Trois pièces de concert

The works Trois Pièces de concert exude an overall French atmosphere. They were composed by Simon Laks in his early years in Paris for the former solo cellist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gérard Hekking who had taught at the Paris Conservatoire since 1927. The first movement varies a sophisticated, yet simple theme while always remaining nonchalant, despite all its virtuoso caprices. The slow second movement is a melancholy romance over blues harmonies, and the third a perpetuum mobile – a type of movement similarly used at the same time by Maurice Ravel, for example, in his chamber music. Of his composition for violoncello and piano, Laks also wrote a version for violin and piano which, after having been lost for a long time, was reconstructed for the CD recording on the eda records label a few years ago.