Organist Joseph Jongen
The Belgian composer and organist Joseph Jongen was born on December 14, 1873, in Liège and died on July 12, 1953, in Sart-les-Spa near Liège. At the age of seven, he entered the Liège Conservatory, where he won first prizes in all academic subjects as well as in piano playing. In 1897, Jongen received the Belgian Prix de Rome for his cantata 'Comala' (Op. 14), which enabled him to study abroad for almost four years. From October 1898 to May 1902, he traveled through Germany, Austria, France, and Italy. In Berlin, he discovered the music of Brahms and met Vincent d'Indy as well as Richard Strauss, who gave him composition lessons. During this productive period of travel, he composed numerous important works, including a symphony (Op. 15), two concertos (Op. 17 and 18), and a piano quartet (Op. 23). After returning to Belgium, Jongen was appointed Professor of Harmony and Counterpoint at the Liège Conservatory in 1903. Following the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, he moved with his family to London, where he performed as a pianist and organist and founded a piano quartet known as the 'Quatuor belge de Londres'. In 1919, he returned to Belgium and the following year became Professor of Counterpoint and Fugue at the Brussels Conservatory, where he served as director from 1925 to 1939. He also worked as a conductor. His compositions include the notable String Quartet (Op. 3), the 'Symphonie concertante' (Op. 81) for organ and orchestra, and the 'Sonata eroïca'. His style, initially influenced by the school of César Franck, later developed an original harmonic signature, occasionally incorporating modern idioms such as atonality without becoming experimental. The last years of his life were overshadowed by the disappearance of his son (1944/45) and his wife's serious illness, which led him to withdraw from public life and rarely compose. ]