Joseph Jongen

Composer, born in Liège, E Belgium. He studied at the Liège Conservatory, and in Italy, France, and Germany. He won the Belgian Prix de Rome, and was professor at Liège Conservatoire until the outbreak of World War 1, when he went to England. He became director of the Brussels Conservatoire (1920–39). He composed piano, violin, and organ works, the symphonic poem Lalla Roukh, an opera, and a ballet.

Joseph Jongen (December 14, 1873–July 12, 1953) was a Belgian organist, composer, and music educator.

Jongen was born in Liège. On the strength of an amazing precocity for music, he was admitted to the Liège Conservatoire at the extraordinarily young age of seven, and there he spent the next sixteen years.

He began composing at the age of 13 and immediately exhibited exceptional talent in that field too. His monumental and massive First String Quartet was composed in 1894 and was submitted for the annual competition for fine arts held by the Royal Academy of Belgium, where it was awarded the top prize by the jury.

In 1902, he returned to his native land, and in the following year he was named a professor of harmony and counterpoint at his old Liège college.

He composed a great deal of music, including symphonies, concertos, chamber music (including a late string trio and three string quartets), and vocal music. Today, he is best known for his Symphonie Concertante for organ and orchestra, a brilliant work considered by many to be among the greatest works for organ and orchestra.