Belgian organist, composer and teacher, Joseph Jongen (1873-1953) was admitted to the Lige Conservatoire at the mere age of seven years old. Published in 1925, Allegro Appassionato is an extraordinary addition to the viola repertoire. Jongen won many awards during his sixteen years of musical education, including the Belgain Prix de Rome in 1897. He began composing at age 13 and therefore, has an exhaustive catalogue of works to his name. Allegro Appassionato is a virtuosic work for the Viola, addressing aspects such as harmonics, exploited tonality, chromaticism, double stops, flourishing semiquavers, complex rhythms, articulation and a significant amount if performance directions and dynamics, among other elements. For all advanced violists, Jongen's Allegro Appassionato is essential to a varied repertoire.
