This is the fourth Phaedra album featuring the young Dutch tenor Peter Gijsbertsen. The release includes well-known and less well-known songs, an attractive anthology of Richard Strauss’s fascinating lied repertoire. His accompanist is Jozef de Beenhouwer, one of Flanders’ most prominent pianists, who was for several years one of the accompanists at the Queen Elisabeth Competition. Together with mezzo soprano Lucienne van Deyck he teaches the lied course at the Royal Flemish Conservatory of Music of Antwerp (at present part of the Antwerp School of Arts). In 1993 he was awarded the prestigious Robert Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau.

I Giocatori's successful debut on Phaedra made the top ten of Flemish classical radio. On this album, I Giocatori presents themselves in more classical repertoire, with works by Mendelssohn and the Clara and Robert Schumann couple. They entitled this album "Songs Without Words for Piano Trio" to refer to the subtle poetry, warmth, tenderness and suggestive power that are so characteristic of Mendelssohn's Lieder ohne Worte and which all works on this album share. This is music that makes you dream happy dreams and that floods your heart and soul with light and joy.

L'ULTIMA CANZONE

KLAVIERSONATE NO. 3

Jan Levoslav Bella (1843-1936) was one of the most important Romantic Slovak composers, as well as a conductor and an organist. He studied theology in Banska Bystrica and at the Pazmaneum Jesuit University in Vienna. After his return to Banska Bystrica he was ordained as a priest in 1866 and he began teaching music at a seminary. From 1879 till 1881 he was the parish priest as well as municipal and ecclesiastic music director of Kremnica. At the age 38 he moved to Transsylvanian Sibiu (Hermannstadt), to be Kapellmeister and teacher. He converted to Protestantism, got married and brought musical culture to the German Protestant part of the town. In 1928 he moved back to Bratislava where he lived until his death in 1936. Bella is a highly estimable Romantic composer who contributed works to all musical genres. He wrote both religious and secular music: symphonic and chamber music, opera, and songs. He developed a style of his own, which laid the foundations of what was to become Slovak national music. This edition is a world premiere in all respects, and it has received the greatest care. Not only one of the best Czech symphony orchestras, but also one of the world’s best choirs participated in its production. These forces are under the baton of renowned Dutch conductor David Porcelijn, who has a reputation as a musical pioneer. The recording was supervised by the Slovak recording engineer Jaroslav Stranavski.

Werner van Mechelen, bass-baritone the scope of bass-baritone Werner van Mechelen's musical activities is all-encompassing. On the one hand he has sung many of the major parts in the opera repertoire; on the other hand he loves lieder and oratorios. His repertoire starts with Telemann and Bach, and goes, via the major opera roles in Mozart (like Figaro and Don Giovanni), Puccini (Gianni Schicchi), Verdi (Falstaff, A�da), Alban Berg (Wozzeck, Lulu) and Ligeti (Le Grand Macabre), to world premieres of works by Philippe Boesmans, among others. One of his greatest loves is the German repertoire, most of all that of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. He has been Wolfram (Tannh�user), Amfortas (Parsifal), Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde), Alberich (Ring des Nibelungen); Mandryka (Arabella), Faninal (Der Rosenkavalier) etc.

V32: IN FLANDERS' FIELDS

V27: IN FLANDERS' FIELDS

Belgian composer, pianist and conductor Piet Swerts has been a household name among classical music lovers all over the world ever since his violin concerto Zodiac obtained the first prize at the 1993 International Queen Elisabeth Music Competition. He has written over 250 works in all genres, many of which are performed regularly and/or have been recorded on CD. Seeker, the title of this album refers directly to Swert's composition Seeker of Truth, but also, in a wider sense, to the composer's never-ending quest for a personal musical idiom. Swerts is an experienced pianist, which his thorough knowledge of musical styles from the past clearly shows. Russell Hirshfield commissioned two of the works on this album, Histoire perdue and Valses Enigmatiques. These colorful pieces constitute an original, stimulating and valuable contribution to contemporary piano music.

Eclogue is the name of a pastoral poem that is part of bucolic poetry. The Ancient Greek word ekloge originally signified ‘choice,’ or ‘selection.’ Both meanings are appropriate for this release. It not only contains all of the chamber music written by August De Boeck for oboe and piano, but also a selection of unpretentious gems from 19th and 20th century Flemish and Belgian chamber music. Oboist Bram Nolf studied in Ghent, Rotterdam, and Paris. He is a professor at the Lemmensinstituut and the soloist of the National Orchestra of Belgium. Pianist Hans Ryckelynch studied with Johann Duijck in Ghent and with Abdel Rahman El Bacha in Paris. He is a professor at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Mons.