Classical Music

Meridian's 8th album for Channel Classics features incredible music by David Sanford, Nick Didkovsky and Elliott Sharp. This CD is packed with the things that Meridian does best: complicated, virtuosic, high-energy, bizarre versions of music that is more informed by the vernacular than the conservatory. 'On this disc, we present three commissioned pieces, each of which we hope will become a major contribution to the literature. For a long time, we have wanted to design concert programs with just a few large scale works, each of which developed it's ideas fully. Now the repertoire is growing, and we are on the brink of something new. All three of these pieces draw on various styles of music available to today's listener, from free improvisation in a densely notated art-rock setting to evocations of African vocal polyphony, from oblique references to 1970's television themes to the rhythms and intonations of a sermonizing preacher. Yet each piece creates it's own unique style and language. We recorded this CD in the Doopsgezinde Kerk in the town square of Deventer, Holland, in a large pedestrian plaza referred to locally as Brink.'

Classical Music

On this program from the Oyster Duo, Anna Fedorov and husband Nicholas Schwartz, travel criss-cross through two centuries and six countries in search of melodious gems. We are treated to the piano alongside the giant of string instruments, the double bass, as it whets it's appetite on the melodious and virtuosic repertoire of it's smaller siblings, the violin, viola and cello. This extensive journey of musical discovery is a treasure chest of 'stolen gems' from 19th and 20th century Argentina, Germany, Austria, America, Russia and Italy.

Embarking on a series of recordings of classical originals for symphonic wind band is an adventurous quest. On their second volume, the Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy and Major Arjan Tien decided to compile German-Austrian gems. From Beethoven (1810) to Hindemith (1951), this program illustrates the development and expansion of the symphonic wind band across nearly 150 years.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Following up on his highly acclaimed recordings of Mahler's first, second fourth and sixth symphonies for Channel Classics, Ivan Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra offer a new vision of the Symphony No.5. It's famous Adagietto is one of the most intimate pieces that Mahler ever wrote for orchestra. According to Fischer, the fifth is "the most Jewish of all Mahler's symphonies. The first movement takes US to the unmistakable mood of Jewish lamentation, the finale to the childlike vision of messianic joy."

Classical Music