1968–1971). From 1974, he was affiliated with the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels (KCB) and, from 1986, also with the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, initially as a teacher of harmony, counterpoint and fugue and later as a teacher of analysis and composition. He was appointed director of the KCB in 2004. In that role, he took on various key policy responsibilities and was actively involved in the process of academisation.

As a composer, D’Haene has created a distinguished body of work, showing great respect for tradition. He shuns experimentation and instead strives for a classical ideal of beauty rooted in the nineteenth-century repertoire. D’Haene strives for classical timelessness and aims to write music that, regardless of trends, retains lasting significance. The fact that his work is highly appreciated is evidenced by the many national and international performances and awards. With his cantata Klage der Ariadne (Ariadne’s Lament), set to a text by Friedrich Nietzsche, he was awarded the IX Premio Internacional de Música Oscar Espla in 1972. The jury in Alicante consisted of Oscar Espla, Goffredo Petrassi, André Jolivet, Xavier Montsalvatge and Antonio Iglesias. In 1977, his oeuvre was honoured with the prestigious Prix Lili Boulanger by an eminent jury comprising Nadia Boulanger, Jean Français, Marcel Mihalovici and Henri Dutilleux. …

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