This unique box set explores the deep bond between Ludwig van Beethoven's music and literature-from Schiller and Goethe's poetic inspiration to Beethoven's theatrical scores like The Ruins of Athens, Egmont, and Fidelio. New text versions and insightful interpretations breathe fresh life into rarely heard works, highlighting Beethoven's belief in music as a moral force. A powerful journey through music shaped by words, and words inspired by music.

The wife of a duke resists the advances of a powerful lecher and is "punished" by being cast adrift at sea. A well-meaning overseer of a mining operation rescues the shipwrecked woman and, under a different name, shelters her as his niece for ten years. At last, the duke-widowed for a second time-arrives at the place of her exile. They are reunited, and the villain meets his well-earned fate... Nothing new, one might think. Yet L'inganno felice ("The Fortunate Deception"), this one-act opera first performed in Venice in early 1812, is so brimming with Rossini's most fiery spirit that we forget the familiar plot entirely over the course of it's roughly 90-minute runtime: it ignites and sparkles, glitters and whirls with the most beautiful melodies, the most tingling rhythms, and the most furious orchestral surges the master of The Barber of Seville was capable of. The festival was far from the only one to be enthralled!

A bundled release will have some risks and side effects compared to successive releases of a series of works. Here one can proceed cautiously from album to album, preparing oneself for what is to come and comparing the new material with alternative recordings. In contrast, the 'complete package' demands exclusive listening, which may result in astonishing discoveries and entirely new insights - as Lena Neudauer and Paul Rivinius demonstrate here with their Beethoven violin sonatas. How much Schubert and Schumann are not hidden in these works? Where does the "Rage over a lost penny" come into play? Is swing really a child of the 20th century? Why does a precise, light accent balance out every rough one? After more than four hours of music, the duo has painted a conclusive portrait. Those who wish may make comparisons

The present edition contains the complete productions released by cpo between 1993 and 2018 on the subject of Michael Haydn's symphonies and wind concertos. During the course of a quarter of a century, as might well be imagined, a wealth of material accumulated that could not be put to renewed use without considerable cuts. Nine authors had contributed information about the sources and special qualities of the music to the original releases, which necessarily led to duplications, repetitions, and other redundancies that were to be avoided in the compilation. Moreover, it took some time for the numbering system currently in use for the works to be implemented. The authors initially continued to refer exclusively to the �Thematisches Verzeichnis der Instrumentalwerke von Michael Haydn� (to which we have assigned the letter P) that Lothar Perger had presented in the Denkmaler der Tonkunst in osterreich (DTo). The �enumeration� by the American musicologist Charles H. Sherman (1929-2018) later began to Appear in the booklets. Sherman initially compiled a provisional catalogue and then in 1993 published Johann Michael Haydn: A Chronological Thematic Catalogue of his Works in collaboration with T. Donley Thomas. This chronological listing (MH) and the P numbers, which soon will be 120 years old, are used whenever possible for the identification of the works recorded here. Our wish is that this unique edition may bring you great pleasure.

Antonia Bembo's opera L'Ercole amante waited nearly 340 years for it's premiere. This delay may have been due to the subject matter, as her teacher, Antonio Cavalli, had already composed a festival opera based on the same tragedy for the wedding of Louis XIV and Maria Theresa of Spain in 1660. Although the Sun King, reportedly an admirer of her compositions, had taken the Venetian singer under his wings following her separation from her husband and relocation to France, he was already by then quite familiar with the tragic tale of Hercules. And so, he allowed the enchanting and emotionally stirring music, rich with arias, to pass him by. Finally, on May 26, 2023, Jorg Halubek and Il Gusto Barocco brought this long-overlooked masterpiece to it's well-deserved breakthrough at Stuttgart's Liederhalle.

Our complete recording of Felix Weingartner's symphonic works is now finally available at a top price in a box. The press has confirmed that our edition of these symphonies is �a must for all those interested in top-class symphonic music� (Partituren). Marko Letonja and the Basel Symphony Orchestra set out on this adventurous journey of discovery with great devotion and virtuosic skill. Felix Weingartner was not only an internationally acclaimed conductor and a highly influential figure in Basel's music world; he also bequeathed to posterity an extensive compositional oeuvre marked by timeless freshness.

Here it is, my poor little Mass. Have I truly composed sacred music, or merely something sacrilegious? With these words, the 72-year-old Gioachino Rossini addressed the "dear Lord", to whom he wished to dedicate his most extensive and, at the same time, one of his most significant and original late works - a sacred composition of nearly full-length dimensions akin to a grand cathedral Mass. However, the instrumentation consists only of instruments commonly found in any well-appointed 19th-century household. A piano and a harmonium accompany the soloists and choir, enriching the performance with lively rhythms, intricate figures, and distinctive sonic textures. The treatment of the liturgical text is not entirely orthodox: "I was born for opera buffa. You know that well!" Rossini confessed to the Lord more than thirty years after composing his last opera. And he expressed his gratitude for this special gift with "a touch of skill and a touch of heart" - enough to captivate both earthly and heavenly audiences alike.

Deutscher Schallplattenpreis - The jury's statement: "Comprehensive and highly "Comprehensive and interpretatively high-ranking insight into the central creative field of an unjustly forgotten composer of the Schonberg generation, who stood in the Reger tradition and continued it not without a pronounced will to experiment. The edition of a young label enriches the record repertoire in an exemplary way and has a high information value." (Orgelwerke); "Excellent performance." (American Record Guide)

The logical continuation of the series Organ Works of the North German Baroque, recorded by Friedhelm Flamme, is the works of Dietrich Buxtehude, the most important master of North German organ music. Each SACD has been conceived as an exciting concert program that shows the diversity of Buxtehude's compositions and some of the infinite timbral possibilities of the Treutmann organ. This edition contains all surviving works of the most important Baroque master of organ art before and alongside Johann Sebastian Bach.

Strictly speaking, composer Antonio Smareglia belonged to three cultural groups. His father was an Italian from Friuli, his mother Croatian, and he himself was born in Pola on the Istrian peninsula, which at the time was still part of Austria-Hungary - and yet he managed to make a name for himself across the borders of national identities, especially with his operas. Among his greatest successes was Nozze istriane ('Istrian Wedding'), which premiered in Trieste on 28 March 1895 - a rural love tragedy with words by the famous poet Luigi Illica and music by the composer, whose rich melodies skilfully avoid the obvious verismo. A pair of lovers are not allowed to marry because the son of a rich man desires the girl; the young woman is deceitfully persuaded that her sweetheart has abandoned her; when the lie comes to light at the end, it is too late. A stab of a knife ends their happiness!

In August 2023, the Innsbruck Early Music Festival featured a performance of a Baroque jewel, the three-act opera La fida ninfa (The faithful nymph), which Antonio Vivaldi premiered on 6 January 1732 in Verona and presented in Vienna on 5 January 1737. The storyline of the work is "typical". There is an evil pirate and a kidnapper, two brothers who were abducted separately, and two young girls and their father - who all tussle about on the isle of Naxos until a happy end is achieved. A great deal of confusion is a matter of course, but the awe-inspiring musical qualities of this work are far greater. The solos and ensemble pieces are of such variety and beauty that the reservations occasionally expressed about high baroque opera are completely unfounded. Here one literally longs for the repeat of the da capo arias with a silent 'sing it again'

We know relatively little about the composer and church musician Paul Ignaz Liechtenauer. His father was an organ builder and organist in Vienna, and Liechtenauer himself served as Kapellmeister in Koblenz-Ehrenbreitstein until 1711. By 1715, he had taken up the position of organist at the Cathedral of Osnabruck, soon after assuming the title of "Capellmeister" and gaining a reputation for his liturgical music that was widely acclaimed. Four of the six masses he published in 1741 as Opus 2 are now featured on the latest CD by the Kolner Akademie, which, under the direction of it's founder, Michael Alexander Willens, once again astonishes us. There is a touch of local patriotism in this release: classic production osnabruck is located less than ten kilometers from the high church where the composer served for over 40 years.

A new name appears in our collection of rarities: Richard Ro�ler, born in 1880 in Riga, the Latvian capital, trained at the Berlin Music Academy and later highly esteemed there as a professor of piano from 1918 to 1953, was one of those late-Romantic composers deeply influenced by Johannes Brahms. Unlike his Hungarian contemporary Bela Bartok, Ro�ler remained steadfastly loyal to the worldview of his great role model. When he realized, around 40, that aesthetic developments were passing him by, he limited his output to a few occasional pieces. This is all the more regrettable, as the two newly recorded works here reveal a significant and profound talent capable of creating distinctive characters using traditional musical means.

After studying at the University of Leipzig and spending several years as an organist at the city's Nikolai Church, the Saxon musician Johann Rosenmuller had to abruptly leave his position around 1655 for reasons less than honorable. He eventually found his way to Venice, where he worked at St. Mark's Basilica and the renowned Ospedale della Pieta. Among the many musical "souvenirs" he later brought back from the South was a new church style, infused with a vibrant colorfulness previously unknown in the more austere musical traditions of the North. It's no wonder that worshippers felt as if they were hearing angelic choirs and left the sacred concerts with their faith renewed. This�musica coelestis�continues to capture pure hearts and inspire a better life, even 340 years after the great composer's death.

Joseph Franz Weigl, the father of our composer, was the principal cellist in Prince Esterhazy's orchestra, thus serving under the kapellmeister Joseph Haydn, who was the godfather at the son's baptism in 1766 and likely had a hand in the boy's musical education. Weigl junior was taught by Johann Georg Albrechtsberger and Antonio Salieri, under whose guidance he flourished. He assisted Mozart with the premieres of�Figaro,�Cos� fan tutte, and�Don Giovanni, partly conducting subsequent performances of these works and getting an early taste of the theater world. His own operas and singspiels were successful, benefiting from his enviable melodic talent. Listen to the six delightful trios for oboe, violin, and cello assembled here, which, as light-hearted interludes, provide exquisite entertainment from the first to the last measure. Indeed, such mastery is something to aspire to!

In 2017, Croatian conductor Ivan Repusic succeeded Ulf Schirmer as chief conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra. In this role, he made his cpo debut in 2023 with works by the Swedish composer Gunnar de Frumerie. Now, at the helm of "his" orchestra, he is devoting himself to one of those classics that take second place to the undisputed masters of the era: Johann Wilhelm Wilms (1772-1847), who gained renown in Amsterdam as a composer, organist, and flutist. Two years younger than Beethoven, he was a devoted admirer of Joseph Haydn, whose spirit imparted a peculiar flair even to Wilms' later symphonies. The dramatic tone, which also characterizes long stretches of his overtures, never turns into something fatal and inevitable - and precisely, this balancing act gives the music of the man from Leichlingen in the Bergisch-Gladbach district it's unique charm.

When someone goes on a journey, they have stories to tell. When the travelers are talented musicians with an open ear for foreign sounds, they will not just tell whimsical stories but will want to transform the impressions they receive into their own creations. This was the case with Cornelis Schuyt (pronounced S-chr-o-it), son of an organist. Born seven years before William Shakespeare in Leiden, the Netherlands, he had the opportunity to visit the land of blooming lemons, and the musical inspirations he brought back apparently stayed with him. Throughout his life, he composed four volumes of enchanting madrigals and published a collection of Padouanas and Gagliardes of breathtaking beauty. Manfred Cordes and the Weser-Renaissance ensemble present a successful mix of vocal and instrumental pieces you will want to hold onto.

When Georg Friedrich Handel's Messiah first premiered on the European continent, 24 years had passed since it's debut. On August 6, 1768, Il Messia brought "il caro Sassone" (the dear Saxon) back posthumously to the land of his early triumphs. Before the memorable performance in Florence's Palazzo Pitti could take place, the content had to be adapted to Catholic doctrines and the expansive form to national customs. Abate Antonio Pillori achieved this in collaboration with tenor and composer Salvatore Pazzaglia. The result was incredible: their Messia is so well-abridged and singable in Italian that the compact form, recorded two years ago at the Innsbruck Festival, could be considered an authentic version that Handel himself might have produced if needed.

After listening to a substantial number of operas, cantatas, concertos, and chamber music left by the immensely prolific Georg Philipp Telemann, one might assume there would soon be nothing new to discover. This is far from the truth, as demonstrated by the latest production from Camerata Koln and it's director, Michael Schneider. The "Six Quatuors ou Trios 1733" are not merely a continuation of Telemann's Concerti da camera. They differ significantly: polyphonic, chromatic quirks, delicate cantilenas, highly virtuosic (and expertly executed) miniatures, and finally, a series of ancient women's portraits in the contemporary colors of the "Getreue Music-Meister" - if anything is repeated here, it is the amazement at an almost limitless, inexhaustible imagination.

L'Orfeo Barockorchester and it's director Michi Gaigg have created an impressive discography through their close collaboration with cpo. Their repertoire spans from Baroque and Classical instrumental works to Schubert's symphonies and includes rarely performed compositions by Telemann and Haydn's delightful Incontro improvviso. New to the cpo catalog is their exploration of Johann Sebastian Bach by this refined, spirited ensemble. Seven sacred solo cantatas form the program, featuring two proven specialists in early music who sing the vocal part: Dutch bass-baritone Peter Kooij, awarded the Leipzig Bach Medal in 2016, and Austrian alto Margot Oitzinger compellingly demonstrate how people in the time of the great Thomaskantor strove to guide Christians on the right path.

The number of pieces written for Holy Week is vast. But you will hardly encounter such a unique treatment of fundamental Christian faith as in the Rappresentazione sacra al Santissimo Sepolcro, which was composed at the Viennese imperial court in the mid-17th century. It is a staged presentation of the events at Christ's tomb that was either composed by His Majesty Leopold I himself (from 1660) or by one of his court conductors. This recording presents the Sepolcro of 1667, which was set to music by a top Italian star - the Franciscan Antonio Cesti (1623-1669). The new imperial maestro di capella creates a world where allegorical figures representing nature and it's four elements mourn the sacred sacrifice. The waters drizzle down, the winds blow and the flames blaze - this master of opera cannot deny his true nature.

In his later stage works, Franz Lehar replaced the happy ending usual for the genre with a bittersweet conclusion filled with painful doubts. In contrast, the ending of the operetta Schon ist die Welt, premiered in 1930, is unsurpassed in it's clarity. Crown Prince Georg and Princess Elisabeth, who were arranged to be married by his father and her aunt respectively, do not want to go through with the arrangement, but end up together in a mountain hut without having met before. They fall in love and realise in the end that the world is quite beautiful after all. Lehar pulls out all the stops of his artistry in this piece. The modern dances and inextinguishable melodies are surprising and he again proves himself to be a master of skilful recycling by bringing the second act of a once dismal story to a new, brilliant life. A highlight of the 2023 Bad Ischl Lehar Festival!

This is no deception - right from the first work of this recording, a concerto from the rich oeuvre of Bach's contemporary Johann Friedrich Fasch, a 'Brandenburg' mood is set and this becomes increasingly tangible as the music unfolds. After virtuoso pieces by Johann David Heinichen, Gottfried Heinrich Stolzel and Melchior Hoffmann, the Leipzig St. Thomas Cantor himself ultimately surprises us with the Sinfonia to his Cantata 174, a splendid, lavishly-scored variant of the first movement from the third Brandenburg Concerto. This is a great challenge for the two main protagonists, who perform true marvels on their natural horns and trumpets together with the inspiring ensemble L'arpa festante.

At the beginning of 1763, a conflict ended that could be described as a "world war" in terms of the common perception at the time, since it raged not only in all of Europe but also in parts of the New World. After seven years, the front lines were settled and the people who were subjected to it all were able to catch their breath for a while. The Luneburg church musician Johann Christoph Schmugel wrote a comprehensive Friedens-Cantata (Peace Cantata) for the thanksgiving festivities of the Electorate of Brunswick-Luneburg, recorded here for the first time after it's premiere on 6 January 1763. According to Georg Philipp Telemann, Schmugel was one of his best composition students. Telemann is also represented here with several musical commentaries on the military events - war and peace being two sides of the same coin.

Behind the very common name of Hans Huber is one of the strongest compositional talents that Switzerland produced during the course of the 19th century. Eight symphonies, four piano concertos, five operas, as well as oratorios, cantatas and a large number of chamber music works are part of the impressive oeuvre of this man. In this recording, we hear his relatively late quintets for piano and strings - two highly contrasting works that would have made Johannes Brahms stroke his beard approvingly. The dramatic power of Opus 111 and the capricious playfulness of Opus 125 would have probably reminded him of a transition or two; on the other hand, the autonomy of Huber's invention would have pleased him favourably - and he could only have wished for interpreters like those in our recording.