Léon Jongen (2 March 1884 – 18 November 1969) was a Belgian composer and organist.

Musical career

He was born in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

on 2 March 1884. His father Alphonse had an atelier there and worked as a woodcarver. He was the younger brother of

Joseph Jongen Joseph Marie Alphonse Nicolas Jongen (14 December 1873 – 12 July 1953) was a Belgian organist, composer, and music educator. Biography Jongen was born in Liège, where his parents had moved from Flanders. He was the elder brother of Léon Jonge ...

. Jongen studied at the

Royal Conservatory of Liège The Royal Conservatory of Liège (RCL) () is a historic conservatory in Liège, Belgium. It is one of four conservatories in the French Community of Belgium that offers higher education courses in music and theatre. Located at 29 Piercot Forgeu ...

and was appointed as organist at the Saint-Jacques church of Liège after his graduation in 1898. He left his post at Saint-Jacques church in 1908 in order to tour Europe with a piano quartet. He eventually settled in Paris, becoming accompanist to the tenor Imbart de la Tour. In 1913 he won the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

with his

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

''Les fiancés de Noël''. After the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Jongen travelled the world: he visited Africa,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, China, Japan, and

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

. While in Hanoi he conducted the Tonkin Opera from 1927 to 1929. In 1934 he returned to Belgium to become a professor of

fugue In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin ''fuga'', meaning "flight" or "escape""Fugue, ''n''." ''The Concise Oxford English Dictionary'', eleventh edition, revised, ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson (Oxford and New York: Oxford Universit ...

at the

Royal Conservatory of Brussels The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (, ) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Providing performing music and drama courses, the institution became renowned par ...

. The Commission de surveillance gave his several directorial responsibilities in 1938 and officially appointed him as director on 1 August 1939. He succeeded his brother

. His appointment as director lasted till 1949. Between 1960 and 1962 Léon Jongen was the chairman of the

Queen Elisabeth Competition The Queen Elisabeth Competition (, ) is an international competition for career-starting musicians held in City of Brussels, Brussels. The competition is named after Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgium, Queen Elisabeth of Belgium (1876–1 ...

. Jongen composed symphonic works and operas. Even though he was a great admirer of the French romantic school and even knew some influence by

César Franck César Auguste Jean Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in present-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of h ...

, his musical style evolved towards more modernistic traits. He died in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Selected works

* Étude Symphonique pour Servir de Prélude à l' Oedipe Roi 1908 * Roxelane 1920 * Suite Provençale 1926 * Suite Provençale No. 3 1926 * Campeador 1932 * In Memoriam Regis 1934 * Malaisie 1935 * Venezuela 1936 * Fanfare 1939 * Improvisation 1943 * Six Esquisses 1943 * Quatre Miniatures 1949 * Musique pour un Ballet 1954 * Divertissement en Forme de Variations sur un Thème de Haydn 1955 * Fanfare 1957

References

External links

Biography and list of works at CeBeDeM
1884 births 1969 deaths Flemish composers Prix de Rome (Belgium) winners Royal Conservatory of Liège alumni {{Belgium-composer-stub