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Norbert ROSSEAU was born on 11 December 1907 in Ghent, the son of two circus artists, Max Rosseau and the Italian Stella Lussie. From them (his mother studied piano at the Royal Conservatory in Ghent and his father was a violinist and musical clown) Norbert received his first music lessons. At the outbreak of the First World War, the family fled to Italy, where Rosseau took lessons from Piramo, a leading Roma violinist. A wunderkind (“il piccolo celebre violinistaâ€), he travelled throughout Italy, giving recitals until after the war. He also received his formal musical training in Italy, studying composition with Giuseppe Mulè, organ with Fernando Germani and piano with Silvestri. After graduating from the conservatory in Rome, he completed his studies in composition with Ottorino Respighi.
Around 1934, Rosseau studied psychology and philosophy in Ghent. His career as a violin virtuoso came to a sudden end with an injury to his right hand, incurred during his military service.
After the Second World War, Rosseau was introduced to concrete and electronic music, and took several courses in Darmstadt and at the IPEM (Institute for Psycho-acoustics and Electronic Music) in Ghent. Together with Louis De Meester, he was the first composer in Flanders to compose twelve-tone and electronic music (after the Second World War!).
A number of Rosseau’s compositions won prizes, and his works have been frequently performed for the radio and in concert halls.
In contrast to most composers, he never held a position at an institution such as a conservatory, orchestra or radio broadcaster
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