Lekeu Trio et Quatour avec piano Trio Hochelaga

• Guillaume Lekeu (1870-1894): Trio avec piano
• 1 I. Lent - Allegro 12:08
• 2 II. Tres lent 11:21
• 3 III. Tres anime 06:59
• 4 IV. Lent - Anime 10:04
• Quatuor avec piano et cordes
• 5 I. Dans un emportement douloureux 14:58
• 6 II. Lent et passionne (completed by d'Indy) 10:36
• Total Runtime 01:06:06

Info for Lekeu Trio et Quatour avec piano

Belgian composer Guillaume Lekeu graces neither concert programmes nor the pages of music history. These absences owe to the tragic brevity of his life, which typhoid fever ended the day after he turned twenty-four. Nonetheless, as composer Paul Dukas noted, in these few brief years Lekeu developed 'an extraordinary maturity of thought and technique that many older composers would envy.' He cultivated these qualities with the assistance of his teachers César Franck and then Vincent d'Indy. Both championed chamber music, a sphere in which Lekeu produced some of his finest works, including the two pieces that appear on this new ATMA recording.

„The excellent Montreal ensemble Trio Hochelaga makes a mission of rediscovering music that has slipped through the cracks, and these two pieces by Belgian-born composer Guillaume Lekeu are wonderful finds“. (Elissa Poole, The Globe and Mail)

„Trio Hochelaga has made some excellent recordings of lesser-known French repertoire (Dubois, Ropartz and Pierne) and their advocacy of Lekeu deserves the highest praise. The ensemble's technical skills are evident in every phrase, but they also play with a unified heart and soul“. (Craig Zeichner, Ariama.com)

Anne Robert, violin
Paul Marleyn, cello
Stéphane Lemelin, piano
Teng Li, viola

The Trio Hochelaga
A fixture on both the Montreal and international musical scenes for twelve years, the Trio Hochelaga has earned a stellar reputation. The ensemble is known for its original programming, deft ensemble work and the poignant intensity of its performances. Its broad repertoire, which ranges from the classical period to today, shows a strong interest in bringing to light little-known and neglected musical treasures.

Named for an early Iroquois settlement on the Island of Montreal, the trio has toured extensively throughout Canada, Great Britain, France, Italy, the United States, Bermuda, Japan, China and Taiwan. Highpoints among their many concerts include their performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Tokyo New City Orchestra at Sumida Triphony Hallin Tokyo, their appearance at Wigmore Hall in London and their debut in Venice at the Palazetto Bru Zane, a venue that promotes French Romantic music.

The Trio’s extensive discography on the Atma-Classique label has won acclaim from the international press for its high level of musicality. “Rigour,” “virtuosity,” “expressiveness,” “infectious enthusiasm” and “remarkable balance and technique” are terms regularly used to describe the Trio Hochelaga’s artistry. Among the ensemble’s notable recordings are the Guillaume Lekeu Trio and Quartet, a three-CD set of Théodore Dubois’s complete chamber music for piano and strings, and the Gabriel Pierné and Gabriel Fauré trios, which earned the Trio Hochelaga a “Choc” prize – the highest accolade from the French magazine Le Monde de la Musique.

Cellist Carole Sirois and pianist Marie Fabi have now joined forces with the Trio Hochelaga’s founder, violinist Anne Robert. Having pursued their individual careers over the years, theses three instrumentalists – whose friendship goes back to their early days as music students – are reuniting out of a desire to share their music in all the passion and poetry of its varied sonorities and idioms. They play together with an intimate sense of artistic unity that is at once profoundly musical and profoundly human. Through their music, these three generous, mature and committed performers seek to convey an ideal of Beauty.

The Trio Hochelaga presents an annual series of concerts at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, where it is in residence. The ensemble gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support of the Quebec Conseil des arts et des lettres and the Conseil des arts de Montréal.

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