Music history continues to offer surprises and discoveries bringing previously virtually forgotten composers into the spotlight – and the French composer Simon Le Duc the Elder is one such case. In 1763 the otherwise rather critical Leopold Mozart praised Monsieur Le Duc’s playing: “Il joue bien”. Le Duc, who only lived to be thirty-five, was truly one of those highly talented individuals who during their short lives manage to accomplish something significant. He was also famous as an outstanding violinist. His compact oeuvre suffices to acquaint us with a composer of exceptional talent and above all of absolute originality. While his friend Franz Ignaz Beck developed a rather uncompromising and austere language, Le Duc’s symphonies and orchestral trios tend more toward sensibility and elegance. The leading early music ensemble La Stagione Frankfurt under its conductor Michael Schneider renders audible their melodic beauty and expressive depth.