Jef Van Hoof

Jef Van Hoof (Antwerp, 1886 – Antwerp, 1959) was a Belgian composer and organist whose work is associated with Flemish nationalism and the symphonic tradition of his country during the first half of the twentieth century. Born and died in Antwerp, he trained at the city's conservatory under Mortelmans and Gilson, and his music combines the influence of Peter Benoit with a notable technical mastery, particularly in writing for brass.

His career was shaped by competition and institutional life. He competed twice for the Prix de Rome, in 1909 and 1911, winning second prize on the latter occasion. In 1916 he succeeded his father as organist of the church of St Michael in Antwerp. After the First World War he was imprisoned for eight months on suspicion of sympathy for the Germans, and these suspicions subsequently brought him social isolation. In 1933 he founded the Flemish Festival of National Song, and from 1936 he taught harmony at the Royal Flemish Conservatory, of which he was director during the Second World War, between 1942 and 1944.

His works include the programmatic overture Willem de Zwijger, the song Groeninge, a evocation of the Battle of the Golden Spurs (1302), and the Sinfonietta for brass ensemble. His six symphonies of the later years sum up an essentially Romantic style, in which the tragic, the heroic and the ironic alternate with a festive and exuberant atmosphere. His legacy endures above all in Flemish national music and in his symphonic and choral output.