Howard Shelley and the London Mozart Players present the latest in his series of Hummel works for Chandos and on this occasion shows a less-known side to Hummel's compositional style: that of dance-composer. All three works receive their premiere recordings with this release.

Howard Shelley and the London Mozart Players, one of the UK's most distinguished chamber orchestras, have recorded many works by Hummel. Chandos has been renowned for championing Hummel's music since the premiere recordings of his piano concertos in 1987 received the Gramophone 'concerto' award. The company's exposure of this increasingly admired composer has ensured that he is finally beginning to enjoy the popularity he deserves. 'Shelley...is outstanding in this music, synthesizing the classical and romantic elements perfectly. A natural Mozartian, he allies his poise and clarity to a fearless technique, and absorbs Hummel's most ostentatious demands into the musical fabric, giving the decorative solo part the necessary grace and piquancy.' - Gramophone 'Critics Choice' of January 2000 on CHAN9867 (Hummel)

Matthias Kirschnereit and the hr-Sinfonieorchester under Michael Sanderling have compiled a compelling, captivating programme of music from the last days of the Classical era, on the cusp of the Romantic. This half-way house in the best possible sense accommodates the compositions of Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Carl Maria von Weber and Felix Mendelssohn. On his latest album, the soloist makes the boldness of this musical venture audible: I was attracted by the fact that these rare jewels were created at a time of change, of new horizons. With over 40 album releases to his credit, the German pianist cannot be praised too highly for his inventiveness and initiative in exploring unfamiliar terrain. It was this spirit of discovery that led him to a fascinating program centered on Hummels Piano Concerto in A minor op. 85, flanked by Webers Konzertstück in F minor op. 79 and Mendelssohns Capriccio brilliant in B minor op. 22: all of them works whose fabric pulses with inner relationships, allusions and cross-references, united too by the fact that they are rarely to be heard on the concert platform. There is so much thrilling music that has fallen from favor. I was looking for a new combination, reflect Matthias Kirschnereit. Michael Sanderling is a conductor he has often worked with, and in this case Sanderling was his first choice: These works, which represent just as great a challenge for the orchestra, require a high degree of precision, virtuosity and elegant musical discourse. The teamwork with Sanderling and the symphony orchestra of Hesse Radio can only be described as an act of providence. This session rounded off the Corona year with an exhilarating highlight. And so may this music, which conjured up the spirit of a new era with defiant optimism two centuries ago, give us too a future to look forward to in our own times.

This is Volume 3 in Centaur's cycle of the complete piano sonatas of Hummel, performed by Antonio Pompa-Baldi. This cycle is setting a very high bar for complete Hummel sonata cycles. Born and raised in Foggia, Italy, Antonio Pompa-Baldi won the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 1999 and embarked on a career that continues to extend across five continents. He also won a silver medal at the 2001 Van Cliburn Competition, as well as a bronze medal at the 1998 Marguerite Long Competition in Paris. The New York Times described his playing as “meltingly beautiful.” Pompa-Baldi founded the Todi International Music Masters Festival, of which he is artistic director and faculty member, and sits on the juries of the most prestigious piano competitions in the world.

In the late-classical era, an Edinburgh publisher commissioned the most famous composers in continental Europe to orchestrate traditional Scottish folk songs in their original English. A lush sampling of this music is performed here by Makaris, a new early-music super-group headed by soprano Fiona Gillespie. (Olde Focus)

This release features two of the greatest classical-era works for Violin, Piano and Orchestra, in superb performances. Born and raised in Foggia, Italy, Antonio Pompa-Baldi won the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 1999 and embarked on a career that continues to extend across five continents. He also won a silver medal at the 2001 Van Cliburn Competition, as well as a bronze medal at the 1998 Marguerite Long Competition in Paris. The New York Times described his playing as “meltingly beautiful.” Pompa-Baldi founded the Todi International Music Masters Festival, of which he is artistic director and faculty member, and sits on the juries of the most prestigious piano competitions in the world. Violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv has quickly earned a reputation for performing with “distinctive charm and subtle profundity” (Daily Freeman, New York) and a “crystal clear and noble sound” (Culture and Life, Ukraine). Known for her work as a soloist and chamber musician, Solomiya Ivakhiv has performed at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, CBC Glenn Gould Studio, Curtis Institute Field Concert Hall, Italian Academy in New York City, Pickman Hall in Cambridge, MA, San Jose Chamber Music Society, Old First Concerts in San Francisco, Astoria Music Festival (Portland), Tchaikovsky Hall in Kyiv, and at UConn’s Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts.