Three Violin Sonatas - Medtner, Grieg, Franck

I see the future of Baroque orchestral music in the hands of modern ensembles - the fetish of the 'original instrument' has had it's day, but not the profoundly trained professional who guides an orchestra into the deeper dimensions of the composition. For it isn't the instrument that makes the music, but the head! (Reinhard Goebel "the icon of early music" - Suddeutsche Zeitung)

ANTON BRUCKNER (1824-1896) - Symphony No. 7 in E major Arrangement for ensemble by Hanns Eisler, Erwin Stein and Karl Rankl During the coronavirus pandemic, when large symphonic performances were almost impossible due to contact restrictions and social distancing rules, the ensemble wanted to enable people to experience the depth and spirituality of Bruckner's music despite the social distancing and isolation restrictions. While there are normally around 80 musicians on stage when Bruckner's 7th Symphony is performed, the Stuttgart-based Ensemble Balance performs the work with just 11 instrumentalists, the result being that this condensed chamber music remains a unique experience, even without the pandemic! And this is because it is precisely in this concentrated, emotionally condensed form that Bruckner's compositional artistry becomes seductively clear and audible! The in-depth exploration into his work during the rehearsals for this recording in August 2020 had the effect of welding the ensemble together in both an artistic and a personal way, and this intimate connection between each and every musician, combined with the spirit of Bruckner's composition, can be clearly felt and heard in this performance by Ensemble Balance.

Marien Hymns Masterpieces of musical Marian devotion over the centuries, composed by the greatest composers of the time as well as well-known traditional hymns, interpreted by renowned soloists and ensembles such as the Gachinger Kantorei Stuttgart under Helmuth Rilling, Renata Tebaldi, the Don Cossack Choir Serge Jaroff or the Stuttgart Hymnus Choir Boys' Choir.

Highly virtuosic, intense and passionate: Gran Caprice - these are works for violin written by violinists for violinists. Maxim Brilinsky shows lyrical lines - with the possibilities of bowing and fingering technique utilised to the utmost.

With their new album, the Berlin Baroque Soloists take us again (also available Cremona I HC22084) to Cremona, one of the important Italian centers of violin making and technical developments in the 16th/17th centuries. Composers were only too happy to make use of the many innovations, as they opened up unimagined possibilities for them to add additional colors and accents to their musical art. This wonderful recording gives a lasting impression of how different these can be. Reinhard Goebel and his Berlin Baroque Soloists find exactly the right tone for each of the recorded concerti. Pizzicato

The arrangement of Schubert's songs on this album does not correspond to the order we know from conventional editions or from most recordings. Although often referred to as such, Schubert's Schwanengesang is not his third song cycle. It is, in fact, a collection of 14 of his late songs. What particularly motivated us as performers was finding a new, individual approach that is expressed not only in the order of the songs as we chose them, but also in our personal emotional response to each of the songs. We wanted to convey this individuality to you, our listeners, as vividly as possible, so you could experience the emotion and atmosphere of each song as directly as Schubert and his singing colleagues did in the bourgeois salons of Vienna at the time." Kresimir Strazanac In addition to Schubert's Schwanengesang, the album includes three thematically related songs by the British composer Mary Frances Allitsen.

Vienna, Vienna, just you, and you alone Because Vienna was the capital of music, at least in the 18th century, many pieces were not only premi�red there but were also immediately musically adapted there too. There are a variety of ways of engaging fruitfully with the musical works of others, to a greater or lesser extent. One option might be an arrangement, i.e., the adaptation of a composition for a different combination of instruments than originally intended. Entire operas could be arranged for piano, for example, and so find their way into aristocratic salons or bourgeois living rooms. The 19th century also saw the development of the paraphrase, a freely embellished arrangement of popular themes from operas, often in the form of a concert fantasia written for the piano. These also included the variation, or, to be more precise, the series of variations, which took a well-known melody as a model and altering it to a greater degree in each variation, whereby the tempo and key can also change.

Eloise Bella Kohn is a rare artist: eclectic pianist, record producer, festival founder, committed to intercultural dialogue, her passion for music, dance and literature drives a creativity that nourishes her universe from baroque music to contemporary repertoire. Eloise Bella Kohn is one of the most promising artists on today's classical music scene, and performs all over the world in prestigious concert halls and festivals.

Blagoje Bersa belonged to Croatian Musical Modernism, which lasted from about 1890 to 1920, enriching the musical heritage with new nuances in harmony and sound colour. He composed orchestral, choral, chamber and piano works, as well as operas, melo-monodramas and songs. Marija Kuntaric wrote: "In the songs we meet Bersa as a pronounced Romantic, whose language had been formed by the various currents of this style in music. First of all, this was the cantabile Italian melody, then the various masters of German Romanticism (Wagner, Mahler, R. Strauss) and the relaxed music of Vienna, and in later works the simplicity of folk art. The softness of the melodic line of Bersa's solo songs sometimes recalls Schubert, under the influence of whom several pages of dramatic excitement were also created. Over the course of time Bersa's melody became increasingly original and simple, and in essence he remained a romantic, the main feature of whom was the beauty of the lyric."

Ukrainian Preludes Some years ago, I received a mail from Russia sent by a music-lover as yet unknown to me. His name was Alexander Plekhanov. He knew me from my CDs of works by persecuted composers and and wanted to draw my attention to a Ukrainian Jewish composer whom I had never heard of - Matvey Gozenpud. Attached to the email were a few of his compositions. I was busy on other projects at the time and neglected to answer him. In fact some time went by before I remembered the email with the scores and played them through at the piano - and was delighted. I was particularly taken by Gozenpud's cycle of 12 Preludes. I contacted Alexander Plekhanov, who I'm glad to say was not put out by my long silence. On the contrary: he was very pleased to learn I was interested and sent me many more scores in the following weeks and months by various Soviet composers of that period. Plekhanov is still a young man and he sees it as his mission to bring back to life music that has fallen into undeserved oblivion. He spends his spare time in Moscow's large music libraries in search of interesting compositions and has a strong commitment to composers from Ukraine. He publishes many of these rediscovered works in his online library and apart from that, he seeks to approach musicians directly and enlist their support for his discoveries. This CD, which brings together music by three composers from Ukraine, is thus our joint project, although we have yet to meet in real life. (Jascha Nemtsov)

I think of fantasy as a creative force that has united composers across the centuries, to which each composer has miraculously had access, then transposed it over time. In each composer we find characteristics typical of the time in which he lived, others typical of the composer, and sometimes phrases, ideas, fragments, which seem to come out of time and space, into another dimension compared to everyday life. Here is where the genius lives, where the connection with the devine, through the creative force of fantasy, allowed the composers to go beyond their human nature." Margherita Santi

Joseph Haydn: Complete Symphonies Vols 32 - 35 With this box set of four CDs, you now have the final missing piece of the jigsaw of the complete recordings of all of Haydn's symphonies, as performed by the Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra. "Heidelberg Haydn is a paragon of dynamism, freshness, wildness, humour, and a richness of surprise. I am delighted that the journey continues, and that the cycle is completed. My musical encounters with the Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra have always been journeys to happiness. Idealism, the love of music, and technical perfection combine here with the will to create something very special, and it all fits perfectly into the symphonic world of Joseph Haydn. Full of anticipation, I look forward to the future!" Johannes Klumpp

Haydn: Complete Symphonies (36 CDs) "The Heidelberg Haydn is a paragon of dynamism, freshness, wildness, humor and a wealth of surprises. I am delighted that the journey continues and the cycle is complete. My musical encounters with the Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra have always been journeys to happiness. Idealism, love of music and technical perfection are combined here with the will to create something very special, and it all fits perfectly into the symphonic world of Joseph Haydn. I look to the future with great anticipation!" writes conductor Johannes Klumpp. He has taken over the great task of recording all 107 symphonies by Joseph Haydn from his predecessor Thomas Frey with great respect. The Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra released the first CD in this series back in 1999. "The complete recording of the symphonies allows an examination of Haydn's development over decades, presents his originality and, above all, many compositions of his early works that have almost never been performed," says Johannes Klumpp. He previously attracted attention with his interpretations and recordings of the works of W. A. Mozart and is considered a proven expert in historical performance practice. In the Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra, he has found the ideal partners for this. "My musical encounters with the Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra have always been journeys to happiness. Idealism, a love of music and technical perfection are combined here with a desire to create something very special. Just right for the symphonic world of Joseph Haydn." With this project, the Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra has achieved something that very few orchestras have managed to do before.

Kasparas Uinskas is an internationally acclaimed pianist, praised by critics for his virtuosity and romantic style. Mr. Uinskas is performing at most important world concert halls - New York's Carnegie Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, London Wigmore Hall, Madrid Auditorio Nacional, J. F. Kennedy Center in Washington, DC among others. "... great pianist and musician... " Carnegie Hall (New York Concert Review). "... his interpretations overcome all limits... " Berlin Philharmonie (Klassik in Berlin)

In my music I am looking for the traces of beauty and depth of expression that radiate from the tone constellations. This is nothing new, but always a wonderful challenge. An aesthetic of prohibitions is as alien to me as an indiscriminate deployment of stylistic means. Every composition has it's determination and derives from this it's contours, the sequence of harmonic colours, the nature of the melodic and formal configuration. The so-called material is set in motion by the initial idea, the inspiration, ultimately flowing into the interplay of it's own momentum and control: This is the most exciting stage of the composer's work. When the material is consistent and the ear, as the highest authority, has made it's judgement on the sequence of sounds, then, perhaps, the magic of an art that can speak emerges, where memory and imagination are fused into a work. Thomas Daniel Schlee

The Open Chamber Orchestra of Paris perform the concertos in chamber form, with Maestro Yair Benaim - who conducts the earlier concertos from the podium in the traditional manner - taking the first violin part, achieving a still closer assimilation with pianist Dana Ciocarlie, throwing into greater relief the spirited lucidity of her playing and demonstrating the versatility of these musicians, both individually and as an ensemble. The sound of the concertos when performed this way is at once slenderer and lither. What one may feel is lost when the works are divested of their mellifluous woodwind colours is more than compensated for by the greater clarity of the ingenious interplay of lines and voices in Mozart's conception

There were various reasons why we decided to combine works by Antal Dorati with those of Matyas Seiber on the present CD. Both attended Zoltan Kodaly's composition class at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest, both were highly regarded by their illustrious teacher. Kodaly passed on to his students a love of folk music and a particular appreciation of tradition through successive eras of music history. (Oliver Triendl)

A rather unique piano trio The repertoire for piano trios is plentiful and varied. Composers such as Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven preferred to write for piano, violin, and cello. The repertoire for the combination of piano and two saxophones is rather limited in comparison. This is mainly to do with the fact that the instrument was first developed around 1840 by Antoine Joseph Sax, who opened a workshop in Paris in 1842 and built saxophones in seven different sizes. His patron, Hector Berlioz, was one of the first to incorporate the instrument into his orchestral compositions, and Jules Massenet used it prominently in his opera Werther in 1892, but the saxophone became more popular in French military music and, of course, in jazz, where it has been used as a solo instrument since around 1920.

As for this new album, neither Glinka nor Dvorak are strangers to Haiou Zhang, since he is considered to be one of the most passionate pianists of his generation as far as piano chamber music is concerned. The Dvorak Piano Quintet and Glinka�s Gran Sestetto have always been at the heart of his chamber music repertoire. Haiou Zhang has performed these masterpieces in numerous concerts with ensembles. "It took me quite some time to feel really ready for a recording. Both pieces are delicate and need careful attention to obtain the perfect balance of sound and harmony".

Our arrangements are always totally Anna & Oli! We really enjoyed recording these CDs, we had a lot of fun, and it was something that we were really looking forward to doing; being able to recreate our music and capture everything and present it on a silver disc. But if the truth be told, we both prefer to play live because it gives us the opportunity to convey something more personal to the audience. If we can touch even just one person in the audience emotionally with our music, then that's the be-all and end-all of what we do - the Alpha and Omega, or perhaps, just simply, the 'Anna and Oli', so to speak (both laugh). But although this may sound a bit strange, on a couple of occasions we've actually been able to directly affect the lives of people who've heard us play. Just recently, we performed a short concert in a small church when a few people from the audience came up to us and said, Wow, you're doing something that I've always wanted to do. The experience of listening to you has energised me into finally realising that what you're doing is exactly what I want to do myself. Listening to you play has changed my life!" These were young people who had been too apprehensive about following their own desires, because sometimes it's really difficult to strike out on your own and follow your own beliefs. And, to be honest, what more could one ask for? If only one could reach more people in the world, the world would be a very different place indeed.

Selected sacred works under the direction of Gunter Wand Wand's music-making moved those who heard it with it's impeccable balance of perfection coupled with faithfulness to the original, emotional fulfilment, intellectual control, utmost sensitivity and spiritual penetration. He described his mission as "serving music", a cause to which this totally unpretentious man remained committed for seventy years. He rose to be one of the true "greats" of the twentieth century, a figure standing head and shoulders above our restless times, his name synonymous with the highest musical quality

Gerhard Oppitz plays Robert Schumann Piano Works, Vol. 2 In the second part of his Schumann cycle, Gerhard Oppitz combines four works composed in the second half of the "piano decade" from 1830 to 1840 with two from the beginning and end of Schumann's piano music period: on the one hand Carnaval op. 9 (1837), Piano Sonata no. 1 op. 11 (1836), Kinderszenen op. 15 (1839) and the Drei Romanzen op. 28 (1840), and on the other Schumann's Papillons op. 2 published in 1832 and the Drei Fantasiestucke op. 111 published in 1852.

Consistently applied over the last twenty-six years, this unique approach to performance has led to a stupendous degree of recognition and approval on the part of audiences and critics alike. On concert podiums from Tokyo or Seoul to Berlin, from London to New York, from Paris to Shanghai or Taipei as well as in a number of smaller towns - everywhere the Berliner Barock Solisten perform, they have left an indelible musical mark, ensuring that the ranks of their true fans are continually enlarged. Their programs are documented on numerous CD recordings whose exceptional quality has been widely acknowledged by music critics.

Marc-Antoine Charpentier is unquestionably the greatest master of church music in 17th century France.
Two of his most important works are expanded in this recording with organ interludes from organ masses by François Couperin.