19.11.26, 17:00, An acoustic and spatial intervention, textile design at Muziekbibliotheek
Over the past year, third-year Bachelor’s students in Textile Design have been working with the Muziekbibliotheek on a project to transform the library space. They investigated how textiles could improve the acoustics and the spatial experience of the reading room.
On 19 November 2026, the Textile Design programme is organising a reception at the Muziekbibliotheek to showcase the results of this project.
Je veux de l'humour!, MuziekbibliotheekexpoAgendaArtistic activitiesLet yourself be swept away by the playful side of music in a surprising exhibition brimming with humour and imagination. Discover sheet music in which humour surfaces in the melody or lyrics, eye-catching record sleeves and compositions in which bizarre sounds take centre stage. Amidst the books and sheet music, live music plays that surprises, goes off the rails and brings a smile to your face. The musician engages in a playful interplay with the sound installation; sometimes harmonious, sometimes like a cheerful duel.
And anyone who is immediately captivated by the artwork on the audio material can immerse themselves even further: the Music Archive is also opening its doors for guided tours. Delve into an impressive collection of records and CDs featuring over 40,000 Belgian recordings.
Musicians at home abroad, MuziekbibliotheekexpoAgendaArtistic activitiesComposers and musicians often travelled in search of artistic inspiration and growth, e.g. Prix de Rome. But of course they also did so to give concerts. Commonly known is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's tour of Europe in the second half of the 18th century, but Belgian composers such as François-Auguste Gevaert, Adrien François Servais, Adolphe Samuel, Hendrik Waelput, Robert Herberigs and Martin Lunssens also explored Europe. Remarkably, they all eventually returned to their heimat.
The exhibition highlights these journeys and shows scores from our collection, including old prints and manuscripts.
Opera & Ghent, MuziekbibliotheekexpoAgendaArtistic activitiesOpera originated in Italy at the end of the 16th century and transformed over the following centuries from a noble entertainment to a tool for social change. During the 19th century, opera played an important role in the social fabric of Europe. In Belgium, opera even triggered the revolution of 1830 that led to independence. This exhibition comprises pieces from the collections of the Muziekbibliotheek Gent, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen and the International Opera Academy that demonstrate the importance of opera in the city from the 19th century to the present day.
Throughout the exhibition, you will see costumes from Opera Ballet Vlaanderen's production of Philip Glass' opera Akhnaten, which was performed in 2015. The costumes are the work of Belgian designer Walter Van Beirendonck. These contemporary pieces are on display along with the Muziekbibliotheek Gent's own collection of manuscripts and iconography from the 19th to 21st centuries.
At the end of the exhibition, you can watch an interview with Jacqueline Van Quaille. Ms Van Quaille studied at the Ghent Conservatory and describes her studies here in the 1950s and her international opera career.
fri-sun: closed
Studiedag 19th Century Salon - les Salons Bruxello-Gantoises, Muziekbibliotheekresearch presentationAgendaArtistic activitiesOnderzoekEmbedding Historical Sources in Modern-Day Performance of Romantic Music
Deze studiedag focust op het praktijkgericht aanwenden van historisch bronnenmateriaal bij de uitvoering van muziek uit de Romantische periode. Studenten, docenten en onderzoekers van KASK & Conservatorium (HOGENT - Howest) en Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel gaan in dialoog met externe onderzoekers over hun ervaringen, methodieken, onderzoeksresultaten en bevindingen. Dit gebeurt aan de hand van praktijkgerichte workshops door internationale onderzoekers, gevolgd door een ronde-tafelconferentie en een selectie van praktijkgerichte lecture-performances. De studiedag vormt een aanzet tot het inrichten van een hogeschooloverschrijdende onderzoeksgroep binnen het veld van de uitvoeringspraktijk van muziek uit de romantische periode.
Sprekers:
- Dr. Inja Stanovic (University of London, pianist, early recording specialist)
- Dr. George Kennaway (University of Leeds, cellist)
- Dr. David Milsom (University of Huddersfield, violinist)
- Dr. Emily Worthington (University of York, clarinet player)
- Dr. Jeroen Billiet (KCB & KASK & Conservatorium, horn player)
- Dr. Aleks Kolkowski (sound artist, early recording specialist)
- Dr. Tom Beghin (Orpheusinstituut)
- Researchers from Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel and KASK & Conservatorium (HOGENT - Howest)
Bekijk het volledige programma
Met steun van het Onderzoeksfonds Erasmushogeschool Brussel, Alliantiefonds HOGENT / EHB, Onderzoeksfonds Kunsten van HOGENT.
I.s.m. early-recordings.com
François Servais, the Paganini of the Cello, and the Belgian School of Cello Playing, MuziekbibliotheeklectureAgendaArtistic activitiesFrançois Servais (1807-1866) was een baanbrekend cellist, een Europese ster en een van de grondleggers van de Belgische celloschool. Hij musiceerde met Mendelssohn, Rossini en Vieuxtemps en werd hoog gewaardeerd door Schumann, Meyerbeer en Berlioz. Anderhalve eeuw na zijn dood klinken zijn virtuoze cellocomposities nog steeds na in de hele wereld.
Musicoloog en historicus Peter François zal spreken over Servais' leven en werk en over de Belgische School voor Cello.
François Xavier Tourte en L’Archet de Viotti: Perspectives from a Violinist at the Workbench, MuziekbibliotheeklectureAgendaArtistic activitiesDeze presentatie onderzoekt de ontmoeting in 1782 tussen de strijkstokkenbouwer François Xavier Tourte en de violist Giovanni Battista Viotti en hoe de creatieve sprong in het ontwerp van de "moderne" strijkstok ontstond door hun interactie. Ellie Nimeroski put uit haar ervaring in het maken van strijkstokken, archiefdocumenten van het Parijse Conservatorium en een manuscript van een van Viotti's leerlingen, de Belgische violist André Robberechts om Viotti's ontmoeting met Tourte te verbeelden.