The WDR Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Elena Schwarz present orchestral works by Elsa Barraine, a composer who has long been unjustly neglected. Born in Paris in 1910 and a pupil of Paul Dukas alongside Olivier Messiaen, Barraine won the Prix de Rome in 1929—a remarkable achievement for the fourth woman ever to receive it. The album centers Barraine’s Symphony No. 1 (1931) and the dramatic Symphony No. 2 “Voïna” (1938). The album includes two shorter works, the tone‑poem Illustration symphonique pour Pogromes (1933) and Mise au tombeau du Titien, composed in 1953 and opening with solo piano playing Dies irae.