Maldere, Pierre van

Maldere, Pierre van, noted South Netherlands violinist, conductor, and composer; b. Brussels, Oct. 16, 1729; d. there, Nov. 1, 1768. He became a violinist in 1746 and 1^st violinist in 1749 at the Royal Chapel of Brussels; was also in the service of Prince Charles of Lorraine, the governor-general of the Netherlands. From 1751 to 1753 he was in Dublin, where he conducted its “Philharmonick Concerts.” In 1754 he appeared in Paris as a violinist at the Concert Spirituel. Returning to Brussels, he became director of concerts to Prince Charles (1754); then was made his valet de chambre (1758); also conducted at the Brussels Opera, and later was director of the Grand Théâtre there (1762–67). He excelled as a composer of syms., in which he anticipated the masterpieces of Haydn and Mozart.

Works

dramatic: Opera: Le Déguisement pastoral (Vienna, July 12, 1756); Les Amours champêtres (Vienna, Nov. 5, 1758; not extant); Les Précautions inutiles (1760); Les Soeurs rivals (1762); La Bagarre (Paris, Feb. 10, 1763; not extant); Le Médecin de l’amour (Brussels, 1766; not extant); Le Soldat par amour (Brussels, Nov. 4,1766; not extant). other: Numerous syms., many of which were publ.; overtures; chamber music.

Bibliography

S. Clercx, P. v.M.: Virtuose et maitre des concerts de Charles de Lorraine (1729–1768) (Brussels, 1948); W. Rompaey, P. v.M. (1729–1768): Thematische catalogus van de instrumentale werken met voorbeelden in partituurvorm (Aartselaar, 1990).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire