Willem Kersters

Category:componist, hedendaagse componist
Antwerpen, 09.02.1929 - 29.12.1998
Genre(s):20ste eeuw
Instrument(s):piano

Biography

Willem Kersters was born in Antwerp on 9 February 1929. From 1945 he studied at the Royal Conservatory in the same city, where he earned first prizes in solfège, harmony and piano. He then furthered his studies at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels under Jean Louël (counterpoint), Jean Absil and Marcel Quinet (fugue), Marcel Poot (composition) and René Defossez (orchestral conducting). After receiving his diploma in music education, he worked for several years at secondary schools in Tienen, Leuven and Aarschot. From 1961 to 1968 he was a music programmer at the regional broadcast in Limburg of the BRT (Belgian Radio and Television).
From 1962 he also held functions at the Royal Conservatory in Antwerp, first as a teacher of harmony, and later as the head composition teacher. In addition, he became the head of the theory department at the Maastricht Conservatory in 1967. Among his pupils may be cited Alain Craens, Koen Dejonghe, Jan De Maeyer, Luc Van Hove, Wim Henderickx and Marc Verhaegen. In 1989 he stopped teaching at these two conservatories. He died on 29 December 1998 in his native city.

As a composer, Kersters received numerous awards both in Belgium and abroad, including the Second Count de Launoit Grand Prize in the International Queen Elisabeth Composition Competition in 1961 for the ballet Triomf van de Geest (Triumph of the Spirit (1959), the City of Trieste Prize in 1963 for his Second Symphony (1963), and an award for his Second String Quartet (1964) in the International Composition Competition for String Quartets in Liège in 1965. In 1968 and 1972, he won two awards for his complete output, the Eugène Baie Prize from the Province of Antwerp and the SABAM Prize (from the Belgian asscociation for authors' rights). Kersters composed the obligatory piano concerto for the 1978 edition of the Queen Elisabeth Competition. At the end of 1990, he was elected a member of the Royal Academy for Sciences, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium.

Selective bibliography
- M. DELAERE, Y. KNOCKAERT en H. SABBE, Nieuwe Muziek in Vlaanderen, Brugge, 1998
- H. HEUGHEBAERT, art. Willem Kersters, in Algemene Muziekencyclopedie, dl. 5, uitg. dr. J. ROBIJNS en M. ZIJLSTRA, 1981, p. 170-171
- G. HUYBENS, Een nieuw geluid...5: met werken van Kurt Bikkembergs, Luc Van Hove, Willem Kersters, Leuven, 1994
- Y. KNOCKAERT, Een gesloten cirkel, in Muziek & Woord, nov. 1998, p. 45-46
- L. LEYTENS, Het logische gevolg, in Muziek & Woord, april 1988, p. 30
- V. NEES, Willem Kersters en zijn dichters, in Muziek & Woord, jan. 1995, p. 2
- D. VON VOLBORTH, Willem Kersters, in CeBeDeM en zijn aangesloten componisten, dl. 1, 1977, p. 173-176

©2001 Kris Gabriels, for Flanders Music Centre and MATRIX

Work review & selective list of works: www.matrix.mu

Selectieve discografie als componist

50 ans Orchestre philharmonique de Liège 1960 201050 ans Orchestre philharmonique de Liège 1960 2010 (2010)
20th century, romanticism, classicism, Baroque
Diverse uitvoerders, Koor van de RTB/BRT, Lia Rottier, Jacqueline Lamy, Roland Bufkens, Louis Hendrickx, Jacques Houtmann, Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden (...)
Music for Oboe and OrchestraMusic for Oboe and Orchestra (2002)
classical
Piet Van Bockstal, Czech Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, Victor Legley, Willem Kersters, Frits Celis, August de Boeck, Gabriël Verschraegen, Jacques Leduc (...)
Compositieklas. Willem KerstersCompositieklas. Willem Kersters (2000)
20th century
Gaby Van Riet, Sophie Hallynck, Noëlle Schepens, Joris Van den Hauwe, Pieter Nuytten, Alain Craens, Koen Dejonghe, Wim Henderickx (...)
Belgian works for pianoBelgian works for piano (1998)
20th century, romanticism
Marie-Claude Werchowska, Peter Benoit, Lodewijk Mortelmans, August de Boeck, Jef Van Hoof, Emmanuel Durlet, Willem Kersters, Joseph Jongen (...)
Gildebroeders maakt plezierenGildebroeders maakt plezieren (1994)
Traditional folk, 20th century
Philippe Souvagie, Ludo Mariën, Nuove Musiche Orchestra, Vic Nees, Willem Kersters, Arthur Meulemans, Hugo Roels, Marinus de Jong (...)
Een jong geluidEen jong geluid (1992)
20th century, romanticism
Dirk Herten, Filip Martens, Peter Verhoyen, Dimitri Baeteman, Steven Kolacny, Piet Van Bockstal, Katrijn Friant, Guido De Neve (...)
Musica per archiMusica per archi (1990)
21st century / contemporary, 20th century, romanticism
Josef Suk, Dirk Vermeulen, Kamerorkest Sinfonia, Joaquin Turina, Benjamin Britten, Willem Kersters, Jan Van Der Roost
Flemish oboe musicFlemish oboe music (1989)
20th century
Sonja Moortgat, Willem Kersters, Peter Welffens, André Deboeure, Jan De Maeyer, Marc Verhaegen, August Verbesselt, Alain Craens (...)
F. Peeters - A. de Boeck - A. Meulemans - N. Rosseau - V. Legley - W. KerstersF. Peeters - A. de Boeck - A. Meulemans - N. Rosseau - V. Legley - W. Kersters (1974)
romanticism, 20th century
Stanislas Deriemaeker, Flor Peeters, August de Boeck, Arthur Meulemans, Arthur Meulemans, Norbert Rosseau, Victor Legley, Willem Kersters (...)
W. Kersters - J. RyelandtW. Kersters - J. Ryelandt (1973)
20th century
Belgian National Orchestra, Daniel Sternefeld, Willem Kersters, Léonce Gras, Joseph Ryelandt

Related Items

Documents:Contemporary Music in Flanders III (book)
External links:Componistenfiche Willem Kersters