Lodewijk Mortelmans was born in Antwerp on February 5, 1868, as second son of printer Karel Mortelmans. He died on June 24, 1952. He was an outstanding, universal Belgian musician and composer. His unique and poetic classical songs, his intimate and delicate piano music and his imaginative orchestral pieces rank among the European masterworks of the end of the 19th and the early 20th century.