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.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Exhibitions and symposia on the work of the painter Peter Paul Rubens, which took place in Belgium from 1998 to 2014, were the main reason that led to this recording. The ensemble La Fenice was on a mission to help rediscovering the unjustly forgotten composers, all of them contemporaries of this universal genius, and their works. The relationship between music and painting soon becomes clear.

The Principality of Liechtenstein celebrates it's anniversary - and the Liechtenstein Symphony Orchestra celebrates with a new release in super audio quality! The orchestra's founding anniversaries are only one year and an important zero apart: while in 2018 the orchestra was in it's 30th season, in 2019 the fourth smallest country in Europe - and the sixth smallest in the world - can look back on 300 eventful years. Under the baton of conductor Florian Krumpöck, the Liechtenstein Symphony Orchestra performs the Symphony in D Minor op. 10 "Wallenstein" by the European romantic Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (1839-1901).

The three works selected for this recording by pianist Caspar Frantz – Davidsbündlertänze, op. 6, his first great piano cycle; Nachtstücke, op. 23, and Gesänge der Frühe, op. 123 –are quite dissimilar in some ways and yet closely related in others. • Typical of the arch-Romantics, all have as their inspiration a literary source, and all three differently represent Schumann’s early creative burst and his somewhat ill-considered latterly decline. +Mr. Frantz is an internationally recognized concert and recording artist, with two acclaimed previous recordings for the Ars Produktion label.

The selection of works on this recording is intended to provide no more than a brief introduction to and not a comprehensive overview of this late 20th c. period.The repertoire is too broad and too multi-faceted to be presented here in all its diversity, so the selection was limited to works for ‘normal’ flute, played by the Netherlands-born Mirjam Nastasi, a noted contemporary music specialist and also transverse flautist, who recorded the series’ preceding four volumes.All volumes present a broad spectrum of both well-known and rarely-heard, as well as entertaining and demanding pieces.

"Danae Dörken is one of the most extraordinary young artists I have had the pleasure to meet. Her absolute devotion to music, paired with a breath-taking talent for musical expression and tone color, turns her performance into a truly unique experience..." - Lars Vogt

Despite being only 24 years old, Danae Dörken has already performed in numerous concert halls around the world with the highest calibre of ensembles. This recording is Danae Dörken's third release with ARS Produktion, following the ICMA Award nomination that she received for her second album.

C.P.E. Bach’s Flute Concerto in d, Wq 22 dates from his years in Berlin during the reign of Frederic the Great. + Bach’s music was the immediate starting point for Hans Werner Henze’s conception of musical and aesthetic history as well as for his work as a composer, so for example in his interpretative transcription of one of Bach’s Fantasias. + Mozart is here represented by his Concerto for Flute and Harp, KV 299. + “The young Argentinean flautist Maria Cecilia Muñoz has astounding technique… beauty and refinement of sound…supple opulence and luminous tone.” (Wiener Zeitung, Austria)

The CD "Northern Lights" with violinist Kathrin ten Hagen, violist Itamar Ringel and the Folkwang Kammerorchester under the direction of Johannes Klumpp, presents works of Scandinavian and Baltic composers, in particular composers of the late Romantic and contemporary Modern periods. Featured are compositions by Ole Bull, Peteris Vasks, Kurt Atterberg, Anders Eliasson and Jean Sibelius. Consisting of sixteen youthful musicians, Essen, Germany’s Folkwang Kammerorchester, founded 1958, continues to earn acclaim through its festival performances throughout Europe and beyond.

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

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Matthias Racz, together with the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester (Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra) and their director Johannes Klumpp, presents works for bassoon and orchestra, like the Concerto for bassoon by Jean Francaix, who wanted to write a piece with serious music, but without gravity. He developed a highly distinctive approach based on his knowledge and mastery of past musical styles that secured his stature as a preeminent and highly individual composer.

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

The compositions of Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831) are frequently overlooked in favor of more popular works of the time. The works here are especially appealing as they are written in a very familiar style, but are full of surprises and unexpected turns. This is the second installment in the series of Pleyel’s works. Performing these pieces are violinist Cornelia Loscher, violist Robert Bauerstatter, and the Camerata Pro Musica under the direction of Christian Birnbaum.

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.

It is Vincent Larderet's passion and artistic goal to achieve such musical and pianistic accuracy through a close reading of the annotations in Perlemuter's own edition of Ravel's works. Larderet focuses on two critical aspects of Ravel's musical language: firstly, the composer's engagement with various traditions of virtuosity and secondly, Ravel's specific ideas regarding orchestration and the orchestral character of his piano style.

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Classical Music

Following the triumphant reception of the six ground-breaking London Symphonies Hob. I:93-98 during his first visit to England, Joseph Haydn was at the height of his fame when he embarked on his trip back to Vienna in July 1792. Although he had planned to return to the city on the River Thames within six months, Haydn's second visit to England was delayed for an entire year for unknown reasons. In the meantime, he continued to compose and finished his Symphony No. 99 in Vienna in 1793, although the work did not receive its premiere there. Unlike London or Paris, Vienna did not have an active concert life outside of the world of court music at the time. London's large and capable orchestras did not have their equal in Vienna, and neither did London's music press, which enticed the public with timely announcements and reviews. Bruno Weil and the Cappella Coloniensis inspire also with an enthralling and intelligent play in the third serie.

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