This album is the fulfilment of a dream and the result of over five years of planning, developing and preparing a unique collaborative project between composers, arrangers and musicians – 6 pieces, 6 composers, 4 premieres – What inspired me to record this album was the fascinating way the sound of the bassoon blends with the string quartet. My choice of repertoire was based on pure pleasure – I chose works that I love to play, some original, others arranged, and asked composers I admire so much to write for this combination.

In two of the works I added the double bass, which enriches them very much and helps immensely to encounter different sound worlds. To create this with musicians of this calibre was simply wonderful. Their interest, curiosity and flexibility together with the skill, calm and experience of our sound engineer, Andreas Werner, and the fact that we were able to record in the legendary Radiostudio in Zurich, makes me feel so privileged. I couldn't be happier with the result which I hope you too will enjoy!

"He's a peak performer. If he keeps this up, he'll probably climb other peaks altogether...a talent that combines rigor and playfulness." --Werner Theurich, Spiegel Online

German-Uzbek pianist Nuron Mukumi was born in 1996 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. He began playing the piano at the age of six, won 1st prize at the International Piano Competition for Russian Music in California at the age of seven, and 1st prize at the Uzbek Republic Youth Competition in Tashkent. In the same year he began conducting training and at the age of eight made his conducting debut with the Uzbekistan National Symphony Orchestra performing Mozart's Piano Concerto in D minor, in which he also played the piano part. He studied with Prof. Lev Natochenny in Frankfurt am Main and in Zurich as well as with Marian Rybicki in Paris, was a scholarship holder of the Bad Homburger Schlosskonzerte Foundation and is currently studying with Prof. Hubert Rutkowski at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, where he will take his concert exam.

For Prospero, Nuron has recorded Peter Tchaikovky's 18 Pieces for Piano, op. 72: The 18 multi-faceted, musically complex and virtuosic character pieces were written in May 1893 - just six months before Tchaikovky's death - and show a composer full of beans.

Daria Parkhomenko presents a wonderful compilation of piano works by the highly underrated Romanian composer George Enescu. Daria Parkhomenko, a young Russian pianist of Romanian origin, is one of the most promising talents of her generation. Described as a “leading lady” by the international piano press on her 1st place victory at the world-renowned George Enescu Piano Competition in 2018, Daria has performed at some of the world’s most renowned concert halls and has appeared with several of the world’s leading conductors and orchestras. In addition to her avid career as a soloist, Daria as a passionate chamber musician. Together with Korean violinist, Jiae Park, and German cellist, Jakob Kuchenbuch, Daria formed the “HON Trio”.

Kathrin Hottiger is a Swiss soprano. She studied with Liliane Zürcher at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Since graduating, she has continued her studies with Malin Hartelius. Kathrin Hottiger won third prize at the 2018 "Pietro Antonio Cesti" international competition for baroque opera in Innsbruck, Austria, and was a semi-finalist at the "New Voices" competition in 2019. She received a scholarship from Migros Kulturprozent in 2017 and 2018 In various master classes, Kathrin Hottiger has worked with Bernarda Fink, Edith Mathis, Ton Koopman, and Evelyn Tubb. In the summer of 2022, Kathrin Hottiger performed the role of Zelmira in Joseph Haydn's opera "Armida" at the Bregenz Festival. Further highlights of her career have included engagements in Moscow, Washington DC and Jerusalem. She has worked with ensembles such as the Thomanerchor and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the musica viva orchestra Moscow, Camerata Bern, the Orchester de chambre de Lausanne, the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz, and the argovia philharmonic under the baton of Rune Bergmann and Jan Willem de Vriend. In 2019, she sang the role of Eurydice in Gluck's opera "Orphée et Eurydice" at the Tchaikovsky concert hall in Moscow and in the Opera of Komi. In 2020, she gave her debut as Adele ("Die Fledermaus") at the Neues Theater in Dornach and in 2021 she sang Fortuna, Pallade and Damigella in Monteverdi's "L'incoronazione di Poppea" at Waldegg Castle. The CD produced during this production was released by Rondeau Production in Leipzig and is listed in the longlist 1/2023 of the German Record Critics in two categories. Further engagements include the roles of Amore ("Orfeo ed Euridice"), Venus ("Venus and Adonis"), and Gretel ("Hänsel und Gretel") at the Luzerner Theater, Switzerland. Kathrin Hottiger also enjoys singing in a chamber music setting. She regularly performs with the ensemble I Pizzicanti, based in Basel, which specializes in early music. In addition, she has a special love of the song, in particular of French and Scandinavian repertoire. Since spring 2022 she has been making music with the American-French pianist Pierre-Nicolas Colombat. Since 2017 she has given regular recitals as a duo with Edward Rushton.

The present release is a stunning 2-album collection with songs, lieder and pieces referring to the topic "Heimat"; all pieces arranged for tenor and horn quartet.

The tenor Daniel Behle is equally successful in the concert, Lied and opera genres and is making a name for himself as a composer as well. His extensive repertoire ranges from Baroque masterpieces, Classical and Romantic works to compositions of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Founded in 2010 by four graduates of the French horn class of Christian Lampert at the State University of Music and the Performing Arts Stuttgart, German Hornsound has earned a strong international reputation based on its exceptional profile. With their new concert formats and creative program concepts they have debuted at nearly all music festivals in German-speaking Europe over the past few years.

This new release from Mathis Rochat and Erdem Mısırlıoğlu is a collection of works by Sergei Rachmaninoff, imagined for solo viola or viola with piano. All of the works have been arranged by Mathis Rochat. Inspired by Yuri Bashmet's saying "Nobody knows how viola should sound!", Mathis Rochat enjoys the freedom that his instrument gives him in terms of sound coloring and likes to explore all kind of repertoire, new and old, originals or transcriptions. He has appeared as a soloist with the Walton Viola Concerto, Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante and the Hoffmeister Viola Concerto with orchestras such as the Norddeutsche Philharmonie and the Da Capo Ensemble.

Oliver Schnyder (piano), and Andreas Jahnke (violin) and Benjamin Nyffenegger (cello) perform Smetana's Piano Trio in G Minor and the famous "Dumky"-Trio by Antonín Dvořák. The Oliver Schnyder Trio made their debut at the Zürich Tonhalle in 2012. Their recording of Schubert’s Piano Trios was hailed “a new benchmark recording” by the magazine Die Bühne and was chosen as “Switzerland’s Best Classical Album of the Year” by the Aargauer Zeitung. This immediate success was confirmed by the recording of Brahms’ complete Piano Trios, which also received great critical acclaim and was given a “Milestone” from Musik & Theater. Past and present concert appearances and festival residences include the SWR Schlossfestspiele Ettlingen, WDR Funkhaus Köln, Liederhalle Stuttgart, Festspiele Baden-Baden, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Schloss Elmau, Meisterzyklus Bern, Ittinger Pfingstkonzerte, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw and Muziekgebouw, Musikdorf Ernen, the Hirzenberg Festival and the festival Universum Beethoven, where they took part in a complete cycle of Beethoven’s Piano Trios at Boswil and Muri, alongside the Trio Jean Paul and the Wanderer Trio.

After several years of intensive preparation and many live concerts, Swiss pianist Oliver Schnyder has recorded the Goldberg Variations. He has recorded the cycle two times; it was only the second time that the result met his expectations. Rare recording of the cycle on a Bösendorfer grand piano.