Franz Ignaz Beck is one of the most fascinating composers of the eighteenth century, a musical visionary as well as a “genuine European” with roots in Mannheim. His opera L’isle déserte, long regarded as lost, has resurfaced in a score manuscript in France and now is celebrating its recording premiere with La Stagione Frankfurt. Magnificent music and a magnificent text! Beck’s L’isle déserte is particularly interesting in the context of music history: first, because it is by a composer who continued to await discovery; second, because a composer active in France availed himself of an Italian libretto – which continued to be an exception before 1780, especially when Metastasio was the librettist. Beck’s L’isle déserte is thus a model example of a material and text-historical adaptation and even more so of a transfer to the music theater. In other words, in Beck’s version of “The Deserted Island” Italian libretto artistry and French music theater meet, while special appeal is generated by this composer from Germany, an émigré, so to speak, who was not operating with French as his genuinely native language.

“***** The music of [The Kreutzer Sonata] is… an emotional maelstrom… a whole kaleidoscope of feelings that the Doric brings to bear in a vivid, trenchant and intuitively heartfelt performance… [A] disc of outstanding musical insight and dynamic presence.” – Daily Telegraph (UK)

This new recording by the Doric String Quartet pays homage to the Czech chamber music of the 1920s, featuring string quartets by Janácek and Martinu. Exclusive on Chandos, The Doric String Quartet is now established as one of the finest young ensembles in the world.

The chamber music output of Janácek is relatively small but often programmatic. As acknowledged by the composer, the two string quartets are a vehicle for his deepest feelings. The mounting tension of String Quartet No. 1, which culminates in a less anguished last movement, emphasises the heightened feelings of love, passion, and remorse with which he was concerned at the time of its writing. As he summed it up, the work depicts the ‘miserable woman, suffering, beaten, beaten to death’ from Tolstoy’s Kreutzer Sonata. Titled Intimate Letters, the Second Quartet – the last work Janácek completed – fulfils an autobiographical function, being a no less ardent and personal composition.

The Third String Quartet by Martinc reflects the influences of his teacher Roussel as well as the night-life ragtime and jazz world of Paris in which it was written, in 1929. By far the shortest of his seven mature quartets, it yet gives a greater degree of independence to each of the four instruments, allowing for some striking harmonic clashes and colourful scoring.

Composer, musician and broadcaster John Brunning is perhaps best known for his choral work Pie Jesu. The piece was initially recorded by the vocal group 'All Angels', and there has since been around a dozen recordings including an acapella arrangement by The King's Singers. In his introduction to the album, John Brunning writes: There are probably more euphemisms employed when speaking of death than any other subject. Take a walk around a graveyard and you will see any number of headstones bearing inscriptions such as 'passed away', 'fell asleep', 'called to rest', and so on. Yet death is the one inescapable certainty that each of us must ultimately confront. I have sought to address this issue in as positive a way as possible with my cycle, 'Swansongs'. Elin Manahan Thomas is one of the most versatile sopranos of her generation. Since releasing her début album Eternal Light in 2007 with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, she has performed at many of the world's most prestigious venues, festivals and events, including the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in May 2018. On this recording she is accompanied by pianist Daniel Grimwood, a performer of international renown who combines an exceptional talent with rare versatility and refinement.

Contemporary American music for wind band continues to offer a rich combination of color and variety. David Maslanka was one of the most prolific and admired of all wind band composers, and in Liberation he utilizes plainchant in a moving exploration of death, the afterlife and the continuance of hope. Inspired by Walt Whitman, Aaron Perrine’s In the Open Air, In the Silent Lines creates a rich sense of space, while Kevin Walczyk’s moving Symphony No. 5: Freedom from Fear – Images from the Shoreline is unified by its themes of adoption, segregation and immigration. The University of Kansas Wind Ensemble enjoys a long history of excellence and musical leadership in the state of Kansas, across the nation and around the world. The ensemble is at the forefront of the Naxos Wind Band Classics series, having recorded five previous albums on the label. The ensemble is committed to contemporary music and regularly commissions, premieres and records new works.

Tchaikovsky wrote music for the piano throughout his life, many of these pieces being dedicated to family members or close friends and musical associates. Rich in variety, the Douze morceaux range from playful dances to a substantial Marche funebre, as well as lyrical jewels such as the Chanson triste and a Danse russe that found its way into the ballet Swan Lake. A background of romantic entanglements permeates the Souvenir de Hapsal which concludes with the well-known Chant sans paroles, while charm and virtuosity reside side-by-side in the Valse-scherzo and Capriccio.

REVIEWS:
American Record Guide (11-12/97, p.139) - "...Two of the instruments heard--an oboe and the musette--were made by Hotteterre....The playing is alert, adept, and sometimes even better than in more recent period-instrument forays....This is French baroque music at its best."

"Every time I listen to the very first tones of Afterglow, I get struck immediately, as if by a force of nature. Suddenly, I am part of a natural phenomenon, that manifests right in front of me. At that very moment, everything else in the world doesn't seem to matter that much. There's only you and the musical synergy of two masterminds, who put their hearts and souls in every detail of their private conversation. Exactly the same feeling hit me over and over, when audio engineer Floren Van Stichel and I were part of the creation of Afterglow, in September2018. The sheer beauty of the music by Enrico Pieranunzi and Bert Joris was present at every single moment. The only thing Floren and I had to do was listen. We simply guarded the entire process. While performing together, Enrico once said: "Sometimes, the moment you don't play adds more significance to the things you do play". The same thing applies to being a producer. Being present was just enough. Nature took it's course and Afterglow saw the light of day." (Jasper Somsen)

Although not blessed with a wide literature, numerous composers have written duets for violin and violoncello. The present collection of works by Hungarian composers not only provides both a wide overview, but above all else, many musical pleasures! Here two full blood-musicians Friedemann Eichhorn and Alexander Hulshoff have a knack for these musical partnerships.

They may look like a pop, rock, or crossover group, but don't be fooled! I FURIOSI is the hottest new baroque ensemble on the scene, reinventing the traditional classical music experience, and we are happy to announce the release of their commercial debut CD, CRAZY. CRAZY is an exciting and diverse program of musical pieces whose premise is either insanity itself, or is the product of the disturbed mind of the composer. The album matches unparalleled performances with, painstakingly crafted program notes that provide insight into both the composer's own vision, however twisted, and the broad social themes of their day. The program which includes masterworks by some of the greatest composers of the 16th-18th century is concluded in contrast by a beautifully haunting rendition of Suzanne by master song writer Leonard Cohen's Suzanne.

In developing its programming, I FURIOSI worked diligently to craft themes linked to current events, to provide contemporary audiences with an insight into historical themes that are entertaining as well as educational. The detailed liner notes provide insight behind the selection of each track. 

The first volume of the premiere recordings of Jurgis Karnavicius’ (1884–1941) string quartets resulted in a growing number of excellent album reviews. It included the composer's romantic and folk music-inspired first two quartets. This second volume includes the composer’s last two quartets: Nos. 3 & 4 which are more expressive and modern in nature. Karnavicius wrote his four impressive string quartets during his study and teaching years in St. Petersburg during the 1910s and 1920s, filling the chronological and stylistic gap between the String Quartets of Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. After its premiere in St. Petersburg, it took nearly a half century before the String Quartet No. 3 was heard again: in 1969, long after the composer’s death. Similarly, the composer’s String Quartet No. 4 had to wait for its next performance until the 1980s and still remains unpublished. In this album the Vilnius String Quartet is giving beautiful world premiere recordings to these two expressive works by the Lithuanian composer.

Commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington DC, Roberto Sierra's Missa Latina "is remarkably organic in its expression: if it is music that sets out to be liked—perhaps loved—it is also a unified and, one suspects, deeply felt utterance of the heart...the Missa Latina will bring pleasure to a great many listeners. (Indeed, the ‘Sanctus’ could almost be turned into a pop song.)...I can't imagine anybody who starts listening to the Missa Latina wanting to turn it off before it is over."

- The Washington Post

Peter Donohoe CBE studied at Chetham’s School of Music and Leeds University before going on to study at the Royal Northern College of Music with Derek Wyndham and in Paris with Olivier Messiaen and Yvonne Loriod. He is acclaimed as one of the foremost pianists of our time, for his musicianship, stylistic versatility, and commanding technique. He first came across the works of Busoni in the early 1980s and, as he states in his booklet note, ‘Busoni’s contribution to the musical history of the twentieth century is inestimable, and I feel very much enriched by the several decades of my exposure to it.’ The program he has chosen includes three of the pinnacles of Busoni’s virtuosic output: the Toccata, BV 287, the seven Elegien, and the Sonatina on Bizet’s Carmen, alongside the much earlier Bach transcription of which Peter Donohoe writes: ‘The Toccata, in particular, has always struck me as one of the most joyous pieces in the history of instrumental music, and Busoni’s transcription certainly brings out that joy.’

Andrew Nethsingha and The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge release the second volume in the highly-praised Magnificat series and present nine settings of the Evening Canticles by celebrated Organist-Composers, written between 1932 and 1952, and non-church musicians from 1974-1989. The recording culminates with a contemporay setting by Julian Anderson, composed for the Chapel’s 150th anniversary. “These first volumes are designed to complement one another. Magnificat 1 started earlier, with Stanford in the 1880s; Volume Two brings us briefly up to the present day. The first release contained celebrated works by Tippett and Leighton from 1961 and 1972 respectively, in between the two main periods represented on this disc. Both albums contain iconic works by Howells, written a year apart. We hear composers creating different orders of priority for the parameters of composition.” - Andrew Nethsingha

Classical Music

BERLIOZ: Requiem, Op. 5

The solo concerto emerged in Northern Italy in the first quarter of the 18th century and rapidly became popular across Europe. The five works here demonstrate how concertos for the flute differ in Germany, Italy, and France. Outer movements usually retain the virtuosic elements that characterize the concertos of Vivaldi, but the Frenchman Michel Blavet infiltrates an exquisite Gavotte into his work, while Telemanns superb melodies and rich harmonies are characteristic features of his Flute Concerto in D major. All five works exemplify the Baroque ideal of singing lyricism and passionate expression. Barthold Kuijken is an eminent leader in the field of early music. A virtuoso traverse soloist, teacher and conductor, he has shaped the fields of historical flutes and historically informed performance over the last 40 years. His book, The Notation is Not the Music, is an artful summary of his research, ideas, and reflections on music.

Conducted by The Sixteen’s Associate Conductor, Eamonn Dougan, this release is the fourth volume in this critically acclaimed series. This installment explores the music of Italian composers who lived and worked within the Polish court during Sigismund III Vasa’s reign. When Sigismund III began to reorganize his music ensembles in 1594, he modeled his new structure after the chapels of Rome, and thus brought in several highly esteemed Italian musicians. Some of these notable musicians included Luca Marenzio, Asprillo Pacelli, and Vincenzo Bertolusi. The arrival of these composers heralded a new age of sacred Polish music. Most notable on this release is Marenzio’s magnificent Missa super Iniquos odio habui. While the Kyria and Gloria movements remained, the other parts of the Mass went missing after World War II, and have only been rediscovered since the fall of the Berlin Wall. This is the world premiere recording of the Mass in its entirety.

Originally conceived by the maker Adriana Breukink in 2008, the "Eagle" recorder has rapidly developed into an instrument which combines a large sound with a wide range, making it ideal for playing with modern instruments. When the Swedish recorder virtuoso Dan Laurin first encountered it, he was fascinated but also puzzled. What kind of music could he play on this instrument? Coming into contact with the Dutch composer Chiel Meijering he soon found out. Meijering, who had started to write for the recorder as early as 1979 – had developed a passion for the new model and was composing Eagle concertos with string accompaniment at a rapid pace. In fact, if there was a problem with repertoire for the Eagle, it was what to choose. As their correspondence developed, Laurin was struck by the very personal language in the compositions that he kept receiving from the composer. Dividing his own music into four cate­gories dreamy, nostalgic, rocking and heavy metal. Meijering told him that the roots he had always had in pop music had gradually become more and more important. Soon thoughts of making a recording emerged, and took definite shape when the third, vital piece of the puzzle was found: the fresh, young string ensemble 1B1 from Stavanger in Norway, and its founder, the dynamic violinist Jan Bjøranger. Their collaboration has borne fruit in this disc with fifteen individual movements, selected by the performers and the composer during the recording sessions.

Mauro Giuliani was regarded in his day as "perhaps the greatest guitarist who has ever lived", making his name in Vienna and mixing with the likes of Beethoven. On his return to Italy in 1820, he consorted with Paganini and Rossini which resulted in his arranging four of the latter's overtures for two guitars. These versions abound in lyrical melodic lines, fast arpeggios, subtle colors and technical virtuosity also to be heard in the Gran variazioni concertanti. The Tre Polonesi concertanti are also full of joie de vivre, lively dance rhythms and elegant melodies.

Fryderyk Chopin transformed the scherzo into an autonomous, independent work, rather than a part of a symphony or sonata as it was previously part of during the Classical era. Expanding this genre gave it a newer, more romantic and dramatic expression. The composer's polonaises give us a glance into his Polish patriotism. The polonaise is the most important national dance of Poland, and Chopin composed 18 over his lifetime. Polish pianist Raphael Alexandre Lustchevsky performs these works brilliantly. He has won multiple international awards, and has performed with some of the world's leading orchestras, such as the Krakow Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and Royal Oman Philharmonic.