Great works of chamber music by a master of melodies, performed by internationally renowned musicians - all the elements are in place for a feast of surprises on this recording. First up is a string quartet for violin, two violas and violoncello. Pleyel's String Sextet, a work that holds up well against other sextets from that time, was first recognized in the Hoffmeister edition published on 14 May 1791. Pleyel's four-movement Quintet in G minor with its surprisingly short and slow introduction could be described as "a prodigious and prescient romantic reconception." In this work, Pleyel did not comply with the dictate of fashion - instead of writing for the music market, he wrote for an audience of connoisseurs, availing himself of "the science of composition." As the musicologist and composer Vogler put it, "he can when he wants to." In all likelihood, the String Quintet has never been publicly performed and is therefore one of his (and not only his) most interesting string quintets.

As both conductor at La Scala from 1802 to 1833, and a professor at the new conservatoire in Milan, Alessandro Rolla (1757-1841) was the heartbeat of Milanese music in the turbulent early decades of the 19th century. He was also an accomplished performer on both violin and viola, and his own compositional output reflects his instrumental mastery, filtered through his experience of leading the Italian premieres of quartets and symphonies by Beethoven as well as operas by Mozart: he was a complete musician of his time. The F major Viola Concerto opening this attractive new album belongs to Rolla’s apprentice years in service to the ducal court at Parma. With its uncompromising technical demands and unwavering focus on the solo instrument, the concerto represents a missing link between the idioms of Tartini and Paganini. The dawn of bel canto may be discerned in the slow movement of the album’s concluding D minor Viola Concerto, which concludes with a charmingly bucolic Rondo. Dating from Rolla’s Milanese years, the 1805 Tantum ergo also features a concertante role for the viola, in sinuous accompaniment to the vocal bass soloist: a highly original device perhaps prompted by Mozart’s famous Sinfonia Concertante. As a performer, Rolla reserved the most haunting melodies and moments for himself: After a vocal cadenza on the closing Amen it is the viola that sets the seal on the work with an intensely lyrical phrase and a brilliantly virtuosic stretta. The D major Sinfonia likewise belongs to the first decade of the 1800s – infused with Rossinian verve and bubbling with operatic drama in the quick outer movements. The Milanese violist Simonide Braconi plays Rolla’s music to the manner born, being the long-standing principal violist at La Scala. He is accompanied here by a chamber orchestra based in nearby Pavia and specialising in Classical-era works by neglected composers.

This album is a sequel to ‘Café 1930’, which also featured Piercarlo Sacco and Andrea Dieci in violin/guitar arrangements of Piazzolla. Released in 2014, ‘Café 1930’ was praised for the virtuosity of Sacco and sensitive partnership of Dieci: ‘The record is a great gift for any party and every occasion, even for oneself when looking for something out of the ordinary, but full of charm and interest.’ (www.saltinaria.it) ‘In a new exciting mix of the traditional dance with jazz and classical music influences… All the pieces are played with energy, drive and an innate feeling for the characteristic Tango spirit by Piercarlo Sacco and guitarist Andrea Dieci.’ (www.neuguitars.com) Their sequel opens with the title track, one of Piazzolla’s best-known tangos, named after the street where he lived during his years in New York. Imágines 676 is an explicit reference to a club in Buenos Aires located in Calle Tucuman 676, where he used to play with his quintet, alternating with musicians such as João Gilberto and Stan Getz. For Fièvre and Détresse, Sacco has matched the melody with the smokier, rough-breathing sound of the viola. Several out-of-the-way Piazzolla tangos are included here, such as Psicosis, Suavidad, Dernier lamento, Tango choc and Made in USA, again in the free and passionate arrangements that made their first album a critical success.

Graceful, refined, and irresistibly charming, the Flute Quartets occupy an exquisite place in Mozart’s incomparable chamber music. This light, airy music with its vivid contrasts, delicious textures and irrepressible wit is brought to life by the soloists of the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin in this new release from PENTATONE. Mozart may have disparaged the flute as an instrument but he shows no signs of weariness in these exemplary works which positively overflow with youthful optimism. The young unemployed Mozart wrote three of the flute quartets following a commission from the Dutch amateur flautist Ferdinand Dejean in Mannheim. Around the same time he also started work on his famous Concerto for Flute and Harp. The Flute Quartet in D K285 is a breezy affair written in concertante style which brims with attractive melodies. Its sublimely affecting slow movement was described by the biographer Alfred Einstein as “perhaps the most beautiful accompanied flute solo that has even been written”. The simple, unhurried Flute Quartet in G K285A contains a delightful interplay of instruments, while the Flute Quartet in C K285B has a charming theme and variations with a spirited finale. The playful Flute Quartet in A K298 is a later work perhaps written for a group of friends; it contains borrowings from other composers artfully woven into the engaging and witty score. The result is, of course, utterly winning. Ulf-Dieter Schaaff is the principal flautist with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, a position he combines with a career as a soloist and as an internationally sought-after teacher. He is joined by his colleagues Philipp Beckert (violin), Andreas Willwohl (viola) and Georg Boge (violoncello). In their first recording for PENTATONE, they chose an unconventional seating arrangement (with violin and flute on the outer flanks) in order to create a novel spatial effect in the music. They play these quartets not as a “Concerto for Flute and String Trio” but as chamber music written for equal partners.

Internationally respected musicians Daniel Palmizio (viola) and Nicolas van Poucke (piano) join forces in a double-album featuring Bach’s complete gamba sonatas and Brahms two clarinet sonatas. Palmizio (recently described as a player of ‘instrumental mastery’ characterized by ‘unselfconscious refinement’) and Van Poucke (‘a truly poetic musician’) met at a festival in Zeeland, The Netherlands and have since worked together for several years. This album is the fruit of a deep friendship and shared love for music. Their approach to the music of both Bach and Brahms is equally steeped in tradition of the virtuosos of the golden era as it is forward looking and original. On a 17th century Testore (equipped with open gut strings) and a modern Steinway, Palmizio and Van Poucke, uncompromising in expressive intensity and counter-punctual clarity, shine a new bright light on sonatas by Bach and Brahms.