“Who was Jean Absil?” I ask. Jean Absil Square owes its name to this Belgian composer. The Square Jean Absil sits in Etterbeek. It marks the crossing of Hansen-Soulie Avenue and Pervyse Street.
Jean Absil was born in 1893. He died in 1974. Absil wasn’t just a composer. He was also an organist. He taught at the Brussels Conservatoire too.
Absil’s musical journey began in Bonsecours. Alphonse Oeyen taught him. Oeyen was the organist at the Bonsecours basilica. In 1913, Absil went to the Brussels Conservatoire. He studied organ and harmony there. He chose composition after graduating.
1922 was a big year for Absil. He won the Belgian Prix de Rome. The Prix Rubens followed in 1934. This allowed him to visit Paris. He met Ibert, Milhaud, and Honegger there. These composers were his contemporaries.
Absil achieved international fame. It happened with his first piano concerto. He composed it for the 1938 Queen Elizabeth Competition. It was the required piece for all finalists. Moura Lympany performed it flawlessly from memory. She won second prize. Emil Gilels won first prize.
From 1930, Absil taught harmony. He worked at the Brussels Conservatoire. Six years later he became a counterpoint professor. Paul Danblon was one of his pupils. He also taught at Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth. Absil taught at the Etterbeek Music School as well. He became a member of Belgium’s Royal Academy in 1955.
Initially, Wagner and Richard Strauss influenced Absil. Later, his style changed. He adopted a more modern style around 1934. This involved using polyphony. He used polymodal structures too. Milhaud and Schoenberg influenced this.
Absil was very productive. He wrote many piano works. He was a skilled pianist. His works include Ballade. It is for the left hand alone. There are also 3 Pieces for the right hand alone. He wrote three sonatinas. Two Grand Suites also exist. The Grand Suites pay tribute to Fréderic Chopin.
Other works include Hommage à Schumann. Also Passacaglia in Memoriam Alban Berg. His last piece was Piano Concerto no. 3.
Absil also composed non-piano music. This includes the opera Les Voix de la mer. He wrote five symphonies too. His first won the Prix Agniez in 1921.
Note that no one actually lives at Square Jean Absil. It is a square. It is a tribute. It is a landmark honoring a great composer. It connects Hansen-Soulie Avenue and Pervyse Street.