Miry, Karel

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Miry, Karel

Miry, Karel, Belgian composer; b. Ghent, Aug. 14, 1823; d. there, Oct. 3, 1889. He studied violin with Jean Andries and composition with Martin Joseph Mergal at the Ghent Cons., and in 1857 was engaged as a prof, of harmony and counterpoint there; in 1871 he was appointed asst. director. From 1875 he was inspector of music in the municipal schools of Ghent, and from 1881, inspector of state-supported music schools. As a composer, Miry cultivated the national Flemish style, writing several syms. and 18 operas and operettas to French and Flemish librettos. His opera Boucher d d’Avesnes was first staged in Ghent on Feb. 5, 1864, obtaining considerable success. But he owes his fame to the patriotic song De Vlaamse Leeuw, which he wrote at the age of 22, and which became the Flemish anthem of Belgium.

Bibliography

J. Maertens, De structuurontleding van de symfonieen van K. M. (1823–1889) (diss., Univ. of Ghent, 1968).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis Mclntire