Here is a totally original disc with a song repertoire seldom if ever recorded. Accompanied by two specialists playing on period instruments (fortepiano and guitar), the tenor Markus Miesenberg delivers a programme of proto-romantic love songs from Vienna. Besides the remarkable musicological research that lies at the basis of this project, the quality of the performance is linked to the genuine and spontaneous approach of the musicians.

A stunning debut by 24 years old Chinese pianist Yang Yang Cai. For her first disc she carefully selected six very diversified works by Liszt, in order to convey all her pianistic qualities: prowess and virtuosity, but also philosophical insight and colouristic finesse. Her craftsmanship, musicality and fine taste are perfectly in balance.

Another exceptional debut on Challenge Classics: 28 years old Latvian pianist Georg Kjurdian presents a throroughly mature recital of music by the Three Great B’s. It is really noteworthy the way these over-recorded pieces by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms sound fresh and new under the fingers of Kjurdian His pianism is characterized by a deep knowledge and understanding of the works, a flawless technique, a genuinly natural phrasing, a gift for the melody, an impressive sound power and a subtle capacity of conveying the score nuances.

After Trio 258 record (CC 72920) with the immense Second Piano Trio, here is Challenge Classics second tribute to Rachmaninov, celebrating his 150th Anniversary. Young cellist Ella van Poucke offers the monumental Cello Sonata, two very early short pieces and the First Piano Trio. As a bonus, she adds a piece dedicated to her by Ukrainian composer Maxim Shalygin. This is the much awaited follow-up to Ella’s Schumann debut (CC 72871), that was acclaimed by the worldwide press. Gramophone: "this is an impressive album from a soloists whose performances I look forward to hearing more of in the future."

Renowned Russian cellist Marina Tarasova makes her debut on Challenge Classics. Her disc is centred on two great Sonatas: Kabalevsky’s (composed in 1962) and Shebalin’s (composed in 1960). In between, Prokofiev’s Concertino works as a lyrical intermezzo. Kabalevsky’s Sonata is probably the most beautiful Russian 20th Century work for cello and piano. Shebalin’s Sonata is a world premiere recording and a work of remarkable architectural complexity. In such repertoire few living cellists can compete with Tarasova’s textual and spiritual insight.

Challenge Classics celebrates the Rachmaninov anniversary (150 years from his birth) with two noteworthy releases. The first one is a stunning debut recording by a young piano trio with strong, original and much thought-out ideas. Their account of Rachmaninov gigantic Second Piano Trio takes the listener back to the ‘period’ playing of the composer’s contemporaries. Not only – and not just – gut strings, but: more liberty and agility in tempo, rhythm and phrasing, in the quest for the ‘human voice’, which was the romantic basic principle of interpretation. This philological venture is anything but a cold ‘case study’. Just listen and get seduced by the warmth and passion of the music and its performance.

George Frideric Handel made a name for himself as a brilliant organist and harpsichordist early on in his career. As a young man, he travelled from Germany to Italy in 1707. We do not know exactly how much or what Handel composed for harpsichord while in Italy, but we know more starting from the time he settled in England. Handel composed all sorts of works for harpsichord in England, In November 1720, he published the Suites de Piecespour le Clavecin, now known as the Eight Great Suites, his most important work for harpsichord. The spectacular Eight Great Suites show Handel the harpsichordist at his best.

The suites are made up not only of newly composed movements, but also of improved versions of pieces he had written before and of harpsichord arrangements of his own compositions for other instruments. One theme central to interpreting Handel’s works for harpsichord (and the rest of his œuvre, for that matter) is what to do with the dotted rhythms. In Handel’s music, we regularly see a theme appearing in different rhythmic variants – sometimes dotted, sometimes not, or only partially, dotted. The question, therefore, is whether to perform these rhythms uniformly throughout the piece or to play them as they were written out in each instance by the composer. I have in large part chosen the latter.

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, although considered an isolated phenomenon, transformed Amsterdam into the center of interest for keyboard music. Today, Sweelinck is considered not only one of the most famous organists, but also one of the leading composers of his time and the last great master of Dutch and Flemish polyphony. His work is not conceivable without Venetian and, most importantly, English models. Even though he was not widely travelled, Sweelinck remained amazingly well informed throughout his life. Despite his fame and importance, not a single work for keyboard instruments survives in an autograph source, not even in a copy authorized by the composer. His keyboard works have survived in some thirty scattered and not always reliable manuscripts.

This body of work is far from complete, and the copies mostly date from after the composer’s death. It is thanks to Sweelinck’s pedagogical activity and his numerous students, that the compositions have survived at all. Among Sweelinck’s pieces for keyboard instruments, the variations cycles form a significant group. They include variations on chorale melodies, melodies from the Genevan Psalter, Lutheran songs, as well as on secular models. The latter, however, are undoubtedly the most delightful pieces Sweelinck ever composed, for they reveal the composer’s lighter, sometimes humorous side. It seems that Sweelinck composed most of the keyboard works in the last two decades of his life. This is evidenced by a mature style, compositional perfection, and unity.

Alfred Schnittke and Arvo Pärt have both called the Ukrainian Valentyn Silvestrov "one of the greatest composers of our time”. He is also one of its true originals; though a leading figure in the former Soviet Union’s avant-garde in the 1960s, he subsequently came to realize that "the most important lesson of the avant-garde was to be free of all preconceived ideas – particularly those of the avant-garde. Over time, Silvestrov’s compositional practice evolved into what he would come to call his “metaphorical style” or “meta-music”. The composer wishes his works to be seen as “codas” to musical history: “I do not write new music. My music is a response to and an echo of what already exists.”Valentyn Silvestrov: Music is still song, even if one cannot literally sing it: it is not a philosophy, not a world-view. It is, above all, a chant, a song theworld sings about itself, it is the musical testimony to life.

Daniel Rowland: I do not know of another composer who writes with this degree of intimacy - his timeless melodies, often barely a whisper, are consoling, haunting, full of nostalgia and mystery.

Borys Fedorov: To escape from the oppressive bustle, to immerse yourself in the magical world of silence, like a highly sensitive antenna picking up the subtlest vibrations of the universe, which immediately resonate in the soul, giving renewal and enlightenment. Such unique possibilities are opened up in music by Valentyn Silvestrov, a great artist and a great humanist! Playing his music requires a special filigree and jewel-like precision, as well as spirituality and freedom...

The present release is the third and final instalment in Foyle/Štšura’s complete recording of Beethoven’s Piano and Violin Sonatas. The sonatas on the first two albums were emblematic of Beethoven’s early and middle periods, showcasing the composer’s command of the Classicalidiom. The last two sonatas push the boundaries of the genre even further, resulting in artistic efforts of increased emotional intensity, cyclical scope, and lyrical intimacy. They are also considered among the most dramatic and challenging works in the duo repertoire. An early review of Sonata no. 9 in the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung was rude: ‘The addition to the title ‘scritta in uno stile molto concertante, quasicome d’un concerto’ appears eccentric, presumptuous and ostentatious’. However, to modern audiences this ‘like a concerto’ element that describes the equality and democratic dialogue between the two instruments is now integral to our understanding of the notion of chamber music and in this, Beethoven was a trailblazer. According to the great violinist Carl Flesch, ‘a flower must blossom in the souls’ of those performing Beethoven’s Sonata for Piano and Violin in G major Op. 96. The work dates from 1812, a full decade after previous six sonatas, and in its sublime beauty and pathos represents the transformation in Beethoven’s later works from the heroic, defiant drama immortalized in works like the ‘Kreutzer’ to something far more searching and spiritual, rather akin to his late quartets.

Amandus Ivanschiz was baptized Matthias Leopold Ivanschiz on 24 December 1727 in the Austrian city of Wiener Neustadt. As early as 1742, at the age of fifteen, Matthias decided to join the Pauline Order and took the name Amandus. On 25 December 1743 Amandus took his vows and was then sent to Maria Trost and Wiener Neustadt to study for the priesthood. The extensive oeuvre of this master, who only lived to the age of 31, is astonishing. In total, more than 300 copies of his works can be found in Central and Eastern Europe. His modern style and great compositional mastery probably explain the wide dissemination of his music. Ivanschiz might therefore also have served as a model in the development of the young Mozart. Amadeus’ first visit to the monastery is documented on 12 September 1767, after which we know he returned at least another three times.

After Bach's Goldberg Variations, which won him worldwide honors (including a Diapason d'Or from France's Diapason Magazine), Hannes Minnaar challenges and confronts what has become a 'classic' of the 20th century repertoire: Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues, composed in 1951. Here again, the qualities of his pianism, for which he is recognized as one of the leading musicians of our time, come under the spotlight: the diversity of touch and the suppleness between tension and tranquility to characterize every Prelude and Fugue, the precision of tone, the lack of any affectation, a natural finesse in phrasing and articulation, and a familiarity with the score going hand in hand with a freshness that conjures a sense of improvisation. Here we encounter a new landmark in the crowded field of interpretations of this wonderful music.

Fourth and final volume in de Vriend’s survey of Schubert’s symphonies. It includes symphonies no. 5 (composed in 1816) and no. 6 (1817). They represent an important step towards the composer’s maturity. As a fill-up you will find the Overture in D in the Italian style, a ‘Rossinian’ piece. de Vriend’s complete edition of Schubert’s symphonies has so far received a widespread acclaim from international press.

BBC Music Magazine on CC 72863 (Symphony no. 9): the feeling is of musical values leading at every point. Fanfare on CC 72802 (Symphonies no. 1,3,8): the performances, with their odd combination of delicacy, decisiveness and drive, really work. Pizzicato on CC 72739 (Symphonies nos. 2,4): with fluid, agile and vivid performances, de Vriend takes a promising start into a new complete cycle of Schubert’s symphonies.

The present release by baritone Sergio Foresti on Challenge Classics. The second where he is accompanied by the remarkable Abchordis Ensemble, conducted by Andrrea Buccarella. This recording is devoted to the arias composed by Nicola Porpora, probably the greatest of the Neapolitan composers as much as the voice is concerned. A selection of arias of different moods and characters that ceaselessly tantalize and intrigue the listener. A disc you can listen to with constant pleasure and commitment from start to end, thanks also to the orchestral accompaniment (and overtures) and the impeccable recording and production.

Schreker is well known for his operas and wrote the libretto and composed his opera "Der Schatzgräber" after the great success of "Der ferne Klang" (1912) and "Die Gezeichneten" (1918). "Der Schatzgräber", questioning the value of materialism versus love, was to prove particularly powerful in post-War Europe. Musicweb International raves: “... this is one of those operas and recordings which ‘has it all’, from the drama and sublime beauty of the music to the glorious performance and sumptuous recording. If you are a fan of opera on record from any period this is a treat, but if you love your music-dramas exciting, moving and Romantic with a big-boned ‘R’ then this is one you will want to keep close to your media player for a long time to come.”