Guillaume Lekeu

Jean Joseph Nicolas Guillaume Lekeu (Known as "Guillaume Lekeu")

Tragic Romantic Composer, Disciple of César Franck, Master of the Violin Sonata in G

Born Jan 20, 1870

Heusy (near Verviers, Liège), Belgium

Passed Away Jan 21, 1894 Angers, France

Lifespan 24 years old

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Notice / Correction

"I pour my whole soul, my sorrows and my dreams into my harmonies; if music does not touch the tears of the heart, it is nothing."

Archival Overview

Tragically short-lived musical prodigy of late Romanticism whose impassioned, heart-wrenching Violin Sonata in G major commissioned by Eugène Ysaÿe is one of the crowning chamber masterworks of nineteenth-century Europe.

Biographical Record

Moving from Verviers to Paris, Lekeu studied counterpoint with César Franck and Vincent d'Indy, displaying astonishing compositional maturity and overwhelming emotional fervor that astonished his teachers. In 1891, he won second prize in the Belgian Prix de Rome with his cantata Andromède.

Commissioned by fellow Belgian virtuoso Eugène Ysaÿe, Lekeu completed his sublime Violin Sonata in G major in 1892, characterized by soaring chromatic melodies and tragic yearning. One day after his twenty-fourth birthday, typhoid fever extinguished his incandescent genius.

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Rest in Peace Forever remembered and cherished Your legacy lives on in all of us With deep gratitude for your life and light

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial

Heusy Cemetery (Verviers)
Heusy (Province of Liège), Belgium

                         GPS: 50.5750, 5.8667                    

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