Since the release of the chart topping Alehouse Sessions in 2017, and a world wide tour, Bjarte and the boys and girls have been busy on this new album which moves the alehouse project on from dour Puritanism of Cromwell's Commonwealth, to the hedonistic Restoration of Charles II, and the Glorious Revolution that saw William III and Mary II replace the unpopular James II. The alehouse musical culture developed into playhouses, and music halls, selling tickets and subscriptions. Operas, masques, dance, jesting (the first stand-up comedians maybe?), all this prepared the way for the first public concert hall to be established. Nights in these places though would still be bawdy - stage fights, cross dressing, elements of pantomime, songs sung to popular tunes of the day, satire - always a good draw, and a good number of rustic clowns, bawdy wenches and fools thrown in for good measure! Think of these back rooms as a very English mix of Shakespeare, commedia dell arte, juggling with music by Purcell, folk tunes, and sea shanties. After the misery of the Commonwealth and Cromwell's dictatorship, the public were in the mood to party! Playhouse is your invitation to the party - enjoy!

Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Sonata was extensively revised by the composer in 1931, and the revised version is tighter and thinner in texture than the original version of 1913. It represents a supreme challenge to the pianist in either version, and has all the hallmarks of the composer at the height of his powers. The 6 Moments Musicaux Op.16 are early works which exhibit the flamboyance of the youthful virtuoso. Sonya Bach includes three of the Preludes from the Op.23 set.

An album of firsts - all these works are receiving world premiere recordings, and this is the only album devoted to music for strings by Welsh composers. Most listeners will be familiar with works for strings by Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Tippett - they are some of the most famous works in the repertoire. The works on this album reveal that composers in Wales were also writing outstanding works for strings at the same time. Grace Williams was taught by Vaughan Williams, and her haunting Elegy leaves a deep impression on the listener. Morfydd Owen's brief Romance reflects her all to short life - tragically cut short in 1918 at just 26. Her trajectory as a composer was set high. William Matthias, one of the better known of Welsh composers, studied with Lennox Berkeley and was a child prodigy. Best known for his music for choir, he also wrote three symphonies and three piano concertos. His deft and polished Music for Strings displays his technical prowess to the full. Paul Mealor is one of the current generation of composers from Wales, studying with Mathias. His music was performed at the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011, and Wherever You Are was the Christmas No.1 single in the UK in the same year. Arwel Hughes studied with Vaughan Williams and was a key player in the establishment of music at BBC Wales, becoming Head of Music in 1965. He composed in all fields, from oratorios, religious music, chamber and orchestral music - the latter often drawing on Welsh legends and history. Christopher Woods powerful Aberfan is a musical memorial to the harrowing tragedy that occurred on October 21, 1966 when a coal spoil tip engulfed a school killing 116 children and 28 adults in surrounding streets.

The Piatti Quartet continue their exploration of Ina Boyle's music with this fascinating album on the theme of Phantasies, and the vision of one extraordinary patron of music. Walter Cobbett (1847 - 1937) was a successful businessman and chamber music patron, who, created a competition for British composers in 1905, and singlehandedly created the 'Phantasy' (his spelling), taking inspiration from the 16th and 17th century instrumental works for viol or string consorts. Ina Boyle, entered her composition in 1919, but misread the requirements of 'piano & strings'. Herbert Howells entered his composition in 1917, and Malcolm Arnold, whilst coming after the competitions ended, continued the form with his Phantasy composed when he was 19. Cobbett also commissioned Phantasies, including the Vaughan Williams work on this album from 1912. Augusta Holm�s depicts the mythological figure of Hibernia in the 7th of her Vingt Melodies - a slow nationalist march depicting Christmases of Irish mythology. Tippett was awarded the Cobbett medal for services to chamber music in 1948, but when Stravinsky died in 1971, he was one of several major composers to commemorate the composer. Dating from 1972, In Memorium Magistri receives it's first recording on this album as do the two works by Boyle.

The Arundel Choirbook is one of the most significant surviving collections of English polyphony from the early 16th century. As well as containing invaluable sources for masses by Robert Fayrfax and Nicholas Ludford, it also contains many works by lesser known and anonymous composers of the period. The Arundel or Lambeth Choirbook is celebrating it's 500th anniversary (Arundel College in Sussex was founded in 1380 and dissolved in 1544), and it is fitting that the Iken Scholars has selected a sequence of pieces by anonymous composers (known as the Lambeth Anonymous) that are receiving their world premiere recordings. The pieces are a selection of Magnificat settings, settings of Salve Regina, Ave dei patris, Ave mundi spes Maria, Vidi aquam egredientem and Gaude flore virginali. The seven Lambeth Anonymous settings are nestled between mass settings by Ludford and Fayrfax in the choirbook. This recording was made in the chapel at Lambeth Palace where the manuscripts have been housed since the early 17th century

James Richman is the first musician since Leonard Bernstein to graduate Harvard, Julliard and the Curtis Institute of Music, studying conducting with Herbert Blomstedt, piano with Horszowski, and harpsichord with Kenneth Gilbert. He is considered one of today's leading conductors of Baroque music and opera. James was made a Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 1995 in recognition of his contributions to the field of music. Rameau's Pi�ces de Clavacin was composed over a period of 20 years, the first collection, or book appearing in 1706. These pieces showcase Rameau's lyrical and expressive style, often featuring intricate ornamentation and elegant melodies. The collection is considered a major work in Baroque keyboard repertoire, reflecting Rameau's mastery in both composition and harmony.

Karol Szymanowski is considered to be Poland's greatest composer after Chopin. A contemporary of Bartok, Stravinsky, Scriabin and Ravel, his earlier works are of the late romantic style - Strauss, Reger and Rimsky Korsakov. Later he developed an impressionistic, oriental and partially atonal style which he later fused with folk music of his native land. Marin Alsop leads the Polish National Symphony in the 4th and last of his symphonies. This masterpiece of the symphonic repertoireis is a 20th century take on the Sinfonia featuring a prominent piano part, performed by Szymon Nehring.

Johanna Rose's continues her exploration of the music by two of the most significant composers for the viola da gamba - Marin Marais and Antoine Forqueray. It was not uncommon for many 17th century painters to feature music making or musical instruments. A lute or a viola da gamba in the artist's studio, a warm instrument beside the easel and rolled-up canvases, resting on the table stained with pigments, offering aid to concentration or recognition, carrying the promise of inspiration. The music on this album is certainly not meant for domestic music making of the type depicted in contemporary paintings - it makes huge demands on the performer and was composed by two of the greatest viola da gamba players in musical history.

Thomas Kelly made his concerto debut performing Mozart's Piano Concerto No.24 with the orchestra of the Purcell School. He was just 9 years old. Since then, Thomas has studied with Dmitri Alexeev at the Royal College of Music, and awarded the RCM's highest accolade for a pianist, the Benjamin Britten Fellowship. Thomas has many awards from international competitions and has a wide repertoire embracing both core and lesser known areas of the piano repertoire. His debut album is a daunting program of organ works arranged by great pianists for their instrument.

The term 'spectrum' is usually associated with physics. When white light hits a prism, it breaks down into the full spectrum of rainbow colors. These colors have always existed but only become visible through refraction. Music is similar. The pieces on this album are like a prism, unfolding the fundamental human emotions into their infinite facets, and creating a tribute to the timeless power of music, that resonates with the entire color palette of the human soul. The selection of pieces therefore follows an inner logic: that of emotion, timbre, and the moment. Each piece unfolds it's own microcosm and invites the listener to lose themselves within it. Esther Birringer's new album is a must for lovers of the piano, and an essential playlist addition.

Mozart composed the concerto for two pianos in 1779, and performed it with his sister Nannerl. It is a less adventurous work than the previous concerto, No.9 K271, but it is an altogether more successful work than No.7 for three pianos K242, which the composer arranged for two pianos. It is brilliant in nature, especially the finale. It foreshadows in places the great Sinfonia Concertante K364, but does not match the grandeur of that work. No.24 K491 from 1786 is one of the greatest of Mozart's concertos. The dark, turbulent and tragic mood undoubtedly had an influence on Beethoven's C minor concerto.

The Kuss Quartet and violist Muriel Razavi embark on a three-volume traversal of the six Mozart String Quintets. The first of these works dates from 1777 and was closely modeled on the contemporaneous quintets by Michael Haydn. The G minor, the 4th of the quintets was composed in 1786. It is dark, turbulent and melancholy, typical of the composer's G minor works. It is composed on a large scale, especially the opening movement, something it shares with the Prague Symphony No. 38 and the 25th Piano Concerto in C composed at the same time. The Kuss Quartet include two short works for string quartet by contemporary composers to place in between the two quintets and to round the album off.

British-German tenor, Rufus M�ller, was acclaimed by The New York Times following a performance in Carnegie Hall as "... easily the best tenor I have heard in a live Messiah". His unique dramatic interpretation of the Evangelist in Bach's Passions confirmed his status as one of the world's most sought-after performers. On this recital, he performs Beethoven's Scottish Folksongs Op.108 alongside the Hammer Clavier Trio.

Esther Birringer has chosen three great Russian ballets for her recital album. Petrushka and Romeo & Juliet are filled with drama, love and tragedy and The Nutcracker with fantasy. Tchaikovsky's suite from ballet was arranged for piano by Mikhail Pletnev. Prokofiev, a superb pianist, arranged numbers from his ballet Romeo & Juliet for piano, and Stravinsky took three sections from his ballet Petrushka and created the Three Pieces. It is a superb showcase for any pianist and makes great demands upon the performer.

Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Sonata was extensively revised by the composer in 1931, and the revised version is tighter and thinner in texture than the original version of 1913. It represents a supreme challenge to the pianist in either version, and has all the hallmarks of the composer at the height of his powers. The 6 Moments Musicaux Op.16 are early works which exhibit the flamboyance of the youthful virtuoso. Sonya Bach includes three of the Preludes from the Op.23 set.

The extreme social trauma that followed The Great War of 1914-18 engulfed Europe. In this context, English composer Frank Bridge is an intriguing figure. While his musical language transformed to embrace a radically new harmonic style, his popularity waned, and it was not until the end of the century that his importance as a leading modernist was appreciated. The program of this album seeks to illuminate the position of Bridge's monumental Piano Sonata, by setting it alongside works by the composers who influenced it - Berg and Ravel - and his most famous pupil, Britten. Alexande Soares's new album is another thought provoking recital, placing Frank Bridge in the mainstream of 20th century music where he rightly belongs.

Sibelius's Symphony No.2 of 1902 represents a big step forward in his development as a symphonist. It's thematic fragments are driven by harmonic tensions through which the composer takes the listener on an eventful journey. Symphony No.4 of 1907 inhabits a bleak, dark, emotionally fraught landscape. Sibelius had been diagnosed with a cancerous throat tumour and feared for his life. After a successful operation to remove it, he lived in fear of it's return. He gave up both whisky and cigars and suffered awful withdrawal symptoms. Battling with his demons and self-doubt, the result was an outpouring of honestly expressed emotions. Symphony No.4 is one of the greatest symphonies ever composed, and is expertly rendered by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Owain Arwel Hughes.

The Lobkowicz Trio are Jan Mr�cek violin and leader of the Czech Philharmonic, Lukas Klansky piano and Ivan Vokac associate principal cellist of the Czech Philharmonic. Beethoven's Triple Concerto is his take on the old 18th century Sinfonia Concertante. Dating from 1803-4, it was originally intended as a piece for his pupil Archduke Rudolph, Beethoven made the piano part simpler than the piano concertos, and the work is unique in the history of the Sinfonia Concertante in that it includes a piano. Beethoven's last published piano trio is the set of variations from 1813 on a popular theme from a singspiel by Wenzel Mu�ller "Ich bin der Scheider Kakadu". Jan V�clav Vor�ek was a younger contemporary of Beethoven and was a practicing lawyer. He settled in Vienna, met Beethoven and studied with Hummel, but he failed to obtain employment as a musician. He produced a masterful symphony in D, and the delightful and elegant Rondo Concertante on this album. He was friends with Schubert and sadly like Schubert died tragically young.

Fenella Humphreys turned time spent in lockdown to good use preparing this fascinating and eclectic program of caprices. A collection ranging from Paganini to a wide selection of contemporary composers, some of whom contribute not only individual works, but who joined together for a splendid composite set of variations on Paganini's famous 24th caprice. With notes on their music by the composers, and comments on Paganini, Kreisler, and Bacewicz by Fenella, this is a personal, daring and exciting album of dazzling virtuosity.

Lea Birringer's first concerto recording is a fascinating program of the well-known and a delightful concerto that does not deserve the obscurity to which it has been consigned. Christian Sinding (1856-1941) composed his concerto 1898. It proved a great success, so it's neglect today is difficult to understand. It is certainly demanding on the soloist, but also flatters them. Full of memorable tunes and with brilliant use of the orchestra, this is a cleverly constructed work that deserves to be better known. The later Romance published in 1910 is a wonderfully tender, romantic piece similar to those by Bruch or Dvorak. Mendelssohn's evergreen concerto of 1845 occupies a place in the pantheon of great violin concertos. It was to be his last orchestral composition (a 3rd piano concerto remained unfinished), and represents perfection - playing without a break, it has many surprises, not least the entry of the soloist after a bar of accompaniment.

Since the release of the chart topping Alehouse Sessions in 2017, and a world wide tour, Bjarte and the boys and girls have been busy on this new album which moves the alehouse project on from dour Puritanism of Cromwell's Commonwealth, to the hedonistic Restoration of Charles II, and the Glorious Revolution that saw William III and Mary II replace the unpopular James II. The alehouse musical culture developed into playhouses, and music halls, selling tickets and subscriptions. Operas, masques, dance, jesting (the first stand-up comedians maybe?), all this prepared the way for the first public concert hall to be established. Nights in these places though would still be bawdy - stage fights, cross dressing, elements of pantomime, songs sung to popular tunes of the day, satire - always a good draw, and a good number of rustic clowns, bawdy wenches and fools thrown in for good measure! Think of these back rooms as a very English mix of Shakespeare, commedia dell arte, juggling with music by Purcell, folk tunes, and sea shanties. After the misery of the Commonwealth and Cromwell's dictatorship, the public were in the mood to party! Playhouse is your invitation to the party - enjoy!

Solitude was the state I found myself in along with the rest of the world in 2020. Concerts were suddenly postponed and I was left eerily by myself at home. The following year, when the time had come to record the album, Lockdown was reinstated. Joo Yeon Sir used this period of self-reflection, to discover new works for solo violin, and to revisit firm favorites. Walking through strangely empty streets to the first recording session, she felt a raw loneliness alongside the familiar comfort of going to work with her instrument. The experience of playing was intensified. Solitude is a musical time capsule of an artist alone, overcoming the shock of being deprived of audiences, the company of fellow musicians and finding solace in the music for solo violin.

The Doppler brothers and Friedrich Kulhau have yet to attract the public recognition that they already enjoy from the worldwide community of flautists. They certainly deserve to be better known and it is not unreasonable to think that the recognition that Paganini, Ysaye and Sarasate enjoy as famous composers for their instrument will one day be enjoyed by these neglected composers of romantic and virtuosic music for the flute. The Doppler brothers were born in the city of Lemberg, now L'viv in Ukraine. Their father conducted a military band. Successful both as composers and publishers, they also held important Kapellmeister positions in Germany and Hungary. Kuhlau, also the son of a military bandsman, was primarily a pianist (he championed Beethoven's piano music in his native Denmark) and his C major piano concerto Op.7 of 1810 is worth getting to know. He was a friend of Beethoven - the two composers famously got on well - especially in pubs in Vienna! The flute featured prominently in Kuhlau's output from his earliest works to his final years, from which the delightful trio of 1831 on this album dates.

Songs by Warlock & Howe - Anna Harvey / Mark Austin - This delightful recital of English songs brings together one of the form's most distinctive and prolific composers, Peter Warlock, with a composer born in 1951 who continues very much in the tradition of the older composer - Frederick Howe, whose selection of his own folksong arrangements dovetail neatly this aspect of Warlock's output. Howe's songs are receiving their world-premiere recordings. Magpie by Warlock is also a world-premiere recording using the original text. Rubicon

SCHUMANN & BARTOK: VIOLIN SONATAS NO.1