24 Apr '13

A head full of sounds

3834
door RK
He was 13 years old when he first heard the legendary musical work The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky. It was then that he made up his mind about wanting to be a composer. Luc Brewaeys from Vilvoorde never lost sight of that aim and he is now acknowledged as one of Belgium's leading composers.

He was 13 years old when he first heard the legendary musical work The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky. It was then that he made up his mind about wanting to be a composer. Luc Brewaeys from Vilvoorde never lost sight of that aim and he is now acknowledged as one of Belgium's leading composers. He writes contemporary, music based on the spectral approach. Spectralism is informed by the musical overtones, the constituent tones of every sound. That is why harmony is a key component of his work. ‘Contemporary music is quite impenetrable for a lot of people. For those interested in finding out more about the subject, the only thing I can recommend is to listen to it as much as you can.' When he composes a symphony, he hears the lines of each instrument separately in his head, until everything is combined into a whole orchestra. 'I only start writing when 80% of the work is finished. I generally have several works simmering away in my head but they never get in each other's way, as I am perfectly capable of keeping them apart. Walking and meditating help me to discover sounds but ideas can come to me at the strangest times.’ (RK, mei 2013)