Charming salon miniatures and a grand funeral march by the verismo composer of La Gioconda.

Most of the pieces issued here were published in the 1870s and 1880s, and some of them are far more substantial than mere album-leaves. Yet they are hardly known at all; Riccardo Muti recorded an orchestration of the sombre and touching Elegia funebre from 1881, but Ester Fusar Poli’s new recording is the only available version of the piano original. Even more imposing in scale is the 16-minute Funeral March which Ponchielli wrote late in 1872 to honor the passing of the publisher Francesco Lucca. However, no Ponchielli album would be complete without a version of the ‘Dance of the Hours’ immortalized by Walt Disney’s hippos in Fantasia.

Ester Fusar Poli presents a beguiling sequence of elegies, nocturnes, polkas and tone-poems, demonstrating the composer’s expressive range and deft piano writing. An extensive essay by Gabriele Galleggiante Crisafulli considers Ponchielli’s piano output in the context of his career as a whole, making this album an important contribution to our understanding of a figure who was much more than a ‘one-hit wonder’.

Why our title Bliss? It is a word that evokes a joy so perfect, so blessed, that it transcends daily life and is distilled into the work of art. The songs contained in this album explore the sentiment of love in it's several aspects, shading from feelings of desire to regret for absence, from passion to surrender, from tenderness to melancholy. Amy Beach, Cécile Chaminade and Gilda Ruta transformed the evocative power of love poetry into music, capturing in their canti d'amore moments of pure ecstasy and heartrending beauty. But Bliss refers not only to the ecstasy of love: it is also an ecstasy of artistic creation, the act of expression by which these composers gave voice to their sentiments, unrefined and in absolute sincerity.

In his finely curated program Serenade, Swiss pianist Benjamin Engeli dedicates himself to the chamber music treasures of the extraordinary composers Agathe Backer-Grøndahl, Amy Beach, and Rebecca Clarke, bringing their lyrical miniatures, poetic soundscapes, and expressive character pieces to life. Engeli, one of the most distinguished pianists of his generation in Switzerland, impressively demonstrates the musical depth and emotional diversity of the work of these often underrated artists.

For her album Planet Earth, pianist Lisa Maria Schachtschneider has selected mainly romantic to late impressionist piano works and transcriptions from the four elements of fire, earth, water and air. Last but not least, as an artist she wants to promote a more conscious and sustainable approach to our environment and our resources.

John Wilson brings us a double helping of Wild’s exquisite solo piano distillations following the Gershwin–Wild Virtuoso Etudes that featured on his AVIE Records debut (AV2458): ‘This album gives listeners a chance to hear singing – an art form at once simple and complex – carried in a different; very deftly crafted musical vehicle; that of Earl Wild’s skill as a transcriber.’

REVIEWS:

If the second solo album by young American pianist John Wilson had a title, it might well be “Virtuoso,” for that description permeates his musical selections as well as his dynamic interpretations. Wilson follows in the footsteps of previous pianistic giants Sergei Rachmaninoff, George Gershwin, and Earl Wild, all of whom have contributions on this new release – indeed the pedigree of these composer–arranger–pianists runs through Wilson’s musical DNA. Wild’s renowned re–workings of Gershwin’s music for the stage is represented here by the Fantasy on Porgy and Bess, alongside Gershwin’s own Three Preludes for solo piano. Wild also turned his hand to solo piano arrangements of Rachmaninoff’s soulful songs for which Wilson feels a close affinity thanks to his frequent collaborations with singers.

-- WFMT

Referring to a musical work of the century such as George Gershwin's popular opera "Porgy and Bess" entails enormous risks. This is especially the case when this popular work has spawned many ubiquitous song classics. Hans Ludemann also believes: "You have to have a good reason to tackle this" and, of course, a coherent concept for a new, own approach. This has succeeded brilliantly with "Porgy's Dream". The very personal homage of Ludemann and trumpeter Reiner Winterschladen is not content with competent interpretations in the usual jazz style. The duo is based on selected themes and unfolds an intense atmosphere in it's freely interpreted pieces, which thoroughly lives up to the original work.

In Germany in particular, a lot of folk culture, especially folk music, has fallen into disrepute, so that the whole thing sometimes has a not inconsiderable bitter taste. And the word "folklore" is used almost pejoratively. For me, folklore has a positive connotation in the sense of something, a fashion, tradition, festivity, discipline, an occasion, food, dance, play, music, religion,... which is able to connect different generations or social and cultural origins. The word folklore actually describes one of the target ideas, where and how the music should end up. It is meant more as a kind of wish, a "blessing wish", for the music of our trio.

Love is the common thread running through this first recorded recital by soprano Vannina Santoni; it's also an opportunity to look back over her fifteen-year career, through her leading roles, alongside her favourite musicians. With the help of the Orchestre National de Lille and Quebecois conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni, she places her sensual voice at the service of famous operatic arias featuring the amorous heroines of Gounod, Massenet, Puccini ('O mio babbino caro'), Catalini ('Ne andro' from La Wally) and Verdi (Desdemona's poignant 'Ave Maria' from Otello). The programme also includes a rare but sublime aria from Franco Alfano's Tolstoy-inspired opera Risurrezione (1904), as well as the magnificent 'Saint-Sulpice' duet from Massenet's Manon, with tenor Julien Dran. Finally, Vannina Santoni pays homage to her Corsican roots with a new orchestration of the lullaby 'O Ciucciarella' that Corsican mothers have sung to their children for generations.

This album takes us on a journey through several different eras of Romanticism, from its origins to its twilight, from Schumann to Poulenc by way of Brahms and Berg. It is also the story of a long friendship and artistic collaboration …

A declared enemy of anything that smacks of routine, the clarinettist Michel Portal looks after his unpredictability the way an astronaut looks after his oxygen supply. His almost organic curiosity, his need for exchange, reacts here to an exciting encounter with the pianist Michel Dalberto.

The clarinet sonatas by Brahms and Poulenc, Schumann’s Phantasiestücke and Berg’s Four Pieces are all seen in a new perspective at La Dolce Volta. Every Michel Portal recording is a passport to wisdom, a term that for him goes hand in hand with speed, joy and exultation. Eternal youth!

Selim Palmgren was one of the most celebrated pianist-composers in the years before the end of the First World War. His vast catalogue of piano music, much of it unknown, is showcased in this acclaimed series performed by Jouni Somero, the Finnish composer's greatest modern exponent. This volume features the virtuosic and demanding Fantasie, Op. 6, one of Palmgren's most compelling works, as well as examples of music irradiated by Impressionism and Nordic folklore. Miniatures including études, waltzes, and pieces that exude Chopinesque charm are also featured.

Spanish pianists Juan Lago and Belén Navarro present in this album a repertoire that has featured prominently in their concerts over the past decade: works by non-Spanish composers inspired by Spanish popular music. Thanks to the piano-a truly universal instrument-Debussy, Ravel, Chabrier, and Rimsky-Korsakov not only developed their early compositional voices, but also found a vehicle through which their orchestral masterpieces could be adapted and performed beyond the concert hall. Through their own arrangements or those by trusted collaborators, these works have reached intimate settings and private homes around the world. The keyboard's orchestral richness-especially in four-hand performance-and it's ability to imitate or evoke the timbral variety of an orchestra allow the Lago-Navarro Duo to showcase their artistry and technical command in a beloved and familiar repertoire, deeply ingrained in the collective musical memory of the Spanish people. In this album, Ibéria, Rapsodie espagnole, España, and Capriccio espagnol are brought together in a fresh concert format, allowing the musical echoes of Spain to resound with renewed brilliance. Belén Navarro & Juan Lago Piano Duo The well-established Lago-Navarro piano duo-formed in 1997 by Spanish pianists Juan Lago and Belén Navarro-presents in this album a repertoire that has featured prominently in their concerts over the past decade: works by non-Spanish composers inspired by Spanish popular music.

This program, dedicated to the melodies of Ernest Chausson (1855-1899), celebrates the music of this worthy representative of the French mélodie style. Cyril ACHARD (guitar and adaptations) and Kevin Norwood (vocals), two musicians with diverse influences (jazz, classical, early music, etc.), share a predilection for musical expression in it's purest and most unadorned form. Their passion for the beautiful melodies and harmonic soaring characteristic of this bygone musical movement led them to pay tribute to the most enigmatic and misunderstood of all "melodists." As jazz musicians who practice improvisation and readily engage in reinterpretation, they find this program an ideal playground. The unique character of this duo is based on a work of adaptation, even "reinvention" in places, interspersed with improvised sections, allowing the listener to oscillate between two musical universes. Nostalgie du Ciel offers a unique take on the composer's melodies through this original arrangement for guitar and vocals. The album, recorded in an Alpine church, strives to recreate the natural acoustics of the setting, allowing the listener to perceive the sound as it was generated at the source.

The new program by French baroque violinist Hélène Schmitt moves along a French-American axis and features six violin sonatas by female composers from both sides of the Atlantic. These are small-scale works, full of warmth and sensitivity, ranging from pure Romanticism to the cautious breaking away from tonality. The instruments are played with gut strings, and the Steinway grand piano is a historic model made in New York; pianist Antoine de Grolée accompanies eloquently and sensitively.

Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) was an Argentine composer and bandoneon virtuoso who revolutionized the traditional tango by infusing it with elements of jazz, classical music, and modern harmonies. His work transformed tango from a dance genre rooted in Buenos Aires' popular culture into a sophisticated art form suitable for the concert hall. Central to this transformation were his bandoneon concertos, which showcased the expressive possibilities of the instrument and blurred the boundaries between popular and classical traditions. The bandoneon, a type of button accordion originally developed in Germany, became the soulful voice of Argentine tango. Piazzolla mastered it's complex mechanics and extended it's expressive range far beyond it's traditional role. Aconcagua: Concerto for Bandoneon and Orchestra (1980) represents the peak of Piazzolla's orchestral writing. Named after the highest mountain in the Andes, it symbolizes artistic ascent and ambition. This concerto highlights the instrument's dual nature-melancholic yet rhythmic, intimate yet dramatic. In this concerto, Piazzolla combines lush textures, driving rhythms, and virtuosic passages to create a dialogue between the bandoneon and orchestra that is both lyrical and dynamic. Also included on this disc are the Tres Tangos for orchestra and the immensely popular Oblivion, known from Marco Bellocchio's film Enrico IV. Played by Klaudiusz Baran, one of the leading bandoneon players of his country, and the Czestochowa Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Adam Klocek.

DUKE ELLINGTON - ALL THE HITS AND MORE 1927-54 - It's a comprehensive overview of his most successful output during a primary era of his career Duke Ellington was one of the most important and influential figures in the entire history of jazz, as pianist, bandleader, composer and innovator, his career spanning half century as the genre evolved from the early days of electric recording. However, while critics and commentators focus on his over-arching significance as a giant of the medium, it's easy to forget that he was a genius at composing tune and songs for the medium of the 3-minute 78rpm single, and during the first three decades of his career before rock 'n' roll changed the pop landscape irrevocably, he had more than 70 records that were credited as chart hits. This great-value 4-CD set comprised all those 77 recordings which are listed in recognised sources as hits, plus another 20 or so which are regarded as significant compositions which became standards, or were hits for other artists. It includes his No. 1s with "Three Little Words", "Cocktails For Two", "I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart", and the Billboard R&B No. 1s "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", "Sentimental Lady", "Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me" and "Main Stem", along with classics like "Mood Indigo", "Sophisticated Lady", "Moon Glow", "Solitude", "Caravan", "Take The 'A' Train" and "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good". It's a comprehensive overview of his most successful output during a primary era of his career, and a great showcase for the artistry which made the Duke such a revered and iconic personality.

This long awaited CD presents over a dozen previously unissued masters of surprisingly high quality from the premier artist on the American Music label, Bunk Johnson. Digital technology made it possible to remove the reasons - often not musical - that they were not issued at the time, seventy years ago. The venues for the recording sessions varied between the legendary 1944 sound of the San Jacinto Hall to the homes of Bertha Gonsoulin in San Francisco and George Lewis in New Orleans. The 16 page booklet includes rare images, a history of the San Jacinto Club and a detailed discography.

12 songs recorded in 1942 by Gene Williams for the Jazz Information label, which was part of Commodore at the time, plus two very different takes of Big Chief Battle Axe and Franklin Street Blues that were recorded for Purist Records in England. Some of the finest work this New Orleans jazz legend ever did!

This 1968 recording was originally issued as Electric Sleep, the title a riff on the Muddy Waters LP title Electric Mud. But the similarities ended there; whereas Mud was psychedelic and musically quite a departure from a traditional blues sound, Electric Sleep simply combines a country blues artist with an electric blues band. This 2007 reissue is re-mixed and mastered from the original analog tapes and has a brand new cover with photos from the recording session. The legendary blues poet is accompanied by Jimmy Dawkins (guitar), Sunnyland Slim (piano), Carey Bell (harmonica/bass), Earl Hooker, Joe Harper (bass), Odie Payne, Jr. (drums).(Previously deleted: 4/1/05. Original release date: 5/91)

Sleepy John Estes was one of the most individual of all recorded blues singers. He sang with phrasing that fairly dripped with expressiveness in a high crying tone that seemed often like he was speaking to the listener. The songs he wrote were well suited to this treatment, dealing frequently with his and his neighbors' lives. - Gerald Brennan. This session is from July 19, 1974. None of these performances have ever been issued before. Estes, vocals, guitar; Hammie Nixon, vocals, harmonica, kazoo.

Estes, Hammie Nixon and Yank Rachell reunited for the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, 40 years after first teaming up. They also recorded this NY session, but it went unissued 'til 2002; this treasured blues time-warp features 80 Highway; Special Agent; Government Money; Worried Mind Blues; Mary Come on Home; Up and Down, and 11 more!