On her Pentatone debut album, young German star soprano Anna Lucia Richter explores the heart-wrenching, timeless and universal feeling of Heimweh (homesickness) through a collection of extraordinary Schubert songs. Richter approaches the notion of Heimweh from several perspectives: from that of queens, young girls and shepherds to that of soldiers, dwarfs and gravediggers. The repertoire consists of the original, German-language version of Ave Maria, three Mignon songs (Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt, Heiss micht nicht reden and So lasst mich scheinen), the sinister Der Zwerg, the expansive flower ballad Viola and many others. Richter is accompanied by pianist Gerold Huber, with whom she has formed a congenial Lieder tandem in the last years. They are joined by clarinetist Matthias Schorn on the final song of the program, the quasi concert aria Der Hirt auf dem Felsen.

Mahler based the second movement of his Seventh Symphony on The Night Watch by Rembrandt, but the painter himself depicted few musicians and no acquaintances with musicians are known. His most famous musical contemporary was the keyboardist and composer Sweelinck, whose setting of Psalm 1 is presented here in a consort-style recording alongside three keyboard works played on harpsichord and organ. This collection also highlights much more unfamiliar names to illustrate the rich musical culture of the Low Countries at the time of the painter’s flourishing. There are vivid sacred madrigals by Herman Hollanders; stylish pavans by Cornelis Schuyt; a transcribed, extensive Salve Regina for organ by Pieter Cornet; a song for solo recorder by the lutenist Jacob van Eyck, Doen Daphne d’Over schoone Maegt; solo-vocal motets by the poet and diplomat Constantijn Huygens, who did in fact know Rembrandt; and much, much more. All the works and composers, however unfamiliar, are elucidated in an invaluable booklet essay. The organ recordings were made in the Oude Kerk of Amsterdam which played a significant role in Rembrandt’s life (and became the resting place of his wife, Saskia), on the church’s transept organ, which has been newly restored to the meantone temperament which the composers on this album would have known and written for. Full sung texts are also included in this invaluable and unrivalled collection.

Recorded live in Tokyo on 20 May 2009 with the NHK Symphony Orchestra conducted by Tadaaki Otaka, this concert provides a new opportunity to take the full measure of the poetry deployed by Nelson Goerner. This poetic approach has come to be seen as the pianist’s trademark in his recordings of Chopin or Debussy. Yet his interpretation also shows unfailing virtuosity, with a precision and power that place him among the most eminent pianists of our time. This recording is one that Nelson Goerner was particularly keen to make, for he views Brahms’s Second Concerto as an immense masterpiece. Premiered in Budapest in 1881 with Brahms himself at the piano, the work enjoyed immediate success with critics and public alike. Now, more than 200 years later, the piece is receiving new life.

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REVIEW:

There is something particularly well-thought out about this performance that makes it compelling. Pianists and conductors can often take a very different view of this concerto with the result that the work can feel like two performances rather than a single performance. The intertwining of a narrative between the orchestra and the pianist – the essence of great chamber-music – is particularly strong here, but so, too, is the sense that both Otaka and Goerner are just letting Brahms’s score unfold. It often feels like an event, a rather special experience, but I suspect one that Nelson Goerner would probably play very differently under another conductor and orchestra.

– MusicWeb International

Conceived thirty years apart, both works on the present disc came into being at difficult times in the life of Arnold Schoenberg. Emotional stress caused by a marital crisis around 1907-1908 is often claimed to have contributed to the break with tonality that the Second String Quartet represents – in the course of the work Schoenberg moves from the post-Wagnerian chromaticism of Late Romanticism to atonality, with the final movement lacking a key signature altogether. Another unusual feature is the inclusion of a soprano in the two last movements. Schoenberg himself later wrote: 'I was inspired by poems of Stefan George, the German poet ... and, surprisingly, without any expectation on my part, these songs showed a style quite different from everything I had written before.'

Almost thirty years later, in 1936, the String Quartet No. 4 was one of the first works that Schoenberg composed in the U.S.A. after having been forced into exile by the threat of the Nazi regime in Germany. He had left Europe in 1933, but the first years in his new home country had been taxing, with health problems and a difficult work schedule involving teaching in both Boston and New York. If the second quartet is a key work of musical modernism, pointing towards an as yet unknown future, String Quartet No. 4 rests securely on the principles of twelve-tone composition that Schoenberg had developed during the intervening years – but makes use of these principles in a somewhat freer, more relaxed manner than his previous twelve-tone works. The two works are given full-blooded performances by the Gringolts Quartet, joined by the Swedish soprano Malin Hartelius in the Second String Quartet.

In 2006 La Serenissima released it's superb debut recording featuring two world premiere recordings. Now, that album is being reissued. L'Amore per Elvira, written for the Mantuan court around 1716-20, consists of three cantatas, each featuring soprano Mhairi Lawson. In Tremori al braccio, RV 799 the lover, Fileno, trembles at his inability to confess his love to Elvira, only overcoming his reticence in the finale. In the second work Elvira, anima mia, RV 654, Fileno bears the sad tidings to Elvira that he must leave for a while and asks for one last kiss before he leaves. In the final work, Lungi dal vago volto, RV 680, the returning Fileno spies Elvira in the distance and he finally reaches her in the happy concluding aria. The two 'Graz' sonatas, housed in the Diozesanarchiv in Graz, are presented here for the first time. Their brass parts, which were previously missing, have been carefully reconstructed by Adrian Chandler in order to make this recording possible. The final work, the Sonata in C minor for violin and cello, RV 83, represents the only sonata of this type known to have been written by Vivaldi and is notable for it's three-movement concerto layout. Celebrating it's 25th anniversary in 2019 La Serenissima, led by violinist Adrian Chandler, is recognized as the UK's leading exponent of the music of eighteenth century Venice and connected composers.

One of Sweden’s leading composers, Rolf Martinsson had an international breakthrough with the trumpet concerto Bridge, composed for Håkan Hardenberger who has also recorded it (BIS-1208). Martinsson has since gone on to compose solo works for performers including Martin Fröst, Anne Sofie von Otter and Christian Lindberg, and enjoys a particularly close collaboration with the soprano Lisa Larsson. The two started working together in 2011, devising a soprano version of Orchestral Songs on Poems by Emily Dickinson, and Lisa Larsson has since performed Martinsson’s music at more than a hundred concerts to date. A number of leading orchestras have commissioned works from Rolf Martinsson, including the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra for which he composed his Concerto for Orchestra. In descriptions of Martinsson’s music, words such as ‘lush’, ‘colorful’ and ‘cinematic’ are often used – qualities which have proved attractive to a large audience, as well as to a number of eminent conductors. Sakari Oramo and Andrew Manze, also heard on this release, are among those who have championed works by Rolf Martinsson, in Sweden as well as internationally.

Whenever a definition is made in an attempt to distinguish one artistic concept from others, such delineation becomes an art in itself and is sometimes artificial. Music, let alone the musical genre of the art song, is no exception. Catch-all headings make matters easier. The two song cycles on this release certainly qualify as art songs. Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his opus 98 in 1816; musicologists commonly describe An die ferne Geliebte (to the distant beloved) as the first ever song cycle. Franz Schubert wrote his Schwanengesang (swan song) in 1828, the year of his death; the songs were posthumously made into a collection. In terms of its musicological and sociological development, the Lied, having long been considered “inferior,” underwent a kind of emancipation process throughout the early modern period up until the start of the 19th century, when the emergence of the educated middle-class, particularly in the German-speaking world, allowed the new genre to take root. Such songs were performed at small venues too: in salons, small halls and before audiences that were not necessarily aristocratic of courtly. Dynamically versatile and affordable, the piano was now a common keyboard instrument and was often used to accompany the vocalist with supportive harmonies and melodic counterpoint.

This release beautifully showcases the Akáthistos Hymn to the Virgin Mary, set by Ivan Moody. This lyrical masterpiece in 24 stanzas has been treasured for nearly 1,500 years by Eastern Christians. Father Moody’s 1998 setting, composed specially for the ensemble, weaves beloved Greek melodies into Russian choral textures as it progresses from reverent contemplation to ecstatic transcendence. Father Ivan Moody studied music and theology at the Universities of London, Joensuu, and York. He studied composition with Brian Dennis, Sir John Tavener, and William Brooks. His music has been broadcast and performed all over the world. He is an archpriest of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and is Chairman of the International Society for Orthodox Music. This is the world premiere recording of this work.

Calefax is an internationally acclaimed ensemble of reed players renowned for performing their own arrangements and newly commissioned compositions for the unique combination of oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bass clarinet and bassoon. Switching genres and periods with consummate ease, this adventurous new release for Pentatone from the reed quintet Calefax is a superb collection of well-honed arrangements of less familiar works, all played with the ensemble’s customary verve, passion, and mellow sound. From the frothy virtuosity of Corelli and Locatelli to the haunting beauty of Gesualdo, Satie, and the heartfelt introspection of Nina Simone, it’s an astonishingly varied and intriguing programme. As well as pieces by Franck and Janácek, it includes one commission, Look for Me by Nico Muhly, based on an American folk song, and an arrangement of the Chinese popular song Er Quan Ying Yue. All these pieces have regularly featured in Calefax’s concerts and they fully showcase the ensemble’s versatility and mastery.

In his ninth and tenth of a total of fourteen releases of Bach’s collected organ works, Kare Nordstoga pulls together much of what was not collected from the composer’s side- preludes and fugues. The double form prelude (or toccata) and fugue has been an established form of composition since the 1600s. The North Germans Dietrich Buxtehude and Georg Bohm made a powerful contribution to this contrastive style in which the freer first part and the more rigorous second part are united in a dynamic whole. The young Johann Sebastian harvested significant impressions from these two composers during his time in Lubeck and Luneburg, and this album was recorded in Luneburg. Kare Nordstoga (b. 1954) studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music. Following his debut in 1978, he continued his studies in London and he was for a time organist at Ullern Church, before coming to Oslo Cathedral in 1984. He has also been associated with the Norwegian Academy of Music, where he was appointed professor in 1994.

REVIEW:

Nordstoga displays a fine architectural grasp of the works and builds them with convincing inevitability. Integrity is the hallmark of all his playing: He is careful but not cautious; deliberate and determined but not dragging and dour; sure-handed and solid but not showy or superficial. The only thing I do not find here is the uniquely electrifying excitement that Ton Koopman brings to his complete cycle. But if, unlike me, your taste in Bach organ performances runs more towards the older tradition of stately grandeur, then definitely consider investing in Nordstoga.

– Fanfare

Hugely prolific as well as widely acclaimed, Kalevi Aho has composed 30 concertos to date. Many of them are available in recordings from BIS, and the present release features two works from the past decade. The Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra was commissioned for Jörgen van Rijen, who also performs it here. The concerto is actually Aho’s second concertante piece for the trombone – his Symphony No. 9 (1994) included a substantial and very virtuosic solo part for the instrument. In that work, and even more so in the concerto, the composer’s aim has been to extend the expressive and virtuosic possibilities of the trombone. Composed around the same time, the Trumpet Concerto is scored for the wind section of a medium-sized symphony orchestra, plus two saxophones, baritone horn and percussion. It was given its premiere by the same musicians that perform it here, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins supporting its principal trumpet Alain De Rudder in what is often a surprisingly jazzy work.

When American composers began writing symphonies around the mid-1800s, their works were very much in the European tradition. During the first half of the 20th century, the great innovator Charles Ives injected a recognizably American sound into the genre, however, and since then the American symphonic legacy has been both wide and varied. With the present release, conductor Lance Friedel strikes a blow for three fellow American composers, with the help of the eminent London Symphony Orchestra. The album opens with Walter Piston’s Symphony No. 6. It was completed in 1955, by which time many regarded Piston (1894–1976) as clinging to tradition in the face of modernism. When Samuel Jones (b.1935) presented his Third Symphony ‘Palo Duro Canyon’ in 1992, the pendulum was swinging back, however, and traditional music built of melody, harmony and rhythm was no longer considered hopelessly outdated. The work nevertheless begins in a rather non-traditional fashion with the recorded sound of the wind of the Texas plains, where the Palo Duro Canyon is situated. Jones’s slightly younger colleague Stephen Albert (1941–92) was just completing his Second Symphony when he was killed in a car accident. The work had been commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, and the orchestration of it was completed by Albert’s colleague and friend Sebastian Currier.

REVIEW:

Maine-born Walter Piston’s Symphony No. 6 was written for Charles Munch and the Boston Symphony, who premièred it in 1955. The somewhat mournful start to the first movement, marked Fluendo espressivo, soon gives way to a lighter tread. One senses a degree of formal rigour in the writing, but it’s all clad in colorful raiment. The LSO play with their usual skill, the jaunty, ear-catching scherzo so nimbly done. The deeply reflective adagio is well shaped and projected, the quietest moments—and that gorgeous harp—unerringly caught. It’s capped by a fresh, freewheeling finale, witty and warm. One to add to my roster of recent ‘finds’.

Mississippian Samuel Jones seems to have a three-pronged career, as a composer, conductor and pedagogue. His small discography includes a Schwarz/Seattle recording of the Third Symphony and Tuba Concerto, which Bob Briggs and Rob Barnett both reviewed in 2009. As the title implies, the symphony is inspired by Palo Duro Canyon, near Amarillo, Texas. In six continuous movements—helpfully cued in this release—it begins with highly atmospheric wind sounds that morph into music of uncommon thrust and thrill. Yes, the work’s traditional in the sense that it’s straightforwardly programmatic, but there’s a strength and consistency of imagination here that makes for a gripping listen.

Like an Ansel Adams landscape, Jones’s striking piece presents nature in all its raw inspiring beauty. Pursuing the photographic connection, Friedel displays a keen eye for outlines and contrast, the resulting ‘image’ intuitively—and dramatically—framed. The playing is rich and full bodied, especially in those broad, craggy perorations; it helps that engineer Fabian Frank gives the orchestra all the space they need. What a pleasure it is to hear the LSO out in the open as it were, and not constrained by the acoustic limitations of their usual venue. I simply can’t imagine the symphony’s splendid tuttis expanding in that hall with anything like the ease or tactility that they do in this one. All of which makes this another ‘find’.

New Yorker Stephen Albert’s Symphony No. 2 was unfinished at the time of his death in 1992. Orchestrated by the composer and pedagogue Sebastian Currier, the work has a brooding, rather Sibelian first movement. And while the writing isn’t as explicit or as extrovert as that of the other pieces here—textures are denser, colors more subtle—it’s not without spikes of excitement. The expansive climax at the end of the first movement is particularly impressive. The middle movement is both animated and colorful, its internal conversations and asides a delight. The finale, more equivocal, reveals a fine orchestral blend, beautifully caught by this very truthful and transparent recording. So yes, another ‘find’. (Good notes by Friedel, too.)

-- MusicWeb International

In its second release on Linn, The Avison Ensemble explores the rich diversity and delights of all twelve concertos in Vivaldi’s Opus 8. It includes the composer’s most famous work, 'The Four Seasons’, which contains some of the most instantly recognizable music ever composed and is today viewed as a pinnacle of musical art. Directed by Pavlo Beznosiuk, The Avison Ensemble presents an insightful and spirited performance of the masterpiece. Each of the twelve concertos is extremely demanding and Beznosiuk’s virtuosity permeates throughout each performance. The thematic elements within each innovative work result in a collection that is colorful, fresh and emotionally charged, and is a true testament of Vivaldi’s ability for invention and variation. Beznosiuk states: ‘The Four Seasons are well-known, well-loved and great fun to play, but let us not forget how richly characterful the other eight concerti are also. Throughout the set Vivaldi’s musical energy vibrates within us, connecting us to him in an irresistible, celebratory collection’.

Profeti della Quinta makes its Linn debut with a unique programme of Italian madrigals, instrumental pieces and Hebrew prayers by Salomone Rossi (c. 1570–c. 1630). The programme encompasses Rossi’s many-faceted talents both as a court composer in the service of the Gonzaga family and as a unique innovator of devotional music for the synagogue. Profeti della Quinta, the award-winning a cappella ensemble comprising five core male singers, is joined for this recording by Katya Polin and Eva Saladin (violin) and Ori Harmelin and Ryosuke Sakamoto (theorbo). The native Hebrew speaking singers specialize in the music of the Italian Baroque and have an immediate connection to Rossi as a Jewish Italian composer. In naming Profeti della Quinta winners of the 2011 York Early Music Young Artists Competition, producer and judge Philip Hobbs commented: “Profeti della Quinta’s stunning authentic performance practice and quality of execution was truly magnificent.”

Lars Karlsson was born in 1953 on Åland, an archipelago in the Baltic Sea which forms part of Finland although its population is Swedish-speaking. He soon moved to Helsinki, however, in order to study at the Sibelius Academy, where his teachers included Einar Englund and Einojuhani Rautavaara. Since 1976, he has himself been teaching at the Academy. Following his own distinctive route on the Finnish contemporary music scene, Karlsson composes in a neotonal vein and has been called a ‘romantic modernist’ – as well as a ‘modern romanticist’. His work list includes all genres from chamber music and solo works to orchestral works, and he has also composed extensively for voices. Two of his later works are recorded here, in performances conducted by John Storgårds with whom Karlsson has collaborated extensively, both as conductor and violinist. Storgårds and his Lapland Chamber Orchestra have previously recorded four releases with music by Kalevi Aho for BIS that have received critical acclaim and international distinctions such as the prestigious German ECHO Klassik award. Here they are joined by Gabriel Suovanen and Christoffer Sundqvist, the soloists for whom Lars Karlsson composed his Songs to texts by Lagerkvist and Clarinet Concerto.

Considered to be one of the great Nordic symphonies of its time, Wilhelm Stenhammar's Symphony No. 2 in G minor was a long time in the making. Stenhammar the conductor and pianist was a leading figure in the musical life of Sweden and Scandinavia, but in his role as composer he struggled with self-doubt, feeling that his knowledge of musical theory was insufficient. In 1910 he decided to address this perceived shortcoming, and began an intensive study of counterpoint which included setting himself several thousand assignments over the following decade. At the same time, between 1911 and 1915, Stenhammar composed his G minor symphony, and against this background it is hardly surprising that it displays his preoccupation with counterpoint, its final movement a grandiose double fugue. If the symphony is one of Stenhammar’s most celebrated works, his music for Strindberg’s A Dream Play is one of the least-known. It was composed for a production of Strindberg’s existential drama in 1916, a year after the completion of the Symphony. Rarely performed after that, the music was arranged into a concert version in 1970 by Hilding Rosenberg. Christian Lindberg and the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra have previously recorded Stenhammar’s Serenade to critical acclaim.

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REVIEW:

Lindberg’s reading of the 2nd Symphony moves with the sense of urgency Stenhammar most assuredly had in mind. The Andante lilts, the Scherzo swings, and he wisely keeps the busy contrapuntal finale bustling along. This glorious release should not be missed.

– Gramophone

World-renowned Baroque guitarist William Carter presents an appealing collection of early works by Spanish guitar virtuoso and composer Fernando Sor. Carter believes Sor’s guitar music is some of the finest ever written for the instrument. Fernando Sor: Early Works includes three large-scale works, interspersed with shorter pieces, which are charming and intimate with a strong Spanish flavor. Carter employs a performance practice endorsed by Sor himself- playing without fingernails- making this a truly unique recording. Carter’s use of his fingertips delivers wider dynamic contrasts and a softer, more subtle sound. This is the premiere recording of Sor’s early works to explore this performance practice. Carter’s recording is a blend of his incredible knowledge of the instrument and composer, his extensive research and endless hours of perfecting his technique.

This sparkling opera buffa is a premiere from the 2016 Donizetti Festival of Bergamo, with the part of Pasquale in Neapolitan dialect. It is the story of two rich merchant brothers from Lisbon, who are used to weighing everything against their barganing power. Also the marriage of Pasquale's niece Isabella is a "bargain" to them: she must marry another merchant, so as not to break with family tradition. The gags among the various characters are hilarious - especially those between the two brothers, who have competely different characters - creating an almost surreal atmosphere. Olivo, interpreted by Bruno Taddia, is teh real protagonist: as Isabella's father, he portrays a gruff, inflexible man, and does so with self-assurance and ease but never over the top. No less convincing is Filippo Morace as his brother Pasquale: istrionic and exhilarating as a na ctor, musically precise, and excellent in his Neapolitan dialect performance. Laurea Giordano, also thanks to her physique du role, is perfect as Isabella, the heartbroken girl torn between love for the young Camillo and obedience towards her grouchy father.

The transcription of the Goldberg Variations took place within a context of total respect for the original text. No change of notes or rhythms. The transcription is based on an “orchestration” of the text for four string players. As in an orchestra, all the instruments in the string quartet are not systematically required simultaneously: variations for two, three, or four instruments follow in succession. This redistribution of the material enables new lines to be heard that are often di cult to hear within the uniform sound context of the piano or harpsichord. The Goldberg Variations are a model of polyphonic writing, a synthesis of Bach’s art and contrapunctal mastery: the fugue, the canon, the French overture … Nevertheless, the work cannot be reduced to some mere austere exercise: the dances that permeate the cycle confer a superior dimension of accomplishment to the twilight of the baroque era. (Franc?ois Mei?moun)

This previously unpublished opus of Carlo Rossaro's work has been deposited with the Library of the Conservatory of Music in Torino Italy. Elena Ballario, pianist, composer and teacher at the Conservatory has re-evaluated the work and is promoting it with the aim of honoring this great Piemontese composer and bringing his repertoire of chamber and piano music to lovers of classical music in concert halls everywhere. Rossaro was a fervent admirer of Wagner and was fundamental in bringing meaning to the turmoil of an expanding cultural world in the Torino of his time. This double album is including the premiere recording of the complete chamber music opera (both, vocal and instrumental) by Carlo Rossaro, talented musician born in a poor family from the Turin provence, that in year 1848 was nominated "honorary pianist of the King" Vittorio Emanuele. He was published by Ricordi till 1863, and also by Giudici and Strada of Torino, Bock & Bote of Berlin and Seuff of Leipzig. It was Giovannina Lucca of Milan, considered at that time the reference point for the forward-looking artists (unlike Ricordi), who published Rossaro's compositions. Even if some of those included in this release are written by composers of uncertain origin, their mature style suggests the work of Rossaro in his later years.

Modest Mussorgsky wrote many works for the piano, most of which were published posthumously. Born in 1839, Mussorgsky began to compose at an early age, writing his first piece, Portenseigne Polka, in 1852, at the age of thirteen. Throughout his life, he composed works of various lengths for the instrument, many of unquestionable musical worth; his last compositions date from 1880, one year prior to his untimely death, at the age of 42. Mussorgsky’s best-known piano work is undoubtedly the monumental Pictures at an Exhibition (1874), made famous by Ravel’s orchestration, as well as Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s highly inventive orchestral version. It’s only in the original piano version, however, that Mussorgsky’s remarkable, fierce stylistic creativity is revealed. These complete works are performed by Italian pianist Giacomo Scinardo.

Featuring two Russian composers, this album presents two very rare recordings under the direction of one of the most impressive Russian conductors, Evgeny Svetlanov. Evgeny Svetlanov was born in Moscow into a family of musicians and artists. His parents were both members of the Bolshoi Theatre company, and from early childhood, Evgeny was captivated by the theater. He studied at the Gnessin school and at the Moscow Conservatory. His conducting mentor was Alexander Gauk, the founder of the USSR State Symphony Orchestra, which is heard on this recording. He gave his first performances as a conductor on the radio in 1953, while he was still a student. Two years later, he returned to the Bolshoi as principal assistant, and in 1962 was appointed principal conductor. He went on to hold prestigious posts with numerous other ensembles, and he completed more than three thousand recordings throughout his career. The present release features a recording from 1968.

Busoni embodied an essentially recreative approach to the music of the past. His Bach transcriptions reveal an absolute command of intricate polyphony and a limpid clarity. Mozart stood as an aesthetic and technical exemplar while Cramer’s little-known Etudes are adapted for modern piano technique. Busoni preserved the Lutheran austerity of Brahms’s Chorale Preludes for Organ, Op. 122 whereas in the Mephisto Waltz No. 1 he augments Liszt’s heady writing with a super-virtuosity of his own. Wolf Harden I one of the most versatile pianists of his generation. He has enjoyed great success in the Trio Fontenay, an ensemble that he founded in 1980 and with which he has toured to all the world’s major music centres. Harden devotes himself not only to chamber music but, with the same success, to the solo piano repertoire.

On a distant island, a man waits. Robbed of his posiiton, power and wealth, his enemies have left him in isolation. But this is no ordinary man, and this is no ordinary island. Prospero is a magician, able to control the very elements and bend nature to his will. When a sail appears on the horizon, he reaches out across the ocean to the ship that carries the men who wronged him. Creating a vast magical storm, he wrecks the ship and washes his enemies up onto shore. When they wake, they find themselves lost on a fantastical island where nothing is as it seems

Can Attila is one fo the leading Turkish composers of his generation. Success in film and television music has been accompanied by comparable achievement in the orchestral repertory. The Gallipoli campaigns in the First World War have always held particular significance for Atilla, and Symphony No. 2 "Gallipoli" - The 57th Regiment is a war symphony, composed for the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the battle. This powerful elegy, in which the first two movements have an important role for solo cello, commemorates the tragic Turkish 57th Regiment and is also dedicated to the Anzac soliders who perished in the battle.