PROKOFIEV, S.: Piano Sonatas Nos. 2, 7 and 8

RAVEL: Piano Works, Vol. 2

GEMINIANI: Concerti Grossi, Vol. 1

Schubert: Piano Sonatas, D. 845 and D. 568

J.S. Bach: Organ Works, BWV 535, 550, 584, 588, 589, 736 & 7

CHABRIER: Piano Works, Vol. 1

MOZART: String Quintets, K. 406 and K. 516

TCHAIKOVSKY: Fantasias after Shakespeare

Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 4 "Tragic" and Symphony in C major "Grand Duo" are superbly performed by the Failioni Orchestra of Budapest, under the direction of Michael Halasz. Both are part of a complete cycle of symphonies recorded for the Naxos label by this lesser known but excellent eastern European chamber orchestra. The Symphony No. 4, composed by Schubert in 1816, is performed with great warmth, passion, and dramatic gravitas. Schubert originally composed the "Grand Duo" in 1824 as a piano sonata for four hands. The Symphony in C is a mid-nineteenth century orchestration of the "Grand Duo" sonata by the great 19th century violinist Josef Joachim. Again, Halasz and the Failioni Orchestra completely and flawlessly capture the grand scale and sense of drama of this Schubert masterpiece.

RACHMANINOV: Morceaux de salon / Three Nocturnes

SPOHR: Piano Trios Nos. 3 and 5

Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2

Guitar music is now written both by players of the instrument and by many who are not, but it was not always so. At one time composers were also virtuoso performers (usually of their own works) but during the nineteenth century this link became less and less strong; today, the composer-performer is a rare bird. The tide of musical events, however, bypassed the guitar, so that, until the situation was changed through the efforts of Andres Segovia (1893 - 1987), those who wrote for it also played it. In his own time Paganini was a famed virtuoso on both the violin and the guitar. In fact it was with plucked strings that he began his musical life at the age of five, with mandolin lessons from his father (a capable amateur musician); after two years he turned to the violin; which has the same tuning as the mandolin. Having soon exhausted his father's resources as a teacher he studied first with Antonio Cervetto (a theatre violinist) and then with the (locally) more famous Giacomo Costa, who, maybe to boost his own prestige as much as for the benefit of his pupil, arranged for the twelve-year-old Paganini to play in public. One year later his formal instruction in violin-playing ended and the self-instruction that led to the development of his 'legendary' technique began. Norbert Kraft The guitarist Norbert Kraft won early distinction in 1975, when he was awarded the Grand Prize in the Canadian CBC Radio Competition, following this in 1985 with first prize in the Segovia International Competition in Mallorca. He enjoys a substantial career as a concerto soloist and appears regularly with important orchestras, particularly in Canada and in the United States of America, as well as in Europe and the Far East. He was chosen to represent Canada at World Expo '90 in Osaka and again in Seville in 1992. Norbert Kraft is a faculty member of the Manhattan School of Music in New York and professor of guitar and chamber music at the University of Toronto and the Royal Conservatory of Music. He is founder and director of the Toronto Guitarfest. Moshe Hammer

Strauss II: Fledermaus (Die) (Highlights)

BEST OF OPERA, VOL. 2