On this disc one of the world's finest pianists encounters one of the world's greatest wind quintets, performing two very special works: Mozart's and Beethoven's quintets for piano and winds. While the Beethoven Quintet is a new recording, the Mozart works on this disc have been previously released, on BIS-CD-1332. On its release in 2000 that disc was highly praised, for instance in Gramophone, which called it 'a real Mozartian experience' and in American Record Guide: 'The best recording of Mozart's Quintet I have ever heard.' According to Le Monde de la Musique, 'by the clarity, the subtly applied abundance of inflexions and a very real inner power' the musicians proved themselves 'true Mozartians'. As this disc will show, they are no less true Beethovenians!

Classical Music

Shostakovich String Quartets 7, 8, and 9 are right in the middle of his output in the genre. This recording by the Brodsky String Quartet is more lyrical and relaxed than many interpretations of the same pieces.

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Classical Music

Classical Music

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Includes work(s) by Franz Joseph Haydn. Soloist: Ronald Brautigam.

This double disc compilation album presents the best of English folk, where artists such as Eliza Carthy, The Demon Barbers, Bellowhead and Kate Rusby amongst others have revived traditional English folklore penned over a century ago, bringing it back to the forefront of the folk scene. The fourth in the series of ARC Music’s exclusive Ultimate Guide albums, this is an exciting and superb collection of 35 songs that steeps the listener in history from all corners of England. “There cannot be many examples in history of an obsolete art form reaching the verge of extinction only to rise phoenix-like from the ashes and come to dominate popular culture, yet such is the story of English folk…” (Jon Boden)

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NIELSEN: Chamber Music, Vol. 1

• Elliott Carter wrote some of the most challenging and probing works of the latter half of the 20th and first years of the 21st century. Violinist Caroline Chin and cellist Brian Snow excel in this literature.

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Recording information: Carl Nielsen Academy of Music (08/16/2008-08/17/2008); Carl Nielsen Academy of Music (09/20/2008).

Born in Texas in 1939, Andrew Rudin fondly remembers his childhood music teacher who opened the doors to the world of art for him. Already composing when he entered the music department of the University of Texas, Austin in 1957, his aesthetic sense then shifted toward the 12-tone technique, and later in the 1960s, electronic music. He continued his writing and teaching career through the 1970s, 80s and '90s. His Three String Sonatas, one each for violin, viola and cello, written after his retirement from teaching, were recorded for Centaur in 2009 and 2011.

Koppel: Works for Cello & Piano

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PALSCHAU Harpsichord Concertos: No. 1 in C; No. 2 in D. SCHULZ 6 Diverses pièces pour le clavecin ou le pianoforte • Lars Ulrik Mortensen (hpd), cond; Concerto Copenhagen (period instruments) • dacapo 8.226040 (67:08)


The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians contains but a brief paragraph on Johann Gottfried Wilhelm Palschau (1741–1815). In it we learn that he was a member of the orchestra at Copenhagen’s Royal Opera. Among other things, Palschau toured extensively, visiting London a decade before Mozart (the notes tell us that Palschau lodged in the same house as Wolferl), and Hamburg in1761. In 1771 Palschau turns up in Riga, where he studied for a time with Johann Gottfried Müthel. Palschau settled in St. Petersburg (Russia) in 1771 and became highly successful as a performer. The annotations for the CD indicate that Palschau’s last documented concert was in 1800, when a German singer—H. C. Wunder—advertised in the Gazette de Saint-Pétersbourg that he had managed to acquire the services of the famous piano virtuoso, Herr Palschau.


As for Johann Abraham Peter Schulz (1747–1800), there is much more information. He was a German who studied in Berlin with C. P. E. Bach and Johann Philipp Kirnberger. Schulz was a staunch advocate of “new” music and staged operas by Gluck, Niccolò Piccinni, and others, but this got Schulz in the doghouse at Rheinsburg. Feeling it was time to move on, Schulz applied for and was appointed to a position in Copenhagen (1787–1795). There he reorganized the Royal Chapel, founded a benefit fund for musicians’ widows, wrote extensively on music education, and continued to compose. Schulz was highly influential in Denmark, and has been called a pioneer in that nation’s musical development.


This CD contains all of Palschau’s harpsichord concertos, his only other surviving compositions being several sets of variations on Russian folk songs. While not as highly developed as the concertos of his slightly older contemporary, Haydn. Palschau’s concertos are pleasant and uncomplicated works, showing more the influence of his Berlin studies with C. P. E. Bach and less of Müthel. The keyboard-writing is impressive and demanding, yet rewarding.


The title of the six pieces by Schulz indicates the changing musical times when the harpsichord was gradually being pushed aside for the more expressive fortepiano . The editor of the collection, Michael Struck, points out that the scope of the pieces is best illustrated by the difference between the Baroque character of opening prelude and the cantabile style of the melody found in the Andante.


Concerto Copenhagen, or CoCo as it is affectionately known, was founded in 1991; since 1999, Lars Ulrik Mortensen has been its artistic director. CoCo has released a number of important recordings that combine the more esoteric Scandinavian repertoire with the staples of the Baroque and Classic eras. The performances are benchmark from first note to last, compelling admiration via their seamless delivery and unforced stylistic grace. The bottom line is the music and musicians fulfill their mission: to open another chapter in music history and to spell pleasure from beginning to end.


While none of the material here will rival Haydn or Mozart, it is decidedly delightful and relaxing fare that is ideal for an occasional journey into the musical undergrowth. Bon voyage!


FANFARE: Michael Carter

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Ruders, P.: 4 Dances

This 2-DVD collection features five films by Gerad Patris and Luc Ferrari. Produced by Service de La RecherchT under the direction of Pierre Schaeffer for ORTF. In French only. The films are "Olivier Messiaen : Et Expecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum" (1965), "Karlheinz Stockhausen : Momente" (1965), "Hommage a Edgar Varese" (1965, "Herman Scherchen : Quand un homme consacre sa vie a la musique" (1967)and "Cecil Taylor a Paris" (1966).