Flor Alpaerts

Flor Alpaerts (1876–1954) was a Flemish composer, conductor, and teacher. After studies and later a directorship at the Antwerp Conservatory, he balanced a career in pedagogy with conducting and composition. As conductor of the Royal Zoological Society concerts, he introduced audiences to both Flemish composers and new international repertoire. His own works are centered on orchestral music, with Pallieter (1920) and the James Ensor Suite (1929) as his best-known pieces. In his later years he turned to chamber music, writing several string quartets and instrumental works. Alpaerts remains a representative figure in twentieth-century Flemish music.