Guillaume Lekeu : Orchestral Works Vol.2 Pierre Bartholomée, Conductor

Guillaume Lekeu (1870-1894) was a Belgian composer who died tragically young. He dedicated himself to composition from an early age, and was largely self-taught before César Franck took him under his wing. Unfortunately Franck died only a year later, after which Lekeu came under the tutelage of D'Indy, was befriended by Chausson, and received important commissions from the great Belgian violinisy Ysayë. The sublime Adagio for Strings on this disc, which Lekeu uncharacteristically never menions in his voluminous correspondence, was doubtless written in Franck's memory. The disc also contains Lekeu's major orchestral work, the Fantasy on two Angevin folk songs, and the touching symphonic study Ophélie, here given in its shorter (and to my mind better) version.