This album features a unique recording of Die sch�ne M�llerin (The Beautiful Maid of the Mill), one that stands apart from most interpretations. It is the first performance of this song cycle in Poland-and one of the first worldwide-by a countertenor, accompanied by a historical piano. The high register of the countertenor amplifies the sense of innocence and the intensity of the protagonist's emotions-a young miller tragically in love. Written by the 26-year-old Franz Schubert, Die sch�ne M�llerin is now regarded as one of the pinnacles of the Romantic lieder tradition. The music is not merely an accompaniment to the text, but a complete entity in itself, responding to the subtlest shifts in the character's emotions while masterfully painting the backdrop for the unfolding drama. Although the love story does not have a happy ending, the overall tone of the work remains surprisingly light-hearted, perhaps reflecting the bittersweet nature of the narrative. It is in this delicate balance that the secret to the enduring popularity of Die sch�ne M�llerin lies. The cycle offers a brief escape, allowing listeners and performers alike to immerse themselves in a world that no longer exists, yet still moves the imagination with equal power.

As a Japanese cellist, Michiaki Ueno wishes to introduce the world to the remarkable body of music composed in his homeland. At first glance, this might seem like a conventional statement - something anyone might say. Yet, when we consider his background, the words take on a different weight. Born in Paraguay (1995) and raised in Spain during his early years, Michiaki Ueno was captivated at the age of four by a video of Yo-Yo Ma. He received his first cello as a Christmas gift when he was five - marking the beginning of his musical journey. For someone like Ueno, Japan was both his homeland and a distant, unfamiliar place. "I never really thought deeply about Japanese culture," he reflects. "When Europeans spoke kindly about Japan, I was embarrassed to realize how little I actually knew." As he matured, Ueno found himself increasingly compelled to confront and contemplate his cultural identity. Unlike those who grow up immersed in Japan and take it's environment for granted, Ueno approached it as something external something to be consciously examined, understood, and deliberately chosen. It is perhaps through the very act of performing works by Japanese composers that he engages in this thoughtful process of selection.

A unique achievement in Jean-Philippe Collard's discography, this piano programme devoted to Busoni's transcriptions of Bach's organ works is the result of a deep desire and represents a great accomplishment. Jean-Philippe Collard has been driven by three objectives : to immerse himself in Bach's organ music, to which he has always been attached; to reconnect this passion back to a youth nourished by the great sacred works of the Cantor; and to pay tribute to his musician father, who instilled this culture in him and continues to inspire him today. There is also the ambition of creating an innovative project, outside of the repertoires that have established his talent, following some sixty recordings, and at the height of an artistic career that calls for a form of synthesis, not of his career, but of a family history with the piano, of which Bach seems to him to be the greatest common denominator. The accomplishment is therefore multifaceted. Firstly, it is a sound that fully satisfies the performer, whose memories of organ works are enhanced by the breadth they acquire on the piano thanks to Busoni. It also embodies the very idea of recording itself, to which this extraordinary pianistic material gives, more than anything else, it's justification, according to Jean-Philippe Collard. For him, it is still a matter of perfecting the pianistic gesture, through an almost physiological notion of harmony between the writing and the music that is etched into the hand. Finally, it is the pianistic skill that this programme displays, serving the pleasure of a sound craftsman who feels that he has come full circle. What more could one ask for, he ponders. Borrowing from organ terminology, the expression 'full organ' here symbolically expresses the notion of plenitude and the magnitude of a total pianistic undertaking.

Vienna was in the grip of serious political unrest that forced many of it's artists into exile when Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957) composed his Second String Quartet in 1933, first performed the following year in the Austrian capital. In it he celebrated, before it faded away, the vitality of a musical school of which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) had been one of the founders more than a century and a half earlier, and which Anton Webern (1883-1945) had helped to usher into modernity. It is this lineage that the musicians of the Quatuor Herm�s (the Herm�s String Quartet) highlight through a twilight-tinged programme in which each work bears witness to a fascinating narrative power and could be understood as an expression of a farewell.

Like Chopin before him, and even more closely Scriabin, Rachmaninoff yielded to the temptation of writing his 24 Preludes, assembling this emblematic number in three stages. It began with a youthful work: the famous Prelude in C-sharp minor. From this root, music deeply anchored in Russian soil, imbued with the Slavic soul to which the composer, later exiled, would remain forever attached, there would spring, a decade later, the Opus 23 set, followed seven years on by Opus 32. These Preludes are like images in an album that Jean-Baptiste Fonlupt invites us to leaf through, sonic paintings whose authentic colours of memory he poetically restores. Far from his native land, which he left for good, Rachmaninoff would never write this way again.

Night falls and Mr. Dowland cannot sleep and seeks release in his faithful orpharion. This, however, is no ordinary night: Orpheus and Arion inhabit the dark reaches of his instrument and awake in an instant as Dowland touches the silver strings with his goldsmith's fingers. They take him on a powerful dreamlike journey, a visionary reverie that is full of surprises and avant-garde soundscapes. The music of the 1600s is gradually transformed into unexpected worlds before Dowland finally sinks into deep sleep.

Ciocarlia: Did you say The Lark? The Romanian lark - aside from being gentle, is also the musical symbol of the Romanian people through it's famously beloved folk song. In this album, with the fragrance of childhood memories, pianist Dana Ciocarlie invites the listener on a journey through all the regions of Romania, each with it's distinctive rhythms. Composers such as Enescu, Bartok, Lipatti, and Paul Constantinescu, under her fingers, inspire a desire to sing and dance with irresistible joy and a touch of nostalgia, like larks soaring straight towards the sun.

Are 'hits' exclusively associated with modern pop music? Popular successes have roots much deeper in the history of music, spanning various genres and contexts, including music created and shared in private settings, such as homes, as well as in street performances. Certain compositions' extraordinary popularity is attested by widely distributed, copied, and repeatedly republished scores. The innumerable arrangements for other instruments also attest to the extent of the phenomenon. Following the success of their 2002 album Dvorak (LDV101), and once again in association with the Czech instrumental arranger Jiri Kabat, the Talich Quartet invites us to explore Mitteleuropa's folk repertoire. An invitation to dance. Irresistible!

Gustav Mahler's Sixth Symphony is perhaps the darkest work he ever wrote-it's nickname is "The Tragic." And there is something almost destructive about the final movement. "But strangely enough," says Simon Rattle, "it is also a very classical symphony. Yes, it is extreme, but for long stretches it is less wild than other works of his-although of course it does convey a harrowing message. But it's like a lot of great works: there are always different ways of reading them. I've been conducting the Sixth for forty years now, and over time I've come to realise that it also contains hope." Mahler composed his Sixth Symphony during the summers of 1903 and 1904 at his "composer's cottage" in Maiernigg, near Klagenfurt. At the Vienna performance in 1907 (the third under his baton), he called it the "Tragic Symphony"-a nickname that soon became the stuff of legend. In particular, the darkness and devastating hopelessness of the finale-written at a time when he was at the high point of his life, both professionally and personally-are puzzling. Even his wife Alma could not quite explain the contradiction. As always, it was in and through music that Mahler came to terms with his experiences, exploring themes such as farewell, the meaning of existence, death, redemption, the afterlife, and love. More than other Mahler works, the Sixth Symphony is committed to "classical" symphonic form: it is in four movements and has no vocal parts. Despite all the liberties it takes, the opening movement follows sonata form. The Andante draws on the rondo form, as do the Scherzo and the Finale. Very unusually, even the Scherzo has march-like features and seems like a parodistic paraphrase of the opening, with a change of perspective. The march, which sets the tone from the very first note of the first movement, plays a major role.

The motet for solo voice and two dessus, usually two violins, and the cantata with instrumental accompaniment originated in Italy at the dawn of the 17th century. The genre was introduced to France by Marc-Antoine Charpentier and by travelling Italian musicians and rapidly became one of the key showpieces of Italian taste and style. The genre was deployed superbly in the early 18th century by two magnificent composers who were practically contemporaries: Andre Campra and Nicolas Bernier. Campra's natural attraction to Italian music is easily explained, as he was the son of an Italian doctor living in Aix-en-Provence and was also a pupil of the great Poitevin in the same city. Bernier, if we are to believe certain sources, was a pupil in Rome of the Venetian Antonio Caldara, one of the most important composers of his time.

The viola bastarda is much more than just a specific instrument: it is also a technique for playing the viola da gamba that involves developing a vast skill in ornamentation over the entire range of the instrument and covering all the tessituras from bass to soprano. Today's performers are faced with a repertoire compiled by a few virtuosos, while at the same time they have to reconstitute a performing practice that exists only in a few historical treatises. Manon Papasergio has devoted her first recording to this art form and it's development during the exciting transitional period from the Renaissance to the Baroque.

The deliciously erotic aspects of the text of the Song of Solomon inspired a great many composers during the 17th century, although it remains curious that even the strictest Lutheran composers could not resist setting it to music. The majority of Hammerschmidt's pieces on this text are written for soprano or tenor voices; these obviously represent the two protagonists, the beloved and the lover. This programme is built around these works, creating an entertainment - a small sacred opera -in which evocations of love or sensual dialogues are framed by dances and instrumental pieces. Works by Andreas Hammerschmidt, Johann Vierdanck, Dieterich Buxtehude, Thomas Strutz and others.

Tomasz Ritter, winner of the Bruges Festival Competition 2024, here follows the traditional overview of Beethoven's musical language and devotes his recital to three sonatas drawn from the three creative periods: op. 2/1 (1795), op. 31/3 (1802) and op. 109 (1820). Ritter has also chosen three instruments that are close to those Beethoven played and reflect the evolution of piano construction: two Viennese instruments copied from originals by Anton Walter and Nanette Streicher, and an original Broadwood piano that is almost identical to the one the famous English piano maker gave the composer.

In 1392, King Charles?VI of France was declared insane. In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, his repeated absences left the field open to princes hungry for power and wealth. Thus began three dark decades for the kingdom of France, torn apart by civil war between Armagnacs and Burgundians, scarred by the bloody defeat at Agincourt, and ultimately handed over to the English crown in 1420. This is the epic tale Into the Winds brings to life, shedding light on a period as fascinating as it is overlooked, where the contours of a new musical art were already taking shape.

Son of the famous Johann Sebastian, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was a renowned keyboard virtuoso in the 18th century. A prolific composer and theorist of keyboard instruments, he forged the aesthetic of Empfindsamkeit, a style in which emotion is conveyed through subtle contrasts and harmonic surprises. From his Berlin sonatas to his flamboyant Fantasies, his work, published with great pomp for connoisseurs and amateurs, remains a pinnacle of musical eloquence. Arnaud de Pasquale, through the virtuosity of his playing, reveals all it's depth and expressive power.

Tenor Richard Resch presents a moving Christmas album that explores the season's deeper meaning through sacred and folk music. Named after Jochen Klepper's powerful Advent hymn, the album traces the symbolic journey from darkness to light, weaving together Baroque masterpieces, traditional carols, and lesser-known gems from across Europe. With works by Rosenmuller, Briegel, Graupner, Buxtehude, and others, the recording offers a musical meditation on hope, faith, and the light born at Christmas. Highlights include the mystical Maria durch ein Dornwald ging, the Byzantine chant Miladuka, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Von guten Machten-a testament to trust in the darkest of times. For Richard Resch and his ensemble, this album is both personal and profound. "These pieces remind us that Christmas is not just a tradition-it's a message of light in the midst of night."

Gilles Binchois (ca 1400-1460), was one of the most eminent composers of the early Renaissance. Highly esteemed by his fellows, Binchois left a lasting legacy, notably through his polyphonic chansons and sacred works, although these remain unfamiliar to the general public. This selection of works by Binchois, born in Hainault, shows the evolution of his musical language from the beginnings of the burgundian style to the later instrumental transcriptions of some of his works, as these bear witness to the timeless beauty of his melodies and harmonic structures.

Pierre Boulez's early ambitions to become a concert pianist provided the impetus to write piano music as a composition student at the Paris Conservatoire. The Theme et variations pour la main gauche and Trois Psalmodies reveal his extraordinary talent in their compelling mix of energy, drama and playfulness. Presenting these works alongside two later compositions provides a unique glimpse into the full arc of Boulez's musical journey. These pieces are powerful, their emotions raw and unfiltered, offering listeners a chance to experience the early foundations and mature reflections of a master composer.

From ancient theatre to lyric tragedy, the character of Medea has withstood the test of time. A quintessential tragic heroine, she embodies a soul torn apart by betrayal, whose pain turns into devastating madness. Following Charpentier and Corneille's opera (1693), Abb� Simon-Joseph Pellegrin's avant-garde libretto offers a liberated interpretation of the classical myth, in which Medea masters her magic and her destiny. Salomon's score responds with sumptuous writing, borrowing from the tradition of Lully while foreshadowing the genius of Rameau. By unearthing this missing link between two eras, Reinoud Van Mechelen offers us a spectacular lyric tragedy, revealing the superb complexity of a woman equally powerful and tormented.

This album features three masterpieces by composers deeply connected to Vienna, two of whom-Haydn and Beethoven-earned the timeless title of "Viennese Classics," while Schubert, ever the bold innovator, explored new musical territories in their shadow. Created within less than fifty years, these works reveal the evolution of the piano sonata genre and the eventual rejection of it's conventional form-from Haydn's Sonata in E Major, which straddles the line between the galant style and fully developed classicism, to Schubert's avant-garde and extravagantly Romantic Fantasy in C Major, a work far ahead of it's time. Schubert's innovation would not have been possible without Beethoven's influence. Beethoven's late-period Sonata in E Major, written just two years earlier, serves as a bridge between the two, clearly paving the way toward a pre-Romantic expressive style. Mariusz Ciolko, an internationally performing artist, pedagogue, and competition juror, brings a unique interpretation to this demanding piano repertoire. He masterfully balances classical elegance with Romantic virtuosity, offering a performance that captures both the technical brilliance and emotional depth of these iconic works.