Stellar cellist Gabriel Schwabe completes his two-volume survey of Beethoven's complete works for cello and piano. He is accompanied by the acclaimed English pianist Nicholas Rimmer. Volume 1 is available on Naxos 8.574529.

Reger: 3 Suites for Cello Solo, Op. 131c

Though he composed in a variety of genres - choral and orchestral works and an opera among them - Erich Zeisl was a consummate Lieder composer whose songs are richly melodic, inventive, and cast in a late Romantic idiom. In his settings he responded to a range of ideas - the subjects of the night and light were potent ones, and he mined a vein of irony and humour. Forced from Austria in 1938 he did not write any Lieder after settling in America but arranged some Spirituals, drawing on the music of a people similarly oppressed as his own.

Winner of the 2016 Abbiati Prize, baritone Nicola Alaimo is one of the leading singers of his generation, with a supreme versatility that is explored in full in this Donizetti recital. Honorable, heroic and romantic characters are all vividly brought to life in Alaimo's interpretations, such as the tragic figure of Enrico, Duke of Chevreuse from Maria di Rohan, whose discovery that his wife is in love with his friend brings out the most intense feelings of any solo passage in European opera of the day.

This compilation of the greatest sacred compositions for bass and organ finds it's ideal performers in singer Gunther Groissbock and Matthias Giesen on the Bruckner Organ in St. Florian. The repertoire spans from J. S. Bach through Haydn and Mozart to Bruckner and Brahms and ends with the conclusion of the oratorio "The Book with Seven Seals". Here, two of the most powerful instruments meet, not in conflict, but complementing each other to create a sound experience of exceptional quality. Three centuries come to life in the great Basilica of St. Florian, radiating their brilliance within the unique acoustics of this exalted church. Clemens Horak, Manuel Huber and Wolfgang Vladar, all members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, complement the outstanding duo Groissbock/Giesen as instrumentalists.

Ninety years ago, with the score of his first symphony, Aram Khachaturian achieved not only a brilliant graduation piece but also a major concert hall success. Although it was not his first orchestral work - the Dance Suite was composed during his studies with Nikolai Myaskovsky - it demonstrated to the Soviet world that he was not just a fantastic miniaturist. The dimensions of the symphony and his handling of Caucasian folklore, unique colors, and irresistible rhythms of the music fulfilled a promise that was quickly realized. Under Frank Beermann's direction, the Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie Chemnitz concludes their symphonic cycle, complementing the three concert CDs by the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz to form an impressive portrait of an extraordinary figure.

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.

Edward MacDowell was the most highly regarded American composer of his generation, and the first to acquire a truly international reputation. Born in New York, he briefly studied piano as a teenager at the Paris Conservatoire, but quickly left to explore what he regarded as the more congenial musical environment in Germany. He studied piano and composition in Stuttgart, Wiesbaden, and then Frankfurt. After graduating in 1880, he remained in Germany for four years, before returning home, first to Boston, for eight years, and then finally to New York where he became Columbia University's first Professor of Music. The various romantic influences that shaped the style of the First Concerto include the music of Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Schumann, and Grieg, whilst the technical demands on the soloist reveal MacDowell's prowess as a pianist. MacDowell's enthusiasm for the symphonic poem is reflected here by the inclusion of Lancelot und Elaine and Lamia. The former was inspired by the Arthurian legend as told by Tennyson in his Idylls of the King. The work is extremely narrative, and employs Wagnerian Leitmotifs to depict each of the characters. Lamia, written some two years later and based on the poem by John Keats, was neither published nor performed in the composer's lifetime. MacDowell had planned another symphonic poem, based on the French mediaeval tale La Chanson de Roland, but the work was never completed, and the two fragments included here are all that remain. Woodland Sketches, a set of ten piano miniatures, were inspired by the idyllic environment of the MacDowells' farm, in New Hampshire. The first of these - 'To a Wild Rose' - is by far the composer's most famous piece, and made MacDowell a household name in both America and Europe.

Heavy Hitters - That's What's Up - Blue chip ensemble casting, winging improvisations rooted in the blues, original compositions that add much to the repertoire of the modern jazz canon. - Blue chip ensemble casting, winging improvisations that are solidly rooted in the blues, original compositions that add much to the ever-expanding repertoire of the modern jazz canon! These are the components that you look for in ANY recording and they're all available in abundance on That's What's Up by the Heavy Hitters. - For many jazz listeners, it is exactly this: the capturing of real feelings and deep emotive performances that often makes live recordings such as this so special. For Mike LeDonne some of his favorite jazz recordings were recorded live. The playing is dependably great, of course, but there is a "lightning in a bottle" quality to many of these sides that manifest as new discoveries are made with every subsequent listen. - This recording was made at the end of a 2 week tour that ended up at one of the world's finest jazz clubs- Frankies. It was also my good friend and co-producer Cory Weeds' 50th birthday celebration. Full line up: Mike LeDonne on piano, Eric Alexander on tenor saxophone, Jeremy Pelt on trumpet, Vincent Herring on alto saxophone, Alexander Claffy on bass, Kenny Washington on drums.

Six virtuoso vocal soloists and the instrumentalists of Les Accents rise to the dramatic and expressive challenges of Serpentes ignei in deserto - 'Fiery Serpents in the Desert' - a biblical oratorio by Johann Adolf Hasse. As the conductor and violinist Thibault Noally explains: "Hasse was probably one of the most famous composers of his time - as famous as Handel, or even more famous than Handel in some countries." Born near Hamburg in 1699, Hasse studied in Italy and was active in such musical centers as Naples, Vienna, Dresden and Venice, where he composed Serpentes ignei in deserto. The central role of Moses is taken by countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, who is joined by soprano Julia Lezhneva as an Angel, sopranist Bruno de S�, and three further star countertenors - Jakub J�zef Orlinski, Carlo Vistoli and David Hansen. "The score is demanding for all the singers," continues Thibault Noally. "Every character is very different from the others and each of our soloists has a unique personality and a unique vocal timbre. The result is a huge variety of temperaments and colors."

SOMM Recordings concludes it's universally acclaimed six-volume Bruckner from the Archives series with his last two symphonies and Psalm 150. By a happy coincidence conductors Eugen Jochum and Henry Swoboda, who were featured conductors in Volume 1, make a welcome re-appearance, bringing the series to an elegant conclusion. This archival series celebrating Anton Brucker's bicentennial was conceived and designed by SOMM Executive Producer and Audio Restoration Engineer, Lani Spahr, with annotations from Professor Benjamin Korstvedt. Of Bruckner's two final symphonies Korstvedt says, "[With] the Eighth and the Ninth, Bruckner reached the pinnacle of symphonic achievement. They both pose considerable challenges, musically, textually and emotionally. Above all, they are unquestionably two of the greatest works in the genre, by any composer before or after." When Bruckner completed his Eighth Symphony in 1887, he asked his supporter, Hermann Levi, to conduct the premiere. When Levi responded, "I don't have the courage to perform it, " Bruckner was staggered by the rejection, but didn't lose faith in his score. On 10 March 1890, he wrote "entirely finished" on a reworked version. His revisions, extensive as they were, stayed true to his original conception of the work's dramatic course, and after the premiere in 1892, Hugo Wolf called the work "a complete victory of light over darkness." To honour Bruckner's bicentennial in this last Volume 6, the Bruckner Archive offers an exciting 1957 live performance, expertly re-mastered by Lani Spahr, featuring the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra led by their founding conductor Eugen Jochum. In 1949, Jochum made the first commercial recording of the Eighth, and this present recording offers a vivid example of his distinctive way with Bruckner in his approach to the dramatic possibilities of the score. Bruckner's last great sacred work, Psalm 150 from 1892, is a jubilant hymn of praise that references music in it's directive to "Praise the Lord" with trumpet and harp, with dancing and cymbals. This recording, the first ever made, is from 1950 during the pioneering days of LPs, with Henry Swoboda conducting the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and Vienna Academy Chamber Choir. Twice in 1894, and again in 1896, Bruckner's health declined so gravely that last rites were administered. When death took him on 11 October 1896, he had completed three movements of his Ninth Symphony. The symphony-with it's grimly epic opening, it's insistent Scherzo, and a long moment of silence before the resolution of the Adagio-is usually performed incomplete, as it is here. In this first release, Wolfgang Sawallisch conducts the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in the Musikverein-the same orchestra and hall as the premiere in 1903. Lani Spahr's previous SOMM releases include the lauded four-volume sets�Vaughan Williams Live (ARIADNE 5016, 5018-20) and�Elgar Remastered�(SOMMCd 261-4), as well as two Gramophone Editor's Choice picks:�Elgar from America Vol 3�(ARIADNE 5015-2) for "superb audio restorations [bringing] performances fully to life" and�Bruckner from the Archives�Vol. 1 (ARIADNE 5025-2) for the "high standards achieved here, where expert audio restoration and remastering is by Lani Spahr."

Following the first volume in this series, which charted Franz Schreker's developmental path up to the success of his dance-pantomime�Der Geburtstag der Infantin�(The Birthday of the Infanta; 777 702-2), this second album focuses primarily on the triumphant years that followed the premiere of his opera�Der ferne Klang�(The Distant Sound) in 1912. The�Vorspiel zu einem Drama (Prelude to a Drama) from 1914 and the�Chamber Symphony, composed in 1916, are among the gems of musical Jugendstil (Art Nouveau). Originating as offshoots of contemporary stage projects, these two captivating works display a mastery of sound, harmony, and melody that was unparalleled at the time. The�Four Small Pieces for Large Orchestra�(1931), which separate these older "siblings" on this recording, speak in a new language. These abstract contributions to film music, presented as a compact and multifaceted concert suite, hint at powerful new directions - plans that, sadly, Franz Schreker could never fully realize.

LPO Principal Conductor Edward Gardner loves the music of Michael Tippett, he says, because of it's 'otherworldly, luminous and elemental' qualities, which 'strike right from his inspiration to a listener's heart.' In 2022 the LPO and Gardner released a landmark live recording of Tippett's opera The Midsummer Marriage, which won a Gramophone Award, and on this disc Gardner continues to shine a spotlight on this fascinating 20th-century composer. The ferociously difficult Piano Concerto is executed flawlessly by Steven Osborne, while the Second Symphony revels in the newfound clarity, intricate textures and formal rigor that would become the hallmarks of Tippett's later works.

'If you want to know who, for me, is the greatest living composer, I'll tell you without hesitation - it's Elgar, whom I place on the same level as my idols Beethoven and Brahms!' So said the great virtuoso Kreisler.' Nicolas Dautricourt continues: 'This Concerto, with it's unbridled lyricism and unique proportions, is an Everest for any violinist.' In this, his first recording for Channel Classics, the French violinist brings together three works by two English composers. In 1888, in the same year Elgar wrote the famous Salut d'amour for his fiancee Caroline Alice Roberts, Frederick Delius composed his Suite for Violin and Orchestra, one of his very first works. The Suite, which only received it's premiere in 1984, is heard here in this insightful arrangement by Frederic Chaslin for violin, piano and string quartet.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788) was regarded as one of the greatest theoretical and practical musicians of his time even during his lifetime; arguably the most famous son of Johann Sebastian Bach, he broke new ground in the concerto genre between the Baroque and Classical periods. His flute concerti are not only technically exceptionally demanding but are particularly challenging "in the art of expression", to quote one of his contemporaries. In this new recording of C.P.E. Bach's flute concertos in A minor (Wq 166 / H. 431), G major (Wq 169 / H. 445) and D minor (Wq 22 / H. 425) the Georgian Chamber Orchestra Ingolstadt and Ariel Zuckermann (solo flute and conductor) invoke the zartliche Empfindungen, the tender sentiments that the composer considered essential in order to reveal new aspects of music.