Marcello: 6 Cello Sonatas

Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838) is still best known for the early period in his career when he studied with Beethoven and then became his secretary; copying scores and handling correspondence for a composer whose relationship with the outside world only became more unpredictable with the onset of deafness. However, Ries (like his master, born in Bonn) fled Vienna in 1807 and thereafter embarked on a well-travelled career - in Paris, then Vienna again, venturing as far as St Petersburg and London, before settling in Frankfurt. Within a prolific output, he wrote 30 separate works scored for a solo flute, almost all of which date from his period in London (1813-24), where he won a reputation as a piano teacher to the well-to-do while producing his own music for London's vibrant concert life. The three Quartets Op.145 for flute, violin, viola and cello were composed in 1814-15 and published in 1826, while the trio of Quartets WoO35 belong to Ries's later period in Germany. Ries dedicated Op.145 to Charles Aders, a wealthy amateur flautist, who likely commissioned him; there is no sign of the composer 'writing down' to accommodate any limitations in his dedicatee's playing, from the poignant and tumultuous emotions that pervade Quartet No.2, and the vibrant spirit of the finales, such as the Allegro all'espagnola of Quartet No.1. As Ginevra Petrucci remarks in her booklet essay, 'Ries masterfully balances diversity of form with captivating expression. The writing's density and variety are remarkable, marked by thematic abundance, rich modulations, rhythmic contrasts, and variations.' This is true even more of the later Quartets WoO35, which were probably written with the flautist Anton Bernhard Furstenau in mind. The expression is notably more refined and Romantic in spirit than the earlier set, sometimes softer-edged, often with more sophisticated dialogue between flute and strings, 'bearing a near-Beethovenian character.' Italian born, Ginevra Petrucci graduated from Stony Brook and Yale. Based in New York, she performs across the US while continuing to return to Europe for projects such as this recording. She is joined here by Trio David, a trio of Italian musicians who came together in 2020 and since then have given concerts across Italy as well as recording the string trios of Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari for Brilliant Classics. - Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838) was born in Bonn and moved to Vienna in 1801, where his life became closely related to that of Ludwig van Beethoven (also a native of Bonn.). Ries studied piano with him, copied his scores and was the interpreter of several new works, notably the premiere of the Third Piano Concerto. Ries also wrote the first biography of Beethoven, an invaluable source of first-hand information. - Ries' style inevitably is modelled on that of his master Beethoven, he was however strong enough to stand on his own. His compositions include symphonies, violin and piano concertos, three operas, and numerous chamber works, reflecting a style that bridges classicism and early romanticism. - Ries' Flute Quartets stand out for their concertante qualities. The flute shines in brilliant passages, while the themes and developments are shared by all four instruments. The expressive individuality of these pieces, with original and consistent dialogue between the protagonists, places them among the best in the genre, after Mozart's works. - Played by Italian flutist Ginevra Petrucci, who already brilliantly recorded chamber works for her instrument by Beethoven (BC 96494), Kuhlau (BC 94769), Briccialdi (BC 95767), Haydn (BC 94620) and Muczynski (BC 95433).

New recordings which have the field almost to themselves in an overlooked corner of Buxtehude's output. 'One of the world's most prolific harpsichordists' (Gramophone), Pieter-Jan Belder now leads this comprehensive and often revelatory survey of the surviving chamber music by Dieterich Buxtehude. Comprising eight musicians active on the Dutch early-music scene, Ensemble Fantasticus presents the only complete set of this music on record, making it an essential acquisition for all Baroque-music enthusiasts, further enhanced by detailed notes on both composer and works by Jon Baxendale. Buxtehude became the Cantor of the Marienkirche in Lubeck in 1668, at the age of 31. This would be his last church post. Bach undertook his famous journey by foot to Lubeck in 1705 - 37 years later - indicating the longevity of Buxtehude's career. His duties required him to focus on writing music for the church, and only latterly did he turn to chamber music (much in the way that Bach did during his last decade). The seven sonatas of Op.1 were published in 1694, and Op.2 appeared two years later; these collections represent the only known examples of his music printed during his lifetime. Buxtehude seems to have regarded the two collections as a unity, which emerges from study of their instrumentation and key structure. Seven might also be significant since it represents the number of notes in the diatonic scale and is also a number steeped in mysticism and symbolism. It also symbolises the humours of the seven planets, which Buxtehude is reputed to have described musically when encountering the astronomical clock at the Marienkirche. Considered together, the 14 sonatas (all scored for one or two solo instruments plus continuo, with strings in mind) open up an unparalleled universe of rhetorical expression that never fails to surprise or move the listener. The collection also includes unpublished pieces which round out our grasp of Buxtehude as an instrumental composer: a further 10 sonatas, not easy to date within the composer's career, but full of striking ideas such as the ground-bass passacaglia underpinning an A minor Trio Sonata. - Dietrich Buxtehude (c.1637-1707) was a Danish-German composer and organist. He is recognized for bridging Renaissance and Baroque musical traditions, influencing composers such as J.S. Bach and George Frideric Handel. - Born in either Helsingborg, Sweden, or Helsingor, Denmark (the exact location remains uncertain), Buxtehude spent much of his career in Lubeck, Germany, where he served as organist at the Marienkirche (St. Mary's Church) from 1668 until his death. - Buxtehude's style blends intricate counterpoint with an expressive, almost improvisational character, making him one of the most significant figures in early Baroque music. - This new recording presents Buxtehude's complete chamber music output, consisting of two books of Sonatas and several miscellaneous Sonatas. The Sonatas are for one or two violins, viola da gamba and harpsichord. - Played by Ensemble Fantasticus, featuring (among others) violinist Rie Kimura and harpsichordist Pieter-Jan Belder.

A unique collection of the instrumental sonatas by Saint-Saens, in recent and critically praised Italian recordings. The perfection of Saint-Saens's craftsmanship and the Gallic grace of his seemingly inexhaustible melodic muse were evident from early on in his career, composing as he did in childhood. No less evident was his faith in traditional forms such as the sonata. The works compiled here were composed over the course of half a century, during which time the world and musical culture evolved radically. Saint-Saens evolved too, but only according to the principles to which he held faith - in tonality, in melodic elegance - throughout his long life and career. In fact the composer was already 37 when he wrote the earliest piece here, the First Cello Sonata, in 1872. It does not seek to emulate the crowd-pleasing brilliance or wit of many of his best-known works but instead plots a dark, dramatic and often Beethovenian course through the conventional three-movement span. Compiling these sonatas in this way helps us to appreciate how, by the time we reach the First Violin Sonata of 1885, Saint-Saens had begun to integrate competing imperatives of intensity and elegance. It is curious that the composer's later violin and cello sonatas have never achieved the popularity of his initial essays. Indeed, these Brilliant Classics recordings almost have the field to themselves in the catalogue. Yet they are surely underestimated, because Saint-Saens had an almost endless capacity for reinvention - as he conclusively demonstrated late in life with three-fifths of a planned project to write five sonatas, all for instruments of the woodwind family. The instruments in these three works are scored for by the deft hand of a composer with a lifetime of experience writing for them in orchestral and chamber music settings.

- An original and highly enjoyable program of works for bassoon and piano by romantic composers: the bassoon sonata Op. 9 by Gustav Schreck (1849-1918), the bassoon sonata by Anton Reicha (1770-1836), the Grande Sonate by Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870) and the brilliant Introduction & Polonaise by Jules Demersseman (1833-1866). - Strongly melodious music of great beauty, a valuable homage to that neglected but highly expressive and versatile wind instrument, the bassoon! - Played by Paolo Carlini, bassoon and Fabrizio Datteri, piano. Paolo Carlini is one of the foremost bassoon players of his generation, he recorded extensively as a soloist for labels Sony Classical, CPO, CHANDOS, Brilliant Classics, Stradivarius, Naxos, Tactus, EMA Records.

Majesty, solemnity and brilliance: Volume 3 of a series dedicated to the works of Giovanni Battista Fasolo (1598-1664), a little-known friar and composer for the church from southern Italy. Individual pieces by Fasolo have featured on a few compilations of sacred music from 17th-century Italy, but until now there has been no comprehensive survey of this overlooked but significant figure. Made at the cathedral of Verona in August 2024, this new 3CD set of his organ masses is the most substantial set of his work ever issued. All the music here was published in 1645, but composed at least a decade earlier, from Fasolo's period of service to various ducal chapels in Naples and Rome. The three Mass settings follow the orthodox form of 'organ masses': each line of the text is sung in Gregorian chant, alternating with new and original instrumental elaborations of those lines on the organ. Thus the weight of musical 'content' falls heavily on the organ part, performed here with both exuberance and sensitivity by Federico del Sordo. The 51 verses composed by Fasolo for this trio of organ Masses cover a spectrum of musical styles. They show how much Fasolo wished to break out of the idioms he had inherited from Renaissance composers such as Frescobaldi, and extend the syntax into Baroque territory. The Masses are complemented on each disc by Fasolo's settings of motets and ancient hymns for the church such as the Te Deum and Pange lingua, all organised according to the same alternatim practice. Alberto Turco and Federico del Sordo have won praise for two previous collections of Fasolo's music on Brilliant Classics. Of their collection of Magnificats and a Salve Regina (95512), the critic in Fanfare wrote: 'The keyboard playing by Federico del Sordo is capable and always lively... I like the brilliant registrations chosen for the organ, which give it considerable resonance. A fine disc, and one that should show that Fasola was no slouch when exercising his craft.' - Giovanni Battista Fasolo (1598-1680) was born in Asti (Italy) and spent his life as a Franciscan Friar in Rome, Naples and finally as Maestro di Cappella at the Cathedral of Monreale, Sicily. He is mainly known for his "Annuale", the largest compendium of organ music for liturgical use written in the 17th century. - Fasolo'sworks exemplify the intricate and expressive qualities of sacred music during the era. Fasolo's contributions to liturgical music, particularly his masses and hymns, reveal his mastery in fusing traditional polyphony with the emerging Baroque idioms. - Fasolo's masses stand out for their balance of solemnity and melodic grace, tailored for the sacred context. Utilizing the contrapuntal style inherited from the Renaissance, he infused these works with a sense of spiritual depth while embracing the clarity and harmonic richness characteristic of the early Baroque. His masses often feature clear textual declamation, ensuring liturgical accessibility. - His hymns similarly demonstrate an affinity for melodic inventiveness and expressive nuance. Fasolo crafted these pieces with attention to the liturgical calendar, providing a musical foundation for communal worship. These compositions are marked by their lyrical beauty and ability to evoke devotion, often employing alternation between chant-like simplicity and more elaborate polyphonic textures. - Performed by the Nova Schola Gregoriana of Verona, conducted by Alberto Turco, and Federico Del Sordo, playing the historic Antegnati organ of the Verona Cathedral. Both musicians have already successfully recorded works by Fasolo, Merulo and Salvatore for Brilliant Classics.

The most comprehensive tribute ever issued on record to the art of the Italian pianist Sergio Fiorentino. Many recordings here newly remastered and receiving their first-ever issue in the digital age. A landmark set for pianophiles. This set has been curated by the collector Ernst Lumpe, who contributes a lengthy appreciation and introduction to the booklet of the set, alongside an essay by Christoph Schluren & Ottavia Maria Maceratini. It was Lumpe who drew the pianist out of retirement during the 1990s, resulting in an 'Indian Summer' of recordings made in Berlin until not long before the pianist's death in 1998. They are reissued here, alongside much less familiar solo and concerto recordings from the 1950s and 60s - 'The Early Recordings' - and separate sections dedicated to Fiorentino's particular, free-wheeling mastery of Chopin and Liszt. Many of the early recordings were made in the UK for the Concert Artist label under the supervision of Willliam Barrington-Coupe, and some of them issued under pseudonyms (though not attributed to his wife Joyce Hatto, at least not at the time). In 1954 he recorded Mozart's Concerto K467 in Naples; the repertoire from those years otherwise focuses on richly sonorous interpretations of German repertoire, from Bach (and Bach/Busoni) onwards, through Beethoven, into fantastically inventive Schumann and Brahms. Around this time too, however, he recorded several major Chopin collections: the Ballades, Etudes, Polonaises, Scherzos and Waltzes. The sources for all these recordings vary between master tapes (occasionally), and more often the best available LP copies, often of releases issued in very limited quantities, and in compromised engineering, but the artistic value of the performances speaks for itself. Lumpe remarks of his as 'a real aristocrat' of the piano and quotes several of his pupils, who recall a musician without ego, demanding and quietly aware of his own abilities but modest and disinclined to self-promotion or fits of artistic temperament. Alongside some revisiting of this repertoire, late in life in Berlin, Fiorentino turned to Russian repertoire: Prokofiev, Scriabin and especially Rachmaninoff, whom he had always venerated as the supreme pianist. If this set bears witness to anything, it is Fiorentino's place in the canon as one of Rachmaninoff's few worthy successors. - "He is the only other pianist", said the legendary Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli of Sergio Fiorentino. How is it that one of the greatest musical geniuses of the 20th century is still so unknown? - Sergio Fiorentino (1927-1998) was a remarkable Italian pianist whose career combined exceptional artistry with a quiet, almost enigmatic presence in the music world. Born in Naples, Fiorentino exhibited prodigious talent from an early age, studying at the prestigious San Pietro a Majella Conservatory under the guidance of Alfredo Casella and Paolo Denza. His early successes included significant competition wins and promising concert debuts, establishing him as a rising star in the mid-20th-century classical music scene. - However, Fiorentino's trajectory took a dramatic turn following a plane crash in 1954, which left him physically and emotionally scarred. While he resumed performing, his public appearances became sporadic, and he withdrew from the international stage. - Fiorentino's recordings, which gained broader recognition later in his life, reveal a pianist of extraordinary depth, technical mastery, and interpretive insight. Known for his affinity for composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, and Rachmaninoff, Fiorentino's playing was marked by it's clarity, emotional intensity, and lack of ostentation. His interpretations were thoughtful, eschewing showmanship in favor of profound musical communication. - In the 1990s, Fiorentino returned to a more active recording schedule, earning belated acclaim as a cult figure among pianophiles. Tragically, his life was cut short in 1998, but his legacy endures through a treasure trove of recordings that continue to inspire listeners, cementing his status as one of the 20th century's most distinctive pianists. - This set brings together the major part of Fiorentino's recordings, spanning from the 1950-ties to the Berlin studio recordings made in the early 1990-ties. Some of the (Live) recordings inevitably show their provenance and technical deficiencies, but everywhere there shines the unbelievable musical force of one of the greatest pianists of the 20-th century.

Transcending the barriers of time, two 20-th century composers dialogue with a genius who lived centuries earlier. An immense painter, sculptor, architect, Michelangelo (1475-1564) wrote poetry expressing turmoil, restlessness, personal and professional anger, written in an energetic and passionate language. Both Dimitri Shostakovich and Benjamin Britten found inspiration in his texts, and by setting them to music they show their own feelings in a highly personal and characteristic way. - This new recording presents the "7 Sonnets Op. 22" by Benjamin Britten, and the Michelangelo Suite Op. 145 by Dimitri Shostakovich, both intensely expressive and dramatic, each in his own unique musical language. - Sung by Mark Milhofer and Mirco Palazzi, Marco Scolastra is their piano partner. Mark Milhofer's recording of the Folk Songs by Britten for Brilliant Classics received many excellent reviews, including a "Recommended Recording of the Month" on Musicweb.

- Jean Langlais (1907-1991) was a French composer and organist famous for his sacred music and his role as organist at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Paris. - He was born on 15 February 1907 in La Fontenelle, Brittany, France. He lost his sight when he was only two years old due to untreated glaucoma. His disability did not prevent him from following his passion for music. He attended the National Institute of the Young Blind in Paris, where he studied piano and organ under Andre Marchal, and later the Paris Conservatoire, where he was a student of Marcel Dupre, Paul Dukas and Charles Tournemire. - In 1931, Langlais began teaching at the National Institute of the Young Blind, a position he held until 1976. His career as an organist took a major turn in 1945 when he was appointed titular organist at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Montmartre, a position he held until 1987. - Langlais was also a prolific composer. His musical output comprises over 250 works, including masses, motets, organ pieces, and chamber music. His compositional style combines elements of Gregorian, Baroque and modernism, characterized by a strong expressiveness and rich harmonic texture. - This new recording presents Langlais' complete works for trumpet and organ, a happy combination of s strongly melodic and a harmonic instrument. Presented are a set of Chorales, a Sonatina and series of small character pieces. - Played by Nicolas Bernard and Tommaso Mazzoletti, playing the Brondino Vegezzi-Bossi organ at St. Paul protestant church in Gland, Switzerland.

An audiophile-grade LP transfer of another hit album of contemporary chillout from the master of piano minimalism, Jeroen van Veen. Perhaps the most influential composer of his generation (certainly among the most successful), electro-acoustic polymath Max Richter defies definition: composer, pianist, producer, remixer, and one of the most prolific of contemporary musical artists. Inspired equally by Bach, punk rock and ambient electronica, Richter has built a unique sonic world, which blends the rigour of a formal classical training with the production wizardry of modern technology. Richter came to fame in the classical sphere with his recomposition of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. He has shown an unerring feel for the chillout vibe which many listeners seek in the contemporary classical genre, resulting in commissions for dozens of television and film soundtracks, ballet scores, and a number of long-form original works, including Sleep, an "eight-hour cradle song" influenced by Mahler. In making this survey of Richter's output on and for the piano, Jeroen van Veen has chosen 18 pieces from Richter's earlier work. His selection includes all of Richter's published music for solo piano, plus Waltz with Bashir: an arrangement by Richter of a Schubert sonata movement, further rearranged for solo piano by Van Veen himself. Each of the pieces is illuminated in the sleeve note with commentary from Richter himself. The aesthetic of Richter's soft melodic swirls is complemented by the medium of LP, which gives a gentle, moody vibe to this recording originally made in 2016. When first released, it received enthusiastic critical recommendations: 'Van Veen knows exactly how to play this music, and I am talking about both his fingers and his head.' (Fanfare) - Max Richter (born in 1966) is one of the most influential composers of his generation. Electro-acoustic polymath Max Richter defies definition: composer, pianist, producer, remixer, and collaborator, and beyond argument one of the most prolific of contemporary musical artists. Inspired equally by Bach, punk rock and ambient electronica, Richter's sonic world blends a formal classical training (he graduated from the Royal Academy of Music, and was a pupil of renowned composer Luciano Berio) with modern technology. - This recording presents Richter's solo piano music up to date. - Dutchman Jeroen van Veen is one of the leading pianists of today focusing on Minimalism and championing a new generation of composers, easily crossing borders between musical styles.

- Coming from a family of musicians, guitarist and composer Bruno Battisti D'Amario (Rome, 1937) received his artistic training at the Conservatorio Musicale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, where he studied under Maestros Benedetto Di Ponio and Mario Gangi. - In 1960, he met Ennio Morricone, who involved him in many collaborations as lead guitarist (classical and electric) in the soundtracks of his films. He also took composition lessons from him, thus creating a solid working relationship that lasted more than 20 years. He has collaborated with composers such as Nino Rota, Armando Trovajoli, Luis Bacalov, Nicola Piovani and others. - D'Amario knows the guitar perfectly, exploring all it's timbres and colours, creating fantastic soundscapes, sophisticated harmonies and flowing melodies. - Guitarist Adriano Sebastiani is a pupil and now close friend of D'Ammario, his playing shows deep knowledge and close affection for the idiom of this wonderfully original music. Riccardo Bini joins him in the works for guitar duo.

- The 20th century saw an immense and revolutionary development in musical styles and language, some radically parting from the fundamental musical traditions. This CD presents works for flute and piano by composers who adhered to their own, personal musical language, expressing only their own feelings of beauty, emotion and esthetics, without following current trends or theories. - Presented are the following composers: Rhene Baton, Francis Poulenc, Albert Roussel, Darius Milhaud, Ernst Krenek, Paul Hoffer, Samuel Barber, Ferenc Farkas, Franco Margola, Giuseppe Mule, Jean Michel Damase, Luciano Michelini: a very diverse selection of accessible, highly enjoyable music. - Gian-Luca Petrucci has been first flute in several of the top orchestras of Italy. He was professor at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome. As a scholar he published monographs on several (Italian) composers: Mercadante, Briccialdi, Gazzelloni, de Lorenzo and Mozart. His previous recordings for Brilliant Classics include works by Frederick The Great (BC 96538), Bohm (96862) and Mercadante (BC 96152).

- This disc presents the first recording of the Canzonettas & Cantatas Op.3 by Giovanni Battista Mazzaferrata (c.1640-1681), an Italian composer and organist from Pavia, the pupil of Tarquinio Merula. He held positions as Maestro di cappella at Vercelli Cathedral and at the Accademia della Morte in Ferrara. - These vocal works are on secular poetry, mostly dealing with Love, expressing both blissful happiness or tormented frustration. - The emotions in the text are expressed by Mazzaferrate through modulations, cadences and an original use of chromatism. - Beautifully sung by the three vocal soloists Carlotta Colombo, Marta Fumagalli and Mauro Borgioni. The Instrumental Ensemble includes trombone, guitar and organ/harpsichord.

A new recording, unique in the catalogue, of the First (and only surviving) book of keyboard works by Charles de Mars (1702-1774). Compared to many other composers of his era, we know a good deal about the life of de Mars (alternatively known as Demars), making it all the more surprising that the present collection represents all the music of his to have come down to us. He was born to a wax merchant in Sezanne, a small town on the border between the French regions of Brie and Champagne. Several of his relatives were musicians, organists in particular, such as his two brothers. Indeed, we can trace more than 12 members of the de Mars/Tourneur dynasty as organists all over France. Again, the curiosity is that none of their compositions have survived, though they would have written music for their posts just as Charles de Mars did. There is a Handelian flavour to the harmony of the four suites in de Mars's volume, which was published in 1735 and therefore could conceivably have been written with awareness of the older composer's Eight Great Suites for harpsichord. Many features of the volume make it a singular body of work in the French harpsichord tradition. de Mars eschews descriptive titles for individual movements, and occasionally prescribes the performer to play with 'notes egales', and therefore specifically not in the inegale style which we associate with French keyboard composers of the day. As a specialist in this field of unfamiliar keyboard repertoire from the 17th and 18th centuries, with an impressive catalogue of Brilliant Classics albums already to his credit, Simone Pierini has explored the life and work of de Mars for himself, and produced an authoritative booklet essay to accompany his new recording of the Pieces de Clavecin. The Fanfare reviewer of his 3CD album of keyboard sonatas by Helene de Montgeroult considered it 'a major addition to the catalogue', noting that Pierini 'plays with tremendous energy and conviction.' - The Pieces de clavecin by Charles de Mars (1707-1774) are written in the rich tradition of French Baroque harpsichord music. A composer largely overshadowed by luminaries like Francois Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau, de Mars nonetheless contributed to the genre with his distinctive style, characterized by elegant ornamentation and a refined sense of harmony. - de Mars's harpsichord works are steeped in the galant aesthetic, bridging the ornate Baroque style with the more expressive and accessible traits of the early Classical period. His music often features dance forms like the allemande, courante, and sarabande, which were central to the French clavecinistes. - One of the hallmarks of his Pieces de clavecin is his innovative use of ornaments, or agrements, which add a shimmering quality to the melodies. These works also reflect de Mars's ability to evoke character and mood, making them miniature portraits of the 18th-century French musical ethos. - Played by Simone Pierini on a harpsichord by Giulio Fratini after M. Mietke, 2014. Born in Rome in 1996, Pierini began studying music at the age of eight. Aged eighteen, he graduated in piano at S. Cecilia Conservatory of Music, Rome, with highest honors. He afterwards grew interest in historically informed piano practice, attending masterclasses led by Alexei Lubimov, Andreas Staier, Tobias Koch, Stefano Fiuzzi. Subsequently, his interest about historical keyboards in general grew further, and he began studying harpsichord and basso continuo with such teachers as Andrea Coen and Giovanni Togni. His recordings with music by Cherubini and the complete piano sonatas by Helene de Montgeroult were very positively received by the press. Classic FM nominated him as one of the 30 best musicians under 30 in 2024.

The renowned French painter Jean Ingres proclaimed Haydn's music to be the alpha and omega: 'Whoever studies music, let his daily bread be Haydn. The first, who created everything, discovered everything, taught everything to the rest!' Hailed as the father of both the symphony and the string quartet, Haydn was both pioneering and prolific. This box is an update of Brilliant Classics' acclaimed Haydn Edition, with an additional 10 CDs of content including classic performances of the Trumpet and Horn concertos (Philharmonia Orchestra) and the Cello Concertos (Jan Vogler). The set of Haydn's Masses is now complete, with renditions of the 'Nelson', 'Creation' and 'Little Organ' Masses and the Heilig- and Theresienmessen by New York's Trinity Church Choir and Rebel Baroque Orchestra. Also new in this edition is Haydn's final opera, L'anima del filosofo, performed by the Bavarian Radio Choir and Munich Radio Orchestra, along with world-famous sopranos Arleen Auger and Emma Kirkby in Haydn's Songs and Cantatas. The Buchberger String Quartet add to their already monumental catalogue of 'Papa' Haydn's quartets with readings of Op.50/4-6, Op.54 and Op.76/4-6, while Federico Guglielmo, Ginevra Petrucci et al. #contribute new recordings of the duos for violin/viola and 2 flutes. Finally, all 8 of Haydn's ingenious Nocturnes grace this updated box, as performed by the Wiener Concert-Verein. As before, the complete keyboard works (including all sonatas) feature here in vibrant performances on fortepianos, the keyboard instrument of Haydn's day. Reissue of the successful Haydn Edition, the only substantial Edition in the market. Extended version, now 160 CD's, with the addition and completion of the Masses, the String Quartets, the Notturni, and the opera L'Anima del Filosofo. Includes Award winning performances by Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra/Adam Fischer, Buchberger Quartet, Emma Kirkby, Frieder Bernius, Bart van Oort, Haydn Trio Vienna, and many more. The greatest celebration of one of the greatest and not yet fully appreciated composers of all time: craftman and genius, creator of a musical world of wonder, surprise, wit and sentiment, forever to be explored and marveled at.