The 19th century saw huge developments in the design of many musical instruments. In some cases changes were adopted more or less universally: the fortepiano that Mozart knew, a five-octave instrument constructed entirely of wood, had by around 1900 grown into the modern grand piano with over seven octaves and a castiron frame. With other instruments, progress was less streamlined. As late as 1865, the natural, valveless horn of Beethoven's time remained the instrument of choice for Brahms when he wrote his famous Horn Trio, and when valves began to be introduced, makers and musicians in Germany, France and Vienna favoured different solutions, offering different results in terms of sound and requiring different playing techniques. The present release is a unique combination of recital and history lesson, with a young British team performing music from between 1800 and 1942 on no less than eight different historic instruments: four horns and four pianos. This gives us the opportunity to hear the works on instruments that the different composers would have recognized, whether Beethoven's Sonata in F major (a natural horn from 1800 and a fortepiano from 1815) or the Villanelle by Paul Dukas from 1906 (an early 20thcentury cor à pistons and a Bechstein from 1898). Both notable performers on modern instruments, Alec FrankGemmill and Alasdair Beatson here revel in the sonic possibilities offered by the historic instruments with results that are as delighting as they are enlightening.

Some of Robert Schumann’s rarest piano music can be heard in this disc, which ranges from his precocious Titania Overture arrangement to the Ghost Variations, the theme of which, he told his wife Clara, had been sung to him by angels. His Beethoven Studies survive in three sources, whilst his admiration for his contemporaries Schubert and Chopin is shown by two works containing a series of variations. The 1836 Third Sonata is included in the pre-1853 revision and also included is the original version of what became his very popular Toccata, Op. 7.

Hélène Boschi’s repertoire was broad-based, ranging from the Baroque (François Couperin, Jean Philippe Rameau, Johann Sebastian Bach) to contemporary music. Her favorite composers of the Viennese Classical era were undoubtedly Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Schubert; strangely, it seems she left behind no Beethoven recordings. One notable fact about Boschi is that she was the first female pianist to record the works of Padre Antonio Soler (1729-1783), receiving the 1952 Grand Prix du Disque in honor of her achievement. As for the nineteenth century, her passionate readings of Schumann are of the utmost importance; but Carl Maria von Weber and Muzio Clementi also captured her attention, as did Frédéric Chopin and Emmanuel Chabrier and the Impressionists Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. Modern classics were also integral to her repertoire – as were the works of her immediate contemporaries. Luigi Dallapiccola dedicated his 1952 piano composition Quaderno di Annalibera to Hélène Boschi, Claude Ballif paid her that honor with his Fourth Sonata op. 31

The organ duo Marion Krall and Lars Schwarze take us to enchanted lands with their new GENUIN album, playing their own transcriptions of great orchestral works for organ with four hands and four feet. Since the Baroque era, orchestral works have been transcribed for the organ. Even today, the instrument's various colors make it possible to discover new, unexpected, but equally rich sounds in seemingly familiar works. The internationally awarded duo has now recorded works by Paul Dukas, Edward Elgar, Maurice Ravel and Igor Stravinsky. The contemporary contribution is the radiant tone poem Kalliope by the Austrian composer Franz Danksagmüller, which is positively overflowing with imagination. A surprising album featuring the sound of the organ in all its grandeur and moments of true intimacy.

"Although the horn has some obstacles to overcome, [...] nature seems to have intended it by and large for singing; moreover, the horn player can draw the best lessons from the school of a good singer. There he learns the art of good phrasing and proper breathing; there he purifies his taste, shapes his style, and ultimately discovers all he needs to know to capture the listener's attention, move him, and - on many occasions - stir his enthusiasm.” (JosephÉmile Meifred: Méthode pour le Cor chromatique ou à pistons, Paris 1840) Solo horn player in the Danish Royal orchestra Claudio Flückiger is here presenting what is the art of playing the horn. He is accompanied by pianist Galya Kolarova.

A new recording of all the major works for piano by a foundational figure in French music of the early 20th century. Born in 1865, Dukas could have (and probably did) compose a good deal literally and stylistically in the 19th century, but his fastidious craftsmanship and self-criticism saw him burn far more music than he allowed to survive. All of a sudden, on the turn of the new century, he wrote two large-scale works which bring together a reverence for the recent and long-gone past with bold new thinking of how to write for the piano. Begun in 1899, the Variations take an innocent dance theme by Rameau and subject it to a dazzling sequence of treatments coloured by strict counterpoint, dreamy rhapsody and a Lisztian scale of piano writing. Even more ambitious and contrapuntal in its workings is the 40-minute Piano Sonata which has long been regarded as a summit of fin-de-siècle piano writing. The Sonata has often been compared to Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata for its colossal dimensions, its structural complexities and its tightrope virtuoso writing. Dukas himself later discussed its journey in terms of a symbolic victory over ‘the beast within’, and ‘the triumph of Apollo over the Pythian serpent’. Vincenzo Maltempo follows in the footsteps of virtuosos such as Michel Ponti and Marc-André Hamelin, and shows himself equipped for the task, having already accumulated a critically acclaimed catalogue of hyper-virtuoso repertoire on Piano Classics, including five albums of Alkan, the Hungarian Rhapsodies of Liszt and the complete Sonatas of Scriabin. He possesses the virtuosity to burn which this music demands, but also the poetic sensibility to bring the most subtle nuances of colour to bear on two miniatures from much later in Dukas’s career, a Prélude in memory of Haydn and a deeply felt tribute to the memory of Debussy which makes haunting reference to the Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune.

Experience the captivating journey of Ek-stasis, presented by Divine Art Recordings. Delve into the world of myths reconstructed in music by celebrated composers from different cultures and times. This unique album features three world premiere recordings, bringing fresh and exciting music to the programme. Greek pianist and professor Zoe Samsarelou has expertly curated a selection of works that weave together an interconnected narrative, taking you on a journey through the myth of Dionysus. From the works of Couperin, Rameau, Dandrieu, and Daquin to the eminent Greek composers of the 20th and 21st centuries and the Late Romantics in between, each piece is thoughtfully selected and presented. The album is divided into themes of seduction, pathos, illusion, metamorphosis, transcendence, instinct, catharsis, mythos, paradox, and transition. This creates an immersive experience that guides the listener through the various stages of the myth and offers a musical perspective on the story. Accompanied by Zoe Samsarelou's insightful prose on the collection and notes on the Greek composers featured in the program, Ek-stasis is more than just a listening experience. It's a celebration of the Greek spirit that has influenced humanity for over 2,500 years, highlighting the creativity and ingenuity of these wonderful composers.

Paul Dukas is almost entirely known for his popular tone poem 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice'. This work is, of course, included in this release; however, these discs also offer several larger sclae works, including his impressive Symphony in C major and the Overture Polyeucte as well as the delightful ballet La Péri. Three examples of his rarely performed but no less impressive piano music are performed powerfully by Margaret Fingerhut who received lustrous reviews on the original release. The music of Dukas is highly colourful and atmospheric, demonstrating his somewhat eclectic inspirations, which included Wagner and Franck, as well as the beauty of classical form. There have been relatively few recordings of the Symphony in C major and it is not commonly performed outside France. 'The rumbustious end to the first movement, with some superb brass and vigorous percussion, is a moment to be savoured', wrote Gramophone. The rarely recorded Polyeucte overture is a powerful work in five sections. In the work of Dukas, the Orient was the most seductive foreign influence, as demonstrated in La Péri, his last major work, written for Diaghilev in 1912. Yan Pascal Tortelier is famous for his interpretations of French music and plays this music with idiomatic flair. This bargain two-CD set, which includes the main orchestral and piano mastpieces of Dukas, is an ideal summation of the achievement of this wonderful composer.