Described as "a poet of the piano" by Die Welt, the rising-star pianist, Danae Dörken is rapidly becoming one of the most sought-after soloists of her generation. She has developed a passion not only for recitals but also chamber music, performing with artists such as Gustav Rivinius, Christiane Oelze and Carolin Widmann. Ms. Dörken, particularly fascinated by the freedom inherent in the Fantasia form, presents an album of keyboard Fantasies by Schumann, C.P.E. Bach and Schubert.

This new release features works from composers such as Graun, Reichenaur, Telemann, and Horneck. The musicians on this album, while they do not perform on historical instruments, perform in accordance with historical performance practice. This recording features bassoonist Erik Reike, hornists Harald Heim and Klaus Gayer, along with the Dresdner Kapellsolisten.

On this new release, The Goldberg Trio presents well-rehearsed string trios by Klein, Weinberg, Dohnányi and Cras. These pieces are some of the most important and interesting contributions to the genre in the 20th century. The Trio Goldberg was founded when three key members of the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra (Liza Kerob, Federico Hood, and Thierry Amadi), rich with the diversity of their respective cultural backgrounds, joined forces to create this dynamic and eclectic ensemble. With a repertoire ranging from Mozart to Schnittke, the Trio performs works by Schubert, Enescu, Kodaly, Piazzolla, Sibelius, Jean Francaix, Ysaye, and Ton-That Tiet, among others. It draws its name from the brilliant transcription by Dmitry Sitkovetsky of J.S. Bach’s immortal Goldberg Variations. A passionate devotion to this masterwork soon became the ensemble’s trademark and led to a recording that received warm response from the press. Frequently the ensemble collaborates with prestigious musicians such as Patrice Fontanarosa, Regis Pasquier, Olivier Charlier, Gerard Causse, Dominique de Williencourt, Jean Ferrandis, Matan Porat, Iddo Bar-Shai, and Luis Fernando Perez.

In Latin America, you don‘t only dance at parties, and so even children learn how to dance to the typical rhythms. During her studies, Leticia Gómez-Tagle taught flamenco in several ballet studios and dance schools and even had a small flamenco group. With this background it becomes clear why the pianist has chosen this title for her first CD on Ars Produktion.

Ignaz Pleyel biography and music have everything a composer need not only for the contemporaries but also for posterity to be in the center of attention: a remarkable talent, with Haydn a prominent teacher, a successful artistic career, business acumen and much more. After all Pleyel was still a leading composer of its day in the end of the 18th Century. The Pleyel community in Ruppersthal has been campaigning for the composer's work for years and wowed the music lover with many fi rst recordings in the Pleyel series on ARS PRODUKTION.

Classical Music

In addition to the highly virtuosic Concert for four Horns and Orchestra by Robert Schumann and the Piano Concerts in A minor, Op.7 by his wife Clara, this recording presents two other extremely listenable concert rarities by Schumanns. Jozef De Beenhouwer has completed and orchestrated the concerts in A minor and F minor by Robert and Clara Schumann.

The 24 Preludes and the Sonata in B minor are among the most significant works by Chopin. Despite his poor health, Chopin was able to complete the Preludes during his stay on the island of Mallorca. Chopin lost his father shortly before he began to work on the B minor Sonata and once again, he was very ill. It seems almost incomprehensible that Chopin was able to write rich, dramatic works of this magnitude during periods of intense suffering. Kotaro Fukuma’s concept for this recording was a juxtaposition of two life cycles: the first cycle consists of the Preludes paired with the Berceuse, which appear to symbolize the ascent to heaven; the Contredanse marks the beginning of a new section, of a second cycle, which comes to a triumphant conclusion with the Finale of the B minor Sonata. Born in Tokyo, Kotaro Fukama took his first piano lesson at the age of five. After winning both First Prize and the Chopin Prize at the International Piano Competition in Cleveland, Kotaro Fukuma embarked on an international concert career across the globe. He has performed at major concert venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall, and many others. He currently resides in Berlin. “A fabulous artist… and a prince among peers.” (The Independent)

Unfortunately we know absolutely nothing about the life of Charles Dollé. Not even his approximate birth and death dates are known. From his six collections of instrumental works published between 1737 and 1754 we can logically infer that he was a Frenchman, a viola da gamba virtuoso, and a composer. The chronic dearth of further information about this musicians is evidently the reason why music historians have either completely passed him by or relegated him to mere footnote, in the shadow of his contemporaries Marin Marais and Antoine Forqueray who are generally regarded as representing the best and technically most difficult works for viola da gamba. Petr Wagner get Dollé's music out of his undeserved shadowy existence.

Classical Music

The life and work of Christian Ernst Graf (1723-1804) remains largely unexplored - a striking fact given the outstanding quality of the works that have been re-discovered and recorded. Little is known about Christian Ernst's life in his birth town Rudolstadt before he moved to the Netherlands. In the 1750s, he became a composer at the court of Princess Anna van Hannover (1709-1759), widow of stadtholder Willem IV (1711-1751), and at the Court of His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange. Graf's compositional idiom is characterized by an almost modern sensibility and inventiveness, both expressive and brilliant in style - qualities that are apparent in the two violoncello concertos presented on this SACD. Like Marin Marais in his viola da gamba pieces, Graf explored the virtuosic possibilities of the violoncello to its limits. Founded in 1983 as one of the earliest German early music ensembles, L'arpa festante has developed an outstanding reputation. One of the ensemble's main interests is the rediscovery and historically informed performance of forgotten works from the 17th Century and the Classical era as well as the symphonic and oratorio repertoire of the Romantic era.

Even if the title refers more to the gothic sacred buildings of England, Nadege Rochat, inspired by her two-year studies in London, wanted to place the no less spectacular mansions of the island a musical monument. With works by Elgar, Walton and Boyle, she takes us to the time of the series Downton Abbey and designs a musical panorama of England at the beginning of the 20th century.

Classical Music

Johann Sebastian Bach’s harpsichord concertos were written between 1729 and 1740 in Leipzig. The Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 was the first in the history of the keyboard concerto to contain an extended solo part for the harpsichord. In the harpsichord concertos that followed soon after, the keyboard instrument fully established its leading role. Meanwhile, manuscript studies have shown that Bach’s harpsichord concertos are derived from earlier concertos for other instruments. Felix Mendelssohn’s Double Concerto for Violin, Piano, and Strings in d minor shares certain similarities with Bach’s keyboard concertos, both in terms of its sparkling effervescence and youthful exuberance, but also in the many contrapuntal passages with which the young composer sought to demonstrate his capabilities. At the same time, Mendelssohn also sought to pay homage to “the Father of Western music.” It is widely known that he played a critical role in Bach’s rediscovery; Mendelssohn’s revival of the St. Matthew Passion helped to restore Bach’s rightful place in the history of music. Pianist Sabine Weyer performs regularly throughout Europe as an orchestra soloist and a recitalist. In 2016 she joined the faculty of the Music Conservatory of the City of Luxembourg. She is the artistic director of her own art festival “The classic Jam Sessions” at the Kinneksbond Mamer in Luxembourg.

Aurelia Shimkus wanted to create a selection of works that would best illustrate Bach's relationship to the divine sphere. Because prayers are the best way to communicate and get in touch with the divine, she decided to put together a program that would seem like one big prayer and named it after the Chorale Prelude No. 5 "Ich ruf' zu dir" (I call yo tou). The pieces of the program are grouped together by their tonal relationships - this allowed Shimkus to combine music from different times and epochs, consolidating them into one large work of prayer.