An active composer in the former Soviet Union from the 1960s until 1981, Viktor Suslin (1942–2012) also formed the important improvisational ensemble Astrea with fellow composers Sofia Gubaidulina and Vyacheslav Artyomov in 1975. As a composer, Suslin used a wide variety of compositional methods, was content with simple elements as basic compositional material and form-wise retained a balance between classicism and innovation. The première recording of Sofia Gubaidulina’s 2013 So sei es (‘So be it’), subtitled 'in memoriam Viktor Suslin', was composed especially for this disc.

Although highly productive and respected in his lifetime as a Lied composer, Robert Franz (1815–92) has since become a peripheral figure in music history. As they began to explore the songs of Franz, Georges Starobinski and baritone Christian Immler were moved by their findings to devise a program including twenty-three of the composer’s often quite brief songs. Using the poet Heinrich Heine as their guiding star, they present these – all Heine settings but from different opus groups – in the form of two ‘imagined’ song cycles, framed by further settings of Heine poems by Schumann and Liszt.

Already well known to opera audiences worldwide, Swedish soprano Camilla Tilling is also a dedicated and acclaimed recitalist, as noted by reactions in the Sunday Times and Gramophone, among other publications, to her two previous BIS releases with pianist Paul Rivinius that feature songs by Richard Strauss and Franz Schubert. This new, third BIS disc of songs by Edvard Grieg, Jean Sibelius and Wilhelm Stenhammar takes its title from Stenhammar’s I skogen (In the forest), with many of the selected songs either played out in or depicting natural settings, in a manner familiar to Nordic composers.

As individual musicians, Katarina and Svante Henryson have carved out quite extraordinary careers: Katarina touring internationally as a member of the highly successful Swedish vocal ensemble The Real Group, and Svante appearing in the most varied collaborations – on the cello, double bass and electric bass, and as performer, arranger and composer – with musicians as diverse as Elvis Costello, Anne Sofie von Otter, Chico Freeman and Martin Fröst. The duo they form together, on the other hand, has been a more private affair, performing for their relatives at christenings and weddings, at birthdays and funerals. One reason for this has been the fact that they don’t only share a surname, but also two children, and when one of them toured professionally the other would have to be at home. Their duo repertoire has grown from zero to CD at the same pace as their children – and now the time has come to ‘go public’. Representing their own broad musical tastes, the repertoire is as varied as it gets: it is truly ‘High, Low or In Between’, with pop songs by Elton John and George Harrison rubbing shoulders with Prince’s funk hit Kiss, Bill Evans’s jazz classic Waltz for Debby and Tom Jobim’s bossa nova Chega de Saudade. These last two Katarina performs in the versions made immortal by the Swedish jazz singer Monica Zetterlund, while a third song to a Swedish text, Det växer från Edens tider, also displays its Swedish origins proudly through its folk-like idiom. A handful of tracks consist of original material by the performers themselves – Eyes of a Child they wrote together after the birth of their son – including three cello improvisations and Svante’s instrumental piece Green. In these, Svante’s cello – and his very special treatment of it – steals the spotlight, but in fact it plays such a major role throughout the programme that it becomes a third, equal partner of the duo!

Norwegian violinist Peter Herresthal holds a unique dedication to music of modern day. He has become known as an exceptional interpreter of contemporary violin works through his previously released concertos and chamber works. This release combines two previous digital-only releases by Herresthal, featuring the work of composers Henrik Hellstenius and Orjan Matre. The violin concertos featured on this album were written expressly for Peter Herresthal. The Stavanger Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rolf Gupta join Herresthal for this recording.