In German usage, it has become customary to refer to older compositions for keyboard instruments-unless explicitly written for harpsichord or organ-as "Clavierwerke" (keyboard works). Since the boundaries were fluid, these sonatas for a pedalless "Clavier" can certainly be interpreted on a suitable pipe organ. The organ at St. Cyriakus Church in Duderstadt offers just such possibilities, despite various modernizations: Created by Johannes Creutzburg between 1733 and 1735, the instrument belongs to precisely the same period when young Johann Ludwig Krebs completed his training with Leipzig's Thomaskantor, Johann Sebastian Bach. In these six sonatas-rediscovered only in 2009-the student speaks a distinctly different language from his teacher: playful, carefree, occasionally "dallying", and always galant are these pieces from his hand.

The English musical Renaissance reached it's apogee with Henry Purcell. Inspired by French pomp and Italian melodies, he forged a unique style, blending royal splendour with an authentic British spirit. His masterpiece, Dido and Aeneas, is a timeless lyrical gem, exploring the eternal tragedy of love and abandonment. The majestic Sonya Yoncheva plays Dido, the queen in love betrayed by fate, while Halidou Nombre gives voice to the passions of Aeneas, torn between his love and the call of Rome, who is caught up in an intrigue hatched by dark forces. At the Opera Royal of Versailles, the music of the Orpheus britannicus resonates with eternal splendour, magnified by the dreamlike staging of Cecile Roussat and Julien Lubek. Their masterful approach, combining mime, dance and acrobatics, transforms every moment into a magical tableau, sublimated by the fervour of the young soloists from the Academie de l'Opera Royal.

Deluxe edition in lavish packaging and an extensive booklet lovingly furnished with full-color pictures, including complete vocal texts. This recording from 1974/1975, which was highly praised by the specialist press, unites outstanding soloists (Arleen Auger, Annelies Burmeister, Peter Schreier, Theo Adam, Michael Wittig) with the Dresdner Kreuzchor and the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra (first trumpeter is once again Ludwig Guttler). Under the direction of Martin Flamig, the ensemble reaches top form here. Radiant chorales, yet with great attention to detail, and powerful arias characterize the recording, which also leaves little to be desired in terms of recording technology. A well-balanced overall sound, clear weighting of vocal solos and orchestral accompaniment. The members of the orchestra deserve to be mentioned individually, as each instrument is excellently cast.

Joseph Swensen offers an intimate and cosmic symphonic fresco in the form of the Saga Trilogy, captured on this b-records disc. Composed in the wake of the pandemic, this trilogy explores the composer's inner world like an ancestral legend waiting to be discovered. Performed by the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, the music draws on reminiscences of Messiaen and the poetic spirit of Hafiz. From the cosmic pulsation of Primordial Cosmos to the mythological clamour of the SAGA concerto and the spiritual light of Song of Infinity, allow yourself to be swept away by this vibrant and deeply rooted work, which exists on the border between the visible and the invisible.

It is surely proof of great dedication that an American-born Swedish conductor would, in the mid-1970s, go behind the Iron Curtain in order to take up a post as principal conductor of an orchestra. Both the conductor and orchestra have fond memories of Herbert Blomstedt's Dresden years, from 1975 to 1985. The recordings of all of Beethoven's symphonies conducted by Blomstedt are proof of an intensive and artistically outstanding collaboration.

The Goldmund Quartet, one of Germany's leading young string ensembles, is preparing a very special CD: String quartet versions of traditional Oktoberfest music?. Well-known polkas, marches and waltzes will be heard in a new guise. You can look forward to a musical homage to the Bavarian joie de vivre, in which the quartet captures the flair of the Munich Oktoberfest in fine string sounds.

The novelty for this year's Christmas season sets new standards in brass music. With 'Brass Christmas', the well-known ensemble German Brass presents it's second Christmas album on Berlin Classics and demonstrates it's great strengths as a recipe for success: high virtuosity, brilliant musicality and a high degree of humour and charm. This is not classical brass music, but a completely new sound that enchants and delights the audience anew in every concert and recording. It is not without reason that the ensemble, consisting of ten solo brass players and university professors, was honoured with the Echo Klassik 2016 award. Brass Christmas includes the most beautiful melodies to prepare the listener for the Christmas season with a cosy, warm feeling. With tranquil sounds such as the Evening Blessing from Humperdinck's opera 'Hansel and Gretel', festive melodies from George Frideric Handel's Messiah and classical Christmas carols from Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio, German Brass creates a festive atmosphere in typical brass style. As always, the works are arranged by the ensemble's musicians themselves and convey the very own German Brass charm, presenting the original works with the utmost respect for the composers. This time, German Brass completely dispenses with an extended instrumentation and relies entirely on the possibilities of the brass ensemble.

When the voices of the Thomaner-chor sing a Christmas song in a cold winter's night, everyone knows that the best time of the year has begun. With the best that the catalogue of the choir of St. Thomas Leipzig has to offer for Christmas, this extensive edition fits exactly into the most contemplative time of the year.

Jenna Nyman

As a symphonist, the British composer, pianist, conductor, and pedagogue Philip Cipriani Hambly Potter works at the height of his era. He employs an opulent orchestra, drawing his colors from it's palette with a remarkably bold brushstroke: Where heavy brass just now steered through breaking waves, delicate flutes and tender strings sound forth the next moment; through dreamy scenes suddenly marches heavy footwork, and when it comes to bringing works to an applause-worthy conclusion, all participants must push to the limits of endurance... This attitude is as fascinating as it is entertaining-precisely the right middle ground between symphonic earnestness and nonchalant playfulness, a welcome facet of early Romantic literature, much like the spirited concert piece that tastefully separates the two symphonies.

Has it really been a full decade? Yes - this October, Dresden celebrates the tenth anniversary of the Frauenkirche's consecration. People still remember the "call from Dresden" in 1990, which was followed by various phases of reconstruction, which was largely financed by donations thanks to many helpers. The surviving stones were first carefully salvaged, sorted and then used in the subsequent construction work from 1996. As a result, the church, which had been destroyed in February 1945, was finally reconsecrated in 2005 and became a symbol of reconciliation and peace. Throughout this entire process, the trumpeter and ensemble leader Ludwig Guttler has rendered outstanding services to the Frauenkirche. With tireless motivation in the public sphere, through active participation in the concrete organizational implementation and, last but not least, through countless concerts in aid of the reconstruction, the famous Dresden native has played a very significant role in making this vision a reality. We took this anniversary as an opportunity to ask Ludwig Guttler to select pieces from his numerous recordings that have something to do with the Frauenkirche. He gladly complied and found works that have a connection to the history of music or that he often performed at this location - already during the shell construction, but of course also in the years after the consecration. Recordings from the Frauenkirche, some of them live, are of course also included. With it's beautiful and informative presentation, this CD is not only attractive for Guttler fans in the run-up to Christmas, but also makes a special gift.

Everything has an end sometime. Similarly, this chapter from the great book of Georg Philipp Telemann, which holds a significant place in our label's repertoire, is also noteworthy. After two decades, we have now recorded all the violin concertos that this artesian spring of music committed to paper with overflowing imagination throughout his lifetime. This presents more than three dozen entertaining works, some in expanded suite (overture) form, others in the standard three-movement structure-but always rich in subtle surprises and demanding solos involving up to four violins. This ninth and final volume is once again devoted to concertante duos and contains, as it were, as a bonus, "the" Viola Concerto in G major, which until our series appeared was widely regarded as Telemann's most "popular" contribution to the genre. Now, however, entirely new perspectives open up

It was important to me to gather composers who expressed the European idea, be it in their origins, their education, their travels or their moves to different places of work Ludwig Guttler This is the idea behind the new album by trumpeter and conductor Ludwig Guttler. The occasion for this edition was Christmas, the holiday of holiday, but Ludwig Guttler would like to point to something fundamental. Hence the title: "Europa Cantat" - "Europe sings": Composers from all over Europe are brought together musically on this edition and thus make clear the similarities on both a musical and lyrical level.

Ning Feng, together with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin conducted by Antony Hermus, releases the violin concertos of Johannes Brahms and Carl Goldmark. This pairing is particularly apt as these works were both written in 1877, and the composers were dear friends. In Goldmark's lyrical Violin Concerto, Ning Feng plays the original 5-minute cadenza which is seldom heard in it's entirety. Written only a few months after the Goldmark, Brahms' famous Violin Concerto in D, Op.77 needs little introduction. Ning Feng has long been associated with this concerto, having played it when he won First Prize in the International Paganini Competition 2006 as well as First Prize in the 2005 Michael Hill International Violin Competition.

The First Symphony was largely inspired by the composer's tempestuous love affair with the widowed Baroness Imma von Doernberg, whom Walton met in 1929 and with whom he was living on the Continent in the early 1930s. Although the work was long in gestation, with a particular delay in the composition of the finale, the result was universally acclaimed as an outstanding success, with John Ireland commenting "unlike any other English symphony, this is in the real line of symphonic tradition. It is simply colossal, grand, original, and moving to the emotions to the most extreme degree... It has established you as the most vital and original genius in Europe". Walton's star was in the descendent through the 1950's, with a poor reception to his opera Troilus & Cressida, and equally negative comments for his Cello Concerto, which was widely considered to be embarrassingly old-fashioned in it's essentially neo-romantic idiom. Commissioned by Gregor Piatigorsky (at the suggestion of Heifetz), the work was first performed in Boston under Charles Munch in January 1957, with the UK premiere under Sir Malcolm Sargent following a month later. Walton was unable to attend that concert as he was hospitalised following a car accident on the journey to London from his home in Italy. Now widely perceived as one of Walton's most important late scores, the work is performed here by Sinfonia of London's principal cellist Jonathan Aasgaard.