MDG's multi-award-winning Les Six anthology series showcases the entire spectrum of an epoch. This installment is dedicated to Louis Durey, the eccentric outsider of Le groupe des Six. Holger Falk's incredibly agile baritone and tremendous tonal range accompanied by Steffen Schleiermacher's sensitivity, verve and virtuosity on the piano yet again take the benchmark up a notch in art song excellence.

Anna Pikulska takes us on an exciting journey into Cabanilles' sound world on the lovingly restored Bartholome Sanchez organ. With it's rich sounds from 50 stops on two divided manuals, this 18th century Aragonese Baroque instrument in Carinena (Aragon) testifies to the high standard of organ building at that time with some 800 Gothic pipes dating back to the year 1482.

Virtuoso extraordinaire Tatjana Vorobjova transports the listener to the sound world of the early 17th century with the celebrated 'Colmar-Ruckers' historic harpsichord built over 400 years ago. The programme traces the development of this instrument over the centuries with works by Froberger, d'Anglebert, Couperin, Buxtehude and Bach, providing a rich and vibrant portrait of this magnificent harpsichord.

Brilliantly stimulating, rich in allusions and a joy to listen to: Ulf-Guido Schafer's music was composed especially for his nearest and dearest chamber music partners, including top-notch woodwind ensembles Trio Rouseau and Ma'alot Quintett. The friends and highly experienced performers are sparked by their desire to share the diversity of colour, the immense virtuosity and sheer beauty of their instruments.

This further edition to Steffen Schleiermacher's Eisler anthology once again provides insights into an exciting composer's life that still receives far too little attention today. With his differentiated palette of expression and affinity for nuance, Schleiermacher is a master interpreter of Eisler's original, often surprising aesthetics encompassing an extremely wide variety of musical styles.

Bach revised his St. John Passion time and again - indeed making it one of his most enigmatic and fascinating compositions. On the 300th anniversary of it's world premiere, MDG is reissuing the highly acclaimed recording for the first time in full three-dimensional sound on Super Audio CD for the PREZIOSA series.

Christian Euler, together with his piano partner Paul Rivinius, present two Brahmsian masterpieces which foreshadow the fin de siecle and contrast these with Schumann's "Marchenbilder", whose fairytale-like character is reflected in the music's imaginative narrative gesture, transporting the listener into an enchanting world full of magic, poetry and longing.

Baglama virtuoso, composer and singer Erdal Akkaya together with the baroque orchestra caterva musica take listeners on an exciting musical voyage through centuries of shared history between Orient and Occident. "It is like embracing the past, the future and eternity on the banks of the river of culture, which has been flowing uninterruptedly for centuries" describes Akkaya. His original compositions alongside European and Turkish music from the 14th to the 18th centuries tell stories of love and quarrels, truths and falsehoods, peace and conflict, giving insights into the multifaceted relationship between the Ottoman Empire and the West.

Inspired by the power and clarity of an extraordinary instrument handcrafted by a legendary guitarrero from Granada, guitar virtuoso Stephen Marchionda presents his very own personal versions of Bach's Sonata in A Minor and the Suite in E Major; and together with the Lute Suite BWV 997 he has created an album that masterfully combines polyphonic intimacy with sonorous opulence.

Hardly any other keyboard instrument is as multi-faceted in it's expression and affect as the clavichord. The extremely simple, direct action allows for the finest nuances - even vibrato is possible. Lea Suter showcases these unique capabilities, demonstrating the wealth of inspiration in such well-known works as Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, Partita in E Minor and even the grandiose Chaconne in D Minor.

There is never a shortage of surprises with Joseph Haydn. The Leipzig String Quartet's latest instalment, Opus 2, of their benchmark complete recording of all Haydn's string quartets offers unexpected, unusual and always entertaining moments, presented with virtuosity and mastery by a quartet that combines curiosity and experience to create a delightful whole.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music