Brilliant Classics have celebrated the 150th Anniversary of Reger’s birth last year by expanding their Reger Collection of a decade ago from 11 to 18 CDs. Added to the original set, which presented Reger’s best known works – the glorious orchestral Böcklin Suite, the Mozart, Beethoven and Hiller Variations, the mighty piano and violin concertos, the beautiful clarinet quintet (not in the least inferior to Brahms’ masterpiece), the complete Chorale Fantasias for organ (Reger, an organist himself, wrote extensively and superbly for his instrument) and a fine selection of choral music – is a new set of chamber music including the Piano Trio, Flute-Violin-Viola Serenades, Clarinet–Piano Sonatas and other works, and Reger’s compositions for solo viola and for solo cello. The transparency of the chamber music genre particularly highlights the composer’s absolute mastery of counterpoint. Also new is an expanded keyboard section, with more works for the organ – so associated with Reger – including the Sonatas and Fantasy–Fugues, and a new solo piano CD recorded in 2023 by Eden Walker featuring Dreams by the Fireside and the Bach Variations and Fugue.

Mignone: Doze Valsas

Carcassi: 6 Fantasies for Guitar

Czerny: Complete Organ Music

Lemare: Organ Transcriptions

17th Century Courts of Northern-Italy Music for Violin & Organ

Monteverdi: Messa a quatro voci, Messa in illo tempore

Stravinsky, Poulenc, Satie & Septets: 3x7

Taneyev: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 4

Van Bree, Rontgen & Coenen: Dutch Chamber Music

Francesco Molino (1768-1847) was born into a family of violinists in Ivrea, near Turin. There, and for a time in Genoa as well, he made a career as a virtuoso violinist himself, until at the age of 50, he moved permanently to Paris. Once in the French capital, Molino began a new phase of his musical career, which coincided with a significant increase in the number of works he published - almost all of which were dedicated to the guitar, both as a solo instrument and as part of chamber formations. Molino made a significant impact on the Parisian musical world, as is demonstrated by the huge success of the first edition of his Nouvelle Methode pour la Guitare, which had some 400 subscribers both in France and in other European countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland and Italy). Over the years Molino revised and added to the methos, and various editions of it were published in a number of languages, with a Spanish version even reaching Mexico and Havana. The works presented in this recording were all published as 'sonatas' by Molino, who explicitly stated that they were intended for performance by solo guitar. He uses three main structural types for these sonatas. The first has a romance as a first movement, followed by a rondo (Sonatas Op.1 No.1, Op.15 No.2 and Op.51). The second begins with a short maestoso introduction that is characterised by initial chords and octaves in succession, evoking the orchestral colour of certain operatic overtures. This movement ends with an interrupted cadence and is followed by a theme with variations, before a final rondo (Sonatas Op.1 No.2, Op.15 No.1 and No.3). The third type begins with an allegro first movement in sonata form (in bipartite 18th-century style, featuring two distinct themes with a tonic-dominant relationship) that is followed immediately by a final rondo (Sonatas Op.1 No.3, Op.6 No.1 and No.2). All the sonatas reflect Molino's evident mastery of the art of composition as well as a certain freedom in his approach to musical form. These elements, combined with a refined use of harmony and a deep understanding of the instrument, give the composer a highly personal stylistic language and make Molino one of the most interesting figures in the guitar repertoire of the 19th century. Other information: - Recorded June and October, Rome, Italy - Booklet in English contains liner notes by the artist, along with his biography - Claudio Giuliani plays a guitar by Antonio Mari�n Montero (Granada, 1995) strung with D'Addario Pro Arte EJ46 strings - Francesco Molino (1768-1847) was an Italian guitarist, composer, and violinist, born in Ivrea near Turin, Italy. At the age of fifteen, in 1783, he enrolled in the band of the Piedmont Regiment as an oboist, a post which he resigned in 1793. He dedicated himself to the guitar and built an impressive international career. Later he settled in Paris where he became a famous teacher. - This new recording presents the complete Sonatas for Guitar, characterized by their classical elegance and intricate melodic lines, reflecting the stylistic influences of his contemporaries such as Mauro Giuliani and Fernando Sor. - Molino's sonatas often feature a balanced structure, typically adhering to the classical sonata form with multiple movements including allegro, adagio, and rondo sections. The highly accomplished writing features rapid arpeggios, delicate harmonics, and dynamic contrasts. They form a challenge to the performer but a delight to the audience. - Brilliantly played by Claudio Giuliani, whose previous recordings for Brilliant Classics include works by Diabelli (BC 94614) and Cimarosa (BC 94172).

Rome to Vilnius is a new investigative insight into the cultural heritage of Lithuania: the music at he Vasa Court in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It reflects the influence of the greatest masters of the Roman polyphonic school in the musical world of Poland and Lithuania and shows the Vasa Court as a place of advanced music-making in 16th- and 17th-century Europe. At the end of the 16th century, during the time of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Sigismund III Vasa was the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. Each year he spent a few months in Vilnius, and it was reported that he always travelled with his musicians. Sigismund III, who was himself a musician and a lover of music, was not happy with the standard of the music in the Royal Chapel, and decided to invite Italian musicians to improve the musical life of his court. Italy was the main influence in music in Europe at that time, not only because of the different styles that originated there (polyphony, poly-choral music, monody, opera, etc), but also because of the achievements of the composers who wrote in these styles. We can distinguish clearly two main schools of music in Italy: the Venetian school, created by Adrian Willaert, with the new poly-choral style that was performed in the Basilica of San Marco; and the polyphonic Roman school of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, one of the most influential musicians of the 16th century, and one of the great masters of the art of polyphony of all time. Sigismund III decided to hire the best musicians from Rome, and from 1595 to 1649 all the Kapellmeisters at the Vasa Court in Poland and Lithuania were Italians. Most of them were not only prominent members of the Roman school, but also former pupils of Palestrina. The composers represented on this recording were among them, with the exception of Giovanni Battista Cocciola, who was kapellmeister at the Vilnius court under Lew Sapieha. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Vilnius court was presided over by Lew Sapieha (Leonas Sapiega), Sigismund III Vasa's crown chancellor (the highest official in the country after the King himself). Sapieha was an expert in music and was entrusted with the position of administrator of the Royal Chapel. He had his own chapel attached to his residence in Vilnius. The 'Sapieha' album is a compilation of pieces with a sacral function. It does not mention the compiler or the composers but is a testimony to the vitality of the musical culture in Lithuania in the first half of the 17th century. Other information: - Recorded October 2023, Vilnius - Booklet in English contains liner notes by the director, as well as his biography and one of the ensemble. - Rome to Vilnius is a new investigative insight into the cultural heritage of Lithuania: the music at the Vasa Court in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It reflects the influence of the greatest masters of the Roman polyphonic school in the musical world of Poland and Lithuania, and shows the Vasa Court as a place of advanced music-making in 16th and 17th-century Europe. At the end of the 16th century, during the time of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Sigismund III was the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. Sigismund III, who was himself a musician and a lover of music, was not happy with the standard of the music in the Royal Chapel, and he decided to invite Italian musicians to improve the musical life of his court. He hired the best musicians from Rome, and from 1595 to 1649 all the Kapellmeisters at the Vasa Court in Poland and Lithuania were Italians. Most of them were not only prominent members of the Roman school, but also former pupils of Palestrina. - The composers presented on this new recording include Palestrina (presumably 1525-1594), Merula (1595-1665), Marenzio (1553 or 1554-1599), Cato (after 1560 until after 1618), Pacelli (ca. 1570- 1623), Anerio (1560-1614), Cocciola (2nd half 16th century until after 1625) and Pekiel after 1600 until ca. 1670). - Beautiful performances by Lithuanian soloists, including Renata Dubinskaite (mezzo-soprano), whose previous recording for Brilliant Classics with works by Barbara Strozzi (BC 96436) received 5 star reviews in the international press. The instrumental group includes cornetto, sackbut and organ.

With this latest volume in their ongoing cycle, recorded in 2023, the Quartetto Nous passes the halfway mark of Shostakovich's 15 quartets. The previous instalments have been recognised and praised for their full-blooded intensity and uncompromising address to the detail of these absorbing scores. The present album returns almost to the start of Shostakovich's quartet cycle, with a piece which he claimed (perhaps as a joke) he had originally written as his Second Quartet, before adding a piano part to make it a Piano Quintet with which he could tour and earn much-needed income. At any rate, the Piano Quintet took shape in 1940 and soon became one of his most popular pieces of chamber music: less radical in form and harmony than most of his quartet writing, more extrovert in mood, and more approachable. The Second Quartet proper was composed in 1944, soon after the Leningrad Symphony which had won the composer international celebrity. Yet the two works exemplify the contrast in style between Shostakovich's 'public' and 'private' works. The Waltz of the Second Quartet is one of the most extraordinary examples of his ability to transform instrumental writing into a kind of nightmare factory. Having begun in a determined A major, the Quartet closes in a much more equivocal minor. The Fourth Quartet of 1949 likewise sets out in an almost folksy D major, working in elements of Yiddish melodies, and it's skies gradually cloud over during the four movements, until the sadness of the second movement and the vitality of the third fuse to produce the violent, wailing and screaming tones of a danse macabre in the complex finale. By the time of the Sixth Quartet, written in 1955, Shostakovich had become a practised exponent of double-edged rhetoric, of music which wears a happy face while twisting it's hands in anxiety or even agony. The serene light of G major bathes the initial Allegretto, but there are signs of grief, perhaps occasioned by the recent death of his wife Nina, scattered throughout the composition. The Quartetto Nous (from the Greek: intellect, mind, but also inspiration, creative capacity), has established itself among the most interesting musical Italian ensembles of it's generation, giving captivating interpretations in which the Italian tradition of string-playing merges with other significant European schools such as the Musik Akademie in Basel (where they studied with Rainer Schmidt of the Hagen Quartett), and the Accademia Chigiana in Siena (Gunter Pichler of the Alban Berg Quartett). Winner, among other awards, of the Farulli Prize in the Abbiati competition, the most prestigious award of Italian music criticism, the Quartetto Nous demonstrate their individual approach to music spanning the quartet repertoire, and in ambitious contexts such as playing from memory and totally in the dark. - The new installment of the complete String Quartets by Shostakovich played by Quartetto Nous brings together the quartets 2, 4 and 6, as well as the impressive and moving piano quintet. - Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) is without doubt one of the most famous and influential composers of 20th century Russia. He lived in a time of Soviet repression and, though outwardly a loyal communist, he resented the restrictions imposed by the regime on his creativity. This led to a fascinating duality between conformism and the expression of his most innermost feelings, fears and anger. - Shostakovich's 15 String Quartets form an impressive body which follows the development of his style throughout his life. They are the testimony of a tortured soul struggling to remain true to himself, expressed in anguish and bleakness, but also in serenity and bliss. - Quartetto Nous, formed in 2011, has established itself in a short time as one of the most interesting chamber music ensembles of it's generation. It's immersive performances are the result of a professional training where the Italian tradition and the most influential European schools are combined. The quartet studied with the Quartetto di Cremona at the Accademia Walter Stauffer in Cremona, at the Basel Musik Akademie with Rainer Schmidt (Hagen Quartet), at the Escuela Superior de M�sica 'Reina Sofia' in Madrid and at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena with Gunter Pichler (Alban Berg Quartet) and at the Lubeck Musikhochschule with Heime Muller (Artemis Quartet). - The first volume of the Shostakovich Quartets by Quartetto Nous for Brilliant Classics was hailed enthusiastically by the press. Musicweb writes:" This is one of the best as it left me in awe of the breadth as well as the intensity of Shostakovich's genius, RECORDING OF THE MONTH".

Giovanni Battista Viotti composed 29 violin concertos, three sinfonie concertanti, a cello concerto, countless quartets, at least 20 trios for two violins and cello and an impressive array of violin duos, four of the latter recorded here. Described in contemporary reports as a generous and highly charismatic musician driven by idealistic zeal, he is now universally recognised as one of the greatest violinists of all time. In hindsight, it is clear that he and his vast oeuvre occupied a key historical position. He appeared at a pivotal moment between the end of the ancien regime and the start of the modern era: a period when, in social terms, music began to escape the courts and entertain the growing middle classes, laying the foundations for modern concert-going and the figure of the freelance musician. A period when various national traditions, both in terms of instruments and compositions, began to meet and influence each other with unprecedented dynamism, and when the formal rigour of Classicism gave way to the pathos of Romanticism. Viotti was at the heart of this time of dramatic change: the standard-bearer for a centuries-old Italian violin school that included Arcangelo Corelli, Antonio Vivaldi, Pietro Locatelli, Giuseppe Tartini and Viotti's teacher Gaetano Pugnani. He took this esteemed group's technical achievements away from the Baroque and Galant style into a new era, with the arrival of Niccol� Paganini just around the corner. He was admired by Mozart, inspired the virtuosity of Paganini's concertos, was central because of his years lived in London to the evolution of British musical life, and must surely be considered the most significant figure in the entire French violin school. Later violin giants Pierre Rode, Rodolphe Kreutzer and Pierre Baillot were all strongly influenced by his work Viotti's renowned cantabile style is echoed in the violin writing of both Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms and is amply represented in the four violin duos on this album. Other information: - Recorded November 2022, Cagliari, Italy - Booklet in English contains liner notes by Carlo Goldstein - Gianmaria Melis plays a 1745 Sanctus Seraphin; Fabrizio Falasca plays a 1727 J. Guarneri - The Italian liner notes are available for download at www. Brilliantclassics. com - Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755-1824) received his musical education from Gaetano Pugnani. He served for a short time at the Savoy Court in Turin but soon he spread his wings and travelled to Paris, where he was an instant success as a supreme violin virtuoso. He served for a time at the court of Versailles before he founded an opera house in Paris (The�tre de Monsieur). The French revolution urged him to go abroad and he settled in London, where he featured in the Hanover Square concert series and was active as a concert organizer and impresario, as well as one of the founders of the Philharmonic Society of London. - Viotti was an influential violin player and teacher. He composed violin concertos, string quartets, and other chamber music for strings. Based on the principles of the Viennese Classics it hints at more romantic feelings of times to come. - This new recording presents the duos for 2 violins, music of great charm, rich in melodies and brilliantly written for both instruments, which are fully equal to each other. - Played by Fabrizio Falasca and Gianmaria Melis, playing a 1727 Guerneri and a 1745 Sanctus Seraphin violin.

There are many reasons to consider Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787) one of history's most unique musicians. He was a gambist, a player of an instrument long associated with an aristocracy that was then at the height of it's decadence. But today he would be labelled "avantgarde" as one who embraced the newest musical styles and indeed genres, playing a key role in the development of the symphony. This album opens with the Symphony in C from his Opus 10 set of six symphonies. Featuring an instrumentation of two oboes, two horns, two violins, viola and basso, the score has all the hallmarks of the era's symphonic music. Abel's only vocal work of note is the aria "Frena le belle" which he contributed to the pastiche opera Sifare. So inspiring is the music, it is regrettable that Abel did not find greater repute in the vocal repertoire. Abel's updated catalogue (AbelWV, publ. Gunter von Zadow, 2023) includes 420 works, of which 29 are concertos for solo instruments. These follow the typical pattern, with three movements (first and third played fast in the home key, the second more slowly in a separate albeit related key) starting and ending in orchestral ritornellos, which are also interposed between each solo. That notwithstanding, the Flute Concerto in E minor has a very particular structure consisting of three movements all in minor keys. The viola section was reconstructed by Wolfgang Kostujak. The Harpsichord Concerto in D Guntersberg, 2022) derives from a manuscript produced by two unidentified copyists. This score, bearing an Italian title without reference to the pianoforte, suggests it was composed while Abel was still in Germany. Of the numerous concertos Abel himself performed as solo gambist during his life in London, tragically, none remain. The two on this album (Guntersberg) therefore merit some explanation. The Concerto in A comes to us from an unfinished manuscript by an unknown copyist, with no mention of the work's composer, but a comprehensive analysis of the music has led Thomas Fritzsch to attribute it to Abel. Kostujak has reconstructed the parts for first and second violins, viola, and a few passages for basso. The Concerto in G is none other than the Cello Concerto in B flat, in turn the same as the Flute Concerto in C. Such repurposing of works is not exceptional in Abel's catalogue, and a detailed analysis provides ample evidence that this was intended for viola da gamba in the original version. Other information: - Booklet in English contains liner notes by the director, Alejandro Marias, and profiles of the soloists and the ensemble - The Spanish liner notes are available for download at www. Brilliantclassics. com