For some twenty-five years I've had the inestimable privilege of collaborating with Augusta Read Thomas, and so it is with some authority that I claim she is a singular refutation of Newtonian physics: she creates energy. In countless workshops, recording sessions, performances, and masterclasses I've watched her elicit previously undiscovered timbral nuance, dynamic possibility, and personal virtuosity from players and composers alike. Hers is a creative energy so irrepressible that somewhere amidst the cascade of commissions, awards, and international flights to attend performances of her work she, to mention just two examples, launched Chicago's largest-scale new music festival (Ear Taxi) as well as one of the country's most prolific incubators of new work, The Grossman Ensemble. I'm happy to report that the performances captured within this tracklist provide significant evidence in substantiating this bold claim. To my ears, Sol offers Gusty's compositional luminosity as a collection of rituals for introspection, spiritual stimulus, and, at the very least, a reminder that light can prevail in darkness. Particularly enticing is that when imbibed as a whole, this record shepherds us through an extraordinary ceremony that, as with each of the five rites comprising it, tenders the possibility for subtle yet substantive restoration and, ultimately, transformation. � Doyle Armbrust

Soulima Stravinsky was the third child of Igor and Yekaterina Stravinsky. His career in music encompassed performing as a recitalist and concerto soloist, particularly noted for interpretations of his father's music, musicology, education, and composition. Soulima's performing career was slowly expanded with achievements as a transcriber, editor, author, and composer, although in the later endeavour his work was inevitably overshadowed by his father's towering reputation. Soulima had a particular gift for composing music for children. He made two visits to the Nimbus Studios, in 1975 to record these performances of his father's music, and in 1977 to record his own music for children. This is the first release of these fine performances, fascinating not least for their specific historic significance. � Adrian Farmer

Thomas' imagination for Bebop Riddle IV - Hummingbird Jamboree was inspired by the vibrant, dazzling technique, flair, spirit for adventure, and musicality of the Akropolis Reed Quintet. When composing, playing, and hearing Bebop Riddle IV, the virtuosity, flexibility, and energy of superstar jazz artists leaps to ear and mind. These forces, when intersected with other specific musical perfumes, formulate a unique sonic palette. A working image for this composition is that of a hummingbird jamboree-animated, sprightly, energized hummingbirds zipping around in all directions. Hummingbirds hover at rapid wing-flapping rates, which are signified by the trills in the composition. Hummingbirds are the only vertebrates capable of sustained hovering and can fly backwards and upside-down, which inspired the music's whimsical and dexterous turns of flight.

Shura Cherkassky was introduced to Nimbus by Wilfred Stiff, then a director of the London agent Ibbs & Tillett. Wilfred recognised a young label pushing ahead fast at the transition point between LP and CD, one with a fondness for artists whose careers were waning. Accordingly, he dispatched one of his most prestigious names to the Nimbus Studio. Cherkassky was at that time acknowledged as one of the 'great' generation whose undoubted king was Horowitz, but after a long, notable career that began in his mid-teens, his popularity in the concert hall and recording studio had fallen. Shura's late career was in need of a final boost. Cherkassky's first visit lasted four days-31 January to 3 February 1981. He immediately settled in the unusual setting. He stayed in the big house, not in a hotel, and walked into a studio so completely unlike the characterless spaces he had famously grown to decry. Here there was no sterile barrier to his inspiration. The grand Victorian reception room at Wyastone Leys served as a spectacular performance space, it's full-height windows framing commanding views down the Wye Valley. Shura loved it, signing a copy of his Pictures at an Exhibition LP, 'To everyone in Nimbus with love and the most wonderful feeling of inspiration'. The recordings made during these four days are all presented on this release. Most of them enjoyed only a brief release on LP. Because of their 'analogue' origin they have been denied subsequent re-issues. � Adrian Farmer

Towards the end of his life, Johannes Brahms declared more than once that he was retiring from composing - luckily for us, he never quite followed through. Not because he had run out of inspiration - Brahms was at the height of his powers - but because he felt a growing pull toward the intimacy of chamber music, piano pieces, and songs, which brought him deeper personal satisfaction than grand orchestral forms. Still, Brahms returned once more to orchestral writing in 1887 with the Double Concerto in A minor, Op. 102 - his last orchestral work. The reason was personal: a gesture of reconciliation toward his estranged friend, the great violinist Joseph Joachim. This concerto, written for Joachim and cellist Robert Hausmann, symbolises renewed harmony - not just musically, but emotionally. The two solo instruments engage in a rich, expressive dialogue throughout. Mozart wrote his Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major for violin and viola in the summer of 1779 - a true synthesis of symphony and concerto. This work is expansive and noble in character, full of brilliant writing for both soloists. Mozart, himself an accomplished violinist, clearly understood how to write for the instrument with flair and sensitivity. One striking feature of the work is that the viola part is written in D major, requiring the instrument to be tuned a semitone higher (a practice known as scordatura). Common in the Baroque era, scordatura was still occasionally used in Mozart's time to achieve a brighter, more penetrating sound. The autograph of the piece is lost; only later copies have survived - except for the original drafts of the cadenzas. On this recording, the viola part is performed by a cellist, playing in the original viola position without octave transposition. � Jarom�r Havl�k

Upon Wings of Words is a setting of Emily Dickinson for mezzo-soprano and string quartet. Dickinson continues to inspire composers over 130 years since her death, and here it is the tense, springy rhythms of her poems that Read Thomas responds to.

Upon Wings of Words is a setting of Emily Dickinson for mezzo-soprano and string quartet. Dickinson continues to inspire composers over 130 years since her death, and here it is the tense, springy rhythms of her poems that Read Thomas responds to.

In 2001, under the umbrella title la Serenissima, Richard Rijnvos started a series of compositions dedicated to the city of Venice. This multi-year 'work-in-progress' currently includes seven compositions, the most recent two of which are the subject of this recording. Jan Hage is particularly known as an advocate and sought-after performer of contemporary organ music. In 2006 he received the silver medal of the Parisian Societe Academique Arts Sciences Lettres for his services to French organ culture. Jane Chapman is one of Britain's most distinguished classical harpsichordists. Her repertoire stretches from early music to contemporary avant-garde. Described in The Independent on Sunday as "Britain's most progressive harpsichordist", and in the Guardian as "a fearless contemporary music performer" she is at the forefront of creating and inspiring new music for harpsichord.

The Austrian composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957) was one of the greatest composing child prodigies in history. His keyboard style was highly personal and fully formed from the start, yet he seems to have had hardly any instruction on the instrument. Apart from a few lessons when he was five years old (not from an eminent teacher, but a needy relative), he seems to have been entirely self-taught. Celebrated British pianist Martin Jones released NI 5705 The Complete Piano Music of Erich Korngold on 4 CDs which is still available. This compilation includes many of the prodigious works written even before Korngold entered his teenage years.

The Yale Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1965 by a group of students who saw the growing potential for a large orchestral ensemble to thrive on campus. With a spirit for promoting new music and performing underrepresented composers alongside works of the standard Western canon, the orchestra has become a destination for students who wish to perform orchestral music at the conservatory level while taking advantage of all that Yale - a liberal-arts institution - has to offer. In it's more than fifty years, the orchestra has performed in some of the most hallowed music halls in the United States from Carnegie Hall in New York to Benaroya Hall in Seattle, toured twelve countries including Turkey, Russia, Brazil and Mexico, and premiered over fifty works of new music by composers including Leonard Bernstein, Benjamin Britten, and Caroline Shaw. YSO alumni have music careers in major orchestras around the world, including the New York Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, and the Berlin Philharmonic. The YSO is led by William Boughton, who is in his seventh and final year conducting the orchestra.

Whilst working on The Faerie Bride for the Aldeburgh Festival - a cantata based on the Welsh legend of Lyn y Fan Fach - I became fascinated by the rich and elusive world of Welsh folk music. Some of the tunes I discovered found their way into the cantata, but I inadvertently found myself arranging others for solo violin. Many welsh folk tunes and airs are very ancient, stretching back to the time of Henry V, whilst others are more recent, being written in the 17 and 1800's. But no matter when these melodies originated, most Welsh folk songs fall into three main categories: songs of love, songs of nature, and songs of battle. The songs in this arrangement explore a broad range of subjects including unrequited love, loss, friendship, infidelity, and even one about a cat who's lost it's fur! � Gavin Higgins

Dacw 'Nghariad (there is my love) is a beautful Welsh folk song that I discovered whilst working on a cantata for the Aldeburgh Festival based on the Welsh myth of Lyn y Fan Fach. The song is about longing; longing for something that is unreachable and distant, for the moment at least. � Gavin Higgins

Dacw 'Nghariad (there is my love) is a beautful Welsh folk song that I discovered whilst working on a cantata for the Aldeburgh Festival based on the Welsh myth of Lyn y Fan Fach. The song is about longing; longing for something that is unreachable and distant, for the moment at least. � Gavin Higgins

Wind Takes Flight began with a simple yet powerful idea: to reimagine the music of Hildegard of Bingen, the 12th-century mystic and composer, through the lens of modern electronic soundscapes. The title, drawn from one of Hildegard's sacred poems featured on the album, also reflects her love of birds and the natural world. These have been enduring sources of inspiration for us throughout this creative journey. As collaborators, we, - Julia Sinclair, an English soprano soloist, and Marijn Cinjee, a Dutch electronic musician - were drawn to the timeless spirituality and beauty of Hildegard's work. The idea of bringing together our two musical worlds to create something new and transformative felt both exciting and inevitable. In April 2023, we debuted an experimental live improvisation inspired by Hildegard's hymn O ignis Spiritus paracliti at Stone Nest in London, in an immersive listening experience using more than 40 loudspeakers driven by the 4DSOUND spatial sound system. The audience's response to the soaring vocal lines and immersive electronic textures confirmed that we were onto something special, and that performance became the foundation for Wind Takes Flight, the album's title track. Over the next eighteen months, we poured ourselves into this project, crafting what would become Wind Takes Flight. The album is a conversation across time - beginning with Hildegard's chants and evolving into a love letter to her music, merging her sacred compositions with contemporary sound design while remaining true to the deep spirituality and reverence of her music. Premiering the album live in spatial sound at Het Concertgebouw in Amsterdam was an unforgettable experience, captured in the drama and beauty of Ekstasis, a piece created for that performance. Now, we're thrilled to share Wind Takes Flight with you. This album is more than music; it's a bridge between past and present, an invitation to step into a space where ancient echoes meet modern innovation, and where the spirit of Hildegard of Bingen - artist, composer, and pioneer - soars anew.

The short individual pieces on this recording, the Valsas, Improvisos and Momentos show the sweeter side of Guarnieri's musical language. The Waltz is a format in which every Brazilian composer has expressed his national character, making it almost a new distinctive format. Guarnieri's Valsas share a minor key, and typically present internal melodies shared between the hands, and wreathed in chromatic modulations and decorations. Their mood is one of longing, now almost completely shorn of it's dance character. The effect of all these pieces, many of them extreme miniatures, is of gentle nostalgia. � Adrian Farmer