In 1994, Ricercar released a boxed set bringing together nearly all the works of Guillaume Lekeu (1870-1894), the prodigious Belgian composer who died prematurely at the age of 24.

Admirer of Beethoven and Wagner, disciple of Franck, and protégé of Ysaÿe, Lekeu had, in his last compositions, opened a new way that was neither French nor Germanic. It is to this journey that this new edition invites you, starting with the earliest works, written at 15, to the masterpieces of 1893. On this occasion, Jérôme Lejeune has completely revised and expanded the introductory text, which proposes a chronological analysis of the works.

Listening to the compositions in this order helps to understand the way the composer’s talent developed, and the quotations from his abundant correspondence give an even better idea of the state of mind of this fascinating, highly moving young man who had put this simple phrase as an epigraph to his Adagio for quartet and string orchestra: ‘The pale flowers of memory...’