Evil Penguin is proud to present the first recording by Joshua Brown, Second Prize at Queen Elizabeth Competion 2024. Joshua Brown chose a Schumann programme for his debut: the two Sonatas and the rare and tricky late Fantasie. A perfect match was established between him and the much experienced and great piano partner Paolo Giacometti

In 1775 Leopold Mozart made an offer to publisher Breitkopf in Leipzig: to print an opus of keyboard sonatas by his son mit veranderten Reprisen, following the famous example set by C. P. E. Bach. Breitkopf declined, but after 250 years the idea still resonates: what might Wolfgang Amade� Mozart's Sonatas with Varied Reprises have sounded like? Played on a highly responsive Stein fortepiano, Tom Beghin's reconstituted score of K. 279-284 (Munich, 1775) provides a captivating answer-one that challenges our familiarity with six classics of the repertoire, while also paying tribute to Mozart's supreme improvisational skills.

Franco-Swiss violist Mathis Rochat presents British repertoire for viola and orchestra, pairing William Walton's well-known concerto with rarely recorded works by Herbert Howells and Arthur Benjamin. Featuring violinist Abigel Kralik, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under the direction of Howard Griffiths, the program highlights romantic styles and lesser-known voices within the first half of 20th-century British music.

This recording marks an important addition to the discography of Grazyna Bacewicz, a composer whose growing recognition stems from the exceptional quality of her music and it's direct resonance with listeners. The String Quartet No. 4 (1951) and Piano Quintet No. 1 (1952) embody these qualities, offering a clear testimony to such qualities and an ideal path to approach Bacewicz's distinctive voice. The performances are no less than idiomatic, delivered with conviction and freshness by a young, leading Polish-Belgian string quartet: the inspiring enthusiasm conveyed by the members of the Karski Quartet has a communicative drive that inevitably infects the listener. From the journal of Maria Modlinska: "11 December 1951, Warsaw, Tuesday. O joy! Wonderful weather for Grazyna's return from Belgium. [...] I waited at home with tea and cake. The table set, the apartment decorated with flowers. The plane was two hours late, they arrived at home around six. Grazyna, though very tired and slimmed down, was in an excellent mood. [...] She told us about performing in the embassy in Brussels, in Li�ge and in other cities. Recording for the radio. 8 concerts in total. Everywhere huge success, and award ceremony on the 8th. [...] her 4th String Quartet, awarded with the 1st prize at the international competition in Li�ge, played at every concert by the Quatuor Municipal de Li�ge. [...] She was received very enthusiastically, cordially, and they expressed much interest in her compositions - they will play them."

Chopin's nocturnes are widely regarded as some of the finest works for solo piano and continue to hold a prominent place in today's concert repertoire. He composed 21 of them between 1827 and 1846, and they have become a cen- tral part of the repertoire. Many of his compositions began as improvisations - musical ideas discovered at the piano and later carefully crafted into written works. There is so much more to say about it - but for me, it was partially through studying and playing it over time that I have come to understand it better. From the beginning, the goal was never to just record these nocturnes. �I wanted to learn and grow as a pianist and mostly as a musician. I wanted to understand how to shape storytelling at the instrument, to create a musical narrative through phrasing, colour, timing, and silence. And there is no better repertoire to explore that with, than with these nocturnes. - Marie Francois

Second instalment in the ongoing symphonic cycle Scriabin/Ono. The grandiose and particularly colourful Third Symphony by Alexander Scriabin in an opulent and gorgeous account by Kazushi Ono conducting the Brussels Philharmonic. This music demands the highest possible degree of sheer beauty of tone by the orchestra. Here it is achieved thanks to the musicians and the conductor, but also thanks to the avantgarde Dolby Atmos/Immersive recording by MotorMusic studio. EPRC 0061, Scriabin: Symphony no.2 was 2024 Critic's Choice by American Record Guide. Classic Voice (ITA): "The outcome is no less than overwhelming." BBC Music Magazine (UK): "The Brussels Philharmonic strings relish Scriabin's ardent and sensuous melodies."

Sixth volume of the commendable series devoted by Dionysos Now! To the figure of Adrian Willaert. The centerpiece of this recording is the Missa Laudate Deum, a so-called parody mass based on Johannes Mouton's motet. This remarkable mass showcases Willaert's masterful command of polyphony and serves as an homage to his mentor. In addition to the mass, the album features a selection of Willaert's madrigals and motets. These dramatic madrigals highlight Willaert's sensitivity to text interpretation and his contribution to new musical forms.

Smetana's two string quartets could be said to be the first programmatic chamber music pieces ever written. The first quartet is a remarkable work with a very strong connection to Czech musicians. It belongs among the real treasures of Czech chamber music. The main characteristic of the second quartet is it's intensity of musical ideas, as the composer was deaf and close to the end of his life. The Dance of Comedians illustrates the famous era of Smetana �s being considered the Czech national composer. An idiomatic account by one of Czech leading string quartets.

With his second disc Cristian Sandrin enters a ruthless competition: Beethoven's last three Sonatas. He does it with his modesty and humility - and with his individual (if not unique) sensibility and vision. A new version of these masterpieces that is not a standard addition to the catalogue, but a very personal view of a mature artist. Under the sister label Antarctica, Cristian already released a concept disc with music by Enescu, Scott and Ravel - Correpsondances - unanimously acclaimed by international specialized media.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Sonatas with Varied Reprises (comp. 1758-9, publ. 1760) constituted a bold experiment. Spelling out every repeat, Bach applies to each the art of variation. Starting off as a service ("play this and you'll sound as if you're improvising"), the opus ends up a masterclass in variation. Tom Beghin, playing his own beloved clavichord, enacts the role of the keyboardist- composer who repeats himself, while never saying the same thing twice.

With this project Tore Denys wants to return to his roots in Roeselare and pay homage to one of the greatest composers in Roeselare's history. Together with the members of his ensemble Dionysos Now!, he wants to plan a trajectory to have a contemporary reflection of his most striking signature works in 2022 - 460 years after the death of Adriaan Willaert. For many, Adriaan Willaert is not a complete stranger, but his extensive and versatile oeuvre rarely appears in concert programs or on album recordings. The relative unfamiliarity with the oeuvre of the Flemish but world-renowned polyphonists is at the root of the fact that their names do not dare to be mentioned in the same breath as those of Bach, Mozart, or Beethoven. Wrongly. As a famous composer and renowned educator, Willaert gathered around him a wide circle of pupils and friends, both Italians and Flemish and Dutch, so that he can be considered the "founder of the Venetian school", an epithet that is fully justified. Willaert’s oeuvre is extremely extensive: 150 motets, vespers, hymns and psalms, eight masses of chansons madrigals. For this vinyl-only release, Dionysus Now! selects from Willaert's sacred music.

Classical Music

Classical Music

The 4 Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi... are probably the most famous and often performed composition ever written. While you can hear it in the origin version in the great concert halls just as well as background music in a lift, most of us have some personal hearing memory about them. For me they have been a great companion over dozens of years, and I must say every time I come back to performing them I'm once and again truly mesmorised by the genius masterpieces. It is Programmmusik based on beautiful short poems which I find inspiring both as listener and as a performer. - Linus Roth

An outstanding release, both in musical and technical terms. This live recording is a showcase for the Brussels Philharmonic and it's conductor, Kazushi Ono, while giving a rare energy and drive to scores which demand them. The immersive Dolby Atmos recording emphasizes the virtuoso and spectacular side of Strauss' gorgeous orchestration.� Kazushi Ono: This recording tells the story of not just one hero, but two. It's interesting to compare their lives. �Don Juan takes off like a rocket going to another planet, blazing a trail. �Ein Heldenleben�describes the hero climbing and then descending a mountain that is both real and metaphorical. That is the wonderful duality of Strauss as a composer.