The Franco-Lebanese composer and poet Bechara El-Khoury was born in Beirut in 1957. A master of orchestration, El-Khoury draws on the rich palette of resources available to today’s composers, putting into music, ‘human nature and its passions’. This disc features the brilliant orchestral miniature, Dance of the Eagles, Op. 9, works inspired by the poetry of Khalil Gibran (Image symphonique and Suite symphonique), and two panels in a triptych dedicated to the dramatic events of the war in Lebanon, Lebanon in Flames, and Requiem for Orchestra. The third panel of this triptych, Symphony The Ruins of Beirut is available on Naxos 8557043. `Everything is played with an energy and intensity that make the CD well worth the time of listeners who follow the orchestral mainstream.´ BBC Music Magazine.