This album has a fascinating concept. Pianist Lori Sims first performs each work by Debussy on piano, and then Andrew Rathbun, saxophone, and Jeremy Siskind, piano perform each work, directly following the other, in Siskind's more jazz oriented arrangements. Lori Sims received the first prize gold medal at the 1998 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition. Other prizes include first place co-winner of the 1994 Felix Bartholdy-Mendelssohn Competition in Berlin and winner of the 1993 American Pianists' Association Competition with outstanding distinction from the jury. She has performed throughout America, Europe and China, including the Israel Philharmonic, the Utah Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Spokane Chamber Orchestra, the Kalamazoo Symphony and the NordDeutsche-Rundfunks Orchestra. Toronto native Andrew Rathbun is widely esteemed as one of the most creative and accomplished saxophonists, composers and bandleaders of his generation. On tenor and soprano saxophones he has achieved a rare depth of lyricism, authoritative swing and compositional intelligence. Recording steadily as a leader since the late 1990s, he has documented his stirring original music with an array of extraordinary lineups, featuring the talents of such greats as Kenny Wheeler, Billy Hart, George Garzone, Phil Markowitz and Bill Stewart. “Rathbun’s lines dance and glide,” writes David Whiteis of JazzTimes, “reflecting both childlike wonder and well-honed artistry.” Pianist-composer Jeremy Siskind is “a genuine visionary” (Indianapolis Star) who “seems to defy all boundaries” (JazzInk) with music “rich in texture and nuance” (Downbeat). A top finisher in several national and international jazz piano competitions, Siskind is a two-time laureate of the American Pianists Association and the winner of the Nottingham International Jazz Piano Competition. Since making his professional debut juxtaposing Debussy’s Etudes with jazz standards at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, Siskind has established himself as one of the nation’s most innovative and virtuosic modern pianists.

Dance is the new album from pianist Stephen Beus. “Mesmerizing… explosive… intelligent… he belongs on the world stage” (Salt Lake Tribune). In the space of four months, American pianist Stephen Beus won first prize in the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, first place in the Vendome Prize International Competition (Lisbon) and he was awarded the Max I. Allen Fellowship of the American Pianists Association (Indianapolis). As a result of winning the Juilliard School Concerto Competition Mr. Beus made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Juilliard Orchestra and James DePreist, playing Prokofiev Concerto No. 3. He has also performed as guest soloist with the Gulbenkian Symphony (Lisbon), Oxford Philomusica, the Tivoli Symphony (Copenhagen), the Tbilisi National Opera Orchestra, the Northwest Sinfonietta (Seattle), the Royal Philharmonic of Morocco (Casablanca), the Vaasa Symphony Orchestra (Finland) as well as with the Hamburg, Indianapolis, Nashville, Santa Fe, Utah, Fort Worth, Tucson, Yakima, Bellevue, Salt Lake, Eastern Sierra, Corvallis, Jacksonville, Texarkana and Walla Walla Symphonies.

This is the second volume in Centaur's ongoing series of the complete organ works of Charles-Marie Widor, performed by Joby Bell. This installment features the Symphony No. 2 in D, and the Symphony No. 3 in E minor. Since 2004, professor Joby Bell has served on the faculty of the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University, where he teaches organ and church music studies. His church music teaching emphasizes the practical knowledge needed for a solid undergraduate foundation toward successful work and further studies in sacred music. His organ teaching specializes in practice techniques, memorization, service playing, choral accompanying, and maintaining grace under pressure – lessons always best taught by example. Dr. Bell is known for "the breadth of his repertoire, technical virtuosity, and for the personal warmth which shines through in his performances." His acclaimed blog at deals with a comprehensive range of organ-related topics including teaching philosophies, recital preparation, church music, and professional concerns.

Today's quiz: Name a composer/pianist who grasps traditional Classical long forms well, loves his Uncle Bill (Evans that is), knows Copland like the back of his hand, and demonstrates time and again that the propulsive rhythms of Prokofiev are one and the same with Latin Salsa. The answer is Jeffrey Chappell, whose two sonatas surely will satisfy pianists seeking inventive and well-crafted "written-out jazz" that challenges the fingers without demanding the impossible in the manner of, say, Nikolai Kapustin. The brief three-movement Piano Trio captures Keith Jarrett's minimalist funk and ersatz Stephen Foster tune spinning in thumbnail-sketch form, while the six Pop Songs Without Words suggest early-'70s Elton John or late-'60s TV themes with added substance. Chappell plays Chappell with all the virtuosity, conviction, and innate sense of swing these works demand. Very enjoyable stuff.--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Alhambra, an ensemble specializing in the great Judeo-Spanish (Sephardic) musical literature performs a program of music of Love, Courtship, and Holidays. Alhambra was founded by Dr. Isabelle Ganz in 1981. Based in New York, the ensemble has toured Andalusia, the British Isles (including London’s Purcell Room and Almeida Theatre), Quebec, Bogota, performed at the Quincentennial Celebration in Istanbul, The First International Festival of Jewish Art Music in Vilnius, Lithuania, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and at colleges, community centers and folk festivals throughout the U.S. They have appeared in Merkin Hall, Weill Recital Hall, for the World Music Institute, and the Jewish Museum in New York, the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, the Ordway Theater in St. Paul, the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Smith College, Hunter College, and the Eastman School of Music among many other venues. The ensemble won first prize in the Jewish performing arts competition and was a finalist in the concert artists’ guild competition, both held in New York.

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Clarinet virtuoso David Howard performs some of the greatest works for clarinet and piano from the Mid-20th Century.

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This is volume 3 of the complete works for flute by the noted contemporary composer Salvador Brotons. Spanish flutist Roberto Alvarez performs these works with wonderful aplomb. Diversity of styles is a hallmark of Roberto's concerts and recitals. As a matter of fact he feels just as comfortable performing classical, baroque or avant-garde music as well as Celtic, jazz or rock. He has received various international prizes, such as the Diploma of Honor in the Torneo Internazionale di Musica, Concurso Internacional de M�sica "Paper de Musica" de Capellades, the �ngel Mu��z Toca Award and the Ciutat de Manresa Prize. Chamber music and orchestra playing are two of Roberto's passions. He has performed with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Asturias Symphony Orchestra, Oviedo Filarmon�a, Bach-Akademie, the Algarve Orchestra, the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic, working with the most renowned conductors.

Called the ''Van Cliburn of today'' by the BBC, pianist Alexander Kobrin has placed himself at the forefront of today's performing musicians. His prize winning performances have been praised for their brilliant technique, musicality, and emotional engagement with the audience. The New York Times has written that Mr. Kobrin was a ''fastidious guide'' to Schumann's ''otherworldly visions, pointing out hunters, flowers, haunted corners and friendly bowers, all captured in richly characterized vignettes.'' ''This was a performance that will be revered and remembered as a landmark of the regeneration of exceptional classical music in Central New York'' - critic wrote after Mr. Kobrin's performance of Second Piano Concerto by Brahms with the Syracuse Symphony in Syracuse, NY. On this release, Mr. Kobrin performs Mussorgsky's ''Pictures at an Exhibition'' and Tchaikovsky's ''The Seasons, Op. 37bis''.

Wife of Robert Schumann, Clara Wieck Schumann was a great piano virtuoso. She also was a wonderful composer of piano works. Korean-born pianist Junghwa Lee brings these works to life with vital performances. Junghwa Lee performs actively in solo recitals, chamber concerts and lecture recitals, and has frequently appeared in concerto performances as a soloist including those with the Korean Symphony Orchestra, Salina Symphony Orchestra, Hutchinson Symphony Orchestra and Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra among others. Lee has presented solo performances in Korea, Holland, France, Hungary, Romania, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Chile, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, China, the United Kingdom and the United States, including appearances at the Arts Center Concert Series at National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, Shenyang Music Cultural Exchange Exhibition Between China and Foreign Countries Festival in China, Beethoven 32 Sonatas Recital Series in Singapore, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series at the Chicago Cultural Center and her New York debut recital at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall as a winner of Artists International’s Special Presentation Award.

The Apollo Ensemble is like a chameleon. Sometimes a baroque orchestra, other times a duo, trio, or septet. But whatever form it takes, the ensemble’s musicians are always driven by a common passion. They are gripped by the wonder that period music can sound, once again, brand new. The Apollo Ensemble explores and plays repertoire from a period spanning more than two centuries, from about 1600 to 1850. They are well-versed in Baroque, Classical, and Romantic performance practice. Because the size of the ensemble can vary greatly, this repertoire is extremely broad and diverse. Moreover, the variation in occupancy can variation and additional color to concert programs. Where else can you find a symphony and a trio sonata side by side? On this album, three members perform- David Rabinovich, violin, Marion Boshuizen, harpsichord, and Cassiandra Luckhardt, viola da gamba.

On January 5, 2017, Robert Owens passed away in Munich. He left behind a vital legacy of music that is just now being fully discovered. Soprano Jamie Reimer has studied the life and work of Owens extensively, and gave the world premiere of his 4 Sonnets to Eleonora Druse, which are on this album. Soprano Jamie Reimer has performed in opera, oratorio and recital venues around the United States, Italy, Germany, Brazil, and Australia. Her concert appearances include performances of Mozart Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Choral Fantasy, as well as Liszt’s Christus for the American Liszt Society’s international festival. She has performed with Opera Omaha, Omaha Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Lincoln Symphony, Hastings Symphony, and the Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra. She has also appeared in several musical theater roles, including Tessa (The Gondoliers), Rapunzel (Into the Woods), and Martha Jefferson (1776).

Catherine Kautsky is professor of music and chair of keyboard studies at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, and boasts an enviable multi-faceted resume of performing and writing credits. Nearly everything about her recording of Debussy’s 24 Preludes is just right, from the relaxed animation and subtle gradations of tone throughout Danseuses de Delphes to Feux d’artifice’s combination of neo-Lisztian bravura and dry wit. The flickering quality of Voiles’ double notes somehow lightens the static whole-note-scale harmony.

Kautsky ‘s intimately scaled reading of Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l’air du soir brings out the music’s implicit minuet feeling that we don’t hear in heavier interpretations. In Des pas sur la neige, Kautsky not only makes the soft left-hand triplets and expressive right-hand melody timbrally distinct, but her faster than usual tempo also conveys a lighter, more floating ambience than today’s solemn, bleaker norm. Kautsky also communicates the ragged dance qualities of La serenade interrompue, La danse de Puck, Minstrels, and General Lavine–eccentric to perfection, although La puerta del vino moves too fast and impatiently for its habañera rhythms to seduce.

While many pianists make mush out of Brouillards’ middle-register chords, Kautsky clarifies their inner rhythms, although her very capable handling of Book 2 No. 10’s alternating thirds yields to Steven Osborne’s brisker, more shimmering rendition. Her lovely account of La cathedral engloutie observes the unmarked yet implied tempo changes Debussy made in his 1913 Welte-Mignon piano roll recording (as do Osborne and Paul Jacobs, but not, interestingly enough, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli). If the tumultuous Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest lacks Osborne’s super-precise dynamic calibration and surface sheen, the sensitively nuanced Ondine and La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune compensate. The engineering’s warm piano sonority and discreet resonance befits Kautsky’s intelligent and insightful Debussy artistry.

-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

These performances are splendid in every way, and the recording is equally fine. I can't imagine a better introduction to this long-neglected music. - George Chien, Fanfare Magazine.

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Russian pianist Daria Gloukhova is one of the most compelling pianists to have emerged the past several years. This is not the kind of flat Haydn performance that often befalls these works. This is Haydn imbued with fire and passion, but always given with taste and charm.

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