Les Synthétistes

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Les Synthétistes were a group of Belgian composers formed in 1925 to blend modern musical trends. They were influenced mainly by Ravel, Stravinsky, Hindemith, and Honegger, and their style was broadly neo-classical. Marcel Poot became the group's most widely known member. All the members had studied with Belgian composer Paul Gilson, and they started the group to celebrate Gilson’s 60th birthday in 1925. Their first publication was the magazine La Revue Musicale Belge. They hoped to be Belgium’s equivalent of Les Six. The first concert devoted to the synthesists was in December 1929, conducted by Constant Moreau. Their first major concert took place on February 27, 1930, at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, performed by the Groot Harmonieorkest van de Belgische Gidsen and conducted by Arthur Prévost.