The places visited include St Petersburg, Peter the Great's new westward-looking capital, and the traditional capital, Moscow. In Ukraine we see Odessa with the famous Potemkin Steps and something of the surrounding countryside of a region that for long offered holiday resorts to those living in Moscow or St Petersburg.

The Leipzig Autograph opens with a Fantasia on Komm, Heiliger Geist (Come, Holy Ghost), in organo pleno, il canto fermo nel pedale (for full organ, the chorale melody in the pedal part). The chorale itself is a German version of the antiphon Veni, Sancte Spiritus, devised by Martin Luther for congregational use. An imitative contrapuntal introduction, in which three upper voices enter in turn over a sustained pedal-note, leads to the chorale melody itself, in the lowest register, chorale phrases separated with passages of varying length for the manuals. A second treatment of the same chorale, for two manuals and pedals, is in triple metre, with a fugal subject derived from the chorale, the manuals preceding the pedal entry in each section. This extended composition ends with a particularly splendid coda. An Wasserflüssen Babylon (By the waters of Babylon), for two manuals and pedals, uses a fifteenth century chorale melody from Strasburg. .Here the chorale melody is first heard in the top part, imitated in the tenor, which itself introduces the continuation of the chorale theme. This is followed by Schmücke, dich, o liebe Seele (Deck thyself, beloved soul), much admired by Schumann and based on a mid-seventeenth century chorale, first suggested in the alto part in a contrapuntal introduction, before appearing in the soprano in augmentation, its notes prolonged. The Trio on Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend (Lord Jesus Christ, turn to us) is again based on a mid-seventeenth century chorale. Here the three contrapuntal parts interweave, the left hand entering in canonic imitation of the right over a pedal-part derived from the opening notes of the chorale. This opening figure brings, in conclusion, a pedal statement of the melody, accompanied by the continuing counterpoint of the two upper parts. O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig (O Lamb of God, guiltless, slaughtered on the Cross) is based on a Lutheran version of the Agnus Dei, O Lam Gades unschüldig, by Nikolaus Decius, an early follower of Luther. This, one of the earliest chorales, is itself derived from plainchant. The three sections of the Agnus Dei allow three different treatments of the cantus firmus, which appears first in the top part, then in the middle part and finally in the pedals. Nun danket alle Gott (Now thank we all our God) is based on a seventeenth century chorale. Counterpoint based on the melody precedes the entry of the chorale itself in the upper part, a procedure that is followed throughout, in the manner associated particularly with Bach's elder brother's teacher, Pachelbel. Von Gott will ich nicht lassen (From God I will not part) treats a sixteenth century chorale dating from 1572 in Erfurt. Here again each section of the melody, played on the pedals, is introduced by a preceding contrapuntal section derived from the hymn itself. The C major Toccata, Adagio and Fugue, striking not least in the distinctive nature of the three sections into which it falls, in form the counterpart of the three movement Italian concerto of the period. The work opens with a brilliant improvisatory prelude, display on the manuals followed by a passage for pedal solo, before more elaborate counterpoint involving manuals and pedals. There follows an Adagio aria, slowing in a concluding recitative, before a capricious fugue subject, interrupted by abrupt rests, a characteristic that naturally recurs, as the four parts enter, in descending order.

How to depict scenes of battle in music is a task that has long fascinated composers. From the dawning of the Renaissance the first successful programmatic works appeared from Susato, Dowland and Biber. But it was the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that witnessed a true flourishing, when composers utilized the full resources of contemporary symphonism to evoke the tumult of battle. Later the medium of film, notably those produced in Hollywood, brought with it colorful and gripping scores.

Franz Liszt inherited strong religious convictions from his father, and the influence of sacred narratives can be found throughout his compositions. Drawn from the so-called Tasso Sketchbook, the Préludes etHarmonies poétiques et religieuses were composed after the end of Liszt’s relationship with Marie d’Agoult, and include the passionately turbulent Langueur? Descriptive titles characterize many of the brief Album-Leaves, while the legend of St François de Paule marchant sur les flots depicts the saint crossing the Straits of Messina using his cloak as a sail after being refused passage by a boatman. Liszt’s famous Harmonies poétiques et religieuses has been visited in other volumes in this edition, but this is not to be confused with the Préludes et Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, which is a set of eight pieces also associated with the poetry of Alphonse de Lamartine, but entirely distinct in character and content. Including fragments, this is a further collection of Liszt rarities that offers fascinating pre-echoes of later masterpieces, exploring the composer’s wider responses to religious themes, Romantic poetry and the intensity of his own circumstances.

Boris Tchaikovsky is revered in Russian musical circles as one of the most original and innovative composers of the post-Shostakovich generation. A work of great depth and beauty, the Piano Quintet is considered his finest chamber work and a stylistic milestone which would influence aspects of the later Piano Concerto (8.557727). Based on a the score for the 1964 film While the Front is in Defence, The War Suite is an evocative portrayal of the horrors of battle, but also of heroism, friendship and lost love, at the Volkhov Front, south east of Leningrad, during the winter of 1942.

The Moravian Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst is a dazzling example of the nineteenth-century violinist-composer, of whom the greatest was Ernst's sometime rival, Paganini. Indeed it was the Italian who persuaded Ernst to follow the life of a touring virtuoso, in which role he was to perform with the greatest musicians in Europe, earning the admiration of men such as Chopin and Mendelssohn. The Elegie sur la mort d'un objet cheri, mentioned by Tolstoy in the Kreutzer Sonata, was one of the best-known violin works of the century, and the Polyphonic Studies offer a compendium of violin technique on a par with the works of Paganini himself.

The new generation of twentieth-century Ukrainian composers was led by Boris Lyatoshynsky, whose symphonic cycle is the most important in his country’s musical history. His Second Symphony of 1935-36 reflects the turbulence of the times. The Third Symphony is his most performed and admired, a powerful, intense creation that was enthusiastically received at its premiere. This is the second of three discs comprising the complete Lyatoshynsky symphonies.

Three very varied works make up this latest disc in the Naxos series of Gian Francesco Malipiero’s orchestral works, including two world premiere recordings. Malipiero claimed, extremely improbably, to have created his Fantasie di ogni giorno – ‘Everyday Fantasies’ – simply by stringing together musical ideas he had scribbled down from day to day, ‘and it was not even necessary to change their order’. In the Passacaglie, by contrast, Malipiero deliberately set out to use far stricter structural devices, while Concerti, composed two decades earlier, is a highly imaginative and diverse suite of miniature concertos for different instrumental sections of the orchestra.

As a composer of art-song, Ian Venables is considered to be one of the most important writing today. The Songs of Ian Venables (8.572514), Volume 21 of Naxos' critically acclaimed English Song Series, was the first devoted to a living composer. This new recording introduces US to his music for solo piano and brings together works written between 1975 and 2001. It is Venables' singular melodic gift and highly inventive use of harmony that combine to give US works that range from the deeply reflective and wistful to those in a lighter vein, full of charm and joie de vivre.

Also available on Blu-ray

The Verbier Festival is one of classical music’s greatest events. In celebration of the festival’s 25th anniversary, this unique concert brings together 36 classical stars in an unprecedented evening of ingenious programming and captivating performances. The line-up includes the world’s greatest violinists, violists, cellists and pianists as well as other leading performers conducted by Valery Gergiev and Gabor Takacs-Nagy. Founder and director Martin T:son Engstroem writes: “We started this incredible adventure in 1994, and 25 years on, our Festival has become one of the world’s most important cultural events. But it is not just another festival; our vision right from the beginning was to build something which combined important musicians with a very visible youth and learning element. This is what we set out to do and this is what we achieved.”

The tragic death of Alberic Magnard, killed defending his home against German troops in 1914, brought a premature end to the composer’s life but not before he had completed four powerfully expressive symphonies (the Third and Fourth are on 8.574082). Symphony No. 1, with its strangely beautiful chorale, was first performed in 1893 but was then not heard again for a century. Symphony No. 2 caused a scandal at its premiere due to its length and complexity, but in its revised version offers radiant serenity and a dazzling confidence that reveals Magnard’s true compositional voice.

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REVIEW:

The outer movements have a flowing quality with a bit of quiet ecstasy that exemplifies what led people to call Magnard the French Bruckner, even though his music has a very different flavor. Keeping the long line going here is not easy to do, but Bollon excels, and he’s aided by excellent sound. This recording may make many listeners ask themselves how they could have been missing Magnard all these years.

– AllMusic Guide (James Manheim)

A product of Samaras's operatic maturity, Tigra, heard here in a faithfully orchestrated version by Byron Fidetzis, is a ravishing love story set in medieval Venice. With it's innovative harmonic language, musical Orientalism and Franco-Italian influences it helped pave the way for the emerging Greek National School. Epinikeia is reminiscent of Samaras's famous Olympic Anthem of 1896, whilst Chitarrata is a youthful work composed in Paris. World premiere recordings.

Award-winning composer and educator Wenchen Qin's unique musical language is influenced by his multicultural background, integrating Eastern and Western elements. All the works on this release are infused with literature, mythology and a fascination with nature. The Cloud River revitalises the sheng - an ancient Chinese instrument - with new playing techniques. With the sheng also playing a leading role, Poetry of the Land ruminates on how the land provides great inspiration.

Ausias Parejo won the 2022 'Alhambra' International Guitar Competition at the age of 17. In this programme he includes works by Leo Brouwer, Ponce and Guastavino, as well as works by Juan Erena, Lorenzo Palomo (a premiere recording) and Ausias's father Ruben.

Mostly dating from Erich J. Wolff's final decade, the songs in this selection range from the charming children's cycle Vier Kinderlieder nach Richard Dehmel to the incomparably profound cemetery scene of Friedhof. The recital concludes with the radiant Mein Meister, Op. 33, No. 10, one of Wolff's very last songs. Volume 1 of this complete edition (8.574451) was released in April 2024. Volume 3 (8.574558) is scheduled for release in November.