Early opera underwent a strange development in the 17th century: under pressure from the paying public, comic elements increasingly overshadowed the fates of the great heroic figures it was supposed to be about. At some point, the brakes were applied and opera seria emerged, in which only noble characters acted. Slapsticks were isolated and played as interludes in front of the curtain for the audience's enjoyment. The two most famous of these intermezzi, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's Serva padrona and Livietta e Tracollo, were recorded by the Boston Early Music Festival after several live performances in Bremen last fall - two caprices that were real "hits" even during the (very short) lifetime of their creator and still unfold their Neapolitan wit today: The story of the maid who cleverly conquers her master's heart and the turbulent "robber's tale" of the cunning peasant girl who puts the scoundrel on the right path to the marriage haven are available here in an irresistible double pack.

Shortly after the election of the last chancellor of the German Empire on 30 January 1933, the political catastrophe known as the "seizure of power", composer Paul Frankenburger was on his way to Palestine. The former British Protectorate, regarded by Western culture as a developing nation, profited considerably from the arrival of the this Munich native, who renamed himself Paul Ben-Haim ("Son of Heinrich") and then did a large amount of pioneering work. After the recordings of the two symphonies by this influential teacher and administrator, we now present an extensive anthology of concertante works under the direction of violinist LIV Migdal. These include the Yizkor fantasy, duos for violin and piano, and selected art songs. They leave no doubt that Paul Ben-Haim was an inimitable voice in Israel.

When the 18-year-old Georg Friedrich Handel arrived in Hamburg to immerse himself in the dazzling world of opera, he sat in the violin section as though he could not count to five, according to his friend Johann Mattheson. A year later, he presented his first stage work, and by the age of 21, he had already won the hearts of the Italians - a prodigy of boundless versatility to whom no task was too difficult. Even where the clergy prohibited opera performances, the "dear Saxon", as they called him, ignited dramatic sparks. The two cantatas - one about the sorceress Armida, abandoned by her beloved, and the other about Emperor Nero's mother, condemned to death - are intense monodramas that continue to spellbind audiences today, especially when staged by an artist like Amanda Forsythe. One is grateful for the instrumental interludes that provide moments of respite between these captivating "pocket operas".

While cpo is currently preparing a box set with all of Austrian composer Egon Wellesz' nine symphonies, the Aron Quartet has begun recording a cycle of his string quartets. This contemporary of Alban Berg and private pupil of Arnold Schoenberg had a remarkable life and career, both in that genre as well as in orchestral music. His career began at the end of the post-Romantic period, whose signs of harmonic dissolution could no longer be overheard, but whose Romanticism was expounded upon in all of it's autumnal charm. Later, we witness a constructive reorientation that reveals the strict architectural underpinnings of chamber music without compromise. The interplay, migrations and transformations of motifs, the shifting force fields between the individual voices, the dynamic urge to break new ground - all invite the listener to participate with intensity and fascination.

For some time, writes viola virtuoso Mathis Rochat in the preface of this new release, he had been thinking to adapt Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Cello Concerto in B-flat Major for his own use. He calls it a "somewhat audacious transcription", but the range of the solo part is well-suited for the viola and can be performed on the instrument with great ease. Which had to be proven first! Indeed, the young Swiss artist lends the "higher-pitched" composition a power of momentum and elasticity from which the already supple, melodious music can only benefit. All the more, since it is a superb "overture" to both of the following works, which Johann Gottlieb Graun, eleven years Bach's senior, had intended for the viola. Sometimes flanked by its little sister, as in the quiet Sturm und Drang C Minor concerto, then alone in sole competition with the string orchestra, this under-appreciated instrument shows in the music of the Berlin Court a wealth of expression that need not hide behind its higher and lower rivals.

Although the Greek gods were mightier than the vermin that they had build their temples, they were not immune to human impulses. Jealousy in particular often confused them – as Johann Sigismund Kusser showed the Stuttgart court around 1700, when he sent the "divine" opera heroes into a commotion. Cupid shoots wildly in every direction, causing Apollo to be after Daphne and Venus burns for Adonis, who in turn is only interested in a lively hunt – until finally an arrow hardened by Vulcan penetrates and he succumbs to the goddess of love. She weakens his aim and so a wild boar takes him by the tusks. It was long thought that this exquisite, effervescent opera was lost. However, it was tracked down and rediscovered by an Australian scholar in the Württemberg State Library in 2005, enabling Halubeck and il Gusto Barocco to record it and add another gem to the catalogue of baroque opera.

The protagonist of these recordings owed his posthumous fame to an error. The Jena Symphony, discovered in the city's university library in 1909, was thoroughly studied, discussed, and even recorded as a supposed early work by Beethoven. However, since 1968 it has been established that the composition is by no means the titan's "zero" symphony, but rather the 14th of 23 symphonies that Friedrich Witt wrote in Niederstetten, Baden-W�rttemberg, many of which were also published. A full five weeks older than his colleague from Bonn, whom he outlived by nine years, he had been court conductor in W�rzburg since 1802, where his symphonic output took an astonishing turn and was apparently renumbered. The three symphonies recorded here, Nos. 1 to 3, were written a few years earlier than their much-praised cousin, but consistently display uncompromising quality.

"As a piece from an opera" was the intention of the Protestant theologian and poet Erdmann Neumeister (1671-1756) in his Geistliche Cantaten (sacred cantatas), which he first published in 1702. No wonder that several composers of sacred music jumped at the chance to use his texts to fulfill their duties. The varied structure of the poetry, some of which rhymes quite drastically, lends itself well to musical settings, in which recitatives, arias, choruses, and chorales alternate quite easily. As such, devout congregations could be presented with theological subjects in a non-ascetic manner. There were, of course, more austere cantatas with settings of psalms or other passages of the Holy Scriptures, either on their own or in connection with new poetic creations. This present production combines four examples from the quills of two contemporaries who successfully attempted various playing techniques, apparently in a relatively undogmatic phase.

Born a year before Richard Wagner and dying two months after him, the apothecary's daughter Emilie Mayer from Friedland in Mecklenburg represents a type of composer who clearly moved away from the foundations of the classical masters and into her own orbit. The artist, who has found a home at cpo, composed eight symphonies, several concert overtures, a piano concerto, songs and a plethora of chamber music. The violinist Emeline Pierre Larsen has already released a highly acclaimed first string quartet album with her Constanze Quartet. She is now beginning a complete recording of Mayer's violin sonatas, in which the classical-proto romantic tone of the revered masters once again crumbles without reverting to eclecticism - a strong talent, whose stature is beyond doubt for convincing and championing interpreters.

Domenico Cimarosa Le astuzie femminili A Neopolitan nurse who starts a career in Rome as a notary; a young girl, who is placed in his charge and may only receive her father's rich inheritance if she weds the Neapolitan Don Giampaolo, who is enthralled with her; a poor dolt who is hopelessly in love with the heiress; a housekeeper who adores the wrong lawyer; and a scheming girlfriend who cleverly arranges a happy ending. Le astuzie femminili, "Feminine wiles", may only have six characters, but they stir up such a frenzy that even today one cannot help but grin. Underscored by the exuberant and extraordinarily melodic music of the once successful composer Domenico Cimarosa, this Buffa is the ideal counterpart to Il matrimonio segreto, which joined the cpo catalogue just three years ago.

The Irish-French composer Augusta Holmes (1847-1903) is one of those female composers who knew how to overcome all hindrances with natural elan. "Like children, women have no concept of obstacles and their willpower tears down all walls," said her colleague Camille Saint-Saens. He hit the nail on the head, as the three-movement tone poem Roland Furieux disarmingly demonstrates. Just as the strong emotions of the knight, who temporarily loses his mind in a love frenzy, so too are the surges of Holmes' orchestra, which she masters with awe-inspiring self-confidence in all it's nuances. This artistry is present whether she is writing works with a national flavour or bringing mythical figures to life in song, as in the enchanting Andromede, who is saved from the "Battle of the Titans" by the loving Perseus.

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.

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.

That Elisa, Queen of Tyre, wishes to marry her beloved naval hero Clearco to protect him from Astarto-the son of the rightful ruler whom Elisa's father killed-sounds manageable enough. That the chosen bridegroom and the opera's title character are identical makes matters considerably more complicated. These baroque entanglements resolve themselves only through protracted, labyrinthine intrigues, seething jealous outbursts, ingenious document forgeries, and perilous conspiracies. The question, however, of why Giovanni Bononcini, the work's composer, was regarded in his time as the very embodiment of grace, and why he was considered Handel's most dangerous adversary on London's stages-this question was answered swiftly and convincingly at the 2022 Innsbruck Festival: he could pull every emotional register for which audiences storm (ed) the opera houses.

Swedes are proud of Elfrida Andree. She was the first woman that conquered the position of cathedral organist. Even reactionaries that were appalled at having a woman playing from the gallery capitulated at hearing her skill. Critics that reviewed her compositions found positive words for her - even for her first symphony, premiered in 1869, which the composer later disparaged as an "early work". The Fritiof Suite, on the other hand, was an unqualified success. In 1909, Elfrida Andree made a suite of five movements based on her (only) opera Fritiof Saga. Unlike the staged work of 1898, these 'scenes' were once very popular - a fantastic piece of incidental music for the Fritiof epic by the poet Esaias Tegner, which practically every child in Sweden knew.

Exactly 318 years ago, Reinhard Keiser composed a box office hit for the Gansemarkt Opera House - the sensation was entitled Der angenehme Betrug oder der Carneval von Venedig (The Pleasant Deception or the Carnival of Venice) which delighted audiences for nearly a quarter century. On the one hand, this was thanks to a bizarre Carnival story, where two couples fall in love with the wrong partner just before the happy ending � la Cos� fan tutte, while a German aristocratic couple are happy to settle for "friendship" after all their trials and tribulations. On the other, this was due to the catchy pieces with which the directors of Hamburg's opera house entertained their audiences - simple strophic songs, cute arias, the occasional bawdy piece in the local North German dialect, what more could be desired! Our new production with barockwerk Hamburg features musical highlights (without dialogues); these are so extensive that two CDs are necessary to include them all.

Christoph Demantius has largely been forgotten, likely because so little is known about his life. Born in late 1567 in Reichenberg, Bohemia, he studied in Wittenberg and served as cantor in Zittau before taking the same position at Freiberg Cathedral in 1604, where he remained until his death. Beyond these sparse details, his biography offers little more. His body of work, however, is anything but modest. Among his compositions, the�Johannes-Passion�of 1631 stands as a monumental achievement - a pinnacle of early Baroque Passion settings. In this work, a six-voice ensemble narrates the Passion story "collectively", employing intricate vocal counterpoint and an unparalleled expressive intensity. Ensemble director Alexander Schneider has included music by Andreas Hammerschmidt, Heinrich Schutz, Johann Hermann Schein, and other contemporaries to enrich the program. The result offers a vivid reconstruction of how a Good Friday service in central Germany might have sounded - assuming, of course, that an ensemble as skilled as Polyharmonique was performing.

In terms of the quantity of his output, Ernst Eichner should be regarded as a minor composer. His legacy consists of several operas, chamber music and several collections of symphonic works of six pieces each; this amounts to about fifty works, revealing something quite different from the label "minor composer". The spirited, colourful and empathetic treatment of the orchestra often appeared to contemporaries as being an expression of a "tender heart" or of "meek grace and charming sweetness", whereas they were certainly not yet conscious of the fact that in Eichner's creations (as well) were the beginnings of the symphonic form, which not much later became the classical standard bearer of all great things. The Italian orchestra Theresia has chosen four representative pieces from his remarkable catalogue for these recordings. These reflect the stylistic development of this superb violinist and composer, who initially left his native Mannheim for Zweibrücken and finally, after an odyssey, arrived at the court of the Prussian king in Berlin, where he died in 1777 at the age of 37.

Usually, the music world commemorates the important birthdays or anniversaries of the deaths of it's celebrities. It is extremely rare for a work itself to be honoured with an anniversary celebration and presented accordingly. The present recording is one of these exceptions, because the featured work was first heard exactly one hundred years ago. On 19 December 1924, Fritz Busch conducted the premiere of his Piano Concerto Op. 31 at the Semperoper in Dresden, which had just been completed by his brother Adolf, the celebrated violinist and devoted composer. The soloist at the premiere was Rudolf Serkin, for whom his future father-in-law had written the work. At the time, critics praised the 'serious, well-constructed, melodious and at the same time rewarding composition', that now - garnished by a series of solo piano pieces - invites you to celebrate it's anniversary.

When the Polish city of Poznan was still called Posen, a certain Franz Xaver Scharwenka attended the local high school before embarking on a musical career that garnered him significant attention and admiration. Although he primarily made a name for himself as a pianist and composer of countless piano pieces, he was compelled to venture beyond his instrument and did so with remarkable success. In 1877, he presented the first of his four piano concertos to the public in Hanover, a work that continues to delight audiences and has now been added to the cpo catalog. This imaginative piece, performed by the British pianist Jonathan Powell and the Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Lukasz Borowicz, serves as a prelude to the only symphony Scharwenka composed - a compelling testament to a man who mastered much more than just the 88 keys.

In contrast to his more famous classical contemporaries, Antonio Rosetti was a "provincial" composer in terms of his external living circumstances. But the suspicion that he was only active for a quarter century in Swabian Wallerstein because his level was not high enough for the great centres of music has proven to be completely without merit. Whether we look at his symphonic works, concertos, chamber music or vocal works – a master's hand is unmistakable, as our continuously growing collection of impressive examples shows. This now includes the oratorio The Dying Jesus, which depicts the events of Good Friday both urgently and compassionately – an ideal complement to the scenes of Jesus in Gethsemane already available.

Although she only lived to be 25, Vitezslava Kapralova has taught a lesson to all those who think that one can only compose music with a licence. This incredibly talented Czech simply wrote music and was on the way to becoming one of the greats before she succumbed to a typhus infection in France in 1940. Two years earlier, she opened the festival of the International Society for New Music in London with her Military Sinfonietta, which was enthusiastically received by the press and the public; her piano concerto, her graduation piece in her home city of Brno, was a brilliant success; her Suite Rustica featuring famous Czech folk songs had all the makings of a "pop hit".... Sometimes it is difficult to comprehend the caprices of destiny.

Wunderkinder unter sich: this could be the title of this album, which combines three works by two arch-romantic composers. While one of the two, Ernst von Dohnanyi, still needs a committed plea in practically all areas of his work because he is still overshadowed by his younger, more advanced compatriot Bela Bartok, the other, Richard Strauss, has no need for intercession insofar as he has conquered the world with his symphonic poems and his operas; his chamber music, on the other hand, is still worthy of his eloquent commitment - especially the large-scale violin sonata, in which the 23-year-old already seems to breathe the spicy air of Don Juan and Der Rosenkavalier. It is understandable that violinist Hellen Weiss, violist Wen Xiao Zheng, cellist Gabriel Schwabe and pianist Paul Rivinius enjoy the tasks they have set themselves to the full

Around the same time that Michael Korstick caused a sensation with the first and, to date, only recording of all Beethoven piano concertos (555 447-2), these recordings were also made. They shed light on the life of the "Titan" from the opposing perspectives of fashionable accessories and clever miniatures. These two aspects interweave in reverse chronological order: the Variations in C Minor from 1806 serve as the prelude, while the 24 variations on Righini's�Venni Amore�from 1791 conclude the portrait. In between, musical snapshots of the Bagatelles Op. 33 (1802) and Op. 119 (1822) frame the variations on an original theme, Op. 76 (1809), which would later become the�Turkish March.�In every piece, from the smallest vignette to the most intricate keyboard trick, the boundless imagination of one who set out to instill fear is at work.

Towards the end of his life, Joachim Raff began a project that could not have been expected from this artist, who was all too often labeled (and misunderstood) as a prolific writer – an oratorio on the 'World's End, Judgement and New World', as depicted in the vision of St. John. It was a mighty undertaking, with which he wanted to produce an opus magnum to complete his already huge oeuvre – and succeeded in doing so. The musical course of events is focused on the Book with Seven Seals, the apocalypse interwoven with blistering, seemingly inexplicable images, which the composer reveals primarily through the character of John; occasionally an angelic soprano voice joins in, as do grand choral scenes, suggestive orchestral interludes and psalm chants – the last judgement on Joachim Raff puts an end to old prejudices.