This new release is Daniel Behle’s Ode to his Birthplace. Life is never boring with this musician. He is one of those multitalented German tenors, and is equally at home in the concert hall, at a recital or in the opera house, from the Baroque to the twenty-first century. As a Hamburger born and bred, he loves his home city.l And there are plenty of arias and songs for classical tenors that express that love. This programmatic album puts Daniel Behle’s emotions into perspective, reflecting on a strong affinity with the North of Germany with all the passion a tenor can muster. When asked what how Hamburg sounds to him, Behle responds, “The ideal of freedom, so often sung about, is what makes Hamburg what it is. When you come to Hamburg you get the feeling: The world is at my feet. You take a deep breath and life is good. That’s what Hamburg sounds like.”

Matthias Kirschnereit and the hr-Sinfonieorchester under Michael Sanderling have compiled a compelling, captivating programme of music from the last days of the Classical era, on the cusp of the Romantic. This half-way house in the best possible sense accommodates the compositions of Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Carl Maria von Weber and Felix Mendelssohn. On his latest album, the soloist makes the boldness of this musical venture audible: I was attracted by the fact that these rare jewels were created at a time of change, of new horizons. With over 40 album releases to his credit, the German pianist cannot be praised too highly for his inventiveness and initiative in exploring unfamiliar terrain. It was this spirit of discovery that led him to a fascinating program centered on Hummels Piano Concerto in A minor op. 85, flanked by Webers Konzertstück in F minor op. 79 and Mendelssohns Capriccio brilliant in B minor op. 22: all of them works whose fabric pulses with inner relationships, allusions and cross-references, united too by the fact that they are rarely to be heard on the concert platform. There is so much thrilling music that has fallen from favor. I was looking for a new combination, reflect Matthias Kirschnereit. Michael Sanderling is a conductor he has often worked with, and in this case Sanderling was his first choice: These works, which represent just as great a challenge for the orchestra, require a high degree of precision, virtuosity and elegant musical discourse. The teamwork with Sanderling and the symphony orchestra of Hesse Radio can only be described as an act of providence. This session rounded off the Corona year with an exhilarating highlight. And so may this music, which conjured up the spirit of a new era with defiant optimism two centuries ago, give us too a future to look forward to in our own times.

On her first chamber music album for Berlin Classics, saxophonist Asya Fateyeva looks back to the glory days of her instrument in the Twenties of the last century the sax was the voice of modern salon music and an equal partner to the other instruments of the classical chamber ensemble Even as it enjoyed its heyday dark clouds were gathering on the horizon This is an album that occupies the territory between danceable urban rhythms cultural ostracism and groundbreaking developments in music. “I am totally fascinated by the different ways in which composers use music to talk their own language and express their own world view You almost have the feeling that there must be a few centuries separating them Adolf Busch, Paul Hindemith and Anton Webern treat the saxophone as a sonic medium, virtually as a means to an end Erwin Schulhoff, Kurt Weill and Ernst Krenek employ it essentially to express the zeitgeist and to voice the bitterness the sarcasm and the ambivalent attitude towards life and death that marked the 1920s. Her chamber music partners in crime are Emma Yoon and Florian Donderer on violin Yuko Hara on viola cellist Tanja Tetzlaff, Stepan Simonian at the piano and Shirley Brill playing clarinet. “The great thing about a chamber recording is that it’s very intimate We are all in equilibrium we all play an equal part in the proceedings It’s not as if I do my thing as a soloist and they are my accompaniment Each musician and each personality is very important.”

"The young Israeli clarinetist Sharon Kam has now contributed her own interpretation [of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, on CD] to the heap of other recordings on the market, and her entry is a formidable one. Kam's generous lines, gracious phrasing and purity of timbre in the Adagio make this second movement a tender lullaby worth the price of the disc alone." - Time Out New York

"With Ms. Kam the Clarinet Concerto sings. From the rhapsodic tranquility of the first movement through the sweet, wistful, melancholic flow of the second movement to the energetic playfulness of the finale, Ms. Kam and the Haydn Philharmonic are in complete accord with the material, producing a warm, elegant, refined, and moving interpretation. This performance is in every way the equal of several other notable recordings, like the classic one from Jack Brymer (EMI) or more-recent ones on basset clarinet from Richard Hosford (ASV), Thea King (Hyperion), and Michael Collins (DG). Yes, Ms. Kam more than holds her own."

- John J. Puccio, Classical Vandor

"Sharon Kam and her collaborators take the fast movements at a sprightly clip, which gives them added spunk, of course, but also added contrast to the tenderly expressive slow movements, which are played with utmost beauty and sensitivity. Kam, whose earlier recordings of Classical and Romantic works include prize winners, plays with a beauty of tone that would be the envy of most clarinetists. She also directs the Österreichisch-Ungarische Haydn Philharmonie, known in English-speaking countries as the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra, famous for its complete series of Haydn Symphonies in UHJ Ambisonic on Nimbus. Predictably, the orchestra does the same kind of justice to Mozart, producing a sweet yet full, rich sound that’s the perfect ground for the richer tones of the basset clarinet. Kam’s partners in the Quintet are all solo-quality musicians who also specialize in chamber music, so you hear as much beautiful tone production from them as from the clarinetist...The Berlin Classics engineers provide a nigh-ideal listening experience: the sound is warm, intimate, perfectly balanced. This recording is a winner on all scores."

— Lee Passarella, Audiophile Audition

"Benny Goodman made this coupling famous on record – and he didn’t play the basset, as Sharon Kam does. The Haydn Philharmonie sound a bit period-abrasive, but the clarinet tone is deliciously liquid in the concerti and tenderly intimate in the quintet. As pleasing as any account I have heard in years."

- Norman Lebrecht, La Scena Musicale

Sophie Dervaux’s debut album on Berlin Classics is very much in the French tradition. Together with her French colleague, pianist Sélim Mazari, the bassoonist presents works on this concept album Impressions that are by composers of various eras, including Debussy, Saint-Saëns, Ravel, Fauré and Koechlin. The bassoon – unusually – takes the stage as a soloist and so fulfils the purpose that the Vienna Phil bassoonist had in mind: to present the unique singing sound of the instrument and enrich the world of the bassoon in the process. “A lot of people think of the bassoon as an amusing instrument. But it can be more than just the jolly clown. I wanted to show that it can sound wonderful and sing wonderfully too.” There is no doubt that Dervaux has proved her point on Impressions. Her repertoire brings together familiar and seldom heard pieces, and at times ushers its audience into a dream world. Among those pieces are Debussy’s Clair de Lune and Beau Soir, illustrating the tonal compass of the bassoon. Sophie Dervaux also presents the Sonata for bassoon and piano in G major, op. 168, written by Camille Saint-Saëns, in his old age. Great phrases and lines flow from Dervaux’s instrument in Fauré’s Après un rêve, and a piece she arranged herself, Pièce en forme d’habanera by Ravel, brings out the almost human voice of the instrument. These Impressionists are joined by theorist and composer Charles Koechlin with his Sonata, op.71. Going a step further, Reynaldo Hahn’s A Cloris and Roger Boutry’s Interferénces bridge the gap between old and new and introduce jazz influences. With her new album Impressions, Sophie Dervaux aims to show her audience what is special about the bassoon: its sound, and its virtuosity too.

HANDEL Keyboard Suites, HWV 426–434; 436–441. Chaconne and Variations, HWV 435. Prelude and Chaconne, HWV 442 • Ragna Schirmer (pn) • BERLIN 1645 (3 CDs: 208:25)


It has been said that Bach’s harpsichord music transcends the harpsichord but that Handel’s exploits it. For this reason, I had always resisted the idea that these works could be played successfully on the modern concert grand piano and had consequently avoided any piano recording of Handel’s suites. My resistance began to crumble when the publisher sent me for review a recording of four suites played on the piano by Evgeni Koroliov. I found those performances persuasive and had to admit that Handel’s harpsichord music could be convincingly played on the piano. Now comes this new recording of suites to complete my conversion.


Handel published eight suites in 1720 in response to a pirated publication the previous year of four of his harpsichord suites. In his publication, Handel revised the suites that had been published as well as adding additional movements, combining them with four unpublished suites. A promised follow-up publication did not appear until 1733. This second set contained nine works, seven suites and two one-movement “suites,” each a Chaconne with variations (21 and 62, respectively). Schirmer records all except the latter Chaconne.


By Handel’s time, especially in Germany, the standard suite contained four movements, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, and Gigue, to which other movements might be added. Only three of these 16 suites conform to this arrangement. Most often, Handel omits the Sarabande while adding other movements generally not based on dance forms.


I was not previously acquainted with the artistry of Ragna Schirmer. The notes tell us of her many prizes in competitions, her busy career, and the awards her recordings have won. She lives in Halle, Handel’s birthplace and the site of an annual Handel festival. Her aim in this recording is to realize on the modern piano what Handel wished to express in each movement. She acknowledges the need to be careful not to overwhelm the music with modern piano technique. To these ears, she has succeeded admirably. Her touch is generally light, but she is not afraid to employ the full power of the piano when the music can bear it. Without being too free, she is occasionally playful with rhythms, especially on repeats. Repeats are tastefully decorated; whether simple or elaborate, the decorations never overwhelm the music, and she never indulges in the mistake of recomposing Handel’s melodies (would that we could get singers to follow her example). Schirmer’s technique and the recording acoustic help keep lines clear so that tone is never muddy or messy. Schirmer performs most, but not all, repeats.


The main competition for this recording comes from EMI. Sviatoslav Richter and Andrei Gavrilov perform most of the same works on four discs (priced as two). They omit HWV 434 and 435, substituting instead two later suites, HWV 447 and 452, which were not published until 1793. As interesting as those performances are, I find Schirmer more persuasive. She also has the better recording acoustic. The Russian pianists were recorded live. The sound is harsher, and there are occasional stage noises and coughs.


For those who dislike the sound of the harpsichord, these performances are ideal. While I prefer these works performed on the harpsichord, when I want to hear them on a concert grand, these are the discs I will play.


FANFARE: Ron Salemi

Discover Symphonic Music explores compositions which span across three centuries and a part of the most famous orchestral works, including “New World” Symphony, Ravel’s Bolero, the Peery Gynt Suite, “The Firebird,” and more. The Discover Series from Berlin Classic aims to make classics popular, firing people up about the music presented, regardless of musical taste. Rather than focusing on complete works, this series focuses on individual pieces that have rewritten our musical history.

If a chamber music ensemble can stand together in the same lineup for 25 years, it must be doing something right. The Faure Quartett can be assumed to be doing so: As one of the world's leading piano quartets, the four musicians are at the zenith of chamber music, touring the world's most important venues and breaking down musical boundaries with their recordings. Their Pop Songs album was followed by Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Rachmaninov’s etudes-Tableaux in 2018, which have never been heard so rousingly before. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of its foundation, the quartet turns its attention to a composer who is at the same time both long overdue and right now perfectly fit to be recorded properly: Gabriel Faure. The Faure Quartet has fond memories of these phases of self-exploration and laying the foundations of a piece. The quartet was able to afford the luxury of independent maturity and managed to transform the apparent shortcoming of such a fixed instrumentation into a quality. It is not a trio that treats itself to a pianist, neither is it a string quartet that gives one violin a temporary leave of absence, and nor is it a piano soloist who enhances inherent keyboard timbres by augmenting these with a few extra string players. It remains an ensemble that takes itself seriously in its particularity and benefits from the qualities of four characters who can stand up to each other even over long stretches of time. And it is a team that does not see itself as too superior not to practice the same thing over and over again until a point is reached at which an invisible boundary is crossed, one that leads from mere interpretation to actual embodiment.

With its new album 'Concertos 4 Violins', the specialist ensemble for early music, Concerto Koln, takes a look at the unique repertoire niche of concertos written for four solo violins. 'It must have been a challenge to bring together four solo violins, four virtuosos with four different personalities, four egos.' In this programme, devised by bassoonist Lorenzo Alpert, Concerto Koln gathers together the creme de la creme of baroque violin specialists. The orchestra already maintains a longstanding artistic partnership with each of them: Mayumi Hirasaki, who was concertmaster e.g. for Concerto Koln's most recent recording of Geminiani's works, Shunske Sato, who grew up in the USA and is extensively involved in the Netherlands Bach Society, Evgeny Sviridov from St. Petersburg and the Spaniard Jesús Merino Ruiz. They were all shaped differently by their various cultural backgrounds and pursued different educational paths. This makes the combination of the four all the more compelling. At the same time it demonstrates that any barriers in thought and in musical language can be overcome.

Discover Beethoven includes excerpts from the compositions that sealed Beethoven’s status as one of the greatest composers, such as “Moonlight” Sonata, Ninth Symphony, Fur Elise, and many more.; The Discover Series from Berlin Classic aims to make classics popular, firing people up about the music presented, regardless of musical taste.; Rather than focusing on complete works, this series focuses on individual pieces that have rewritten our musical history.

Discover Italian Classics explores compositions from the nation known as the birthplace of Western Music. Compositions included are from classics like La Traviata, Nabucco, Verdi’s Requiem, Paganini’s Violin Concerto, and more. The Discover Series from Berlin Classics aims to make classics popular, firing people up about the music presented, regardless of musical taste. Rather than focusing on complete works, this series focuses on individual pieces that have rewritten our musical history.

That is quite a coup! Sebastian Manz, ARD Music Competition winner and solo clarinettist of the SWR Symphony Orchestra, sums up the years he has devoted to the clarinet works of Carl Maria von Weber by presenting a complete recording of those works on a double album. Weber's two concertos for clarinet and orchestra, a Concertino, a Grand Duo Concertant, the Silvana Variations and a clarinet quintet represent some of the most important works for clarinet ever written, true masterpieces of the Romantic era. Weber's music also marks a milestone in the musical life of Sebastian Manz. In his youth, he heard a recording of the Second Clarinet Concerto - with jazzman Benny Goodman as soloist - and it was Goodman's energetic playing that convinced the young Sebastian Manz that nothing less than intensive engagement with his instrument would do. Like Goodman, who took a jazz musician's liberties with Weber's work, Sebastian Manz himself enhances the compositions with all the artistic devices at his disposal. In preparing for this recording, he made a close study of the score that belonged to Heinrich Joseph Baermann, the great clarinet virtuoso of his day, who kept up a close friendship with Carl Maria von Weber and was involved in the composition of the clarinet works from start to finish. The consequence was that Baermann prepared his own versions of the works, taken as standard by many clarinettists to this day. Not that Manz ever regarded that as an option! He has developed his own interpretations - resulting in an individual reading full of lightness and artistic invention. The comprehensive uniqueness on all levels of Sebastian Manz's recording has much to do with the circumstances under which it was produced. As solo clarinettist of SWR's Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart. Sebastian Manz was able to bring his own Stuttgart colleagues on board for the recordings - making a team that delves into the technical subtleties of Weber's works while also plumbing their emotional depths.

With "Binary Star", trombonist Peter Steiner and organist Constanze Hochwartner take you on a journey through the infinite expanses of the cosmos. The program of the album unites different composers and spans the musical arc from the late romantic Gustav Mahler to the film music composer John Williams. After the Austrian trombonist presented his album "Sapphire" with Constanze Hochwartner on piano in 2018, the two pull out bigger guns on "Binary Star." These allow them to simultaneously draw on a range of sounds appropriate to the album's theme and dust off the time-honored combination of wind instrument and organ. "This brilliant combination allows us to create a wide variety of timbres and to realize all the musical ideas we have in the best possible way," say Peter Steiner and Constanze Hochwartner. Their program leads once across the galaxy and consists of orchestral literature, which the two arranged and had arranged for their instruments themselves.

The Beethoven year is about to begin and the first contributions by various artists to the anniversary are already being published The focus will be on the evergreens that will attract the attention of the public As a versatile and extremely productive artist, Beethoven has also created a number of works that are virtually unknown today This extensive 9 album edition is dedicated exactly to these works and its tracklisting reads like a sparkling treasure chest Rarely heard arias in various languages, Contredanses, minuets, Ländlers the Piano Concerto No 0 music for a knight's ballet, fun loving and sometimes not entirely youth free canons Over 10 ½ hours full of works by Ludwig van Beethoven, which were written throughout his life and cast a new, unusual glance on his musical oeuvre and his perhaps sometimes not so serious character.

The opportunity to celebrate, in 2020, the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven alongside the 30th anniversary of German reunification is akin to a gift for a label that has been instrumental in preserving the recording heritage of the GDR, offering as it does the opportunity for a retrospective view and assessment of the past. This series with 10 new editions from the archive of ETERNA recordings includes audio productions from the early days of the label as well as later productions from the late 80s. Partly remastered from the original tapes and provided with the original covers, these historic-legendary recordings shine in new glamour. The present volume presents sonatas for piano and violin, performed by Karl Suske and Walter Olbertz.