Mary Elizabeth Bowden, praised for her “splendid, brilliant” artistry (Gramophone), celebrates the narrative power of the trumpet with "Storyteller: Contemporary Concertos for Trumpet." Bowden is joined by the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and conductor Allen Tinkham in a collection of new concertos that redefine the trumpet’s voice in modern classical music. This recording, a testament to Bowden’s commitment to expanding the trumpet repertoire, features world premiere recordings of works by James M. Stephenson, Clarice V. Assad, Vivian Fung, Tyson Gholston Davis, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and Reena Esmail, showcasing the richness and versatility of contemporary classical trumpet music.

At the heart of this project lies "I Loves You, Porgy," a timeless composition from George Gershwin's 1935 folk opera Porgy and Bess. The melody, built on just five simple notes, is unforgettable-a testament to Gershwin's genius. Inspired by it's charm, we decided to center our album around this piece. While "I Loves You, Porgy" has been a staple for countless jazz musicians, our approach was not merely to improvise on it. Instead, we aimed to create "variants"-transformative interpretations that grew from this iconic piece. It's a unique exploration inspired by Geroge Gershwin.

For her 10th anniversary with Berlin Classics, the US pianist Claire Huangci presents herself and her label with a weighty recording project, Schubert's late sonatas D 894, D 958, D 959, and D 960, as well as the Three Piano Pieces D 946 and a selection of songs from Schwanengesang. She accompanies the baritone Thomas E. Bauer in four of the songs and plays two in an arrangement by Franz Liszt. To be heard in a box with three albums under the title META.

META stands for the importance of Schubert's music in Claire Huangci's personal and musical life. Schubert's compositions, which she has played since her earliest youth, "show my development, that reflects unconscious emotions," as she writes in the booklet. Schubert's music is "the music I would like to take with me to a desert island...Schubert has accompanied me through all times", especially the late sonatas, which are at the center of the META box.

Previously unreleased broadcast recordings capture Thomas Jensen in Baroque and Classical-era repertoire new to his discography. Jensen makes a stylish Mozartian in these rhythmically sprung and cultivated concert performances, given by the DRSO in Copenhagen and on tour. They are joined by the Danish violinist Tutter Givskov for one of Mozart’s earliest masterpieces, the Violin Concerto No. 3 K216.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Paganini and Giuliani both sought their fortune in Vienna, a city that later consecrated them as great virtuosos and founders of the Italian violin and guitar school. Paganini, AKA the "devil's violinist" was an uncanny idol and heartthrob to countless music lovers and also had a masterful command of the guitar. Giuliani was the premiere guitarist of his day and also had a great understanding of the violin. His nickname, "the Paganini of the guitar" helped intensify the bond between the two and further sealed their friendship and mutual esteem. Two world-class virtuosos, Rainer Kussmaul, on a Stradivarius from 1724, together with guitarist Sonja Prunnbauer, perform a selection of their great virtuosic duos.

As a composer Hummel stood between different eras. His compositions span all the contemporary forms of music except for the symphony. He was foremost among the composers who sought to preserve the classical style and refused to tread the new paths opened by Beethoven.

For the present-day listener the various musical currents prevalent in Beethoven‘s day need no longer exclude each other. Unhampered by strong emotions or the obligation to take sides, we can – depending on expertise or mood – savor his music either in a totally unprejudiced way or with the detachment with which one views events long past. And to let oneself be captivated by Hummel‘s chamber music can be a singularly agreeable and rewarding experience no matter whether one is motivated by a desire to gain a deeper understanding of historical connections or by the wish to simply enjoy good music.

Hummel left us eight works written for the piano trio group. A first work has not been included in this selection, as only the works which the composer himself described as “piano trios” were chosen for this recording. With the exception of one piece we do not know when these works were composed. For chronological information we must therefore rely on the dates of the first editions or of reviews.

Due to an overload of the right hand and the resulting epicondylitis (golfer's elbow), Nicola Stock was initially no longer able to play the guitar normally. Inspired by Lars Wuller's "Left Hand Guitar Challenge" and due to the fact that guitar works for the left hand alone had hardly existed up to that point - unlike in the piano world, where numerous pieces by well-known composers such as Scriabin or Ravel already exist - the idea arose together with Professor Gerhard Reichenbach to commission new pieces from various composers and thus create a repertoire for the left hand alone that combines innovative ideas and old and new playing techniques. Nicola Yasmin Stock (*1998) is a multiple prizewinner in international guitar competitions. As a soloist, she regularly performs at festivals in Asia, Europe and South America and gives master classes. She studied classical guitar with Professor Gerhard Reichenbach at the University of Music and Dance Cologne/Wuppertal and has also taken part in numerous master classes with renowned artists such as Margarita Escarpa, Pavel Steidl, Judicael Perroy and many others. In addition to her current studies in musicology at the Robert Schumann University in Dusseldorf, Nicola Yasmin Stock is the artistic director of the Rotenburg Guitar Week and an instrumental teacher at the Bergische Music School. She is involved in a variety of chamber music formations and orchestras, including as conductor of the Dortmund Guitar and Mandolin Orchestra. Because of her special commitment to the largely unknown guitar repertoire of female composers, she was awarded a scholarship for female guitarists by the Equal Opportunities Commission at the Cologne University of Music and Dance. She is also involved in cross-disciplinary projects, such as the interdisciplinary annual project of the College of Music and Art in Montepulciano/IT.

Ignatius Sancho: Music of an Eighteenth-Century Black Englishman The Black British writer and musician Ignatius Sancho (ca. 1729-1780) may have been born into slavery. By 1749, he had become part of the household of the Duke of Montagu, where he worked as a valet, later becoming a shopkeeper in the neighborhood of Westminster. Sancho is known today as a writer through his posthumously published Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, an African (1782).

The origin of this album goes back to Texas in the early 90s where young baritone student Frank Basile at North Texas Univ. met for the first time his hero baritonist Gary Smulyan. Their friendship culminates here in a studio date in NJ in late 2023. “I was really just so happy to be there playing with him” declares Smulyan the mentor. “His passionate sound and fresh ideas make Alternative Contrafacts a set well worth picking up, particularly by straightahead jazz collectors.” (S. Yanow – NYCJR)

Two-time Grammy Award-winning singer Sylvia McNair and celebrated pianist Kevin Cole in a collection that is a must for lovers of theater music: 15 songs — 13 of them in first recordings — by the great Harold Arlen (composer of “Over the Rainbow,” “Stormy Weather,” “The Man That Got Away") and lyricist Martin Charnin (the hit musical “Annie”). Plus demos made by the songwriters in 1966 when Arlen was 61 and Charnin 30, and a 24-page booklet that includes an interview with McNair and Cole on this “labor of love” project.

When the bassist Mike Richmond utters the magic line “Spot on!” at the ending of the recording of track 5 of this album, the album title was decided. You can actually hear it on the disc. This is Andy LaVerne’s 36th outing as leader on this label. Our collaboration goes back to 1977 when he was touring Europe with Stan Getz. Since then he has been presenting uniquely creative albums. This new release starts with a homage to McCoy and ends with one to Chick both of whom passed away last year.

With Steffen Schleiermacher's cleverly compiled anthology of piano music by the group of artists known as"Groupe des Six" we experience what unites, but above all what distinguishes these highly individual composers.

This third volume of music by Eduard Strauss I features many new discoveries including the Electric Lights waltz and the polka, Leaps of Pegasus, displaying Eduard’s gift for melody and orchestration. All but one of the tracks on this album are premiere recordings of the original full orchestrations. Volumes 1 and 2 can be heard on 8.225369 and 5371.

Prof. Erich Beurmann donated 70 instruments to the Hamburg Museum of Arts and Crafts. Among them are a large number of harpsichords, clavichords, and fortepianos: from an Italian harpsichord dating from 1540 to a Steinway concert grand piano from 1871. A significant portion of these instruments are kept playable so that the music of various eras can be reproduced on the instruments of the time. Susanne Von Laun regularly plays instruments from this collection in concerts and on guided tours. The artist, who was awarded the Muzio Clementi Award in 2005, selected five instruments for this CD (a square piano from 1777, three fortepianos from 1795 to 1820, and a Broadwood grand piano from 1841), which can now be heard on CD for the first time.

Modern guitar music, played by one of the best German guitarists with a particular preference for music of the 20th and 21st centuries

Andrea Battistoni, a rising star conductor with an international reputation as one of the most important of his generation, juxtaposes two iconic 20th century dance masterpieces in this co-production by MDG and DENON. With every beat of Stravinsky's "Le Sacre du Printemps" and Leonard Bernstein's "West Side Story", Battistoni's elation is audible and the immediacy of the rhythmic pulse can be felt.

On the occasion of the 2025 Kreisler anniversary year, the exceptional violinist Benjamin Schmid posed the question: What happens for the violin in Vienna roughly 100 years after Fritz Kreisler? The result is this phenomenal recording with the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna under Lorenz Aichner, featuring orchestrated works by Kreisler and the world premiere recording of the Concerto for Beni for Solo Violin and String Orchestra (2023) by Georg Breinschmid, born in Vienna in 1973. To quote the dedicatee, it is a "magnificent violin concerto that, from my perspective, shares much with the musical understanding of Fritz Kreisler: music with unadulterated joy of playing, which devotes itself immediately and as artfully as possible to the parameters of melody, harmonic experience, and dance-like (or groovy) rhythm. There is always a close relationship to instrumental virtuosity and sonority - something very strongly pronounced in both composers." The album includes Fritz Kreisler's Preludium and Allegro "in the Style of Pugnani" and the Viennese Rhapsodic Fantasietta in arrangements for (string) orchestra. Kreisler's Concerto in One Movement, based on the first movement of Paganini's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 6, is presented here in an arrangement for wind orchestra, recorded with the Salzburg Wind Philharmonic under Hansjörg Angerer.

If you make a new album you should call it: DREAM SEQUENCE!  I hope 'Dream Sequence' brings you into a personal space of sound, groove and beauty.

It's not far-fetched to consider the extent to which the ideal of a soundtrack encompasses a significant portion of the finest orchestral compositions of the past century-a domain where it's difficult not to spotlight Henry Mancini. If we were to identify the artist who most effectively distilled the perfect synergy between music and cinema, it would be fair to attribute such distinction to the American maestro. The Orquesta Filarmonica de Malaga, led by Maestro Jose Maria Moreno and with Jose Carra as a crucial collaborator in arranging a notable selection of the repertoire, celebrates Mancini's centennial through this recording. It's not just a customary tribute; rather, it's based on the premise that these compositions persist in enriching and extending their impact over time. Though we may not always say the same for the films they were initially intended for. As befits a classic, Henry Mancini's artistry evolves with each passing day.

John W. Duarte was not only one of the most prolific composers for the solo classic guitar in the 20th century; he was also concerned with the instrument in an ensemble context. He made a lasting contribution to the concept and musical chemistry of the guitar quartet, a muchneglected feature until his innovations. This area of his creative work proved something of a goldmine for both professional quartets and educational settings where the guitar was taught as a serious instrument, worthy of deep study, and indeed for Summer Schools worldwide. In this the composer offered arrangements and original works of taste and delicacy, a hitherto unprecedented development in the expanding repertoire of the guitar. This fourth instalment in Brilliant Classics' series dedicated to the vast and precious guitar oeuvre of John W. Duarte provides a complete survey of the composer's music for four guitars. This sub-set of his guitar music is in itself greatly varied in style but of consistently superb quality. Disc one contains music he originally composed for this ensemble, and disc two features his arrangements (many of them of his own compositions) for guitar quartet. Duarte explained that his own stylistic eclecticism derived from improvisation, with composition being a slower form of improvisation benefitting from time to reconsider and to refine the product: 'What one hears becomes translatable into "playback" action and/or, given a knowledge of musical theory, comprehensible. It can provide a direct route to eclecticism - one may adopt what one chooses into one's own bloodstream and bypass what one feels foreign to one's own nature. For this reason I have never had one immediately identifiable style and have happily lived with a wide variety of idioms.'

This album offers a great program of works for piano trio from the 20th and 21st centuries.

Delve into the heart of naval tradition and innovation as you explore original compositions meticulously crafted by the talented members of the U.S. Navy Band Commodores Jazz Ensemble. Just as the Navy's ships and aircraft require the unified efforts of its diverse crew to operate seamlessly, each track on this CD reflects the harmonious synergy of individual artistry and collective devotion to musical excellence.

This live album brings together two legendary Parisian concerts, recorded in 1956 and 1961, that capture all the explosive energy and contagious enthusiasm of a "Lion" at the peak of his glory. These dynamite performances are a testament to the boundless generosity of one of the most formidable entertainers in jazz history, an artist capable of transforming a simple concert into a true show. The listener is carried away by Hampton's infectious enthusiasm and the powerful swing of his big band. It's dance jazz at it's zenith. - Patrick Frémeaux The Live in Paris collection by Michel Brillié allows listeners to hear previously unreleased recordings (made at concerts, private-, or radio-sessions) by the great 20th century stars in jazz, rock & roll and song. These "live" takes, and the artists' rapport with their audiences, give these performances an additional soul and sensibility in counterpoint to the rigorous demands of studio recordings. Particular care was taken when restoring the sound of these tapes in order to meet CD standards while preserving the original colours of the period. - Patrick Frémeaux & Gilles Pétard

Falk and Schleiermacher once again prove to be the ideal interpreters of this multi-faceted music: from the smoky nightclub of the "Rue Chagrin" to the synagogue; past the children's playground to the cotton fields of America with hints of the blues - great art in a small form!

La contemplazione offers a glimpse into “Viennese Classicism” through two authors who, while almost antagonistic, were also complementary and contemporary: Hummel and Schubert. In the late 1820s, European music was at a fascinating crossroads: the musical style that had dominated the old continent since 1780 (commonly known as “Viennese Classicism”) was in crisis and entering its final phase. At a time when tradition and innovation coexisted, emerging expressive needs pushed composers to seek alternatives to classical canons. La contemplazione offers a glimpse into this period through two authors who, while almost antagonistic, were also complementary and contemporary: Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837) and Franz Schubert (1797-1828). About the Instrument: Fortepiano Graf 1826/1827 (Edwin Beunk collection)

In an environment of fierce competition among various piano manufacturing houses, Conrad Graf emerged as the reference brand in Vienna, even being named the official constructor of the empire. Graf built the piano used in this recording in 1826 or 1827 with a range of six and a half octaves.

This album is all about Tadd Dameron (1917 - 65), one of the most important American jazz composer/musicians. The master baritone saxophonist and perennial pole winner Gary Smulyan conceived the brilliant idea of recording Dameron compositions with lyrics. The vocal part is phenomenally rendered by the young talent Anaïs Reno. Three songs including the lovely This Night Of Stars have hitherto never been recorded. “While Smulyan solos brilliantly throughout, Reno is the real treat here.” (Bill Milkowski – DownBeat on SCCD 31936). “Smulyan here brings to light Dameron’s heretofore unknown Library of Congress trove of standard-quality off-Broadway gems.” (Fred Bouchard – NYCJR on SCCD 31936) 180g Audiophile Vinyl

The hour-long emotional tour-de-force with cellist Mark Prihodko and pianist Viktoria Korolionok evokes a soul-searching journey that spans a century of romantic repertoire following the music-making traditions of Ysaye, Gershwin, and Rachmaninov. Cerdanyenca takes its title from the eponymous sonata, written by Catalan composer Marc Migo Cortes, who dedicated this masterwork to Prihodko, his great friend. Conceived at the Juilliard School in New York, where Prihodko held the prestigious Kovner Fellowship while completing his Bachelor’s Degree in the studio of Richard Aaron, and Migo Cortes was completing his Ph.D. in the studio of John Corigliano, Sonata Cerdanyenca continues the tradition of the grandiose twentieth-century masterworks for cello and piano. Cultivating the lifetime synergy between composer and cellist, Prihodko and Migo specifically drew inspiration from the artistic collaborations between Rostropovich and Britten, and Piatigorsky and Strauss. The newly commissioned and internationally premiered Sonata has won the prestigious Pau Casals Festival International Award in 2019. In this extremely demanding monumental piece, the composer portrays the legends of his home region of La Cerdanya, from the tales of La dona d’aigua (the seducing water-woman) to the echoing Sardana Dances of Catalonia. His use of folkloric elements contextualizes hundreds of years of storytelling in an engaging acoustical play, expertly guided by Korolionok and Prihodko.

On this recording, the piano quintet led by violinist and conductor Remy Ballot juxtaposes Franz Schubert's famous Trout Quintet with Johann Nepomuk Hummel's much less frequently heard Piano Quintet, composed almost 20 years earlier. What both quintets have in common (apart from the fact that they remained unpublished for several years after completion) is the fact that they were - according to the contemporary convention - still scored for double bass, which would usually become replaced by a second violin in the later course of music history. Yoko Urata-Fog, piano, Remy Ballot, violin, Iris Ballot, viola, Jorgen Fog, cello and Manfred Hecking, double bass, impress with their uncompromising musicality and unpretentious playing, which brings out the diverse layers of sound in a unique, almost analytical way, and prove the point that after many dozens of recordings of "The Trout" (yet far less of the Hummel quintet), there still remains something genuine to be expressed with these "Classics".

De l'implacable Fingertips aux furieuses reprises de l'oncle Ray, cette anthologie regroupe entre autres les deux premiers albums de Stevie Wonder. Appele alors Little Stevie, ce genie precoce de 12 ans, egerie de la Tamla Motown, tape fort et pose les premieres pierres de la revolution soul ! Patrick FReMEAUX From his relentless "Fingertips" to the frenzied reruns of Uncle Ray's music, this anthology brings together (among others!) the contents of Stevie Wonder's first two albums, made when he was known as "Little Stevie". At the time, he was already a genius (at the age of twelve) and he became Tamla Motown's muse, a hard-hitting keyboardist who laid the foundations of the Soul revolution. Patrick FReMEAUX THE JAZZ SOUL OF LITTLE STEVIE : FINGERTIPS - SQUARE - SOUL BONGO - MANHATTAN AT SIX - PAULSBY - SOME OTHER TIME - WONDERING - SESSION NUMBER 112 - BAM. TRIBUTE TO UNCLE RAY : HALLELUJAH I LOVE HER SO - AIN't THAT LOVE - DON't YOU KNOW - THE MASQUERADE - FRANKIE & JOHNNY - DROWN IN MY OWN TEARS - COME BACK BABY - MARY ANN - SUNSET - MY BABY'S GONE. 45T : I CALL IT PRETTY MUSIC, BUT THE OLD PEOPLE CALL IT THE BLUES (PART 1) - I CALL IT PRETTY MUSIC, BUT THE OLD PEOPLE CALL IT THE BLUES (PART 2) - LA LA LA LA LA - LITTLE STEVIE WONDER & CLARENCE PAUL - LITTLE WATER BOY - CONTRACT ON LOVE - SUNSET. DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE : OLIVIER JULIEN

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 - GRAÚNA : 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