Jongen, (Marie-Alphonse-Nicolas-) Joseph

Jongen, (Marie-Alphonse-Nicolas-) Joseph, eminent Belgian composer and teacher, brother ofLéon (Marie-Victor-Justin) Jongen; b. Liège, Dec. 14, 1873; d. Sart-lez-Spa, July 12, 1953. He studied at the Liège Cons., receiving a premier prix for each of the academic subjects and also for piano and organ. In 1891 he joined the faculty of the Liège Cons, as a teacher of harmony and counterpoint. In 1894 he gained attention as a composer when he won two national prizes; in 1897 he won the Belgian Prix de Rome. He then received advice from Strauss in Berlin and d’Indy in Paris. After returning to Brussels, he taught at a music academy. From 1898, he also held the position of professeur adjoint at the Liège Cons., where he became a prof, in 1911. After the outbreak of World War I in 1914, he went to London. He made appearances as a pianist and organist, and, with Defauw, Tertis, and Doehaerd, he organized a piano quartet, which became known as the Belgian Quartet. In 1919 he returned to Belgium. In 1920 he became a prof, of counterpoint and fugue at the Brussels Cons., and from 1925 to 1939 he was its director, being succeeded by his brother, Léon. During World War II, he lived in France. He then returned to his country estate at Sart-lez- Spa. While not pursuing extreme modern effects, Jongen succeeded in imparting an original touch to his harmonic style.

Works

ORCH.: Sym. (1899); Violin Concerto (1899); Cello Concerto (1900); Fantasie sur deux Noëls populaires wallons (1902); Lalla-Roukh, symphonie poem after Thomas Moore (1904); Prélude et Danse (1907); 2 Rondes wallones (1912; also for Piano); Trumpet Concertino (1913); Impressions d’Ardennes (1913); Suite for Violin and Orch. (1915); Épithalame et Scherzo for 3 Violins and Orch. or Piano (1917); Tableaux pittoresques (1917); Poème héroïque for Violin and Orch. (1919); Prélude élégiaque et Scherzo (1920); Fantasie rhapsodique for Cello and Orch. (1924); Hymne for Organ and Strings (1924); Symphonie concertante for Organ and Orch. (1926); Pièce symphonique for Piano and Orch. (1928); Passacaglie et Gigue (1929); Suite No.3, dans le style ancien (1930); 10 Pièces (1932); Triptyque (1935); Ouverture Fanfare (1939); Alleluia for Organ and Orch. (1940); Ouverture de fête (1941); Piano Concerto (1943); Bourrée (1944); Harp Concerto (1944); In memoriam (1947); Ballade, Hommage à Chopin (1949); 3 Mouvements symphoniques (1951). CHAMBER: 3 string quartets (1893, 1916, 1921); Piano Trio (1897); Piano Quartet (1901); 2 violin sonatas (1902, 1909); Trio for Piano, Violin, and Viola (1907); Cello Sonata (1912); 2 Serenades for String Quartet (1918); 2 Pièces for Flute, Cello, and Harp (1924); 2 Pièces for 4 Cellos (1929); Sonata eroica for Organ (1930); Wind Quintet (1933); Quintet for Harp, Flute, Violin, Viola, and Cello (1940); Concerto for Wind Quintet (1942); Quartet for 4 Saxophones (1942); String Trio (1948); a number of piano pieces, including 24 preludes in all keys (1941); solo pieces for various instruments with piano. VOCAL: Mass for Chorus, Organ, and Orch. (1946); choral pieces; songs. A catalog of his works was publ, by the Centre Belge de Documentation Musicale (Brussels, 1954).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire