GODFRIED DEVREESE  

The Belgian violinist Godfried Devreese was a pupil of Ysaÿe and César Thomson. He led the Kurhaus Orchestra in The Hague and was a member of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, also working as a conductor in Antwerp and Brussels. He spent some 29 years as director of the Malines Conservatory, establishing the city as an important musical centre. The compositions of Devreese, romantic in general style, include concertos, symphonies and a wide variety of works. His reputation as a composer has remained largely limited to his own country.