Joseph Jongen (1873-1953)

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Love these fabulous discs.
The review for the cello concerto disc is below.

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2003/apr03/jongen1.htm

[Symphonic Addict]

Jongen's concertante works are a sort of hit-and-miss. The Symphonie Concertante, Harp Concerto, Concert à cinq and Concerto for wind quintet contain truly gorgeous music, but the others don't have enough memorable material in comparison IMO.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Jongen's concertante works are a sort of hit-and-miss. The Symphonie Concertante, Harp Concerto, Concert à cinq and Concerto for wind quintet contain truly gorgeous music, but the others don't have enough memorable material in comparison IMO.

Fair. Btw, I like his 3 symphonic movements in this disc. A. Samuel's music is mediocre.

P.s. did you get the chance to check the Krejci/Ancerl disc? Just curious about others' opinion.

[Symphonic Addict]

Fair. Btw, I like his 3 symphonic movements in this disc. A. Samuel's music is mediocre.

P.s. did you get the chance to check the Krejci/Ancerl disc? Just curious about others' opinion.

I agree, that Samuel symphony is a complete waste of time.

No, I haven't got that disc yet. I'll keep it in mind.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Enjoying the piano works. Likable disc.

[Symphonic Addict]

Very impressed and thrilled by Jongen's Piano Quartet in E-flat major. This is a chamber piece of symphonic proportions, almost or practically as long as Brahms's 2nd Piano Quartet (depending on the performance), but totally different in style, more akin to Franck and/or Fauré. Some could think that it's a bit overlong, but I don't feel it that way. It's a fervently passionate, lyrical, expertly crafted work that traverses several moods in its four movements. There's only one recording of it (the one below) and fortunately it's great, leaving no room for doubt about the quality of the music.

If you like Fauré's two piano quartets, this piece will delight you too.

[kyjo]

Very impressed and thrilled by Jongen's Piano Quartet in E-flat major. This is a chamber piece of symphonic proportions, almost or practically as long as Brahms's 2nd Piano Quartet (depending on the performance), but totally different in style, more akin to Franck and/or Fauré. Some could think that it's a bit overlong, but I don't feel it that way. It's a fervently passionate, lyrical, expertly crafted work that traverses several moods in its four movements. There's only one recording of it (the one below) and fortunately it's great, leaving no room for doubt about the quality of the music.

If you like Fauré's two piano quartets, this piece will delight you too.

Thanks for reviving this thread, Cesar! I have positive memories of Jongen's Piano Quartet but it's been several years since I've listened - must revisit it soon. Recently, I was listening to this release of various orchestral works of his:



(Nathan Braude, viola; Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liege/Jean-Pierre Haeck; Musique en Wallonie (label))

...and how wonderful it is! This colorful, evocative music should effortlessly appeal to lovers of Debussy, Ravel, Cras, Pierne, etc. The Tableaux Pittoresques is part of the illustrious tradition of orchestral suites that Franco-Belgian composers wrote so well - it's the perfect example of a piece that may not be particularly "individual" in style, but is still completely effective and avoids being too derivative. Next comes the beautiful Sarabande triste, which is gently wistful a la Ravel's Pavane. The bipartite (yet substantial) Suite for Viola and Orchestra is a significant addition to the not-too-extensive viola repertoire; in particular, the second movement is genuinely exciting and comes to a scintillating conclusion. The disc closes with the brief but subtly touching tripartite Pages intimes. Performances and sound are excellent throughout, securing a top recommendation for this disc!