Conductor Robert Trevino's second album release of orchestral music by Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936), together with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, features Respighi's massive orchestral masterpiece, the Sinfonia Drammatica.

The American Legacy

After two initial chamber music albums recorded with Helen Huang, violinist Paul Huang, recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2015, confirms in the concerto repertoire his strong affinity for the lyrical qualities of his instrument. He chose to record the concertos by Barber and Korngold for their broad, expressive melodies, their sumptuous harmonic language, and their climaxes of great emotional transparency, which echo the spirit of late Romanticism associated with Brahms, Tchaikovsky, or Bruch. Korngold himself said that he had composed his concerto "for a Caruso of the violin rather than for a Paganini." This is sure to appeal to the thirty-something violinist, who was drawn to his instrument at a very young age "because of it's singing tone, a sound that resembles the human voice." These two American concertos, dating from the mid-twentieth century, offer him the stimulating challenge of painting worlds that are both luxuriant and intimate, using the refined palette of a chamber musician. To meet this challenge, he is joined by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Jun Markl, a conductor with whom he frequently collaborates in concert. Korngold, an Austrian composer who fled to America in 1936 under pressure from the rise of Nazism and whom Mahler described as a "musical genius," composed extensively for Hollywood. Here, he notably draws his thematic material from several of his earlier film scores. The American composer Barber, for his part, captures the atmosphere of the United States in the 1930s, while also evoking the vast American landscapes and the industrial dynamism of New York. "A profound vulnerability also emerges from these two works, particularly in their sublime slow movements," the violinist notes. The slow movement of Barber's concerto expresses a deep sense of dismay, uncertainty, and despair characteristic of the Great Depression. The luxuriant Romantic language of old Europe, transformed through Korngold's experience in cinema, and Barber's lyrical voice - marked by great emotional sincerity and deeply rooted in the American soil - represent for Paul Huang two complementary visions of American musical identity. They take on particular meaning for him, a Taiwanese-born musician

The Harmoniemesse, Haydn's last major sacred work, combines liturgical solemnity with dazzling orchestral writing empowered by his masterly use of the winds. In contrast, the intimate, luminous Missa brevis 'St John of God', reveals a more contemplative faith. Directing Les Arts Florissants, William Christie illuminates these two sides of the composer with authority and poetic sensitivity, well served by a top-flight quartet of soloists.

Christopher Tignor is a composer, violinist, lecturer, and software engineer. His emotionally charged scores and unique focus on live, performance-based electroacoustic practice has won acclaim within both the classical and experimental communities across 10 LPs on the Western Vinyl and New Albion record labels. He creates the live performance software he uses, shared freely. As a composer he has written and recorded work for ensembles including The Knights, A Far Cry string orchestra, and Brooklyn Rider string quartet, performing alongside them at premiere venues including Carnegie's Zankel Hall. As a collaborator he has worked with Rachel Grimes, Helios, Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, John Congleton, This Will Destroy You and several other artists at the boundaries of popular music. Tignor holds a Ph.D in music composition from Princeton University, an M.S. in computer science from NYU's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, and a B.A. in creative writing from Bard College where he studied fiction and poetry with John Ashbery.

The highly acclaimed pianist and composer Johannes Obermeier guides the listener through the lyrical piano world of Felix Mendelssohn on his new GENUIN album Beyond Words. As a composer himself, Obermeier brings a keen sensitivity to sound, structure, and expression, offering a particularly refined perspective on Mendelssohn's music. At the centre are the famous Lieder ohne Worte-music that speaks without words and resonates deeply. Works such as the Variations s�rieuses and Rondo capriccioso broaden this musical world. With great sensitivity and attention to detail, Obermeier reveals a fresh perspective on familiar repertoire.

From Another World is more than an album title : it's an invitation to travel across centuries, continents, and emotions. At it's heart lies an encounter between two musical traditions: the elegance and architecture of European classical music and the expressive pulse of Argentine tango. Bridging these worlds is Guttman Tango Quintet, formed by musicians who draw naturally from both traditions under the direction of violinist Michael Guttman. In From Another World, tango is not nostalgia. It is evolution. Just as Astor Piazzolla once liberated tango from the dance hall into the concert hall, Guttman dialogues with the classics that shaped Western music. Each track on this album begins with a familiar theme (Beethoven, Mozart, Mahler, Dvorak, and others) and let's it wander into Buenos Aires. What emerges is neither parody nor pastiche, but a transformation. Recorded in January 2025 at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, this debut album captures a moment of creative alchemy, an ensemble of classical virtuosos surrendering to the irresistible gravity of tango.

I made my first public appearance as a soloist the same year I graduated and pursued advanced studies in Copenhagen with Emil Telm�nyi and in Berlin with Willy Hess from 1919 until 1921, and when I returned home, I succeeded in securing a position as a violinist in the Royal Danish Orchestra." But already not long afterwards in 1923 he presented himself as a candidate for the leader of the Berlin Philharmonic, which after the death of Artur Nikisch in the previous year now had Wilhelm Furtw�ngler as it's chief conductor. He won the position over 14 competitors and relates himself: "That was quite something for an enthusiastic young violinist! From the last desk of the second violinists on Kgs. Nytorv to the highly responsible first desk in Bernburger Strasse, enjoying a close working relationship with such a great figure as Wilhelm Furtw�ngler.

SOMM Recordings is pleased to release their second recording with the Chamber Ensemble of London, a virtuoso group of hand-picked string players directed by violinist Peter Fisher, whom The Times counts amongst "a handful of the world's finest musicians." Following the ensemble's 2022 SOMM release, Eclogue - British Chamber Music, which Gramophone praised for it's "unfailingly sympathetic music-making throughout," this new release is Quiet Summer Evening - British Concertante Music, drawing on the rich tradition of light classical music. The programme opens with Rhapsody for Clarinet & Strings by Geoffrey Bush. He was initially taught by John Ireland and, on his advice, studied composition and classics at Balliol College, Oxford, emerging with degrees in both subjects in 1946. Bush's hauntingly beautiful rhapsody features the sought-after clarinettist Peter Cigleris, whose growing discography includes three previous releases with SOMM. He is also the soloist in 5 Pieces for Clarinet & String Orchestra by Clive Jenkins, CEOL's associate composer. Jenkins was born in Plymouth, and he shows his roots in many of his compositions-including these pieces, each of which has a name connected with Plymouth. Another work by Jenkins included here is Fantasy for Horn & Strings, featuring Alexei Watkins, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, where he was awarded the Dennis Brain Prize. Watkins is also featured in Orion (Serenade for Horn & Strings) by prize-winning conductor-composer Andy Meyers, as well as Lullaby, an expressive and programmatic piece by composer and BBC Radio 3 producer Luke Whitlock. Bassoonist Sarah Watts is a multi-instrumentalist who has become well known worldwide as a prolific composer of colourful and inspiring music. Here, she performs her composition Everywhere Is Somewhere Else. Additionally, she is the soloist for the contemplative Sunday Afternoon by notable arranger, conductor, and composer Nigel Brooks, excerpted from the broadcast series Stars on Sunday, and also A Little Waltz by the prolific mid-twentieth-century composer, arranger, and master orchestrator Gordon Jacob. Other pieces by composers from former generations include Canto popolare, extracted from Edward Elgar's concert overture In the South; Lennox Berkeley's single-movement Andantino, which he adapted from his Festival Anthem; and one of Frederick Delius's earliest surviving compositions, Romance. The soloist for Berkeley's Andantino and Delius's Romance is cellist Michael Mace, who pursues a wide and varied musical career as performer and teacher. Peter Fisher is the violinist for Elgar's Canto popolare and the appealing Vers le Sud (Towards the South) by Terence Higgins who, notwithstanding his early promise, decided against a full-time professional musical career and-like composers Wilfrid Josephs and Alan Rawsthorne-qualified as a dentist. Fisher also plays the CD's title piece, Quiet Summer Evening, a contemplative piece by composer-pianist Don Shearman, who enjoyed a long and distinguished career in light music.

SOMM Recordings is delighted to collaborate once again with one of the foremost pianists of our time, Peter Donohoe. A joint winner of the 1982 International Tchaikovsky Competition, Donohoe has performed with all the major London orchestras and multiple European and American orchestras, as well as at the BBC Proms no less than 18 times. His impressive discography on SOMM includes the complete Prokofiev and Scriabin Sonatas, as well as the complete Mozart Piano Sonatas. "Donohoe appears to take early Beethoven as his interpretive trajectory with a gloves-off spontaneity that imbues these magical scores with a compelling vitality and freshness..." (BBC Music Magazine, Choice) "Donohoe plays these pieces with a personal involvement that is as touching as it is fascinating and finely considered." (Gramophone) Donohoe also recorded with SOMM the highly regarded 2nd and 3rd Sonatas (2023) and Waltzes (2024) by Chopin. Now, this latest release is The Chopin I Love, a title he borrowed from one of the most formative recordings of his youth, an LP of Arthur Rubinstein. Donohoe's personal selections represent works which have always resonated very much with him, as well as representing some of the most challenging, unique, and significant repertoire for piano ever written. The most substantial works in this collection are the Preludes, Op. 28, whose technical demands place them firmly amongst Chopin's most virtuosic works. Although Chopin did not necessarily intend for all 24 Preludes-one in each key-to be played as a group, they are performed here as a complete cycle, which makes for a fascinating and satisfying listening experience. Chopin wrote a further single Prelude, Op. 45, which is a longer and more detailed study than the individual numbers in the Opus 28 set, with the exception of the "Raindrop" Prelude. Chopin's Barcarolle, Op. 60, inspired by the rocking rhythm of the traditional folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers, is another of his more demanding compositions. It is also one of his last major compositions, along with his Polonaise-Fantaisie, Op. 61. Chopin's distinctive sound often includes the national flavour of his native Poland, and this piece takes it's character from the Polish dance, while the fantaisie provides it's harmonic complexity and intricate form. For Peter Donohoe, the 2 Nocturnes, Op. 62, are the culmination of the musical form, these intimately expressive works being Chopin's final compositions in the genre. The 3 �cossaises, Op. 72 No. 3, which close this recital, were amongst the first pieces Donohoe ever knew and were therefore seminal for him. He says, "That they are much less serious than any of the other works here does not detract from their originality and charm." Included as a download is Donohoe's performance of Chopin's Berceuse, a lullaby he composed late in life, which remains one of the composer's most beloved pieces.

The works of the late Romantic composer Felix Woyrsch stand as eloquent defenses of the creative successor. Perhaps it is precisely this too often disparaged generation of "late-born" artists who laid the groundwork for the great masters. By absorbing earlier achievements and reshaping them to serve their own expressive aims, they laid the foundation for later greatness. The Silesian-born Woyrsch, who established himself permanently in Altona-then still independent of Hamburg-demonstrated that even diametrically opposed models could be reconciled. He succeeded in bringing together Wagner, Bruckner, and Brahms almost imperceptibly, without sacrificing his own artistic identity. On the contrary, the cycle of six symphonies, now completed with the present release, emerges as a distinctive artistic statement-made all the more impressive by the fact that Woyrsch remained genuinely receptive to the developments of modernism.

From SOMM Recordings comes another release in their warmly received series Elgar from the Archives, drawn from the remarkable collection of producer and restoration engineer Lani Spahr, containing over 5,000 historic Elgar recordings. Reviewing the first volume of the series, Stuart Millson, a Contributing Editor to�The Brazen Head, wrote, "Again, sound-supremo, Lani Spahr has done a wonderful job of "French-polishing" this (English) music." Volume 4 of the series presents the Concert Overture In the South (Alassio), Op. 50 and Symphony No. 1 in A flat major, Op. 55. The volumes in the Elgar from the Archives series feature both British artists and equally laudable performers from other countries, and In the South is a 1954 release featuring the Symphony Orchestra of Radio Leipzig. The ensemble is conducted by Gerhard Pfluger (1907-1991) who was born and educated in Dresden and had the misfortune to come to maturity during the years of National Socialism, the destruction of much of Germany, and the establishment of the German Democratic Republic. He joined the Nazi party in 1940, and from 1946, as a member of the East German communist party, he held conducting positions in Rostock and Weimar in addition to Leipzig. Against this backdrop, for an East German orchestra and conductor to issue the work of a British composer was not only rare but courageous. Elgar was enjoying a family holiday in Italy during the winter of 1903 to 1904, and he was supposed to be working on a long-planned symphony. However, the resort town of Alassio on the�Italian Riviera proved to be too alluring, and it inspired him to write a concert overture instead that captured the local atmosphere. He later recalled how, one beautiful afternoon in the Vale of�Andora, " in a flash, it all came to me. In that time I had composed the overture - the rest was merely writing it down." Elgar did get around to completing his First Symphony in 1908, and it had it's premiere in Manchester on 3 December that year with Hans Richter conducting the�Halle Orchestra. It was, as The Musical Times�described it, an "immediate and phenomenal success." On the evening of 30 January 1958, the City of Manchester celebrated the centenary of the Halle Orchestra with a concert that was both broadcast and televised, and it is this live recording that is presented here. The orchestra was led by Sir John Barbirolli, their Principal Conductor from 1943 to 1970. Michael Kennedy, biographer of Elgar and Barbirolli, said of the performance, "In their finest hour, the Halle and it's conductor found the best in each other to do honour to their own traditions."

Any close engagement with the later works of the Austrian composer Karl Weigl soon-and almost inevitably-becomes an exercise in tracing origins. Driven into American exile by the delusions of a self-proclaimed master race, he, like many of his contemporaries, remained so firmly bound to his cultural roots that a nostalgic backward glance across the Atlantic becomes perceptible even where his music ventures into comparatively advanced musical language. He never relinquishes tonal gravity, nor does he lose the unmistakable grace he carried with him into exile. As a result, even in one of humanity's most tragic moments (1939), when he entrusted his quartet with a deeply heartfelt and intimate prayer, he placed his faith in the healing power of beauty. And two years later, he was able to compose Three Intermezzi that, from first bar to last, reveal the Viennese artist he remained throughout his life.

A first-ever complete recording for keyboard collections which capture the elegance and cosmopolitan style of Georgian-era English music. Maurice Greene (1696-1755) belongs to the generation that followed Henry Purcell and preceded Handel. Becoming organist of St Paul's Cathedral in 1719, and in 1735 organist and composer to the Chapel Royal, he wrote a good deal of church music which is still in use today: memorably simple but effective anthems such as Thou visitest the earth and Lord, let me know mine end. Much less well known-and most of it previously unrecorded-is Greene's corpus of instrumental music. Published in 1745, his Six Overtures in Seven Parts alternate a slow and solemn French-style overture with fugal allegros and elegant dance movements such as minuets, gavottes, or airs. The original orchestral scores have recently attracted a recording: Fernando de Luca has made his own arrangements for solo harpsichord, following a long-standing practice and retaining the essential exuberance of the overtures while inflecting them with refined dynamic shading. Rarer still are the 15 keyboard "Lessons": Italianate suites which bear witness to a transition from the contrapuntal Baroque style to a more galant idiom, under the influence of Italian exemplars such as Corelli and Geminiani, as well as the seductive charms of French culture which captivated the upper end of Georgian society and culture. William Boyce (1711-1779) studied with Greene and followed in the footsteps of his teacher by attaining the same distinguished posts at St Paul's and the Chapel Royal. Again principally known for his church music, he also wrote a collection of overtures which have retained popularity on the fringes of the catalogue. His Voluntaries for the Organ or Harpsichord (published posthumously in London, c. 1779) represent one of the final great expressions of the genre in their refined counterpoint and graceful harmonies. "Harpsichordist Fernando de Luca does a splendid job," remarked Fanfare magazine in a review of the Brilliant Classics album dedicated to the music of Pierre-Claude Foucquet: one of many comprehensive collections through which de Luca has revived lesser-known composers of the eighteenth century. This volume of Boyce and Greene stands as a notable addition to the library.

How the reputation of a musician could spread throughout Europe without today's means of communication is something the modern mind can scarcely comprehend. This is all the more remarkable in the case of Giacomo Carissimi, who spent his career in the service of a single Roman institution devoted to education and worship. Yet by the middle of the seventeenth century, he was attracting visitors from across Europe, drawn by his incomparable mastery in giving musical expression to every emotion and every word. In their current production, the members of the Boston Early Music Festival-fresh from winning the Grammy Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album for their most recent Telemann recording-follow in the footsteps of this extraordinary composer. Alongside Latin motets and an Italian cantata, the program features two intimate oratorios whose influence long outlived their creator. Even decades after Carissimi's death, George Frideric Handel could not resist reworking substantial portions of the famous Jephte for his own purposes.

Sand and Foam by William Knight uses words from Kahlil Gibran's book of the same name. The book is made up of hundreds of aphorisms, each beautiful and thought provoking. With all my music I try to follow the words of the poet and bring out the natu-ral rhythm and beauty of the text. Each aphorism can be taken by itself and offers the reader or listener a chance to reflect. My compilation of the aphorisms is an observation on the creation and fall of mankind: It presents a warning. However, when the apocalypse comes this is not in a calamitous way, what will come will come. Life and death present the beginning and the end but not apart from each other. After we are gone life will carry on and our footsteps betwixt the sand and the foam will be washed away by the sea. Missa pro defunctis by Victor Kioulaphides. Death is as univer-sally inevitable as it is generally misunderstood. Art and music helps- or does it? Vivid imagery and dramatic sounds capture the heartbreak, the devasta-ting loss felt by those left behind. Yet for the one that actually passes, often little is expressed. The Requiem Mass speaks of the eternal peace, the perfect conclusion, the ethereal serenity that is death. And this is the story this score retells. If the listener is left at peace, the music has succeeded. Het Nederlands Bach Consort shows courage in it's productions and does not shy away from experimentation. Artistic directors Heleen Koele (sop-rano) and Sytse Buwalda (counter-tenor) have both earned their spurs as singers and complement each other well with their different areas of expertise. All this leads to a daring approach based on the old foundation of Bach: "As a consort, we feel the urgency to translate our observations of social trends into an artistic form. In doing so, we always draw on the power of music. Raw, tranquil, abrasive, and comforting. In line with current trends, we commission compositions from established and young compo-sers, such as Victor Kioulaphides, Monique Krus, William Knight, and Lotte Pen. We give the resounding past a foundation in the present... Always accessible, never easy." - "Sand and Foam" by William Knight (b.1987) sets selected aphorisms from Kahlil Gibran to music, inviting reflection on humanity's creation, fall, and the quiet inevitability of the end. - In Knight's vision, life and death are inseparable, and after we are gone the traces of our existence are ultimately washed away "betwixt the sand and the foam." - "Missa pro defunctis" by Victor Kioulaphides (b.1961) retells the Requi-em's promise of eternal peace, aiming to leave the listener with serenity rather than spectacle. - Het Nederlands Bach Consort is known for courageous, experimental Bach-rooted programming that translates social trends into accessible, never-easy performances and commissions from both established and emerging composers.

Anton Rubinstein and Alexander Adolfovich Winkler represent two generations of Russian Romanticism, and their sonatas for viola and piano reveal contrasting yet complementary approaches to chamber music and to the expressive potential of the viola. Anton Rubinstein (1829-1894), one of the founders of the Russian conservatory system and a towering figure as pianist, conductor, and composer, approached chamber music with a distinctly European Romantic sensibility. His Sonata for Viola and Piano is notable for it's lyrical breadth and dramatic contrasts. Rubinstein treats the viola not merely as an accompanying voice but as a fully expressive partner to the piano, exploiting it's warm, dark timbre and vocal qualities. The sonata's sweeping melodies, rich harmonic language, and expansive formal design reflect Rubinstein's admiration for composers such as Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Brahms. At the same time, moments of intense lyricism and emotional weight highlight his belief in music as a direct vehicle for personal expression. Alexander Adolfovich Winkler (1865-1935), a student of Sergei Taneyev and a representative of a later Russian school, brings a more refined and introspective character to his Sonata for Viola and Piano. Winkler's writing is marked by structural clarity, contrapuntal skill, and subtle harmonic color. His sonata emphasizes the viola's expressive nuance, often favoring intimate dialogue between the instruments rather than virtuosic display. The work blends Romantic warmth with Classical balance, revealing Winkler's interest in formal discipline and textural transparency. Luca Sanz� is a pupil of Bruno Giuranna. His concert career has taken him to the world's major concert halls, both as a soloist and in collaboration with leading musicians. He has collaborated as principal viola soloist with various orchestras, including those of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, and the early music orchestra Concerto Italiano. He teaches viola at the Conservatorio di S. Cecilia in Rome. He has recorded for Nuova Era, Bottega Discantica, BMG Ricordi, Opus 111, Tactus, Edi Pan, Stradivarius, Na�ve, Chandos, and Naxos. Italian pianist Maurizio Paciariello, schooled by Aldo Ciccolini and Paul Badura-Skoda and prizewinner of the ARD Competition, is a champion of rare repertoire and a specialist on period instruments.

Franz Ignaz Beck was a "Mannheim pupil" from the very beginning. The son of the court oboist Franz Aloys Beck, he was taught by other court musicians after his father's early death before studying in Venice with Baldassare Galuppi and ultimately making his way via Naples to France. He was twenty-three when three of his symphonies won acclaim in Paris; yet he was soon drawn onward-to Marseille and then to Bordeaux, where, until 1798 (for more than thirty-five years), he served as Ma�tre de Musique, overseeing operas and concerts as well as the performance of both his own works and those of others. The six symphonies Op. 4 date from his early years on the Garonne and are now presented complete. They represent Beck's final contributions to the genre in which he undertook bold yet successful experiments-stormy and urgent, filled with striking turns that electrified audiences and explain why he was sometimes hailed as the "Berlioz of the eighteenth century." The music from the melodrama Pandora, composed some twenty years later, forms an illuminating counterpoint.

I compose music in collections-each containing similar themes and unifying elements that create cohesion of thematic material. The following are contained in this album: Maze of Infinite Forms, Life and Opinions, Shifting Spheres, Wings of the Grasshopper, Sound Louder in Darkness. - Brian Buch

Countertenor John Holiday presents Over My Head, a striking and deeply personal debut that reflects both the breadth of his artistry and the clarity of his artistic voice. Praised as one of the finest countertenors of his generation, Holiday brings together a thoughtfully curated programme spanning spirituals, contemporary works, and art song. From intimate moments at the piano to collaborations with pianist Kevin Miller, the album includes works by Hall Johnson, Robert L. Morris, H. Leslie Adams, world premieres by Theo Morrison and Carlos Simon, and arrangements by Holiday himself, highlighting repertoire shaped by curiosity, individuality, and expressive depth. Rooted in themes of resilience, faith, and love, Over My Head offers a heartfelt musical journey that speaks with both intimacy and conviction. Each work has been selected for it's emotional resonance and it's ability to connect across time and experience, forming a narrative that feels both personal and universal.

Three works, three worlds-yet united by a shared pursuit: the search for that moment when music transcends itself. C�sar Franck's youthful Trio in F-sharp minor bursts with creative energy, filled with melodies of immediate emotional force and a sense of freedom that opens the space wide. Edvard Grieg's single movement for piano trio unfolds as a circle of light and motion: tentative, glowing, shimmering-a serious game that constantly reinvents itself. And the enigmatic A-major Trio, long attributed to Brahms, speaks in a warm, expansive voice that feels familiar yet stems from an unknown hand. Together, these works form a panorama of chamber music: bold and youthful, poetic and searching, deeply rooted and full of open questions. For the E.T.A. Trio, they become a reflection of the ensemble's own musical identity: three musicians who meet in alertness, curiosity, and a shared devotion to sound-always seeking the moment when their voices merge into a living, breathing dialogue. "SWR Kultur New Talent" is a support program dedicated to outstanding young classical musicians. Over the course of three years, exceptional artistic personalities are promoted through concerts, studio productions, and extensive media presence. Following Janina Ruh, Robert Neumann, and Lionel Martin, the E.T.A. Trio now presents it's debut CD within this series.

This album explores Gustav Mahler's early songs, tracing the emergence of his distinctive musical voice. Featuring works from his youthful Lieder alongside the complete Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, the programme reveals the composer's evolving relationship between song and symphonic thought. Performed by an ensemble of distinguished vocal soloists with pianist Joseph Middleton, the recording highlights Mahler's sensitivity to poetry, emotional nuance, and dramatic storytelling. Rooted in folk-influenced texts, these songs reflect themes of nature, love, memory, and self-discovery, offering insight into the formative creative period that shaped Mahler's later orchestral masterpieces.

Eugenio Visnoviz (1906-1931) belongs to the poignant group of early twentieth-century composers whose promise was cut short by an untimely death. Born in Italy at a moment of intense cultural transformation, Visnoviz grew up in an environment shaped by the late Romantic legacy and the emerging modernist currents that were redefining European music. Although his surviving output is small, it reveals a composer of striking sensitivity and technical awareness. Written at the age of only 17 by Visnoviz, a fragile and tormented musician whose life would end just eight years later, probably by his own hand, the Sonata contains the seeds of genius. Large in scale, in four movements, permeated with a late Romantic spirit but with stylistic features reminiscent of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and especially Brahms (with some harmonic exploration, a legacy of the post-war period), the Sonata presents a language that is both lyrical and dramatic. The program pairs the Sonata, with it's vast proportions, with the light piano aphorisms of the Klavierst�cke. Despite his pianistic expertise, Visnoviz the composer did not leave any large-scale works for his instrument, preferring to focus on it's intimate and lyrical dimension. He condenses musical ideas into concise gestures, exploring contrasting moods, textures, and colors. The pieces frequently juxtapose delicate, introspective passages with more rhythmically driven or harmonically bold sections. This new recording is a labor of love by the two musicians Valentina Danelon (violin) and Cristina Santin (piano), who, during their study time, discovered Visnoviz's works in the Visnoviz Collection held by the Tartini Conservatory in Trieste.

Sebastian Fagerlund is among Finland's most celebrated contemporary composers, crafting works of vivid narrative and emotional depth across orchestral, operatic, and chamber genres. This recording features four works for various instrumental combinations that demonstrate Fagerlund's skill in linking his compositions through strong spiritual and stylistic connections. Beneath for string orchestra occupies a space between concerto and ensemble piece. The solo violin-a "first among equals"-emerges from and merges with the orchestra, tracing a journey from rising chord sequences through energetic passages to quiet resolution. Remain, a piano trio completed the day Russia invaded Ukraine, weaves quotations from Ravel, Bach, and Brahms into three emotionally charged movements, dedicated to the people of Ukraine. Materie, a solo violin work written for the Kuopio Violin Competition, balances technical brilliance with expressive nuance, unfolding in two powerful waves between contemplation and intensity. Finale Stilla for violin and piano moves from introspective exploration through energetic climaxes to a hauntingly quiet, mysterious conclusion. Intertwined with all four works is violinist and conductor Malin Broman, who appears both as a soloist and part of the Kungsbacka Piano Trio, while also conducting the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra.

The Miser (L'Avare) is undoubtedly Moli�re's most famous play. It is one of his most frequently performed masterpieces and has become a staple of the Com�die-Fran�aise repertoire. This box set also includes: L'�tourdi ou les Contretemps (inspired by the commedia dell'arte) and Le D�pit amoureux (a study of feelings and social misunderstandings). The great names of classical theater (Georges Chamarat, Albert Reyval) and popular French theater (Michel Galabru, Daniel Pr�vost) give us the opportunity to hear these immortal classics of our literary heritage. Patrick Fr�meaux