Ian Watson and Susanna Ogata's acclaimed series on Coro Connections continues with the fourth album in their exploration of Beethoven's Sonatas for Fortepiano and Violin. The Opus 12 Sonatas that are explored on this final volume are among the most Mozartian of the sonatas. They are, however, filled with Beethoven's inimitable voice, from the assertive Sonata No. 1, in the violin's most brilliant and sonorous key of D major, to the pianistically brilliant No. 3 in E flat with it's cascades of triplets and sextuplets. Unmistakably Beethoven! Susanna Ogata has been praised for her "totally convincing, spontaneous and free-flowing playing" (The Berkshire Review) and is a tenured member of the Handel and Haydn Society where she was appointed Assistant Concertmaster of the orchestra in 2014. Ian Watson has been described by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as "a conductor of formidable ability," and by The Times in London as a keyboard performer with "virtuosic panache and brilliantly articulated playing" and "a world-class soloist." He was appointed Associate Conductor of Boston's Handel and Haydn Society in 2016.

Formed in Hamburg in 2006 by Karla Haltenwanger (piano), Birgit Erz (violin) and Ilona Kindt (cello), the Boulanger Trio is now based in Berlin. The trio has gained an excellent reputation in the world of chamber music and is regularly invited to prestigious venues across Europe. In addition to Classical and Romantic repertoire, the commitment to contemporary music is also an important focus for the trio. This new, all-Beethoven release, the centerpiece of which is his last, and greatest, trio, the “Archduke”, also features the “Kakadu” variations and an Allegretto in B flat.

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The monumental 'Archduke' Trio Op.97 represents Beethoven at the peak of his creativity in the genre. Sketches for all four movements of this 'symphony scored for a trio' are included in a sketchbook of 1810 containing also drafts for the Egmont music and the String Quartet in F minor Op.95. The manuscript score was written out between 3 and 26 March 1811. Three years elapsed before the work's public premiere, by Beethoven, Schuppanzigh and Linke, on 11 April 1814 as part of a charity concert in the hall of the 'Hotel zum R�mischen Kaiser' in Vienna. This concert sounded the death knell of Beethoven's public career as a pianist, owing to his profound deafness. The work's critical reception was understandably mixed, but the celebrated pianist Ignaz Moscheles. Praised it's originality while expressing reservations about the 'clarity and precision' of Beethoven's pianism. Significantly, a repeat performance of the work a few weeks later was Beethoven's final public appearance as a pianist. Inspired by the sinfonie concertante for two or more soloists and orchestra, Beethoven transports the piano trio into an orchestral context with his Triple Concerto in C major Op.56. His choice of this particular solo combination was unprecedented in the literature and, in his words, 'really something new'. The piece is performed with panache on this release by the Trio Shaham Erez Wallfisch.

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The Places: The tour starts in the formal gardens of the Palace of Versailles and moves on to the Che�teau of Chantilly. In Paris Montmartre presents a simpler world, with scenes from the Canal Saint-Martin. The writer Rabelais is celebrated in Chinon, his birth-place, and there is a glimpse of Bluebeard's castle before we enter the traditional brasserie, La Cigale, in Nantes. In Paris again, the restaurant, the Train Bleu, celebrates an earlier age of luxury and from the historic railway stations of the capital we continue to P+�re Lachaise Cemetery, before finally visiting the Place de la Concorde and the major sights of Paris. The Music: In 1809 Vienna was once again under attack from the forces of Napoleon. Most of the leading families, including the imperial family, had taken refuge elsewhere, the occasion of Beethoven's sonata Les Adieux. On 12th May the city surrendered, the French occupation bringing with it hardship for the Viennese people. In these circumstances Beethoven, now 39 and increasingly deaf, worked on the last of his five piano concertos, to be popularly known as the Emperor. It was probably completed in the following year and was given it's first performance in Leipzig in November, 1811.

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Once again, GENUIN combines old and new recordings by the Austrian piano grand seigneur Paul Badura-Skoda to form an unparalleled unity. Mr. Badura-Skoda’s recording of Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata, op. 106 – the Master’s fourth-from-the-last sonata – is almost 40 years old, made in 1976; it is combined here with Beethoven’s last three sonatas, the op. 109-111, recorded in late 2013. As always, one of the great pianists of our time rounds this program out by contributing extensive, thoughtful and well-considered texts for each work in the accompanying booklet.

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Ludwig van Beethoven stands as a giant in music history for his great symphonies, piano sonatas and string quartets, and the challenges of deafness later in life. This programme shows the younger Beethoven's facility as a creator of light and entertaining chamber works as enjoyable to perform as they are to hear. Taking their cues from Mozart, the 'Duos' build on sonata form and dance movements, the slightly later 'Serenade' taking the shape of a genial 18th-century divertimento. Flutist Kazunori Seo was born in Japan in 1974. He began studying music at age 6 with his parents before going on to study in Paris. He was the recipient of the Premier Prix in flute in 1998 and the Premier Prix in chamber music in 1999. His previous recordings for Naxos include the flute music of Leopold Hofmann, Karl and Franz Doppler, Ignaz Moscheles, and Carl Czemy.

Bulgarian pianist Plamena Mangova achieved second place at the prestigious Queen Elisabeth piano competition, while her first CD, recorded for Fuga Libera, was awarded the Diapason d'Or 2007, among other distinctions. Now comes her second and much anticipated recital, devoted to Beethoven, and revolving around the Appassionata Sonata. Also featured is the Variations on La Stessa, Stessissima - and his masterpiece: The Bagatelles op. 126.

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The launch of Somm Recordings' inspirational Beethoven Plus series sees violinist Krysia Osostowicz and pianist Daniel Tong commissioning 10 leading contemporary composers to write 'companion' pieces for - and inspired by - Beethoven's seminal set of 10 Violin Sonatas. The result is a fascinating conversation between past and present in which Beethoven's mastery of the form receives illuminating - and often surprising - commentary from entirely modern perspectives. Volume 1 focuses on Beethoven's first five Violin Sonatas - Opp. 12 (Nos. 1-3), 23, 24 - and the Third Sonata from his Op. 30. They are each coupled with first recordings of their new companion pieces. Jonathan Dove's Ludwig Games is a glorious "upbeat" to Beethoven's First Sonata in which motivic dynamism and minimalist accents are brilliantly matched. The punningly titled A Major Chase updates the humorous Second Sonata in a virtuosic display described by composer Peter Ash as "Bart�k meets Tom and Jerry". Imaginatively re-working the key of E flat, the characterful dissonance of Elspeth Brooke's Swoop offers a decidedly contemporary response to the Third Sonata. Judith Bingham's The Neglected Child pays a heartfelt homage to Beethoven's Op. 23, while Huw Watkins' Spring is a masterly miniature inspired by the radiant, lyrical textures of Op. 24. Jeremy Thurlow's Mehlsch�berl alights on the wit of Op. 30 No. 3 to take two motivic cells from Beethoven's score as the starting point for an intriguing and involving set of colorful transformations. Daniel Tong says: "The new companion pieces locate this set of recordings within a specific time - these composers' responses to Beethoven coupled with our response as interpreters - leaving us with the thought that, in the end, all interpretation is work in progress."

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