Rossum, Frederik (Leon Hendrik) van

Rossum, Frederik (Leon Hendrik) van , Belgian composer and teacher of Dutch descent; b. Elsene, Brussels, Dec. 5, 1939. He took Belgian citizenship when he was 18, and studied composition with Souris and Quinet at the Brussels Cons. (1956–62), winning a Premier Grand Prix de Rome for his Cantate de la Haute Mer (1965). He taught piano at the Brussels Cons. (1965–68), then became prof. of counterpoint at the Liège Cons. (1968). He served as prof. of analysis at the Brussels Cons. (from 1971), and also was director of the Watermael-Bosvoorde Academy of Music.

Works

Petite pièce for Clarinet and Piano (1961); Piano Sonata (1963); Capriccio for Wind Quintet (1963); Sinfonietta (1964); Cantata sacrée for Chorus, Strings, and Harpsichord (1966); 12 Miniatures for Piano or Orch. (1967); Divertimento for Strings (1967); Sinfonie concertante for Horn, Piano, Percussion, and Orch. (1968); Graffiti for Violin and Piano (1968); Duetto for Cello and Piano (1968); Pyrogravures for Wind Quintet (1968); Threni for Mezzo-soprano and Orch. (1969); Der Blaue Reiter for Orch., in homage to German expressionistic painters (1971); Epitaph for Strings (1972); Piano Quintet (1972); Réetrospection for Soprano, Contralto, Chorus, 2 Pianos, and Percussion (1973); Réquisitoire for Brass and Percussion (1973); Piano Concerto (1975); Petite suite réactionnaire for Orch. (1975); De soldaat Johan, television opera (1975–76); 2 violin concertos (1979; 1985–89); Polyptyque for Orch. (1986); piano pieces.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire