El-Khoury: Orchestral Works

Featuring

Pierre Dervaux
Orchestre Colonne
Bechara El-Khoury

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Composer Biography

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

Performer Biography

The Orchestre Colonne, featured on this recording, was founded in 1873 by Edouard Colonne to promote French composers and contemporary music.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Composer Bechara El-Khoury's music combines oriental sensibility with Western technique, creating a unique style that avoids "false showiness or cheap colouring."

Performer Biography

Pierre Dervaux, the conductor on this album, was the principal conductor of the Paris Opéra from 1947 to 1970 and conducted the world premiere of Poulenc's "Dialogue des Carmélites" in 1957.

Compositional Technique

Bechara El-Khoury's early works, up to Opus 23, use tonality as a fixed point of reference rather than a traditional evolutionary system.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Bechara El-Khoury believes music should reflect human feelings and be a universal language, refusing to break with the past while acknowledging the world's evolution.

Composition History

Several works on this album, including "Lebanon in Flames" and the "Requiem: For the Lebanese Martyrs in the War," had their world premieres in Paris in 1983.