Walter Hus (born 2 July 1959) is a Belgian composer and musician. He studied at the music conservatories in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

and Brussels. In 1984, he graduated with excellence (''Diplôme supérieur'') for

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

with Prof. Dr. Robert Steyaert and soon became involved with new music in many different expressions. He performed improvised piano recitals (1984: LP ''Eight Etudes on Improvisation''); occasionally flirted with

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

(Belgisch Pianokwartet) and rock (Simpletones); collaborated with painters (Michel Thuns) and video artists (Walter Verdin, Marie André). He wrote film scores for ''Suite Sixteen'' (

Dominique Deruddere Dominique Deruddere (born 15 June 1957) is a Belgium, Belgian film director, actor, screenwriter and producer. Career Dominique Deruddere was an actor before he became a director. Filmography * ''Crazy Love (1987 film), Crazy Love'' (1987) * ...

) and ''

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'' (

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a British film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Mannerist painting in particular. Common traits in his films a ...

); toured the world with his ensemble Maximalist! and wrote and performed for theatre and ballet (amongst others

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker Anne Teresa, Baroness De Keersmaeker (, born 1960 in Mechelen, Belgium, grew up in Wemmel) is a contemporary dance choreographer. The dance company constructed around her, , was in residence at La Monnaie in Brussels from 1992 to 2007. Biogra ...

, Wim Vandekeybus, Roxanne Huilmand, Needcompany, Bud Blumenthal, Discordia, Beukelaars, Kortekaas, Ritsema). From the nineties on, he appeared less on stage and concentrated on composition as his main interest. He was commissioned by a number of music institutions and festivals, such as the , deSingel, the , ,

Festival van Vlaanderen Festival of Flanders () is an annual music event at different locations in Flanders. It started initially as a "Summer Festival", but now its activities are spread from January to May, with a peak in late summer and early autumn. History The Festi ...

, Antwerpen '93, Happy New Ears,

Vooruit Vooruit ( , ) is a historic complex in Ghent, Belgium. Vooruit was originally the festival and art centre of the Ghent-based labour movement, with a ballroom, cinema, theatre, etc. It is now mainly used for concerts and other cultural events ...

, Felix Meritis,

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and the . Recent works include four String Quartets ("La Théorie", "Le Désir", "Le Miroir" and "La Folie") and their symphonic transcriptions; chamber music for various combinations of instruments; music for choir and wind-ensembles; one Violin Concerto; one Piano Concerto; solo pieces; two song cycle; a children's opera ("de Nacht"); "Orfeo", an opera His trilogy of operas ("Meneer, de zot & tkint" / "Bloetwollefduivel" / "Titus Andonderonikustmijnklote"), lyrics by

Jan Decorte Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

, toured in Belgium and other European countries and were described as "masterpieces of stilistic venom ..flawless little lessons in opera eshthetics" He composed a cycle of twenty-four preludes and fugues in four volumes, for multiple combinations of instruments. In 2004 he performed Books II & III of ''Preludes and Fugues for 2 pianos'' with pianist/composer

Frederic Rzewski Frederic Anthony Rzewski ( ; April 13, 1938 – June 26, 2021) was an American composer and pianist, considered to be one of the most important American composer-pianists of his time. From 1977 up to his eventual death, he lived mainly in Be ...

. In 2012, Hus created an opera based on

Chris Ware Franklin Christenson "Chris" Ware (born December 28, 1967) is an American cartoonist known for his ''Acme Novelty Library'' series (begun 1994) and the graphic novels ''Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth'' (2000), ''Building Stories'' (2012 ...

's ''Lint'' (

Acme Novelty Library ''Acme Novelty Library'' is a comic book series created by Chicago cartoonist Chris Ware. Its first issue appeared in 1993. Published from 1994 by Fantagraphics Books and later self-published, it is considered a significant work in alternative co ...

#20). Since 2004, Walter Hus is artist in residence at Namahn. Walter Hus' recording studio, featuring a Decap organ, is located in the Namahn spaces. In recent years, Hus is best known for his work with the Decap organ. He started transcribing sheet music for Decap's new instruments in the early 2000s and "fell completely in love with the whole instrumentarium and saw far greater potential in it". Decap lent him an instrument, and Hus continues composing for and performing with the organ. In 2010, Hus composed a Decap version of

Universal Nation "Universal Nation" is a song by Belgian DJ/producer Mike "M.I.K.E." Dierickx under his alias Push. What began as small trance studio project in late 1997, became an international commercial success over the years. The song was first released in 1 ...

for the documentary The Sound of Belgium. In 2015, he received the

Ensor Award The Ensor Award (for the first two years ''Vlaamse Filmprijzen'') is an accolade presented by the Ensor Academy of Belgium to recognize cinematic achievement in the film industry and is the highest film honour in the Flemish speaking part of the ...

at the Oostende International Film Festival for his soundtrack to the film ''N-the madness of reason'' by

Peter Krüger Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

References

External links

*
Walter Hus at the Living Composers Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hus, Walter Belgian composers Belgian male composers Belgian male musicians 1959 births Living people Factory Records artists