DVORAK, A.: String Quartets, Vol. 5 (Vlach Quartet) - Cypres

This album concludes The Brahms Trio’s five-volume survey of the piano trio in Russia with remarkable works by composers whose names have all but disappeared from the musical world’s collective memory. Vladimir Dyck, a student of Widor at the Paris Conservatoire, took French nationality in 1910 but his life came to a tragic end when he and his family were arrested in 1943 and sent to Auschwitz. His Piano Trio, Op. 25 contrasts Russian soulfulness with the lightness and deft scoring he brought to his film compositions. Constantin von Sternberg’s genial Op.104 reflects his career as a virtuoso pianist, while Sergey Youferov’s expansive and nostalgic Op.52 is a farewell to the Russian ‘Silver Age’, a world about to be destroyed by revolution.

Idil Biret' new Liszt album prompts a reappraisal of her extraordinary talent... in her Liszt Sonata... you will hear playing of a formidable power and assurance... There is no mistaking her lightning reflexes in the second of the Paganini Etudes and her vi. 747313128778 IBRA8571287.2 16136342 .00 14.99 .19 IDIL BIRET ARCHIVE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 11/15/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/4/2/8/1908240.jpg 26 1 N MARTIN,CLAIRE / WHEN LIGHTS ARE LOW WHEN LIGHTS ARE LOW 691062039222 LINN392.2 16136441 .00 20.99 .20 LINN RECORDS COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 11/15/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/5/2/8/1908257.jpg 21 1 N MATTHEWS / VANDEWALLE PRELUDES & BAGATELLES 670541841228 RAVL7819.2 16183216 .00 13.99 .14 RAVELLO COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 11/15/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/5/2/8/1908258.jpg 11 1 N SOLLSCHER,GORAN GORAN SOLLSCHER 7391782215144 CRE21514.2 01991246 .00 20.99 .23 CAPRICE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 11/19/1996 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/5/0/5/1465050.jpg 0 1 N ELLINGTON,DUKE / BABS,ALICE IN SWEDEN 1973 7391782215991 CRE21599.2 06473136 .00 20.99 .24 CAPRICE COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 08/24/1999 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/5/0/5/1465054.jpg 2 1 N MITCHELL,RED HOME SUITE 7391782213133 CRE21313.2 01990065 .00 20.99 .25 CAPRICE COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 09/27/1994 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/5/8/0/5/1465085.jpg 0 1 N RIEDEL,GEORG / ALFREDSON,HANS / DAHLGREN,EVA NU SJUNGER NAKTERGALEN 7391782213560 CRE21356.2 01990232 .00 20.99 .21 CAPRICE COMPACT DISCS POP INT'L & WORLD MUSIC CHILDRENS 01/24/1995 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/6/8/0/5/1465086.jpg 7 1 N RIEDEL,GEORG / JANSON,CLAES / WILLEMARK,LENA LILLA UNGEN MIN 7391782214109 CRE21410.2 01990577 .00 20.99 .21 CAPRICE COMPACT DISCS POP INT'L & WORLD MUSIC CHILDRENS 01/24/1995 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/8/0/5/1465088.jpg 15 1 N BRUMEL / HUELGAS ENSEMBLE / VAN NEVEL MISSA ET ECCE TERRAE MOTUS / SEQUENTIA 8718247710928 NWTC8802092.2 16182745 .00 12.99 .22 NEWTON CLASSICS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 11/15/2011 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/8/1/8/1908184.jpg 0 1 N BEETHOVEN / NEW ZEALAND PIANO QUARTET PIANO QUARTETS From the pen of the fifteen-year-old Beethoven, these three piano quartets are among the earliest examples of a chamber music genre that would not reach full maturity until the time of Brahms. 747313099870 NXS8570998.2 14433184 .00 19.99 .23 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 05/26/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/9/9/2/1512991.jpg 5 1 N ADAM / COJOCARU / KOBBORG / NUNEZ / PETIPA GISELLE Alina Cojocatu, Johan Kobborg, Marianela Nunez, and Martin Harvey perform in this Royal Ballet production of the Adam ballet conducted by Boris Gruzin. 809478070306 BOPU7030BR 14471902 .00 39.99 .25 BBC / OPUS ARTE BLU-RAY CLASSICAL OPERA / OPERETTA / ORATORIO 05/26/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/7/0/3/1513071.jpg 0 1 N VIVALDI / DEUTER / HARMONIE UNIVERSELLE VIOLIN CONCERTOS 3760107400154 ELOQ815.2 13784300 .00 29.99 .20 ELOQUENTIA FRANCE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 08/12/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/5/4/2/1/1381245.jpg 0 2 N FREITAS / RTE NAT'L SO / CASSUTO SYMPHONY NO. 1 / SUITE ALENTEJANA Luis de Freitas Branco was a pre-eminent figure in Portuguese music of the first half of the twentieth century. This first disc of a four volume series of Freitas Branco' orchestral works features the First Symphony in which the influence of Cesar Franc. 747313076574 NXS8570765.2 13802110 .00 19.99 .22 NAXOS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 07/29/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/1/2/9/1379214.jpg 14 1 N BLASER,SAMUEL 7TH HEAVEN 608917121728 BTWN71217.2 13581701 .00 13.99 .21 BETWEEN THE LINES COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 05/13/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/9/2/8/1338297.jpg 5 1 N SCHOSTAKOWITSCH KLAVIERWERKE 845221006314 NXS71087SACD 23306363 .00 14.99 .27 NAXOS SUPER-AUDIO CD CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 04/08/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/2/2/9/1339220.jpg 23 2 N LITTLE PEARLS OF CZECH CLASSICS / VARIOUS LITTLE PEARLS OF CZECH CLASSICS / VARIOUS 099925316327 SPP3163.2 06947842 .00 15.99 .21 SUPRAPHON COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 03/01/2000 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/55/1240755.jpg 4 1 N SMETANA / BANACKOVA / DVORSKY / NOVAK / KOSLER BARTERED BRIDE 099925370824 SPP3708.2 09389670 .00 15.99 .22 SUPRAPHON COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL OPERA / OPERETTA / ORATORIO 06/24/2003 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/9/3/5/1535394.jpg 2 1 N BARTOK / ANCERL / GERTLER / BERNATHOVA / CZECH PO ANCERL GOLD EDITION 22: CONCERTOS 099925368227 SPP3682.2 09608511 .00 21.99 .35 SUPRAPHON COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 09/30/2003 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/0/0/4/5/1535400.jpg 4 1 N SMETANA / SUK / KORTE / MORAVEC IVAN MORAVEC PLAYS CZECH MUSIC 099925350925 SPP3509.2 07722240 .00 21.99 .23 SUPRAPHON COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 01/23/2001 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/3/0/4/5/1535403.jpg 1 1 N ROYAL PAGEANT / VARIOUS ROYAL PAGEANT / VARIOUS Music for Pomp and Circumstance. Grand music for coronations, for ceremonial occasions, for matters of state and for formal dancing is brought together in this special album. 400 years of quintessentially British music, from Matthew Locke to Eric Coates, centered around the peerless style of Sir Edward Elgar, whose 'Pomp and Circumstance' marches are familiar to US all. 658592121223 GIOM1212.2 14987892 .00 18.99 .21 GIFT OF MUSIC COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC V/A COMPILATIONS 01/01/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/6/3/0/9/1619036.jpg 8 1 N CHOIR OF QUEENS COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE CHRISTMAS FROM CAMBRIDGE Exquisite medieval carols and a lovely mix of old and new. Recorded in the college chapel. Christmas music from old English plainchant to the best of Christmas anthems. 658592102321 GIOM1023.2 14986840 .00 18.99 .25 GIFT OF MUSIC COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHRISTMAS / CHANUKKAH 03/01/2002 08/21/2025 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/6/4/0/9/1619046.jpg 18 1 N LIANG / OHNISHI / ARDITTI QUARTET / DRURY BRUSH-STROKE 764593021025 MOD210.2 14491238 .00 20.99 .23 MODE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 07/28/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/3/8/9/1529831.jpg 3 1 N MOZART / LAUSANNE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA / ZACHARIAS PIANO CONCERTOS 5 760623156262 MDG9401562SACD 14491153 .00 24.99 .22 MD&G RECORDS SUPER-AUDIO CD CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 07/14/2009 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/3/8/9/1529834.jpg 7 1 N BILSE / WDR RUNDFUNKORCHESTRE KOLN / SIMONIS WALTZES / MARCHES / POLKAS 761203734122 CPO777341-2.2 14065668 .00 18.99 .24 CPO RECORDS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 10/28/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/1/4/6/1426411.jpg 3 1 N CORIGLIANO / ALLEN / JACKSON / TESSIER DYLAN THOMAS TRILOGY Fern Hill is a blithe poem, yet touched by darkness; time finally holds the poet green and dying"... Poem in October begins in Thomas' seafront town: The poet, marking his birthday, climbs to a high hill, where he reflects on his youth.

Born into a working-class family, George Dyson became one of the most important musicians and composers of his day. The previously unknown Choral Symphony was written as an examination work while Dyson was studying at Oxford, and it was only recently discovered at the Bodleian Library. Dyson relishes his dramatic chosen text from Psalm 107 on the expulsion from and homecoming of the Jews to Israel, a narrative that inspires trademark features that would make his later works so attractive. Its seascape finale links neatly with St. Paul’s Voyage to Melita, another vivid text from which Technicolor musical images are conjured.

First performed in 1938, Dyson' Symphony had to wait until the 1990s to achieve the recognition it deserves as one of the finest twentieth-century British symphonies. Although the symphony opens and closes in a mood of pageantry from the world of his.

Early French Organ Music, Vol. 2

Early French Organ Music, Vol. 1

Includes chanson(s) by Alexander Agricola. Ensemble: Ensemble Unicorn. Conductor: Michael Posch.
Includes work(s) by various composers. Ensemble: Ensemble Unicorn. Conductor: Michael Posch.

To the casual listener, Carmina Burana is a big splashy choral and orchestral work that has made it into more B action films that can be counted. Carl Orff’s decided masterwork has been sadly relegated to Hollywood status, and poorly imitated by countless hack film scorers. Herr Orff got his texts, however, from a manuscript of songs and poems, probably compiled around 1230, and written down by at least three different scribes in monasteries either in Styria or Carinthia. In 1803, the manuscript was taken from its home at the Abbey of Benediktbeuren to Munich, where in 1847 it was edited and published under its now famous title.

Although there is some musical notation in the original manuscript, it is in the form of heightened neumes, vague indications of pitch and melodic flow, and as such, it is impossible to determine the exact tunes to which these poems, which are often rather bawdy in nature, were sung. Since, however, it was the common practice of Medieval musicians to adapt a single tune to fit any number of texts, (a practice known as contrafactum) these works can rather easily and with a fair sense of authenticity be brought to life. This is achieved through the more clearly notated melodies left behind by, among others, the St. Martial composers active in Limoges during the period, and of those who were working at Notre Dame.

The end result is a collection of magnificent music, lively and rhythmic, tuneful and engaging with some of the most wonderful poetry ever penned for its texts. The two exemplary ensembles heard in this recording are breathtakingly flawless. They completely and utterly revel in this spirited repertoire and exhibit sheer joy in bringing it to life.

Of particular note here, (although there is absolutely nothing negative to say about the work of any of these musicians) are our two solo singers, countertenor Bernhard Landauer, and tenor Eric Mentzel. Mr. Landauer is absolutely the very finest countertenor I have ever heard. His voice is perfectly seamless; every note of his range from lowest to highest is of the ideal weight and timbre. His flawless rendition of Axe Phebus aureo,is a tour de force of musical story telling, delightful in its contrasts and scene painting. Mr. Mentzel also acquits himself marvelously in his several duets with Landauer. It is a bit of a shame that he gets no solos here, as his is a lovely and mellifluous instrument, which blends perfectly with his singing partner’s.

All of the tunes in this performance are infectious due in large part to their lilting rhythms. One would be hard pressed however to leave the room whistling them simply because they are such uncommon and unusual fare. One outstanding work however, Katharina collaudemus will instantly bring to mind the plainchant hymn Pange lingua for those who are familiar with the Roman and Anglican music traditions.

Lest I forget the instrumentalists, who on the whole all double as choristers where needed, let me be quick to point out their notable virtuosity and magnificent abilities at improvisation. Everything is played with a life and energy that left me dancing around the room by disc’s end.

Sound quality is exquisite; Keith Anderson has translated a set of notes program notes by Michael Posch that are concise, informative and relevant. A complete winner, this! Recommended without a moment’s hesitation.

-- Kevin Sutton, MusicWeb International

The Codex Faenza (Faenza, Biblioteca Comunale 117) abbreviated as "(I-FZc 117)", and sometimes known as Codex Bonadies, is a late 15th-century musical manuscript containing some of the oldest preserved keyboard music along with additional vocal pieces. The manuscript is still held at the Biblioteca Comunale de Faenza, near Ravenna, but facsimiles are held in other libraries in Italy and overseas.

REVIEWS:
BBC Music (3/98, p.71) - Performance: 4 (out of 5), Sound: 4 (out of 5) - "...The LSO brass players, who know that their reputation rests more on Sibelius and 'Star Wars', will have ventured into Renaissance polyphony anticipating some raised eyebrows. The result, while not a work of restoration, is classy and unusually revealing..."

Hearing Gabrieli's music live is a uniquely transporting aural experience. A recent Pittsburgh Symphony Concert conducted by Mariss Jansons featured three brass choirs placed on the stage and in the left and right balconies, creating marvelous spatial effects. It occurred to me that this would be the perfect music to demonstrate the surround sound capabilities of SACD and DVD Audio. While this new Naxos recording utilizes neither of those technologies, it's pretty impressive on its own, presenting Gabrieli's antiphonal constructions in vivid, three dimensional sound, recorded in London's All Hallows Church. Volume 3 begins with the Canzona in Echo Duodecimi Toni a 10 (1597), which uses two five-part choirs to create some marvelously imaginative echo effects (a favorite device of baroque composers).


Canzona X of 1615 is one of the more extensive works in this collection, full of spectacular flourishes and elaborate polyphonic passages. Spectacular in another way is the minor mode Canzona Quarti Toni, with its challenging writing for 15 voices in three choirs (mostly in the alto and bass registers). All 13 selections receive splendid performances by the London Symphony Orchestra Brass, a truly world-class ensemble that plays with ringing tone, beautifully blended sonority, and immaculate clarity. Eric Crees, who prepared new editions of Gabrieli's works for this series, conducts with scholarly authority, sparked by evangelical fervor. If you avoided all those "hip" brass ensemble discs in the 80s and 90s, give this a try. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
--Victor Carr Jr., ClassicsToday.com

Hildegard Von Bingen: Heavenly Revelations

"Record companies seem not, as yet, to have done very much to celebrate this year's 400th anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth I, so this delightful collection of music by her favorite lutenist deserves a particularly warm welcome....Since lute-players were strongly represented in the court musical establishment, to have earned the queen's special preference was no small distinction. It is clear from this selection of pieces for one or two lutes that Johnson fully merited it...The duets, in which Christopher Wilson is joined by Shirley Rumsey, include such attractive items as the Flat Pavan, with its distinctive melancholy flavour [sic], and sets of virtuoso variations on ground basses or popular songs, whose increasingly elaborate figurations are so perfectly coordinated that it is hard to believe that there are two players involved. Both here and in the solo pieces, however, the emphasis in these crisply elegant performances is not so much on virtuoso display as on creating an atmosphere of refined and courtly intimacy." - Elizabeth Roche, Daily Telegraph, 5/17/03

"With impressively executed divisions, charming music and a lustrous over-all ambience, this recording is a tonic to those who might otherwise think that lute music pre-Dowland is all hey nonny cuteness." - Anna Picard, The Independent, April 27, 2003

Josquin: Missa L'Homme Arme / Ave Maria / Absalon, Fili Mi

This recording received a 1998 "Critic's Choice" award from Gramophone
magazine.

Milan / Narvaez: Music for Vihuela

Includes work(s) by Claudio Monteverdi. Ensemble: Delitiae Musicae. Conductor: Marco Longhini.

OCKEGHEM: Missa L'homme arme / JOSQUIN: Memor esto verbi tui

Oh Flanders Free: Music of the Flemish Renaissance

Jacques Paisible (c. 1656-1721) seems to have had a real influence on musical life in London, even though his name is long forgotten. He spent about 40 years in the city and was a prolific composer of music for the theater. His main reputation as a performer was as a recorder virtuoso, and he published many works for the instrument in various combinations, including the Six Setts of Aires for two Flutes and a Bass performed here. Published in 1720, they provide good evidence for Paisible's talents both as a player and composer, which turns out to be craftsmanlike and idiomatic, with no virtuoso pretensions.

The English term "Sett" is analogous to the French "Suite", a form that included various traditional dance movements, and Paisible enhanced his minuets, sarabandes, and gavottes with an occasional rigadoon, march, or "Scotch Aire", spicing his lyrical melodic lines with an appealing sensuality. This music must have been perfect for theater intervals: it would offend no one, nor would it be too memorable to distract from the next scene.

The five members of Musica Barocca (recorders, viola da gamba, theorbo, harpsichord) all contribute excellent work here, making the most out of Paisible's pleasing melodies and sturdy, serviceable bass lines. The sound is ideal for these instruments--clear, warm, and detailed, with no dryness or harshness.

--David Preiser, ClassicsToday.com

PALESTRINA: Missa de Beata Virgine

Sephardic Romances: Traditional Jewish Music from Spain

Includes pavan(s) by William Byrd.
Includes work(s) by various composers.

Includes ricercare(s) for lute by Francesco Spinacino, Franciscus Bossinensis. Soloist: Christopher Wilson.
Includes work(s) by Vincenzo Capirola, Anonymous. Soloist: Christopher Wilson.

East meets West offers a series of geographical and musical connections that bind the music of composers Ian Krouse and Ronald Pearl. The album includes the first recording of Krouse's Roderick Usher's 'Phantasmion' (in it's 2009 revision), as well as the eloquent tone poem La Petite Fille aux Allumettes("The Little Match Girl"), and his version of a Hassidic song. Pearl: My Name is Red is inspired by Orhan Pamuk's novel and reveals a range of Islamic influences.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was most famous during his lifetime as a keyboard virtuoso, principally as an organist but also as a harpsichord player, and he composed a significant body of keyboard music. Many of these works (including transcriptions of his organ music) occupy a central place in the repertoire of pianists both amateur and professional, delighting players and listeners alike to this day. The keyboard music that Bach published falls into four anthologies, each titled Clavier �bung (Keyboard Practice), a rather dry title for what turns out to be an amazing wealth of music! Other works, such as The Well-Tempered Clavier Books I and II, while not published by Bach, circulated widely in manuscript form and have been influential on composers and performers: Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Reger, Schumann, Busoni and many others have fallen under Bach's spell, using his music to develop their own and their students' techniques, and inspired by Bach's extraordinary achievement when composing their own works. Books I and II of The Well-Tempered Clavier each contain preludes and fugues in all the 24 major and minor keys, from C major to B minor, and are collectively known as 'the 48'. Sometimes referred to as the 'Old Testament' of keyboard music (Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas being the 'New'), the preludes explore an astonishing variety of musical forms (including the famous toccata-like Prelude No 1 in C Major from Book I, various dance styles and concerto- or fantasia-like movements) while the fugues range equally broadly from rather formal examples in 'old fashioned' academic style to others based on more up-to-date musical forms. The term 'well-tempered' refers to the system of tuning, new in Bach's day, which allowed music to be played in any key and has become the standard in Western music. Bach's 15 two-part Inventions and 15 three-part Sinfonias BWV 772-801 were originally written as educational pieces for the notebook Bach prepared for his second wife, Anna Magdalena, herself an accomplished musician. During the Baroque period collections of 'overtures' or 'dance suites' were particularly popular. Bach composed three sets of six suites: the so-called 'English' Suites BWV 806-811, the 'French' Suites BWV 812-817 and the keyboard Partitas BWV 825-830. Each suite comprises a basic set of dances based on different national models, Allemande (German), Courante (Italian or French), Sarabande (Spanish/Latin American) and Gigue (French, based on the British Jig) with additional dances included. The Goldberg Variations BWV 988 presents an aria (that is, a song-like movement) with thirty variations based on the aria's bass line rather than it's tune (Beethoven would work similar wonders with his 'Diabelli' Variations Op. 120). The Italian Concerto BWV 971 was inspired by the exciting new music that was finding it's way north during Bach's lifetime. Bach also transcribed for keyboard several orchestral concertos by Vivaldi and other Italian composers. In addition, several shorter pieces, including the famous hymn Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring and dances from the Wilhelm Friedemann Bach Notebook are included.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was born in the city of Bonn, but moved in 1792 to Vienna, where he spent the rest of his relatively short (he died aged 56) yet highly productive life. While best known, perhaps, for popular large-scale orchestral works such as his concertos and symphonies, he also composed string quartets and other chamber music, songs and, of course, a large amount of music for his 'own' instrument, the piano. In each genre, Beethoven was to some extent a path breaker, transforming the models he inherited from his predecessors or the approach taken by his contemporaries into something radically unique and bequeathing to posterity music that pushed the bounds of politely regulated Classicism towards the highly personal drama of Romanticism. When the young Beethoven arrived in Vienna, he quickly established himself as a virtuoso pianist-contemporaries had quite simply never heard anything like him before-and though deafness ended his career as a pianist, he continued to compose, ultimately publishing 32 piano sonatas (some early sonatas remained unpublished), several sets of piano variations, bagatelles and dances between 1793 and 1822, a representative selection of which are featured on Easy-Listening Piano Classics. Many of Beethoven's piano sonatas have names that describe their character, though not all of these originated with the composer. For instance, 'Path�tique' is an abbreviation of Beethoven's full title 'Grande sonate path�tique' (that is, 'passionate' rather than 'pitiful'); the 'Moonlight' was so named by a music critic who thought of moonlight shimmering upon Lake Lucerne when he heard the first movement (Beethoven simply gave it the sub-title Quasi una fantasia, 'Like a fantasy'); the 'Kurf�rstensonaten' are pre-Viennese sonatas dedicated to the Elector (Kurf�rst) of Cologne; 'The Tempest' comes from Anton Schindler's claim that the sonata was inspired by Shakespeare's play; 'Pastoral' was provided by one of Beethoven's publishers. In addition, Beethoven composed many shorter piano pieces, which he referred to as 'Kleinigkeiten (Small Things) or Bagatelles', though these should not be underestimated: while some are popular in style and suitable for amateur performers (such as the famous, and probably misnamed 'F�r Elise') others are highly characterful miniatures that one writer has described as 'lapidary, fragmentary, yes, even ironic'-true harbingers of Romanticism. Many of his dances (Minuets, L�ndler, Ecossaises and so forth) also combine charm and sophistication. Whether composing large-scale serious works for the enjoyment of connoisseurs or smaller popular pieces primarily designed to entertain, Beethoven was very interested in the piano, maintaining close contact with leading piano manufacturers in Vienna and London. The demands he made on both performers and the instrument itself contributed to the development of the modern concert grand. One observer wrote that when Beethoven played the piano 'the music of the man's soul passed over his countenance. He seems to feel the bold, the commanding, and the impetuous, more than what is soothing or gentle. The muscles of the face swell, and it's veins start out; the wild eye rolls doubly wild, the mouth quivers, and Beethoven looks like a wizard, overpowered by the demons whom he himself has called up.' Yet, whether seeking the sublime or appealing to the lighter sentiments, Beethoven's music always communicates 'From the heart... to the heart'.

Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849) was born in the village of Zelazowa Wola in Mazovia, the son of a French father and a Polish mother. This mixed heritage would weave like a double helix through Chopin's career as a composer-pianist. Following studies at Warsaw Conservatory (1826-29) and 've given concerts in Warsaw and Vienna (1829-30), Chopin settled in Paris in 1831. His most famous romantic liaison was with Aurore Dude Vant (aka novelist George Sand), the years 1838- 1847 coinciding with his most productive period. Their relationship ended shortly after, Chopin visited Britain in 1848, where his already precarious health Deteriorated. Almost 3,000 people attended his funeral the following year at the Madelaine in Paris though he Remained a Polish patriot Throughout his short life, he Became a French citizen. Although educated in the tradition of Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart and Clementi, and a great admirer of Bach, his music includes works based on both French and Polish models, as well as some innovations. Among the former May be Counted his piano sonatas; Bach's counterpoint found it's way (albeit metamorphosed) into his own multilayered music; his many Viennese Waltzes are more Parisian than; Polonaises and Mazurkas raised his thesis Polish dance forms to Unprecedented Heights or artistic achievement. Similarly, he transformed, the Nocturne, Initially popularized by the Irish-born Russian-based John Field, into a form much more Closely associated with himself. His Ballades, Preludes and Etudes were path-breaking and immensely influential. Two piano concertos, some songs and chamber works aside, he composed Exclusively for the solo piano and preferred to perform at salons privately rather than in public concerts.

The concept of Echoes was to select well-known short works-five to ten minutes in length-and to transform them for our present time.