The Gothic Records best-selling recording of the Wanamaker Grand Court organ is back by popular demand! Peter Richard Conte performs at the Macy's City Center in Philadelphia. With state-of-the-art recording techniques including HDCD digital encoding, this CD offers an amazing sonic experience. Formally out of print and unavailable, we are excited to announce its long-awaited reissue on the Gothic label. -

Gerre Hancock, a master of improvisation in Anglican style plays the great organ of St Thomas Church in NYC. Also includes works by Bach, de Grigny, and Reger. - Gothic Records

Classical Music

Classical Music

Although most pieces in Bach's Orgelb�chlein are short-form works, they are anything but unsophisticated. Packed with imaginative approaches to setting chorale melodies, this set of virtuosic gems is worthy of repeated hearings. Joan Lippincott is especially well-known for her Bach performances on Gothic. Said Fanfare magazine, "Lippincott's wide variety of tempos, colors, and moods make this possibly the most enduring Art of Fugue ever recorded... highly recommended!"

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Born in Odessa, pianist and conductor Boris Bloch has long been regarded as one of the most important interpreters of classical and romantic piano music. His large and ever expanding repertoire extends from Scarlatti and Bach, the Viennese Classicists, Chopin and Liszt, the German and Russian Romantics, and the most important composers of the 20th c. This new six-disc edition of Bloch live Liszt recordings contains the complete Annees de Pelerinage I-III, the Harmonies poetiques et religieuses, paraphrases on opera themes, as well as polonaises, concerto etudes and other piano pieces.

The lyrical, soulful sound of the flugelhorn is paired with the orchestral rich colors of the Wanamaker organ in this beautiful recording. Popular melodies abound, from the "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" theme to Debussy's "Clair de Lune." Peter Richard Conte celebrated his 25th year as Wanamaker Grand Court Organist in 2014. He is only the fourth person to hold that title since the organ first played in 1911. He performs concerts twice daily, six days each week, on the largest fully-functioning musical instrument in the world. Andrew Ennis is a graduate of Rowan University where he received his undergraduate degree in music education, specializing in trumpet. In addition to his full-time duties as the Orchestral Music director at the Collingswood, New Jersey Middle and High Schools, Mr. Ennis also serves as the Director of Instrumental Music and Principal Organist and Pianist of St. Joachim in Bellmawr, NJ. He also studies organ with Peter Richard Conte.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Piano music is central to Valentin Silvestrov’s output. With its frequent allusions to lingering recollections of the past, this programme presents an overview of various creative periods. It begins with the composer’s reworkings of youthful sketches (Naive Musik), followed by Der Bote (The Messenger) with its beautiful Mozartian theme leading into a sonatina in the style of the 18th century. After recent works from Silvestrov’s self-defined ‘Bagatelle’ period, the recording concludes with the striking Kitschmusik, which engages with the music of Schumann, Chopin and Brahms. The Two Waltzes are dedicated to Elisaveta Blumina.

The three works on this second volume of Raff's piano works come from the very pinnacle of his career. The 1871 Fantasie Sonata is a fascinating and richly imaginative hybrid, whilst the Variations on an Original Theme is marked by fertility of invention. The Four Piano Pieces exemplifies Raff's gift for lyricism and characterization.

During his short life Erwin Schulhoff absorbed a wide range of musical styles. The jazz-inspired Partita includes witty takes on the tango, foxtrot and shimmy.

A seminal figure of French Romantic music, Camille Saint-Sae?ns was also a great keyboard prodigy. The E?tudes, Op. 52 unite exuberant virtuosity with shimmering delicacy, while the Six E?tudes, Op. 111 pay homage to Chopin and Bach as well as anticipating Ravel’s impressionism. The neo-Baroque Op. 135, for left hand alone, is modelled on Couperin and Rameau. This title is the first volume of a series that brings together everything from Saint-Sae?ns’ spellbinding three sets of e?tudes to first recordings of transcriptions and other works.

Geoffrey Burleson has performed to wide acclaim throughout Europe and North America, and is equally active as a recitalist, concerto soloist, chamber musician and jazz performer. His numerous solo appearances include prominent venues in Paris, New York, Rome, Athens, Mexico City, Rotterdam, Chicago, Boston, Washington, Switzerland, England, Spain, and elsewhere.

“Burleson plays with enormous flair and style... superb!” – Fanfare for Naxos (8.559664)

“A top-notch pianist. Burleson’s piquancy and poetry blended beautifully.” – The Washington Post

Displaying exceptional musical precocity, the young pianist Maria Szymanowska proved a sensation in Warsaw's salons, before moving to Paris where her fame spread. Greatly admired by her contemporaries, who included Beethoven, Cherubini, Field and Tamasek, she later also cast a spell over the elderly Goethe during one of her many long European tours. Alexander Kostritsa received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music. He is a prizewinner of international piano competitions, including the Premio Rovere d'Oro, the Slavic Music Festival and the Paul Badura-Skoda.

SAINT-SAËNS Allegro after the Third Concerto. Suite, op. 90. Allegro appassionato, op. 70. Thème varié, op. 97. 6 Fugues, op. 161 • Geoffrey Burleson (pn) • GRAND PIANO 605 (53:38)


The piano works of Saint-Saëns are some of the forgotten gems in the pianist’s possible repertoire. Being that the composer was one of the finest pianists in the second half of the 19th century, not only is the music well written for the instrument, it is, at its best, some of the composer’s most finessed and engaging. The current program features pieces written throughout the composer’s career, from the virtuosic transcription of the concerto movement and the Thème varié —both written for piano contests—to the more lighthearted and neoclassical suite. In general, Saint-Saëns’s music necessitates a virtuosic technique; he requires the pianist to maintain lucid textures, careful pedaling, sparkling passagework, and meticulous attention to articulation. In general, Geoffrey Burleson does an admirable job handling all of the many inherent difficulties of this music—just a quick glance at the theme and variations is enough to scare most pianists. What feels right about this program, moreover, is that the pieces are arranged in a way that makes one feel that one is listening to a recital, rather than just a second installment of the complete piano works of this composer. (This volume is just that. The first in the series was reviewed by Lynn René Bayley in Fanfare 35:6.)


The hyper-virtuosic Allegro, op. 29, opens the program. Though Burleson becomes a bit too heavy in some instances and dry in others (a little more pedal here and there might have helped in bringing out details of shifted orchestration on the piano) one can hardly complain about such a fine reading otherwise. The suite, while lighter in mood, contains some very fine moments, from the improvisatory-sounding Prelude to the lively and bouncy Gavotte. Burleson obviously relishes this little masterpiece. The real stars of this program for me, however, are the Thème varié and the fugues. Burleson does a fine job of maintaining a feeling of pulse throughout the entire op. 97, from the simple chorale theme to the more complex figuration in the variations—double notes, arpeggios, octaves, leaps, and the like! The pianist (who is also the author of some fine booklet notes) describes the Six Fugues, op. 161, as “a suite of dynamic character pieces.” I couldn’t agree more. Though one can play them as simple academic etudes, whether studies in composition or instrumental technique, Burleson shows them to be true musical masterpieces, from the quasi-prelude first, through the sprightly and lively third, to the longest and climactic final one. Indeed, performing them as a set just makes sense here. And with performances of these fugues as engaging as the music itself, one can only hope that this release may spur more pianists to play this music. As there is little competition in this repertoire, I am surely glad to add such a fine release to my collection. If you do not know this music, go out and grab this recording. Saint-Saëns is not one to disappoint.


FANFARE: Scott Noriega