Unlike his namesake Harry, Cypriani Potter did not learn his craft at Hogwarts, but with renowned British composers and then put the finishing touches to his music in Vienna - above all with Ludwig van Beethoven, who undoubtedly taught him some particularly effective tricks. In any case, there is an unmistakable magic in his works: at times it is delightful melodies, at others dramatic energy build-ups or rhythmically urgent episodes that give his music such an appeal that it is worth recording all of his surviving symphonies (nine, after all) and garnishing them with a few smaller pieces - in the present program, for example, with the Overture to Shakespeare's Tempest and with the original Concertante for piano and four strings on the popular theme La Follia, which Potter animates to a veritable outburst of temperament.

According to the words of a contemporary, Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel was said to have played the fortepiano in a "somewhat ladylike" manner. Whether this was a subjective impression or an actual characteristic is up for debate, but it certainly did nothing to diminish the reputation of the virtuoso musician, composer, and priest. On the contrary, he was one of the most popular pianists of his time. Both Beethoven and Weber held him in high esteem, and his ecclesiastical superiors had him adorn their leisure hours with his music. He became Kapellmeister to the Elector of Mainz and eventually headed the music school in Augsburg. In addition to an opera and nearly a dozen symphonies, he produced a significant number of piano trios and quartets, in which classical structure is enlivened with original ideas - at times lively and rustic, at other times almost romantically introspective, and then again robust and boisterous, but never "ladylike."

In the course of her long life, Johanna Senfter has enriched almost all genres of classical music, from chamber music to large-scale symphonic works. Her creations are all characterized by one unique feature - a harsh, almost austere beauty that runs the entire gamut from deep intimacy to whimsical humour which even repeatedly surprised the composer's teacher, Max Reger. Reger, the heavyweight workhorse from Upper Palatinate, was extremely impressed by the creative abilities of his pupil, whose career he was unfortunately unable to follow for too long. No doubt one or two turns of phrase would have sounded familiar to him had he experienced them; but he certainly would not have denied that this woman from a well-to-do family had asserted her own vision.

The first and presumably only performance of the opera Dafne took place in Torgau on April 13, 1627, as part of the festivities celebrating the marriage of the Saxon Duchess Sophie Eleonore and the Hessian Landgrave Georg II. Although the libretto by Martin Opitz appeared in print, virtually nothing of the music has survived. At first glance, the reconstruction of an opera whose music has not survived appears to be a daring undertaking. In fact, however, there are many clues to the structure of the work, so that it was possible to produce something that, although not identical to the original, is very close to it. In all, there are a dozen mostly secular works by Schütz in the present reconstruction by conductor Roland Wilson, making up about half of the entire opera. Says Wilson himself, "You'll hear some glorious pieces by Schütz and his contemporaries that you probably never would have listened to otherwise."

By the end of the 18th century, Ignaz Pleyel was considered the legitimate successor to his teacher, Joseph Haydn. His instrumental music - ranging from small ensemble pieces to concertos and symphonies - enjoyed immense international popularity until the tides slowly shifted with the onset of the Revolution. The clever and versatile Pleyel adapted skillfully: while he wrote a few pieces of homage for the new French rulers, he largely stayed true to the classical style of his predecessors, all the while establishing a reputation in Paris as a publisher and piano maker. Today, interest in his classically structured works has understandably been rekindled. Thanks to their refined elegance and fluidity, their architectural balance, and - especially in the case of the popular viola concerto - their considerable virtuosity, this music has nothing to fear from comparison with the great names of the era.

The Sächsisches Vocalensemble under Matthias Jung has now recorded its second selection of Christmas gems for cpo from one of the most important collections of Lutheran church music, the St. Augustin School in Grimma, Saxony. The focus: festive, magnificent church cantatas (most of them including Christmas trumpet splendor) by composers from Central Germany who were famous musicians and held prominent posts during the years before and after 1700. To name only a few: Johann Schelle, Philipp Heinrich Erlebach, and Johann Rosenmüller, as well as composers such as Christian Liebe or Gottfried Vogel who are no longer remembered today but whose music brings wonder to modern listeners.

On her latest release, Flora Fabri interprets the highly praised sonatas and a fantasy by Ernst Wilhelm Wolf on a "tangent grand". The ingenious invention of this grand piano for the time around 1770 is an intermediate form of clavichord, harpsichord and fortepiano. When a key is struck, a wooden stick with a leather head is struck against the string from below, and a second stick dampens the string again.

Wolf belongs not only among our classical and best composers in any subject, but is also original. More recognition seems hardly possible from the perspective of the Sturm und Drang: The introduction that Ernst Ludwig Gerber chooses in 1792 to his encyclopedia article on Ernst Wilhelm Wolf paints in a few words the picture of an original genius whose artistic uniqueness dominates a maximum of professional expertise. He was a pupil of Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel. In Gotha he became acquainted with the music of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Carl Heinrich Graun, which strongly influenced him. Above all, he appreciated the works of Bach, with whom he had a lifelong friendship. At the University of Jena he was mainly engaged in music, and he was given the direction of the Collegium musicum, which gave him the opportunity to perform his own compositions.

The Schuppanzigh Quartet has been a source of enormous energy in the area of string quartet literature for almost thirty years. Founded by violinist Anton Steck in 1996, the ensemble offers a delightful experience with their intellectually stimulating concert programs and recordings, whose connections to other arts are completely fascinating. So too is their current album with it's snapshots of early 19th century Vienna. Beethoven's unruly and ironic "Quartetto serioso" Op. 95 is paired with a quartet by the French violinist Pierre Rode, for whom the master had written his last violin sonata Op. 96 in 1812. Consequently, this work is also recorded here - not in the original, but in an astonishing quartet version that Beethoven's pupil and friend Ferdinand Ries arranged. And so it sounds almost a bit like Dvorak

The Lombardini Quartet is not only named after the Venetian violin virtuoso and composer Maddalena Laura Lombardini Sirmen, but now also recorded her versatile "Sei quartetti" op.3 from 1769. Lombardini Sirmen was one of the few women to realize a career as a professional musician in the 18th century and, according to sources, the first woman to compose string quartets, at a time when this genre was still extremely young and in the formal experimental stage. The interpreter's highest credo is always the speaking play and the uncovering of all affects in the music, of the finest emotions, which often change so quickly in the quartets - a veritable rollercoaster of feelings. All the quartets are in two movements and enchant with their variety of colors and richness of form: "Like a walk through a blossoming spring meadow: It is worthwhile to turn one's gaze very carefully to the many beauties that nature offers to the left and right. We felt the same way about Lombardini's music: many little flowers by the wayside to discover, some large and recognizable at first glance, some very small and easy to overlook. It is fragile music that reveals a rich inner life on closer inspection," says Elisabeth Wiesbauer of the Lombardini Quartet.

Two different traditions – Viennese Classicism and the Late Romantic virtuoso concerto – inevitably left their traces on George Enescu’s highly ambitious Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. Even though he left it unfinished, its total length of six hundred measures is by itself reason enough for astonishment. The first movement almost attains the dimensions of the Violin Concertos of Beethoven and Brahms. A striking formal interrelation is formed in the extended introduction: like Beethoven and Brahms, Enescu needs ninety measures before he is ready for the entry of the solo instrument. An instance of the greatest good fortune: our soloist Carolin Widmann! The »Allegro moderato« first movement alone employs three themes that are so engagingly formulated that they continue to echo in the ear even after a single hearing. In June 1898 Enescu composed his Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra, a work combining expressivity à la Brahms with bravura piano technique à la Liszt. The lack of a cadenza for the soloist and the wide-ranging harmony indicate that the work does in fact involve a fantasy and not, say, the first movement of an unfinished concerto. Neither the Fantasy nor the Violin Concerto has been published. But since today almost every Rumanian composer is also a musicologist and an Enescu expert, they were never completely forgotten. Pascal Bentoiu and Cornel Taranu assisted Peter Ruzicka, the conductor of the two recording premieres presented here, in the acquisition and supplementation of the scattered material. As a result, our picture of George Enescu, who continues to be a great unknown, is enriched by new facets – and the repertoire by two outstanding, previously unknown works.

Felix Mendelssohn was a passionate organist. Whether in small churches or in majestic cathedrals - wherever he encountered one of these instruments, he had everything he needed. The complex pipe works enabled him to revel in the music of the past on the one hand, which was connected in a special way to the name and output of Johann Sebastian Bach, and on the other hand to let his own ideas have free reign just as his heart desired and to see what would come out of it. Christian Schmitt has recorded the results in impressive completeness on two instrumental works of art from Mendelssohn's time. Each of the three CDs contains two of the six sonatas, and also feature numerous miniatures with which the eternally young Felix mapped out his broad musical horizons.

Paul Buttner was a man of many talents. Trained as a composer under Felix Draeseke, he was one of the last Romantic symphonists after the turn of the century. He conducted workers' choirs, taught choral singing at the Dresden Conservatory (later becoming director), and worked as a critic for the�Dresdner Volkszeitung. He inspired amateur musicians so passionately that he can rightly be described as a "musical educator of the people". This intellectual vigor is directly reflected in Buttner's compositions, which, while modeled on great predecessors, challenge the boundaries of tradition in every measure - and convincingly so. His symphonic works, in particular, earned him wide recognition until the rise of the Nazi regime brought turbulence. His rediscovery is long overdue.

The opus most decisive for Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber's fame and widely used into the 18th century are the eight sonatas for violin and basso continuo published in 1681. Since the Sonatae unarum fidium by the Viennese violin virtuoso Johann Heinrich Schmelzer, published in 1664, no violin solos of comparable extraordinary compositional and technical ambition had appeared. With his sonatas of 1681, Biber succeeded in setting new standards and achieving a previously unattained synthesis of equally high virtuoso demands, artistic content and compositional technical level. Our exceptional violinist Plamena Nikitassova uses a historical playing technique for her interpretation - a technique that is hardly cultivated any more even among baroque violinists. The instrument is not placed on the shoulder and, if necessary, held with the chin, but is placed against the left breast. This also requires a different posture of the bow: the right arm is not raised very high, the thumb is placed on the hair and contributes to the tension. The sound is noticeably removed from the late Baroque aesthetic, but develops its own charm, especially in the execution of the rapid passagework.

For two decades, Cologne's TRIO 1790 has been dedicated to classical chamber music in general and the piano trios of Mozart's contemporary Leopold Kozeluch in particular. The result is a series of precious finds that do not lose any of their impact from the fine, slender tone of historically accurate instruments. On the contrary, they gain an unexpected wealth of subtle shadings and depth in the playful music of this inventive and versatile Bohemian. Again and again, the light-footed, distinctive sounds and lines are interspersed with dramatic flourishes that the attentive ear will recognise as the "modern music" of Ludwig van Beethoven, who came from Bonn on the Rhine to Vienna on the Danube to shake up the music world.

The Hyperion Trio, founded in 1999, has earned an outstanding international reputation over the past two decades, during which it has performed more than 250 works, including a number of world premieres, in its concert programs and independently designed concert cycles – always with the same three original members! On its latest double album the trio turns to works for piano trio by Carl Reinecke transmitted to us for all the phases of this composer’s life, from his beginnings to his old age. Although closeness to Schumann can clearly be heard in the early Piano Trio op. 38 of 1853, it is in every way a thoroughly independent composition both melodically and harmonically and was an important milestone for the succeeding generation of composers. In his two Serenades op. 126, composed twenty years after the first piano trio, great ambition is in evidence, despite the light tone of these works: the texture is more relaxed than it was in the first piano trio, and the thematic material is concise and forms the core for rich elaboration. The Piano Trio No. 2 op. 230, composed twenty years after the two serenades and no fewer than forty-two years after the first piano trio, places considerable demands on the interpreter, not only in the composition’s structural and motivic aspects but also purely technically in the field of precision ensemble playing. The beautiful harmonic features of the work are enormous, and the tight contrapuntal structure reveals a composer most highly schooled in convention as well as powers of musical invention and ambition beyond the reach of a good many of his younger contemporaries. The original conclusion is formed by Reinecke’s Piano Trio Version of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto op. 56. While his arrangement preserves the orchestral breadth, it simultaneously brings out the chamber components of the original work.

An outstanding edition for the 200th birthday César Franck's complete organ works At the center of the perception of César Franck as an organ composer are the twelve large-scale works, which are counted among the most radiant contributions to the organ literature. However, it should not be forgotten that with the collection "L'Organiste" he wrote 63 shorter, but compositionally very elaborate pieces, which due to their vignette-like, compact facture do not reach the complexity of his "large" organ works, but are nevertheless very remarkable: Each one of the pieces has a signature all its own, and is in no way inferior to Franck's extensive organ works in terms of harmonic complexity and focus of expression. It is thanks to our interpreter, i.e. Carsten Wiebusch's knowledgeable and tasteful arrangement of this collection originally composed by Franck for harmonium, that these miniatures can fully unfold their coloristic potential on the organ. And last but not least, there was the fascinating task of selecting the appropriate instruments for a Franck complete recording. What today appears so clearly arranged on 4 albums with three organs is the result of a thought process lasting several years, during which many instruments were considered, tested and discarded again in order to impressively reproduce the versatility of Franck's music.

With his more than sixty prizewinning recordings, Michael Korstick has gained renown as one of Germany’s leading pianists. And now, with his new recording of sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, he again sets accents and interpretive standards. The score texts, especially as far as ornamentation is concerned, often cannot be written out with precision or brought into systematic agreement in parallel passages. Much in these score texts creates the impression of a sketch and practically invites the player to make individual decisions.

An improvisational element is proper to all the pieces; no sonata follows a predictable course apart from the fact that they as a rule consist of two parts, each of which is repeated. There are many characteristics in Scarlatti’s music that immediately catch the ear’s attention: wit, generosity, keen understanding, irony, sensibility, and not least a healthy portion of the self-confidence forming a super-virtuoso’s sine qua non. The combination of the most sophisticated techniques, some of them acrobatic, with extremely catchy thematic material is characteristic of Scarlatti’s sonatas, but what never fails to astonish us is also his capacity for lyrical introspection in its most manifestations, from the greatest sorrow through the profoundest mourning to meditative absorption. Again, other pieces imitate the sounds of instruments so very different as flutes, oboes, trumpets, horns, guitars, mandolins, castanets, and drums.

This recording presents in full the thirty-two sonatas of the Auswahlband IV of the G. Henle Verlag as well as four of Scarlatti’s most beloved sonatas, which have been published separately by the G. Henle Verlag. The selection of pieces for Band IV has at its goal the presentation of what may be described as the essence or “The Best of” Scarlatti’s art of invention.

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.

The Croatian composer Boris Papandopulo (1906-1991) has had a home in our catalog for a number of years. Until now, it was mainly concertante works and chamber music involving the piano that allowed us to hear an astonishingly idiosyncratic personality, even in his (relatively rare) use of modern compositional techniques. Now cpo is enriching the multifaceted profile of this striking artist with the release of the string quartets, which reflect practically the entire creative life span of the man from Zagreb: Folkloristic influences, the inevitabilities of the socialist-realist doctrine, the experiments with the compositional achievements of the West - all this combines to form a great musical "documentary film", in which the extremely expressive Clarinet Quintet, composed during wartime, and the concise, playful Guitar Quartet also play no insignificant role.

Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons is a milestone in music. On the one hand, the cycle is firmly anchored in baroque aesthetics, on the other hand, one is already moving in the direction of the galant style. In our new recording, Vivaldi's works have been carefully arranged for pan flute with orchestra by the composer Carlos Pino-Quintana. The great challenge was to maintain or even emphasise polyphonic elements of the original solo part in the new instrumentation, to subtly transfer the technical characteristics of the violin to the pan flute, to find adequate keys, and to balance the resulting contrasts and timbres between solo and tutti in the sense of concerto grosso. In the process, the accompaniment of harpsichord as basso continuo, which otherwise would have appeared only as secco accompaniment in long phrases and sections, is omitted, which opened up new possibilities for the fabric of polyphony and gave the pan flute solo voice greater scope for expression and musicality. And lo and behold, the concertos sound as if they were written for the pan flute. This is of course also due to our interpreter Andreea Chira, who plays a historical pan flute "Nai" with an unmistakable timbre. An incomparable sound experience!

Vol. 3 in our successful series with Music for Strings by British Composers features works by four important women composers, some of whom initially were underappreciated and whose music only later was performed again and received proper recognition. However, the period from 1893 to 1934 was still an extremely favorable time for British women composers who wanted to present their works on their country’s concert stages inasmuch as they could count on support principally from Sir Henry Wood at the Proms and Dan Godfrey in Bournemouth. Ethel Smyth (familiar to our listening audience from cpo albums with works by her) and Susan Spain-Dunk in particular profited from this support. In addition, this release presents recording premieres of string compositions by Constance Warren and Ruth Gipps, in part in editions by the conductor Douglas Bostock himself. On Vol. 3 the Southwest German Chamber Orchestra of Pforzheim once again “explores the works with a lot of understanding for the particular personal style and with a fine sense of sound. Douglas Bostock knows how to bring out manifold colors from the orchestra and also, when needed, how to sharpen the tone and to place the sonority of the whole in the foreground” (klassik.com 4/2021 of Vol. 2).

Carl Reinecke became known not least for his piano works, in which he reveals his style rooted in Romanticism. He wrote not only for solo piano, but also for piano four hands and for two pianos. The piano duo Genova & Dimitrov have now discovered this group of works for themselves and describe Reinecke as "one of the greatest surprises and discoveries of our musical path". The duo now presents the first recording of all works for two pianos and reveals: "Even while playing through the beautiful, introductory phrase of his Andante with Variations op. 6, a whole new world opened up before us in a split second and drew us into the further almost 200 minutes. It is a world of multi-layered human emotions, contrasts and spontaneity, a world of boundless, pure love and courtesy for fellow human beings, of unconditional helpfulness and understanding, of the deepest respect for others, of devoted selflessness and unshakeable faith in God and in the good in people. All that is Carl Reinecke as a person gushes forth ceaselessly from his music. Through the present recordings, we hope to be able to pass on to our audience this 'source of life' as pure and unadulterated as possible, just as we received it as a gift from the great master." A brilliant complete edition!

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!

Fresh off a successful Rachmaninoff project, Duo Genova & Dimitrov turns to the American composer Amy Beach. Her compositional oeuvre marks a high point in the phase of consolidation experienced by U.S. art music between the Civil War and World War I. Amy Beach was not the first American woman who composed, nor the first to earn money with her compositions, but she created a stir in the music world by forging ahead into genres in which previously only men had garnered wide acclaim. However, it was above all the piano that was Amy Beach’s lifelong companion.

She honored her instrument with solo compositions in a total of twenty-six opus numbers distributed equally over her entire compositional career, from the 1880s to the 1930s. Even though her music for piano four hands and for two pianos is limited to a few compositions, they all attest to their author’s talent. The original version of Amy Beach’s Variations on Balkan Themes op. 60 is her most extensive composition for piano two hands and the one that is the most challenging in playing technique. At the same time, the variations represent one of her most significant endorsements of folk music.

REVIEWS:

Genova and Dimitrov perform this technically demanding and richly imagined music with enormous affection and flair, conjuring its atmospheres and textures seamlessly, as if with one mind. A must-hear album for all who want to explore Beach’s highly rewarding output.

-- BBC Music Magazine

Aglika Genova and Liuben Dimitrov are a polished duo, unfailingly musical, with an ensemble precision that sits well with their two superbly matched instruments. The disc, very well recorded, comes with an exhaustively detailed booklet and is a valuable addition to the Beach discography.

-- Gramophone

The fourth volume of this diverse and instructive series presents itself as a "group portrait with a lady". In this installment, Douglas Bostock and the Southwest German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim continue their exploration of British string music history. Representing the "fairer sex" among her colleagues is Imogen Holst, daughter of the renowned composer of The Planets. Of all the composers featured, she employs the most advanced musical language. Nevertheless, they are all united by a shared artistic ethos: they creatively follow in the footsteps of the old masters, devising various ways to bridge the spirit of past centuries with their own time. This may take shape as variations or as a musical monument, but more often than not, it unfolds "en suite" - with refined taste and that distinctly British sense of conservatism.