Jean François Toussaint Rogister (25 October 1879 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 ...

– 20 March 1964 in Liège) was a Belgian virtuoso

violist The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the v ...

, teacher and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Life and career

Jean Rogister came from a family of musicians; his father was a

flautist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

and his brothers Fernand Rogister (1872–1954), a

horn player This list of horn players and pedagogues includes notable players of French horn, German horn, natural horn, Vienna horn, tenor (alto) horn, and alphorn. B * Radek Baborák, born 1976, former Principal horn Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Mu ...

and composer, Chrétien Rogister (pseudonym Caludi) (1884–1941), a

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist and composer, and Hubert Rogister, a

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

. A musically gifted child, Rogister studied

, viola, horn and composition at the

Liège Conservatory 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 ...

.''

Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'' is a major reference work in the field of music, originally compiled by Theodore Baker, PhD, and published in 1900 by G. Schirmer, Inc. The ninth edition, the most recent edition, was published in ...

'', Eighth Edition, Revised by Nicolas Slonimsky, Schirmer Books, New York, 1993, page 1529. Rogister studied composition with Jean-Théodore Radoux, and viola with Désiré Heynberg (1831–1898) and Oscar Englebert. He emerged a virtuoso viola player, and at the age of twenty-one, he was appointed Professor of Viola (1900–1945) at the Liège Conservatory. Rogister performed in chamber ensembles and made his debut in 1902 as violist of the Charlier Quartet led by Léopold Charlier. It was also at this time that Rogister completed his String Quartet No. 1. He continued to study composition and play in chamber music ensembles including Cercle Ad Artem, the Chaumont Quartet, and Piano et Archets. In 1923, he left for the United States where he briefly led the viola section in the

Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, nu ...

under the direction of

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British-born American conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra. H ...

. Returning to Liège, Rogister became a founding member of the Quatuor de Liège in 1925 along with violinists Henri Koch (1903–1969) and Joseph Beck, and cellist Lydia Rogister-Schor. The ensemble toured throughout in Europe and the United States to great acclaim. Rogister, like his composition teacher Radoux, composed largely in the neo-romantic style of

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 ...

, occasionally introducing his own modernistic Impressionistic sonorities. He composed eight string quartets and other chamber music, symphonic works including ''Jeux symphoniques'' (1952), concertante works for viola, violin, cello and trombone, and vocal works including a ''Requiem'' (1944).

Selected works

;Stage * ''Lorsque minuit sonna'', Lyric Drama (1930) ;Orchestral * ''Lamento'' for string orchestra (1916) * ''Destin'' (1919) * ''La Fiancée du lutin'' (1920) * ''Nuit d'avril'' (April Night), Ésquisse symphonique (Symphonic Sketch) (1921) * ''Paysage'' (1923) * Symphony No. 1 in F major (1927) * ''Largo dans le style ancien et Scherzo'' (Largo in Olden Style and Scherzo) for string orchestra (1932); original version for string quartet * Symphony No. 2 ''"Symphonie wallonne"'' in D minor (1931–1932) * ''La Lune et les peupliers'' (1932) * ''Ésquisse dramatique'' (Dramatic Sketch) (1935); original version for string quartet * ''Allegro energico'' for string orchestra (1940); original version for 4 cellos * Symphony No. 3 in E minor for solo string quartet and orchestra (1942–1943) * ''Jeux symphoniques'' (1952) * ''Hommage à

'' (1955) * ''Adagio'' for double string orchestra (1960) * ''Improvisation sur un thème'' (Improvisation on a Theme) ;Concertante * ''Fantaisie concertante'' for viola and orchestra (1910) * Concerto in A major for viola and orchestra (1914) * Concerto for cello and orchestra (1917) * ''Adieu'' for viola or cello and string orchestra (1919) * Concerto in C minor for trombone and orchestra (1919) * ''Poème'' for violin and orchestra (1920) * ''Fantaisie burlesque sur un thème populaire'' for violin and orchestra (1928) * ''Impression de mai'' for violin and orchestra (1935) * Concerto in G minor for violin and orchestra (1944–1945) * ''Suite'' in G minor for flute and string orchestra, Op. 114 (1949) * ''Fantaisie sur un cramignon liégeois'' for viola and orchestra * ''Par une après-midi ensoleillée'' (On a Sunny Afternoon), Pièce for cello and orchestra (or piano) * ''Pièce concertante'' for clarinet and orchestra ;Chamber music * String Quartet No. 1 (1902) * String Quartet No. 2 in F minor (1914) * ''Libellule'', Pièce caractéristique for violin or viola and piano (1919) * ''Adagio'' for 4 violins (1921) * String Quartet No. 3 (1921) * String Quartet No. 4 in D (1926) * String Quartet No. 5 in A (1927) * String Quartet No. 6 in C minor (1928) * ''Symphonie intime'' for flute, clarinet, bassoon, 2 violins, viola, cello and double bass (1929) * String Quartet No. 7 (1931) * ''Largo dans le style ancien et Scherzo'' (Largo in Olden Style and Scherzo) for string quartet (1932); also for string orchestra * ''Quintet for Ancient Instruments'' for 2 quintons,

viola d'amore The viola d'amore (; ) is a 7- or 6- stringed musical instrument with additional sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin. Structure and sound The viola d'amore shar ...

viola da gamba The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin family, violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bow (m ...

and

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

(1934) * ''Ésquisse dramatique'' (Dramatic Sketch) for string quartet (1935); also for orchestra * ''Impression de mai'' for violin and piano (1935) * ''Allegro energico'' for 4 cellos (1940); also for string orchestra * String Quartet No. 8 (1940) * Quintet for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn (1947) * ''Largo dans le style ancien'' for string quartet; also for string orchestra * ''L'enfant rêve'', Mélodie for violin and piano * ''Prélude'' for viola solo ;Vocal * ''The Bells'', Oratorio for soprano and 8 instruments (1924); after

the poem ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

* ''Baisers tardifs'' for voice and piano; words by

Noël Ruet Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places * Noel, Missouri, United States, a city *Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community *Noel Park, a suburb in Greater London, Engla ...

;Choral * ''Requiem'' for soloists, chorus and orchestra (1944)

Discography

* ''String Quartets Nos. 2 & 6'' – Quatour Gong; Cypres Records CYP1620 (1999) * ''Œuvres pour ensemble à cordes'' (Works for String Ensemble) – Anne Leonardo (viola); Marc Grauwels (flute); Jean-Paul Dessy (conductor); Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie; Cypres Records CYP3617 (1999) : ''Lamento'' for string orchestra (1916) : ''Allegro energico'' for string orchestra (1940) : ''Adagio'' for double string orchestra (1960) : Suite in G minor for flute and string orchestra, Op. 114 (1949) : ''Largo dans le style ancien et Scherzo'' for string orchestra (1932) : ''Adieu'' for viola and string orchestra (1919) * ''Œuvres concertantes'' (Concertante Works) – Philippe Koch (violin); Thérèse-Marie Gilissen (viola); Marc Trautmann (conductor); Orchestre Symphonique de Pécs; Koch International 3-1718-2 (1994) : Concerto in G minor for violin and orchestra (1944–1945) : ''Fantasie Concertante'' for viola and orchestra (1910) : Concerto in A major for viola and orchestra (1914) * ''Symphonie pour Quatuor à Cordes et Grande Orchestre'' – Quatour Brahms; André Siwy (violin); Alfred Walter (conductor); Orchestre Symphonique de la RTBF; MW/Schwann 11856 (1987) : Symphony No. 3 in E minor for solo string quartet and orchestra (1942–1943) : ''Fantaisie burlesque sur un thème populaire'' for violin and orchestra (1928)

References

External links

Jean Rogister biography at Bayard-Nizet Music Publishing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogister, Jean 1879 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Belgian classical composers Belgian male classical composers Belgian classical violists Musicians from Liège Royal Conservatory of Liège alumni Academic staff of the Royal Conservatory of Liège 20th-century Belgian male musicians 20th-century violists