In the nineteenth century, and certainly in the twentieth, the fugue was already not so common as in the preceding centuries, and today composers choose this form even less often. Perhaps we need the fugue, precisely in these times, more than ever. In public discourse, the willingness to listen to each other is often minimal and it seems that presenting one's own unbending point of view is the primary goal. In a fugal conversation, each voice can present in peace its own version of the theme. After that the speakers may stay autonomous, but they listen to each other and they react respectfully to the statements of their fellow-speakers. The musical discussion, wherein the speaking time is fairly divided, can get quite heated, but, sometimes with a bit of effort, remains able to be followed by the listener. Conflicts, in the form of violent musical dissonance, are not shunned, and the parties in their eagerness sometimes don't let each other finish their sentences (the stretto). Should the voices not reach a harmonious conclusion, the musical discourse still never ends in a quarrel or worse yet, a divorce, but there follows at the very least a summing-up by all the involved parties: we agree to disagree. The fugue is above all an abstract form of music, but in addition, everyone is free to draw insights from the music of Bach and from the composers he inspired.

Welcome to the bewitching world of Circus Dinogad in which Welsh contralto Hilary Summers, the Dutch theorbo & bass clarinet duo Mike Fentross & Maarten Ornstein, and the Dudok Quartet Amsterdam converge in a fusion of musical traditions.

Almost all major composers have written important transcriptions, some even reaching the status of a masterpiece. Transcriptions often reflect the period in which they were written. The Liszt-Bach transcriptions being very different from the masterly Bach Chaconne for
violin and his choral preludes by Ferruccio Busoni. Liszt is basically urtext-true in his Bach and Beethoven transcriptions, while Busoni incorporated in his transcriptions not only the text of the work but also the total acoustical end result. 

The Requiem Falling Out Of Time was written, after Christoph Buchwald, composer of Amstelveld, heard that the son of the Israeli writer and friend David Grossman, Uri, had died during the Lebanon War in 2006. “All words of condolence sounded worn out and stupid, so I finally took my guitar, wrote (during five years) 24 songs and recorded them”, with friends on drums, trumpet, piano, cello and with a choir. The result is an intriguing balance of singer/songwriter, jazzy and classical influences and some bows to Bach, Mozart and Purcell. And not to forget: some extraordinary and moving lyrics. As a requiem musically a surprisingly convincing step.

The Dutch violinist Jeroen de Groot studied with Herman Krebbers at the Amsterdam Conservatory. Later on he continued his studies with Sándor Végh in Salzburg and with Ivry Gitlis in Paris. Pianist Bernd Brackman was given his first piano lessons by his mother, Frieda Brackman-Hoogerwerf. He later studied with Jaap Spaanderman and Jan Wijn at the Sweelinck Conservatory, Amsterdam. On this CD they performs masterpieces by Pärt (Fratres), Brahms (Violin Sonata No 3) and Beethoven (Kreutzer Sonata) recorded during a live concert in the beautiful acoustics of the Zeeuwse Concerthal, Middelburg (NL).

To anyone who plays chamber music of any sort, Schubert’s music is a wonderful world to enter. It lifts our spirit to a dreamlike state of awe that is quite unique, with its sweeping long lines and pure poetry.

The masterpieces on this album have been ‘Stolen’ away from Schubert’s original instrumentation. Start with the "Arpeggione" sonata, originally written for the eponymous instrument, a bowed contraption with six strings and frets, tuned like a guitar but played like a viola da gamba. Here, it is played on the viola (with gut strings) and an Erard piano (1851). The mellow timbre of the Erard removes any struggle for balance and wonderfully compliments the warmth of the viola sound.

Schubert wrote an immense number of Lieder, songs for voice and piano. Only two call for voice and piano with an extra instrument; ‘Hirt auf dem Felsen’ with clarinet, and ‘Auf dem Strom’ with horn. Since both of these instruments have a similar range to the viola, Ásdís Valdimarsdóttir decided to steal them both for her instrument. It may seem audacious to attempt to play the vocal part of any of Schubert’s iconic Lieder on the viola; however. ‘Die Winterreise’ is strong enough on its own to have a life without the text. Listen and judge for yourself!

The Dutch violinist Jeroen de Groot (1961) studied with Herman Krebbers at the Amsterdam Conservatory. Among many other prizes he won, one stood out: in 1985 he was the winner of the National Violin Competition Oskar Back Competition. As a result, he received a scholarship, which enabled him to continue his studies with Sándor Végh in Salzburg and with Ivry Gitlis in Paris. On this album he performs solo works by Bach and Ysaÿe, recorded during live concerts in Foligno (Italy) and Middelburg (NL). Very special is the performance of Bach's famous Toccata and Fugue in A minor, BWV 565, which is widely known as organ work, but here transcribed for solo violin by Bruce Lefriche. The Belgian violinist/composer and conductor Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931) was one of the most famous violinists of his time. The six solo violin sonatas opus 27, are Eugène Ysaÿe's most famous, performed and recorded works. He has dedicated all these six sonatas to a violinist that was famous at the time and adapted them to their special style. Ysaÿe was also inspired by Bach, completing the circle of the chosen repertoire.

You can’t say A without saying B: pianist Marcel Worms took up the challenge, to record the second book after his double album with the complete first book of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier (2020). Bach completed the second book twenty years after the first, and in those two decades his composing has deepened even further. The Preludes have emancipated and are sometimes longer than the accompanying Fugues, the complexity of the music has increased, and the work as a whole is more abstract and spiritual. Add to that the length of the work (about half an hour longer than book I) and the assignment for the pianist is clear.

Paris, around 1900. A group of friends regularly meet to share their passion for art. Most of them are artists, but even an aviator and a priest join the group. They gather weekly at Paul Sordes’ apartment on the 5th floor of the ‘Villa du Phénix”, Ruedu Long, where they make music, recite their poems and discuss art until the middle of the night. ‘Les Apaches’ they call themselves after a notorious Parisian gang, prowling around the district. Word has it that the group of friends rumble the streets in an ecstatic mood after visiting the theatre, when they completely overlook a paperboy. A collision follows and the boy shouts: “Attention Les Apaches!” The friends, who regard themselves as artistic outcasts, adopt the name immediately. The group exists of, amongst others, composers such as Maurice Ravel, Déodat de Séverac, Igor Stravinsky, Maurice Delage and Manuel de Falla, pianist Ricardo Viñes, poet Tristan Klingsor and painter Paul Sordes. This release is a tribute to the group.

Francesco Di Fiore, pianist and composer, was born in Palermo. He studied in Vienna and Prague. In 1986 he started his concert career performing hundreds of concerts worldwide. He is author of contemporary music of post-modern post-minimalist area. Alongside music for piano, his compositions include chamber and orchestral music, film soundtracks and stage music. Director Giuseppe Gigliorossoasked in May 2011 asked Francesco Di Fiore to write the soundtrack for Ore Diciotto In Punto. The first notes that he wrote went on to become one of the two main themes of the soundtrack. There was the urgency to write a piece for solo piano, as one of the protagonists is a pianist and one scene involved him playing on the piano a recognizable tune from the soundtrack. Thus, Nicola’s theme was born. Di Fiore also happens to be a friend of one of the world’s greatest cellists, Giovanni Sollima. Giovanni has always been aware of his work and he knew about Ore Diciotto in Punto. Therefore, it was he who proposed to join in and record part of the music. They managed to find a day for the recording, and, in a hurry, Francesco set to work. Thus, in February 2012, the other two “musical portraits” were born: Paride and Stella, which, along with the pre-existing Nicola (rewritten in a new version for cello and piano), were played and recorded with Giovanni. Di Fiore composed the rest of the soundtrack for GliArchiEnsemble, and eventually a song on the theme of Stella, with lyrics by Valentina Gebbia.

Internationally respected musicians Daniel Palmizio (viola) and Nicolas van Poucke (piano) join forces in a double-album featuring Bach’s complete gamba sonatas and Brahms two clarinet sonatas. Palmizio (recently described as a player of ‘instrumental mastery’ characterized by ‘unselfconscious refinement’) and Van Poucke (‘a truly poetic musician’) met at a festival in Zeeland, The Netherlands and have since worked together for several years. This album is the fruit of a deep friendship and shared love for music. Their approach to the music of both Bach and Brahms is equally steeped in tradition of the virtuosos of the golden era as it is forward looking and original. On a 17th century Testore (equipped with open gut strings) and a modern Steinway, Palmizio and Van Poucke, uncompromising in expressive intensity and counter-punctual clarity, shine a new bright light on sonatas by Bach and Brahms.

Another Koek is the first album of the duo Knuijt and Dellebeke. They continue to look for challenges to play together and make uncommon presentations. "A different piece of cake," one could say. At the heart of the release are three contemporary compositions of Kees Nijsse and two compositions by Stefan Knuijt. All five were specially written for Knuijt and Dellebeke. The album title was borrowed from soccer trainer Louis van Gaal at the time he was involved in British soccer team Manchester United. His saying was recorded during a meeting with the press and has enriched the English language and may even have an eternal life, since it's a popular clip on YouTube. Van Gaal's saying "That's Another Koek", the title of the piece by Kees Nijsse, also is the album's opening track and is in fact a musical summary of a soccer match. Furthermore, Knuijt and Dellebeke are honoring Johann Sebastian Bach with their rendition of three Inventions from das Klavierbüchlein and a canon from Die Kunst der Fuge. Another example of "another koek" is the two-part composition by Dutch composer Martijn Padding. And - of course - the piece for tuba and timpani by American composer Stephen Gryc.