"This is the fourth production on the Sinfonieorchester Basel's in-house label, established in 2012. Renowned American conductor and pianist Dennis Russell Davies has been the orchestra's principal conductor since 2009. Honegger's Second Symphony (‘Symphonie liturgique’), completed in 1941 and premiered by Paul Sacher in 1942, follows the dramatic and emotional symphonic tradition of Beethoven, but in its form and spirit, hues towards the style of Haydn or Mozart."

This new set includes all three Stravinsky ballets recorded by the Sinfonieorchester Basel under the direction of Dennis Russel Davis. The Sinfonieorchester Basel is based in Basel, Switzerland and often accompanies ballet and opera productions at the Theater Basel. They were founded in 1876 and have been going strong to present day. They have received numerous awards including Diapason d'Or in 2004 and 2005 as well as a nomination for the ICMA Music Award in 2015.

The Basel Symphony Orchestra numbers among Switzerland's leading musical ensembles with some 100 highly qualified and highly motivated musicians. For decades it has produced a wide array of highlights under the batons of such conductors as Felix Weingartner, Hans Munch, Moshe Atzmon, Matthias Bamert, Gary Bertini, Pierre Boulez, Armin Jordan, Nello Santi, Mario Venzago and Walter Weller. It's CD recordings of the music of Robert Schumann, Maurice Ravel, Klaus Huber, Luigi Nono and Othmar Schoeck have received great international acclaim and many awards including Germany's Golden Tuning Fork.

This new recording of Stravinsky’s “Petrouchka” by the Sinfornieorchester Basel is the third and final installment in conductor Dennis Russell Davies’ Stravinsky trilogy. In this project, the orchestra has recorded Stravinsky’s three major ballets in a version for orchestra and piano duet. Stravinsky originally planned this composition as a Piano Concerto. After the idea of a ballet from Sergei Diaghilev, Stravinsky rewrote the music about Petrushka, the Russian carnival figure. The piece was first performed at the Theatre du Chatalet in June of 1911. Critics hailed the work as a genius combination of music, dance, and painting. In addition to the orchestral score, Stravinsky wrote a piano version, which has gained increasing popularity. Dennis Russell Davies has been chief conductor of the Sinfonieorchester Basel since 2009. In addition to the Stravinsky trilogy he has led the ensemble in numerous other recordings. He also performs on the piano version on this release, alongside partner Maki Namekawa.

The album by the Sinfonieorchester Basel features the 2nd of Igor Stravinsky's great ballets. After Le Sacre du printemps, the orchestra recorded L'Oiseau de feu. All of the three ballets will be presented in the version for orchestra as well as in the version for piano four hands. Unlike for Sacre and P�trouchka, for L'Oiseau de feu there is no piano arrangement for four hands by Stravinsky himself. Dennis Russell Davies, Principal Conductor of the Sinfonieorchester Basel and pianist has therefore arranged a version for piano four hands - exclusively for this production. The new arrangement is based on the original piano arrangement for two hands by Stravinsky, which is kept in the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel. Dennis Russell Davies has recorded the arrangement together with his wife Maki Namekawa. The piano version opens up new perspectives on the orchestra version of L'Oiseau de feu and underlines the compositional value of Stravinsky's creation.

After completing her training as a concert pianist and gaining her diploma, Vesselina Kasarova went on to study singing at the Music Academy of Sofia. She has since then given concerts and recitals throughout Europe, the USA and Japan. Ivor Bolton is chief conductor of the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, with whom he has appeared annually at the Salzburg Festival since 2000, and on tour (including at the 2006 BBC Proms in London), and with whom he has already built up an extensive discography including a critically successful series of Bruckner Symphony recordings. The Sinfonieorchester Basel, rooted in the nation's northwest, is one of the oldest and most important orchestras in Switzerland. Of Madness and Love features vocal and instrumental works of Hector Berlioz inspired by the words of William Shakespeare.

This CD release continues the Basel Symphony Orchestra’s ongoing Schubert series of all his symphonies. + Designed for a ‘big audience’, Schubert’s symphonies during his lifetime were, at best, only performed in the semi-public rooms of the Seminary and those of the amateur orchestra. + Not until barely a month after his death in 1828 did the first truly representative symphony performance took place – for reasons unknown that of his Symphony No. 6. + The renowned American conductor and pianist Dennis Russell Davies has been principal conductor of the Basel Symphony since 2009.

The Basel Symphony Orchestra (Sinfonie Orchester Basel) is one of Switzerland's major orchestras and appears both in concert and at the opera house. The orchestra numbers among Switzerland's, leading music ensembles and has for decades produced a wide array of highlights under the baton of such conductors as Felix Weingartner, Hans Munch, Mario Venzago and Walter Weller. It's broad repertoire ranges from the Viennese classics to contemporary music. One of the orchestra's wishes came true in the 09/10 season when it's leadership was taken over by American conductor and pianist Dennis Russell Davies.

This is the third production on the in 2012 established in-house label of the Sinfonieorchester Basel.

The music of Stravinsky’s "The Rite of Spring" has come down to us in the form of the orchestral score (which was laid aside amid the turmoil of World War I and only published in 1922) and a piano duet version published shortly before its 1913 premiere. Both versions are presented here side by side. These are not two aesthetically equal realizations of one and the same compositional concepts. Not only was ‘The Rite’ conceived from the outset as an orchestral work; it also owes its overwhelming impact in great measure to the colorful and often deliberately percussive sound of its instrumental forces.

The singer-songwriter, storyteller, author and musician Linard Bardill sings and writes in Swiss German, German and Romansh, for children and adults. The Graubünden native received the German Cabaret Prize and the Salzburg Bull for his music, and the German Record Critics' Prize for his album "Tanz auf den Feldern" and "Caffe Caflisch". Bardill explores musical and thematic boundaries, as on his new production with the Basel Symphony Orchestra. The Basel Symphony Orchestra is one of the oldest and at the same time most innovative orchestras in Switzerland. Its principal conductor since 2009 has been the renowned American conductor and pianist Dennis Russell Davies. Musical Singspiel by Marius Felix Lange and Linard Bardill tells of Carol. She has a thousand wishes. She wants to fly, to breathe under water, to walk through walls. The jester Millistrade promises to grant her all her wishes if she sells him her sleep in return. Soon Carol realizes she can't go back. In the realm of the water king Aquatinta, it comes to a showdown, dream or reality, sleep or awakening.