As the founding father of Finnish music, Jean Sibelius is the measure of all things to such an extent that an outside observer may easily miss the abundance of talented masters who also practiced the art of composition quite successfully in the land of a thousand lakes. One of them was Erkki Melartin. Not ten years younger than the composer of Finlandia, he also left us a significant oeuvre that repeatedly begs a comparison to his older colleague - of course, it is a comparison whose results are subject to debate. To be fair, we can discover a phrase here or there that reminds us of Sibelius; occasionally, some of Mahler's vocabulary may have sneaked in as well; but the persona whose legacy is six mighty symphonies has blazed his own independent trail away from the Romantic tradition, leading us relentlessly to an unheard cosmos.

On the path to true faith and it's practice to please God, there have been regular heated debates over the role of music. Reactionaries repeatedly closed the lid on excessive cheer. This was also the case in the Netherlands of the 17th century. The reformist spirit of the Frenchman John Calvin led to an almost complete ban of music during worship services, despite the fact that the psalms of David ("Sing unto the Lord") provide unassailable proof to the contrary. Shortly before 1600, the great Dutch composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck discovered how these psalms could be, and were permitted to be, set to new music. The "Orpheus of Amsterdam" succeeded in transforming imposed restrictions into acoustic wonders. Our small selection of psalms, alternating with several organ works, proves once again the victory of the spirit over heavy subject matter

On 5 September 1723, Emperor Charles VI, the father of his legendary successor Maria Theresia, was crowned King of Bohemia in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. After this magnificent ceremony had already gone on for several hours, the Golden City held a series of festivities that one can hardly imagine today. Among other things, a new work by the Vienna court composer Francesco Conti was performed. The serenata Il Trionfo della Fama, in which the goddess of fame (and rumour) celebrates the ruler of the world together with all parts of the earth known at the time. His Majesty was surely greatly pleased by the one-act opera. With timpani and trumpets, sprinkled with glorious arias for the allegorical figures representing the emperor's character traits, the "Triumph of the Goddess of Fame" has not lost anything of it's entertaining impact even three hundred years after it's premiere.

Indeed, Vienna is so rich in composers [...], that it is but just to allow it to be, among German cities, the imperial seat of music, as well as of power. Sir Charles Burney, the famous observer of European music, was quite correct. This city on the Danube was bubbling over with talents and masters who all made their livelihood there. This included Johann Baptist Wanhal, one of the innumerable Bohemians that tried their luck in the shadow of the court palace. He contributed many beautiful pieces to his preferred medium of instrumental music. The small selection of the present production alone well demonstrates that Wanhal was able to hold his own in the symphonic genre next to Joseph Haydn, who was seven years his senior. Subtle orchestral colours, a fine sense for dramatic events, especially in the minor keys, and striking melodies are characteristic of the creations that were enjoyed not only in the old imperial city.

Henriette Bosmans' mother was a pianist and her father played principal cello in Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Orchestra, so it is no wonder that both of these instruments were lasting influences on her musical thinking and sensibilities. Her friendship with cellists Marix Loevensohn and Frieda Belinfante did the rest to guide this Dutch composer's imagination towards the expressive possibilities of the "little violone". In addition to various pieces of chamber music, the somewhat Iberian-spiced Poeme as well as two concertos were written in the early 1920s. Despite their relative proximity in time, Henriette Bosmans succeeded in not repeating herself. The works are marked by imaginative forms, wildly varied tasks demanded of the soloist and a sophisticated treatment of the orchestra. Despite these works' success, they had disappeared into the annals of history for far too long.

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.

After Stralsund and Danzig, Magdeburg is the third stop on Manfred Cordes' journey through the cities of the Hanseatic League. This stop not only takes him to a city quite far from the sea but also to the earliest period of Protestant church music. Magdeburg introduced the Reformation already in 1524, just seven years after Luther's decisive act. Immediately, the transformation began of what the former monk from Eisleben cherished as a "gift and blessing from God" and saw as an effective means of preaching the Gospel. A genuine "Magdeburg School" emerged, with it's representatives cultivating and developing the music of the new faith up until the Thirty Years' War. This program follows that tradition, bringing to life the works of cantors from Martin Agricola to Heinrich Grimm, thus allowing compositions spanning approximately 120 years to resound once more.

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.

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.

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.

At just ten years old, Helene Liebmann, nee Riese, made her public debut as a pianist in Berlin, marking the beginning of a remarkable career. Soon thereafter, her first compositions followed - understandably, works primarily dedicated to her own instrument. Shortly after her marriage in 1814, the young artist relocated to London with her husband, where she studied under Ferdinand Ries, a friend and student of Beethoven. During this time, her earliest chamber music works came into being, followed by additional compositions while in Britain, including the two duo sonatas and the first of two piano trios recorded here. These are all elegant and distinctive works, shifting from the spirit of late Classicism toward the Biedermeier era with a delicate Romantic touch, making them both accessible and enduringly appealing to listeners.

If I had as much melody as you, and you had as much knowledge as I, we would both be great men. These words capture the essence of Georg Joseph Vogler. While his pupil Carl Maria von Weber famously composed countless Romantic classics, Vogler secured lasting recognition primarily through his theories of composition. However, during his lifetime, he was also highly esteemed as a musician, not only in German-speaking regions but also in Paris, London, Rotterdam, Stockholm, and Vienna. His prolific output spanned a wide range of genres, from opera and singspiel to keyboard music, sacred works, and symphonies. His third and final symphony, La Scala, appears to be a direct response to Mozart's "learned" Jupiter Symphony. Though Mozart himself dismissed Vogler as a charlatan, even he was not infallible. Listen and judge for yourself!

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.

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.

Telemann remains a paradox: The deeper one delves into his oeuvre, the more boundless his legacy seems - like entering a mysterious treasure trove where the eyes gradually adjust to the wealth amassed within, yet never fully grasp it's true extent. The sheer abundance of his orchestral works and concertos seems to grow exponentially with each new publication. When previously lost compositions unexpectedly resurface - such as these six overtures from 1736, of which only a single printed copy had survived - we are left speechless. Suddenly, an exquisite assortment unfolds before us, featuring "classical" Baroque dance forms interspersed with exotic elements such as the Polonaise and Murky, imaginative character sketches, and various fashionable pieces, all presented in a kaleidoscope of colors. How effortlessly time flies by!