Brahms: Complete Trios

Babadjanian: Violin Sonata, Piano Trio

Schat: de Hemel (The Heavens)

Guerra-Peixe: Violin Sonatas

Baden-Powell: Songbook for Guitar

Piazzolla: La Calle 92

Klara Wurtz Celebration

Legrenzi: Balletti e Correnti

Telemann: Chamber Music with Recorder

Weinberg: Songs

Russian Music for Viola & Piano

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.