Programme music as chamber music? There is an obvious common denominator between Greek mythology and Paul Celan's poetry: mysticism. Whether consciously or unconsciously, this element seems to give my personal cultural roots the appropriate musical expression. If one asks what exactly is meant to be expressed here and whether the titles and subtitles of the two chamber music works should be understood as program music, then a very specific artistic credo will be revealed. Greek mythology and philosophy form the foundation of my world view and at the same time my intellectual background. These myths and legends are not simple stories, but rather a code that needs to be deciphered - just like Japanese haikus, over which one can meditate for years - in order to achieve a deeper understanding of the world and human nature. In this respect, this music can be understood programmatic, but not in the sense of an approximate retelling of stories in mere tones; but rather as music aiming to reveal a deeper level of understanding in giving birth to the meaning of the underlying myth and bringing it emotionally closer to the listener. In this sense, the virtuoso piano work is entitled "The Lost Nereid". The Nereids were beautiful sea nymphs who beguiled people with their songs and could make the sea storm or pacify. In the Greek Kabbalah, the element of water represents the "feeling". How would one of those Nereids sing today, if she had lost herself from that archaic time to the present day? How would her song sound like in the turbulent world of ours, in which aesthetic values - if they exist at all - are entirely subjective? What feeling would it evoke and what lost beauty would it want to remind us of? he sonata for bassoon and piano, entitled "The Horae" deals with one of the three Horae in each individual movement: "Eunomia", "Diki" and "Eirini". "Horae" translates to "hours". These three goddesses were the constant companions of Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty. Their names thus display qualities that are directly linked to beauty or reveal that divine beauty to us humans, when we fill every "hour" of our lives with them - namely with "Good Law", "Justice" and finally with "Peace". Each of the three movements has it's own musical and formal character and uses the entire range of expression of both instruments as well as their technical possibilities.

The album Essais musicaux brings together chamber music works for violin; clarinet; and piano from the years 2017-2021. Three of the six pieces attempt to capture aspects of time; while the remaining compositions are inspired by the arts of painting; architecture; and literature. In a fundamentally searching and open attitude; all six works follow the idea of the literary-philosophical essay; in which it is precisely the subjective perspective that is the appeal of the investigation; and the process of questioning itself that is of great importance. Steffen Wolf‘s Essais musicaux are not intended to be a linear “translation” of paintings; texts; or buildings into the language of music; rather they tell of these encounters with art; sometimes in a dreamy and freely associative way; sometimes in a clearly defined way. Very fine interpreted by Ewelina Nowicka (Violin); Pamela Coats (Clarinet); Jennifer Hymer and Michi Komoto (Piano) and Steffen Wolf (Recitation) is this a great premiere recording of works by the contemporary composer Steffen Wolf.

During the last years, Kalle and I had the opportunity to work on original duo music without much pressure from outside and finally recorded this program in September 2022. I have always enjoyed listening to and exploring ensemble music that uses multiple instruments being capable of providing harmonic information. This certainly requires deep listening on various levels - pitch-wise, chord-wise, register-wise, rhythmically and texturally. The duo combination of piano and acoustic guitar puts these possibilities and challenges under a magnifying glass. The analogy of a "meta-instrument" seems especially fitting for this combination which showcases two instruments with very different properties that still make a lot of textural overlaps possible. Ideally their sounds blend into each other, one seems like an extension of the other. The pieces that I chose for this duo are song-inspired but also largely reflect some modernist compositional tendencies. It's as though Joni Mitchell, Henry Threadgill and Elliott Carter had decided to move to the same neighborhood, at least for a short sojourn, to work on an interactive project. Achim Kaufmann This is our first duo recording and it took almost two years to develop the music, yet we were not in a hurry and we let the music grow organically. Our decision to use acoustic guitar made the project unique for me. This project took me back to teenager years when I was overwhelmed by the acoustic work of Ralph Towner, Jimmy Page and Julian Bream. Finally I found a chance to integrate this in my music with Achim. For this project I had to tame the acoustic guitar again. The music is a collective meditation on influences from Miles Davis over Morton Feldman to Robert Johnson but all original compositions by Achim and me. I think this music shows new sides of our musical journey. Kalle Kalima

This is the third album that 16-year-old Christoph Preiss presents on the international market, with two years interval between each release. The outstanding young artist has drawn attention to himself, not only with his numerous prizes at the "Jugend musiziert" competition, but also with recital programmes that include the most important and difficult piano works from the Classical and Romantic repertoire and provoke ecstatic ovations from his audiences. Christoph Preiss has grown into an artist with a fascinating technique and unconventional, original interpretational skills; one who has become an insiders' tip among connoisseurs. This recording with Bach's Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, Beethoven's Waldstein Sonata and Tchaikovsky's Grand Piano Sonata (that has such an awesome reputation among pianists), demonstrates the facility and virtuosity of this young man, who is blessed with a highly developed instinct for the stylish requisites of such differing epochs, and with pianistic abilities that overcome technical demands with no difficulty at all. Christoph has a healthy individuality at his disposal that manifests itself in all his interpretations, and armed with this, he pits himself against all forms of conformist, hackneyed and boring academicism. Incidentally, instead of the short middle section of the Waldstein Sonata, Christoph Preiss plays Beethoven's "Andante favori" that the composer originally intended as the second movement but which has, as yet, not been taken seriously by performers.

The two great topics of humanity, love and death, are closely related to each other in a mysterious way. Many important artists have dealt with them in their works. With his opera “Tristan and Isolde” and the closely related “Wesendonck Lieder”, Wagner created a particularly impressive example of this. Liszt, who had a very close relationship with Wagner and also inspired him artistically, gave this topic his own moving expression in the two symphonic poems “Orpheus” and “Von der Wiege bis zum Grabe” (From the cradle to the grave) as well as in the lieder “Ich möchte hingehn” (I would like to pass on), filled with the longing for death, and “O lieb” (O love). The unusual instrumentation of soprano & organ makes this music shine in a different and fascinating new light.

“Both as composer and pianist, Alexander M. Wagner has a natural and imaginative approach to music and his instrument. His talent for composition and interpretation make his musical visions so convincing and original that they justly give rise to great hopes for the future.” Pavel Gililov Alexander Maria Wagner‘s interpretation of the most popular piano drama of the Romantic era, Tchaikovsky‘s Piano Concerto in B-flat minor, that he deliberately chose to place next to his Second Symphony, as an especially stark contrast, gives one a feeling for his natural talent as a pianist and the facility with which he commands his instrument (or it him). This symphonic antithesis, interrupted in the first movement by the sensitive language of Johanna Kapelari‘s short, moving poem, that is as sweetly disturbing for the listener‘s soul as Tchaikovsky‘s music, also has the effect that we are completely overwhelmed by Wagner‘s nuclear sound world — together with the great RTV Symphony Orchestra Moscow and the outstanding conductor Alexei Kornienko. Such music, which unfolds so philosophically even in the tiniest abrupt modulations of its compositional architecture, has not yet been heard or at least not with such a yearning character.

Telemann alone has above mere fame been raised. (J. Mattheson) Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) was known not only for his modernism and inventiveness but also his business sense. Through subscription schemes his music influenced his contemporary subscribers J.S. Bach, Handel and Blavet. This release explores his influence on the musical scene of his era, and all of the eras to come. Described by The Times as a charismatic virtuoso, Tabea Debus is constantly exploring the horizons of music for recorder and has performed widely in Europe, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia and the USA. Highlights include concerts at Wigmore Hall, the Resonanzen Festival at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Schleswig Holstein, Edinburgh International, Brecon Baroque, Musica Antiqua Bolzano, Baroque at the Edge, the London Baroque, Brighton and York Early Music Festivals. She has collaborated with Iestyn Davies, Rachel Podger, Richard Egarr, Lawrence Cummings, the Dunedin Consort, The English Concert in performances of Handel's Rinaldo and La Serenissima, among many others. She was selected by Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) in May 2018.

What happens with valuable works by composers that have not yet been properly acknowledged? This is what Mexican pianist Claudia Corona asked herself when she came across Rolon's work and realized that his music is still widely unknown. Mexican composer Jose Rolon (1876-1945), born in the countryside surrounding Guadalajara, had the good fortune to study in Paris with such greats as Moritz Moszkowski, Paul Dukas and Nadia Boulanger and to let the tremendous musical wealth of that era influence his work. Fascinated by the aesthetics of this music, Claudia Corona pays tribute in this recording to her fellow countryman, who is mentioned as one of the most prestigious Mexican composers of the 20th century, yet whose work, among other reasons due to the difficult access to his sheet music archive, has rarely been performed, making him almost fall into oblivion.

What do an Opera Aria by Gounod and a short Serenade by Borodin have in common? They both served as models for two short piano pieces by Maurice Ravel: Portraits of other composers. Anne Riegler offers in her debut album a perspective on Ravel's music that is unique in its approach. All piano works in which Ravel names and refers to other composers are paired with original compositions of those portrayed composers, resulting in an exceptional journey through all periods of music history from Couperin to Ravel.

This album 'I was like WOW' came about because I wanted to showcase my life in music through a palette of bassoon colours. The pieces reflect where I have come from, and where I am now. I want to take the listener on a voyage, from lyrical to challenging music. Enjoy the journey! (Lorelei Dowling) Feeling it was time to introduce the world to a cross section of contemporary bassoon works, her album, ''I was like WOW'' has been compiled from studio and live recordings.

Brahms and Bruckner - two of the "greats" in the history of music. They were contemporaries, yet lived in completely different worlds. However, there was one essential interest the two of them shared at the close of the 19th century: they both cultivated the old art of counterpoint. With his complete recording of the organ works by Johannes Brahms, performed on the Bruckner Organ of St. Florian Monastery (Upper Austria) Andreas Etlinger brings all the beauty of this art to life.

This release presents organ music from the South German late Romantic period that has been fundamentally shaped by what is called the "Munich School". The composers showcased here were very important figures in their times who fundamentally influenced the musical life in Southern Germany and far beyond. Gerhard Weinberger uses his musicianship to increase awareness of these famous composers and their masterpieces.

Margarete Schweikert was born on the 16th of February, 1887 in Karlsruhe, the residency of the former Margrave of Baden. She remained the only child of her parents Luise and Friedrich Schweikert. Both were interested in music- Luise played the piano, Friedrich the violin. They also sang with their only daughter. At the age of 14, Margarete left the lyceum and concentrated on her musical education at the Munz'sche Konservatorium in Karlsruhe, where she studied violin, piano and singing. At the Badisches Konservatorium, the precursor of the Badische Hochschule f�r Musik (Baden University of Music), she was taught the violin by Heinrich Deecke, first violinist of the Gro�herzoglich Badische Hofkapelle (Court Orchestra of the Margrave of Baden) and in music theory and composition by Max Herold. During her studies, Margarete Schweikert began to perform as a violinist in Karlsruhe. For her concerts, again and again, she wrote new songs and combined them with compositions for the violin. This release from vocalists Diana Tomsche and Armin Kolarczyk and pianist Jeannette La-Deur presents Margarete's songs for soprano and baritone, with text based on poems by Goethe, Falke, Kropp, Schuler, and Stona.

The goal of the Joachim Wollenweber Edition is to turn the public’s attention to classical and romantic composers who have been largely forgotten. This release is the fifth album in the series, and is dedicated to four 18th century Bohemian composers, Antonin Kammel, Florian Leopold Gassmann, Franz Koczwara, and Anton Zimmerman. Performing these works is the Sojka String Quartet, which was founded by music students at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in 2009. The ensemble’s focus is classical music, and contemporary works from the Czech republic.

The “Wanderer Fantasy” is the theoretical starting point and crowning work of this recording, which, however, also thoughtfully looks at the atmospherically light side of Romantic wandering. The program thus firmly leads from the famous wanderer of the educated classes, Felix Mendelssohn, and his journey through Scotland to colorful musical atmospheric images by composers from Liszt to Debussy. They tell of forests, the world of gnomes and sprites, and of fantastical and exotic dances. Venetian gondola songs then segue from dry land onto the water and guide us on the winding bends of the 'Grand Canal' all the way to the 'L’Isle joyeuse', that island of joy regarded as the kingdom of love and bliss. Concerts in Germany and abroad have always earned the young German pianist Jamina Gerl excellent reviews from professional critics. For instance, the press in New York declared her orchestral debut performance of Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto “a triumph for all concerned,” christening Gerl “a lioness of the keyboard.” In addition to her versatile concert programs, she is often praised for her poetically inspired piano playing, remarkable virtuosity and richly shaded, differentiated expression. Concerts and numerous competition triumphs resulted in her appearing in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall and the Steinway Hall in New York, the Beethoven Haus Chamber Music Hall, the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall, Mannes College Concert Hall, Tonhalle Dusseldorf and Munetsugu Hall Nagoya.