Daniel Rieppel, a native of Minnesota of Austro-Hungarian descent, performs Mozart’s Fantasy and Sonata in C minor, the Piano Variations of Aaron Copland and Symphonic Etudes by Robert Schumann. Dr. Rieppel performs widely in North and South America and Europe (most recently in Iceland) and has been Professor of Music at Southwest Minnesota State University for over a quarter century. He has international recognition for his research into Schubert’s incomplete sonatas, finishing several that will be the subject of his next recording.

Second instalment in the ongoing symphonic cycle Scriabin/Ono. The grandiose and particularly colourful Third Symphony by Alexander Scriabin in an opulent and gorgeous account by Kazushi Ono conducting the Brussels Philharmonic. This music demands the highest possible degree of sheer beauty of tone by the orchestra. Here it is achieved thanks to the musicians and the conductor, but also thanks to the avantgarde Dolby Atmos/Immersive recording by MotorMusic studio. EPRC 0061, Scriabin: Symphony no.2 was 2024 Critic's Choice by American Record Guide. Classic Voice (ITA): "The outcome is no less than overwhelming." BBC Music Magazine (UK): "The Brussels Philharmonic strings relish Scriabin's ardent and sensuous melodies."

This recording highlights the tremendous contribution of black composers to the repertoire of church and concert organists. Includes organ works by composers from the late nineteenth century to the present day. The masterfully arranged spirituals and dynamic original compositions can add the perfect touch to a worship service. Artist Nathaniel Gumbs has been recognized as "one of 20 outstanding organists under 30 years old for his achievement in organ performance and church music (The Diapason magazine, 2017). The Newberry Memorial Organ, in Woolsey Hall at Yale University, heard on this recording is one of the most renowned Romantic organs in the world.

This recording emerged from a quest to explore new rhetorical and poetic spaces, timbres, and dynamics, aiming to reveal the soul of J.S. Bach's splendid sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord. The cello piccolo, an instrument similar in size and texture to the viola da gamba, proves ideal for capturing the lyrical quality of some movements and the virtuosity of the more intricate and faster passages. The fortepiano, an English instrument beautifully restored, was chosen to emphasize the contrapuntal nature of the three trio sonatas, particularly in the continuous duetting of the right hand with the cello.

After listening for a while (to orchestral music on the radio) Idil would detect the main melody and then play it on the piano with one finger. Afterwards, when she reached the age of four, she would play these with two hands and with the correct harmony. Bach preludes and fugues from the Well Tempered Clavier, for example, which even the talented musicians took considerable time to study and memorise, were mastered by Idil in only a few days after listening once or twice, after which she would play these without a single wrong note. (Leman Biret, 1988)

Bach published during his lifetime four volumes of keyboard pieces under the title Clavierubung which began with a set of six Partitas, published between 1726 and 1731. The first of the set was the Partita No. 1 in B flat major. The Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, was apparently written during Bach's time at Cothen, probably about 1720, and revised in Leipzig about 1730. The six English Suites, the 3rd being included here, have nothing particularly English about them, except their title. They were written perhaps in Weimar in about 1715 or possibly during Bach's period at Cothen. Bach brought together a set of five French Suites, of which the 5th is Biret's favourite, later augmented to six and forming part of the Clavierbuchlein for Anna Magdalena, his second wife. The Italian Concerto in F major was published in 1735 in the second volume of the Clavierubungen, with the original title Concerto nach Italienischen Gusto. It reflects the style of the Venetian solo concertos by Vivaldi.

Gregor Meyer, director of the GewandhausChor, fulfills a dream by returning to "his" instrument, the organ, and recording an album at GENUIN that gathers sounds from Saxon organs of an organ-building dynasty: the Kreutzbach family from Borna. Meyer plays organs from three eras, taking us through Saxony from Johanngeorgenstadt to Wiederau and Zwickau-Marienthal. Meyer's organ playing utilizes the full range of the highly characteristic and historically valuable organs to faithfully and differentially portray music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Böhm, and Max Reger. A must for lovers of historical, regionally anchored organ craftsmanship!

A mystic realm tinged with the scent of foreign spices, bewitching music, vivid color and sensual delights... Orientalism sparked a new wave of romanticism in Western art in the 19th century, which had a profound influence on artists. At the time, The Arabian Nights had long been popular in Russia, in a French translation by Antoine Galland that indulged the Francophile passion for all things Arabic. For Rimsky-Korsakov who had a life-long fascination with fairytales especially those from the exotic setting of the mythical Orient,"Scheherazade"was an ideal theme. Born into a family of Russian naval officers, music and the sea became his passion since childhood and he graduated from the Naval Academy of St. Petersburg to become a naval officer himself. While pursuing his musical studies, he embarked on numerous ocean voyages, visiting Brazil, America, Europe etc The Oriental Ballet Suite "Thousand and One Nights" was originally conceived as an orchestral work, first published for piano solo in 1927, and then arranged for orchestra by the composer himself. It gained popularity immediately after it's release and was broadcast on several radio stations.

An outstanding release, both in musical and technical terms. This live recording is a showcase for the Brussels Philharmonic and it's conductor, Kazushi Ono, while giving a rare energy and drive to scores which demand them. The immersive Dolby Atmos recording emphasizes the virtuoso and spectacular side of Strauss' gorgeous orchestration.  Kazushi Ono: This recording tells the story of not just one hero, but two. It's interesting to compare their lives.  Don Juan takes off like a rocket going to another planet, blazing a trail.  Ein Heldenleben describes the hero climbing and then descending a mountain that is both real and metaphorical. That is the wonderful duality of Strauss as a composer.

This album contains the symphonic suite "Scheherazade" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and the short composition "The Enchanted Lake" by his student Anatoly Lyadov.

In 1887-88, after the sudden death of his brilliant friend Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov composed those three orchestral works which crowned his Russian national period and has made his name a permanent part of the worldwide concert repertoire: the "Capriccio espagno"l, the symphonic suite "Scheherazade", and the concert overture "La Grande Pâque Russe". With Scheherazade Rimsky-Korsakov did not tell a story, he rather set individual, unconnected episodes and images to music.

Anatoly Lyadov has a reputation of being lazy – based solely on Rimsky-Korsakov’s opinion of him – yet his ambition was for every piece of music he created to be flawless. One consequence of this was that his entire œuvre consists entirely of miniatures. The "Enchanted Lake" does not tell a story but is purely impressionistic music about a Russian forest lake, on a level with Ravel and Debussy. Conductor Dmitri Kitayenko conducted various orchestras in Moscow, became chief conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic in 1976, and took over the Symphony Orchestra of the Hessischer Rundfunk in Frankfurt am Main in 1990-96. He went on to hold principal positions with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bern Symphony Orchestra, the KBS Symphony Orchestra in Seoul and finally, in addition to his worldwide activities as a guest conductor, was appointed Honorary Conductor of the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne.

Summits of the violin repertory, Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin have always fascinated performers and music lovers alike for their architectural perfection, their spiritual content and the breadth of their emotional palette. It is therefore not surprising that, like so many of Bach’s works, they have been constantly arranged for other instruments. On a purely practical level, there are elements in the writing of these works that seem to suit the guitar particularly well, with its polyphony, melody, dynamics and sound colours that lend themselves particularly well to the complexity of works that seem to go beyond the solo violin.

After his transcription for guitar of Bach’s four lute suites (BIS-2285), which BBC Music Magazine described as ‘a remarkable combination of technical ease, musical understanding and emotional directness’, Franz Halász now offers us his own arrangements of the Sonatas and Partitas – fresh performances that combine historically informed practice with modern technique.

Halász appears on a number of acclaimed discs for BIS, in wide-ranging repertoire, from Spanish baroque music to the contemporary works of Takemitsu and Gubaidulina, as well as tango and Brazilian music.

William “Count” Basie (1904 – 1984) had a long successful career over a span of six plus decades leaving an enormous legacy in the history of jazz. The existence of this live recording from Copenhagen in 1962 has never been public, not even in the most extensive bio-discography by the late journalist/author Chris Sheridan. The concert here was a part of Basie’ New Testament Orchestra’s frequent European tours in the late 50’s and early 60s, an era that’s called The Atomic Period.

How fascinating must it have sounded when Johann Sebastian Bach competed with an entire orchestra at the organ? Under the direction of Jörg Halubek, the baroque ensemble il Gusto Barocco becomes a musical think tank. Together, they attempt to reconstruct three of Bach's organ concertos, which today are primarily treated as harpsichord concertos. The recordings of the soloist ensemble presented here convey a tangible and unique impression thereof.

BBC Music Magazine: Roth sustains his flawlessly smooth, luxurously toned sonority, so that each movement emerges in terms of its majestic formal perfection. The Strad: This is a fundamentally lyrical account, imbued with grace and beauty. Pizzicato Supersonic: The great realization of this CD by the technicians and the carefully edited booklet complete this outstanding recording. Just listen and enjoy.

Can a composer like Alexander Scriabin be associated with any tradition at all, given the uniqueness of his musical language? Initially focusing on piano compositions, Scriabin later expanded to larger orchestral works, crafting five symphonies between 1899 and 1910. A noticeable evolution in composition unfolds, transitioning from a late Romantic style to a more modernistic approach. Evolving from late Romanticism to modernism, Scriabin drew inspiration from symbolist poetry and philosophical figures. Envisioning himself as a musical messiah to change the world, his Second Symphony provides a glimpse of this eccentric vision.

Early Music Log - Il Giardino Armonico

Falkoner Centret shortly after a modernist architectural make-over hosted a burgeoning young quintet headed by Cannonball Adderley in the spring of 1961. Though it was before they made their big splash on the soul-jazz front with hit tunes like Unit 7, Jive Samba, Cannonball’s successful 18-month tenure with Miles Davis put extra allure to the band. Previously unissued recording features English-born pianist Victor Feldman whose compositions make up the majority of repertory on this disc.

The main purpose of this edition is to assist those "desirous of learning" with some suggestions and information that might be helpful in the process of learning, understanding and performing the works of Bach. These suggestions should not be taken as a "must" to follow, but are simply meant to assist in the comprehension and practical execution of The Well-Tempered Clavier (WTC) and to encourage further exploration. This Edition is available in 2 Books, or as 48 separate 'Preludes and Fugues' scores

From the Earth to the stars, from darkness to light: the young, award-winning pianist Andrey Denisenko, acclaimed in Germany and Russia, has compiled significant works of literature for his new GENUIN CD. The creators of Robert Schumann's "Kreisleriana", Johannes Brahms' late Fantasies, and the master Johann Sebastian Bach's magnificent "Chaconne" for the violin (arranged by Brahms) transformed suffering and deprivation into musical gems. These works demand not only a technically outstanding pianist but also an artist who thinks and breathes in grand structures. Andrey Denisenko possesses both qualities and plays these masterpieces with verve and excellent clarity.

The internationally renowned pianist Caroline Fischer has put together an evocative holiday gift with her new GENUIN CD. For the recording, she sought out old and new Christmas melodies, well-known and unknown, and combined them to form a harmonious whole. Included are treasures such as Otto von Walden’s tender fantasy on “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” and Gustav Lange’s enchanting version of “Silent Night” – some of these windfalls have been recorded on CD for the first time. Thoughtfully curated and recorded to the highest standard, the only thing really missing is the wrapping paper!

“This Scordatura Album is the second In Memoriam album in honour of my son Dorian. It features two illustrious masterpieces written for cello in alternative, darker tunings: the Bach Suite with the top string lowered by a whole tone and the Kodály Sonata with the two bottom strings lowered by a semitone. Both pieces are fierce, resilient and profound and although painted in dark colours, they comfort us with their show of sheer musical power and luminous inventiveness.” Stark statement of repertoire filled with personal significance and universal beauty. Unparalleled preformance of Kodály's sonata for cello solo. Pieter combines intense energy and emotional connection in his interpretation of the pieces.

The first ever attempt to present the Brandenburg Concertos in accordance with Baroque tradition. The pioneering early Berlin recordings conducted with élan and elegance by Alois Melichar, a now nearly forgotten Austrian master. The set includes bonus tracks of the Third Brandenburg Concerto conducted by three legendary masters: Eugene Goossens, Wilhelm Furtwängler, and the Dane Georg Høeberg. All recordings from the collection of Claus Byrith and transferred using the best possible digital technology.

By popular demand, this Berlin Classics recording will be reissued on Vinyl. Handel's famous Suite"Watermusic" is one of the most well know and loved pieces of classical music from the baroque period. This historically informed interpretation stands out through ist clear articulation and historically accurate interpretation. This recording is a must-have for every classical music record collection.

Largest church organ in Denmark

The great organ of Aarhus Cathedral is a true masterpiece of North European organ building tradition through four centuries and with 96 stops the largest pipe organ of Denmark. 2018-20 the organ was carefully restored and enlarged by the Danish organ builder Marcussen & Søn Orgelbyggeri Aps.

This publication tells the story of the restoration through text and extensive photo material and for the ?rst time documents the beautiful sounds of the restored instrument in a 2 CD anthology of organ music from Buxtehude to present time. Performers are the two organists Kristian Krogsøe and Anders Johnsson.

There is power in the written word. The words we say often go unremembered, spilling out into our world and never reaching another's ear. When words are important enough to write, they gain the power of history. When words are important enough to sing, they gain the power of humanity. On November 22, 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, while sitting next to his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy. For years to come after this infamous day, letters were written to Jackie, expressing condolences and confusion, the spectrum of grief memorialized in the written word. This project has sought to give voice to those letters, providing community for listeners sharing in that collective grief. It is a touchstone for turning inward and experiencing grief through the lens of a national tragedy.  The music of Dear Mrs. Kennedy provides a communal journey to safely explore grief and spark conversation on the importance of human connection. Rather than President Kennedy or First Lady Jackie explicitly, the central character in this music is Grief itself: the grief of a nation-and of a world.  -Ryan Townsend Strand, tenor

Revolving around the first recording of Sir James MacMillan's Kiss on Wood for viola and piano arranged and performed by Rachel Yonan, this album explores the polarity of light and darkness. Minimalist composer Arvo Pa¨rt's beloved Fratres and Spiegel i'm Spiegel bookend the program. The concept of light infuses these pieces with their intense clarity and search for transcendent meaning. Fratres (Brotherhood) evokes the struggle between good and evil with it's contrasting voices. Spiegel i'm Spiegel (Mirror in Mirror) is pure and stable as it sonically imagines the infinite reflection between two mirrors. Pa¨rt's deeply spiritual music links to MacMillan's devotional Kiss on Wood which invites the listener into a place of stillness and silence as it reaches for an essence of meaning beyond words. MacMillan sounds out the darkness of loss, yet finds delicate rays of hope to fill the long spaces. Paired with these intense yet static twenty-first century works are Schumann's miniature character pieces Ma¨rchenbilder (Fairytale Pictures) that use an emotional palette ranging from bright and playful to deeply melancholic. The programmatic title of each work-Fratres, Kiss on Wood, Ma¨rchenbilder, Spiegel i'm Spiegel- hints at meaning that cannot be expressed by words alone, but must be illuminated by the music.

For the first time; this edition makes available Herbert von Karajan's previously unpublished early live recordings from the Lucerne Music Festival - made in a decade in which Karajan was rebuilding his career. Included are legendary soloists such as Clara Haskil and Géza Anda; Robert Casadesus and Nathan Milstein. The Lucerne International Music Festival (today's Lucerne Festival) was the first organiser outside Austria to engage Herbert von Karajan after his ban from performing and denazification proceedings; thus enabling him to return to the international podiums. "I will never forget that," Karajan later confessed. For almost four decades; from 1948 to 1988; he was to make his mark on Lucerne Festival. His annual guest appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic (from 1958) enjoyed cult status. But already in the decade before; which this edition documents; Karajan thrilled audiences and critics alike in Lucerne and quickly rose to become the defining artistic personality alongside Wilhelm Furtwängler: with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra; but above all on the podium of the Swiss Festival Orchestra; which he held in high esteem and which he conducted in a total of nine concerts.

The preserved Lucerne live recordings range from Bach's C major Concerto for Two Keyboard Instruments BWV 1061 (with Clara Haskil and Géza Anda) to Arthur Honegger's Symphonie liturgique. The exciting; rhythmically tightly formed interpretations show Karajan to be an extremely form-conscious; textually faithful conductor of great expressive power. He spurs his orchestras on to top performances; but also acts as a sensitive and at the same time extremely present accompanist - for example in Brahms' Violin Concerto with Nathan Milstein or in Mozart's dramatically pointed C minor Concerto K. 491 with Robert Casadesus. As a digital bonus; the edition includes Bach's Mass in B minor; which Karajan celebrated at the end of the 1951 festival with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra; the Vienna Singverein and a top-class quartet of soloists (Elisabeth Schwarzkopf; Elsa Cavelti; Ernst Haefliger and Hans Braun): a stylistically distant; but nevertheless fascinating audio document due to Karajan's very personal approach. The sound of the live recordings on the 3-CD box set has been carefully restored. The 62-page; trilingual booklet contains essays by Wolfgang Rathert and Erich Singer on Karajan's new career start in the post-war years and on his special relationship with Lucerne Festival. It contains numerous previously unpublished photos.

REVIEW:

Included among the contents of this set are quite a few gems. Most unexpected but welcome is Brahms’s Violin Concerto with Nathan Milstein. Karajan and his Swiss Festival Orchestra are fully ablaze, Milstein’s tone typically lean and sinewy. Overall, this is an intriguing batch of musically worthwhile live Karajan discoveries, very well transferred from clean analogue sources.

— Gramophone

The popular album"Horn Concertos" by Felix Klieser is being released as a 180g Vinyl Reissue. The talented and unique horn player masters the technically demanding Horn Concertos by Joseph Haydn and his lesser known brother Michael Haydn. He is accomapnied by the Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn under the baton of Ruben Gazarian. Together, they display these innovative compositions and their masterful orchestration with brilliance and unrivaled brilliance. The reconstructed 'Horn Concerto No. 0' by W. A. Mozart offers glimpses into the maestro's early Viennese years.

Idil Biret was introduced very early to the music of Bach. At the age of three she was trying to play from ear the preludes of Bach from the Well Tempered Clavier which her mother played on their upright piano and drawing his picture in her note book. In her memoires, Idil's mother Leman Biret writes: "After listening for a while to orchestral music on the radio Idil would detect the main melody and then play it on the piano with one finger. Afterwards, when she reached the age of four, she would play these on the piano with two hands and with the correct harmony. Bach preludes and fugues from the Well Tempered Clavier, for example, which even the talented musicians took considerable time to study and memorise, were mastered by Idil in only a few days after listening once or twice, after which she would play these without a single wrong note. "Then, at the age of four her teacher Mithat Fenmen played for Idil on an 78rpm record by Edwin Fischer the Prelude and Fugue in F minor from the Well Tempered Clavier Book II. She says that Bach's music has been a part of her life ever since that day. In 1946, at the age of five, she played the D Minor Piano Concerto of Bach with a string quartet at the Ankara Radio, a work that would be a staple of her concert programs from then on. "The remarkable evening began with D Minor Piano Concerto of J.S. Bach. The concerto required, from the very first measure, agile, precise dexterity from the pianist. Idil Biret took the challenge with a ravishing pulse which carried one away. How this artist combines the strict discipline of the score with the capacity to build sovereign forms is exemplary. Energetically, she drove the flanking Allegro movements forward and dwelled on the song like beauties of the Adagio with concentrated abandon." Dietrich Wolf DRESDNER NEUESTE NACHRICHTEN (Germany) 1996

Maurice Steger, the virtuoso and world-renowned recorder player and conductor Conductor, has arranged works by Johann Sebastian Bach for recorder and orchestra for his new album with the La Cetra Basel has arranged works by Johann Sebastian Bach for recorder and orchestra.