Jan Blockx (25 January 1851 – 26 May 1912) was a Belgian composer,

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, j ...

and teacher. He was a leader of the

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium ...

nationalist school in music.

Biography

Born in Antwerp, Blockx studied the piano with Frans Aerts, the organ with Joseph Callaerts and composition with Peter Benoît at the

Antwerp Conservatory Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. When he was still a student he wrote some songs, in Flemish, which became popular. However, his musical education studies were quite irregular, and he was essentially self-taught person. Later he studied with

Carl Reinecke Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (23 June 182410 March 1910) was a German composer, conductor, and pianist in the mid- Romantic era. Biography Reinecke was born in what is today the Hamburg district of Altona; technically he was born a Dane, as ...

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

. Despite the fact that he was Benoits favorite pupil, Blockx wanted to make his own way in life, independent of his teacher and the Flemish Movement. Unlike Benoit, Blockx never intended his works to have the educational, uplifting effect that was typical for the Flemish Movement. This caused tensions between student and master: despite the fact that Blockx's work helped to spread Flemish music across the Belgian borders and even saved the ''

Vlaamse Opera The Vlaamse Opera (Flemish Opera) is an opera company in Belgium directed by Jan Vandenhouwe which operates in two different opera houses in two Flemish cities, the Vlaamse Opera Antwerp at Van Ertbornstraat 8 and the Vlaamse Opera Ghent at Schouwb ...

'' from bankruptcy, Blockx received a lot of complaints from his fellow Flemish composers for publishing his works in French and through the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

ian music publisher Heugel. In 1886 Blockx became a teacher at his Antwerp ''alma mater''; and when Benoît died in 1901, Blockx succeeded him as director (a decision that was much contested by his colleagues despite his international reputation). He died of a stroke in Kapellenbos, near Antwerp, in 1912.

Works

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

''Iets Vergeten (Forgot something)''- Libretto: Victor Alexis dela Montagne. World premiere in Nederlandsch Lyrisch Toneel in Antwerp in 1877
''Thyl Uylenspiegel'' - performed for the first time in Brussels on January 18, 1900. The three-act opera is set during the Dutch revolt against the Spaniards between 1568 and 1573. It includes Flemish folk dances.
''Maître Martin'' - Libretto: Eugène Landoy and Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann. World premiere in Théâtre-Royal de la Monnaie in 1892
''Rita'' - Libretto: Nestor de Tiere. World premiere in Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp in 1895.
''De Herbergprinses (The Inn Princess)'' - Libretto: Nestor de Tière. World première in Nederlandsch Lyrisch Toneel in Antwerp on October 18, 1896
''De Bruid der Zee (The Bride of the See)'' - Libretto: Nestor de Tière. World premiere in Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp on November 30, 1901.
''De Kapel (The Chapel)'' - Libretto: Nestor de Tière. One-act opera. World premiere in Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp on November 7, 1903.
''Baldie'' - Libretto: Nestor de Tière. World premiere in Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp on January 25, 1908.Later he rewrote ''Baldie'' and called it ''Liefdelied (premiere January 6, 1912)''.

Ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

''Milenka''

Pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speakin ...

''St Nicholas''

Overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed over ...

''Rubens'' and many other works. Cantatas
''Jubelgam''
''De Klokke Roelandt (The Clock Roelandt)''
''Het Vaderland (The Fatherland)''
''Die Scheldezang (Those Scold Singing)''
''Feest in der Lande (Party in the Country)''
''Vredesang (Peace)''
''Op den Stroom (On the Streem)''
''Het Droom van't Paradies (The Dream of Paradies)''

Symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

s
''Kermisdag (Fun Fair Day)''
''Symfonisch Drieluik (Symphonic Trilogy)''.

References

*Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1900) p 71 *The Days of Scharwenka and Moszkowski, Harcourt, Brace and Company (1936) p 77
Biography by J. Dewilde at SVM

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blockx, Jan 1851 births 1912 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century classical pianists 20th-century classical composers 20th-century classical pianists Belgian classical composers Belgian classical pianists Belgian male classical composers Belgian opera composers Male opera composers Musicians from Antwerp Romantic composers Male classical pianists 20th-century Belgian male musicians 19th-century Belgian male musicians