Jan Hugo VoriSek, the 'prodigy from Prague', arrived in Vienna at the age of twenty-two and almost immediately earned the approval and admiration of Beethoven. His earliest works foreshadow German Romanticism, but he remained so individualistic a composer that he resists easy categorization either as a Classicist or a Romantic. His works were written within a nine-year span of his sadly short life but in that time he mastered sonata form, Rhapsodies and Impromptus to become one of Vienna's leading composers. The third volume of this exploratory series charts the Rhapsodies, Op. 1 of the Czech-born Jan Hugo Vor�Sek, later to establish himself as one of Vienna's greatest composers. They were largely written in Prague and are rigorous in form and poetic in spirit. Some of the twelve embody elements of Romanticism, prefiguring the later works of Chopin and Schumann, and their ardent lyricism establishes VoriSek as one of the pioneers of the rhapsody in music.

Theodore Antoniou is one of Greece’s most celebrated and prolific contemporary composers. His music integrates traditional Greek musical elements within styles ranging from the impressionism of Aquarelle to the virtuoso effects of Entrata, all approached in intuitive ways, and always with an underlying dramatic plot inspired by ancient Greek drama, resulting in the invention of “Abrstract Programmatic Music.” This programme was recorded in the presence of the composer, who considers Konstantinos Destounis “a phenomenon… a great interpreter of my complete piano works.” Konstantinos Destounis is regarded as one of the most prominent Greek artists of his generation. He is a prizewinner in many international piano competitions, most notably “Grand Prix Maria Callas” in Athens, “Southern Highlands” in Canberra, and the Bremen European Piano Competition.

The Armenian and Georgian composer Sarkis Vasil'evich Barkhudarian is famed for his piano miniatures. Some are among the first piano works to use Armenian folk themes as the basis for a series of original compositions. His colorful and unusual harmonies, created by the sinuous, interweaving modes of Armenian music, are immediately attractive and his miniatures, whether full of grace or pungent dance rhythms, bear out Glazunov's admiration of his 'sincerity, elegance and harmony of form.' Mikael Ayrapetyan was born in 1984 in Yerevan, Armenia, where he had his early schooling. His repertoire ranges from the Baroque to the contemporary and includes rarely performed works of Armenian composers. He is actively engaged in the popularization of Armenian classical music, organizing concerts in the major concert halls of the world, and acting as producer, artistic director and pianist for these performances.

While overshadowed by the piano concertos of Mozart during the 1780s, composer Leopold Kozeluch was holding his own as a master of the piano sonata, performing in Vienna’s most renowned private concert soirees. The four works on this release show why his sonatas might be called the pinnacle of the high-Classic style. One can definitely feel the influence of Mozart in the Sonatas, but Kozeluch forges new paths, particularly in No. 22. These works are performed by Kemp English.

In nineteenth-century Portugal, Italian opera was king. During this time, however, instrumentalists still emerged. Piano prodigies Jose Viana de Mota and Guilherme Daddi did considerable work to advance concert life in Portugal throughout their careers. Not only were these gentlemen outstanding pianists, they were also virtuosic composers. Their entertaining and challenging pieces helped to draw Portugal into the scene of European music-making. Performing these works is Sofia Lourenco, an outstanding pianist and educator.

The nineteenth-century witnessed an almost insatiable demand for arrangements and transcriptions to be played on domestic pianos. Brahms himself wrote such works under the names GW Marks and Karl Wurth but friends and colleagues also contributed. The violinist, pianist and conductor Paul Klengel, brother of the eminent cellist Julius (whose three Concertinos for Cello and Orchestra can be heard this month on Naxos 8.573793), made solo piano versions of the Horn Trio and the Clarinet Quintet, transcribing with remarkable fidelity and sensitivity Brahms’ myriad expressive and technical demands. Born in Wales, Christopher Williams is a music graduate of Cardiff University and now leads a busy and varied professional life as a pianist, composer, conductor, teacher and arranger. He is currently assistant director of the BBC National Chorus of Wales and is a pianist for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, with whom he has performed at the BBC Proms and recorded for the Chandos and Hyperion labels.

Roberto Esposito's Piano Concerto No. 1, 'Fantastico' and his Piano Sonata No. 1 stem from his desire as a pianist and composer to engage with the major musical structures of 19th and 20th-century Classical and Romantic music. While drawing inspiration from the great composers of the past, in these two works he injects classical form with the musical idioms closest to his heart- those of jazz and the folk music of both his native southern Italy and the Mediterranean. Roberto Esposito graduated with honors in 2008 from the A. Boito Conservatory of Parma. He then studied in Hungary under the tutelage of master Zoltan Szigmond. In 2009, he won a scholarship to attend Berklee College in Boston. Thanks to his extensive training, he was able to devote himself to composition as well as performance, often performing his original pieces in the programs of his concerts. "A pianist with a remarkable versatility and a musical nature of the highest level, thanks to which he can face the repertoire in a complete way, ranging from Beethoven to Gershwin, indifferently." (Roberto Cappello)

Composer André Riotte was closely involved with avant-garde music, following in the paths of Messiaen, Xenakis and Barraqué. He wrote widely for orchestral and chamber forces, but the piano was his central focus; his compositions for it chart his development from neo-modal through studies in pure sound, to the monumental inspiration of his large-scale works. Météorite et ses métamorphoses, one of the composer’s last works, is a milestone in contemporary repertoire, metamorphosing – a term Riotte preferred to ‘variations’ – and acknowledging the influence of Debussy, Bach and Beethoven.

Classical Music

Classical Music

In 1832 German-born Friedrich Burgmuller settled in Paris where he became internationally admired for his salon pieces and studies. At a time when demand for new teaching material had reached unprecedented heights, he supplied a sequence of works that appealed to the amateur market by virtue of their musical interest and appropriate technical demands. Written for the burgeoning market for piano teaching material, the set of 25 Easy and Progressive Studies, Op. 100 was soon followed by the 18 Characteristic Studies, Op. 109, a continuation of the earlier set, each piece bearing a charming title. They continue to provide a basis for teaching to this day. These works are performed by Swedish pianist Carl Petersson, whose previous albums for Grand Piano have won critical acclaim.

Witold Lutoslawski's few surviving apprentice works are suffused with the elegance of Ravel and the lush effusiveness of Szymanowski, and this is particularly true of the early Piano Sonata, heard here in Giorgio Koukl's new and corrected edition based on the original manuscript. Further premieres include the wistful 'A Kiss of Roxanne' and the technically complex 'Invention.' Including all of the folk-music tinted pedagogical miniatures, works for piano four hands and other occasional pieces, this is the most comprehensive edition of Lutoslawski's works for solo piano ever recorded. Virginia Rossetti began her piano studies with Massimiliano Ferrati, later attending the 'Antonio Buzzola' Conservatory in Adria where she graduated with honors. In May 2013 she obtained her Master of Performing Arts with distinction at the Hochschule fur Musik in Basle and in 2014 at the Royal Flemish Conservatoire of Brussels. Since 2011 she has been the pianist of the Lunaire Piano Trio. Giorgio Koukl is a pianist/harpsichordist and composer. He studied at the State Music School and Conservatory, and the Conservatories of Zurich and Milan.

Everything I undertake misfires immediately. I produce dirty rubbish and that will accomplish nothing. So wrote Erik Satie in 1903 during a period of transition that saw him produce the last of his Rose + Croix style music in Verset laique & somptueux, but in making a living writing for the music halls, he also created hugely popular songs such as Je te veux. The works on this fourth volume of Satie's complete solo piano music were written between 1897 and 1906. They include rare theater music and tender waltzes that contrast with jaunty ragtime and pantomime dances. Nicolas Horvath began his music studies at the Academie de Musique et de Theatre Prince Rainier III, and at the age of 16 he caught the attention of the American conductor Lawrence Foster. His other mentors include a number of distinguished international pianists, including Liszt specialist Leslie Howard. He is the holder of a number of awards, including First Prize of the Scriabin and the Luigi Nono International Competitions. He has become noted for hosting concerts of unusual length, sometimes lasting over twelve hours, such as the performance of the complete piano music of Erik Satie at the Paris Philharmonie before an audience of 14,000 people and recently played together with Philip Glass also at the Paris Philharmonie.

Little known outside his native Croatia, Ivo Maček (1914-2002) occupied an important place in 20th c. Yugoslavian musical life as pianist and educator. + He composed a small number of solo piano works, all of which can be heard on this world première recording. + The Intermezzo is among his most poetic early miniatures, while the expressively wide-ranging Theme and Variations is one of his most inventive pieces. + His 1985 Sonata is the most elaborate and imposing of his solo piano works, whereas the 1980 Violin Sonata typifies the increasing sophistication and poise of his later style.

The works in this programme demonstrate Philip Glass' perpetual goal of connecting with his audience. Taking shape as something like a hidden sonata form, Mad Rush contrasts peaceful atmosphere with tempestuousness and mesmerising beauty. The last of it's kind in Glass' oeuvre, 600 Lines, here receiving it's premiere recording on solo piano, is an obsessive and hypnotically restless toccata that represents the zenith of his experiences while working with Ravi Shankar. These two monumental works are joined by premiere recordings of the subtly transformed Metamorphosis Two, and Glass' transcription of Paul Simon's The Sound of Silence.