It is not written words, but narrative sound worlds that allow the listener to dive into the composer's fantastic world. Like no other, Leoš Janácek understood how to bring a fairy tale (Pohádka) to life in a sound-painting manner. Robert Schumann's musical fairy tale pictures provide deep insights into his soul life. Martinu's highly dramatic first cello sonata and the dreamlike "Waldesruh" by Anton Dvorák complete the program. Cellist Mathias Johansen and pianist Andreas Hering take you on a fairy-tale journey of sound. Mathias Johansen has been a professor at the State Conservatory of Vorarlberg in Feldkirch since 2016. He has performed as a soloist with the Lithuanian National Orchestra, as well as the Berliner Philharmonic. He is in demand as a chamber musician and regularly performs at various festivals. He is a member of the Berolina Ensemble and the Archos Quartet.

The Yiddish composer Mordechai Gebirtig wrote songs about life in the Jewish neighborhood of Kazimierz in the city of Krakow, Poland. The songs tell stories about rabbis and factory workers, gangsters and lovers. “During the day he polished furniture, at night he polished songs,” said his contemporaries. Gebirtig was shot by Germans in the Krakow Ghetto on June 4th, 1942. For the Gebirtig Project, opera-singer Dalia Schaechter and opera-director Christian von Gotz collected the most important of his songs in an intense and personal recording. Some of the songs are recorded for the first time.

Boris Bloch writes: “This release is called "Aveu passionné.” On the one hand because of the Tchaikovsky piece with the same title (in English "Passionate Confession"), on the other hand because of my deepest connection to Russian music, especially Russian opera, and last but not least because of my great love for the singer Galina Vischnevskaya. It may not seem obvious at first glance, but on closer inspection of the pieces selected here, this connection can be better understood. For Borodin, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, but also Glinka and Tchaikovsky are first and foremost opera composers. Every time I perform their music on the piano, the whole cosmos of their operas is before my eyes. Since I have been fortunate enough to conduct some of these great operas myself - for example, Glinka's "Life for the Tsar", Dargomyshsky's "The Stone Guest", Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov", Borodin's "Prince Igor", as well as some operas by Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky - they form for me the elixir of life that always fires my imagination.”

This album is the result of an extraordinary adventure of self-development that began when the pianist Aldo Ciccolini offered Genny Basso to move to his house in Paris and be his personal assistant at international master classes. Much of Basso's current playing style has evolved from this experience, which has deeply influenced the way he feels and perceives interpretation. In the years that followed, Genny Basso had the privilege of listening to Ciccolini every day, trying to discover his secrets, taking his suggestions, listening to and commenting on music with him. And thanks to him Basso probably learned his most important lesson: making music is not narcissism, but full of love and sincerity. That's why his first album could not be anything but a tribute to him, to the intensity and purity of his soul, to his piano art and to the artistic lessons he left Genny Basso.

An indispensable part of concert life in East Westphalia-Lippe and an attractive cultural ambassador for the region beyond the borders of Europe - the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie (Northwest German Philharmonic Orchestra) lives up to these two claims in an exemplary manner. The Orchestra impressively demonstrates its artistic versatility in a good 120 concerts a year, a wealth of radio productions and album recordings, and an extensive school and concert education program for the concertgoers of tomorrow. This release features Mozart’s Piano Concerto in F major with Alessandro Deljavan playing the solo part, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 in C major.

In addition to Prokofieff's Piano Sonata No.7, the third movement of which, along with the Toccata Op.11, is the most relentless piece of motor music from his pen, Elena Kuschnerova presents piano music by the now almost forgotten Alexander Lokshin (1920-1987), whom Rudolf Barshai called one of the most important Russian composers of the 20th century. Elena Kuschnerova was the last pianistic discovery of Harold Schonberg (1915-2003), music critic for the New York Times and prolific author on great performers. After listening to her debut album, he dubbed her a "Pianist who grabs the imagination", and he lauded her Scriabin album as "the best recorded performances I am familiar with" (American Record Guide, 2000 and 2001).

The violinist Natalia van der Mersch, née Steurer, comes from Essen/Germany. Her extraordinary musical talent was recognized and encouraged early on by important violin teachers. The Russian violin pedagogue Zakhar Bron, who is sought after worldwide, accepted her into his master class in Lübeck. She was then invited by the famous Russian violin virtuoso Igor Oistrakh to his newly founded master class at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, where she completed her soloist training with the concert exam with great distinction. The pianist Natalia Kovalzon was born in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. After first lessons in Omsk with Natalia Korolkova and at the State Academy of Music with Alla Ouritzkaya, she continued her studies at the National Conservatory of Kyrgyzstan with Elena Gavrilova. There she received her diplomas as pianist, chamber musician, piano teacher and piano accompanist. Master classes with Daniel Blumenthal and Tatevick Mokatshian completed her pianistic education. As a passionate chamber musician, the mother of two children regularly gives concerts with musicians in Luxembourg, Belgium and France; in this context she participated in the Rencontres musicales internationales d'Enghien in 2019, among others.

The recordings for this release were made in the middle of the pandemic under difficult conditions. The hope of the artists involved is to make their contribution so that culture will emerge from this crisis not weakened, but strengthened. "Art is a daughter of freedom, and from the necessity of spirits, not from the necessity of matter, it wants to receive its prescription" (Schiller). Reinhold Friedrich, a prolific performer on major stages around the world, is a professor of trumpet at Karlsruhe, a sought-after lecturer for master classes, honorary professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia in Madrid and also in Hiroshima. Many of his recordings were awarded international prizes and got high press acclaim.

Classical Music

My aim with this recording is not only to realize a beautiful dream, to conquer the stage and to touch people's hearts, and to lead my listeners on a journey of great emotions in the world of music. I would like to uncover the dreams that lie dormant in all of us and that are yearning to be brought into the open - desires which often reveal themselves in our dreams, where they seem tangible and achievable. Dreams of love, and fantasies of the world we would like to live in." (Carolina L�pez Moreno) Carolina Lopez Moreno was born into a family of Bolivian and Albanian heritage and grew up in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg. She began her vocal training at the age of 12, and was a member of the choir of the Junge Oper in Stuttgart. Carolina frequently appears on stage as a soloist, notably appearing as a soloist in Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, Puccini's Mess di Gloria, and in Bizet's "Te Deum.

Argentine-born pianist Aquiles Delle Vigne is one of the most renowned students of the legendary Claudio Arrau, who taught him as a 17-year-old, and looks back on an extraordinary career himself. To this day, he travels tirelessly on all continents. He is particularly interested in Franz Liszt, whose Années de Pèlerinage (Pilgrimage Years) he records here on 4 albums - along with jewels such as Gondoliera / Canzone / Tarantella / Consolations and the Ballade No. 2. Aquiles Delle Vigne, born in Argentine in 1946 from Italian parents, is recognized as one of the top piano professors in the world. He was Distinguished Professor at the Codarts University for the Arts in Rotterdam and at the École Normale de Musique de Paris “Alfred Cortot”, Visiting Professor at the Northern College of Music in Manchester –following Vlado Perlemuter–, at the Normal University of Taipei, at the Summer Academy Mozarteum Salzburg for 25 years, and gave masterclasses in more than 40 countries, above all at Moscow and Saint-Petersburg Conservatories, Manhattan School (invited by Solomon Mikowski) of New York, Juilliard School (invited by Oxana Yablonskaya), Toho University of Tokyo, and Munich University.

The life and work of Joseph Wolfram (1789-1839) was characterized, as so often during that time in history, by a dichotomy between earning a living and the pursuit of his passions. Wolfram showed extraordinary musical talent from an early age. Following his education at the grammar school in Pilsen, he studied law at the University in Prague. At the same time, he also took lessons in harmony and counterpoint with Josef Drechsler and Johann Anton Koželuh. Joseph Wolfram’s Lieder output comprises eight collections published during his lifetime (with the first collection lacking numberings), plus two songs preserved in manuscript form. As with their previous album with songs by Bohemian composer Wenzel Heinrich Veit (1806-1864), the early romantic Lieder on this recording are of extraordinary quality and both musically and emotionally on a par with those of the great composers of that time. Wolfram’s music has been out of print, unjustly forgotten and thus remained unperformed, which gives this album the character of a real discovery.

Thuringia-born Johann Melchior Molter (1696-1765) is at best known to some as the composer who wrote some of the earliest concertos for the clarinet, which had just been invented at the time. Otherwise, the practical exploration of the oeuvre of the long-time Karlsruhe court kapellmeister is still in its early stages. In the highly acclaimed series 'Forgotten Treasures' at ARS PRODUKTION, Michael Alexander Willens and his Kolner Akademie present some of the concertos and orchestral works in first recordings, which once again make us take notice because of their above-average quality and remarkable inventiveness.

Ivan Bessonov (*2002) is an exceptional musical phenomenon: He began his professional training as early as 2012 and took up piano studies at the Central Music School for Particularly Gifted Children of the Moscow Conservatory. In 2015, he made his debut in his native Russia as a film music composer. His international breakthrough came in 2018 when he won the 'Eurovision Young Musicians Competition' in Edinburgh, one of the more important international music competitions. On this recording he offers a challenging program of Russian classics and an original composition.

Zane Zalis' Oratorio ‘I Believe’ is about us, dressed in robes of depravity, fear, pain, loss, but also of faith, courage and hope. The music should make us think about things that concern us all. For we must always be reminded not to make selfish decisions, but also to keep in mind the well-being of our fellow human beings. Since 2006 Zane has been the Artistic Director/Conductor of the Murau International Music Festival in Austria bringing together talented singers and instrumentalists from both Canada and Europe. Beginning in 1983, Zane was a pioneer in using technology and music to develop creative and critical thinking skills in young people. He is the founder and director of Prodigy, a program of professional training in contemporary vocal performance which is part of the nationally recognized music program at Miles Macdonell Collegiate (River East Transcona School Division) in Winnipeg. Many of his students have gone on to successful music careers both in academia and professional performance, both nationally and internationally. Zane has had over 200 recording studio appearances as a session musician, arranger, producer and composer. He is a composer laureate for St. Paul’s College (University of Manitoba) has served as Choir Director for the North American Symphonic Premiere of Lord of the Rings at the MTS Centre with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, choral contractor/director for Sarah Brightman’s Winnipeg concert, and has been music and vocal director for Rainbow Stage, where he also served on the Board of Directors and was chair of production.