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Wim Henderickx (; 17 March 196218 December 2022) was a Belgian composer of
contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is Western art music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st-century classical music, 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 Modernism (music), post-tonal music after the death of ...
. He was composer in residence at Muziektheater Transparant and the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, writing operas and other stage works. His music was influenced by oriental music and philosophy. He taught composition at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.


Life and career

Henderickx was born in Lier and began his music career as a jazz and rock drummer. He studied percussion and composition at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, graduating in percussion in 1984, and in composition in 1992 with Willem Kersters. He studied sonology at
IRCAM IRCAM (French: ''Ircam, '', English: Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music) is a French institute dedicated to the research of music and sound, especially in the fields of Avant-garde music, avant garde and Electroacoustic ...
and at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. In the 1990s he also attended the
Darmstädter Ferienkurse Darmstädter Ferienkurse ("Darmstadt Summer Course") is a regular summer event of contemporary classical music in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany. It was founded in 1946, under the name "Ferienkurse für Internationale Neue Musik Darmstadt" (Vacation Co ...
. Henderickx was a professor of analysis, harmony and counterpoint at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp from 1986 to 1995. He taught composition, harmony and counterpoint at the Lemmensinstituut in Leuven from 1989 to 2002. From 1995, he was professor of composition and analysis in Antwerp, and from 2002, also professor of composition at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. He was composer in residence at Muziektheater Transparant beginning in 1996. From 2000 he was the main coach of the Summer Composition Course SoundMine for young composers at Provinciaal Domein Dommelhof in Neerpelt. From 2013, he was an artist in residence at deFilharmonie (now the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra). In 2017, his Requiem was performed by Opera Ballet Flanders, and choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. His opera ''De Bekeerlinge'' (''The Convert'') was premiered in May 2022, becoming Opera Ballet Flanders' most successful contemporary production in over 20 years. Henderickx died at his home on 18 December 2022, at the age of 60.


Music and style

Henderickx composed operas, orchestral and chorale works, works for wind bands, and
chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...
. He used
electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...
in his works. His music is characterised by non-western elements, chiefly
Indian classical music Indian classical music is the art music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ...
,
raga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, fro ...
, and the rhythms of
African music The continent of Africa is vast and its music is diverse, with different regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres like makwaya, highlife, mbube, township music, jùjú, fuji, jaiva ...
. It employs changing
timbre In music, timbre (), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes sounds according to their source, such as choir voices and musical instrument ...
s and structures inspired by
Eastern philosophy Eastern philosophy (also called Asian philosophy or Oriental philosophy) includes the various philosophies that originated in East and South Asia, including Chinese philosophy, Japanese philosophy, Korean philosophy, and Vietnamese philoso ...
. He was influenced by
Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...
, Iannis Xenakis,
Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...
,
György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...
and
Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...
. As a percussionist, he often made use of an extended arsenal of percussion instruments.


Works

Many of Henderickx's early works were influenced by oriental music and philosophy. He wrote ''Mysterium'' (1989) for 10 woodwinds, ''OM'' (1992) for string quartet, and ''Dawn'' (1992) for mezzo-soprano, female chorus and instrumental ensemble. His opera ' (2000) was commissioned by Muziektheater Transparant and toured in Belgium and the Netherlands. His opera for young people, ''Achilleus'', was produced in 2003 by the Flemish Opera. It was translated into Danish and staged in Copenhagen in 2006. ''Een Totale Entführung'' was a music theatre production made in cooperation with Ramsey Nasr and based on Mozart's ''
Die Entführung aus dem Serail ' () (Köchel catalogue, K. 384; ''The Abduction from the Seraglio''; also known as ') is a singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Gottlieb Stephanie, based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's . The plot concer ...
''. The 2006 ''Olek schoot een beer'' was based on Bart Moeyaert's adaptation of the Firebird story. Henderickx wrote ''Canzone'' for voice and piano for the semi-finals of the 2008 Queen Elisabeth Music Competition. After a trip through India and Nepal, Henderickx created his "Tantric Cycle": * ''The Seven
Chakra A chakra (; ; ) is one of the various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, part of the inner traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. The concept of the chakra arose in Hinduism. B ...
s'' (2004) for
string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...
* ''Nada Brahma'' (2005) for soprano, ensemble and electronics * ''Maya's Dream'' (2005) for oboe and ensemble * ''Void/Sunyata'' (2007) for five singers, ensemble and electronics, commissioned by Music Theatre Transparent and based on a
Shri Yantra The Sri Yantra, Shri Yantra, or Shri Chakra (Sanskrit: श्री यन्त्र, IAST: śrī yantra) is a form of mystical diagram (''yantra'') used in the Shri Vidya school of Hinduism. Comprising nine interlocking triangles, it embodies ...
* ''Disappearing in Light'' (2008) for mezzo-soprano, viola, alto flute and percussion * ''Tejas (what does the sound of the universe look like?)'' (2009) for orchestra, commissioned by the Royal Flemish Philharmonic * ''Mudra'' (2010) for mixed ensemble. ''Groove!'' is a large symphonic work for percussion and orchestra, and was premiered in February 2011 by the
Brussels Philharmonic The Brussels Philharmonic is a Belgian orchestra located in Brussels. Formerly known as the Groot Symfonie-Orkest, BRT Philharmonic Orchestra, and later as the Flemish Radio Orchestra, the orchestra has been linked to the Flemish public broadc ...
with Gert François as percussion soloist. ''Medea'' for music theatre toured Belgium and the Netherlands in 2011–2013 with HERMESensemble and four actors of the Dutch Veenfabriek and Wim Henderickx as conductor. His Symphony No. 1 "At the Edge of the World" was premiered by the
National Orchestra of Belgium The Belgian National Orchestra (, ) is a Belgian orchestra, based in Brussels. Its principal concert venue is the Brussels Centre for Fine Arts (BOZAR). The orchestra also gives concerts outside Brussels in such cities as Sankt-Vith and Hasselt. ...
(NOB) in Luxemburg in 2012 with as conductor, and was performed with various orchestras in Brussels, Antwerp, Halle, and
Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...
. Within the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) World Music Days 2012 in Antwerp and November Music in den Bosch, he conducted the premiere of ''Atlantic Wall'' with HERMESensemble, a work for mezzo-soprano, instrumental ensemble, video, and electronics. In 2014 he composed ''Antifoon (A resonating bridge)'' for 500 musicians. He conducted the open air spectacle on a bridge between Hasselt and Genk. In May 2015, his large choral work ''Visioni ed Estasi'' premiered with 200 singers, both professional and amateurs, at the St. Rumbold's Cathedral, during the Flanders Festival in Mechelen with James Wood as the general conductor. In March 2017 his Symphony No. 2 "Aquarius' Dream" was premiered with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Claron McFadden, and
Thierry Fischer Thierry Fischer (born 28 September 1957) is a Swiss orchestra conductor and flutist. Early life and education Fischer was born in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (Zambia) to Swiss parents. He studied flute with Aurèle Nicolet and bega ...
as the conductor at the new Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp. In April 2017 the music theatre production ''Revelations'' premiered at the Opera21 Festival in Antwerp with Muziektheater Transparant, Cappella Amsterdam, and the HERMESensemble. His works are published by Norsk Musikforlag in Oslo, Norway.


Recordings

Albums with music by Henderickx include: * ''Raga I, II, III'' (1999) * ''Confrontations'' for African and Western percussion (2004) * ''Disappearing in Light'', with HERMESensemble * ''Tejas and Other Orchestral Works'', performed by deFilharmonie and conducted by Martyn Brabbins * ''Triptych'', with HERMESensemble * ''At the Edge of the World'', with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Brabbins and Edo de Waart. * ''Patchwork'' (EtCetera KTC 1794 (2023)) includes a recording of ''Gishora'' by Peter Verhoyen (piccolo) and Pieterjan Vranckx (seven African drums)


Awards

Henderickx received the Jeugd-en Muziekprijs Vlaanderen, the International Composition Prize for Contemporary Music in Quebec, Canada, and the triennial E. Baie I prize for a talented Flemish artist in 1999 from the province of Antwerp. He became the Arts Laureate of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium in 2002. In 2006 the Minister of Culture nominated him for the Flanders Culture Prize. He received the Lifetime Achievement Culture Prize in Lier in 2011. He was appointed a member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium (KVAB) for Science and the Arts in 2015.


References


External links

* * *
Summer Composition Course Soundmine, concert 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderickx, Wim 1962 births 2022 deaths Belgian classical composers Belgian male classical composers 21st-century Belgian classical composers Conservatorium van Amsterdam alumni People from Lier, Belgium Musicians from Antwerp Province Royal Conservatory of The Hague alumni 21st-century Belgian male musicians