Icons of Europe This fleur-de-lys represents the aims of Icons of Europe asbl. The fleur-de-lys figure has been used as an ornament or emblem by almost all civilisations of the old and new worlds.

Inauguration of Icons of Europe

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Under the auspices of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Mr.Walter Schwimmer,
 Icons of Europe was inaugurated in Lasne on 21 September 2002.

CLIN d'OEUIL TO THE EUROPEAN SPIRIT

Daniel Blumenthal, playing a Steinway, interpreted music by Beethoven, Debussy and Liszt.
Said Mr Blumenthal:  “Many Icons were true Europeans.  They travelled widely ... to learn.  Touring Europe, Liszt, for example, was inspired by Chopin, Goethe and other Icons.”		 Daniel Blumenthal, the American pianist, enjoys an international reputation as soloist, concert musician and chamber artist.  Mr Blumenthal is a laureate of many competitions including the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition (1983). He is professor of piano at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. Photo by Spectrum Concerts Berlin.

Beethoven, Debussy, Liszt
The three composers had significant links with Flanders and Brussels, as well as with other parts of Europe.  Beethoven's grandparents came from Mechelen (near Brussels).

Debussy was inspired by Maurice Maeterlinck of Ghent (and so was Sibelius and other composers).  Liszt consolidated his fame in Brussels and other European capitals.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) - Mozart aside, the most famous classical composer of the western world. Beethoven was born in Germany, but his grandparents came from Mechelen (Belgium) and settled in Bonn. Portrait by J.K. Stieler, 1819-1820. Claude Debussy (1862-1918), born in France. His opera based on "Pelléas et Mélisande", the drama by Comte Maurice Maeterlinck (born in Ghent, Nobel Prize in Literature 1911), had its premiere in Paris in 1902. At the time, the opera was met with hostility. It is now recognized as a masterpiece. Franz Liszt (1811-1886), the pianist and composer born in Hungary. Liszt was "a major sensation" in 1841 and 1842, when he played in Brussels on a European tour. Oil painting by Mihály Munkácsy, at the Hungarian National Museum, Budapest. For more information, please hold the cursor over an image.