# Édouard Lalo



## Portamento

​
*Édouard Lalo* (27 January 1823 - 22 April 1892) was a French composer, best known for his _Symphonie espagnole_ and "notable for the clarity of his orchestration." While a second-rate composer himself, the success of the aforemention work is enough to make his exclusion from the guestbooks somewhat glaring.


----------



## hpowders

I grew up listening to the Symphonie Espagnole. A really nice piece. Sadly neglected these days!


----------



## Anankasmo

He was a great melodist and contributed many beautiful pieces to the french concerto genre. His piano concerto, cello concerto and the symphony espangole are little gems!!!


----------



## Pugg

His String Quartet Op. 45 & Piano Trio Op. 26 are stunning works, much underrated.


----------



## elgar's ghost

I quite like these as well (especially the Cello Sonata) but I guess Lalo is doomed to suffer the same fate as Max Bruch and be principally remembered for just the single work.


----------



## Merl

I love this disc. Superb account of Lalo's Cello Concerto.


----------



## Meyerbeer Smith

_Le roi d'Ys_ is a good, overlooked opera. Here's the overture:


----------



## KenOC

Another YouTube of the _Le Roi d'Ys Overture_. Hold onto your hats at the finale! I wonder how many of the trumpets survived this.


----------



## advokat

The violin concerto is very good, difficult to perform (a top-notch violin virtuoso is needed), but exciting to listen.


----------



## haziz

Portamento said:


> View attachment 96222​
> *Édouard Lalo* (27 January 1823 - 22 April 1892) was a French composer, best known for his _Symphonie espagnole_ and "notable for the clarity of his orchestration." While a second-rate composer himself, the success of the aforemention work is enough to make his exclusion from the guestbooks somewhat glaring.


I personally would not regard him as a "second rate" composer. No, he is not at the same level as Beethoven or Tchaikovsky, but I would rank him ahead of many composers that receive massive adulation on this forum, such as Mahler and light years ahead of Bruckner. Definitely one of my favorite composers. I love his Symphonie espagnole and the cello concerto, but have enjoyed all of his concertante compositions. Sadly he was not particularly prolific.


----------



## Doublestring

The remarkable thing is that the Spanish Romantic School really started in France. Bizet's _Carmen_ and the _Symphonie espagnole_ both premiered in 1875, before Albéniz, Granados and Tárrega started composing. Before them Spanish composers didn't really have a national style.


----------



## elgar's ghost

Doublestring said:


> The remarkable thing is that the Spanish Romantic School really started in France. Bizet's _Carmen_ and the _Symphonie espagnole_ both premiered in 1875, before Albéniz, Granados and Tárrega started composing. _Before them Spanish composers didn't really have a national style._


I guess the nearest Spain got was with the _zarzuela_, but they were never destined to appeal to anyone outside Spain or parts of Latin America - I don't think any real effort was made to sell them to the wider European public, either.


----------

