Aimée Van de Wiele

Aimée Van de Wiele (8 March 1907 – 2 November 1991)[1][2] was a Belgian keyboardist and composer, born in Brussels.[3] She began her music studies at the Brussels Conservatory, where she studied with E. Bosquet and won the Laure van Cutsem prize for piano, as well as prizes for harmony, counterpoint, composition, and music theory. Wiele then moved to France to study harpsichord at the Paris Conservatory with Wanda Landowska and musicology with Andre Pirro.[2] After Landowska's death in 1959, Wiele began teaching at the Paris Conservatory, where she had several notable students, including Elisabeth Chojnacka[4] and Marketta Valve.[5]

Wiele's compositions include "Poem," a piece for orchestra, as well as inventions for harpsichord, piano pieces, and transcriptions of various cantatas and sonatas for keyboard. However, she is best remembered today as a performer.

Wiele gave solo recitals on harpsichord and performed with orchestras in Belgium, England,[6] France, Italy, and the United States[7] on harpsichord, piano, and organ. She was well known for her interpretations of Bach (particularly the Goldberg Variations) and Couperin, and especially praised for her performance of Poulenc's Concerto Champetre. Poulenc had originally composed the piece for Landowska, who performed it frequently. After Landowska's death, Wiele followed in her teacher's footsteps and received wide acclaim for her performance.[8]

In 1965, Wiele served as a judge for the first international harpsichord competition as part of the Musica Antiqua Festival in Bruges, Belgium. She was also a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).[9]

Several of Wiele's recordings can be heard on Youtube.com. Her recordings (LP and CD) include:

Bach Goldberg Variations (Calliope)[10]

Concert Champêtre for harpsichord and orchestra by Francis Poulenc (EMI Classics)

Le Livre D'Or Du Clavecin (MusicDisc)

Les Fastes De La Grande Et Ancienne Menestrandise – Couperin (Nonesuch)[11]

Rameau Keyboard Works (Discophiles Français)

References

  1. ^ Wiele, Aimee van der. "rateyourmusic.com". Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b Cohen, Aaron I. (1987). International encyclopedia of women composers (Second edition, revised and enlarged ed.). New York. p. 755.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Hixon, Donald L. (1993). Women in music : an encyclopedic biobibliography. Hennessee, Don A. (2nd ed.). Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-2769-7. OCLC 28889156.
  4. ^ Sleeman, Elizabeth (2001). The International Who's Who of Women 2002. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-1-85743-122-3.
  5. ^ Hillila, Ruth-Esther; Hong, Barbara Blanchard (1997). Historical Dictionary of the Music and Musicians of Finland. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-27728-3.
  6. ^ Senior, Evan (1966). Music and Musicians. Hansom Books.
  7. ^ Cue: The Weekly Magazine of New York Life. Cue Publishing Company. 1968.
  8. ^ "Aimée Van De Wiele Plays Music Of Jean-Jacques Grunenwald – 1963 – Past Daily Weekend Gramophone". Past Daily: News, History, Music And An Enormous Sound Archive. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  9. ^ Publishers, American Society of Composers, Authors and (1936). List of Members of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and Affiliated Societies.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "Aimée van de Wiele: Bach Goldberg Variations - Calliope 370 178". Casals Classical LPs & CDs. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  11. ^ "Nonesuch - Couperin". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 26 August 2020.