Désiré Defauw

Désiré Defauw (5 September 1885, Ghent, Belgium – 25 July 1960, Gary, Indiana, United States) was a Belgian conductor and violinist.

Defauw was a pupil of the violinist Johan Smit (1862-1932) and gave his first London performances in 1910. During World War I he became a refugee working in London, founding the Allied Quartet with Charles Woodhouse (second violin), Lionel Tertis and Emile Doehaerd. In 1917 he appeared at the Steinway Hall on 26 June 1917 to perform the first British performance of Debussy's Violin Sonata with Joseph Jongen, about six weeks after the French premiere. The same year he also appeared at the Wigmore Hall performing John Ireland's Violin Sonata No. 2 with the composer at the piano.

He was professor of conducting at the Brussels Conservatory and was the first conductor of the Orchestre National de Belgique from 1937. He left Belgium for North America in 1940 and was music director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 1941 to 1952 and also music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1943 to 1947. In 1947 he recorded the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the CSO and Mischa Elman as soloist.

Defauw later served as music director of the Grand Rapids Symphony in Grand Rapids, Michigan, from 1954 to 1958, retiring through ill-health. He was simultaneously the conductor of the Bloomington-Normal Symphony Orchestra (IL) from 1953 to 1958.