Sergei Prokofiev was an adept composer of violin music. Nathan Milstein once described his first violin concerto as “indeed one of the best modern violin concertos… a brilliant piece, perhaps the finest of all Prokofiev’s works.” This work, along with Prokofiev’s second concerto is performed on this new release by Vadim Gluzman, who is critically acclaimed for his performances of the works of the virtuosos of the 19th and 20th centuries. Neeme Jarvi and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra join Gluzman for this recording. The ensemble has been applauded for their interpretations of Prokofiev’s music.

Separately, both Freddy Kempf and the team of Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under Andrew Litton have recorded music by Prokofiev for BIS, resulting in highly acclaimed releases. Freddy Kempf's 2003 Prokofiev solo recital was described as 'a superb disc' in Gramophone, whose critic went on to write: 'Kempf is joyfully exuberant, flashing through every savage challenge with the assurance and instinct of a born virtuoso.' Four years later, the Bergen orchestra and Litton recorded the twenty movements from the composer's three Romeo and Juliet suites, performed in the order the music appears in the ballet score. The outcome of this original approach was widely praised, for instance by the reviewer on the German website Klassik Heute: "a European top orchestra and an American conductor with great insights into the Russian repertoire meet up, and the result is sparkling, colourful, ardent and with great presence..." Kempf, Litton and the Bergen PO now join forces in an all-Prokofiev programme that includes the most popular of his five piano concertos, namely the Third, a spontaneous work, vigorous and melodic in turns and full of striking material presented in a typical Prokofiev manner. This is coupled with the Second Piano Concerto, which Prokofiev himself premièred in 1913, shocking the audience with its modernistic sounds and jagged rhythms. The original score was lost during the Russian Revolution and Prokofiev reconstructed the work in Paris in 1923. According to the composer himself, the new version was so completely rewritten that it almost constituted a new work. Between the two concertos Freddy Kempf performs the Second Piano Sonata, a key work in Prokofiev's development and full of striking and individual ideas.

Leonard Bernstein's own version bettered? Yes, indeed! This is, handily, the best sung, best played, most intelligently interpreted recording of Mass currently available. Of course, Bernstein's rendition always will have sterling qualities, including some wonderful solo singers with really characterful "pop" and Broadway voices, but for its sheer musical integrity combined with the advantage of the composer's final revisions to the score, this version is unbeatable. Jubilant Sykes, as the Celebrant, easily outclasses Alan Titus' very fine premiere recording of the role. His voice has more edge; he's more at ease with the various pop idioms; he sounds radiant at the work's opening and grows increasingly desperate as it proceeds. This only serves to make his climactic breakdown tragically believable.

The various street singers are, one and all, terrific. "God Said" becomes the work's comic climax, which is as it should be. "I believe in God", "Confession", "World Without End", and "Thank You" are both idiomatic and beautifully sung. The children's choir sounds luminous in the Sanctus, while the adult chorus, from Morgan State University, sings with gusto as well as immaculate diction, with every word clearly comprehensible. Marin Alsop knits the whole ensemble together with infallible insight and verve. Her tempos, a bit different from Bernstein's, quicker here ("God Said"), a touch slower there (the wild dance in the Offertory), are no less right.

It's all fabulously recorded with a glittering impact that never turns unduly aggressive. The multi-textural layering in the climactic Dona Nobis Pacem comes across as both musically and physically overwhelming. Mass has its detractors, but when performed with this kind of conviction the piece can be inexpressibly moving. Alsop never has made a finer recording--it's both a tribute to her mentor Leonard Bernstein, as well as to her exceptional talent as an exponent of his music.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com (10/10)

Torleif Thedéen and Roland Pöntinen, who with this disc give us the larger part of Schnittke's chamber music for the cello, are long-time partners whose first joint recording for BIS was made in 1986 - entitled 'The Russian Cello', it incidentally included a performance of the first of Schnittke's cello sonatas. Since then the two have appeared on a number of discs together, performing works by Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Hindemith and Anton Webern among others. Their recording of the Chopin Sonata, coupled with works by Robert Schumann, was highly acclaimed in The Gramophone, whose critic found that the team gave 'this wonderful music a sweep and gradeur that's immensely satisfying'.

A leading authority on Bach, conductor Masaaki Suzuki now tackles his first album by a twentieth century composer. Collaborating with the acclaimed ensemble Tapiola Sinfonietta, Suzuki has chosen the works of Stravinsky for this release. Tracks include Pulcinella Suite, Apollon Musagete, and Concerto in D for Strings.

Includes work(s) by Jean Sibelius. Ensembles: Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Tempera String Quartet, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki University Chorus, Dominante Choir. Conductors: Osmo Vänskä, Neeme Järvi. Soloists: Leonidas Kavakos, Dong-Suk Kang, Anne Sofie von Otter, Bengt Forsberg, Monica Groop, Folke Gräsbeck.

The electrifying Pacifica Trio is back with the highly anticipated third installment of their acclaimed Soviet Experience series. This release focuses on Shostakovich’s string quartets of the 196s, Nos. 9-12. Ranging from a balanced neoclassical form to an unpredictable riot of tonal and atonal themes, these quartet s rank among the finest of Shostakovich’s later works. The adventurous String Quartet No. 6 of Mieczyslaw Weinberg, Shostakovich’s friend and colleague, provides another vantage point to view this period in Soviet history. (“The playing is nothing short of phenomenal, bringing new dimensions of interpretative depth and a subtle fusion of intensity and clarity. . . . When the series is complete, it looks set to be the one to own.” The Telegraph, London)

Considered one of Broadway’s most important composers in the post 1950s era, and still active today nearing 90 years old, John Kander is responsible for the music to such acclaimed shows as Cabaret, Chicago, and Kiss of the Spider Woman to name just a few. This extraordinary 2-CD set spans 55 years of his compositions along with rare demos included featuring Kander with his longtime lyricist Fred Ebb and new recordings of some of his classic songs. Including a deluxe lavishly illustrated 64 page booklet with extensive notes and comments on the songs by Kander. A milestone in musical theatre music releases

This final disc in our trilogy of the chamber music of Schoenberg and his disciples is dedicated to the works for piano solo. Covering almost all of Schoenberg's output in his genre - including two fragments never previously recorded - the programme also includes Alban Berg's Sonata No.1, composed at the age of 23 under the influence of his teacher's Chamber Symphony. There is also a first recording of a fragment by Berg, originally intended for a sonata but later used almost unchanged in his opera Wozzeck. The previous two instalments in this series have received great acclaim. 'An impeccable balance between precision and expressivity' the critic in Le Monde de la musique wrote in reviewing 'Schoenberg: Works for Violin and Piano' (CD1407) and Klassik Heute gave 'Schoenberg/Webern Chamber Music (CD1467) top marks: 10/10/10. Eminent pianist Roland Pöntinen participated on both of these discs, and now he closes the trilogy with this solo programme.