Stefan Van Puymbroeck was born in Ekeren on 17 July 1970. He studied piano with Levente Kende and composition with Willem Kersters and Luc Van Hove at the Royal Conservatory in Antwerp, where he earned a “Master in Music” diploma, as well as first prizes in solfège and music history. He took masterclasses in piano with Jean Brouwers in Brussels.
His activities as a composer bore fruit while he was still studying. His first orchestral work, November (1995), a composition for flute and piano, was premiered at deSingel in Antwerp. Many arrangements by Van Puymbroeck, often the result of commissions, have been published.
Immediately after his studies, he began to teach at the music academy in Mortsel and he took on a public relations function with the wind ensemble I Solisti del Vento. In this period, Van Puymbroeck limited himself to compositions resulting from commissions.
In the fall of 1999, Van Puymbroeck settled in the German city of Aachen, leaving his position with I Solisti del Vento, which allowed him to concentrate full-time on his artistic pursuits. The quantity, as well as the quality, of his compositions in the subsequent years are evidence of the intensity of his work as a composer. His Piano Sonata No 1 (2002) won the Jef Van Hoof prize in 2004.
Stefan Van Puymbroeck came to the public’s attention in the 2002-2003 season with his first piano concerto, which was successfully premiered by the Beethoven Academy conducted by Jan Caeyers, and with his own piano teacher, Levente Kende, as soloist.
From the beginning of his studies in 1987, Van Puymbroeck was intrigued by the figure and the work of the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. In 1996 he wrote a musicological study of that composer’s opera Fire Angel, as the major paper required for his teaching diploma. Over the years Van Puymbroeck has emerged as a specialist in the life and works of Prokofiev, giving many lectures and gradually building up an extensive bibliographical overview of all the works concerning the composer published between 1908 and 2008.

Selective bibliography:
- D. BOUCHERIE, The marriage of Heaven and Hell, in Nieuwe Vlaamse Muziekrevue, tijdschrift van De Rode Pomp, november 2004, p. 14-15
- P.-P. DE TEMMERMAN, Vlaams, niet Belgisch, in De Tijd, 29-01-2004
- K. VAN DEN BUYS, K., De leertijd voorbij, in Muziek &Wetenschap, januari 2003, p. 14

©2005 Gudrun Dewilde, for Flanders Music Centre and MATRIX

Work review & selective list of works: www.matrix.mu