A most beguiling release crowning the Britten centenary. Les Illuminations and the Serenade for tenor, horns and strings are two of Britten's most enduringly popular works. Tenor Peter Schrier, heard here at the height of his powers, with Herbert Kegel conducting the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra. Reissue of performances dating from 1967 recordings done in the then DDR (German Democratic Republic). Booklet includes both liner notes and the sung texts.

A composition student of Napoleon-Henri Reber and a violin student of Henri Vieuxtemps, Benjamin Godard received a thorough education before beginning his teaching career at the Paris Conservatory in 1887. Although much of Godard’s works are forgotten, possibly due to his untimely death, his symphonic works featured here show an original outlook on the genre, fusing together melodic qualities with technical brilliance. This release features his Symphony No. 2, Op. 57, his Trois Morceaux, Op. 51, and his Symphonie gothique, Op. 23 performed by the Munchner Rundfunkorchester, conducted by David Reiland.

Britten: War Requiem

The Auryn Quartet with their good feel for current trends have delivered an overwhelming performance of Britten's last two Quartets (FonoForum)

Classical Music

Classical Music

BILSE Sturmmarsch Galopp. Baumgartenallee Polka. Marienwalzer. Nur mit Dir. Schlesische Lieder. Catharina Quadrille. Die Fürstensteiner. Mit Bomben und Granaten. Winterflocken Galopp. Victoria Walzer. Königspolonaise. Die Provinzialen. Concerthaus Polka. Schützenmarsch • Christian Simonis, cond; Cologne West German RSO • cpo 777 341 (72:10)


You’ve got to hand it to cpo. I don’t know where they come up with these obscure Romantic composers, but here’s another one. The long-lived, Silesian-born Benjamin Bilse (1816–1902) was known in his time interchangeably as the “Hungarian Strauss,” the “Bohemian Strauss,” and the “Danish Strauss.” A native of Liegnitz, Bilse became steeped in the folk music of Poland and Silesia, founding the Bilse Orchestra in 1842. As was not uncommon for small-town musicians of the time, Bilse was proficient on many instruments and pretty much taught himself composition by studying and conducting the works of contemporaries and peers.


If the foregoing paints Bilse as a provincial, backcountry bandleader, the impression is a false one. By the 1860s, we find him in Berlin, a highly popular composer and presenter of public concerts, an important impresario of musical events, and a hardworking organizer of music societies and organizations. He is even credited with having played a significant role in the establishment of the Berlin Philharmonic.


As a composer, Bilse’s ambitions seemed to be more modest. Like the Danish waltz king, Christian Lumbye, the Austrian Joseph Lanner, the French Waldteufel, and the Austrian Strauss clan, Bilse contented himself with writing waltzes, polkas, and marches for the entertainment of mass audiences. And while such works may have been aimed at satisfying popular tastes, they were superbly crafted—some of them miniature masterpieces—and the ensembles assembled to perform them were of the highest professional caliber.


This is feel-good music. If you love a good John Philip Sousa march, you will joyously feather-dust your furniture to Bilse’s Mit Bomben und Granaten (“With Bombs and Grenades”) and Swiffer your floors to the Sturmmarsch Galopp . My sense is that unlike the waltzes of Johann Strauss II, Bilse’s waltz and polka numbers, such as the Victoria Walzer and the Concert House Polka , were less intended to be actually danced to than they were intended to be listened to as stylized, self-sustaining concert pieces. Of their type, these are masterfully written works, highly polished, handsomely scored with an ear for instrumental color, and tremendously engaging.


Based on the milieu of composers to which Bilse belonged and the musical genre to which he contributed, you will know whether this sort of thing appeals to you or not. If so, I can tell you that the performances and the recording are top drawer, and I, personally, haven’t had so much plain old fun listening to a CD in quite some time. Strongly recommended.


FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

An ordinary day. A terrible event. The death of her infant child sets in motion one woman's search for a life-restoring miracle. All she needs to do - in the course of a single day - is find one genuinely happy human being. But when every encounter ends in disappointment, she turns finally to the mysterious owner of a magnificent garden. Recorded during the first performances, as part of the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, at the Theatre du Jeu de Paume, Aix-en-Provence, France, from 5th July 2023.

Classical Music

Classical Music

(2-CD set) "Adolphe" is one of 19th century's greatest romantic work. Written by Benjamin Constant in 1816, the book had a major influence on all the Romantic authors (Hugo, Lamartine, Vigny, etc.) and contributed to the myth of tragic love from a "lost generation" of the early 19th century. Read in French by Jean Debucourt in 1955 for the National Radio.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Violinist Livia Sohn is the featured soloist on this recording of Benjamin Britten's Violin Concerto - a landmark of the repertoire, unbridled in it's lyricism and constituting a poignant commentary on the devastating brutality of war. Composer Jonathan Berger, dismayed by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, also wrote a violin concerto, Jiyeh, to express his frustration with the senselessness of war. Sohn, for whom the work was written, is partnered with cimbalom soloist Jan Roykta on this world premiere recording. Accompaniment for the Britten is provided by the Orchestra Sinfonica del Teatro Marrucino di Chieti conducted by Luigi Piovano and the Banff Centre Chamber Orchestra conducted by Henk Guittart for the Berger.