Many of us old-timers remember George "Big G" Coleman in the late 50s and 60s performing with almost every single legendary name in that golden era of American jazz, a.o. Miles Davis. Coleman who turns 90 this year is still going strong and surrounds himself with the elite artists of younger generation including the leader of this album Brian Charette (Hammond-B3). This album can be seen as the sequel to 2018's "Groovin' With Big G" (SCCD 31857) again with Charette in charge of keeping the music flowing. "This is a mellow date, a blowing date to be sure but Charette's B-3 rarely goes the funk route and is closer to Wild Bill Davis. Coleman's tenor is as strong as ever and while not aggressive, it is still forceful." (Papathomas on SCCD 31857)

Ned Rorem, renowned for his vivid art songs and unapologetic diaries, also composed a vast and underappreciated body of choral works. This album, featuring St Martin's Voices, showcases selections from his impressive choral output spanning seven decades. From the playful intricacies of Festive Alleluias (1992) to the lush harmonies of Two Psalms and a Proverb (1962), Rorem's music for chorus-often imbued with religious texts despite his devout atheism-reveals his gift for blending homophony with subtle counterpoint. The album includes pieces like the lyrical Sing my soul, his wondrous love (1955), the haunting Canticle of the Lamb (1971), and the entrancing O Magnum Mysterium (1978), offering a compelling cross-section of Rorem's choral imagination. With rich emotional depth, innovative text-setting, and surprising rhythmic shifts, these works-many previously overlooked-finally receive the attention they so richly deserve.

A fascinating instrument, with a warm and intimate timbre, the viola began relatively late to arouse the interest of composers and musicians. Long the recipient of accompaniment lines within orchestral ensembles, it was only in the classical period that the viola took it's first steps in the instrument repertoire for soloist with orchestra as well as for solo instrument. Although some masterpieces still widely performed today stand out (think of Mozart's famous Sinfonia Concertante), this type of repertoire remains meagre and at times unexplored. The two compositions offered here for the first recording are precisely among these hidden treasures to be rediscovered: the Musica Ridotta BI. 316-322 and the Six Idylls, composed for solo viola respectively by Alessandro Rolla and his son Antonio. Not only do these pieces bring out the melodic and cantabile peculiarities of the instrument, but they also deepen it's technical virtuosic aspect. The discographic project thus seeks to restore due consideration to these composers and appreciated violists of European fame at the time, who contributed to the development and emancipation of an instrument of extraordinary beauty.

While there is no doubt today that this music originates from Bach, due to numerous deviations from the usual viola da gamba music of his time, it is considered likely that he originally had a different ensemble in mind, or that these works existed in other instrumentation before he adapted them for the viola da gamba. This was a common practice then, just as it makes sense today to arrange "classics" for all kinds of other instruments, preserving their original character while simultaneously creating possibilities for new tonal aspects. It was in precisely this spirit that Kurt Gold and Reinhard Latzko arranged Bach's sonatas for their instruments. In Astor Piazzolla, we encounter one of Argentina's most prominent and innovative musicians, who stands out as a bandoneon player, composer and founder of the "Tango Nuevo". This category includes "Le Grand Tango", which was commissioned in 1982 by the Russian cello virtuoso Mstislav Rostropovich.

The versatility and timbral richness of the modern transverse flute have made it a protagonist of twentieth century music from Claude Debussy to Edgar Varese up to the latest generations of composers. It's melodious timbre has always been compared to the human voice. It has also been associated with the intimacy of the psyche (from the madness scene in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor to Schonberg's Pierrot Lunaire lieder cycle). This is most likely because the flutist transforms breath into the sound of the instrument through direct contact without intermediary elements. The interest in the timbral peculiarities of the flute has gradually extended to all sizes of the instrument (from piccolo to double bass), this has allowed us to rediscover the expressive potential of a flute ensemble, as has already happened for centuries with stringed instruments. The result of this expressive exploration is a repertoire capable of inspiring the different technical and artistic solutions present in the recording of this CD: works written or revised between 2021 and 2022 for the Impetus Quintet. This recording is a series of musical "snapshots" that are as significant for those who listen to it as for those who recorded it. They are photographs of the present that surrounds us, moments of musical life and soundscapes. The sounds form an eclectic panorama made from different techniques and languages, sometimes transfigured or stylized-allusions and glimpses into worlds that intersect almost by chance in the present time.

Cesti: Cantatas & Arias

American pianist David Korevaar, a distinguished artist known for his profound interpretations and exceptional versatility, has unveiled his latest monumental achievement: a complete recording of Ludwig van Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas which will be published digitally in six volumes by Fall 2025. To kick things off, David Korevaar is giving his musical Beethoven business card with a double album that will also be available physically: "Heroic to Hammerklavier". In addition to the sonatas Opp. 53, 54 and 57, it also includes the Sonata Op. 101 and the famous "Hammerklavier Sonata" Op. 106. This ambitious Beethoven project not only marks a significant milestone in Korevaar's illustrious career but also offers a fresh and deeply personal perspective on one of the cornerstones of classical music repertoire. Korevaar's interpretation stands apart for it's intellectual depth and emotional resonance, reflecting years of scholarship, performance, and a deep connection to Beethoven's spirit. Recorded over an intensive period, this collection showcases Korevaar's masterful ability to illuminate the nuances of each sonata while maintaining a cohesive narrative across the entire cycle. His performances balance historical sensitivity with a contemporary vibrancy.

This CD illustrates how present-day musicians can arrange Bach's compositions in accordance to his teachings, beyond the narrow limits set by the ideal of fidelity to the score. With good criteria, Il Maniatico Ensemble has arranged the six sonatas BWV 525 to 530, originally intended for organ, adapting them to an ensemble consisting of oboe, keyboard (harpsichord or organ), and cello. Johann Sebastian Bach himself is a good example of this conception of the musical work, far from the conceptual changes introduced by Romantic aesthetics. His arrangements of pieces by others and by himself are well known. He arranged concertos by Vivaldi, Marcello, and Telemann for organ; he turned oboe and violin concertos into harpsichord concertos; he transformed movements of concertos into cantata choruses; he reused and adapted vocal compositions in order to include them in other vocal compositions, etc. The present recording includes one of these arrangements by Bach himself. It is a version of the BWV 1030 sonata in B minor for flute and obbligato harpsichord, a work that is central to the flute players' repertoire canon. An autograph score by Bach himself of the sonata BVW 1030 for flute and harpsichord is preserved, and presumably he wrote it around 1736/37, during Bach's last years as conductor of the Collegium Musicum in Leipzig.

The pianist Alexandra Sostmann is not only known for her polished Bach playing, but also for her concert and CD programmes that trace developments and cross-connections in music history. In her latest CD recording, she remains true to this approach as she spans the period from the Baroque to the present day, seeking to shed light on the concept of music as a medium between immanence and transcendence that can be found in almost every culture. It is above all the transformations and transitions reflected in the music that fascinate the pianist. But silence also plays an important role - as an integral part of music and as a cipher for that which cannot be expressed in words.

A selection of his commercially released recordings. This very full 2 CD compilation of Coates most popular works is drawn from a 7 CD set 'The Definitive Eric Coates' (REAM.2145) containing all of Eric Coates commercially released recordings. In addition to a full discography the booklet has a 1000 word article on Coates relationship with the Gramophone by Michael Payne.

The poems of the Sephardic poet Moses Ibn-Ezra, written a thousand years ago, were set to music by the great Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. In this recording, Anne Haasch and Natalie Perez present his remarkable song cycle "The Divan of Moses Ibn-Ezra", released by GENUIN and paired with outstanding solo guitar works by the composer. Castelnuovo-Tedesco, one of the most influential guitar composers of the 20th century, created a masterpiece in the tradition of the great wanderer cycles of Schubert and Vaughan Williams. Anne Haasch and Natalie Perez vividly showcase the expressive depth of this evocative yet meticulously crafted music - a poignant memorial against displacement and a heartfelt homage to Jewish identity and the guitar.

Soprano Karine Babajanyan presents Sentimenti, her second album with OehmsClassics. She has put together a selection of works by Italian composers and poets from the 16th to 20th century. In addition to Respighi, Tosti and Cesti, the only exception is Liszt, who drew lasting artistic inspiration from the Italian arts during his pilgrimage to Italy. This is how the Tre Sonetti di Petrarca were created between 1842 and 1846. She sang the leading role in Mascagni's opera Iris. She is accompanied by Alessandro Amoretti.

Native from Naples, Italy, pianist Lorenzo Pone lives in Salzburg and is one of the most highly acclaimed young pianists today. Having been a student of Paul Badura-Skoda's for almost a decade, he dedicates his debut album "Tribute to Paul Badura-Skoda" to this great master. Universally praised for the distinctive quality of his sound and his formidable perfectionism, Pone presents among others piano sonatas which he worked on with Badura-Skoda during the last weeks of the latter's life in 2019, among them the Sonata No. 51 by Joseph Haydn, the Grand Sonata No. 26 in A-flat major by Ludwig van Beethoven, the Piano Sonata Op. 1 No. 10 by Lodovico Giustini and the Three Nocturnes Op. 15 by Frederic Chopin. The program, which is derived from a piano recital given at the Teatro di San Carlo of Naples in honor of Badura-Skoda in October, 2019, closes off with three pieces of Claude Debussy's Preludes: Minstrels, La fille aux cheveux de lin and La Puerta del Vino.

Reference Recordings proudly presents our 6th release with the outstanding, multi-Blues Music Award winner Doug MacLeod. Internationally acclaimed for his original songwriting, warm, soulful vocals, guitar wizardry and witty storytelling, Doug teamed with producer Andreas Werner and engineer Joe Funderburk in Nashville's Creative Workshop studio for "Between Somewhere and Goodbye". Supported by Nashville notables, drummer Lynn Willaims, Mark T. Jordon on piano, Wurlitzer electric piano and B3 organ, and bassist Paul Ossola plus the vocal harmonies of The Shoals Sisters: Cindy Richardson Walker, Marie Tomlinson Lewey and Carla Russell, Doug offers up a collection of eleven of his compositions presented in both solo and ensemble settings.

The award-winning ensemble Hoor Barock is releasing a full album featuring the music of Antonio Vivaldi. The pride of Sk�ne, Hoor Barock, is the small baroque orchestra that has made a name for itself with it's passionate interpretations of baroque music. The group has been praised for it's virtuosity, sensitivity, stylistic brilliance, and joyful, playful approach to performance. Hoor Barock has four critically acclaimed recordings behind them and won a Swedish Grammy in 2020 together with Dan Laurin. In the new production "Vivaldi in the North," Hoor Barock's temperament and musicianship flourish in Antonio Vivaldi's beautiful and vibrant music. The album includes solo concertos and ensemble works with varying moods and characters. Featured soloists are recorder player Emelie Roos, baroque violinist Hannah Tibell, and lutenist Dohyo Sol. Some of the works on the album deserve special mention - the flute concerto "Il Gran Mogol" was discovered only fifteen years ago and is here recorded for the first time with a recorder instead of a transverse flute. The violin concerto in G major and the string symphony in B minor have a special Swedish (Scanian) connection, as the only surviving manuscripts are preserved at Lund University Library. Hoor Barock has previously recorded works from this nearby library and is keen to highlight the rich historical cultural heritage found there. Vivaldi's music was present in the Nordic countries during the Baroque era and continues to inspire us today. The ever-present drama in Vivaldi's music-whether depicting proud autumn storms, mirror-like icy landscapes, or exuberant dancing joy-can be found in the Nordic nature just as much as in the Mediterranean world of Venice.