Stamp of the month: January 2020

Guillaume Lekeu

The Belgian composer Guillaume Lekeu was born on January 20, 1870 in Heusy (Verviers). He died of typhoid on January 21, 1894 in Angers at the age of only 24. In January 2020, his birthday turns 150.
 
Guillaume Lekeu, the son of a Walloon wool trader, received his first music lessons at the Verviers Conservatory. After the family moved, he studied piano, violin and cello in addition to attending high school. He composed his first pieces at the age of 15, and his first orchestral work was written in 1887.

Belgium 13.8.1994
After a visit to the Bayreuth Festival, Lekeu became a private student with César Franck, and from 1889 he was taught by Vincent d’Indy.
Guillaume Lekeu created more than 50 works (orchestral, chamber and vocal music), which were initially influenced by César Franck, Ludwig van Beethoven and Richard Wagner. Later works then reveal his own style. Lekeu received the second Belgian Prix de Rome in 1891 for his cantata “Andromède”. Lekeu composed his best-known work, the sonata for violin and piano in G major, for the violin virtuoso Eugène Ysaÿe.
 
The video shows Sergey Beltsov (violin) and Alexcei Timonin (piano) with the 1st movement of the “Sonata for violin and piano” by Guillaume Lekeu.