Biagio Marini (Brescia, 1594 - Venice, 1663) now is remembered not only as one of the most famous violin virtuosos of his time and an innovator of instrumental music, but also as a masterly composer of vocal pieces, both sacred and profane. The Concertos op. 7 reveal the composer's mastery. Adopting some traditional forms of the profane music of the Renaissance, such as the canto a ballo and the romanesca, and using ritornellos and refrains interspersed with different formal systematisations (nos. 1 and 5), Marini created complex, dynamic pieces, achieving a splendid synthesis of all the composition elements. These stylistic features that were typical of Marini's work arose and developed on the basis of his everyday musical life, in which he was active not only as a composer, but also as an instrumentalist and singer. The Costanzo Porta ensemble from Cremona, directed by Antonio Greco supported by the instrumental ensemble Cremona Antiqua, performs here for the first time this previously unknown collection of madrigals including texts, by famous poets of the time, inspired by themes and subjects from the pastoral poetry from the early seventeenth century. These are superbly put on music using "madrigalisms" that, a part for the voices, are extended to the accompanying instruments.

Günther Herbig knew the Berlin Symphony Orchestra well, even before being made Principal Conductor in 1977 of what is now the Konzerthaus orchestra. He had deputized in that post from 1966 to 1972. Solo flautist Richard Waage, an orchestra member from 1961 to 2002, also valued the work ethic of his Principal Conductor – notably when it came to the execution of solo parts. “With Herbig things were ‘more open’, when you had worked your way into a certain context, than with other conductors. He allowed you more freedom.” On one occasion when he had the opportunity to see Herbig’s conducting score, he was impressed by how every harmonic step was marked, so that the score bore traces of a musicological analysis. Solo flautist Richard Waage, an orchestra member from 1961 to 2002, also valued the work ethic of his Principal Conductor – notably when it came to the execution of solo parts. “With Herbig things were ‘more open’, when you had worked your way into a certain context, than with other conductors. He allowed you more freedom. You could offer more as an individual. I liked that a lot.” On one occasion when he had the opportunity to see Herbig’s conducting score, he was impressed by how every harmonic step was marked, so that the score bore traces of a musicological analysis. “This was the mathematical impulse” characteristic, he judged, of Herbig’s way of working. This architectural, formally structured approach to the music fitted well with the recording technique of those days, which did not allow breakdown into such small steps as today. Arches of tension thus sound more plausible, because there are fewer pieces to put together. “When you have long takes, of course that makes it all more organic,” concludes Richard Waage. It will surely have been these working conditions and the conductor’s specific style that made it possible, even in such an unpretentious piece as the Pavane, “to bring out the character of mourning”, which so moved Jürgen Kögel and other participants. This recording contains Ravel’s symphonic works La Valse, Ma Mère l'Oye, Pavane pour une infante défunte and last but not least the famous Bolero.

'The school for lovers', Mozart's alternative title for Cos� fan tutte, is given a playful, theatrical treatment by German director Jan Philipp Gloger, who sets this new production for The Royal Opera in a theatre. The four lovers are performed by a cast of young rising stars, with Sabina Puertolas as the fun-loving Despina and acclaimed German baritone and comic genius Johannes Martin Kranzle as the impresario Don Alfonso, who leads the lovers on a role-playing journey full of picturesque settings. Semyon Bychkov conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in one of Mozart's most beautiful scores, packed with wonderful arias and ensembles. "Ensemble singing is strong; the standout is Daniel Behle's gorgeous tenor as Ferrando. Above all, Semyon Bychkov's impeccable balance and pacing in the pit allows it full space to blossom." (The Independent) "Semyon Bychkov gives an enthralling lesson in Mozart from the outset. Conducting his first Mozart opera in 20 years, he has a style might be said to belong (in the best sense) to the old school. But, Bychkov draws glowingly warm playing, and the textures are lithe and lively. The score's darker colours are all brought out in a performance that bristles with dramatic tension." (The Daily Telegraph)

In Chopin’s oeuvre there is one genre that is particularly well represented: the mazurka. The vast majority of the 51 he published were written as an homage to and reminder of his homeland, which he never saw again after the Russian occupation of 1830/31. The mazurka is an eastern European folk dance in triple time that originates from the Polish province of Masovia, where Chopin grew up. In many cases, a mazurka comprises various individual sections, the names of which are nearly always derived from a region or ethnic group. One such section is the polonez, which is rhythmically related to the ceremonious polonaise. Quite interestingly, Beethoven named the third movement of his Triple Concerto op. 56 Rondo alla polacca. The mazur has a rhythmic structure underpinned by numerous dotted figures or triplets. The kujawiak is a slow-flowing folk dance in triple metre. The krakowiak is characterised by much syncopation. The oberek is a feisty dance. Chopin wrote in total 13 cycles of mazurkas. Here, they are performed by Chopin expert, pianist Eugene Mursky.

First performed in French at the Paris Opera in 1867, Don Carlo is in many ways an amazingly innovative work. The opera seems to underline Verdi's shift from the Manichean division between good and evil, which had been a clear, structural element of his dramaturgy up to that point in his career. In this opera, Verdi assembles all his mainstay music theatre themes: power, with its honors and burdens; the contrasts of impossible love; the conflict between father and son; and an oppressed people demanding freedom. Verdi radically revised the score in 1883, using an Italian libretto and reducing the opera from five acts to four. The popularity of Don Carlo has grown unremittingly ever since, with today's critics almost unanimously recognizing it as one of Verdi's greatest masterpieces, an opera that continues to reveal new gems. Daniel Oren is fully in control on the podium, ensuring unanimity between orchestra and singers. The Maestro softens teh dark tones of the score, which are well reflected in the visuals, choosing instead to emphasize the various changes of mood.

This wonderful Celebration of English Song was recorded especially for SOMM by baritone Roderick Williams deliciously partnered here by Susie Allan in a collection to gladden the hearts of all lovers of English music. This splendidly wide-ranging collection features two well-loved song cycles, Butterworth's Six Songs from A Shropshire Lad and Finzi's Let us Garlands bring. It also includes some of the best- known English songs of the periods before and after World War II - Ireland's world- famous Sea Feverand Great Things and The Kiss and Flying Crooked, from Ian Venables - now widely regarded as the finest living English composer of art songs and a true successor to Benjamin Britten, represented here by two irresistible settings of English folk-songs, The Salley Gardens and The Ploughboy. Also included are songs by Quilter, Gurney, Warlock and E.J. Moeran.

The importance of this set cannot be overstated. First released on seven separate albums by Olympia, it launched the international reputation of Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow as one of the world’s foremost duos, and it remains the only complete recording of Schubert’s original duet compositions including many little-known masterpieces and one Polonaise completed by Goldstone from Schubert’s unfinished manuscript. Each album concludes with a Polonaise encore written by Schumann, inspired by Schubert. The set represents the whole stretch of Schubert’s output from D. 1 to D. 968. The performances are superb, exhilarating and perfectly integrated: the husband and wife team really do play like one person with four hands. Tragically, Anthony Goldstone died on January 2, 2017 while the design work of this set was being finalized, and did not live to see the reissue of this marvelous collection, repackaged and remastered as a complete set.

Arnold Mendelssohn's compositional oeuvre essentially encompasses all the major musical genres. He wrote three symphonies, a violin concerto, a cello concerto, numerous chamber pieces, three operas, a variety of sacred and secular cantatas and oratorios, around 170 songs and piano and organ music. This release features the world premier recording of the complete solo piano works of Arnold Mendelssohn. The pianist Elzbieta Sternlicht began her studies at the State Music Academy in Warsaw with Zbigniew Drzewiecki, and continued them in Paris with Vlado Perlemuter and Suzanne Roche. She has given concerts, master courses, workshops and radio broadcast performances throughout western and eastern Europe as well as in North and South America and Asia. She has released several critically-acclaimed albums, including world premiere recordings of the complete solo piano works of Josef Koffler.

In 1967, New York Impresario Sol Hurok presented Mstislav Rostropovich in 8 monumental evenings in Carnegie Hall from Feb. 23 to March 12, 1967. Rostropovich performed 30 cello concertos - offering standard concerto repertoire and new works, several of which were written for him and two were world premieres. From these, a selection of 22 concertos from the actual 1967 performances are presented in this set. This marathon program features works from Elgar, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Respighi, Hindemith, Honegger, Britten, Khrennikov, and more.

Rising pianist Ekaterina Litvintseva writes of this release in which she performs Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor Op. 15: "From a technical and musical perspective, it is one of the hardest concertos ever written! What clearly distinguishes it from other concertos is it's symbiosis of orchestra and pianist. What I mean is that the orchestra and pianist are very closely interlinked so as to give the concerto a thoroughly symphonic complexion. It is known that Brahms originally conceived the work as a symphony. It stands to reason, therefore, that this work should sound symphonic. The task set before the pianist when tackling this work is a very tall order, namely the challenge of playing a 50-minute concerto and, throughout every minute, immersing oneself in the music without losing sight of the overall picture. A useful analogy might be to imagine a mountainous landscape and, whilst enjoying the harmony and unity of the mountains, also to observe their slightest elevations and hollows. I believe that nature abounds in this work, as if I were to breathe in the fresh mountain air, feel it's vigor and visualize scenic colors. I have put so much time and energy into this concerto. By giving so many concerts, I was able to thoroughly immerse myself in the music and experiment with it 13 times. So I think I'm justified in saying that it has become my concerto."

Whenever the words “among the most frequently performed” are used in a description of a contemporary choral composer, we usually can expect (if the claim is true) that the music is not only singable by good choral singers (not just professionals) but is also enjoyable to sing–and that it’s readily listenable by most anyone who loves choral music–certainly tonal (usually free of confounding quirks and troublesome crags), with attractive melodies. Even better is if the texts are interesting (unusual, even), enhanced by clever and competently realized music. And, for those who aren’t familiar with Kim André Arnesen–“one of Norway’s most frequently performed contemporary composers”–that’s pretty much what you get on this program of 12 works, several of them receiving their recording premieres.

None of this says anything about how “good” the music is; in fact, some listeners will likely find these pieces not challenging enough–a little too easy to listen to, a little too similar in style and mood. But I wouldn’t go that far. Arnesen builds his music on rich, lush harmonic structures–so yes, there are lots of chords, beautiful, flowing, often the foundation for melody (Flight Song), but sometimes the vibrant, resonating clusters of tones make their own powerful effect without need for a real tune–for example in O Sacrum Convivium, which will remind some listeners of the style of Morten Lauridsen.

Versions of the text in the opening work, lines discovered on a Nazi concentration camp wall (it begins, “I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining…”) have been set by many composers, and Arnesen’s proves as poignant as any, particularly as it focuses so pointedly on the few words–three short lines–capturing in varied musical repetitions the deeply felt, personal, truthful sentiment expressed by that anonymous author in that awful, desperate time and place. Arnesen’s melodic facility appears perhaps most strongly in his Flight Song, which he wrote for Anton Armstrong’s 25th year as St. Olaf Choir conductor–a lovely melody you might have heard someplace before, but not quite. Throughout the program you notice how Arnesen often manages to create engaging pieces of five, six, or seven minutes seemingly without a whole lot of material–again, somewhat in the mold of Lauridsen, but less prone to direct repetition, so the music is more open, more expansive–and we’re just carried along by the dynamic flow of harmony and the beauty of these voices. What finer advocates for his music could a composer have than these excellent singers of Kantorei?

And as for the music itself, I’ve said before: any competent composer can write really difficult music intended only for professional singers (not that there’s anything wrong with that); but it takes a special kind of composer–such as Arnesen–who understands the nature and complexities of choral composition and knows the nature and complexities of singers and singing–and is able to create music of high quality and sophistication that’s both satisfying and accessible to a vast community of accomplished yet non-professional musicians and legions of serious listeners, most of whom appreciate an occasional challenge but who also crave the pure pleasure of musical experience where voices simply soar and harmonies shimmer and there are no grimaces or gritted teeth or ruffled ears anywhere to be found. Yes, there are one or two pieces here that push the schmaltz level slightly past my limit–but even so, that’s a small price to pay for the hour of “pure pleasure” on the rest of the program.

– David Vernier (ClassicsToday)

MISHIMA

Lauded as one of the most original and brilliant of Georgian composers, Sulkhan Tsintsadze synthesized 20th-century classical elements with the rhythmic, melodic, harmonic, and modal characteristics of Georgian folk music. In so doing he developed, across a wide spectrum of the repertoire, his own highly personal and approachable idiom. His 24 Preludes for Piano were composed in 1971 and are unmistakably national in character. He gave new life to traditional Georgian folk songs and dances in a masterfully structured cycle that flows with the seamless eloquence of a film. This virtuosic kaleidoscope of contrasting images reveals music that is both extravagant and vibrant. Inga Fiolia studied at the Central Music School of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow and the Cologne Musikhochschule with Alexey Nasedkin, Rudolf Kehrer and Vassily Lobanov. She has collaborated with orchestras including the Brussels Philharmonic, the Georgian State Chamber Orchestra and National Philharmonic, and the South Westphalia Philharmonic, and has broadcast on all the major German TV and radio stations.

The Geisterinsel is a masterpiece of poetry and language: nothing more musical could be imagined. This positive judgment pronounced by Goethe in 1798 was seconded by Duke Carl August, the ruling prince in Saxe-Weimar, when he wrote in 1801 that there was "really beautiful music" in this stage work. Both men were championing a singspiel in three acts premiered at the National Theater in Berlin on 6 July 1798 and performed fifty-five more times at this house until 1825. The authors of this successful work were the Gotha-born Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter and Friedrich Hildebrand of Einsiedel and it's composer was the K�nigsberg native Johann Friedrich Reichardt. After a short phase as a brilliant violin virtuoso Reichardt, who was influenced by the philosophy of the Enlightenment, became a pathbreaking "thinking artist" who soon met with recognition in various European countries as a composer and versatile writer active in many fields. With simple means Reichardt's music seeks, in keeping with the particular situation, to do justice to the tension between the "gentle melodies" of delightful spirit voices and the horrors of hell. It is primarily in his ensemble and final scenes that this composer produces a complexity that he had learned from Gluck and Mozart.

Widely recognized as one of the world’s best horn players, Philip Myers also inspired as well as commissioned most of the pieces on this historically significant album with world premieres of horn music by American composer Phillip Ramey, whose works have been performed by such orchestras as the New York Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and whose Horn Concerto (with Philip Myers as soloist) was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic for their 150th anniversary. This release presents world premieres of works for solo horn, for two horns, and for horn in different combinations with piano and/or violin, stunningly performed by hornists Philip Myers and Howard Wall, whose long-time partnership as New York Philharmonic musicians extends into fantastic chamber music collaboration, also including splendid contributions by pianist Virginia Perry Lamb and violinist Elmira Darvarova (a former Metropolitan Opera concertmaster). Some of the works are newly recorded, while others are only now receiving their premiere recording after first performances over twenty years ago, with the Trio Concertant recorded live, and the Dialogue, and the Sonata-Ballade restored from archival material. All of the works on this release are magnificently performed contributions to the horn repertoire.

Ferdinand Ries’s life and work are inextricably intertwined with those of his friend and teacher Beethoven, and both Cello Sonatas, Op. 20 and 21 were dedicated to cellist Bernhard Romberg, who performed regularly with Beethoven. Ries exploits Romberg’s extraordinary sound quality in the lower register of the cello in music that resonates with references to colleagues such as Haydn and Hummel. Ries’s final Cello Sonata, Op. 125, completes a triptych that richly deserves its place in the cello repertoire. This release joins an ongoing program of releases of music by neglected composer Ferdinand Ries. This has included an edition of his complete piano sonatas and sonatinas played by Susan Kagan, to whom “classical music lovers owe a debt of gratitude for rescuing these attractive keyboard creations from the undeserved obscurity that they’ve been languishing in for the past two centuries or so.” (Halesowen News) Acclaimed cellist Martin Rummel has recorded widely for labels including Paladino Music and Capriccio. His recordings for Naxos include works for cello and piano by Joseph Merk and Reinhold Gliere. Recordings by pianist Stefan Stroissnig include Beethoven’s Second and Fourth Piano Concertos with the RSO Wien conducted by Heinrich Schiff on the Gramola Records label, and his recording of the Four Impromptus Op. 90 by Franz Schubert and the Sonata in B minor by Franz Liszt was awarded the ‘Pasticcio Prize’ by Austrian Radio.

This is a beautiful selection of Sviridov’s choral music.

Georgy Sviridov’s Canticles and Prayers is considered by many as one of the most important works in Russian sacred music. In this new recording the Latvian Radio Choir under Sigvards Klava offers impressive renditions of music from this collection by the Russian master. Sviridov, a pupil of Shostakovich, began writing religious works in 1969. Since then these works have come to form an important part of his oeuvre. In the 1980s Sviridov had several projects to write a liturgy or a mass. In the end, the sketches of his sacred music came to form a cycle titled Canticles and Prayers. The work was created at a turning point in the history of Russia, the perestroika years that ended in the collapse of the Soviet state. The composer was keenly affected by the events of those years, building a monument to his era. The main body of Canticles and Prayers was assembled between 1988 and 1992. In September 1997, Sviridov selected the versions he thought best, approving the final order for the first three parts and making the final edits to the score. This work remained incomplete at the time of his death in 1998. Canticles and Prayers was thus Sviridov’s last work. The recording also includes the chorus The Red Easter based on a cycle of Easter hymns. Previous releases of the Latvian Radio Choir on Ondine have been highly successful. For instance, the recording of Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil was chosen as the Record of the Month, Editor’s Choice and received a nomination in the Gramophone Awards in 2013. Also, their more recent releases of choral works by Valentin Silvestrov and Eriks Esenvalds received Gramophone Editor’s Choice.

REVIEW:

This is a beautiful selection of Sviridov’s choral music. There is a subtlety to phrasing of the Latvian Radio Choir’s performance of the Trisagion (track 2, ‘Holy God’), for example, that often eludes Russian and Ukrainian choirs. And this serves them well too in the remarkable Having beheld a strange nativity, especially in the last movement, with its ‘increasing’ alleluias, and their mastery of dynamics means that they can bring it down to the quietest of pianissimos in nanoseconds.

The cycle on texts from the Old Testament is less familiar but has similarly outstanding moments—the second, ‘Sprinkle me with hyssop’, is particularly memorable in its alternation of male and female and choral groups—and in fact strikes me as one of the most likely works on this disc to enter the repertoire of Western choral ensembles. ‘Taynaya vechera’ might also do so, but here I come to my most serious reservation regarding this disc, which has nothing to do with the wonderful performances but everything to do with the disastrous translations in the booklet.

Do acquire this disc, listen to the frequently wonderful music and the consistently astounding performances but recycle the booklet.

– Gramophone

Though Bach’s set of six ‘Sonatas and Partitas’ represents the pinnacle of writing for the solo violin, the Baroque repertoire was rich in compositions for the unaccompanied violin, much of which remains little explored. On this recording Augusta McKay Lodge, hailed as “the real thing, a true virtuoso” (Seen and Heard), explores masters of the genre such as Biber, Locatelli and Pisendel but delves deeper to include the impassioned works of Nicola Matteis, the Franco-Italian warmth of Thomas Baltzar and a series of other long-overshadowed works by their contemporaries.

The two great musical dynasties of central Germany, the Bachs and the Abels, were closely entwined. Carl Friedrich Abel, the greatest of his clan, was a pupil of Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig and the friend and business partner of Bach’s youngest son, Johann Christian in London. Abel’s output of symphonies comprises over forty works, most of which were published in sets of six, the standard number for publications of sonatas, chamber works and concertos in the eighteenth century. A concert in his time would have a range of compositions by several composers and it is more likely that only one symphony would be played in a single evening. The present day listener should not feel guilty for indulging in these fine works one by one or out of sequence. They are rich and delicate, and should be savored individually. Die Kolner Akademie is a unique ensemble based in Cologne which performs music of the seventeenth through the twenty-first centuries on period instruments with world renowned guest soloists.They have receieved the highest acclaim for their outstanding performances at major festivals all over the world, many of which were broadcast live and filmed for television.

The ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, headed by Cornelius Meister, presents Alexander Zemlinsky's "The Mermaid". Zemlinsky's "The Mermaid" is a rougher orchestral painting, created in the spirit of Jugendstil, according to the romantic fairy tale of Hans Christian Andersen. Teresa Vogl and orchestral director Christoph Becher listen carefully: the glittering colors of the waves, the longing of the enchanted mermaid after a solid ground under her feet, the perfidious suggestion of the water witch, the splendid wedding at the court. It is true that the marriage of the prince and the mermaid is of limited duration, but Zemlinsky gives the listeners a harmonious finale - just as it is for a fairy tale.

Born in the Champagne countryside in 1837, Théodore Dubois developed his talents at the Reims Cathedral, which explains why the Catholic sacred sphere influenced him throughout his life. Even today he continues to be known in France above all as a composing organist and a composer of sacred music for liturgical use who compiled a massive oeuvre. He also continues to be much discussed in educational circles as the author of the standard manuals in music theory of a strictly conservative nature. We are now releasing three of his violin compositions, which, by contrast, have been neglected and wrongly forgotten by posterity. His Violin Concerto was dedicated to none other than the violin legend Eugène Ysaÿe. The quality of this work is manifested most impressively in the Adagio middle movement in the form a long-drawn-out melody with a mighty amplitude; the deepest depths are fathomed with big sound, and iridescent heights are scaled. Here the whole individual value of French violin culture is revealed. And his only Sonata for Violin and Piano also contains the name of a great virtuoso in its dedication – Henri Marteau – and was composed to order for him.

A total of four organs group themselves around the listener in three dimensions in St. Michael's Church in Hamburg, and all four instruments are spectacularly employed on this Super Audio album. Church music director Christoph Schoener has designed a very special program for the organs in his workplace: music by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy that has never been heard before in just this way. Schoener pulls all the stops on the central console and covers a spectrum ranging from the complete late-romantic forces of the entire organ system to the filigree murmuring of individual tone colors. A special treat: a solo for the echo organ installed high above in the ceiling sphere! The Six Preludes and Fugues op. 35 forming the focus here, though originally intended for the piano, create a phenomenal impression on the massive St. Michael's organ in this arrangement by Christoph Bossert. After all, it was Mendelssohn, who after the organ's Viennese classical "dry spell," supported the rehabilitation of this instrument. Accordingly, numerous piano pieces by him are ideally suited for transfers into the organ's much mightier sound dimension. Things get underway with the so very famous "Wedding March" from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Even if many a bride and groom have entered many a church to this music, on this recording it is as if the listener could reach out and embrace the bride. Whether a "Song Without Words," a lovingly supplied fragment, or a "Theme with Variations," this Mendelssohn recording is a perfect complement to the Bach, Brahms, and Reger editions with which Christoph Schoener has brought delight to the organ world and beyond.

Behzad Abdi's opera Rumi fuses traditional dastgah (the Iranian modal system) and the Persian Sama dance with Western classical music, and can be considered the first national opera of Iran. The libretto was written and conceived by the renowned Iranian theatre director and puppeteer, Behrouz Gharibpour, based on the life and writings of the 13th-century Persian scholar, poet, theologian and mystic, Jalal al-Din Rumi. The legendary story of Shams and Rumi is one of the most significant tales in the history of Iranian mystical literature and is brought vividly to life by the award-winning composer's exotic, lyrical and at times intensely dramatic score. Behzad Abdi (b. 1973) studied the setar and Iranian traditional music with Masoud Shoari and Mohsen Nafar and Western classical music with Liudmila Yurina and Vadim Juravitsky at the Tchaikovsky Academy in Ukraine. Abdi is the first composer to write Iranian opera. He is also a composer of film soundtracks and has won two awards at the Fajr International Iranian Film Festival, among others.

Today Hendrik Andriessen is primarily known as the composer of some magnificent works for the organ, a few choral works mainly performed by amateur choirs, and some masses for the Roman Catholic service. In reality, Andriessen was for many decades a driving force in the Netherlands, as a versatile composer, a performing musician, a much loved teacher, the author of articles and books on music, the director of the Conservatories of Ultrecht and The Hague, and finally as a professor of musicology at the Catholic Univeristy in Nijmegen. Within a time span of some seventy years he has written a large oeuvre of instrumental and vocal works, from symphonies to songs, from masses to operas, from chamber music to organ works. The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra is the symphonic orchestra of the Province of Overijssel. This orchestra from Enschede performs with passionate dedication and virtuosity, and its broad, varied, and always exciting programs have earned it a firm place in this region and beyond. With its employmen tof historical instruments instead of modern ones in the performance of classical works, the ensemble has distinguished itself both in its immediate environment, throughout the Netherlands, and in foreign countries as a unique cultural ambassador on behalf of the Province of Overijssel.