Robert Oboussier was born in Antwerp and spent much of his youth in Germany. As a staunch opponent of National Socialism he emigrated to Zurich in 1939 where he held a number of important musical positions. However, the circumstances of his death in 1957 served to plunge his name into immediate obscurity and only now is his music being revived. This selection of mostly world premiere recordings demonstrates his personal use of twelve-tone rows, abrupt contrasts and a fondness for fantasia patterns. Oboussier's radical piano miniatures, 25 Abreviations, are heard here in their original versions and in excerpts arranged for plucked string ensemble by Christian Wernicke.

Pieces for Lutha" Anders Ericson plays this unique instrument from the Gustavian era, and presents an unknown part of the late 18th century Swedish musical landscape to the modern audience. Lute player Anders Ericson plays recently restored instruments by Swedish 18th century master luthier Johan Jerner, that take us back to an intriguing and intimate sonority from another time. Swedish composers Cloos, Ankar and Wikmanson clearly display the high musical and technical level of early Swedish "Luthenists". Each work on "Solo Pieces for Lutha" is a world premiere recording, which makes this disc truly exciting. An unknown musical treasure and an unheard instrument resounds!

Laura Netzel and Valborg Aulin are among the group of Swedish female composers who began to be talked about on the public music scene towards the end of the 19th century. Both Laura Netzel and Valborg Aulin were accomplished pianists, who showed extraordinary musical talent from an early age. But they followed substantially different paths to their d�but as composer. Laura Netzel was 35 when a couple of her pieces for ladies' chorus appeared in a programme for the New Harmonic Society at a concert in Stockholm in 1874. Valborg Aulin, on the other hand, was only 19 when several songs of hers were performed at one of the student concerts at the academy of music in 1879. With her experienced technique and artistic and accurate interpretation, Lucia Negro has long been considered one of Sweden's foremost pianists, and brilliantly interprets the works of these groundbreaking female composers.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Adolf Fredrik Lindblad was one of nineteenth-century Sweden's most prominent composers. However, over the years his music for piano has been overshadowed by his many songs and choral compositions. Lindblad wrote some sixty pieces for piano, but the majority still only exist in manuscript. A couple of years ago, Oscar Ekberg decided to study Lindblad's entire piano oeuvre, and this is the result: the very first recorded compilation of Lindblad's piano music. The recording consists of a selection of character pieces and 'Songs without words'. The short character piece was Lindblad's preferred form, and he was clearly a master of this brief evocation of mood. Oskar Ekberg grew up in Sweden where he began studying piano at age six. After studying at the School of Music in Gothenberg, he continued post-graduate studies at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. In 2003, he graduated and made his official debut with a performance of Prokofiev's second piano concerto with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. In addition to his solo career, Oskar dedicates considerable time to the performance of chamber music, and as an orchestral pianist in the leading Swedish ensembles.

Johann Sebastian Bach's flute sonatas are chamber music repertoire of rare quality. The six sonatas are all very different from one another in both style and character, and they provide a musical material to explore in depth, to live with and to discover new elements to over a whole lifetime. It has taken a certain amount of courage for these three young musicians at an early stage in their careers to choose to record this particularly well-known repertoire. Their aim with this recording has been to play as they, at this point in their lives, feel that the music must be played. They want each moment, tone or phrase to exhibit complete conviction in it's interpretation, as a result of their ensemble's performance, based on impulses and inspiration between the musicians.

Kristine West uses her Swedish folk music roots to take on baroque and contemporary music in a free and open-minded way. This debut album has been characterized as having easiness and aim to create an experience of presence - with extreme conviction. West wanted to encourage her listeners to interpret the music through their own experience and to constantly reconsider the music. This allows her music to be constantly alive with a sense of freedom.

Dear body, "In my silence, There's a heartbeat, Surrounded by love. Let's play, Dear body, Surrendering, I am not broken." You are everything, all that we have. You are life, and through you the music is channeled and takes shape. I ask you to keep playing and singing for as long as I exist. (annasara) Through the album's seven tracks, the titles of which together form a complete text, the music on Dear Body becomes an entire story, like the performance of a musical drama for which the stage has not yet been set. The different moods and soundscapes of the songs propel the story forward, painting a complex picture of pain interspersed with playful simplicity and quiet poetry. It is the love of music, and of making music, that is the driving force here, leading to humility and love for the body. This is what the whole album is about. The impressionistic sounds, and the simple yet impactful arrangements, are recognizable from previous albums. Harmonies and instrumentation from classical music are transferred to the singer songwriter form in which Annasara's clear and intimate voice can be heard on four tracks. The last track includes friend and tenor Martin Vanberg. The other tracks are completely instrumental and, in addition to piano and violin played by Annasara herself, we also hear Amelia Jakobsson on cello, Johan Bridger on marimba and Simon Peterson on double bass. All tracks share a sense of chamber music and an organic sound with songlike phrasings and dynamics. All music has been written and arranged by Annasara Lundgren. In the title track Dear Body, two themes from the Sibelius Violin Concerto are first woven into the song's verse and chorus, before being heard instrumentally toward the end.