The common element among the variety of stylistically and formally divergent works that make up this album is the appealing sound of the organ and oboe played together, a sound, which readily conveys a wide range of feelings. Compositions by two members of the Bach family, all illustrate the particular aesthetic of eighteenth century Germany.

In his music, Camille Saint-Saëns constantly aimed for clarity and balance, qualities he considered to be the essence of French style. The form of his wonderfully balanced String Quartet no. 1 in e, op. 112, is difficult and demanding. Past the age of sixty when he finally attempted composing a string quartet, the result was a masterpiece. The String Quartet no. 2 in G, op. 153, is more modest in its proportions. Known primarily as interpreters of choice in French post-Romantic repertoire, the echoes of praise in the press exemplify the best of the Joachim Quartet across all styles and all ages.

Premiered during WWII, Arthur Honegger’s Symphony No. 2 (1942), bathed in an atmosphere of refinement and drama, together with constant tension, resolves nonetheless in a spirit of optimism in its chorale finale. Generally presumed to have been inspired by the destruction of the Munich National Theater in the bombings of October 1943, followed by the destruction of the opera houses of Dresden, Weimar and Vienna, Richard Strauss’s late masterpiece Metamorphosen (1946) is a lament for the German cultural world in which he lived. Emmanuel Leducq-Barome conducts.

The Talich Quartet, complemented here by Jiri Najnar and Vaclav Bernasek, illuminate these chamber music gems in brilliant colors. The string sextet version of Schoenberg's Verkle�rte Nacht (Transfigured Night), which is still bound to the late Romanticism, is a true enrichment to the repertoire.

Mikhail Rudy is one of the major representatives of the Russian piano school in Europe. He has won several awards including the Liszt first prize in Budapest for his anthology of piano works by Franz Liszt, the Charles Cros Academy prize for his Scriabin cycle and Grand prix du disque for his recital of piano works by Karol Szymanowski.

Together with two of Dmitri Shostakovich’s superior works, his first piano concerto and the Chamber Symphony, op. 110a, lies Alfred Schnittke’s (1934-98) Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra (1979) a work that marked a turning point in his career: it was followed by international recognition for a composer then under close Soviet authority observation. The piece is extremely coherent, very violent, but nevertheless basically tonal. “Mr. Kasman and conductor Emmanuel Leducq-Barome embrace Schnittke’s confrontational idiom with open arms…A powerful disc...” - Classic Today

Arthur Honegger’s seven-part La Danse des Morts, the music of which he composed to words by the French dramatist and poet Paul Claudel who he’d previously collaborated with for the oratorio Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher, forms a sort of huge “ascension”: the first four parts provide the human basis, God replies in Part Five, followed by Faith in the Cross and the Lord’s promise to the children of Israel (Affirmation). Two earlier orchestral works, the Pastorale d’eté (1920) and the Nocturne (1936), complete the disc. Henri Vachey conducts Le jeune orchestre symphonique de Douai.

The sextet arrangements of Jean-Philippe Rameau's Pièces de clavecin en concerts (1741), which were even better known than the original works for long time, originate certainly not from Rameau himself, but were at least created in the 18th century. On this recording the Orchestre de Chambre de Caen presents the String Sextet arrangements in a setting for chamber orchestra. Amongst his voluminous output, four suites for harpsichord seem to have been the only works Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (1689-1755) devoted to this instru¬ment. The first suite is featured here.

After great popularity in Italy, the mandolin came into favor in the Paris salons c. 1760, when the ‘galant’ style was at its height and the virtuoso qualities of the Neapolitan mandolin players were greatly appreciated by the members of high society who frequented the salons. Christian Schneider teaches at the Schola Cantorum in Paris and works at the Opéra, with the Ensemble Intercontemporain and for Radio France, as well as appearing with many international orchestras. Sylvie Pécot-Douatte has aimed to revive and focus attention on French keyboard music of the late 18th c.

César Franck’s Prelude, Choral et Fugue is one of the ten true masterpieces of French piano music; its marvel¬ously fervent atmosphere emanates from the work right from the first arpeggios. The choice of the triptych form and ternary structures also prevails in the Prelude, Aria et Final. The Sonata is one of the most brilliant sonatas for violin and piano ever composed. “Inger Södergren’s performance of Franck’s two great piano works show just the right touch of romanticism. In the Sonata, Anni Jodrey’s personality is marvelously in tune: the piano becomes a partner in its own right.” (Diapason)

Louis Cahuzac (1880-1960) was one of the most famous clarinet players in the first half of the 20th century and left some lovely pieces for clarinet and piano. Here Guy Dangain and Misaki Baba perform some of his favorite pieces from the repertoire of virtuoso clarinet.

In March 1824 Franz Schubert completed “Death and the Maiden, D810, one of the most extraordinary string quartets ever written, a monument of poignant intensity and ineffable tension, full of grandeur and discretion, inspiring admiration and emotion in his listener. The quartet is so-called because of the variations on the song Der Tod das Mädchen, D.531, as its slow movement; the title is not therefore simply a label that has been added arbitrarily. Schubert’s tenth String Quartet, op. 125, written when the composer was sixteen (1813), is a work exuding happiness and serenity.

The piano works of Jean-Frederic Edelmann were widespread in Germany in his day, characterized by unconventional harmonic progressions in the development. His entitled pieces indicate a rooting in the French tradition, but at the same time Edelmann is operated in the sense of sentimental style by C.P.E. Bach. Sylvie Pecot-Doucatte performs twenty one of his charming sonatas here.

Classical Music

Two very different aesthetics are combined in Sergei Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto: the respectful stance toward the classical con¬certo tradition, and, on the other hand, the stilo barbaro of the Ballets Russes. Visions, op. 22, is a set of twenty ‘snapshots’, each very different in character. The work does not con¬form to a strict overall plan, although Prokofiev shows chronological and musical logic in his arrangement of the pieces. Pianist Yakov Kasman is featured, together with the Moscow State Symphony and conductor Emmanuel Leducq-Barome for the concerto.