The Aalborg Symphony Orchestra under Henrik Vagn Christensen presents Royal Danish Concertos for Brass by Thorvald Hansen (1847-1915), Mogens Andresen (*1945) and an arrangement of a flute sonata by Morten Raehs (1702- 1766) in the style of Maurice Andre. Outstanding soloists make the presented works shine and guarantee a truly royal pleasure!

Around the central work of the CD, the "Friedenskonzert" by Daan Manneke, Gudrun Sidonie Otto, soprano, and the cathedral organist of the Basel Minster, Andreas Liebig, present a very multifaceted and expressive programme. The "Friedenskonzert" is part of the Baseler Psalms, which were commissioned for the millennium celebrations of the Basel Minster. In the programme, it is framed by two chorale arrangements on the Lutheran chorale "Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir", one by Johann Sebastian Bach, the other by Max Reger. Furthermore, Gudrun Sidonie Otto sings two extremely demanding works, "Aus den Visionen der Hildegard von Bingen" by Sofia Gubaidulina and "Djamila Boupach�" by Luigi Nono. The whole programme is framed by two of the most important works of organ music, Bach's Fantasia et Fuga g-minor, BWV 542 and the organ sonata "Der 94. Psalm" by Julius Reubke, both masterly played at the organ of the Basel Minster by Andreas Liebig.

Formed in Israel almost three decades ago and now based in the United States, the Ariel quartet has built a reputation for tackling challenging repertoire with bold interpretations and deep musical insight. This suitably ambitious new project, timed to coincide with the quartet's 30th anniversary in 2028, highlights their dedication to Beethoven's transformative works, tracing his journey from the classical brilliance of the early quartets to the spiritual profundity of his later ones. 5060189563784 ORCC100378.2 44930509 .00 16.99 .23 ORCHID CLASSICS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 05/02/2025 07/01/2025 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/42/4402542-3325931.jpg 3 2 N CONCERT ROYAL KOLN INTERWOVEN PATHS Why should things be more fair in musical history than elsewhere? Here, too, the wall that stands between fame and obscurity is very thin and, moreover, rather arbitrarily erected. But it can be unsurmountably high. Coincidences, small vicissitudes of life can decide between success and failure in the eyes of posterity. The composers whose works we find on this recording are prime examples of this. On the one hand, George Frideric Handel, the cosmopolitan, widely known composer, chapel master to His Majesty, the King of England, and director of the Royal Academy of Music, who hardly needs any further introduction, and, on the other hand, Johann Sigismund Weiss. Who? The name Weiss only brings to mind Sylvius Leopold, the famous lutenist at the Dresden court, acquainted with Bach - this was the older brother of our Weiss. He, too, was a professional musician, and, as his works show, one who was entirely on a par with his brother, indeed even with Handel - but he never became famous. He was born ca. 1690 in Breslau, and died in Mannheim in 1737. We hardly know anything about his life and work. From 1708 to 1718, he was lutenist of the Electoral Palatinate court chapel in Dusseldorf, subsequently - until 1723 - he held the same position in Mannheim. There he advanced to court Kapellmeister. But his path crossed that of Handel. 4012476368894 MUSP36889.2 45254147 .00 16.99 .20 MUSICAPHON COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 09/12/2025 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/19/4404819-3412733.jpg 22 1 N DORHAM / JOBIM STANDARD - NO STANDARD In a time when musical genres are constantly in dialogue with one another, Standard - No Standard proves that the jazz tradition is not only alive but also constantly evolving. This album, the result of a powerful collaboration between guitarist Joost Zoeteman, bassist Bart Tarenskeen, and drummer Wim de Vries, showcases how three musicians masterfully strike a balance between reverence for jazz history and a fresh, contemporary approach. 608917359824 CHLL73598.2 44952211 .00 16.99 .22 CHALLENGE COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 04/25/2025 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/44/4404944-3329290.jpg 0 1 N GREENE / EARLY OPERA COMPANY JEPHTHA The passage of time has perhaps been unkind to the English composer Maurice Greene. By 1730 he was one of the most senior musicians in England: Organist at St Paul's Cathedral, Organist and Composer to the Chapel Royal, and Professor of Music at the University of Cambridge. When he was appointed Master of the King's Music, in 1735, he held every significant appointment in the Kingdom. Of course, the overwhelming presence of Handel in London at the time most certainly played a significant part in Greene's relative obscurity. His second attempt at oratorio, Jephtha, in 1737, marks the first successful foray by an Englishman in this genre. Brimming with attractively varied airs and choruses, powerfully emotive accompanied recitatives, and spirited orchestral movements, it is an engaging work. Taken from the Book of Judges, chapter 11, the account of Jephtha tells the story of a fearless Israelite warrior recalled from exile to fight for his people, a man not only of great valour but, as it transpires - thanks to an impulsive and fateful pledge - of profound honour, too, destined to assume his place as their worthy ruler. Christian Curnyn directs his Early Opera Company forces with a dazzling cast of soloists: Andrew Staples takes the part of Jephtha, joined by Mary Bevan, Michael Mofidian, and Jeremy Budd. 0095115040829 CHN408SACD 44952235 .00 43.99 .27 CHANDOS SUPER-AUDIO CD CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 04/18/2025 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/46/4404946-3329235.jpg 60 2 N NAKATA,KEIKO SELECTED ORGAN WORKS After her successful CD Joy of Bach" (arc17008), the Japanese organist Keiko Nakata presents now a recording of music by Cesar Franck. The symphonic organ music of the romantic era is closely connected to the developments of organ building during the 19th century. Keiko Nakata chooses for her recording the Merklin-Organ of the Cathedral of St. Louis of Blois, on which Franck's markings in the score can be ideally realised. Besides pieces like the Piece Heroique, there are the Three Chorals in the programme. They freely exploit the multiple possibilities of invented choral melodies. This romantic conception leading to the idea of a spiritual concert would later give birth to a new spiritual dimension in music beyond the boundaries of religious offices and rituals. As a result, the liturgical organ embedded with it's Gregorian heritage would step back to allow some space for a new style of organ playing and building to emerge, emulating the great works for piano and orchestra as manifested by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Chopin and Liszt.

Agostino Steffani (1654-1728) is one of the most remarkable figures of the European Baroque period and was not only a composer, but also a priest and diplomat. He directed the Hanover Opera and influenced some of the most important musicians of his time with his work. This recording combines his Psalmodia vespertina (1674) with the posthumously published Stabat Mater. The psalms are scored for double choir and organ, but are presented here in a richer instrumentation with strings and winds as well as alternations between soli and tutti.

Naples and Venice were two of the most important centers for music in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries. On this new recording of baroque recorder concertos from Italy, the Bremen Baroque Orchestra and Clara Guldberg Ravn once again demonstrate their great joy of playing and the highest quality of baroque performance practice. In addition to well-known works by Antonio Vivaldi and the recorder evergreen by Giuseppe Sammartini, the young Danish recorder player has also ventured into rather unknown baroque works by the Neapolitan Nicola Fiorenza and the Swede Johan Helmich Roman.

Johann Philipp Kafer (1672-1728) was the predecessor of Johann Melchior Molter as court music director at the court of Baden-Durlach before he was dismissed in 1722 in a dispute over salary and leave. Many of his works have been lost, but this recording by La Protezione della Musica and Jeroen Finke aims to give a brief impression of his oeuvre. The cantata for Epiphany Das Volk, so i'm Finstern wandelt and two cantatas for Christmas Day, Es ist Euch heute der Heiland geboren and Der Herr la�et sein Heil verkundigen, are supplemented by instrumental works.

“A heartfelt and joyous contemplation of the sweet Infant Jesus lying in the manger...“ - this quote by the songwriter Johann Rist gives us the theme for the collection of Christmas music by Werner Fabricius. The conductor of the ensemble La Protezione della Musica, Jeroen Finke, put together a cross-section of Werner Fabricius’ music focusing on Christmas music. Besides of a number of more intimate song settings for the Christmas festivities and some dance movements, he focuses on the two large vocal-instrumental compositions in Festo Nativitatis Christi from Fabricius’ most important work.

KATI RAITINEN (cello) and BENGT FORSBERG (piano) describe their approach to the three works on this disc as a ‘journey of discovery’. To quote them directly: ‘On this musical journey the dominant feeling was pleasure, together with a degree of astonishment that these compositions are not better known’. The cello sonatas by Emilie Maria von Bach (1896 – 1978), Henriëtte Bosmans (1895 – 1952) and Rita Strohl (1865 – 1941) are unknown even among lovers of cello literature – but wrongly so, as this recording shows. This is how the title of this album is to be understood: A TRIBUTE TO CURIOSITY.

Increasingly frequent floods threaten Venice. The Basilica San Marco, which is located at one of the lowest points in the city, is particularly at risk. As part of the Venetian display of splendor, acoustically refined space-sound music was created there. As a European music center of the first rank, it was the workplace of numerous important musicians. Threatened by climate change, the place appears as a symbol of a fragile culture. With the project, the Ensemble Respiro pursues the uninterrupted topicality of 17th-century music, with works by Schütz, Gabrieli and Rosenmüller.

Boccherini's Dream transports us to scenes of summer sunshine, where balmy breezes warm sun-kissed faces, and spell-bound moths buzz around flickering lamps during late evening alfresco gatherings on the piazza. This is a world that Luigi Boccherini knew and loved. Like Boccherini, in his time as a talented cellist, the two interpreters convey joy and wonder with their fresh and joyful playing of the works by Supriani, Pasquini, Cabezón, Storace and Luigi Boccherini. The Parisian violinist Jean-Baptiste Cartier is reported to have said in 1798: "If God wanted to speak to man through music, he would do so with the works of Haydn; but if he wanted to hear music himself, he would undoubtedly choose the works of Boccherini". So let's start dreaming with this music like God on the Mediterranean!

Reminiscences of a Marimba de Chonta? An earworm from the Caribbean? Primal sounds from the rainforest? On this voyage of discovery, the Bremen piano duo KONDRASCHEWA/CHICA have placed their focus on accessible new music. Some of the works, which come exclusively from Colombia, have their origins in the traditional, others are characterized by a universal aesthetic. In this production, conventional piano playing meets modern playing techniques, as well as two pianos meets four-handed playing on one instrument.

With the second publication by Renée Allen – a specialist for historical horn – further delicacies of the "Solo Buch für Waldhorn", published in 1898 by A. E. Fischer Verlag, Bremen and lost in the 2nd World War, are presented. All the works in this production are world premiere recordings by unknown composers such as Ferdinand Füchs, Henri Lübeck, Valentin Hamm and others. In the very informative booklet, much is said about the history and development of the instruments used in this production. So let's enjoy another evening in a German salon of the late 19th century and not only be enchanted by the unexpected sounds of "Auf den Lagunen" by Ludwig Wiedemann.

Une Délicatesse Merveilleuse - wonderful delicacy – this title serves on this recording for both, on one hand the wonderfully expressive and at the same time extremely elegant music which the lutenist Tobias Tietze discovered from Valentin Strobel the younger, on the other hand, it describes the wonderfully delicate touch of Tobias Tietze’s playing itself. He already has appeared on many recordings as continuo player. On this album, everything focuses on his solo playing and creates a very intimate atmosphere for the highly idiomatic music for the baroque lute in the French style. Strobel’s music dates from a period when the parameters of the Suite were not as clearly defined as they would become in the 18th century. And with both, the recording and the liner notes, we can travel back to the time when the composers experimented with these parameters, e. g. also with different kinds of Gigues. An imaginary “Tombeau de Mr Strobel“ by his contemporary Johann Gumprecht builds the frame for Strobel’s compositions.

The second album by the Danish recorder player Clara Guldberg Ravn completes the flute sonatas by Martinus Ræhs in a particularly exciting and colorful way. Together, the two albums represent the first complete recording of his flute sonatas. While a fortepiano was included on the first album (released in 2020), the ensemble decided to employ a completely original Swedish clavichord (Pehr Lindholm, Stockholm 1794) which, in contrast to the harpsichord, can produce crescendi, diminuendi and vibrato called bebung. Ræhs’ sonatas have many different style elements, rhythmical patterns and syncopated motives. He presents himself as a composer well versed in the styles of contemporary Europe.

With its first album, ‘In the Shadow’, the Trio Adorno consciously addresses three compositions, which have hitherto been overshadowed by more famous works and are therefore rarely heard in concert, with the aim of bringing them into the light and into the concert hall. Mozart’s piano trio in D minor, KV 442, is barely known, as the composer never completed it himself. Therefore, it still stands in the shadow of his other piano trios. Martinů’s chamber works – among them the piano trio in C Major – are even more rarely played as his orchestral works. And also Mendelssohn’s piano trio in C minor, op. 66, is much less often heard than its predecessor in D minor, Op. 49. All the more, it’s a pleasure to explore these works together with the Trio Adorno, which received tuition from important figures in the world of chamber music – like among others the Beaux Arts Trio and the Alban Berg Quartet – and which can now look back on a long lasting performing career.