Kufferath, Maurice

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Kufferath, Maurice

Kufferath, Maurice, Belgian cellist, conductor, and writer on music of German descent, son of Hubert Ferdinand Kufferath; b. St. Josse-ten-Noode, near Brussels, Jan. 8, 1852; d. Uccie, near Brussels, Dec. 8, 1919. He studied with his father, then cello with the Servais (père and fils); also studied law and art history in Brussels and Leipzig. He wrote on politics for L’Indépendance Belge, and, from 1874, was ed. of Le Guide Musical (1875-90), subsequently being its main proprietor (until 1914). With G. Guidé, he was co-director of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie (1900–14). An ardent Wagnerian, he publ. Le Théâtre de Wagner de Tannhäuser à Parsifal (6 vols., Brussels, 1891-98). Under the pen name Maurice Reymont, he tr. Wagner’s librettos and texts of songs by Brahms into French.

Bibliography

L. Solvay, Notice sur M. K. (Brussels, 1923).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire