Classical Music

There is no doubt that Antonio Vivaldi's instrumental compositions are not only one of the most outstanding examples of his time, but their influence on musical history was of the utmost importance. Not only his musical ideas were innovative, the choice of instruments also stands out from the masses of violin concertos of the time, with concertos for mandolin or even for bassoon or oboe. In fact, Vivaldi provided the world with an enormous treasure trove of solo concertos for oboe and bassoon. Due to their exceptional quality, these works have lost none of their appeal- they represent a pinnacle of the solo concerto genre and are considered among Vivaldi’s most influential contributions to the entire repertoire of instrumental music. Oboist Simon Fuchs completed his musical studies under his father, Peter Fuchs, in 1983. He has won numerous prizes, and his recordings of Mozart’s oboe quartets have received outstanding reviews from the international press. He is joined by bassoonist Matthias Racz, who is currently a professor of bassoon at the Zurich University of the Arts.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Antonio Rosetti was born around 1750 in Litomerice, a town in Northern Bohemia, and was originally called Franz Anton Rösler. In 1773 he left this native country and joined the Hofkapelle of Prince von Oettingen-Wallerstein, whom he served for sixteen years. With the retirement of Joseph Reicha in 1785, Rosetti rose to the position of Kapellmeister of Fürstlichen Kapelle and stayed there until 1789, before becoming Kapellmeister to the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1789. Rosetti wrote a great deal of music, including symphonies, concertos and vocal works. He is perhaps best known today for his horn concertos, which Mozart scholar H. C. Robbins Landon suggests may have been a model for Mozart's four horn concerti. Horace Fitzpatrick writes in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians: 'Rosetti's contemporaries ranked him with Haydn and Mozart'. Rosetti is also known for the Requiem (1776) which was played at a memorial service for Mozart in Prague in December 1791 (the work was originally written as Requiem on the death of the Mrs. Krafft-Ernst in Oettingen-Wallerstein in 1776). This recording presents this work as world premiere recording accompanied by smaller sacred works and the symphony Murray A23.

Classical Music

The Augsburg Cathedral Boys' Choir is celebrating Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina as one of the greatest composers in music history with a recording to mark the 500th anniversary of his birth in 2025. The focus is on the eight-part Missa Fratres ego enim accepi, which Palestrina composed as a parody mass of the motet of the same name, which he also penned. What is special about the recording is the use and interplay with instruments, as is documented for polyphonic repertoire in Augsburg in the 16th century, as well as historical pitches.

This CD represents pianist Violina Petrychenko's longstanding efforts to promote Ukrainian music in Europe. The program introduces two composers who represent both poles of Ukrainian musical life - Borys Liatoshynsky from central Ukraine and Vasyl Barvinsky from the west of the country. The recording presents two of the most ambitious Ukrainian piano quintets, which open up different perspectives on one of the most important genres of chamber music, each influenced by unique historical and artistic circumstances.

This CD on the ARS PRODUKTION label features no fewer than eleven world premiere recordings from the pen of the great Belgian violinist and composer Henri Vieuxtemps (1820-1881), presented by five young violinists together with the Vogtland Philharmonic Orchestra under Simon Edelmann. The miniatures were written for personal use in concert, often as a supplement to large concertante forms. Some were published, but always in more easily marketable arrangements for violin and piano, with the violin part sometimes being toned down.

Vers la vie nouvelle - the title of this program - is more than just the name of a piano piece by Nadia Boulanger. It symbolizes a new direction in early 20th-century music: a quiet but determined departure. At it's heart are three female composers who forged their own musical paths against traditional role models and social resistance. Evgenia Nekrasova belongs to a well-known family of musicians in Minsk and graduated from the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory with a diploma. She then went on to study at the Cologne University of Music (graduating with honors).

The program of the CD with the Swiss pianist Gabiz Reichert with works by Schumann, Rachmaninoff and others presents itself as a unity of three parts: Images that convey different facets of the principle of return. They are all inspired by various influences that defy conventional interpretation, as the pianist explains in an accompanying text.

With his concept album PEACE, renowned Austrian violinist and composer Yury Revich (-1991) invites listeners on a journey through the world to explore inner and universal peace through the voices of composers from different backgrounds and cultures. The consistently melodious program also includes compositions by Yury Revich himself: his Impressions - short, connecting pieces of music created especially for this project - as well as two original poems, act as conceptual bridges within the chapters of the album and shape PEACE into a coherent musical narrative. Sensitively interpreted by Yury Revich together with accordionist Basha Slavinska and pianists David Chen and Volodymyr Borodin, the album acquires a special artistic depth and coherence.

Nine works - nine musical microcosms: this CD brings together contemporary monologues for trombone, composed by an international group of renowned composers. Between expressive sound theater, inner dialogues, and ecstatic outbursts, an impressive soundscape unfolds, showcasing the trombone in all it's facets - poetic, radical, virtuosic.

Christus der Erloser concludes Friedrich Schneider's (1786-1853) monumental Christ trilogy. In the 1820s, the Dessau court conductor had planned to depict the life of Jesus in a series of four oratorios - a project he did not complete, but which nevertheless resulted in three complete works: Christ the Child (published in 2022), Christ the Master (published in 2023), and Christ the Redeemer, in which Schneider turns his attention to the Passion of Christ. The work testifies to Schneider's great dramatic sensibility, his deep religious conviction, and his mastery of choir and orchestra.

It was not so much the hunger for self-education and thirst for knowledge about past eras, distant lands and their customs which were the reason for corresponding themes and locations in Romantic opera, but more a type of escapism from the all too mundane and oppressive aspects of everyday life. The overtures in particular provided plenty of space for vivid imagination, as their purpose was to direct the fantasy of the listener in a particular direction without having to focus specifically on the concrete rigidities of the plot as subsequently depicted on the opera stage. The Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen under the direction of Ola Rudner present a selection of lesser known examples of Romantic overtures on this recording.

Classical Music

Florian Glemser demonstrates a particular and profound understanding of the Schumann works performed on this album. The exhilaration, the depression, the obsession, the madness, the tenderness, the belligerence, the resignation, but above all the love and the beauty are all there, delicately and thoughtfully interwoven into the fabric of the performance. This is a powerful interpretation full of color and hidden depths which carries the lsitener on a journey of fascinating exploration into the psyche of the tortured composer. This is a recording of rare insight.

Scandinavian choral music can almost be described as a musical 'trademark' such as Italian opera. If the keyword is used, one has involuntarily certain composer names in mind or even a typical sound in one's ear. The Amadeus Choir under Nicol Matt traces this phenomenon in its recording on Ars Produktion. The high artistic and technical standard of the Amadeus-chor, testified by its interpretations of a cappella choral works and of works for choir and orchestra, in collaboration with famous soloists and orchestras, has allowed it to become one of the most significant amateur choirs of southern Germany.Karl-Friedrich Beringer, who is also conductor of the Windsbacher Knabenchor, created the Amadeus-chor in 1970. Dr. Julian Tolle conducted it from 1994 to 2001. In June 2001, Nicol Matt was appointed new conductor of the ensemble. The choir is comprised of about fifty people from southern and central Germany.

A virtuous classic violinist with a predilection for Eastern European gipsy music; a jazz violinist experienced when it comes to punk rock; an accordionist, master of improvisation, with the rhythms of the Balkans running in his blood, and a bassist who likewise feels at home be it in symphony orchestras, jazz combos, or funk bands.. Founded in 2007, Uwaga! pleasurably steps across any borderline seperating genres. By doing so, their acoustic crossover repertoire reflects the individual focus of each of the four musicians. Yet, these focuses conflated, and over the years, a very unique sound emerged somewhere in between classical music, jazz, gipsy music and modern pop. On this record, the ensemble presents some of Mozart’s works in a groovy, folky and jazzy interpretation, including the Piano Sonata K. 311, the Alla Turca or the Lacrimosa from the Requiem KV 626.

Classical Music

In John Dowland’s both intimate and expressive songs it’s all about ‘speaking harmony’. This is what vocalist David Munderloh and lutenist Julian Behr, in their merging of voice with lute, attempt to impart as they search for the composer’s essence in this album of select songs from this Renaissance master, interspersed with a handful of instrumental lute solos. Currently residing in Basel, Switzerland, American tenor and former Chanticleer member David Munderloh's repertoire includes music of several musical eras, from medieval to 19th c. lieder as well as modern contemporary.

It was Leticia Gomez-Tagle's dream to record two major works of the piano repertoire which she has performed in concert for many years: Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" and Ravel's "Gaspard de la nuit". In order to balance the two dramatic works, two transcriptions of Schubert songs by Franz Liszt were inserted between them.

Donka Angatschewa presents this album of Beethoven’s solo piano works. This recording features Beethoven’s Appassionata, Op. 57, 11 Bagatellen, Op. 119, Sonata, Op. 90, and Rondo a capriccio, Op. 129. Donka Angatcheva debuted with the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra when she was only ten years old. She has won numerous awards at international piano competitions, and frequently performs internationally.

On their latest recording Felicitas Erb, Judith Erb and Doriana Tchakarova present all the duets composed by Fanny Hensel and Felix Mendelssohn. Fanny Hensel’s and Felix Mendelssohn’s parallel journeys as composers began with the two songs they composed for their father’s birthday in 1819. On that occasion, the two siblings created settings of the same text, a situation that occurred several times over the course of their compositional careers. It can be seen as the beginning of their close artistic liaison as well as, possibly, their rivalry as composers. This release sheds a light on the interesting relationship between these two talented composers, and the programme is a fascinating juxtaposition of the two.

On their new recording ,,A late romantic Christmas Eve" the ensemble Le Quatuor Romantique plays the music like it might have been performed in the home of a large, middle-class family around 1900, particularly focusing on the exciting, colourful melodies, breaking pensive moments with cheerful episodes only to question them again, experiencing childlike delight as well as darker thoughts. And as Christmas is also a time for carolling and singing, Quatuor Romantique invited Elena Fink to interpret some of the enchanting as well as the rare Christmas carols which used to be at the heart of the late Romantic repertoire but which are often completely forgotten and disregarded today.