Includes sym(s) by Leopold Mozart.

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As a young child in Silesia, Robert Radecke’s musical talent was recognized and cultivated. His career bloomed in Berlin where he became the Royal Court Opera music director in 1863, and the Royal Chapel Master in 1871. From 1892 until he was seventy-seven years old, Radecke held the post of director of Berlin’s Royal Institute of Church Music. Radecke was personally acquainted with master conductors such as Wagner, Liszt, Schumann, and Strauss. His catalogue includes over 100 songs, chamber music, piano works, symphonies, overtures, sacred hymns, choral works, and organ works. This new release features Radecke’s symphonic pieces. The project was funded by crowd-funding efforts organized in Biel, as well as a donation from the composer’s great-grandson, Christian Radecke.

Das Fuerstenkind (The Prince’s Child) has always been an “insider’s tip” in Lehár’s oeuvre, and the composer himself regarded this robbers’ tale from Greece premiered in 1909 as one of his best works. It was also his problem child because it never became a sensational success. The reason may have been due to the works blurring of boundaries between opera and operetta.

Includes cantata(s) by Gottfried H. Stölzel. Ensemble: Michaelstein Telemannisches Collegium. Conductor: Ludger Rémy. Soloists: Dorothee Mields, Jan Kobow, Christian Immler.

...Johann Kalliwoda was a tremendously interesting and talented composer, and both symphonies offer a fund of very attractive ideas. The Fourth Symphony, with its introductory funeral march, scoring that includes three trombones, and its delicious 6/4 scherzo, is perhaps more noteworthy in this respect, but both pieces--and the overture (in a turbulent F minor)--offer plenty of listening satisfaction. - David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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This release is the third volume in cpo’s series of Bach’s harpsichord concertos. A particular highlight is the Triple Concerto in A minor for Harpsichord, Flute, Violin and Strings, which recalls the harpsichord role in the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 and brims with its own rhythmic and harmonic contrasts. The Concerto Copenhagen ensemble from Denmark rank as one of the world’s best orchestras performing on original instruments, and present a spirited interpretation of these works under and with their conductor Lars Ulrik Mortensen.

It was not too long ago that Otto Nicolai's name was known to pera audiences exclusively in association with his comic opera The Merry Wives of Windsor. Then the performance of his opera Il Templario changed our view of this composer's oeuvre. Il Templario, a work premiered in Turin in 1840, met with great international acclaim and recognition when it was produced on the stage. It's success has encouraged us to acquaint the music world with yet another Italian opera by Nicolai produced in Chemnitz: Die Heimkehr des Verbannten, which celebrated it's premiere as Il proscritto in Milan in 1841. Three years later it was presented as a German opera entitled Die Heimkehr des Verbannten in Vienna in a version revised by Nicolai that went on to be successfully performed about forty times over a period of three years at the Court Opera Theater.

ENESCU Piano Quartets: No. 1 in D; No. 2 in d • Tammuz Pn Qrt • CPO 777506 (65:40)


Pianist Oliver Triendl is a veteran of numerous cpo chamber-music recordings in which the ensembles he is part of—the Minguet, Sine Nomine, and Vogler quartets, and Ensemble Acht—seem to change from one release to the next. I mention this because the Tammuz Piano Quartet is yet another ensemble recently established when Triendl and this time friends Daniel Gaede, violin; Lars Anders Tomter, viola; and cellist Gustav Rivinius (not to be confused with pianist Paul Rivinius) came together. This is their first, and as far as I’m aware, their only commercial recording.


The name of the ensemble struck me as odd, the booklet note informing us that Tammuz, in Babylonian and Assyrian mythology, was the lover of Ishtar, the goddess of love. I suppose for those up on their ancient Mesopotamian history, Ishtar might be the first reference to come to mind, but for many more of us, I suspect, Tammuz will ring a bell as the name of the 10th month on the Hebrew calendar, corresponding roughly to the Gregorian calendar month of July.


For most of my early years of musical discovery, I knew Romanian composer George Enescu (1881–1955) only by his Romanian Rhapsodies . I still remember a Columbia LP recording of them I had with Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. It has only been within the last 20 or so years, I’d say, that Enescu’s large body of works has made inroads among the classical-music listening public. Live performances of his symphonies, orchestral compositions, and many chamber works are still relatively rare, and his large scale opera Œdipe , completed in 1931, had to wait until 2005 for its U.S. premiere. However, much of Enescu’s music is today available on record, and what has emerged in works like the C-Major Octet and the Sinfonia Concertante for Cello and Orchestra, which can be heard on Volume 1 of Hyperion’s Romantic Cello Concerto series, is a composer of broader scope than might have been thought from some of his popular folk-styled works.


James Manheim, reviewing the current CD for the website AllMusic, writes that “Enescu’s Piano Quartet No. 1, composed in 1909, sounds a bit like what might have happened if Richard Strauss had grown up in Paris.” Manheim’s observation that “the quartet is a large piece (for a chamber work), with the first two of its three movements clocking in at over 13 minutes each,” comports with Christoph Schlüren’s booklet note in which he states, “If only in point of length, the First Piano Quartet is a composition of epic dimensions.” “Epic” may be a bit exaggerated, for certainly there are chamber works, like Franck’s D-Major String Quartet, that exceed Enescu’s in duration. But “epic” has as much to do with weight and gravity of content as with length; and these two piano quartets are as serious in intent as they are seriously gorgeous.


Up until World War II, Enescu divided his time between his native Romania and France, but following the Soviet occupation of Romania, he repaired permanently to Paris. The French influence on Enescu cannot be downplayed. He studied with Massenet and Fauré, and in the first decade of the 20th century he would have heard not only the works of his teachers but also of Debussy. So, Manheim got the Paris part right, but not, I think, the Strauss reference. Enescu’s Piano Quartet No. 1 sounds to me like Fauré on testosterone, which is to say it has much the same restless harmony, arresting melody, and free-flowing rhythm, but it’s scruffier around the edges, with a week-old beard, sounding more masculine and muscular and smelling more of musk than of hyacinth and lavender.


Writing during the worst of times, Enescu composed his Piano Quartet No. 2 between 1943 and 1944. It was written to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Fauré’s death. Unlike its older companion, however, which is heavily influenced by Fauré’s melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic language, if not so much his elegant, refined style, the later work seems to take note of Bartók in the way it draws upon Magyar folk elements in its first and last movements, and to explore a kind of post-Debussy Impressionism in its slow movement.


Both of these works make very personal, very powerful, and very moving musical statements. For several years now, there has been a Naxos recording of the Piano Quartet No. 2 with the Solomon Ensemble, but it’s coupled with a performance of the composer’s Piano Quintet. To the extent that current listings can be trusted, this new cpo recording seems to be the only one available of the Piano Quartet No. 1. But it’s not trumpeted as a world premiere recording, which record companies usually boast when they’ve managed a coup.


The Tammuz Piano Quartet is really outstanding. The music sounds quite technically challenging, yet I hear no stress or strain in these performances. Playing and recording are superb. If the Romanian Rhapsodies are the only Enescu in your collection, you are in for a real surprise and a real treat with this CD. Not only do I urgently recommend it, I’m setting it aside as a potential candidate for my 2011 Want List.


FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

Antonio Roseltti spent the most productive years of his life in two rural residential capitals in southern and norther Germany, far removed from the centres of contemporary musical life. Yet the poet-composer Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubert and the well-travelled English musical savant Charles Burney numbered him among the mos timportant and beloved composers of his day, the latter even placing him on a par wtih Haydn and mozart. Not only do the many known performances of his music prove that it was indeed popular and widely disseminated in his day, his success is also reflected in the fact that more than half o fhis output was issued in print by renowned publishers until well into the late 1790s. The piano has been the center of Natasa Veljkovic's life ever since she was four years old. After studies with her ''musical father'', Prof. Arobo Valdma, in Belfrade, she was accepted to Prof. Paul Badura-Skoda's class at the Vienna University of Music at the age of fourteen. She has earned many distinctions and awards throughout her career and regularly perofrms throughout Europe.

This new Henk Badings recording further confirms his rank as a great twentieth-century Dutch composer with an important and independent individual voice in European music. Although he composed his fourth symphony during the war years, absolutely nothing related to World War II or its atmosphere is to be found in it. It is instead a work adhering to the classical structure and displaying unaffected naturalness and quick musical wit, especially in its fast movements. In 1949 Badings composed his fifth symphony as a commissioned work for the sixtieth anniversary of the Concertgebouw Orchestra. In 1955 a reviewer for the daily De Tijd wrote that this symphony resembled film music inasmuch as it clearly dealt with illustrative elements. This was not intended as a negative judgment but instead was born of admiration for the composer’s suggestive style. In any case, today this music impresses the listener with its surprising freshness and vitality.

Telemann impresses once again with this Kapitänsmusik - the characters are perfectly portrayed.

One of the many duties of Georg Philipp Telemann as Musikdirektor in Hamburg was the composition of the Kapitänsmusik. This was to be performed every year during the convivium, the festive banquet of the sixty-seven members of the officer corps of the civic guard. This event took place on the first Thursday after St Bartholomew's Day (24 August). The Kapitänsmusik consisted of two parts. It started with an oratorio which was performed during the midday meal; the serenata was played in the evening. Telemann composed 36 such works, of which only nine have survived.

In the (sacred) oratorio the many blessings of Hamburg are spelled out, mostly by a character called Hammonia (Hamburg). She calls on the citizens to praise God for his blessings. Here this is expressed, for instance, in a chorus of Hammonia with her children: "Holy being, you source of good, blessing and prosperity issue forth from you. You make sure that Hamburg's wall forever stand. Take from us the thanks for this." allegorical characters turn up which declare their bond with the city: Die Andacht (Devotion), Die Gerechtigkeit (Justice), Die Wahrheit (Truth) and Das Vertrauen (Trust). As in most such pieces there is an opposing character: Die Unachtsamkeit (Negligence). He acknowledges that there is much to enjoy in Hamburg, but for him the blessings are rather the earthly pleasures, like food and drink: "I look forward to the oyster season". He doesn't want to waste any time thinking about "the source of the blessing and its surplus". The other characters react with abhorrence, as Negligence "forgets that our God is the origin of good", as Devotion says. Hammonia then says he should "avoid my domain". The oratorio ends with the last stanza from the hymn 'Herr Gott, wir danken dir' (Johann Franck, 1618-1677).

The serenata is quite dramatic. This is to be expected because Telemann was a successful opera composer; from 1722 until its closure in 1738 he was the director of the Oper am Gänsemarkt. But this serenata is more dramatic than those in other Kapitänsmusiken in that its central subject is war. There was a historical reason for that. Hamburg was part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, and its emperor, Charles VI, had been involved in a war against the Ottoman empire since 1737. Although Hamburg was not directly struck by the war, it was part of the empire and therefore involved in the conflict. The serenata begins with a 'Chorus of the Heroes' in the form of a battaglia: "The drum calls with rolling beats, the mortars roar, the swords flash - this brings joy to our brave hearts". The warriors are encouraged by Der Kriegsgeist (The Spirit of War), the Elbe asks the shepherds to end their joy and "lay down your gentle flutes". It is then Die Zaghaftigkeit (Timidity) who describes the horrors of the war: "My heart beats in my horrified breast to think of the ominous gloom of signs of misfortune. (...) O who, who will save us from ruin?" Then Der Friede (Peace) enters and declares that "I am the one who watches over you". This gives Timidity new strength.

In the last part of the serenata the enemy is specifically mentioned. The Spirit of War says: "The eagle leads the legions before Istanbul's now horrified gate. He displays in sharpened talons, the sword drawn for Turkish ruin". He is encouraged by the Elbe: "Go, let German courage accustom the wild Saracens even more to servitude". This is followed by an aria which has again the form of a battaglia. As in the oratorio there is an opposing character. This time it is Der Neid (Envy) which expresses his "pleasure in Germany's misfortune". "I even see now with happy eyes the whole burden and your demise coming". But then Der Schutzgeist Deutschlands (Germany's Guardian Spirit) turns up and declares: "Germany is loved by heaven itself. Up, heroes, up to the fight". The serenata ends with a chorus: "Germany's glory shall always stand, and your happy prosperity, Hamburg/Schwerin, is ordained by God".

Considering that Germany was no political unity, but a patchwork of largely independent territories the use of the term 'Germany' is remarkable. It was hardly used in those days, and in his liner-notes Eckart Kleßman sees it as an expression of the wish "to put an end to the notorious threat posed to the practically defenseless German states, to strengthen their self-confidence, and to reinforce this self-confidence with military security". Whatever the reason may be, this aspect and the pronounced treatment of the subject of war makes this Kapitänsmusik rather unique in this part of Telemann's oeuvre.

One of the dramatic features of the serenata is the representation of the characters. In particular The Spirit of War and Timidity are remarkable, as well as Envy. The characteristics of these protagonists are impressively explored by the singers. In the oratorio it is the role of Negligence which attracts attention. Here Immo Schröder shines in his humorous portrayal of this character. Veronika Winter gives an immaculate performance of the role of Hammonia. As Germany's Guardian Spirit she sings the last aria of this work, 'Ergreifet den Degen' (Grip the sword) which is quite virtuosic. But most arias are pitched at a considerable technical level, and Telemann again shows his creative spirit, not only in the vocal parts but also in the instrumental score.

This Kapitänsmusik was first performed in modern times in 1965 in the former GDR, but its text had to be changed in many respects, for political reasons. Therefore the live performance in 2007 in Knechtsteden which was recorded by the German classical channel WDR Cologne and released by CPO, is the work's first modern performance in its original state. Hermann Max and all other participants deserve our gratitude for bringing this very fine piece of music to our attention. I am looking forward to the Kapitänsmusiken which are still waiting to be recorded.

-- Johan van Veen, MusicWeb International

• In 1882 Elisabeth von Herzogenberg, who actually was active only as an interpreting pianist, composed eight truly virtuosic piano pieces that her husband would publish after her much too early death. Heinrich’s own piano pieces, now recorded in highly poetic style for the first time on three CDs by Natasa Veljkovic, a Vienna-based pianist , show that Herzogenberg had what was very much his own independent voice and truly meriting its own hearing – especially in this enthralling interpretation!

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cpo continues their exploration with Ries’ Notturni for Winds, works exemplifying his great compositional talent. Although set for the same instruments, the works are very different in ambition and dimension. The recording also includes Mozart’s Partita in B flat–better known as the Gran Partita–in the version for wind octet. This release is most highly recommended to all fans of good chamber music!

Based on Henry Rider Haggard’s novel of the same name, August Enna’s Cleopatra immediately followed Heksen (The Witch), his most successful opera. + In his Violin Concerto, Enna stands with one foot in Nordic music and with the other in the Italian opera. In the second movement, we encounter the work’s greatest surprise: it is introduced by beginning of the famous aria “Vesti la giubba” from Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, which Enna develops into a highly expressive cantilena. + In his Symphonic Fantasy (1930-31), the composer’s talent for instrumentation, virtually unrivaled in the Danish music of his times, stands out.

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Conspiratorial plots, intrigues and affairs at the court of Austrian Empress Maria Theresa dominate the scenario of Die Kaiserin. However, the true focus of this wrongly forgotten operetta by Leo Fall (1873-1925) is formed by the steadfast love between the empress and her prince consort Francis Stephen of Lorraine. With a generally accurate historical libretto, the operetta was supposed to keep abreast of the times both in its music and content while avoiding all-too-obvious references to current political events, common practice in the operetta genre at the time of its 1915 Berlin premiere.

Claudio Abbado has termed Aglika Genova and Liuben Dimitrov "the piano duo of the young generation" and the two have indeed come to be regarded as one of today’s most sought-after piano duos worldwide. On their latest CD, dedicated to their beloved teacher Vladimir Krainev, who died in 2011, they interpret suites by Anton Arensky. Arensky enjoyed enormous renown as a composer during his short lifetime and his chamber, instrumental, and vocal legacy, including above all the five suites for two pianos heard here, impressively attests to his artistic stature. From his audiences, whose members included the geniuses Tchaikovsky and Tolstoy, he earned great praise for these suites, both in the orchestral version and in the original version for two pianos. Arensky grew up in a music loving well-to-do family and studied counterpoint and fugue as well as composition under Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He then became a composition teacher at the Moscow Conservatory, where he was appointed to professorship in 1889. He trained many students who later became famous composers (including Rachmaninov and Scriabin). This refreshingly modern interpretation of the suites presents them in all their fascinating sophistication and transparency and reveals the spirited emotionality, sincerity, and bold virtuosity of the effective and dazzling piano parts in their best light. - CPO, (Translated from German.)

Gripping interpretations of Spohr’s Violin Concertos are now on 8 CDs from cpo. Mere words do not suffice to praise Ulf Hoelscher’s violinistic achievement highly enough. Gramophone: “Hoelscher has the elegance and almost cantabile qualities going hand in hand with Spohr’s composing for the violin.”

Shortly after the Nazis had seized power, Paul Frankenburger, like many other Jewish composers, left Germany for Palestine, which was then under British administration. In Palestine he resumed his creative work with Ben-Haim as his Hebrew name. He became one of the pioneers of classical music in Israel, both as a composer and as an admired composition teacher. His Concerto Grosso, his first work for symphony orchestra, is embedded in the spiritual and technical sound world of German late romanticism and French impressionism and related to the Baroque concerto grosso only insofar as it contains numerous solos and homogeneous orchestral segments. Ben-Haim concluded the score of his Symphony No. 2, his longest orchestral work, in October 1945. This work adheres to the four-movement structure of classical and romantic music. The autographic score has an epigraph by the Israeli poet Shin Shalom: "Awake with the morning, O my soul, on the summit of Carmel over the sea." It indicates the hopeful, optimistic mood prevailing throughout most of the symphony. The conductor Israel Yinon (who unfortunately died in 2015) is once again our skillful guide through this second Ben-Haim production.

Our new complete recording of the organ works of Johann Pachelbel, the most important composer of the Southern German organ tradition, concludes with a total of three albums – all of them once again in SS and with first-class organists performing on selected organs. Our three protagonists, Michael Belotti, Christian Schmitt, and James David Christie, have produced enthralling recordings on which they demonstrate their expertise in performances on outstanding historical instruments. This final volume of our complete edition adheres to the same policy as Vols. 1 and 2: it too is based on the new collection and edition of the composer’s extant oeuvre. The order of the works on the recordings initially follows that of the chorale arrangements in the edition, which results in programs with the following thematic emphases: Passions, Psalm Settings, and Chorale Partitas. The new recording invites all listeners to rediscover the mastery and versatility of the keyboard composer Pachelbel. Toccata wrote of Vol. 1 of the edition: “Here everything is in order: very good interpretations on appropriate instruments, with an informative booklet in which we also find descriptions and the disposition of the organs played as well as information about the registration of each individual work. The project has what it takes to become one of the most important of this time.”

Composer Günter Raphael survived many dangers from antisemitism, tuberculosis, Nazi persecution and the war. All the while he composed many works and was responsible for restoring Dvorak's other Cello Concerto in A major. Violinist Christine Raphael performs Günter Raphael's Violin Concerto and chamber works.

The Eskar Trio have established themselves as one of Denmark’s leading chamber music ensembles and Cpo are proud to present their interpretation of Johann Brahms’s Piano Trios.

In addition to the three well-known trios is the Piano Trio in A major, a work whose authorship continues to be a matter of controversy. The anonymous score from a Bonn manuscript collection of the nineteenth century was discovered in 1924 (now extant), and it is thought to be a sole survivor from collection of piano trios the self-critical composer withheld from publication.