Georges Cloetens, born Josse Léopold Cloetens on March 7, 1871 in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and died on August 13, 1949 in

Ixelles ( French, ) or (Dutch, ), is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Brussels' city centre, it is geographically bisected by the City of Brussels. It is also bordered by the muni ...

, was a Belgian

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

builder and inventor, mainly known for the invention of the orphéal (1908) and the

luthéal The luthéal is a kind of hybrid piano which extended the "register" possibilities of a piano by producing cimbalom-like sounds in some registers, exploiting harmonics of the strings when pulling other register-stops, and also some registers makin ...

(1919).

Biography

Georges Cloetens was the son of Jacques-Jean-Baptiste Cloetens, metal gilder, and Jeanne Catherine De Jongh. They lived in rue des Quatre Bras, Brussels, in 1871. He attended the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, where he followed in particular the teaching of Arthur De Greef. Georges trained as an organ builder in Pierre Schyven's workshops in Ixelles. The latter, a former apprentice of Joseph Merklin, is an organ builder and inventor, to whom we owe several instruments, including the organ with three keyboards of the royal church of Laeken or that of the Philharmonic Hall of Liège. Cloetens remained attached to his master until 1897, when he installed his first workshops at 14, rue du Belvédère, in Ixelles, which he moved in 1901 to 37, rue de Lausanne, in Saint-Gilles. During the Great War, he may move to 52, avenue Fondroy, in Uccle. Indeed, Cloetens is referenced, on its patents, as residing in Saint-Gilles until 1913 and from 1920, but in Uccle for the year 1919. He had an apprentice, Théophile Boeckx. As an organist, Georges Cloetens organized a good number of concerts, for organ inaugurations or the promotion of his inventions, or takes part in performances of all kinds (entertaining evenings, representations of original works, etc.). His repertoire included works by old and recent composers:

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

Georg Friedrich Haendel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

, Giovanni Bolzoni,

Enrique Granados Pantaleón Enrique Joaquín Granados y Campiña (27 July 1867 – 24 March 1916), commonly known as Enric Granados in Catalan or Enrique Granados in Spanish, was a composer of classical music, and concert pianist from Catalonia, Spain. ...

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

, and

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

References

{{Belgium-engineer-stub Belgian pipe organ builders 1871 births 1949 deaths