Described as the ‘Pianists’ Old Testament’, The Well-Tempered Clavier is a collection of pieces of exceptional artistic quality. No other work from the baroque period has been as valued, performed and studied as this collection whose objectives were musical, theoretical and didactic.

Both books of The Well-Tempered Clavier feature a prelude and fugue in each of the 12 semitones of the chromatic scale, covering each of the 24 major and minor modes – a unique body of works. No two preludes or fugues are alike; they display the full range of contrapuntal devices, while the preludes offer an infinite variety of melodic, rhythmic and constructional possibilities. Each of these pieces demonstrates a mastery of counterpoint that never takes precedence over emotion, beauty and aesthetics. With the two books of The Well-Tempered Clavier, Bach established himself as the unrivalled master of the fugue genre.

Following his recordings of Bach’s concertos for one and two harpsichords (BIS-2041, BIS 2051 and BIS-2481), which reviewers have praised for his unaffected playing and acute musicianship, Masato Suzuki now offers us his take on this Bach monument.

For their 25th anniversary, caterva musica has recorded virtuoso concertos for all instrumental groups in the ensemble. L‘arte del virtuoso (The Art of the Virtuoso) is a four-part series released by MDG. The programme on Vol. 3 includes Franz Benda's dramatic flute concerto, lively chamber music by Telemann, Graun and Vivaldi, as well as a very special rarity: Johann Sebastian Bach's large-scale Sinfonia BWV 1045 with concertante violin.

Charlotte Mattax Moersch performs major keyboard works by Bach, that are now usually performed on harpsichord, on the lautenwerk. The lautenwerk is sometimes referred to as a lute harpsichord; it is a harpsichord-like instrument with a major exception; the strings are gut, giving it a far more mellow sound. Bach often performed his own works on a lautenwerk.

While there is no doubt today that this music originates from Bach, due to numerous deviations from the usual viola da gamba music of his time, it is considered likely that he originally had a different ensemble in mind, or that these works existed in other instrumentation before he adapted them for the viola da gamba. This was a common practice then, just as it makes sense today to arrange "classics" for all kinds of other instruments, preserving their original character while simultaneously creating possibilities for new tonal aspects. It was in precisely this spirit that Kurt Gold and Reinhard Latzko arranged Bach's sonatas for their instruments. In Astor Piazzolla, we encounter one of Argentina's most prominent and innovative musicians, who stands out as a bandoneon player, composer and founder of the "Tango Nuevo". This category includes "Le Grand Tango", which was commissioned in 1982 by the Russian cello virtuoso Mstislav Rostropovich.

Prof. Erich Beurmann donated 70 instruments to the Hamburg Museum of Arts and Crafts. Among them are a large number of harpsichords, clavichords, and fortepianos: from an Italian harpsichord dating from 1540 to a Steinway concert grand piano from 1871. A significant portion of these instruments are kept playable so that the music of various eras can be reproduced on the instruments of the time. Susanne Von Laun regularly plays instruments from this collection in concerts and on guided tours. The artist, who was awarded the Muzio Clementi Award in 2005, selected five instruments for this CD (a square piano from 1777, three fortepianos from 1795 to 1820, and a Broadwood grand piano from 1841), which can now be heard on CD for the first time.

Women were not always allowed to compose - often due to restrictions imposed by their families or for social reasons. Ursula Erhart-Schwertmann, cello, and Elisabeth Aigner-Monarth, piano, illustrate on this album by the title "lost & found" the compositional activity of women in that era, in which composing for women was increasingly recognized. Their lists of works contain mainly short chamber music pieces, less often large-scale orchestral works. This selection of works also takes this into account and offers a compilation of character pieces from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Female composers from France, Great Britain, Denmark and north-eastern Europe like Mel Bonis, Amy Beach, Ethel Barns, Hilda Sehested or Marie Clemence de Grandval, among others, are given a voice and document the musical range of this genre.

In this 1720 score, Johann Sebastian Bach laid the foundation that would shape the future of the violin in Western music. While building on the contributions of earlier composers, his meticulous craftsmanship-a true compendium of the instrument's virtues-and his vision in terms of musical conception and performance render these Six Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin a cornerstone. No self-respecting violinist can ignore them, as they serve both as a fundamental study and a lofty aspiration. There is no separation between the performer and the music; their expressive power and technical demands require a lifelong dedication. This is exactly what the excellent violinist Gisella Curtolo tells us: In Spanish, grabar means to leave a mark on a surface, on stone... on a CD. It is something lasting, like a "sculpture of sounds." It is a way to communicate the culmination of our journey, akin to scaling a mountain and reaching the summit, achieving something "epic" that we have been carefully preparing and envisioning year after year. There comes a moment in musicians' life when they feel like the right time to "record" what they have been playing, teaching, and perfecting for many years. This is how I felt as I approached the recording of this immense masterpiece, one of the pillars of the repertoire for violinists of the past, present, and surely the future.

Night Surrendering to Dawn features an engaging and eclectic program of works for flute and piano by 21st century composers Valerie Coleman, Christian Ellenwood, Amanda Harberg, and Samuel Zyman. As we move through unprecedented and challenging times, we hope that the pieces on this program serve to remind us that light and hope will return after the dark.

Works by Bach arranged by Max Reger for piano four hands with the warm; romantic timbre of the magnificent concert grand “Manfred Bürki” Steinway-D from 1901.

Australian organist Simon Nieminski showcases the restored 1877 Hill & Son Grand Organ, located in the Barossa Regional Gallery in Tanunda, South Australia, with a program that is autobiographical for the artist.

Julian Walder (*2000 in Vienna) is first prize winner of numerous international competitions, including the NYIAA - New York International Artists Association Violin Competition. He is the Grand Prix winner in all categories at the Grumiaux Competition in Belgium and was awarded, among other distinctions, the 3rd prize at the 2023 International Henri Marteau Violin Competition in Germany. The Chaconne by BACH, a source of inspiration for countless composers over centuries, forms the heart of this CD. Around this fundamental Baroque masterpiece, many currents, influences, admirations, and tributes have emerged. The title of the CD, "(R)-EVOLUTION", encompasses the word "evolution," signifying how, through the adoption and application of Bach's compositional techniques, his structures continue to live on in many works across the ages. The "revolution" refers to the deliberate transformation of his defining style by other composers over time.

The harpsichord from 1745 by Joannes Daniel Dulcken bearing the inventory number SAM 726 not only is an instrument with a beautiful and most distinctive sound: it also commands admiration as a visually magnificent exhibition piece. Nothing is known about the original owners, but over the course of a century and a half it found it's way from the production site in Antwerp to Vienna, where it was added to the collection of Historic Musical Instruments at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in 1921. In the following decades, it's playability was restored in several stages, with it's sound now documented for the first time on this CD. The internationally acclaimed Austrian organist and harpsichordist Stefan Donner presents the Goldberg Variations by J.S. Bach, one of the most famous variation cycles in music history, which is also an ideal choice of program due to the immediate proximity of it's publication in 1741 to the time of the instrument's creation

Jonathan Dove (b. 1959) and Dame Judith Weir (b. 1954) may diverge in musical style, yet their organ compositions converge through evocative storytelling. On this album, their works for organ intertwine, revealing a shared fascination with the organ's pictorial prowess, particularly in the depiction of watery motifs. From Weir's turbulent Scottish river in Ettrick Banks, and her rugged yet ghostly depiction of traditional Eastern European folk instruments in The Wild Reeds, to Dove's jubilant celebrations of organ pipes in The Dancing Pipes, and the almost over-whelming force of his Niagara, each piece unfolds like a rich tapestry of sound. Organist Thomas Corns breathes life into these compositions, where theological reflections mingle with vibrant sonic imagery, and the organ becomes a palette for storytelling.

Serendipia Ensemble, Rita Rógar, and Moisés Maroto, together with their ensemble of musicians—Darío Tamayo on the harpsichord, Calia Álvarez on the viola da gamba, José Arsenio Rueda on the baroque bassoon, and Jon Wasserman exchanging his plucked string instruments (theorbo and baroque guitar)—have recorded the complete sonatas. Premiering worldwide with the record label IBS Classical.

With this large continuo group, Serendipia Ensemble seeks a unique musical approach to the concept of the triosonata, finding the common ground between the concerto form conceived by Corelli and the sonata form arranged by Schickhardt. We are now able to hear, with layering of different instruments, the triosonatas approach the concerti in sections such as the tutti-soli that we appreciate in the Corellian originals.

Robert Horton; the 2022 First Prize Winner in the American Guild of Organists' National Competition in Organ Improvisation (NCOI); presents a program of organ improvisations modeled after a variety of musical forms; in addition to his adaptations of music of Bach and Mendelssohn for solo pipe organ; on the new Pasi Opus 28 pipe organ at St. George's Episcopal Church; Arlington; Virginia USA.

Recorded live in concert in October, this release marks the Monteverdi Choir's 60th birthday and the 200th anniversary of Bruckner's birth with an album that combines his celebrated a cappella motets with the sacred motets of Carlo Gesualdo (1566 - 1613). Performed in 2024 by the Monteverdi Choir in Ely, Oxford and the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich under conductor Jonathan Sells, the album brings alive both the tormented passion and the exultant beauty of both composers' music.

This album features four wonderful new works for Cello and Chamber Winds, superbly performed by Paul York, cello, with The University of Louisville Wind Ensemble, conducted by Frederick Speck.

The No. 1 choice for Bach aficionados – The master of subtle and elegant piano playing on the powerful-sounding "Manfred Bürki", a Steinway concert grand from 1901.

This album features major works by Mozart, Clementi, and Haydn, arranged for and played by virtuoso accordionist William Popp.

In this recording, you will find a dialogue between two of the most essential funerary musical works of the German Baroque.

In 2022, we celebrated Heinrich Schütz, a central figure of the album, on the 350th anniversary of his death. As a culmination of a series of projects around his person and work, this recording wants to serve as a tribute to an extraordinary musical legacy that found in Johann Sebastian Bach, its greatest supporter. The manifest bond between both composers here is seen in the way in which death is shaken and beaten for later, collected from within our soul, be restored and sublimated by two artistic personalities capable of transcending a rich amalgamation of religious, cultural, and musical aspects around the ars moriendi of his time. Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien and Bach’s Actus Tragicus stem from a creative attitude toward death that is very close to home one from the other. Thus, it is not by chance that with their listening, both works fill us with peace and the deep sense of rest with which they do it.

"Johann Sebastian Bach used the recorder in two Brandenburg concertos and some twenty cantatas and oratorios, but alas, he left us no sonata with harpsichord," say Julien Martin and Olivier Fortin. Arranging chamber music for a variety of instrumental ensembles was a widespread practice in the eighteenth century. Bach himself seems to have created a number of works that did not necessarily require the use of a specific instrument. Here Julien Martin and Olivier Fortin, musical partners for many years, present the Sonata in F major, originally written for transverse flute and continuo, transcriptions of the Trio Sonata for organ No. 3 in E minor, the Partita for violin No. 2 in G minor, and the Chorale 'Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland', whose extensive ornamental flourishes elongate and transform the chorale melody to the point of rendering it unrecognisable.

Organist Frederick Hohman continues his all-Bach organ works series with Volume 5, recorded on April 29, 2024 on the 2023 Taylor & Boody pipe organ at Ancilla Domini Chapel in Donaldson, Indiana USA.

The brilliant dynamism of Italian Baroque music is at it's most virtuosic and thrilling in works featuring the solo trumpet, whether in original compositions or transcriptions. Albinoni's astonishing ornamentations and the luminous dexterity of Vivaldi's concerto both represent each composer's distinctive character, heard alongside works by Corelli, Zipoli, Baldassare and Torelli. Domenico Sarri's Sinfonia a 5 is heard here in it's world premiere recording. Thomas Reiner is an acknowledged exponent of this repertoire with his performance of German Baroque Trumpet Concertos (Naxos 8.551419) described as 'first rate and spirited... an excellent protagonist' by Fanfare magazine.

Spanning 500 years from the exquisite simplicity of Thomas Tallis' perfect miniature O nata lux through Britten's jubilant Festival Te Deum to Cheryl Frances-Hoad's majestic O come let us sing unto the Lord, this album celebrates the hope and anticipation that comes with the beginning of a new day. Arise my love perfectly complements Magdalen's first album on CORO, Peace I leave with you, which celebrates music written for the end of the day.

J. S. Bach The English Suites BWV 806-811 Zhu Xiao-Mei piano After a six-year hiatus, acclaimed pianist Zhu Xiao-Mei returns with a deeply personal and masterful recording of J.S. Bach's English Suites. This release completes her heartfelt journey through Bach's piano compositions, marking another significant milestone in her extraordinary career. This project is the culmination of years of meticulous preparation and an intimate relationship with the music. Zhu Xiao-Mei's approach is characterized by a profound connection to each piece, allowing her to bring out the subtleties and nuances that make Bach's work so timeless. Her dedication to living with the music day-by-day ensures a performance that is both authentic and deeply resonant. J. S. Bach The English Suites BWV 806-811 CD 1 1-7 8-17 18-24 CD 2 1-7 8-14 15-22 Available worldwide English Suite No. 3 in G minor, BWV 808 English Suite No. 1 in A major, BWV 806 English Suite No. 2 in A minor, BWV 807 English Suite No. 5 in E minor, BWV 810 English Suite No. 4 in F major, BWV 809 English Suite No. 6 in D minor, BWV 811 The English Suites, with their blend of lively orchestral and delicate intimate moments, have a special place in Zhu XiaoMei's heart. She describes them as "a music of intimacy," making this recording particularly unique. Despite the challenges, including pandemic-related delays and finding the perfect piano, her dedication to authenticity shines through in every note. Zhu Xiao-Mei's insightful and sensitive performance invites you into a world of subtlety and depth, offering a refreshing contrast to today's fast-paced musical landscape. This album is not just a completion of her Bach recordings but a milestone that underscores her exceptional artistry and unwavering devotion to Bach's timeless music.

Recorded live at Boston's magnificent Symphony Hall, CORO brings together on one album the Handel and Haydn Society's recordings of Haydn's early Symphonies Nos. 6, 7 & 8. Known as Le matin, Le midi and Le soir, the three works, written shortly after Haydn joined the court of Prince Paul Anton Esterhazy, are amongst the most striking of the composer's early symphonies. Characterised by unusual virtuoso writing across the orchestral ensemble, all three works feature extensive solo passages for the wind, horn and strings, including rare solo writing for the double bass and bassoon, and demonstrate Haydn's emerging skill as a master of symphonic writing.

Winners of the First Prize at the inaugural Birmingham International Piano Chamber Music Competition, violinist Usha Kapoor and pianist Edward Leung present an album of violin sonatas by American composers Amy Beach and John Corigliano. The album features Beach’s large-scale chamber work of 1896, the Sonata for Violin and Piano Op. 34, and her earlier Romance for Violin and Piano, Op. 23 from 1893, together with Corigliano’s Sonata for Violin and Piano. Completed in 1963, this work was originally called ‘Duo’ and is very much intended for two equal musical partners.

Gluck's Orphee et Euridice is a masterpiece of the operatic canon, inspired by one of the most mysterious and cruel stories in Greek mythology. The gods allow Orpheus to descend into the underworld to revive his beloved wife Eurydice, but on condition that he must not look at her while returning. This production from Florence re-imagines this myth as a story for our times. It explores each character anew, highlighting the music and text as a more sophisticated psychological thriller than previously imagined, creating a moving and transformative narrative with which we can all identify.

On this 2012 recording, previously available on Decca, Robert Hollingworth leads his celebrated ensemble, I Fagiolini, on a journey unearthing incredible lost works from the late Renaissance and early Baroque, adding to their acclaimed 'Colossal Baroque' series on CORO. 1612 - the death of Giovanni Gabrieli, master of the 'Massive Baroque' and most brilliant of Venetian multi-choir composers but also the publication of Lodovico Grossi da Viadana's very modern four-choir Vespers collection. I Fagiolini's recording remains the only version of these spectacular Vespers as well as of Giovanni Gabrieli's unparalleled military-evoking Magnificat for seven choirs (meticulously researched and reconstructed by Hugh Keyte) and replete with fanfares and canon blasts.

Handel's Messiah needs no introduction. This mighty yet majestic masterpiece is the most popular oratorio ever written and includes, arguably, the most famous chorus of all time-the iconic Hallelujah! Handel was a master chorus writer and for Messiah he certainly pulled out all the stops, placing the choir front and centre throughout. Although it has become synonymous with Christmas, Messiah was originally written as an Easter offering, bursting onto the stage of the Musick Hall in Dublin in April 1742. Taken from it's Award-winning 2008 complete recording of Messiah (COR16062), this collection from The Sixteen celebrates the wonderful choruses that have given so many singers, both amateur and professional, such joy and inspired an enduring love for this epic work.