Concord, Massachusetts is an American city that in the nineteenth century was a haven for thinkers and activists who focused on the trend of transcendentalism representing values such as equality, independence and self-reliance. The ideas of transcendentalists was inherent in Charles Ives works. His 4-part Piano Sonata II Concord, Mass. 1840-1860 is devoted to "four wise people" associated with Concord - important representatives of this trend. During Ives's life the Sonata was considered almost impossible to perform, and as a result was rarely recorded. It was eventually recorded in Poland for the first time. This task was undertaken by pianist Daniel Brylewski, laureate of international contests for contemporary music, specializing in the 20th and 21st century repertoire. The present release presents that recording.

Nowowiejski: In paradisum, Op. 61

WOLFGANG ZERER: JOACHIM WAGNER

Kwartludium I

PIANO TRIOS

Witold Lutosławski’s Lacrimosa his first vocal-instrumental piece, was a diploma work. + Excluding the Christmas carols, he never returned to sacred music. + Surrounded by two quiet movements is the Trois poemes d’Henri Michaux’s central, highly dramatic movement, in which the choir does not sing but shouts. + Paroles tissées (1965) was written for singer Peter Pears. + Les espaces du sommeil is a poem for voice and orchestra. + Chantefleurs et Chantefables is a collection of brilliant, humorous miniatures.

The opera- or rather and properly the musical interlude- At the Boar’s Head was written in 1924. Gustav Holst composed it at his home in Thaxted, where he was resting after collapsing, probably due to being overladen with work. By the time his health deteriorated, the composer had taught in a number of schools and played as an orchestra trombonist, devoting all his free time to composing. The libretto, which Holst also composed, is based on Shakespeare’s Henry IV parts 1 and 2. Also included in this release is Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Riders to the Sea, a short one-act opera based on the play of the same name by John Millington Synge. The opera has remained largely in the realm of students and amateurs until Sadler Wells added it to their repertoire in 1953.

ENGLISH CLARINET SONATAS

This recording features personalized and interesting interpretation of the Diabelli Variations by Beethoven.

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 32 - Schubert: Piano Sonata No.

SYMPHONY NO. 4 - ADAGIO

Krzysztof Penderecki’s works for string instruments constitute a rather abundant group of compositions of different forms and genres. The selection presented on this release comprises concerto pieces created at various stages of Penderecki’s creative path. The Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra was established in 2007. The Orchestra’s mission is to bring together the most talented students and graduates of musical academies who are under thirty years of age. They are deeply convinced that an opportunity to cooperate with outstanding artists will inspire many talented musicians and make them more eager to continue to develop as artists, and the personal artistic responsibility of each musician will translate into shared responsibility for the shape and quality of the orchestra. They believe that the Polish Orchestra Sinfonia Iuventus will be perceived by young musicians not so much as an institution, but as a community of shared objectives.

The genre of the double clarinet concerto is extraordinarily rarely performed, and even more rarely recorded. This release presents works by composers like Stamitz, Hoffmeister, and Krommer who explored this interesting instrumentation. Clarinetist Barbara Borowicz graduated with honors from the Academy of Music in Krakow in the clarinet class of Professor Andrzej Godek. She continued her musical education at Accademia Nazionale di Santa Ceclia in Rome with Alessandro Carbonare and at the Universitat fur Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna. She is also a student of clarinetist Susan Stephens working on the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen. As a soloist she made her debut with the Opole Philharmonic Orchestra in Poland and since then has regularly performed in Europe, North America, Australia, Africa, and Asia in the most prestigious concert halls. Andrzej Godek as a soloist and performer of chamber music has toured many countries. He has participated in numerous festivals, and has made several world premiere recordings of Polish contemporary music and Polish premiere performances of foreign composers’ works. As a soloist of the Polish Radio and Television Orchestra, not only has he performed in most European countries and Latin America, but also made numerous recordings for the Polish Radio and Television.

Anna Maria Staśkiewicz graduated from Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań with honors in 2007. She has been a laureate of numerous violin competitions, and has performed in numerous Polish cities and across Europe with the leading European orchestras as well as with the Sinfonica Municipal in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Henryk Wieniawski (1835-80) was one of the great violin virtuosos of the 19th c. Today, it’s the works he wrote for the violin that are best remembered and most often heard. Ms. Staśkiewicz offers three such opuses on this Dux release.

The years 1839-40 mark the high point in Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel’s (1805-47) compositional career. + Together with her husband and son, she traveled throughout Italy where she met many prominent musicians and artists and gained insights into Italian architectural and cultural heritage. + The piano cycle Das Jahr is a musical evocation of that time spent in Italy. + Pianist Joanna Strzelecka-Orłowska (1977) has performed in many prestigious venues in Poland, Germany, Italy, France, Holland and the U.S.