Van Puymbroeck, Stefan

Stefan Van Puymbroeck is a composer, pianist, educator and researcher. He studied piano with Levente Kende and composition with Willem Kersters and Luc Van Hove at the Royal Flemish Conservatory of Antwerp, where he obtained a Master of Music degree. His early works, including the orchestral piece November, were already being performed during his studies, and he also wrote arrangements for various clients.

After graduating, he taught at the music academy in Mortsel and worked for I Solisti del Vento. Following his move to Germany in 1999, he was able to devote more time to composition. Works from this period include his First Piano Concerto, three piano sonatas, chamber music, his Second String Quartet, the chamber opera Kain and the chamber cantata The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, based on William Blake. His music is characterised by inner restlessness, sharp contrasts, lyrical episodes and a search for connections between Romantic expression and contemporary compositional techniques.

Van Puymbroeck is also a specialist in the life and work of Sergei Prokofiev. He earned his doctorate with a dissertation on Maddalena and completed its unfinished score, which was published by Boosey & Hawkes.