'Only top-flight virtuosos need apply. Emanuele Delucchi is one of them... in a class of his own' (Gramophone). This is Delucchi's fourth album dedicated to the pianistic art of Leopold Godowsky. It's theme is counterpoint, and the possibilities of polyphony at the piano, which Godowsky expanded beyond previously conceived limitations. The album opens with Godowsky's magnificent transcription of the Sonata for Solo Violin BWV1001 by Bach. Counterbalancing the Sonata, the album closes with the serene Andante from the Solo Sonata BWV1003. In 1929, Godowsky composed his own Prelude and Fugue on the Theme B-A-C-H as one of a series of pieces for the left hand: a formidable demonstration of technical and compositional ingenuity. 'Imagine a real fugue in three voices,' he wrote to his friends, 'inversions, contractions, pedal points and all kind of devices on B-A-C-H for one hand!' Yet the Fugue itself is far from austere but rather upbeat in mood, no less a joyful celebration of the piano and it's possibilities than the rest of the works here. Godowsky based the first of his Symphonic Metamorphoses on themes of Johann Strauss on the Kunstlerleben waltz. This piece competes with his contrapuntal paraphrase on Weber's Invitation to the Dance (dedicated to Busoni, no less) as perhaps the most complex pieces ever written for the piano on dance themes. As on his previous Godowsky albums, all of them eliciting an enthusiastic critical reception, Delucchi has chosen to record these works on a piano from Godowsky's own time, lending both warm colours and a period flavour to his playing. He has chosen a Steinway piano from 1879 with a warm and poetic sound, well fitted to evoke the mood of fin-de-siecle Vienna, and to unfold the intricate polyphony of a piano genius. Delucchi also contributes his own, succinct and informed booklet essay on the history and context of these pieces.

Victor Julien-laferriere and his Consuelo Orchestra continue their complete works of Beethoven's symphonies with a second volume devoted to the famous diptych premiered on 22 December 1808: the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, so contrasting and yet so close. They have added the Eighth, premiered five years later and sometimes considered the little sister of the 'Pastoral', whose key is F major.

Antonio Duni and his better-known younger brother, Egidio, were sons of Francesco Duni, kapellmeister of the Matera Cathedral from the early 18th century. Antonio studied music in Naples as was the established practice at the time and as a composer and violinist himself became a kapellmeister. An extraordinary talent and restless genius, he left Naples in search of fortune, moving to Barcelona, then Vienna, then Madrid where in 1726 he became Master of the Royal Chapel; he then moved on to Paris, Trier and again Madrid, where in 1736 he befriended the famous singer and composer Carlo Broschi Farinelli, becoming director and choirmaster to the Duke of Osuna. By 1757 Antonio Duni could be found in Moscow, where he was commissioned by the rector of Moscow University to found the Moscow University Choir, a task that was to occupy him for more than eight years. This was followed by a short stay in Riga on the Baltic Sea and possibly a trip to China. From 1765 he moved with his wife and four children permanently to Schwerin in Germany, where in severe financial straits he died around 1766. The recent discovery of the 6 Sonatas is thanks to Thomas Suarez, a descendant of the Duni family on his mother's side, who, upon discovering a microfilm of the only printed edition in the Moscow State Library in 2019 produced the modern edition from which this recording was performed. The Sonatas were printed in Paris at the M. lle Vendome Publishing House (most active between the years 1737-1762), and the fact that the printed manuscript was found in Moscow suggests that Antonio Duni brought it with him on beginning his stay in the Russian capital (1757-65), suggesting the composition of the sonatas predates 1757. The six sonatas each feature four movements in the Corellian pattern, Lento-Veloce-Lento-Veloce. The melodic line presents cantabile themes that are never banal or "mannered", characterised by a strikingly original creativity on harmonic, phraseological and formal levels. The extremely precise articulation indications and passages modulating to keys not often frequented in the Baroque period make for challenging and interesting interpretative work. Taking up the subtitle's given option for flute in place of violin, this recording divides the sonatas between the two solo instruments. - Recorded May 2023 in Sammichele di Bari and Matera, Italy - Booklet in English contains liner notes on the works Thomas Suarez and on the composer by Claudia Di Lorenzo and Natalia Bonello along with a profile of the ensemble - The Italian liner notes & biography are available at www. Brilliantclassics. com - Born in Matera in 1709, Egidio Duni was taught by his father, the composer Francesco Duni. At the age of 9 he entered the Conservatorio in Naples, where his teachers were Pergolesi and Paisiello. His opera debut was in 1735 in Rome with Nerone, a resounding success. Like many of his generation he went to London where his opera Demafoonte (with the last appearance of the great castrato Farinelli!) was a sensation. A serious illness brought him to The Netherlands where he consulted the famous doctor Boerhaave, who cured him. He spent several years in Holland, composing instrumental chamber music for the amusement of the wealthy bourgeoisie. The last years of his life were spent in France, where he was one of the founders of the Opera Comique. - This new recording presents 6 sonatas written for either the violin or the flute, according to choice. On this recording three sonatas are played on the flute, and three on the violin. The music is charming, galant and highly melodious, entertainment at the highest level. - Played by the DuniEnsemble: Natalia Bonello (baroque flute), Vincenzo Bianco (baroque violin), Leonardo Massa (baroque cello), Claudia Di Lorenzo (harpsichord).

Rome 1839, Palazzo Poli: one of Liszt's Roman concerts has gained significance in the history of music. A prominent audience of high ecclesiastical and secular dignitaries listened to Liszt's performances. Strangely enough, it was at this concert that Liszt took the risk of introducing a new type of program, as he decided for the first time to dispense with the participation of other artists and to conduct the evening entirely on his own. This was the first "solo piano recital" or, as Liszt jokingly put it: "The first of my boring musical monologues, which I now want to give everywhere in future. Le Concert c'est moi!" This album by Kateryna Titova presents live recordings as well as recordings made as part of an eponymous exhibition at the museum at Liszt's birthplace Raiding, featuring, among others, the so-called Dante Sonata, Liebestraume Nos. 2 & 3, two Paganini etudes as well as the first Mephisto Waltz.

One of the most important vocal projects of recent years: the complete songs on 5 CDs by Nikolai Medtner, performed by Ekaterina Levental and Frank Peters. Nikolai Medtner was born in Moscow in 1880. After piano lessons with his mother he entered the Moscow Conservatory where he had lessons from Pavel Pabst and Sergey Taneyev. He won the prestigious Anton Rubinstein Prize at age 20. A younger contemporary of Scriabin and Rachmaninoff he was destined for a brilliant pianistic career but he chose to concentrate on composition. In 1936 he settled in London where he spent the rest of his life teaching and composing till 1951. Medtner's style is rooted in the 19th century, full-blooded romantic, with a highly personal harmonic and melodic language, often complex and dense, but hauntingly beautiful. His vocal works fuse intricate piano accompaniments with expressive melodies and poetic texts, often by Goethe, Pushkin, or Tyutchev. Ekaterina Levental was born in Uzbekistan. She settled in The Netherlands where she studied at the Conservatory of The Hague. She embarked on a successful career as singer, dramatist and theatre producer. Pianist Frank Peters is a highly respected Dutch pianist, both as soloist and chamber music partner. He is an indefatigable champion of the piano works of Medtner. 'Levental's soft high notes are truly exquisite, and she can do things with the voice that most modern singers cannot, such as to drain the voice of vibrato for expressive effect. All things considered, she is a virtuoso vocalist of the old school, and such artists are extremely rare nowadays... "We are very lucky to have a pianist like Peters, who fully understands this dichotomy, as the pianist on this album. " (Artmusiclounge. Com). "Levental has a dark, rich voice, but her pure tone is never burdened by excess vibrato... She couldn't ask for a more responsive partner than Peters, who reveals an astonishingly deft touch and an uncanny ear for detail. " Fanfare (Volume 1, 96056). "The phrasing is so perfect, the sense of line so keen, the rubato so natural sounding, that this seems the only way to sing them... this lucidity is due to the purity of Levental's voice, which she employs with sure intonation and minimum vibrato, as well with an exquisite (but always controlled) play of colour... This is a major release. " Fanfare (Volume 2, 96061).

Haydn's Passiontide masterpiece in it's string-quartet version, with the Latin inscriptions to each movement intoned as a liturgical preface. Invited to compose reflections on the Seven Last Words for a Good Friday service to be held in Cadiz in 1787, Haydn originally wrote a cycle of pieces for chamber orchestra. Ever practical, he soon adapted the piece for string quartet, and then as a vocal oratorio, while also authorizing a solo-piano arrangement for publication. Thus widely disseminated, the Seven Last Words soon became widely performed and recognised as Haydn at his most inspired. For all that the form of the work - seven slow movements capped by an Presto evoking the terrible effect of the earthquake which had reduced Cadiz to rubble just a generation earlier, in 1755 - promises more solemnity than variety on paper, Haydn takes his cue from the texts which have come down to us as Christ's final phrases. Thus the melodies for each movement have their own, specifically vocal contour, while the accompaniments graphically evoke the agony, the loneliness but also the peace and serenity which these phrases embody. While quartet performances of the Seven Last Words are probably more frequently encountered than any other version, they lose sight of this specific, spiritual context to Haydn's fervent and devout inspiration. The present, new recording restores that connection between text and music. As an ensemble resident at the Duomo in Milan, this fine quartet of Italian musicians is in any case well practised in striking the balance between solemnity and drama in such music. For the sake of clarity, however, they have made this recording in a modern studio. Away from the cathedral, the musicians of the quartet (violinists Andrea Pecolo and Stefano Lo Re, violist Matteo Amadasi and cellist Alfredo Persichilli) are all permanent members of the Orchestra of La Scala. Bringing both dignity and authority to the inscriptions, Aldo Cazzullo is an experienced Italian reporter and journalist, and current deputy managing director of the Corriere della Sera.

Whether in his original home of Vienna, as a conservatoire director in Mainz, or as an emigre in Edinburgh, where he became one of the mainstays of musical life, Hans Gal (1890-1987) championed choral singing as a way of directly involving people in making music: he founded and conducted a number of choirs and provided an extensive output of choral compositions. This third album of his choral music offers a vivid cross-section of music for chamber choir, featuring mixed voices, women's voices and male-voice choir, a cappella, with solo soprano, with piano and with chamber accompaniment.

Castor et Pollux is Rameau's third opera and is packed with arias that show off the soloists to their best advantage: Tristes appr�ts for Telaire, Nature, Amour for Pollux, Sejour de l'eternelle paix for Castor, and Soulevons tous les dieux for Phebe. In this new recording Judith van Wanroij, Reinoud Van Mechelen, Tassis Christoyannis and Veronique Gens are the outstanding performers, alongside the Purcell Choir and the Orfeo Orchestra conducted by Gyorgy Vashegyi, in a new edition of Rameau's work prepared under the aegis of the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles. Research that was begun several years ago on questions of performance practice has now been complemented by their intensive work on the score and the division of roles, respecting what we now know about performance practice at the Paris Opera in Rameau's day.

This album presents a compelling collection of new works for flute and piano by three-time Grammy-nominated composer Miguel del Aguila, performed by acclaimed flutist April Clayton and del Aguila himself on piano. Featuring five distinct pieces, this album takes listeners on a journey through a range of emotions and styles. From the whimsical, spontaneous interplay of "Piano Rolls Flute" to the dramatic depiction of a rain-summoning ritual in "Torrential Raindance," and the introspective melancholy of "Silence," each composition showcases del Aguila's unique ability to blend lyrical themes with vibrant, rhythmically complex Latin elements. The album also includes the dynamic "Malambo," inspired by same-named Argentine folk dance, and the multi-faceted "Sonata Flautisima," which explores a transition from a solitary, rainy night to a lively, sunlit day through inventive melodies and extended techniques that push the limits of both: flute and flutist. This collection highlights both Clayton's exceptional technical prowess and del Aguila's innovative compositional voice, offering a rich and engaging listening experience.

Farasha is the debut release of the award-winning (e.g. Anton Rubinstein International Competition) soloist and chamber musician Sindy Mohamed on Berlin Classics. The violist recalls her Egyptian, French and German roots and reflects this in a diverse selection of pieces for the viola. The album contains Sonatas for Viola and Piano by Breville and Hinemith, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's Spring Song and a transcribed version of Saint-Saens' Sonata for bassoon and piano op. 168. In addition Sindy Mohamed presents a newly comissioned work by Khaled Al Kammar "Faten Amal Harby" for oud, viola, req and piano.

BAN: Stories of Censorship is Apollo Chamber Players' bold musical response to rising global threats against freedom of expression. Featuring new commissions by composers from politically embattled regions-including Afghanistan, Turkey, and the U.S.-the album amplifies voices often silenced. Narrated by cultural icon George Takei, The Book of Names recalls the Japanese-American internment through music and memory. DJ Spooky's Quantopia / The Thought Police confronts disinformation and the erosion of truth in the digital age. In Revise? composer Jasmine Barnes and Houston Poet Laureate Emeritus Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton explore the distortion of Black identity in American culture. Arman (Hope) by Afghan composer Homayoun Sakhi is a lyrical reflection on artistic survival under Taliban rule, with the idea of hope at the forefront, while Turkish composer Erberk Eryilmaz's Fog Bell becomes a powerful metaphor for the role of artists as warning beacons-standing like a fog bell boldy cutting through the mist against authoritarianism and censorship. Together, these works form a musical call to conscience, reminding us that in dark times, art is both resistance and refuge.

For her second recital with piano, mezzo-soprano Adele Charvet reunites with Florian Caroubi, who has been her regular duo partner since 2015. Together they celebrate the belle epoque of the great French melodists (Massenet, Debussy, Faure) and their proteges,�including Chausson, Hahn, Koechlin, Aubert, Caplet, Messager, Enesco, Albeniz, Madeleine Dubois and Nadia Boulanger, as well as the much less known�Xavier Leroux and Ernest Moret. This is a programme about lines of descent and musical transmission, energised by the texts of great poets such as Verlaine, Mallarme, Maeterlinck, Banville, Leconte de Lisle, Lou�s and Toussaint.

In 1777, Mozart met the wealthy Ferdinand Dejean, an amateur flautist and retired surgeon of the Dutch East India Company. Dejean commissioned a handful of works from the young composer, who termed them 'some simple, short little concertinos'. Nevertheless, these pieces, which actually demand great virtuosity from the soloist, as well as a sensitivity to tonal nuances, have continued to be popular favourites ever since. A short while later, during his stay in Paris, Mozart wrote a further concerto, this time for a flute-playing aristocrat and his harpist daughter to perform as a duo of soloists - both of them 'admirable musicians' according to Mozart. Unlike Dejean, this noble virtuoso had an up-to-date instrument with eight keys, allowing the flute to reach down to middle C, and to play in the - hitherto impractical - key of C. Supported by A Nocte Temporis, the ensemble that she founded in 2016 with Reinoud Van Mechelen, flautist Anna Besson, now one of the most acclaimed instrumentalists of her generation, has recorded these evergreen works, with solo harpist extraordinaire Clara Izambert joining her in the Concerto for Flute and Harp.

This album portrait of Carlos Simon grew out of a commission, The Best Cuisine, which was funded by a grant from Chamber Music America and composed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The artists on this album presented the work's premiere in Washington, DC in 2022. At it's core is a spirit of collaboration - a coming together of art song and culinary flair, musical styles, and friendships - during a time that was otherwise quite solitary. It's text, written by baritone Carl DuPont, celebrates the craft of cooking that both he and Simon honed during the pandemic. With newfound inspiration drawn from the multifacetedness of Simon's compositional voice, DuPont and violinist Domenic Salerni, cellist Carrie Bean Stute, and pianist Efi Hackmey returned to Chiarina's longtime venue, the historic St. Mark's Church in Capitol Hill, to record The Best Cuisine and additional works for combinations of violin, cello, piano, and baritone. While Simon has more recently become known for his large-scale works, Chiarina seeks to highlight Simon's versatility and poignancy in works for more intimate performing forces.

With their dramatic history, the Peterhouse Partbooks are among the most significant collections of English sacred music manuscripts from the 16th and early 17th centuries. Including several world premiere recordings, this programme presents a survey of the rich variety in the Peterhouse manuscripts, from the Venetian splendour of Croce's eight-part anthem Omnes gentes plaudite, to the penitential intimacy of Tallis's O God be merciful unto us.