Conceived by Jonathan Freeman-Attwood and Mozart scholar Timothy Jones, this program of four sonatas ‘by’ and ‘after’ Mozart represents a belated apology to the composer on behalf of all trumpet players. Had the trumpet developed into a chromatic solo instrument in the 1770s and 80s – like the oboe or flute – Mozart might have been inspired to write great music for the instrument. Following eight recordings for Linn of similarly re-imagined trumpet and piano music from Monteverdi to Richard Strauss, this recital is a compelling new contribution to the trumpet repertoire with four Classical-style sonatas, drawing on varied styles and periods in Mozart’s music. It exhibits canvases from the Salzburgian church sonata to the strutting swagger of a 21-year-old pianist-composer in Munich and two large mid- and late-sonatas from the golden Viennese years. Accompanying Freeman-Attwood is the multi-award-winning Polish pianist Anna Szalucka.

HORN TRIOS by Brahms, Kahn, Koechlin and Dubois is an exciting album that brings together three renowned musicians in a splendid trio collaboration. Hornist Howard Wall has been for many years at the forefront of highly-respected horn players, not only as a long-time member of two of the world's preeminent symphony orchestras, but also as an avid chamber music instrumentalist and recording artist, praised for his "legendary low register" and "impeccable intonation and stellar virtuosity" by The Horn Call Magazine, which also noted that "every note is a gem" in recently released recordings of Howard Wall. Violinist Elmira Darvarova has been hailed as "marvelous, in the Heifetz tradition" (American Record Guide) and acclaimed for her "intoxicating tonal beauty and beguilingly sensuous phrasing" and "silky-smooth voluptuous tone" (The Strad, London). Pianist Shoko Inoue was lauded by the Cleveland Plain Dealer as "a pianist who immerses heart, soul and everything into her generous artistry, with supremely sensitive and evocative playing." This album brings thrilling and exhilarating interpretations of four gorgeous works for horn, violin and piano, one of which has been, for over 150 years, among the greatest ever masterpieces in the history of Western music, while two of the other works on this album - the glorious 1912 Trio Cantabile by Th�odore Dubois, and the boisterous 1922 Serenade Op. 73 by Robert Kahn are presented on this album as only the second-ever commercially-released recordings of these works. Charles Koechlin's eclectic suite Quatre Petite Pi�ces is a haunting and poignant quasi-impressionistic collection of four miniatures, that alternate, as in a kaleidoscope, contrasting atmospheric moods and degrees of sorrow and peaceful introspection. This marvelous album is an irresistible addition to the recorded repertoire, both for it's contents as well as for the verve and exultation of the interpretations of these outstanding artists.

Played on historical instruments, alongside Schumann's "Adagio and Allegro", there are first recordings by unknown romantic composers from a collection of A. E. Fischer Verlag, Bremen, which was lost in World War II. The varied program transports the audience to the German salons of the late 19th century. With short preludes, the piano creates smooth transitions to the valve and natural horn repertoire. The beautifully designed, informative booklet with many illustrations provides insights into the flourishing music world of Bremen at the time, researched in terms of music history.

In Cantus Horn, the language used is made up of octophone modes made of various structures, which are filtered by the compositional system proposed by Edmond Costere. Introducció i Galop, Op. 148 is an eminently virtuosic composition for the horn player, but also full of interesting dialogues with the pianist; the Introducció is slow, based on a dodecaphonic melody from the start and Galop is fast and virtuosistic. Tientos de la trompa alada (Tientos of the Winged Horn) is inspired by the next to the last verse of the poem by Góngora A Don Francisco de Padilla, castellano de Milán, where there appears a winged horn. Mar sin Luna, In memoriam Javier Bonet Silvestre, this piece, composed as a tribute to Javier Bonet Silvestre, speaks about the tragic theme of suicide. Juegos sobre ‘Tocatico-tocatá’, Games on “Tocatico-tocatá”. Homage to Carles Santos was born. It is a brief chamber work, in which song-like elements of Carles Santos’ work come into play, joined to other suitable ones that are melodic, harmonic and polyphonic. Elegía ponders a narrative that expresses in a cyclical form contrasting thematic sounds and sketches that represent antagonistic situations and states of mind. Consolación is a single movement piece which alternates highly contrasting sections that show the multiple resources that this ensemble can afford. These go from lyrical to energetic, going through rhythmical and scherzando episodes. A piece of great difficulty, in accordance with the technical capabilities of the intended performers.

In our time, the poet Keats’ famous adage “beauty is truth, truth beauty” might sound like a lost dream, but Nils Henrik Asheim’s collection Hornflowers, reimagines this relationship and brings hope to contemporary ears. Asheim is not a beauty-worshipping esthetician in the same way as Keats, but he examines the idea of beauty through poetic compositions. Today, beauty and truth appear almost as opposites — truths are disputed and dismantled, while reality can come across as anything but beautiful. The works on this release, performed by the NyNorsk Brass Quintet, are also full of contradictions. Collected fragments, sounds, patterns, words, and dichotomies are utilized as building blocks, freed from their original context and strung together in surprising and powerful constellations. Asheim has also given several of the pieces oxymoronic titles, like Burning Ice, Singing Stones, and Scream Soft, and by this invites the listener to reflect upon differences of opinion and improbable compilations. The brass instruments occupy and explore spaces we do not normally hear them occupy —undressed and playful — and their obvious natural place and inclusion in these constructions is both astonishing and liberating. It is precisely in the surprises, in the contrasts, in the distance between the building blocks and the grout that holds them together, that the uniqueness and tactility of this music is revealed. In this way, Asheim creates his own musical lyricism where beauty and truth are exposed through contradictions and improbabilities.

The musicians of the Berlin Baroque Soloists, who for the most part are members of the Berlin Philharmonic, are well known to Radek Baborák from his time as solo horn player of the orchestra from 2003 to 2010. “That is why the recording with the Berlin Baroque Soloists was not such an unusual project,” says Radek Baborák, “but it was a dream of mine to play something by Bach with this ensemble, which plays modern instruments. Some eight years ago, we played together in a program of works by Telemann and Zelenka. That was a thrilling time. What particularly appealed to me about my colleagues was that for all their concentration on the work in hand, they still had a relaxed approach. They were orientated towards historical performance practice, but without the dogmatic rigor that one sometimes finds in specialist ensembles.” To make his dream come true, and drawing on his encyclopedic knowledge of Bach, Radek Baborák trawled the composer’s works. He comments: “I am not a musicologist, in the first place I am a musician. When I find something I like, I use it for my purposes. If the material is robust – and it always is with Bach – it doesn’t matter what you play it on: the harpsichord, the organ, with strings, with choir, it will always sound good.”

In this seventh volume of Music for Brass Septet, Septura survey two of America’s greatest and most representative composers. Gershwin’s An American in Paris charts a visitor’s stroll around the French capital, absorbing the city’s atmosphere and charm, whereas the synergy of classical form and jazz animates Gershwin’s unique Preludes. Copland’s Quiet City depicts a contrasting and more understated cityscape, while the suite from the ballet Appalachian Spring displays Septura’s luminous virtuosity.

REVIEW:

This disc is a quite remarkable achievement of adaptation. The recording, made in 2019, is of outstanding quality, and is a ‘must have’ for all lovers of brass music.

– David's Review Corner (David Denton)

In June 2021, the Klenke Quartet celebrate their 30th anniversary and have been inspiring international concert life with an unchanged line-up since their foundation in 1991. Consisting of four female musicians, the ensemble has established itself as one of the most important German string quartets and is considered "one of the most distinguished European formations" (GewandhausMagazin). Deepness, vocal quality, intimate music-making paired with a strong program dramaturgy as well as a sound intensity down to the softest note characterize the Klenke Quartet. After the successful recording of the string quintets by W. A. Mozart together with Harald Schoneweg, this recording again features quintets by Mozart, this time with natural horn player Stephan Katte and the clarinetist Nicola Jürgensen as guest musicians.

This second volume of Trombone Travels (Volume 1 is on 8.574093) continues with Matthew Gee’s exploration of three great cycles of early 20th-century British song. Elgar’s Sea Pictures evoke lullaby and turbulence alike, Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel chart a wanderer’s lonely journey through the landscape, and in Songs of the Sea Stanford’s music embraces both the somber and the exhilarating, with Gee joined by a trombone chorus to emulate the male voice choir. Throughout the recital Gee lavishes coloristic effects, the use of mutes, and subtle inflections that reinforce the trombone’s unique ability to mimic vocal techniques.

“The French horn is notoriously difficult to play. You can practise all you like but there is no guarantee that the note you blow into the mouthpiece is the same one which will come out of the bell once it has travelled through all the twists and turns of the tubing. However, when all goes well, the horn is glorious and I absolutely love being a horn player, even with all risks – and maybe even because of them.” (Sarah Willis) After the enormous success of Mozart y Mambo (ALPHA578) which went straight to Number 1 in Germany on release in 2020, Alpha has decided to reissue one of the first albums recorded by this multi-talented and tireless ambassador of the French horn. In this re-release of the 2014 album, Horn Discoveries, Sarah Willis demonstrates all the rich potential of her instrument with exciting original compositions and beautiful arrangements of well-loved repertoire pieces such as Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Dvorak’s Humoresque, Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles and Debussy’s Clair de Lune.

This is a program of 20th Century trumpet music by some of the greatest composers of the first half of the 20th Century. Roderick MacDonald, trumpet, and Mikyung Kim, piano, bring these great works fully to life in mesmerizing performances. Roderick MacDonald was born outside Providence, Rhode Island. Since 2014 he has served as Music Director of the New England Symphony Orchestra, and is an Associate Professor of Music at the State University of New York in Fredonia. Pianist Mikyung Kim has performed across the globe as a collaborative pianist and soloist. An advocate for music in higher education, she has also held faculty positions at New York University, Montclair State University, and Concordia University in Austin (also as adjunct violin professor).

“American Music for Violin and Horn” presents 19 tracks of world-premiere recordings with music by 12 American composers. A varied program which includes original and transcribed works for violin and horn by David Amram, Vernon Duke, José Serebrier, Duke Ellington, Sean Hickey, Rebecca Clarke, Phillip Ramey, Francine Trester and several others, this album also features poetry by Emily Dickinson and Francine Trester, recited by the performers Elmira Darvarova (violin) and Howard Wall (horn). Several of the original works for violin and horn were written for these two performers (new compositions by David Amram, José Serebrier, Sean Hickey, Phillip Ramey, Francine Trester), while other works were transcribed by the performers as duets for their two instruments (“Black Beauty” by Duke Ellington, “Two Pieces” by Rebecca Clarke, “Etude” by Vernon Duke, “Calliope” & “Gramophone” by Jan Bach, two Bop-Duets by Bugs Bower, and other arrangements). Of note is Scott Dunn’s arrangement of Vernon Duke’s iconic standard “April in Paris”, in a version for violin and horn. All 19 tracks on this album are offered in their world-premiere recordings. Violinist Elmira Darvarova (first and only woman-concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra) and hornist Howard Wall (a New York Philharmonic member, formerly with The Philadelphia Orchestra) offer splendid interpretations.

For those who are new to an instrument, the first question is often: where to start? The ‘Best Loved’ series offers an easy answer to that question and a perfect introduction to the wonderful, varied world of classical music. Spotlighting individual instruments in some of the best-loved pieces ever written, and with a mix of solo, chamber and orchestral works, the series provides a convenient introduction to classical music’s infinite variety of instrumental sounds and styles. The focus in these releases is a light and relaxed approach, rather than academic and theoretical: a joyful exploration and celebration of individual instrumental sounds. The present release is devoted to music for trumpet.

For those who are new to an instrument, the first question is often: where to start? The ‘Best Loved’ series offers an easy answer to that question and a perfect introduction to the wonderful, varied world of classical music. Spotlighting individual instruments in some of the best-loved pieces ever written, and with a mix of solo, chamber and orchestral works, the series provides a convenient introduction to classical music’s infinite variety of instrumental sounds and styles. The focus in these releases is a light and relaxed approach, rather than academic and theoretical: a joyful exploration and celebration of individual instrumental sounds. The present release is a showcase of the horn.