In the 250th Beethoven anniversary year, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet has chosen this programme of works by contemporary composers to illuminate and contextualize Beethoven’s extraordinary output for piano. In his explanatory note for the album, the pianist writes: ‘Just as a mountain peak is always surrounded by other perhaps less lofty but no less fascinating summits, the major works of Beethoven are not isolated rock formations rising from the desert, but, as it were, “Himalayas”, forming part of a range in which other mountains might be the best pieces by contemporaries such as Clementi, Hummel, Dussek, and Wölfl. These composers all knew Beethoven well and were in contact with one another. It is essential to know and to make known their music in order better to understand and more thoroughly appreciate the lingua franca of the music of the time, which in turn is part and parcel of the “spirit of the age”, and to be aware of that which unites them, as well as to recognize that which differentiates them and renders each unique. In this year of plentiful Beethovenian commemorations, it appears to me natural, indeed essential, to pay admiring and enthusiastic homage to these composers, each of whom, in his own way, followed his route to the summit.’

REVIEWS:

Ostensibly, this disc is intended to present significant music by Beethoven's contemporaries, thus showing the musical climate of the day and making comparisons of style. All four of these composers knew each other and knew Beethoven well, and all were excellent pianists who composed many works for their instrument.

Joseph Wölfl is little known today but his E major sonata suggests he may be unjustly neglected. While this is not a profound work in any way, it is a fine one well worth your time. Bavouzet seems utterly on target in his choice of tempos, dynamics, accenting, rubato (which is limited) and other aspects of phrasing, and so it would be hard to imagine a better performance —or at least a significantly better performance - than this.

Muzio Clementi is far better known than Wölfl but this sonata, Op. 50, No. 1, despite having several recordings, is not among his more often performed keyboard works. To me, this is a vastly underrated sonata, one that clearly deserves greater attention. Overall, Bavouzet's tempos throughout the work tend to be on the brisk side but he captures the heart of the music, all its spirit, joys, sorrows and brilliance. A stunning performance!

The Hummel F minor Sonata is also rarely encountered in the concert hall, though it has gotten some attention on records. It begins with a dark theme of Romantic leanings, even bringing to mind Schumann and Chopin. But it turns to a more Classical manner when the tempo quickens, and throughout the first movement one notices this mixture of styles. The development section is quite stormy and the whole movement is very serious, at times grim. The second movement Adagio is weighty and again shows Hummel quite advanced stylistically for a work dating to around 1807. The Presto finale turns back to the Classical era, even using fragmentary material from the finale of the Mozart Jupiter Symphony.

The Dussek F-sharp minor Sonata is the most progressive of the works here in its expressive language. The first movement Introduction, marked Lento patetico, heralds some of the darker music of Liszt even. Dark indeed, as its dedication reads: “Harmonic Elegy on the Death of His Royal Highness Prince Louis-Ferdinand of Prussia.” In fact the whole work exudes a mournful character. The Tempo agitato music that follows the Introduction is brimming with angst and a pensive sort of sorrow. Angst also drives the second and final movement (Tempo vivace e con fuoco quasi presto). As its marking suggests, it is very fiery and driven. Overall, this must be regarded as a quite profound and rather original sonata, one that, as Bavouzet suggests in comments in the album notes, clearly has strong Romantic leanings well before the movement had begun.

In the Hummel and Dussek sonatas, Bavouzet is convincing in every way, again exhibiting the same virtues as in the preceding works. His dynamics, accenting and tempos always seem to fit, and he never sounds wayward or eccentric. He always infuses the music with spirit too, and in both cases he effectively unearths the music's forward-looking character, its auguring of the coming Romantic era.

The Chandos sound reproduction is vivid and well balanced, in the end yielding one of the finest sounding piano recordings I've heard in recent years. This recording is a winner, and thus if the repertoire appeals, you won't be disappointed by this fine CD.

– MusicWeb International (Robert Cummings)

Bavouzet’s keen intelligence and pristine musicianship are evident throughout, not least in his vivid delineation of the individual characters of these four composer-pianists. In Hummel’s overtly virtuoso Op 20 Sonata from 1807, Bavouzet’s focus is on its extraordinary pathos and startlingly original formal procedures. In the Andante cantabile, Bavouzet gives full vent to Wölfl’s unabashedly operatically inspired writing.

– Gramophone (Editor's Choice, July 2020)

This is all early Haydn (with the exception of the two marches), but it is not immature. He was in his mid- to late-20s when he composed most of these pieces, and they are beautifully written for a wild assortment of ensembles. There are works for winds alone, serenades for wind and strings (including a couple featuring pairs of English horns), some early pieces with clarinets, a divertimento for harpsichord, a cassation with four horns, music with flute, and an insanely virtuosic trio for horn, violin, and cello. Manfred Huss includes the famous "St. Anthony Chorale" even though it's not by Haydn, and Simon Standage turns in a really lovely performance of the First violin concerto, with a slow movement so winsome you'd never know he's playing a period violin.

Indeed, Huss and his team manage to have the best of both worlds, offering a clearly "authentic" sound without any of the timbral unpleasantness that so often comes with it. There's only one exception: the natural horn playing, particularly in the trio mentioned above. Here I have to be dogmatic: get a modern horn, gentlemen. The alternative on offer here oscillates between crudeness and sheer desperation, however brave the effort.

Still, such is the value of the music and vibrancy of the performances that this set, attractively priced at five discs for the cost of three, is an essential item for any self-respecting Haydn collection. Much of the material was released previously on Koch in a series of single discs, but for all intents and purposes this set should be seen as brand new, for that is how it sounds whether you're listening for the first time or the tenth.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

In these five sonatas from the 1760s, the period prior to C.P.E. Bach's departure from Frederick the Great's court in Berlin, we find some of his most attractive writing, in the opinion of Darrell M. Berg, author of the liner notes to this disc and general editor of the complete edition of the composer's works. The fabulous landscapes and high drama of so many earlier works (such as the Württemberg Sonatas on volumes 16 and 17 of this series) are left behind, as are the lyrical intimacy and simplicity of the so-called 'easy' sonatas. Or rather: these qualities are incorporated in the 'new' style and a certain synthesis is achieved. The result is a style featuring Bach's familiar energy and vivacity but with greater equilibrium, resulting in compositions we might - for want of a better term - call more 'classical'. Miklós Spányi has acquired a reputation as a leading interpreter and firm advocate of this music that stands between the Baroque and the Classical period, and which is less well-known than it deserves partly because of the difficulty of classifying it. He has here chosen to perform it on C.P.E. Bach's own favourite keyboard instrument, the clavichord. Spányi's ground-breaking work in this series, and in the parallel one of the same composer's keyboard concertos, will be familiar to many lovers of early keyboard music. It has been called 'a major contribution to recorded keyboard literature' in American Record Guide, to single out one single disc, Volume 17 of this series was selected as Editor's Choice in Gramophone, and described as 'the answer to clavichord fans' dreams'.

In his Sixth Symphony, the “Pastoral”, Ludwig van Beethoven conveys his musical message in such a way that lets the listener literally “see” images of beautiful nature, tempestuous storms, and shepherds singing in the fields, whereas in his Seventh Symphony, Beethoven lets the music speak for itself. The performances of these works by the Gewandhausorchester under its conductor laureate Herbert Blomstedt give the uplifting feeling that the intentions of both composer and performers are united in serving the musical message. In the lively, subtly differentiated interpretation of the works, sincere happiness, deep respect, piety, joyful serenity and an affinity to nature as well as passion, vitality and spirit can all be felt. This is what the "authenticity" of making music is all about. The humanist and musician Herbert Blomstedt embodies this truth in a unique way, creating an atmosphere where the wonders of music all become true.

Classical Music

This fourth installment of the Geza Anda edition in the SWR music / haenssler CLASSIC historical series presents the first and the last of Beethoven's piano concertos. As in other recordings before, Anda performs in the First Concerto as both soloist and conductor. These recordings of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Piano Concerto No. 5 are areal enrichment of the Anda discography - no other recording of this concert has ever been released.

Mozart's string quintets, and particularly the last four (K 515, K 516, K 593 and K 614) are often cited as being among the finest examples of his chamber music. The musicologist Charles Rosen has drawn attention to the fact that the quintets always appeared shortly after the completion of a series of quartets, as if the medium represented a more ideal and final realisation of the composer’s musical thoughts. It is not, however, a question of quartets with a fifth, ‘extra’ part. Even the early K174 possesses a striking complexity, and as a group the quintets employ a great variety of textures: dialogues between two instruments with three-part accompaniment from the others, the alternation of two string trios (two violins and viola or two violas and cello), or violin duets, alongside viola duets, accompanied by the cello. The performances of these intricate masterworks by the Orlando Quartet and Nobuko Imai, have been highly regarded ever since their original releases and were for instance described as 'magisterial and gripping' on AllMusic.com. They now appear in this box set, accompanied by a fourth disc which brings together three further Mozart quintets for varying constellations: the charming Horn Quintet from 1782, the extraordinary Clarinet Quintet from seven years later and the Quintet for piano and winds which Mozart in a letter to his father in 1784 described as 'the best thing I have written so far'. Performing these works here are eminent musicians including Radovan Vlatkovic, Martin Fröst and Stephen Hough.

BEETHOVEN Symphonies Nos. 4 1 and 7 2 • Nicholas McGegan, cond; Philharmonia Baroque O (period instruments) • PHILHARMONIA BAROQUE PRODUCTIONS 06 (75:10) Live: Berkeley 1 11/10-11/2012, 2 9/12-13/2009


Unlike a number of other conductors in the early music movement, Nicholas McGegan has waited a long time to commit any of the Beethoven symphonies to disc. The wait has been well worthwhile. These are now my favorite period performance versions of the Fourth and Seventh symphonies on CD. I previously had preferred the Fourth of John Eliot Gardiner. It is faster than McGegan’s in every movement, sometimes significantly so. I feel that McGegan’s tempos allow the music to breathe more and to build up more natural climaxes. Gardiner uses a larger string section, which produces a wider dynamic range than McGegan’s. But McGegan’s orchestra sounds better balanced to me, with the strings allowing for richer textures from the inner voices. Interestingly, both conductors employ the same principal flute, the excellent Janet See, whose album of Vivaldi concertos with McGegan and the PBO is well worth seeking out. In the opening movement of the Fourth, McGegan’s Adagio is like a journey through the Greek underworld, leading to an Allegro vivace that feels like the whole world springing to life. Its development section sounds very Viennese in its congeniality. The second movement resembles chamber music, similar to a Buddhist scroll painting in its play of light and shade. It is significant that McGegan’s violin section includes such period chamber music luminaries as Katherine Kyme, Elizabeth Blumenstock, and Jolianne von Einem. The third movement displays Olympian humor, while the last is very danceable, sort of Beethoven’s version of a hoedown. In both symphonies, McGegan is very generous with repeats.


One of the principal attractions of McGegan’s Seventh is timpanist Kent Reed. Over 20 years ago, I heard a splendid Seventh by the New Jersey Symphony conducted by my friend Jens Nygaard, in which the timpanist, Randall Hicks, really whaled away. The critic assigned to the concert complained that it sounded like a timpani concerto. By now, we are so accustomed to the thwack of period timpani that Reed’s performance doesn’t seem unusual. Before hearing McGegan, my favorite period Seventh was Roger Norrington’s Stuttgart account. He is more fastidious in the middle movements about Beethoven’s metronome markings, though McGegan’s tempos there feel less rushed. Norrington’s strings, modern instruments played without vibrato, make a thicker, less appealing sound than McGegan’s more gossamer section. What’s more, McGegan conducts the entire symphony with a Beechamesque twinkle in his eye that Norrington lacks. The introduction to McGegan’s first movement is fleet-footed, with beautiful wind playing. The main section features wonderful waves of sound that ebb and flow, while the coda offers splendidly braying horns. McGegan’s slow movement is measured, with a careful delineation of dynamics. Its sensation is that of a haunted, misty reverie. The third movement feels as if the different sections of the orchestra are engaged in a conversation. Its trio sounds like an ecstatic shepherd’s song. The concluding movement is a jolly, mercurial romp. McGegan’s Seventh, congenial as it is, is one you can live with very easily.


The sound engineering in both symphonies is excellent. If you are looking for these works on modern instruments, I would recommend George Szell in Cleveland for the Fourth and Karl Böhm with the Vienna Philharmonic for the Seventh, although his Berlin account is nearly as good. McGegan’s album is a marvelous blend of the wisdom of the old master conductors with the finesse of period instruments. His Beethoven is an extremely likable fellow of vast ingenuity, an artist with whose work you never are sated. There is not one unconsidered bar of music in the whole album.


FANFARE: Dave Saemann

Classical Music

Classical Music

The present release is the second volume of Roman Rabinovich’s complete cycle of Haydn Piano Sonatas. Rabinovich has performed throughout Europe and the United States in venues such as London’s Wigmore Hall, Leipzig’s Gewandhaus, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and the Millennium Stage of Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Lauded as ‘a master of tone-color’ (International Piano, 2018), Rabinovich made his Israel Philharmonic début under the baton of Zubin Mehta at age ten. He was a top prize winner at the 12th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in 2008.

Classical Music

Only two authentic cello concertos by Joseph Haydn have survived: the first in C major, composed in the convoluted manner of the early 1760s, and the second in D major in the classical style of the 1780s. This live concert recording featuring Natalie Clein and the recreation - Großes Orchester Graz under the direction of Michael Hofstetter immerses the listener in the soundscape of the Haydn period. Playing on a 1777 Guadagnini, Natalie Clein decided to reflect the spirit of Haydn's sound world by playing on gut strings rather than steel. She also chose to use a lighter bow than usual. She improvised the cadenzas, which is entirely in keeping with the performance practice of Haydn's time. In doing so, this recording melds both historical and living performance practices. Born in the United Kingdom, Natalie Clein came to widespread attention at the age of sixteen when she won both the BBC Young Musician of the Year and the Eurovision Competition for Young Musicians in Warsaw. Described by The Times as 'mesmerising' and 'soaringly passionate', she has built a distinguished career, regularly performing at major venues and with orchestras worldwide. The recreation - Großes Orchester Graz brings together musicians from many European nations and unites many guest musicians across borders.

The Alexander String Quartet turns its attention to Mozart’s last years, beginning with this recording of the final four quartets (the first of a three-volume set which will add his other great chamber works from that period). Eric Bromberger’s liner notes are prefaced by comments from ASQ violist Paul Yarbrough, excerpted here: “Taken as a whole, Mozart’s works for string quartet, piano quartet, viola quintet, and clarinet quintet are a monumental accomplishment, as they codified the evolution of classical chamber music. He had taken Haydn’s brilliant efforts with the string quartet and elevated and broadened the genre, while adhering to Haydn’s formal and conversational precedent. But however much Mozart’s late chamber works conform, they are never “conformist.” They still have the capacity to be stunningly original, and even, especially for the listeners of the time, shocking.” Now in its 35th season, the Alexander String Quartet’s discography includes major cycles by Bartok, Kodaly, Mozart, Shostakovich, and Beethoven. ASQ is also an important advocate of new music, with over 35 commissions and premieres.

Classical Music

No one knows who first gave Beethoven's Trio Op. 11 the nickname Gassenhauer ("street song"). Neither do we know if the name was kindly intended or derogatory, chosen to boost sales or perhaps meant ironically (Heinrich Heine, for instance, would later satirize the omnipresence of a tune, sung everywhere, from Weber's opera chorus "Wir winden dir den Jungfernkranz").The catchy tune in Beethoven's final movement with variations was the vocal trio "Pria ch'io l'impegno" ("Before I go to work") from the comic operaL'Amor marinaro (The Sailor's Love), composed in 1797 by Joseph Weigl, who was a godchild of Haydn and had been pupil of Antonio Salieri. The aria enjoyed widespread, long-term popularity: more than 30 years after the opera's première, Paganini still delighted Vienna audiences with variations on the same tune. Beethoven wrote his instrumental trio only half a year after the première, probably fulfilling a commission by clarinetist Joseph Bähr, who is said to have asked for variations on that theme. When clarinetist Kilian Herold asked composer Johannes Schöllhorn to arrange a Beethoven work for trio, Schöllhorn thought of the Bagatelles Op.119. The idea was to add a final level to a three-level concept, Composing Beethoven, consisting in an original work by Beethoven, then one of Beethoven's arrangements of his own works, and, finally, a work by Beethoven arranged by a 21st-century composer. Schöllhorn, already well-experienced in creative approaches to music of the past, deconstructs the original piano texture here in such a way that the resulting sound is not too lean, but opens up new areas of freedom for the pianist's new partners. He has conceived a light, airy trio texture brimming with discreet punch lines, interruptions, disruptions, unexpected connections, and cello sonorities ranging from sul tasto to col legno battuto, resulting in a fond, respectful homage to Beethoven.

Paisiello wrote the music for Le gare generose to be premiered at the Teatro dei Fiorentini in Naples in the spring of 1786. The near-total absence of gags and slapstick routines plus the constant tension experienced by Bastiano and Gelinda who are on the run from alleged debts under false identities, suggest this opera belongs to the semiserio genre. This opera features middle-class characters rather than the usual aristocrats. Paisiello’s score features the arsenal of comic devices he would later employ in La Scuffiara or La Molinara. Music closely reflects the action on stage: in the duet for Bastiano and Gelinda “Scopa, scopa, netta e spazza”, what the violins play resembles the broom sweeping while the couple quarrel; it also reflects the physical nature of the characters and the images in the sung text by employing humorous madrigal-like devices – thus phrasing that rises and falls depicts butterflies in the first aria for Berlicco or a bee in the aria for Gelinda. In the Andante con moto of Finale I when the couple pretend to work while eavesdropping on the conversation between Dull and Berlicco, the orchestral figures at the beginning are intended to resemble the actions “rassettar” and “scopettar”, after which the musical emphasis shifts from action to emotional state – in this case, growing anxiety. Although Gare generose is a strange combination of the comic and the serious, it was remarkably successful. The success of the opera lasted until 1800 on the European circuit and with 37 different stagings, Gare generose is Paisiello’s twelfth most-performed opera.

One can easily find a great number of outstanding chamber music works for string instruments; on the other hand, chamber music repertoire for woodwinds on a similar high level of composition is relatively sparse. By the 1800s, string instruments and the piano had achieved a high standard in terms of playing technique and construction; wind instruments, however, lagged somewhat behind. Woodwinds still sounded uneven across their registers and suffered from technical constraints, including limitations in terms of musical keys: all of this must have exerted a counterproductive influence on a generation of Romantic composers who wanted to expand music’s horizons in terms of dynamics and harmony. The Ma’alot Wind Quintet has teamed up on this album with pianist Markus Becker in works by Ludwig van Beethoven for piano and woodwinds, supplemented by several of Beethoven’s charming works for flute-playing clock, arranged by clarinetist Ulf-Guido Schäfer for woodwind quintet. The main raison-d’être for this choice of program lies in the fact that Beethoven himself composed an excellent large-scale original work for four woodwinds (oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon) and piano – a work which, in terms of musical proportions and compositional ingenuity, rose far above the standard of what was otherwise being written for winds at the time when it was premiered (1796).That original composition is coupled on this album with another work by Beethoven for which we no longer have the original instrumentation, but which can be reconstructed, thanks to a series of circumstances, to a point of departure from which Ulf-Guido Schäfer has been able to arrange it as a chamber music Concerto for piano and wind quintet.

Classical Music

The majority of Haydn's concertos for keyboard and orchestra are thought to have been composed for the organ. The three that were not have been included on this disc, together with the 'Concerto in D major, Hob.XVIII/2' which was most probably intended for the organ, but is often performed on other keyboard instruments since the solo part makes no use of the pedals. They are all composed before 1l784, around the time that Mozart wrote his first masterpieces in the genre, and it is tempting to think that, having heard Mozart's concertos, Haydn decided that he could not possibly compete in this area. After all, as one of the great pianists of the era, Mozart's concertos became the occasion for a breathtaking display of invention and virtuosity. Haydn on the other hand did not as a rule perform his concertos, leaving room in the limelight to other musicians. The concertos on the present disc thus , in a manner of speaking, show us an alternative route for the piano concerto as a genre. Here they are interpreted by Ronald Brautigam, who with his 11-volume series of Haydn's complete works for solo keyboard has proven himself one of todays most gengenial interpreters of the composer's music. He is ably backed by one of the most interesting period-instrument bands at the moment, Concerto Copenhagen, directed by Lars Ulrik Mortensen.

2020 saw the release of the first installment in this three-album traversal of Beethoven’s violin sonatas – a disc which has garnered distinctions such as Choc de Classica and Cum Laude (Luister), with performances that ‘wed classical verve to a profoundly Romantic spirit’ (Gramophone) in ‘recordings that are conversations by a perfect instrumental pairing’ (BBC Music Magazine). As Frank Peter Zimmermann and Martin Helmchen open the second disc, they do so with the iconic Spring Sonata, Op. 24. Completed in 1801, the work proved immediately popular with a second edition appearing only months after the first publication. There were also numerous arrangements for a variety of forces – including a song based on motifs from the sonata’s slow movement. Soon after completing Op. 24, Beethoven began work on a set of three sonatas of which the first two are included on this album. Musically the Op. 30 sonatas continue the development that had begun with the Spring Sonata towards a contrast-rich, symphonic style. Beethoven originally planned to end the first and shortest of the three with the expansive movement that later became the finale of the great Kreutzer Sonata. As this would clearly have ruined the proportions of the work, he eventually replaced it with a set of variations. Closing this album is the second sonata of Op. 30, in C minor. It is the most important of the set; a genuine Grande Sonate in four movements, and an early example of Beethoven’s ‘heroic’ style.

REVIEW:

This is one of the most responsive partnerships I’ve heard in these sonatas, and I’ve heard some really outstanding ones. The togetherness of these two artists in precision of timing and harmonic vibration in matters of phrasing and dynamics is an amazing thing to experience.

-- Fanfare

The first phrase of Reger’s Op.141 Serenade plunges the listener into the world of joyful music-making among friends circa 1780. The immediate modulation to a higher key in the second phrase brings us back to the more knowing world of late-Romanticism, and Reger thereafter moves between the two with great charm and no little skill. Light and effervescent the temper of these serenades may be but they also make considerable demands on their performers to keep up with the composer’s breathless turn of phrase and invention; these Italian musicians are fully up to speed. The Larghetto slow movement of Op.141 is an expressive high-point on the disc and, like much of Reger’s music, it is far too little known given its tender appeal to the general listener. With these two works, Reger was evidently paying homage to a Classical spirit whichfound its fulfilment – at least in this unusual instrumentation – in Beethoven’s Serenade. The six movements find the young Beethoven at his most carefree and effervescent: even the Andante and variations (which would become a conduit for profound thoughts later in his career) is as light as air and bubbling with melody and witty repartee. Anyone who only knows Beethoven from the symphonies, sonatas and concertos has a very pleasant surprise in store with this disc. Andrea Oliva is principal flautist of the Orchestra dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and has made many notable recordings with them and their music director, Sir Antonio Pappano, but he has also enjoyed a successful career as a soloist: according to Sir James Galway, he is ‘one of the best flutists of his generation, a shining star in the world of the flute.’ He has recorded Bach sonatas with Angela Hewitt and the chamber music of Saint-Saëns (BC95165) and Dutilleux (BC94738) with his Santa Cecilia colleagues, both released by Brilliant Classics.

Musica ad Rhenum has earned a special place in the early music world, with critics describing the ensemble's performances as "cutting edge" and "exhilarating." the group are joined by a fantastic set of vocal soloists, with Johanette Zomer assuming the role of Aminta and Alexe Gregoriev playing Alexander the Great.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach published the first collection in his series 'for Connaisseurs and Amateurs' in 1779, at the age of 65, and the sixth and final in 1787, a year before his death. Throughout the series he continues to develop the three genres which are featured in it – sonata, rondo and fantasia. In the sixth collection, the fantasias and rondos continue to resemble each other in structure and in stylistic features: abrupt tempo changes, disruptive rhythms, and constant harmonic non sequiturs. Bach gives them ample dimensions, but as in previous collections he continues to reduce the length of the sonatas, to the point that Sonata No. 1 is the shortest work of the collection, although it is in three distinct movements. On this amply-filled album, Miklós Spányi also includes four other works from Carl Philipp's last decade which in various ways underline the composer's boundless curiosity. The Sonata in G major, Wq 65/48 was composed for an experimental keyboard instrument with a bowing device coupled to it – a 'Bogenclavier' – while Bach in the set of variations Wq 118/9 gives us his own take on La Folia, the harmonic scheme that almost a century earlier had inspired composers such as Corelli, Marin Marais and Vivaldi, as well as his own father, in the famous ‘Peasant Cantata’.

Ludwig van Beethoven went to Prague for the first time in 1796, accompanying Prince Lichnowsky, who introduced him to the city's foremost aristocratic families. One of these was the Clam- Gallas family, who played an eminent role in musical circles. It was here that Beethoven met Josephine Clary-Aldringen, an amateur singer and mandolinist who in 1797 married Count Christian Christoph. It was to her that Beethoven dedicated a number of pieces for mandolin and piano that feature in this recording, along with two interesting sonatas by Johann Nepomuk Hummel and Bartolomeo Bortolazzi, originally composed for the same combination of instruments. Neapolitan mandolinist Raffaele La Ragione has already made several recordings of mandolin music, and this is his first release with the Arcana label. Marco Crosetto, the founder of the ensemble La Vaghezza, is a Turin-based harpsichordist who in 2018 reached the semi-finals of the famous Musica Antiqua international competition in Bruges. The result of an in-depth study of the original sources, this selection of Beethoven's lesser-known works constitutes a fitting and original contribution to the 250th anniversary celebrations.

The caliber of the Nishizaki-Loeb partnership is outstanding. They provide expressive playing that is light and delicate. Their performances overflow with imagination and a high degree of intimacy. Nishizaki is highly experienced and has sold possibly the most recordings of any violinist. She has the advantage of a technique that is comfortably secure with a pleasing tone that is crisp and cool. There is a purity to her playing, fused with a relaxed manner that is hard to resist. The elaborate piano part in the hands of Loeb is natural and unforced. The duo's choice of speeds tends to be rather on the slow side for my taste. However, in the allegro of K570 (track 6) the players demonstrate that they can quicken when they choose. I especially enjoyed their sensitive performance of the adagio of the Sonata K570 which is tender and highly compelling. Also impressive is the closing movement rondo of the same Sonata, dazzlingly played with joy and vitality, and totally free of affectation. Something special is also happening in the Sonata, K403 at several points in the allegro - allegretto (track 4) especially at points 1.27-2.11; 3.30-4.09 and 5.18-6.26 where the unison playing is exceptional.

After several recordings with Anima Eterna and Jos Van Immerseel, the French violinist Chouchane Siranossian tackles a programme of extremely virtuosic concertos that few Baroque violinists dare to face. Thanks to her technical gifts and to partners ideally suited to this repertory – the Venice Baroque Orchestra and its conductor Andrea Marcon, a specialist in the Italian Baroque style – she takes up the challenge with brio. This album is released to coincide with the 250th anniversary of Tartini’s death in 2020. Of special interest is a completely unknown and unpublished concerto in G major, the manuscript of which was recently found by the musicologist Margherita Canale.

Ireneusz Wyrwa (b. 1975) started playing the organ while at the Frederic Chopin State Secondary Music School. In 1999, he graduated with honors in organ performance from the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music. For over 20 years, Mr. Wyrwa was an active church musician in several Polish dioceses. He is currently professor in the Department of Church Music of Fryderyk Chopin Music University in Warsaw. This DUX organ recital features works written between the 17th -19th centuries.

The Orchester Wiener Akademie and it's conductor Martin Haselböck continue the Resound Beethoven series, performed on period instruments and scrupulously respecting the orchestral layouts of 200 years ago. Volume 8, the last volume of the series, is devoted to two emblematic works, both of them dedicated jointly to Prince Franz Joseph Maximilian Lobkowitz and Count Andreas Kirillovich Razumovsky: Symphonies nos. 5 and 6. Each of these symphonies has a name attached to it. While the Fifth Symphony is sometimes called the 'Fate' Symphony for more or less determined reasons, Beethoven himself named the Sixth 'Pastoral', thus pursuing the venerable tradition of the musical pastorale while conferring a new dimension on it. The Orchester Wiener Akademie recorded these two works in the Landhaus Saal of the Niederösterreich Palais, Beethoven's favorite concert venue. Between 1819 and 1827, all his nine symphonies were performed there at the 'Concerts spirituels' founded by Franz Gebauer, and it was in this same palace that the Austrian Revolution of 1848 began.

Described by critics as a 'bona fide angel playing' and an 'electrifying pianist', the young Ukrainian-born, North Carolina-based Valentina Lisitsa has been receiving rave reviews ever since her debut in Avery Fisher Hall for the Mostly Mozart Festival.