This compact disc features the premiere recordings of the most important works for orchestra by Max d’Ollone: «Le Ménétrier» (the village fiddler), Lamento and the Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra Like his teacher Jules Massenet, d’Ollone was particularly fascinated by the human voice, and for this reason he is primarily remembered as a composer of operas (eleven!), sacred and secular cantatas and countless songs. A recording featuring his orchestral music has long been overdue!

Although Max d’Ollone wrote relatively little orchestral music and although this repertoire was written in a limited period of time (almost exclusively before 1914), his symphonic music is characterized by a very high artistic and compositional quality. His orchestral music is richly lyrical, emotionally expressive and technically impeccable.

The three-movement structure of «Le Ménétrier» with a solo violin part is very reminiscent of a concerto, a purely instrumental form, but d’Ollone described it as a «symphonic poem in three parts with a solo violin». Lamento is a meticulously orchestrated work. One is carried away by the beauty of its melodic lines and their emotional force. The delicate harmonies, at times unexpected and yet always elegant and smooth, contribute to the sense of movement toward a profound serenity. The Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra is forceful and majestic, at times reminiscent of Saint-Saëns.

The monumental, grandiloquent finale masterfully accentuates the emotional power of this composition. This recording is rounded off by a chamber music work, the Andante and Scherzo for Three Cellos a short composition that offers clear demonstration of the evolution of the composer’s musical language.

Conductor Lawrence Foster leads soloists Mark Kaplan and François-Joël Thiollier with the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya in powerful performances of music that is a real discovery.