El-Khoury: Meditation Poetique / Piano Concerto / Poems Nos 1 and 2

Featuring

Pierre Dervaux
Gérard Poulet
Abdel Rahman El Bacha
David Lively
Orchestre Colonne
Bechara El-Khoury

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Composer Biography

By the time he settled in Paris, Bechara El-Khoury had already established a reputation as both a composer and a poet, and had pursued careers as a pianist, conductor, choirmaster, and journalist.

Composer's Artistic Vision

El-Khoury's earlier works were inspired by Lebanon, its landscapes, light, songs, dances, and the tragedy of war, but more recent works show a move towards Western musical styles.

Performer Biography

Abdel Rahman El Bacha, a pianist born in Beirut, won the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium Competition by unanimous judgment at age nineteen in 1978 and also received the Audience Prize.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Bechara El-Khoury is both a composer and a poet, and a lyrical vein is central to all his works, moving his music away from academic and abstract formalism.

Composer's Artistic Vision

El-Khoury's music, despite its traditional appearance, is not backward-looking but expresses his inner being and its relationship with the outer world, aligning with a contemporary current of music focused on human feelings.

Composer Biography

Bechara El-Khoury, born in Beirut in 1957, began his musical education in Lebanon before moving to Paris in 1979 to complete his studies.

Composition History

A major concert of Bechara El-Khoury's works, including the world premiere of the two Poèmes for piano and orchestra on this CD, was given in Paris in 1983 as part of the Khalil Gibran centenary celebrations.