Club past activities

The University Foundation organizes lots of activities for the members of the Club. Below you can see short reviews of some past activities. A more complete list can be seen on the French or Dutch web pages.

 - (Feb 24 2015)

Lecture on «The future of European Cancer Clinical Research: challenges and opportunities » by Prof. Françoise MEUNIER, Director General EORTC (European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer). Lecture introduced by  Prof. Augustin Ferrant, Secrétaire perpétuel de l’Académie Royale de Médecine de Belgique. This activity was preceeded by a cocktail reception at the University Foundation. 

 - (Feb 13 2015)

Lunch debate (Dutch and French) on "The need for a new energy policy" with Prof. dr. Jaap de Zwaan (professor European Law at the Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam) and Prof. Eric De Keuleneer (ULB), the main question being: "How to realise the transition to sustainable economic production and comsumption at the European level? "

 - (Feb 05 2015)

Alcina – Georg Friedrich Händel

Like Handel’s Orlando (1732) and Ariodante (1734), Alcina derives from the narrative material in Ariosto’s Orlando furioso. The story of the sorceress Alcina, an initially hedonistic, manipulative woman who later finds herself a victim of love, fits into the genre of the ‘magical opera’ with numerous magical elements, but Handel achieved considerable emotional authenticity in his characterisations. This makes Alcina one of the most deeply felt and multifaceted operas. ‘You may despise what you like ; but you cannot contradict Handel,’ said the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. As in Tamerlano, Pierre Audi based this production on the stage at the baroque theatre at Drottningholm, for which he originally developed the directing concept. His set is thus based on the principles of perspective, with wings in the form of painted panels. The result is marvellous modern musical theatre in a historizing frame.

 - (Jan 29 2015)

The members of the Club of the University Foundation were invited for the New Year's reception on January 29, 2015, at 5.30 pm.

During this reception,  Prof. Emile Boulpaep (President of BAEF) gave a presentation on "Belgian-American benevolence during and after the Great War", on the occasion of the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Great War 1914-18. During this war the Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB) was active in the United States to help the Belgian population which suffered severe food shortages. After the war the CRB gave birth to as well the University Foundation as the Belgian American Educational Foundation (BAEF).

 - (Jan 27 2015)

At the occasion of the publication of the book "Le Capital au XXIe siècle" by Thomas Piketty the University Foundation organized a lunch-debate (F/N) on "The increasing economic inequality in our welfare state" . The debate was presided by Prof. Eric De Keuleneer. The introduction was given by Prof. François Maniquet (Core, U.C.Louvain, Francqui Prize 2010). Prof. Koen Schoors (Faculty of Economic Sciences, Ghent University) and  Prof. Alain de Crombrugghe (UNamur) commented. These introductions was followed by a general discussion.  

 - (Dec 16 2014)

Don Giovanni (La Monnaie) - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

As the hero of the opera, Don Giovanni is the denominator of the piece, he gives it its name as the hero usually does, but he does more than this : he is the common denominator. Compared to his existence, all others are merely derivative.’ So wrote the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard, who, like many others, was fascinated by Mozart’s 1787 opera. ‘It is this absolute centrality that makes this work exercise the power of illusion more than any other.’ Does this work, the second joint venture by Mozart and the librettist Da Ponte, need any further introduction ? This ‘dramma giocoso’ can hardly be categorised : opera seria, opera buffa ? – Don Giovanni is universal, enigmatic, superhuman, mythical. After Così fan tutte and La Clemenza di Tito, Ludovic Morlot will conduct his third opera by Mozart at La Monnaie. For those who are familiar with Warlikovski’s approach, it will come as no surprise that Don Giovanni will be presented as a dark, desperate character.

 - (Nov 27 2014)

Guided visit (Fr/Dutch) of the exhibition + Italian evening at the University Foundation

BOZAR pays tribute to Siena and its magnificent picto¬rial tradition in collaboration with the prestigious Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena and the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen. Sienese artists developed their own style over time, evolving from the rigid patterns of late-Byzantine iconography to more narrative works of art. The ex¬hibition showcases sixty master¬pieces which bear testimony to a revolutionary form of art which, from the thirteenth century until the fifteenth century, took an in¬creasing interest in space and in exploration of human emotions and used brilliant, unusual col¬ours. The Sienese school inspired other arts centres in Italy and fi¬nally left its mark all over Europe. A unique opportunity to see these masterpieces in Brussels!
In the context of: The Italian presidency of the Council of the European Union

 - (Nov 19 2014)

Private concert with Sheva Tehoval, soprano, Belgian finalist of the Queen Elisabeth competition 2014, and Elmira Sayfullayeva, piano, followed by a walking dinner at the University Foundation.

Programme

G. F. Haendel (1685-1759) Air de Morgana: „Tornami a vagheggiar“ (extrait de Alcina)

C. Debussy (1862-1918)    C'est l'extase langoureuse, Il pleure dans mon coeur, Chevaux de bois, Green (extraits des Ariettes oubliées)

F. Schubert (1797-1828)  Die junge Nonne, Auf dem See, Rastlose Liebe

F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847) Schilflied, Hexenlied

L. Delibes (1836-1891) Les filles de Cadix

G. Crumb (1929)  The night, Let it be forgotten, Wind elegy (Three early songs)

Ch. Gounod (1818-1893) Air des bijoux: „Ah, je ris de me voir si belle“ (extrait de Faust)

F. Poulenc (1899-1963)  Air de Thérèse: „Non, monsieur mon mari“ (extrait des Mamelles de Tirsias

 - (Nov 13 2014)

In the framework of the remembrance of the beginning of the First World War ("De Groote Oorlog"),  M. Luc Devoldere (editor of Ons Erfdeel vzw and author, and editor of the French language journal "Septentrion" and the English book series "The Low Countries") and M. Michael Amara spoke on the First World War.

Luc Vandermaelen read from the work of Marguerite Yourcenar, Céline, Ernst Jünger, Stefan Zweig, Hugo Claus and others.  

Activity organised at the occasion of the publication of a special issue on the Great War of the journal “Septentrion. Arts, lettres et culture de Flandre et des Pays-Bas” and a special issue of “The Low Countries. Arts and Society in Flanders and the Netherlands” on the theme: “I died in Hell – they called it Passchendaele.”

Activity in French followed by a walking cocktail.

 - (Oct 23 2014)

Guided visit (Fr/Dutch) of the exhibition + dinner at the University Foundation

Rubens was the Quentin Tarantino of his day, making Flanders one of the world’s foremost regions for painting. The Flemish master-painter developed his own personal style, crafting scenes that exuded lust and were marked by violence, as well as compassion and elegance. These themes inspired artists all over the world for many centuries to come. In this unique exhibition by BOZAR, in collaboration with the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp and the Royal Academy of Arts in London you can rediscover the work of this indomitable genius that has withstood the test of time as well as that of his heirs. You can also see canvases by Van Dyck, Watteau, Delacroix, Manet and Kokoschka as well as engravings by Rembrandt and Picasso. 

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