Jan Blockx was a Belgian composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

 and teacher. He was a leader of the Flemish

Flemish people

The Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...

 nationalist school in music.

Biography

Born in Antwerp, Blockx studied the piano with Joseph Callaerts

Joseph Callaerts

Joseph Callaerts was a Belgian organist, carilloneur, composer and music teacher. He was an important member of the Belgian school of organ playing.-Biography:...

 and composition with Peter Benoît

Peter Leonard Leopold Benoit

Petrus Leonardus Leopoldus "Peter" Benoit , was a Flemish composer.His father and a local village organist were his first teachers...

 at the Antwerp Conservatory. When he was still a student he wrote some songs in Dutch which became popular. Later he studied with Carl Reinecke

Carl Reinecke

Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke was a German composer, conductor, and pianist.-Biography:Reinecke was born in Altona, Hamburg, Germany; until 1864 the town was under Danish rule. He studied with his father, Johann Peter Rudolph Reinecke, a music teacher...

 at Leipzig

Leipzig

Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...

.

In 1886 Blockx became a teacher at his Antwerp alma mater; and when Benoît died in 1901, Blockx took his place. He died of a stroke in Kapellenbos, near Antwerp, in 1912.

Works

Blockx wrote opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

s called Iets Vergeten, Maître Martin, Rita, De Herbergprinses, Thyl Uylenspiegel, De Zee Bruid, De Kapel and Baldie. Later he rewrote Baldie and called it Liefdelied. He also wrote a ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

 called Milenka, a pantomime

Pantomime

Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...

 called St Nicholas, an overture

Overture

Overture in music is the term originally applied to the instrumental introduction to an opera...

 called Rubens, and many other works.

External links