Het is jammer dat Édouard Lalo nu bijna uitsluitend wordt gezien als de componist van de Symphonie espagnole, want zijn oeuvre biedt tal van niet minder interessante orkestwerken: bijvoorbeeld de Symfonie in g klein (1886), een sterk werk dat boeit door zijn melodie en toekomstgerichte harmonie. Het wordt ten onrechte overschaduwd door de Symfonie nr. 3 van Saint-Saëns en de symfonie in d kl.t. van Franck, die ongeveer tegelijkertijd werden geschreven. Neeme Järvi en het Estonian National Symphony Orchestra laten je kennismaken met andere verwaarloosde meesterwerken van de Fransman. (jpc.de)
Opname: 1957-1958
"Among too many stupid ballets," Debussy wrote at the turn of the century, "Lalo's Namouna is something of a masterpiece." Such an estimation is well in keeping with the score's glowing color, melodic richness, rhythmic verve, and overall vibrancy. And Debussy confirms his admiration by breezily alluding to its sérénade in the Assez vif et bien rythmé movement of his own String Quartet. Given the constraints under which Namouna was composed, one can only marvel at its wealth of ingratiating invention. (...) Namouna's premiere on March 6, 1882, was unsympathetically received, very likely because, striving for antiphonal effects, Lalo had groups of instruments not only in the pit, but on stage and in the front boxes. When these were placed together in the pit after the third performance, audience objections thinned, but Namouna was allowed a disappointing run of 15 performances. (...)
