The opulent Second Symphony of Sergei Rachmaninoff in the compelling guise of a piano concerto: the only available recording, now available as a single CD. Rachmaninoff achieved a breakthrough, both for himself and in the genre of the Russian symphony, with the completion of the Second in 1908. This is music of a positively Brucknerian scale and paragraphing which needs space and breadth to unfold and climax. However, the symphony gained popularity through heavily cut performances and recordings, and it was only in 1973, with the recordings conducted by Ormandy and Previn, that the strength of the original, uncut Second revealed itself to new audiences. Rachmaninoff himself was hardly averse to making radical cuts and alterations both to his own music and the scores of his predecessors. Thus Alexander Warenberg followed suit in a long and distinguished Romantic tradition, when he transformed the symphony into a piano concerto. As completed in 2007, and recorded shortly afterwards by these musicians, this concerto can be compared to a cinematic adaptation of a great novel, as Ates Orga remarks in his booklet essay, 'with the main personalities, scenes and action retained, but subsidiary figures, incidents and detail omitted.' Thus the symphony's four movements are ingeniously condensed into the concerto's conventional three, with the central slow movement enclosing both the Symphony's Adagio, with it's unforgettably lugubrious opening clarinet melody, and the scherzo, as an interlude. With the symphonic argument shared between soloist and orchestra, Warenberg achieves a remarkably smooth idiomatic transition between the genres. The performance itself is driven and passionate in the best Rachmaninoff tradition, as the work of musicians entirely at home in the composer's world. Wolfram Schmitt-Leonardy has made many fine recordings for Piano Classics, attracting lavish critical praise. 'Schmitt-Leonardy's collection of the three Chopin piano sonatas is the best single-disc version I have ever heard' (Fanfare). On his album of Schumann, the Etudes symphoniques 'have a formal integrity and sense of connectedness often missing in the hands of lesser artists' (Fanfare).

These first recordings galore on a comprehensive survey of a major 20th-century Ukrainian composer. Born in Kiev in 1925, Igor Shamo studied with the elder statesman of modern Ukrainian art music, Boris Lyatoshinsky. Schumann, Mussorgsky and Rachmaninov were the giants of the past who seized the young Shamo's attention, and traces of their impassioned, lyrically centred idioms may be discerned throughout the early works on CD1 of this new recording such as the Ukrainian Suite, Classical Suite and Shamo's own take on Pictures at an Exhibition in his suite of Pictures by Russian Painters. The second CD is occupied by two more substantial cycles, of 12 Preludes from 1962 and six impressionistic Aquarelles from a decade later - both the appreciation and execution of painting was important to Shamo throughout his life. The final CD gathers up piano pieces throughout Shamo's career, from the Marche fantastique, which so impressed the professors of the Kiev Conservatoire when the composer elected at the last minute to play it for his entrance exam, to three dances composed in 1972 and inspired by the folk culture of nearby Soviet republics, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. A counterpoint to their uncomplicated charms may be found in the three Songs of Friendship from 1954, in which Shamo treats melodies from Poland, Romania and what was then Czechoslovakia. Though jazz and minimalist techniques periodically surface in Shamo's music, it bears the stamp of it's Soviet times in it's generally sunny character and clearly laid-out forms - though the serenity of the Ninth Prelude is answered by the machine-gun-fire Tenth, and Bartok casts a shadow over this music almost as often as Prokofiev. Dmitri Tchesnokov is, like Shamo, a native of Kiev, born in 1982 and long resident in France, where he pursues a career as both composer and pianist, as well as founding a directing a well-established festival of contemporary piano music in Paris. - Igor Shamo (1925-1982) was born in Kiev, Ukraine, where his composition teacher at the national Conservatory was the famous composer Boris Lyatoshinsky. Attached to his home land he declined an invitation to move to Moscow, and he stayed the rest of his life in his native Kiev, where he became a highly respected composer and teacher. - Shamo wrote orchestral works, chamber music, songs and works for film and theatre. His piano works however form the core of his oeuvre. His musical language is tonal and based on classical principles (his favourite composer was J.S. Bach). The melodies have a strong narrative character, the harmonies are based on classical and popular modes, enriched by chromaticism and jazz. All his works are rooted in the rich folklore of his native country Ukraine, the moods alternating between melancholic sadness and gloom and dance-inspired frenzy. - Dimitri Tchesnokov is an excellent pianist and an important composers himself as well. His works are increasingly noted, especially his haunting and mystical choral works. He wrote the extensive liner notes for this set himself, in English and French.

This set is the second instalment of an ambitious project: the recording of the complete codex of Las Huelgas, one of the most important sources of music of the High Middle Ages, an anthology of songs from the 13th century representative of the Ars Antiqua. The manuscript was written in the Cistercian monastery of Santa Maria la Real de Las Huelgas in Burgos, with the authorisation of Alfonso VIII King of Castile. The manuscript contains 45 monophonic pieces (20 sequences, 5 conductus, 10 Benedicamus tropes) and 141 polyphonic compositions. Most of the music dates from the late 13th century, with some music from the first half of the 13th century (Notre Dame repertory), and a few later additions from the first quarter of the 14th century. Many of the pieces are not found in any other manuscripts. This second volume contains two CDs with performances by the Gruppo Vocale Armoniosoincanto and the Gruppo Vocale Garda Trentino. We find two tonally different types of performance: the young voices of Garda Trentino offer a luminosity and rhythmic precision, always expressive and communicative. Armoniosoincanto presents a more reflective and controlled interpretation, strongly linked to the texts. The instrumental ensemble includes medieval harp and portative organ.

Among those composers contemporary to Mozart and Beethoven, Jan Ladislaus Dussek counts as the most original, imaginative and often extreme. His life, as turbulent and eventful as his music, took him across Europe, from Bohemia to Paris to London, winning along the way a reputation as a dazzling keyboard virtuoso at a time when the piano itself was undergoing rapid evolution. His own music, written to exploit that virtuosity but also to appeal to the expanding market among Europe's middle-class for domestic music-making, mirrors the temper of his times - not least in his violin sonatas, which Julia Huber and Miriam Altmann have been documenting in this ground-breaking cycle on Brilliant Classics. Volume 5 of the cycle opens with the Sonatas Op.5 Nos. 1 and 2, which Dussek completed in 1788 and dedicated to the aristocratic French pianist Helene de Montgeroult, who went on to survive the Revolution and become the first female teacher of piano at the Paris Conservatoire. Her own compositions are now belatedly winning justified admiration, and their originality may owe something to Dussek's example. These sonatas do not follow the convention for the time of compliant violin writing as an accompaniment to flashy keyboard fireworks: rather they are composed with the two instruments as equals: a balance which can be appreciated all the more satisfyingly when played, as here, on the instruments of Dussek's own time. While dating from two years later, published in 1790, the Op.12 sonatas are less ambitious in scale: two movements each, and dedicated to one of Dussek's wealthy patrons in London, Maria Cosway. The B-flat major Sonata Op.12 No.2 is particularly appealing with it's variation set on 'God Save the King', which Beethoven would soon treat as the subject for piano variations with similarly shrewd commercial motives in mind. Anyone following the series will be eager to collect the latest volume, but newcomers to the fascinating world of Dussek can start here, secure in the expectation of rich entertainment.

Published in 1739, Johann Sebastian Bach's Dritter Teil der Clavierubung (Third Part of the Keyboard Practice) is one of the most profound monuments of organ literature. Conceived as a theological and musical summa, this cycle of chorale preludes framed by a majestic Prelude and Fugue reflects Bach's deep Lutheran faith and his consummate mastery of counterpoint. Intended 'for amateurs and especially for connoisseurs for the recreation of the spirit,' it invites us into a world where intellect and devotion meet in perfect harmony. This collection is not merely a set of organ pieces-it is a spiritual architecture in sound. Every element, from it's opening tri-thematic Prelude to it's closing five-voice Fugue, is imbued with symbolism, theological meaning, and artistic grandeur. For Bach, music was never just ornament; it was a language of faith, capable of expressing the mysteries of doctrine with clarity and beauty. Bach's models for this work were inspired from two great traditions: Italian Liturgical Collections - Above all, Girolamo Frescobaldi's Fiori Musicali (1635), which provided organ music for the Catholic Mass. Frescobaldi's influence is evident in the structural parallels: preludes before the service, organ verses alternating with chant, and pieces for specific liturgical moments. The other influence is the French Baroque Livres d'Orgue - Especially Nicolas de Grigny's Premier Livre d'Orgue (1699), which Bach copied in his youth, and Francois Couperin's organ masses. These works introduced Bach to the elegance of French ornamentation, the grandeur of the plein jeu, and the expressive possibilities of contrasting registrations. Bach absorbed these influences and reimagined them within the Lutheran framework, creating a cycle that parallels the structure of the Mass but substitutes chorales central to Reformed doctrine. In doing so, he forged a synthesis of Italian rhetorical expressiveness, French coloristic refinement, and German contrapuntal rigor. Played with intense devotion and understanding by Sergio Vartolo. Sergio Vartolo is an Italian organist, harpsichordist, and conductor known for his expertise in early music, especially the works of Baroque composers. Born in Bologna in 1944, he studied organ, composition, and musicology, developing a deep interest in historically informed performance. Vartolo has performed widely across Europe and recorded extensively, bringing renewed attention to lesser-known Italian composers. His interpretations combine scholarly research with expressive musicianship, making him an influential figure in the early music movement.

This program offers a generous and varied selection of arias by three of the greatest composers of the Baroque: Henry Purcell, Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel. Presented are dramatic and moving arias from Handel's Theodora, Jephta and Acis & Galatea, Purcell's King Arthur, Oedipus and Diocletian, and Bach's St. John and St. Matthew Passion. This recording is a vocal showcase of two of the most prominent young vocalists of today: tenor Guy Cutting and baritone Alvar Tiisler. Guy Cutting is recognised internationally for his compelling performances and refined musicianship, with a particular reputation in the music of J.S. Bach. A regular soloist with Collegium Vocale Gent and Philippe Herreweghe, he has performed across Europe's leading concert halls and festivals including La Scala Milan, the BBC Proms, The Philharmonie Berlin, Tonhalle Zurich, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. He has collaborated with many of the world's foremost period conductors such as Philippe Herreweghe, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Maasaki Suzuki, John Butt, Paul McCreesh, Jos van Veldhoven and Marcus Creed. Baritone Alvar Tiisler has performed with orchestras such as the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, the Israeli Chamber Orchestra, the Israel Camerata, the Sinfonietta Riga, the Klaipeda Chamber Orchestra, the Barrocade Ensemble, and the Estonian Sinfonietta. Ensemble Floridante is an Estonian Early Music ensemble founded in Tallinn in 2014. It is anchored by two core members: harpsichordist Saale Fischer and viola da gamba and cello player Villu Vihermae. The ensemble brings together several dozen professional Estonian musicians united by their passion for Early Music.

Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787) was a German composer and virtuoso of the viola da gamba, remembered as one of the last great exponents of the instrument. Born in Kothen, he was the son of Christian Ferdinand Abel, a musician in the court orchestra once directed by J.S. Bach. Abel's early exposure to music within this distinguished environment shaped his refined style and command of counterpoint, while his career later flourished in London, where he became a prominent figure in the city's cultural life. Abel is best known for his partnership with Johann Christian Bach in organizing the famous Bach-Abel Concerts (1765-1781), the first subscription concerts in London, which greatly influenced the city's musical culture. These gatherings introduced audiences to both established and contemporary works, laying foundations for the public concert tradition. Abel's music reflects the elegance and clarity of the galant style, bridging the late Baroque and early Classical periods. His compositions emphasize lyrical melody, balanced phrasing, and transparent textures, qualities that made them appealing to both connoisseurs and amateur performers. This 3CD set offers reissues of successful Brilliant Classics recordings with works by Abel: works for flute and orchestra, a symphony, concertos for harpsichord, viola da gamba and orchestra, trio sonatas and sonatas for viola da gamba and B.C. Performers include Nordic Affect (Georgia Brown), La Spagna Baroque Orchestra (Alejandro Marias) and viola da gamba player Marco Casonato and Massimo Marchese (Theorbo). 'Affectionate explorations of seldom performed pieces by mid-18th century composer' (BBC Music Magazine about Nordic Affect).

V 10: COMPLETE SONATAS, K 428-

GRAN PARTITA

PIANO CONCERTOS 1 & 2

SYMPHONIES, PIANO CONCERTOS, V

A first-ever complete recording for keyboard collections which capture the elegance and cosmopolitan style of Georgian-era English music. Maurice Greene (1696-1755) belongs to the generation that followed Henry Purcell and preceded Handel. Becoming organist of St Paul's Cathedral in 1719, and in 1735 organist and composer to the Chapel Royal, he wrote a good deal of church music which is still in use today: memorably simple but effective anthems such as Thou visitest the earth and Lord, let me know mine end. Much less well known-and most of it previously unrecorded-is Greene's corpus of instrumental music. Published in 1745, his Six Overtures in Seven Parts alternate a slow and solemn French-style overture with fugal allegros and elegant dance movements such as minuets, gavottes, or airs. The original orchestral scores have recently attracted a recording: Fernando de Luca has made his own arrangements for solo harpsichord, following a long-standing practice and retaining the essential exuberance of the overtures while inflecting them with refined dynamic shading. Rarer still are the 15 keyboard "Lessons": Italianate suites which bear witness to a transition from the contrapuntal Baroque style to a more galant idiom, under the influence of Italian exemplars such as Corelli and Geminiani, as well as the seductive charms of French culture which captivated the upper end of Georgian society and culture. William Boyce (1711-1779) studied with Greene and followed in the footsteps of his teacher by attaining the same distinguished posts at St Paul's and the Chapel Royal. Again principally known for his church music, he also wrote a collection of overtures which have retained popularity on the fringes of the catalogue. His Voluntaries for the Organ or Harpsichord (published posthumously in London, c. 1779) represent one of the final great expressions of the genre in their refined counterpoint and graceful harmonies. "Harpsichordist Fernando de Luca does a splendid job," remarked Fanfare magazine in a review of the Brilliant Classics album dedicated to the music of Pierre-Claude Foucquet: one of many comprehensive collections through which de Luca has revived lesser-known composers of the eighteenth century. This volume of Boyce and Greene stands as a notable addition to the library.

Sand and Foam by William Knight uses words from Kahlil Gibran's book of the same name. The book is made up of hundreds of aphorisms, each beautiful and thought provoking. With all my music I try to follow the words of the poet and bring out the natu-ral rhythm and beauty of the text. Each aphorism can be taken by itself and offers the reader or listener a chance to reflect. My compilation of the aphorisms is an observation on the creation and fall of mankind: It presents a warning. However, when the apocalypse comes this is not in a calamitous way, what will come will come. Life and death present the beginning and the end but not apart from each other. After we are gone life will carry on and our footsteps betwixt the sand and the foam will be washed away by the sea. Missa pro defunctis by Victor Kioulaphides. Death is as univer-sally inevitable as it is generally misunderstood. Art and music helps- or does it? Vivid imagery and dramatic sounds capture the heartbreak, the devasta-ting loss felt by those left behind. Yet for the one that actually passes, often little is expressed. The Requiem Mass speaks of the eternal peace, the perfect conclusion, the ethereal serenity that is death. And this is the story this score retells. If the listener is left at peace, the music has succeeded. Het Nederlands Bach Consort shows courage in it's productions and does not shy away from experimentation. Artistic directors Heleen Koele (sop-rano) and Sytse Buwalda (counter-tenor) have both earned their spurs as singers and complement each other well with their different areas of expertise. All this leads to a daring approach based on the old foundation of Bach: "As a consort, we feel the urgency to translate our observations of social trends into an artistic form. In doing so, we always draw on the power of music. Raw, tranquil, abrasive, and comforting. In line with current trends, we commission compositions from established and young compo-sers, such as Victor Kioulaphides, Monique Krus, William Knight, and Lotte Pen. We give the resounding past a foundation in the present... Always accessible, never easy." - "Sand and Foam" by William Knight (b.1987) sets selected aphorisms from Kahlil Gibran to music, inviting reflection on humanity's creation, fall, and the quiet inevitability of the end. - In Knight's vision, life and death are inseparable, and after we are gone the traces of our existence are ultimately washed away "betwixt the sand and the foam." - "Missa pro defunctis" by Victor Kioulaphides (b.1961) retells the Requi-em's promise of eternal peace, aiming to leave the listener with serenity rather than spectacle. - Het Nederlands Bach Consort is known for courageous, experimental Bach-rooted programming that translates social trends into accessible, never-easy performances and commissions from both established and emerging composers.

Anton Rubinstein and Alexander Adolfovich Winkler represent two generations of Russian Romanticism, and their sonatas for viola and piano reveal contrasting yet complementary approaches to chamber music and to the expressive potential of the viola. Anton Rubinstein (1829-1894), one of the founders of the Russian conservatory system and a towering figure as pianist, conductor, and composer, approached chamber music with a distinctly European Romantic sensibility. His Sonata for Viola and Piano is notable for it's lyrical breadth and dramatic contrasts. Rubinstein treats the viola not merely as an accompanying voice but as a fully expressive partner to the piano, exploiting it's warm, dark timbre and vocal qualities. The sonata's sweeping melodies, rich harmonic language, and expansive formal design reflect Rubinstein's admiration for composers such as Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Brahms. At the same time, moments of intense lyricism and emotional weight highlight his belief in music as a direct vehicle for personal expression. Alexander Adolfovich Winkler (1865-1935), a student of Sergei Taneyev and a representative of a later Russian school, brings a more refined and introspective character to his Sonata for Viola and Piano. Winkler's writing is marked by structural clarity, contrapuntal skill, and subtle harmonic color. His sonata emphasizes the viola's expressive nuance, often favoring intimate dialogue between the instruments rather than virtuosic display. The work blends Romantic warmth with Classical balance, revealing Winkler's interest in formal discipline and textural transparency. Luca Sanzò is a pupil of Bruno Giuranna. His concert career has taken him to the world's major concert halls, both as a soloist and in collaboration with leading musicians. He has collaborated as principal viola soloist with various orchestras, including those of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, and the early music orchestra Concerto Italiano. He teaches viola at the Conservatorio di S. Cecilia in Rome. He has recorded for Nuova Era, Bottega Discantica, BMG Ricordi, Opus 111, Tactus, Edi Pan, Stradivarius, Naïve, Chandos, and Naxos. Italian pianist Maurizio Paciariello, schooled by Aldo Ciccolini and Paul Badura-Skoda and prizewinner of the ARD Competition, is a champion of rare repertoire and a specialist on period instruments.

Eugenio Visnoviz (1906-1931) belongs to the poignant group of early twentieth-century composers whose promise was cut short by an untimely death. Born in Italy at a moment of intense cultural transformation, Visnoviz grew up in an environment shaped by the late Romantic legacy and the emerging modernist currents that were redefining European music. Although his surviving output is small, it reveals a composer of striking sensitivity and technical awareness. Written at the age of only 17 by Visnoviz, a fragile and tormented musician whose life would end just eight years later, probably by his own hand, the Sonata contains the seeds of genius. Large in scale, in four movements, permeated with a late Romantic spirit but with stylistic features reminiscent of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and especially Brahms (with some harmonic exploration, a legacy of the post-war period), the Sonata presents a language that is both lyrical and dramatic. The program pairs the Sonata, with it's vast proportions, with the light piano aphorisms of the Klavierstücke. Despite his pianistic expertise, Visnoviz the composer did not leave any large-scale works for his instrument, preferring to focus on it's intimate and lyrical dimension. He condenses musical ideas into concise gestures, exploring contrasting moods, textures, and colors. The pieces frequently juxtapose delicate, introspective passages with more rhythmically driven or harmonically bold sections. This new recording is a labor of love by the two musicians Valentina Danelon (violin) and Cristina Santin (piano), who, during their study time, discovered Visnoviz's works in the Visnoviz Collection held by the Tartini Conservatory in Trieste.

Outside Italy-perhaps beyond the shores of his native Sicily-the name of Eliodoro Sollima (1926-2000) has not traveled widely, beyond the accomplishments of his five musical children, and in particular the cellist Giovanni Sollima. On a previous Brilliant Classics album (96287) from 2022, Giovanni paid a touching tribute to his father's memory with a collection of chamber music. "This album is a winner!" reported Fanfare magazine, and noted how the "compositional style of this substantial and serious composer developed significantly" between 1945 and 1995. This new album of Eliodoro Sollima's orchestral music covers a similar period, between the Aria for cello and strings (1945) and Attesa (1997). Attesa ("Waiting") is the most substantial piece on the album, scored for the unusual combination of piano, horns, strings, and percussion: a powerful seven-movement suite inspired by the suffering of a man given the death penalty in the US state of Virginia and executed in 1997. Sollima worked within a tonal framework to evoke, in his words, "the frantic sequence of images, memories and emotions that torment the last hours of a condemned man's life." The pianist and musicologist Anna Maria Sollima (sister to Giovanni) supplies insightful annotations, which trace the course of Eliodoro's life and career through the works recorded here. World premieres on record include the early Ouverture da camera (1948/50) and Rondò burlesco (1951) for piano and orchestra, carried forward by strong, cinematically flavored melodies. From 1968, the Concerto per archi (Concerto for strings) is another work with a political subtext, inspired by the shock arising from the assassination of Bobby Kennedy. But Sollima always stayed true to his Sicilian roots and continued to translate the idioms of local folk music in his own contemporary style: a commitment exemplified by Nenia e recitativo, a concertante piece for cello and strings. Seekers of 20th-century tonal voices will find in Eliodoro Sollima a distinctive and compelling personality, to which these performers do full justice.

Franco Margola (1908-1992) occupies a distinctive place in twentieth-century Italian music as a composer who combined modern clarity with a deep respect for classical balance and lyric expression. Born in Brescia, Margola was trained within the Italian conservatory tradition and soon developed a style often associated with neoclassicism: transparent textures, well-defined forms, and an elegant restraint that avoided both romantic excess and radical avant-garde experimentation. Throughout his career he wrote extensively for chamber ensembles, voice, and solo instruments, consistently favoring intimate musical dialogue and refined craftsmanship. Among his most important contributions to the guitar repertoire are the five Sonatas for guitar, composed over several decades. These works reflect Margola's close engagement with the instrument's idiomatic possibilities while maintaining a strong structural rigor. Rather than treating the guitar merely as a vehicle for virtuosic display, Margola emphasizes musical architecture, motivic development, and subtle harmonic color. Each sonata presents a different perspective on form and expression, yet all share a characteristic clarity of line and balance between melody and accompaniment. Stylistically, the guitar sonatas draw on classical models-especially the sonata principle and dance-like movements-while incorporating twentieth-century harmonic language, including modal inflections and gently dissonant sonorities. Rhythmic vitality and contrapuntal writing are frequent features, demanding both technical control and musical sensitivity from the performer. At the same time, Margola's lyrical impulse remains central: slow movements often unfold in long, singing phrases that highlight the guitar's natural warmth and expressive resonance. Played by Valerio Celentano, who graduated in classical guitar with honors from the Conservatory of Music "Giuseppe Martucci" in Salerno under the guidance of Antonio Grande. He has participated in several masterclasses with famous guitarists such as Alirio Díaz, Pavel Steidl, David Russell, Jyrki Myllärinen, Mario Gangi, and Carlo Marchione. He studied for several years with Oscar Ghiglia and Frédéric Zigante. He won prizes in many international music competitions. For Brilliant Classics, he recorded guitar works by Georges Migot.

When Baroque Meets Folk Energy In 'folk baroque', the music of Georg Philipp Telemann encounters the vibrant dance traditions of central Europe. The program grew out of a collaboration between recorder virtuoso Erik Bosgraaf and the Italian ensemble filoBarocco during the Gottingen International Handel Festival, initiated within the European support programme EEEMERGING+. At the heart of the project lies the fascinating Rostock Manuscript, a historical source long associated with Telemann's fascination with Central European folk traditions. For Bosgraaf and filoBarocco, the manuscript offers the perfect point of departure for exploring the meeting ground between Baroque repertoire and living folk music traditions. The ensemble shares a deep enthusiasm not only for historical performance practice but also for music that retains the energy, spontaneity, and expressive freedom of traditional dance music. Telemann himself was renowned for his openness to musical influences from across Europe. During his travels he encountered Polish and Hanna folk traditions that left a lasting impression on him. In his autobiographical writings, he vividly describes the impact of this music: it's rhythmic vitality, it's improvisatory spirit, and it's powerful melodic expression. These qualities fascinated him and found their way, sometimes subtly, sometimes quite directly, into his own compositions. Yet reconstructing the sound world of the eighteenth century presents a unique challenge. Unlike music from the twentieth or twenty-first centuries, there are no recordings to tell us exactly how this repertoire once sounded. Historically informed performance with this repertoire therefore requires re-composition. Musicians must piece together clues from written scores, historical treatises, instrument research, and contemporary descriptions. On the recording 'folk baroque' the musicians expand this process further by drawing inspiration from living folk traditions. Many rhythmic patterns, ornamentations, and expressive gestures that appear in Baroque music still survive today in Central European dance music. These traditions offer valuable insights into how such musical gestures might function in performance. The goal is not to recreate a supposedly "authentic" past because that would be inherently impossible, but to create a musical interpretation that feels convincing, vibrant, and alive for modern listeners inspired by the timeless melodies of the Rostock Manuscript. For this reason, the program includes elements of improvisation and experimental playing techniques. While this approach may initially seem unusual in a Baroque context, it reflects the spirit of exploration that shaped the music of Telemann's own time. The musical notation in the Rostock Manuscript often provides only a framework rather than a fully fixed sound image. It invites performers to engage creatively with the material and rediscover it's inherent energy. The result is a concert experience that feels both historical and contemporary. The music is rooted in eighteenth-century sources, yet interpreted by musicians who are equally at home in the traditions of early music and in modern sonic experimentation. Ultimately, what connects this repertoire with today's audience is emotion. Instruments and styles may change over time, but the fundamental human passions expressed through music remain the same: joy, melancholy, longing, passion, and the irresistible urge to dance. When listeners begin to grasp the expressive language behind these works, the music suddenly feels remarkably immediate. It ceases to be merely a historical artefact and becomes a living experience, almost as if a sleeping frog had been awakened with a kiss

Bartolomeo Campagnoli (1751-1827) was a violinist by training, who worked in the courts and capitals of Baroque-era Europe, with posts in Rome, Dresden, and then (from 1797 to 1818) in Leipzig, where he was leader of the venerable Gewandhaus Orchestra. He learned his trade with famous Italian musicians Tartini and Nardini. Campagnoli claimed for himself "the German learnedness with Italian soul", and his works abound in lyrical melodies set into the firm musical structures of the First Viennese School. This 3-CD set presents string quartets, flute quartets, and duos for flute & violin, highly attractive works in prevailing light and lyrical mood. Performed in historically informed performance practice by the Ensemble Symposium, the Ensemble Il Demetrio, and Stefano Parrino (flute) and Francesco Parrino (violin). Recordings were previously issued separately on Brilliant Classics, here receiving a new lease of life as a 3-CD set.

SYMPHONIES NOS. 40 & 41

Italian composer and guitarist Angelo Gilardino has been at the forefront of contemporary classical guitar music for over 40 years. His legacy is fittingly recognized by Cristiano Porqueddu, himself already firmly established as one of Italy's leading guitarists, who pays tribute to the composer with this integral release of Gilardino's works. Recorded in chronological order, starting with compositions from the mid 1960s and ending with works written just a few years ago, Porqueddu delves in to the astonishing variety of music Gilardino has produced. From the 'dreamy' works of his early period - including Estrellas para Estarellas, Abreuana and Trepidazione per Thebit - a more formal style began to take hold from the 1980s, with the composer writing his first series of 12 studies (Studi di virtuosità e di trascendenza) in 1981. He followed up this success by adding another 48 to the collection, and since the 2000s the 60 Studies have become a central part of Gilardino's oeuvre, having entered the concert programs of several prominent guitarists. Constantly striving to create a new type of dialogue between the guitar and accompanying instruments, Gilardino composed his first concerto for guitar and orchestra in 1996, sealing his reputation as an accomplished orchestral composer with an additional 16 concertos thereafter. During the 2000s, Gilardino returned to writing for the solo guitar, skillfully bridging the divide between atonal chromatic and diatonic modal music. Gilardino's compositions are inspired by music from all areas and epochs; from Mozart, Ravel and Messiaen to Scottish folk tunes and the beauty of the Mediterranean, there are few elements that are not represented in some shape or form in the composer's works. Porqueddu studied under Gilardino at the 'Lorenzo Perosi' Academy in Biella, and under the composer's guidance his compositions have won him international plaudits in his own right. Angelo Gilardino is one of the most important guitar composers of the last half century. His unique style is a blend of the old and new, folk art and contemporary music, from Mozart to Messiaen, all his works are illuminated by a warm and Mediterranean glow, a feeling of humanity and love for life. Included are all the works he wrote for guitar solo & guitar and orchestra. Included are his famous 60 Trancendental Studies. The set includes many world premieres. No better advocate and interpreter could be wished than guitarist Cristiano Porqueddu, a lifelong pupil and friend of the composer, sharing the same musical passions. Recorded in Nuoro, Italy, in 2012-15. Includes world premiere recordings. Contains extensive notes written by the composer especially for this release.

The violin sonatas of Joaquin Turina have in recent years attracted the attention of violinists looking for attractive Spanish repertoire beyond Sarasate, but this complete survey is unrivalled on disc. The real discovery for many listeners will be Turina’s Op.28, El Poema de una sanluqueña (Poem of a Sanlúcar Girl). This 20-minute, four-movement fantasy was written in 1923 and inspired by a cruel remark overheard by the composer: ‘Sanlúcar girls don’t marry and Sanlúcar boys marry outsiders’ – Sanlúcar being a coastal city just north of Cadiz. Turina’s idea was to immerse himself in the hopes and dreams of such a young woman. The movement titles - ‘In front of the mirror’ – ‘The Song of the Moon’ – ‘Hallucinations’ – ‘The Rosary in the Church’ – hint at the varied expressive and musical worlds, including oblique references to Andalucian folksong as well as highly impressionistic evocations that owe not a little to Ravel and Debussy. The Variaciones Clásicas of 1932 show another, more formally rigorous side to Turina’s craft as a composer, though the theme itself is no less imbued with a Romantic, yearning quality through its transformation as a Cuban folksong, a seguidilla and finally a dashing zapateado. The last two pieces of the collection appear as occasional pieces that are included in broader cycles. Euterpe is part of an ambitious work that seeks to represent the coming of the Greek muses to Spain, each of the them being represented by a different scoring: this is written in the lively tempo of a Sevillan dance. Finally, with Homenage a Navarra, Turina elegantly acknowledges the heritage of Sarasate in a short work based on his compatriot’s melodies.

A MusicWeb International Recording of the Month

This set of discs is quite interesting: it brings together two French composers from the first half of the 18th century who are little known. That is to say: Jean-Baptiste Barrière is fairly well known, but almost exclusively as a pioneer of the cello in France. It is remarkable that the two collections which Luca Quintavalle has recorded were published at about the same time, but are stylistically very different.

Barrière was from Bordeaux and worked in Paris in 1730 as Musicien ordinaire de notre Académie Royale de Musique. In 1733 he was granted a privilege to publish sonatas and other instrumental works. He studied for some time in Italy, but there are different opinions on exactly when he was there. It is not that relevant from a musical point of view, because right from the start the Italian influence in his compositions is clearly discernible. His first two books with six sonatas each were printed in Paris in 1733 and 1735 respectively; these were followed in 1739 and 1740 by the third and fourth book. These collections show an increase in technical complexity and the last two books attest to Barrière's full embracing of the Italian style.

In 1739 he also published a book - as Livre V - for the pardessus de viole, the descant viol. It comprises six sonatas, the first five of which were also included in the book of harpsichord music which was published in the same year. These are not merely transcriptions but reworkings for a completely different instrument, including additional ornamentation, elaboration and idiomatic runs. These sonatas follow the Corellian trio sonata model: they comprise four movements in the order slow - fast - slow - fast. Barrière added a sixth sonata in three movements: andante - largetto (sic) - aria amoroso.

Their Italian character not only comes to the fore in the use of the form of the sonata. In fact, Barrière was the first French composer to write sonatas for keyboard. A further Italian trait is that the movements have exclusively Italian titles: adagio, allegro, andante, grave, largo, aria. The only dance included here is a sarabanda in the Sonata No. 2 in D. However, the most important token of Italian influence is the music itself. There are Neapolitan influences, but also references to the music of Vivaldi and Domenico Scarlatti. Some movements are quite dramatic; one of the most notable examples is the adagio which opens the Sonata No. 4 in G.

Barrière's harpsichord sonatas have little to do with tradition. Only one part of the Sonates et pièces can be connected to the French harpsichord school. The six pièces are character pieces as we know them from the oeuvre of, for instance, François Couperin. However, stylistically they are much closer to such pieces by the likes of Forqueray and especially his contemporary Joseph Nicolas Pancrace Royer (1705 - 1755). In the preface to his Premier Livre de pièces pour clavecin of 1746 Royer stated that "[the] pieces are open to great variety, passing from the tender to the lively, from the simple to the tumultuous, often successively within the same piece". That is the case with Barrière's character pieces as well; some indeed can be counted among the 'tumultuous', such as La Casamajor.

It is remarkable that the harpsichord pieces of the younger Bernard de Bury are more conservative than Barrière's. Much more than in the pieces by the latter we notice François Couperin's influence. His Premier livre de pièces de clavecin which dates from around 1736 includes several pieces whose titles are identical or almost identical with titles in the four harpsichord books of Couperin.

Bury came from a musical family; his father was ordinaire de la musique du roi. He spent his entire life and career in Versailles. He took several positions at the court; as maître de chapelle he succeeded his teacher Colin de Blamont, to whom he dedicated his harpsichord book. In 1785 he was ennobled by Louis XVI, five months before his death. In addition to his harpsichord works he composed music for the stage which found a positive reception.

Despite some Italian traits in his harpsichord music - just like in Couperin's ordres - his keyboard music is very French. The book comprises four suites of different lengths which include almost exclusively character pieces. The only exception is the loure in the 3e Suite in G. The chaconne which closes the 4e Suite in E and the entire collection, is one of the most telling tokens of this book's being part of the French tradition: hardly an opera was written without a chaconne and virtually every suite for keyboard or for an instrumental ensemble included a chaconne. There is no watershed between dances and character pieces: several of the latter were written in the form of a dance, or perhaps we should say that dances were given titles to indicate an extra-musical meaning. In the 1e Suite in A, for instance, we find a sarabande with the title Les Regrets. A form which Bury frequently uses is the rondeau, which was becoming increasingly popular in France around the mid-18th century.

Bury's harpsichord works have been recorded before, but are hardly known; they also seldom appear on programmes of recitals. As far as I know only a couple of pieces from Barrière's collection are available on disc; this is probably the first complete recording. I find that rather surprising, considering their quality and their historical importance. That makes this set a significant addition to the discography. This repertoire is served very well by Luca Quintavalle who delivers energetic and stylish performances. The brilliance of Barrières pieces and the different features of Bury's harpsichord works is convincingly conveyed. He plays a splendid instrument: a copy of a harpsichord by Pierre Donzelague of 1711. The miking is just right: it reveals enough details without losing the overall picture.

There is just one issue I need to mention. There is too little space between the pieces: the first movement of a sonata or a suite follows the last movement of the previous work almost attacca. That is an unlucky negligence on the side of the production team.

Considering the importance of the repertoire and the quality of music and interpretation this production deserves the label of Recording of the Month.

– MusicWeb International (Johan van Veen)

Mahler based the second movement of his Seventh Symphony on The Night Watch by Rembrandt, but the painter himself depicted few musicians and no acquaintances with musicians are known. His most famous musical contemporary was the keyboardist and composer Sweelinck, whose setting of Psalm 1 is presented here in a consort-style recording alongside three keyboard works played on harpsichord and organ. This collection also highlights much more unfamiliar names to illustrate the rich musical culture of the Low Countries at the time of the painter’s flourishing. There are vivid sacred madrigals by Herman Hollanders; stylish pavans by Cornelis Schuyt; a transcribed, extensive Salve Regina for organ by Pieter Cornet; a song for solo recorder by the lutenist Jacob van Eyck, Doen Daphne d’Over schoone Maegt; solo-vocal motets by the poet and diplomat Constantijn Huygens, who did in fact know Rembrandt; and much, much more. All the works and composers, however unfamiliar, are elucidated in an invaluable booklet essay. The organ recordings were made in the Oude Kerk of Amsterdam which played a significant role in Rembrandt’s life (and became the resting place of his wife, Saskia), on the church’s transept organ, which has been newly restored to the meantone temperament which the composers on this album would have known and written for. Full sung texts are also included in this invaluable and unrivalled collection.

Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt is widely acclaimed for his 'Canto Ostinato', one of the most iconic works of Minimal Music. His 'Incantatie IV' is written for 3 pianos, and consists of a complex of 15 layers, whose shifting in both duration, colour and tempo is left to the decision of the performers, thus creating a hybrid between composition and improvisation. According to pianist Jeroen van Veen performing this work is like "looking at the sea: all the time there are changes in color, radiance, and momentum, never an exact repetition". Performed by Jeroen and Sandra van Veen and Tamara Rumiantsev, champions of Ten Holt's music, having performed his music in various environments, such as a train station, a shopping mall (and of course the concert hall...).