Instead of comparing music from different creative periods of a composer’s life, this recording brings together works by three composers, created in similarly creative, experimental periods of their musical journey. With his final piano sonatas for novel keyboard instruments written in London, HAYDN rediscovered the piano for himself. The sonatas’ playful character gives them a certain timelessness even though the circumstances of our perception of Haydn’s music have changed significantly. This album takes its title from BEETHOVEN’s declaration to a friend in 1803 that “from now on I intend to embark on a new path”. Beethoven wrote that he was not satisfied with what he had previously composed at a time when audiences were comparing his work with that of the great masters Mozart and Haydn. By striking out on his new path, Beethoven sought to combine traditional with new and different forms. Although the beginning of this new path is usually associated with the three Sonatas op. 31, it can also be linked to the Sonata op. 26, where Beethoven – rather than composing any of the movements in the classical sonata form – makes use of a funeral march on the death of a hero. One can only speculate whether Beethoven’s desire to take on new paths was solely based on his dissatisfaction with his previous work or whether his deteriorating hearing also played a part.

"This is a splendid fellow and musician" - with this quote Robert Schumann characterized the then 26-year-old Danish composer-colleague Niels Wilhelm Gade in a letter of January 5, 1844 to his Dutch friend Johannes Verhulst. The works on this release are testimonies of three different creative periods of Gade: an early work is the first Sonata in A major, op. 6 (dedicated to Clara Schumann) - the second Sonata in D minor, op. 21, (dedicated to Robert Schumann) was composed in 1850 - the third Sonata in B flat major, op. 59, (dedicated to Wilma Normann-Neruda) belongs to the circle of his late compositions. Among Gade's last works is the collection Volkstänze im nordischen Charakter, op. 62, written in 1886 for the great violinist Joseph Joachim.

The third edition of the series Film Music – Sounds of Hollywood presents music from the most famous movies and television series. The brilliant sound of the Vogtland Philharmonie brings Hollywood directly into your sound system. Some of the most award-winning film scores are presented on this album, including selections from John William’s Star Wars score, who was nominated for his fourth Academy Award for Best Original Score in 2015. Also included are selections from House Of Cards, Game of Thrones, Aladdin, Bonanza, and others. The Vogtland Philharmonic Orchestra is a supra-regional orchestra with a unique spectrum of activities ranging from symphonic concerts to serenades and gala evenings, from concerts in historical costumes to film music performances or contemporary crossover projects. The Vogtland Philharmonic has developed a series of educational programs as well, such as the “Kids meet Classic” concert series, in order to engage new musical talent. As the musical ambassador of the region, the Vogtland Philharmonic performs all over Europe, as well as in Turkey, China and in the USA. It is also a regular partner of international music competitions. Formed in 1992 as the result of a merger between two renowned symphony orchestras from Thuringia and Saxony, the Vogtland Symphony has since established itself as an indispensable cultural institution. It continues the over 150 year old orchestral tradition of the region at the highest artistic level and continues to delight with its spirit of invention and innovation.

The four works that this album brings together are among the most beautiful of the French repertoire for violin. In the last decades of the 19th century, a new kind of music emerged in France that revisited French culture and tradition. For until then, the German classics and romantics had dominated the concert halls of France. Works by French composers were rarely performed. Saint-Saëns recalled in retrospect, "It was not long ago [...] when [...] the name of a French composer, a living one at that, was enough to scare the whole world away." The lost Franco-Prussian War of 1870 was the impetus for a new orientation. Now the "Grande Nation" had to prove itself anew and find a new self-image. People looked back to their own traditions and wanted to revive French music. To this end, several composers founded the "Société nationale de musique". Among the founding members were Camille Saint-Saëns, César Franck and Gabriel Fauré. Under the motto "Ars gallica," this society was to promote and disseminate French music. It was to be music that combined German profundity with French charm and esprit.

The piano works of Alexander Scriabin, gathered on the newest release by Konstantin Semilakov, allow us to trace the development of his musical language through the chronological order of their composition. Starting from an early phase influenced by 19th century music, it gradually reveals a groundbreaking harmonic system that is no longer based on major-minor tonal connections. Born in Riga in 1984, pianist Konstantin Semilakovs is laureate of the First Prize of the International Piano Competition in Porto, Portugal and prizewinner of the Competition for Young Pianists Ettlingen, Germany. Since 2018 he is appointed professor of piano at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. He is passionate about researching the phenomenon of 'colour' in the classical piano repertoire and synaesthetic performing of works by the composers Olivier Messiaen and Alexander Scriabin.

Nuno Côrte-Real (b. 1971) has been working as a composer and conductor for more than twenty years and is one of the most important figures of Portuguese contemporary music. From the beginning, he showed great independence, ignoring the prevailing musical currents and established opinions. The plurality and syncretism that characterize his works represent an open and straightforward approach to music that breaks with the clichés, aesthetic determinism and elitism of the contemporary music world. Also characteristic of his work is a preference for stylistic symbiosis, especially through the use of elements from other musical traditions such as jazz and pop music.

Tremor (2021), which incorporates elements of oral tradition, can be seen as a continuation of this trend. The original idea was to write a song cycle about the city of Lisbon, but soon focused on the theme of the Lisbon earthquake, which devastated the Portuguese capital on November 1, 1755. The powerful earthquake was followed by a tsunami and a fire that lasted several days, greatly increasing the scale of the disaster. The Lisbon earthquake was a traumatic event unparalleled in modern history. The loss of life and the destruction of buildings, palaces, churches, works of art, libraries and archives have been deeply imprinted in the collective memory of Portugal.

Danae Dörken wants to show with her production that music is a place where all people are lifted to the same level – no matter what their origin or cultural background is. The focus is on the connecting element of music between all possible cultures and the folkloristic character of the works, emphasizing the peculiarities of each culture that makes it unique. Called “the discovery of the year” by classical music magazine crescendo and “on her way to the very top” by Concerti magazine, German-Greek pianist Danae Dörken is, at age twenty-six, among the elite of internationally acclaimed artists of a new generation, electrifying audiences and peer musicians alike with her stunning technical skills, exceptional charisma and great profundity of her musical thinking.

This production not only offers an impressive overview of the musical and technical skills of drummer Fabian Ziegler, but also makes clear where the musical focus lies. The title of the album Gods, Rhythms, Human came about through the recorded works, in which thematic echoes of ancient and modern Greece come to life again and again. The percussionist Fabian Ziegler is an unusually talented young musician. Judging by his numerous prizes and awards, it is already known that he brings something special to those who hear him. In the past few seasons there have been debuts with the Argovia Philharmonic, the Musikkollegium Winterthur and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich.

On this new release, Nadège Rochat performs Antonín Dvorák's Cello Concerto in B minor, op. 104, and André Caplet's mystically spiritualized Épiphanie, op. 22, together with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Benjamin Levy. Nadège Rochat is a distinguished expressive voice among young cellists. Besides her wide-ranging musical interests in baroque, classical and romantic repertoire, she likes to explore forgotten composers, world music and contemporary pieces. She started to play the cello at the age of four and first studied in Geneva, then in Cologne with Maria Kliegel. She attended master classes with Heinrich Schiff and Anner Bijlsma among others, and graduated from the Royal Academy of Music under Robert Cohen where she now has a teaching assignment. She won several first prizes in Swiss, German and British competitions and won twice the Swiss SUISA prize for the interpretation of contemporary music.

For the program of the ARS PRODUKTION recording presented here with works by women composers, pianist Lisa Maria Schachtschneider was inspired by the 200th birthday of Clara Schumann in 2019. In the spirit of equality and diversification, however, she has decided to record the work of a male composer with Robert Schumann's Carnaval Op.9. Lisa Maria Schachtschneider is a concert pianist and piano teacher. She appears regularly with great success in German-speaking countries, but can also look back on international appearances in Canada. In her concerts, Lisa Maria Schachtschneider builds an intensive connection to her audience through exciting background information on the works she has performed and current references to the present day. In order to get as close as possible to the emotional message of the compositions, she deals with historical instruments, performance practice and historical background at the time the works were created.

Tatiana Chernichka writes of her new release: “The 24 Etudes of Frederic Chopin have a special place in the literature for the piano. These concert etudes are among the most difficult and most original of all works for the piano, and no pianist can resist coming to terms with at least several of them. The foundation of my journey as a pianist, as well as to my connection to the 24 etudes, was laid already before my birth. Born into a family of musicians from Novosibirsk, I represent the fifth generation of pianists. My mother, Olga Volchkova, was an outstanding pianist who studied under Heinrich Neuhaus and Yakov Zak at the Moscow Conservatory. Upon graduation, she was appointed to the faculty of the Conservatory in Novosibirsk, where she taught, lived, and became a mother. My mother was the first person in Novosibirsk to perform all 24 etudes in concert. In November 2014, I repeated this with a performance in the same concert hall, thus becoming the second person in my home town to play the etudes in concert. The recording of my [album] coincided with the 70th anniversary of my mother’s birth, and I wish to dedicate this recording to her memory.”

Andre Cheron was an influential musical personality in Paris during the mid-eighteenth century. He worked at the Paris Opera as a harpsichordist and inspecteur de l’orchestre de l’Opera. In this capacity he supervised several premieres of Rameau’s operas and the controversial performance of Pergolesi’s intermezzo La serva padrona. With his 1729 sonata collection, André Cheron (1695-1766) cultivates the “Corelli” notation, which was so highly regarded in the French Régence. Ensemble Matis is made up of young musicians of various nationalities who originally met at the Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya in Barcelona, and ultimately came together to form the current group at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel. Since the ensemble’s inception in the autumn of 2012, they have worked together intensively in formations contingent on the repertoire and have attempted to share and expand upon their experiences in their joint music-making. With Japan, Switzerland, and South Kroea, many different cultures are represented in the ensemble, which enriches and consistently makes the collaboration exciting. The ensemble has specialized in the performance of Baroque chamber music and, as the name “Matis” implies, pays special attention to small details, nuances, and timbres in the music and in ensemble playing. The ensemble’s goal is to bring the music with its wealth of color closer to the audience and to bring to life different expressive values.

With El canto del cisne negro (The Song of the Black Swan) the interprets present a collection of still largely unknown compositions for violoncello and piano from Latin America. The inspiration for the title O canto do cisne negro comes from Heitor Villa-Lobos' extracts from his symphonic poem Naufrágio de Kleônicos. The varied program focuses on the sonatas for violoncello and piano by Manuel Ponce and Constantino Gaito. Otoño in Buenos Aires, a piece for solo violoncello by the Mexican composer José Elizondo, shows the colors and variety of the instrument. Latin American composers such as Poce, Gaito, Villa-Lobos, Nin, and Saglie traveled to Europe to study music and were torn between their admiration for the culture of the old continent and their nostalgia and newfound appreciation of their own cultural roots.

"An excellent master of his craft" (M. Harras). For four decades, bass-baritone Klaus Mertens has been acclaimed by critics in concerts and nearly 200 album recordings as "unearthly radiant" (klassik.com), "wonderfully slender, clearly delineating" (mdr Figaro) and "unchanged fresh and immensely homogeneous" (klassik.com) for his interpretations of music ranging from early to avant-garde. Dmitri Grigoriev was born in 1979 in Leningrad and studied organ and piano after private lessons at the conservatories in St. Petersburg and Kazan, where he completed his studies in 2007 with the state concert exam. The two musicians play music from "three centuries" on this album. Cantor Dmitri Grigoriev and Klaus Mertens deliberately chose a program for this project that, on the one hand, takes into account the diverse colors and possibilities of the so special organ on site, and on the other hand, is able to provide a small but subtle insight into sounds and styles of vocal music over three centuries.

The countless, usually unfounded and sensation-seeking speculations regarding the nature of the relationship between Clara Schumann, the most important female pianist of the 19th century, distinguished composer and ingenious pedagogue, and Johannes Brahms have unfortunately led to the fact that the unique character of this unusual artistic friendship has fallen into oblivion, a friendship that existed for more than 40 years- despite serious burdens- and developed into a mutually inspiring and fruitful spiritual partnership. Sachi Nagaki presents this program of original works and arrangements by Johannes Brahms, which she views as a tribute to his dear friend Clara Schumann. Sachi Nagaki studied piano at the Tokyo University of the Arts and at the Royal College of Music in London. She has won prizes at national and international piano competitions and has taught at various schools and colleges in Japan and Europe.