Hardly any combination of instruments is more appealing than a string quartet and a clarinet; together they make a magical melange. The Hagen Quartet and Jörg Widmann have recorded Mozart's Clarinet Quintet, a 'work among friends', in this irresistible blend. Jörg Widmann, clarinettist and composer in equal measure, picks up on the omnipresent themes of 'floating, love, and chant' in Mozart's notes and creates a weighty counterpart to Mozart's popular work with his own clarinet quintet, which is available here in a world premiere recording.

Darius Milhaud a 25 ans lorsqu'il debarque a Rio de Janeiro en fevrier 1917, en plein carnaval. Puis il voyagera, fin 1919, en Martinique et aux USA. Sejours nourris de decouvertes sonores qui feront qu'il deviendra un precurseur de l'intrication des musiques du monde et de l'ecriture erudite europeenne des les premieres decades du XXe siecle. Philippe LESAGE In February 1917, Darius Milhaud went to Rio de Janeiro. He was 25, and he disembarked when the Carnival was in full swing. He stayed until the end of 1919, then travelled to Martinique and the USA. During his three stays he discovered remarkable sounds that would make him a precursor, in the first two decades of the 20th century, of the intricate relationship between world music and the scholarly classical music of Europe. Philippe LESAGE CD1 : LE BOEUF SUR LE TOIT : MINNEAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, DIR MITROPOULOS - ATe EU : OITO BATUTAS - ATe A VOLTA : OITO BATUTAS - APANHEI-TE CAVAQUINHO : ERNESTO NAZARETH - SCARAMOUCHE : MARCELLE MEYER & DARIUS MILHAUD - BREJEIRO : BANDA DO CORPO DOS BOMBEIROS DE RIO DE JANEIRO - GRA�NA : OITO BATUTAS - ESCOVADO : ERNESTO NAZARETH - SAUDADES DO BRASIL : DARIUS MILHAUD - SAUDADES DO BRASIL : JACQUES FeVRIER - SAUDADES DO BRASIL : LE TRIGENTUOR LYONNAIS - DANSES DE JACAREMIRIM : LOUIS KAUFMAN & ARTUR BALSAM. CD2 : LA CReATION DU MONDE : ORCHESTRE DU THeaTRE DES CHAMPS-ELYSeES, DIR DARIUS MILHAUD - CARNAVAL a LA NOUVELLE-ORLeANS : ARTHUR GOLD & ROBERT FIZDALE - SOUNDS OF AFRICA : EUBIE BLAKE - I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHY : WIENER & DOUCET - KING PORTER STOMP : JELLY ROLL MORTON - 3 RAG-CAPRICES : VIENNA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, DIR HENRI SWOBODA - SOUVENIR DU BOEUF SUR LE TOIT : WIENER & DOUCET - HANDFUL OF KEYS : FATS WALLER - LE BAL MARTINIQUAIS : ROBERT & GABY CASADESUS - EN L'AI MONE LA : STELLIO - CINeMA FANTAISIE : RENe BENEDETTI ET JEAN WIENER. DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE : PHILIPPE LESAGE ET TECA CALAZANS

Sonatas is an album of great contemporary works for soprano and alto saxophones, with piano accompaniment and solo.

Magnificently iconic tenor player to come out of the post-Swing Era Eddie Lockjaw Davis (1922-1986) cut two albums for SteepleChase during his late years. This album was recorded in 1983 in Copenhagen, which earned superlative reviews all over the world. “Tenorman Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis had already been a potent force in jazz for 35 years when he recorded this set but as it turned out his SteepleChase date (his next-to-last session) was one of the strongest of his career. Accompanied by a trio led by pianist Kenny Drew, Lockjaw really tears into these standards which are highlighted by "I Only Have Eyes for You," "There Is No Greater Love" (the alternate version was released for the first time on its CD reissue), "Four" and the title cut. Davis was at the peak of his powers during this recording, making this SteepleChase outing one of his very best.” (Scott Yanow – AllMusic) “Nothing valedictory about this date. No signs of decline. It’s hard to believe it was Jaw’s last album as a leader. Just the thing if you didn’t miss your water until your well went dry.” (Cadence) 180g Audiophile Vinyl

En reaction aux resonnances neo-classiques qui dominaient le paysage musical francais de l'apres Seconde Guerre mondiale, quelques compositeurs - emboitant le pas au groupe Jeune France (Messiaen, Jolivet...) - ambitionnerent de mettre en lumiere les grandes figures de la tradition moderne, Webern, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Berio et quelques autres. Pierre Boulez fut sans aucun doute le plus celebre representant de cette nouvelle orientation. Compositeur mondialement reconnu, pedagogue, initiateur et directeur de nombreuses institutions (Ircam), il fut egalement l'un des plus respectes meneurs d'orchestre, mettant sa baguette au service du repertoire de son temps. Christophe LOINTIER & Patrick FReMEAUX. In reaction to the neoclassical resonances that dominated the French musical landscape post-World War II, a few composers - following in the footsteps of the 'Jeune France' movement that included Messiaen and Jolivet - made efforts to throw light on the great figures of the modern tradition, namely Webern, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Berio and a few others. Pierre Boulez was no doubt the most famous of this new orientation's representatives, a world-renowned composer and teacher who initiated and directed numerous institutions such as the Ircam for example. He was also one of the most respected conductors to wield a baton over the repertoire of his day. Christophe LOINTIER & Patrick FReMEAUX

Commissioned by the Propaganda Department of the Soviet State Music Publishing House to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution, the Symphonic Dedication to October eventually became Shostakovich's Second Symphony, and was first performed, in Leningrad, in 1927. It is a short, through-composed work of around twenty minutes, it's structure involving four sections. It opens with a Largo meant to portray the primordial chaos from which order emerged, and ends with a choral setting of To October, a poem by Alexander Bezymensky, praising Lenin and the October Revolution. The symphony shows a marked departure in style from Shostakovich's first symphony, and is far more modernist and avant-garde. The Second Symphony made little impression, in Russia or the West, and is rarely performed. In contrast, the Fifth Symphony received a standing ovation at it's premi�re, one that lasted for over half an hour, and was acclaimed both by state officials (for delivering everything that they had asked of Shostakovich) and by the public (who heard it as an expression of the suffering to which it had been subjected by Stalin). The Fifth Symphony is one of Shostakovich's best-known and most performed works, and has become standard repertoire for orchestras around the globe.

If gospel music was a corporation and not a music genre, James Cleveland would have been it's big boss. He was certainly America's greatest gospel music star, and he reigned over the circuit for almost 40 years. He fostered the mass choir boom that is so popular today, and instigated such major events as Aretha Franklin's "Amazing Grace" album (a worldwide best-seller). This selection of Cleveland's best recordings finally highlights the work of a great musician about whom we know too little.

It is safe to say that the latter half of Dexter Gordon’s European years (1961-1976) found him most inspired and productive. This album recorded in a Copenhagen studio in September of 1975 precedes to Gordon’s most publicised homecoming to the States. With his favourite rhythm section of Montoliu, NHØP and Billy Higgins Dexter is in his pinnacle. It is also noteworthy to know that this is the only studio recording Dexter Gordon and the formidable Catalonian pianist made together. “... Today, more than 30 years after he made his first dates for Savoy, he is playing better than ever... From the opener, Billie’s Bounce, the record settles into a beautiful groove and the interest never lets up...” (Mike Hennessey, Jazz Journal International) “…Almost all Nils Winther’s Danish SteepleChase label releases have been better than the CBS albums, and this is certainly no exception.” (Michigan State News) 180g Audiophile Vinyl

Arthur Honegger's song output falls into two distinct periods. The first spans his apprentice years from 1914 - the date of the first of the 4 Poemes H.7 - to 1924. He returned to art song on the eve of the Second World War, and Eleni-Lydia Stamellou sings two further sets of songs originally conceived as film accompaniments. In the 4 Poems there is a Debussyan turn to the harmony which mirrors the symbolist flavour of the text. More distinct from the model of Debussy is the album's title track, 'Petite Chapelle', with it's avowedly spiritual character. Honegger conceived his 3 Poemes de Paul Fort in the autumn of 1916. Here the relationship between music and text is more directly illustrative, as in the distant hunting horns to accompany the hunter lost in the forest. From February 1917, Nature morte stands alone as a musical still-life, a brief sketch of a bowl of peaches and white grapes. No less epigrammatic, but more musically adventurous as befitting the text, are Honegger's settings of the 6 Poemes d'Apollinaire which he composed between August 1915 and March 1917. But, for all Apollinaire's influence over the composers of 'Les Six' - Honegger included - Jean Cocteau was far more instrumental in determining their aesthetic aims. And though it was Apollinaire who had coined sur-realisme in response to seeing the premiere of Satie's ballet Parade in 1917, this new, mischievous spirit courses through Honegger's deft settings of Cocteau. Honegger makes a sincere tribute to one of France's most celebrated Renaissance-era poets in the Chanson de Ronsard from February 1924. From 1926, the 3 Chansons de La Petite Sirene feature whole-tone rising harmonies in the opening song, and the even briefer companions uphold a Satie-like inscrutability. At this point, Honegger continued in vocal music (operas, operettas and oratorio) but left song alone. However, in 1937, his soundtrack to Jean Choux 'talkie' remake of Louis Mercanton's 1920 silent film Miarka, la fille � l'ourse afforded an opportunity to write two brief songs. Eleni Lydia Stamellou's recital closes with another pair of songs written for the cinema, the Romances sentimentales for Un seul amour, a story by Balzac very loosely adapted for the screen by Pierre Blanchar. In a genre all their own are the settings of 3 Psaumes, which Honegger composed in occupied Paris over the winter of 1940/1. The sound of the organ underpins the Bachian flow accompanying Psalm 34 and the misty F minor chords beneath Psalm 140, even if the vocal line itself harks back to Honegger's song-writing of the 1920s. Other information: - Recorded April-December 2024 in St Petersburg, Russia - Booklet in English contains liner notes by Peter Quantrill and profiles of the musicians - Arthur Honegger (1892-1955) was a Swiss composer associated with the French musical movement Les Six. Known for his eclectic style, he blended elements of French impressionism, German romanticism, and modernist techniques. While Honegger is best known for his orchestral works, such as Pacific 231 and Jeanne d'Arc au b�cher, his vocal compositions show a more intimate and lyrical side of his artistry. - Honegger's songs reflect his deep sensitivity to poetry and text, setting works by prominent French poets like Paul Fort and Jean Cocteau. His melodies for voice and piano exhibit rich harmonic textures and expressive phrasing, demonstrating both refinement and emotional depth. Unlike his orchestral pieces, which can be complex and rhythmically driven, his songs favor clarity and directness, allowing the poetry to shine through. - Greek soprano Eleni Lydia Stamellou was Prize Winner at the Ferruccio Tagliavini Competition in Austria, with Dame Joan Sutherland as the president of the jury. She subsequently attended masterclasses given by Teresa Berganza, Edda Moser and Christa Ludwig. She sang in opera productions with MusicAeterna conducted by Teodor Currentzis. Her specialization is Renaissance/Baroque and Contemporary Music. She sang in productions of Berio and Hersant.

Nineteen years after his first recital devoted to the music of Alexander Scriabin [BIS-1568], Yevgeny Sudbin returns to the works of this eccentric Russian composer with a new recital that brings together pieces composed at various points in his career. Of his special relationship with this composer, Sudbin writes: 'I simply cannot think of any other composer who consistently brings out such a primordially raw and physical reaction in me and, with time, his grip has only intensified on me.' Arthur Rubinstein once said that 'Scriabin's music is like a narcotic. It is so intoxicating that it can become dangerous', to which Sudbin adds by way of precaution, 'enjoy responsibly at your own peril.' Carefully prepared by Sudbin, the programme reveals Scriabin's stylistic evolution, from his beginnings when he was still influenced by Chopin and devoted to small forms, through his middle period where the rich, late-romantic idiom is just beginning to cross into darker, more complex realms, on to his late period in which, in Sudbin's words, 'one sometimes feels too close to the edge of insanity'. In his latter works, Scriabin indeed seems to push music to the expressive limits in order to create a climate of spiritual ecstasy.

The music presented on this album was recorded during the live performances of the December 2021 and 2022 Celebration of Christmas concerts in the de Jong Concert Hall at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA.

Just in time for the 200th birthday of Johann Strauss II on 25 October 2025, cpo is releasing the complete recording of a comedy that will itself celebrate it's 130th anniversary on 4 December. In Waldmeister, the undisputed king of the waltz once again pulls out all the stops and delivers a delightful comedy whose scandalous mix-ups ultimately dissolve in a high-proof punch. It's distinctive taste features a hero with a botanical title (Galium odoratum) and a series of evergreens - above all, the leitmotif and proverbial "Trau schau wem" ("Trust, but check"), which is enthusiastically taken up by friend and foe alike. This live recording was made during the Staatstheater am G�rtnerplatz's guest performance in Vienna and whose new production contributed to this year's Austrian Strauss celebrations.

Sir Arthur Bliss contributed two staples of the brass band repertoire - Kenilworth and The Belmont Variations, whose enduring success inspired arrangers to turn to his other compositions, for example Eric Ball and Four Dances from the ballet Checkmate or Phillip Littlemore's suite from the film score for Things to Come. Three new arrangements have been made especially for this album: Robert Childs' suite from the ballet Adam Zero, and Michael Halstenson's arrangements of Music from the Royal Palaces and Welcome the Queen. Collectively this program reflects the essence of Bliss's compositional style: the inherent drama of his scores for film, ballet, and television and his flair for the ceremonial, especially in the context of his position as Master of the Queen's Music.

Black Dyke Band, tracing it's continuous history back to 1855, is the most recorded band in the world, having produced a discography of more than 350 recordings to date. It is also the most successful contesting band in the world, having won the European Championships thirteen times, the British Open thirty times and the National Championships of Great Britain twenty-four times. In 2023, they appointed conductor John Wilson as their Honorary President.

REVIEW:

The ensemble balance is superb, the internal voicing clear and detailed, the execution punchy, delicate, breezily confident and heartfelt by turn. This is a wonderful album in every way, highly recommended.

— Gramophone

The program is well put together and demonstrates the essence of Bliss’s style.

— British Music Society Journal

Four-time BAFTA winning composer Christopher Gunning, has composed twelve symphonies as well as concertos for the piano, violin, cello, flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, and guitar. Here the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and conductor Kenneth Woods, perform his eighth and ninth symphonies, recorded in Hoddinott Hall in March 2024. "Each scored for a moderatelysized orchestra (the 8th has only one trumpet and no lower brass, while the 9th adds a second trumpet, a harp, and a small percussion section) and both [grapple], in Gunning's highly individual way, with the legacy of classical symphonic form" - Richard Bratby. [9th Symphony] "I believe this piece has a strong emotional flavour but if you try and untangle the story you're going to end up with your own story - and to me, that is absolutely perfect." - Christopher Gunning. "Gunning's [...] symphonies, numerous concertos and sundry orchestral pieces are as meticulously wrought as they are powerfully conceived." - Gramophone

Enno Poppe has 'tailor-made' concise ensemble works for two of the most important ensembles of contemporary music: "Gold" - a purely vocal work for the SWR Vokalensemble - and "Korper" - for the Ensemble Modern. In the three-part a cappella work "Gold" (one of only two choral compositions to date), Poppe indulges for the first time in his love of the lustfully excessive texts by Arno Holz (1863-1929), one of the most important representatives of German Naturalism and literary Modernism. The poems are parodistically related to less humorous high literature. The SWR Vokalensemble's supple miracle sound appears confidently in various combinations, sometimes fanned out in 24 voices as in old vocal polyphony. "Korper" takes us to another end of the scale of possible sounds. Here, the 21 soloists of the Ensemble Modern form a formidable big band, augmented by appropriate woodwind and brass instruments (including saxophones, of course). Here, however, Poppe is more concerned with exploring and expanding what the big band provides as a 'sound body', i.e. The colors, dynamic and rhythmic possibilities, with the means of New Music, an art that the Ensemble Modern has truly perfected. As so often with Poppe, the piece "Korper" goes through multiple processes of intensification and collapse. In the climaxes, the physicality of the music is almost overwhelming. Nevertheless, the nuclei of the piece are the intimate, thinly scored moments when the electric strings ever so gradually rise up with the percussion, or when a saxophone, a keyboard, or a trombone steps out of the thicket of sound and is allowed a few moments of self-discovery.

Five of the best brass players in the world united in a chamber music ensemble: The Reinhold Friedrich Brass Quintett was founded in 2022 and presents here its first CD, UNITY.

For this brass quintet's lifelong dream, world-renowned trumpeter Reinhold Friedrich has brought together the best players in their respective fields, musicians who not only get along extremely well with one another in a musical sense but also on a personal level. In their playing, one can feel their mutual appreciation and their joy in making music together, and, coupled with their unique technical and musical skills, as well as their chamber music experience, this enables the musicians to merge into a single unit.

The players that form this top-class quintet come together from a variety of European countries: Jeroen Berwaerts hails from Belgium and as a former principal trumpeter of the NDR Symphony Orchestra is a much-sought-after soloist who now teaches at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media. The Dane, Lasse Mauritzen, who was knighted to the Order of Dannebrog by Queen Margarethe II, is first principal horn of the Copenhagen-based Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra (DRSO). Although Ian Bousfield is British, he now lives in Switzerland and is accustomed to performing around the world as a former principal trombonist with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as being a soloist and a conductor. Fundamental to the quintet is the Norwegian Thomas Røisland, who now lives in Sweden and is principal tuba in the DRSO, as well as playing in other renowned European orchestras.These five musicians are united by their desire to set new standards in brass chamber music for their audiences and to present premiere recordings and commission arrangements of classics that have not yet been recorded at a world-class level.

In celebration of their 25th year together as one of the most adventurous and influential percussion ensembles in contemporary music, So Percussion announces the release of 25x 25. In keeping with the group's forward-looking mission, this 8-disc box set is not a retrospective; more characteristically, it's a stand-alone listening experience, featuring more than 8 hours of entirely new and previously unreleased recordings, with each piece written for, in collaboration with, and premiered by So Percussion. Over the last 25 years, the members of So - Jason Treuting, Adam Sliwinski, Josh Quillen, and Eric Cha-Beach - have been hailed for their gripping performances and wildly creative collaborations. Cantaloupe Music (the label launched by the Bang on a Can collective, which released So's first-ever album in 2004), is pleased to offer this collection to longtime fans and newcomers alike. It's both a comprehensive portrait, and a forecasting of where contemporary chamber music is heading.

Avant-jazz pianist and composer Matthew Shipp has been referred to as the "elder statesman" of the art form by DownBeat magazine, but the reach and scope of his music extends much further than mere genre. The Cosmic Piano delivers on that promise - a solo recording that taps into the deeper exploratory potential of the instrument, with Shipp channeling a lifetime of knowledge and a daunting array of influences into nearly an hour of spontaneous, enlightened and joyfully rendered music.

Dark Currents is the third full-length recording by Splinter Reeds, the West Coast's premier reed quintet featuring Kyle Bruckmann (English horn), Bill Kalinkos, Nicki Roman, Jeff Anderle (bass clarinet) and Dana Jessen. The album opens with Michael Gordon's majestic "Tall Grass," which cascades upwards into undulating waves of melody before spreading outward on a moody canvas that surges with tension and emotion. By contrast, Paula Mathussen's "Antenna Studies" combines ambient soundscapes and found sounds, while the musicians quietly tease their instruments with breath control and percussive pad strikes as a somber melodic figure gradually begins to take shape. Taken together, these two 20-minute performances propel the listener forward on an ever-changing journey, by turns hypnotic, ecstatic, surreal and spooky, that tests the pre-conceived boundaries of modern chamber music.

Carpathian Tales is a project of the artist's heart that has been formed over two years. It represents a musical dedication to her second home Romania - full of personal stories and compositions that capture the spirit of the country and paint a multi-faceted picture of the Carpathians. Each piece is accompanied by it's own story. All works combine the unmistakable energy of folk themes, pure emotionality and show a varied spectrum from melancholy to dancing virtuosity. These are special arrangements and first recordings that come together on this album. For this album, Lelie Cristea also went in search of works that would be equal in beauty and character to the pieces by Enescu and Porumbescu. She herself was surprised by the musical treasures she found and her expectations were far exceeded. All the works are united by their expressive character, which is characterised by folk themes and a wide spectrum of colours. Sensual ballads give way to virtuoso character pieces that joyfully invite you to dance. What always attracts one almost magically is the emotional depth of the compositions. It is up to the performer and, of course, the listener to allow this completely and to immerse themselves in the respective work. Then the pulse of the works begins to connect with your own, and the journey begins. With Carpathian Tales and further planned concept albums, Lelie Cristea fulfils her wish to record and capture special works from classical, film and salon music in exclusive arrangements.

Baroque giants La Serenissima return with VIVALDI 8 - VOLUME 2, following their previous instalment in February 2025 of Vivaldi 8 Volume 1. Recognised for 'whipping up a storm with Vivaldi', La Serenissima is 'one of Britain's best-loved chamber orchestras' (The Telegraph) known for their outstanding performances, championing a host of neglected Italian baroque composers. Uniquely, the group's entire repertoire is edited from source material by founder and violinist, Adrian Chandler OSI. Praise for Vivaldi recordings by La Serenissima: 5 stars "After being obsessed by the composer and his music world for more than 30 years, Chandler by now is Vivaldi incarnate" - The Times

- An original and highly enjoyable program of works for bassoon and piano by romantic composers: the bassoon sonata Op. 9 by Gustav Schreck (1849-1918), the bassoon sonata by Anton Reicha (1770-1836), the Grande Sonate by Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870) and the brilliant Introduction & Polonaise by Jules Demersseman (1833-1866). - Strongly melodious music of great beauty, a valuable homage to that neglected but highly expressive and versatile wind instrument, the bassoon! - Played by Paolo Carlini, bassoon and Fabrizio Datteri, piano. Paolo Carlini is one of the foremost bassoon players of his generation, he recorded extensively as a soloist for labels Sony Classical, CPO, CHANDOS, Brilliant Classics, Stradivarius, Naxos, Tactus, EMA Records.

This third release marks the end of the recording of all the orchestral works written by Polish composer Grazyna Bacewicz over the course of her not exactly long life. And once again, the WDR Symphony Orchestra under Lukasz Borowicz unfolds a representative range that extends from the phenomenal artist's early neoclassical works to her late phase, in which tonal innovations were at the forefront of her creative work, without losing the indispensable communication with the audience. As a world premiere recording, this album contains the composer's first symphony, while the early Polish Overture and the late In una parte, with which Grazyna Bacewicz created a final "sonoristic" marvel in 1967, two years before her death, can also be heard as concert hall rarities.

A Western is Michael Gordon's extended musing inspired by the legendary 1950s film High Noon, starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. It's about the Wild West, the way of the gun, classic American TV fantasies, and of course the good guys versus the bad guys. Caroline Shaw's How to fold the wind is a mesmerizing choral work that expands on the vocal acrobatics the composer has explored with her Grammy-winning ensemble Roomful of Teeth. The piece is inspired by Japanese origami, using speech, inhaled notes, wordless melodies and innovative vocal effects to fold individual voices together into a complex whole. Released together as a "split album" on CD, the two works mirror each other in a compelling array of contrasts and similarities. Each was recorded by one of Denmark's premier vocal ensembles -�A Western by Theatre of Voices, How to fold the wind by Ars Nova Copenhagen -�with each performance conducted by Paul Hillier. And although the lyrical forms of each piece couldn't be more strikingly different, somehow they elevate each other into a revelatory listening experience that expands the scope of modern choral music.

His ninth solo album on Signum Records, Alessio Bax combines exceptional lyricism and insight with consummate technique and is without a doubt "among the most remarkable young pianists now before the public" (Gramophone). Here he presents an album of works for dancing, including tangos and waltzes spanning three centuries. Featuring composers such as J S Bach, Manuel de Falla and Franz Liszt a variety of cultures are showcased in this album for solo piano, and features contributions to an arrangement by Bax himself.

A follow up to their album Vivaldi X2, this new offering from baroque specialists Las Serenissima combines further double concerti by Antonio Vivaldi with works for violin, cello, oboe, recorder and continuo. The previous album received rave reviews including Recording of the Month from BBC Music Magazine. These are some of Vivaldi's most colourful and joyful works, and with director Adrian Chandler at the helm listeners can look forward to further baroque excellence from this dynamic ensemble.

Choirs of spirits, wild passions, unshakeable loyalty, a gruesome act of murder, and the eternal triumph of love over death - these are the thoroughly familiar ingredients of the libretto that Ethel Smyth wrote (in German) for her one-act opera Der Wald (The Forest). The music, however, is anything but gruesome. Echoes of Robert Schumann, some striking reminiscences of Richard Wagner, and, particularly in the prologue, an unmistakable touch of Art Nouveau carry the drama. It had it's premiere at the Berlin Court Opera on 9 April 1902. It was subsequently staged at the Royal Opera House in London and presented with triumphant success at the Met in New York in March 1903. There were standing ovations and a veritable sea of flowers for the 44-year-old Englishwoman, who was the first woman to conquer the classical music temple on Broadway with her work. Talent can achieve anything.

Had Alberto Ginastera not been born just three years after the scandalous premiere of The Rite of Spring, he could easily have been considered one of the earliest followers of the "pagan" Stravinsky. Although wild rhythms of ancient dances, volcanic eruptions of complex sound layers, and martyrs of all kinds permeate his works, they are never random in form. His First String Quartet from 1948, for example, follows a traditional path, with some bows losing a bit of horsehair during performance - not unlike his Piano Quintet, premiered in Venice in 1963, which explores the limits of what is possible in seven extremely concise sections that the composer described as "neo-expressionistic". Maurice Ravel's unique String Quartet acts as an "impressionist" antipode and delicate counterpoint in this context.

Baroque giants La Serenissima return with their new recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, among other concerti for ensemble by Antonio Vivaldi. Recognized for 'whipping up a storm with Vivaldi,' La Serenissima is 'one of Britain's best-loved chamber orchestras' (The Telegraph) known for championing a host of neglected Italian baroque composers and its outstanding performances. Uniquely, the group's entire repertoire is edited from source material by founder and violinist Adrian Chandler. Praise for Vivaldi recordings by La Serenissima on Signum Classics: "After being obsessed by the composer and his music world for more than 30 years, Chandler by now is Vivaldi incarnate" - The Times

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