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Few French musicians of the 18th century were as appreciated, admired and hailed during their lifetime as was the virtuoso violinist from Lyons Jean-Marie Leclair. In 1753, he was described in Mercure de France as 'the most famous artist that France has had for purely instrumental music'. Three years after his tragic death – he was murdered in 1764 by a jealous nephew –, Charles Henry de Blainville remembered him as 'the Corelli of France', where he was thus celebrated up until the early 19th century. In 1754, Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg placed Leclair on the level of Telemann, Handel and members of the Bach family in terms of harmony and counterpoint; and for Francesco Galeazzi, he was, in 1790, the sole Frenchman on the list of principal masters of the violin in 18th century Europe, alongside such major names as Corelli, Vivaldi, Somis, Locatelli, Geminiani, Tartini and Stamitz.

The Opus 7 concertos can thus be considered the crowning achievement and a sublime summary of Leclair's talents as a virtuoso and composer, one of the greatest of his era. Fireworks of wit and virtuosity, with the brilliant violinist Luis Otavio Santos (Diapason d'Or for his album of Leclair Sonatas released by Ramée) and Les Muffatti (5th album for Ramée), under the magic wand of Peter Van Heyghen.

After a 30 year-long partnership with harmonia mundi, Philippe Herreweghe has founded his own label, PHI, coproduced with Outhere. For his first CD, he presents Mahler’s Fourth Symphony. Under the leadership of Philippe Herreweghe, l’Orchestre des Champs-Élysées has been striving, for almost twenty years, to attain an idiomatic style and forgotten colours. This Fourth Symphony by Mahler, interpreted on period instruments, champions resolutely modern aesthetics, far from standard interpretations. Beyond the sumptuous colours of l’Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, beyond the meticulous work on the musical score, this recording confirms Herreweghe’s intimacy with the world of the Viennese composers of the turn of the century.

With this third monograph in the catalogue, æon affirms its commitment to the renowned composer he has become since his first opuses. Notable for the exemplary quality of the chosen works as well as by the excellence of the artists involved, this disc presents some of Bruno Mantovani's recent output.

The whole represents uncontestable features of the music of our century: energy to take your breath away, an unsurpassable art of orchestration, constantly renewed invention and sensitive poetry… Named Composer of the Year at the 2009 Victoires de la Musique awards, Bruno Mantovani confirms with this disc his place amongst the leading creators of his generation.

Although the orchestral works of Bohuslav Martinu are extremely seductive and skilfully written, they've remained rather confidential. Much of this neglect is due to the composer's fate: a typical 20th-century exile from wars, political and artistic upheavals.Walter Weller, however, the prestigious conductor of the Belgian National Orchestra, is fondly attached to this Czech music that accompanied him throughout his youth in Vienna. His exploration of the master's work includes a key work of Martinu's American period, the 4th Symphony, premiered in 1945 by Eugene Ormandy. It’s a late masterpiece, the very Debussy-like Estampes and The Departure, written in Paris and of which power and dazzling orchestration reminds us of Honegger's famous Pacific 231.The musicological note is by Harry Halbreich, the absolute authority on Martinu, whose works he catalogued.This record is an absolute must for lovers of great symphonic repertoire!

To graciously round off his time as conductor of the National Orchestra of Belgium, Walter Weller has chosen for his sixth album a composer that he holds dear to his heart, quite in keeping with his successful first Martinů album (FUG531) which was warmly received by the international press.

Martinů’s Symphony Nr.1 was commissioned by Sergei Koussevitzkyfor his Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1942. This highly attractive work, marked by a slow and poignant movement haunted by the spirit of the Lidice massacre, is dedicated to the memory of his wife Nathalie Koussevitzky.

Among the enthusiastic audience that attended the piece’s premiere was Misha Elman, then at the height of his fame and success. The virtuoso immediately approached Martinů with the request that he compose a violin concerto for him. It was no sooner said than done: Martinů delivered the piece in April 1943. Lorenzo Gatto, whose career has seriously taken off since being awarded second place at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in2008, defends this concerto (one of the finest written in the middle of last century) with enthusiasm. Noticed on Fuga Libera for two very beautiful recordings (Deconstructing the Wall–FUG565, and the Fourth Concerto which appeared on the Complete violin concertos of Vieuxtemps–FUG575), Gatto here confirms his place as one of the greatest talents of his generation. The liner notes are signed Harry Halbreich, an undisputed authority on Bohuslav Martinů.

French music of the late 19th and early 20th century abounds in fine symphonies and concertos that are rarely explored. During the symphonic revival initiated by Camille Saint-Saëns and César Franck, several famous virtuosos encouraged composers to write new works that were to leave their mark on the repertoire. One of those musicians was the pianist Louis Diémer, for whom César Franck composed his famous Variations symphoniques. But we tend to forget that this masterpiece came into being largely thanks to the previous success of Franck's symphonic poem for piano and orchestra, based on a poem by Victor Hugo, Les Djinns. At a time when composers were trying to get away from the traditional image of music, it opened up a new path that others were to follow. Massenet's Piano Concerto represents the lesser-known side of a very great composer, who is remembered above all for his operas. It combines virtuosity and sensitivity, refinement and lyricism, not to forget the 'exotic' touch in the final movement, with the inspiration of Slovakian folk music.

“Mendelssohn’s youthful Symphonies show a remarkable freshness and spontaneity. While their aspect is simple, they are, in fact, very subtle, in particular by their richness and articulations. This disc is the result of research and reflexions guided by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, who I would like to warmly thank” Laurent Quénelle.