Ga verder naar de inhoud

De Hovre, Arthur Jan Frans

° Oudenaarde, 4/12/1868 — † Ledeberg, 13/01/1931

Annelies Focquaert (translation: Joris Duytschaever)

Arthur De Hovre descended from a musical family and was pupil of the Episcopal Teacher Training College at St Niklaas, where he graduated in 1888. Subsequently he studied organ at the Royal Conservatory in Ghent, where he became the favourite pupil of Tilborghs and played a sonata composed by himself at his final exam.

After having served as an organist in Lokeren, Ronse, and Ledeberg, he was appointed as professor of organ at the Antwerp Conservatory on 19 February 1902. After an exam with fearful competition he became the successor of Joseph Callaerts, proving his mettle in the interpretation of works by Johann Sebastian Bach, in transposition, sight-reading, improvisation, harmonisation, organ literature, organ building, as well as counterpoint and fugue. He surpassed the second candidate with more than a hundred points. Several of his students became famous composers afterwards, among them Jef Van Hoof, Firmin Swinnen, and Renaat Veremans.

Concurrently he served as director of the Music Academy of Lokeren. Between February 1916 and the end of World War I he was not allowed to travel from Ghent to Antwerp, where he was consequently replaced by Emile Wambach. When he became seriously ill in June 1930 Wambach also filled in for him. Alexander Papen (also a pupil of De Hovre's) succeeded him in 1931 as professor of organ.

De Hovre was a modest man with a predilection for playing Bach, and was noted as an excellent organ virtuoso. In an article in Muziek-Warande of 1 November 1922 the editors write: "De Hovre is humility personified, and it has cost us a lot of trouble to secure a picture of him. He leads a solitary life and seems to be content playing Bach. The less people talk about him in Ghent, the more he likes it." He wrote several Marian songs and works for organ.

Archief Bibliotheek Conservatorium Antwerpen.

Bibliografie

Anderen over deze componist

  • Bosmans, V.: Liedkunst op teksten van Gezelle : Arthur De Hovre [1868>1931], in: SVM-Nieuwsbrief 42, februari 2006.
  • N.N.: Arthur De Hovre, in: Muziek-Warande, jrg. 10, nr. 2, 1 februari 1931, p. 40.
  • N.N.: Arthur De Hovre, in: Muziek-Warande, jrg. 1, nr. 11, 1 november 1922, p. 241-244.
  • Persoons, G. (red.): Koninklijk Vlaams Conservatorium 1898-1998, Antwerpen, 1998, p. 90, 104-105.
  • Roquet, F.: Arthur Jan Frans De Hovre, in: Lexicon Vlaamse componisten geboren na 1800, Roeselare, 2007, p. 194-195.

Historische teksten

Arthur De Hovre

een anonieme journalist

Ten einde afwisseling in onze galerij van portretten te bekomen, geven we heden het beeld van een vurig Bach-vereerder, een machtig orgel-virtuoos, die een groot deel van zijn werkzaamheid besteed heeft aan het Belgisch muziekonderwijs.

Heb je een vraag of heb je een foutje opgemerkt? Zoek je een partituur?

Of heb je zelf nog meer informatie over deze persoon, contacteer ons dan.