Seven Stairs To Hell is a project by Marek Walarowski, in which both the compositions and the performances are the result of his authored concept. Although the musical genre is based on spontaneous improvisation, the shaping of its present form took many years. The jazz music direction it creates has been termed by its author Dual Jazz, in a nutshell a phrase meaning the free employment of all available means of shaping the musical fabric with respect for the greatest values simultaneously identical with jazz. Mr. Walarowski’s output includes jazz, pop music and symphonic scores.

The present CD is the first attempt to sum up Stulginska's compositional achievements to date. It features works written over a period of six years that demonstrate an evolution of her style, from 'musical documentation' to more abstract pieces probing into the intricacies and metaphysical dimension of sound.

Founded in 2003, the Daroch Trio is a family affair, made up of three siblings: Anna Daroch (violin), Maria Daroch (piano), and Tomasz Daroch (cello). Their debut in their native city of Łódź, Poland met with high critical acclaim, inspiring them to continue along their artistic path. They are all graduates of the Henryk Wieniawski Music School in Łodź. Their new Dux CD finds the trio playing three important and challenging piano trios well-established in the chamber repertoire, by Dvořák, Debussy and Ravel.

Although the genre of sonata for piano and cello never gained the popuolarity of the sonata with teh violin, it has still featured in the artistic output of many composers. Originally, works composed for this scoring were actually compositions for the piano with the employment of cello. One of the first creators to use thes epossibilities was Ludwig van Beethoven. His five sonatas for piano and cello were a breakthrough in this genre's musical development. More than 100 years later, Dmitri Shostakovich composed his Cello Sonata in D minor, Op. 40. Cellist Joo Yeon Choi gave her debut recital when she was 13 years old. She has been awarded numerous honors, prizes and given endless amazing concerts throughout the world.

Despite the diverse cast of performers of the pieces, these works are connected by a similar type of expression, characteristic of the composer. They start with the instrumental music, determined by the number of performers-from two pianos and two sets of percussion-to a string orchestra, with the addition of a piano, and to sacred pieces with a choir.

In musicology, the term “oratory” defines great narrative vocal-instrumental forms of biblical, hagiographic or moral themes. The original meaning of the word is “the place of prayer,” which is also reflected in the nomenclature of sacred architecture. The Most Beautiful Baptist Mother’s Oratory Motherhood refers to all these historical meanings- it draws on the various threads of centuries-old ecclesiastical tradition, and is conceived as an attempt to create a sound space of prayer and religious experience. The work was composed on the occasion of the ceremony of naming the basilica of the smaller temple of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Nicholas in Boleslawiec. Bartlomiej Kot is not only a celebrated composer, but also a dynamic guitarist. Currently he works at the Maciejowka Academic ministry in Wroclaw.

Eugen Indjic was born in Belgrade in 1947. His mother was a Russian amateur pianist and his father a Serbian army general under King Peter II of Yugoslavia. Immigrating to the US with his mother at the age of four, he there became interested in music after hearing a recording of Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu and Polonaise in A flat major. Moved by a desire to master those pieces, he took lessons with Georgian pianist, Liubov Stephani. He made his first public performance at the age of nine, appearing with the Springfield Symphony, playing Mozart's D minor Piano Concerto. By the age of eleven he was already playing Liszt on NBC television, and at twelve he made his first recording for RCA Victor. Over the course of his long career he has won numerous awards at festivals and for his extensive discography. The present release features a recital of the composer who inspired Indjic to take up music in the first place- Chopin.

Władysław Strzemiński (1893-1952) was a Polish art theoretician, painter, designer of "functional" prints, pioneer of the Constructivist avant-garde of the 1920s and 1930s, and the creator of the theory of Unism, or universal integrity. This theory and the paintings themselves were a major influence on the work of composer Zygmunt Krauze (b. 1938). Hommage à Strzemiński is a seven-work, single disc tribute to the work of these men, the recordings themselves realized over a span of some forty-five year, from 1969-2014.

In Persian, a Qalandar is a wandering ascetic. Here, Qalandar is a cycle of pieces for two, three or four instruments where non-tempered singing and contemporary writing for the piano merge, adorned at times by cello or clarinet improvisations. With their poems and their saz (long-necked lute), the, Anatolian bards expressed passions in many forms, sacred and profane. I in turn have attempted to make these poems mine, through the voice of the Istanbul-born singer Gülay Hacer Toruk, weaving essentially a cloak of 20th c. harmonies around the lines of these poems. (Renaud-Gabriel Pion)

Hendrich: Chamber Works

Franz Schubert composed his Winterreise cycle D911 in 1827 just before his death. The metaphor in the work’s title gives an image of a human desperately longing for love – the feeling providing warmth, solace and rest. The narrator does not find it during his winter journey. He does not lose hope however! He is searching further, fighting till the end! Bass-baritone Stanisław Kierner excels in operatic, oratorio and song repertoire – both classical as well as modern. Pianist Michał Rot leads an active concert life both in Poland and abroad, having performed at number of significant music festivals.

Zielenski: Opera Omnia, Vol. 2 - Offertoria Totius Anni

Zielenski: Opera Omnia, Vol. 1 - Offertoria Totius Anni

Piotr Moss (b. 1949) first studied composition with, amongst others, famed Polish composers Grażyna Bacewicz and Krzysztof Penderecki. He then went to France, where he developed his compositional skills under the guidance of Nadia Boulanger. In 1981 he settled in Paris and three years later received French citizenship. His very diverse output includes large-scale vocal-instrumental works, concertos and chamber pieces, as well as music for radio, theatre, film and television. Many of his compositions have won awards at national and international competitions.

Sacred Works