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Petzold & Kayser: Harpsichord Music

Brilliant Classics

$22.99 Feb 07, 2025

A monumental collection of German-Baroque keyboard literature, presented complete for the first time on record, and coupled with dance suites by an unfamiliar name of the late German Baroque. The modern-day reputation of Christian Petzold (1677-1733) is almost wholly based on a single, modest minuet. Known to generations of young pianists as 'the Minuet in G', it was included by Bach in one of the notebooks of pieces he gave to his wife, Anna Magdalena, for her instruction. In turn this led to the minuet itself being mistakenly attributed to Bach himself. Yet much more of Petzold's output has survived, and only now is it coming to light. Having recorded complete sets of many unsung heroes of the German Baroque, Fernando de Luca now turns to the collection of no fewer than 25 'Concertos' for solo harpsichord by Petzold. Published in 1729 as 'Receuil des XXV', the collection first appeared in Dresden, where Petzold was organist to the royal court. The form of these concertos is Italianate, and their heavily ornate soundworld is recognisable from the better-known example of Vivaldi and Corelli. There are dance movements here and there - including minuets - but the predominant genres are determined by tempo: Allegro, Larghetto, Presto and so on. They make such an immediately attractive effect that it is surprising they are not better known, and this release will attract the attention of all adventurous listeners to Baroque rarities. Fernando de Luca pairs the 25 concertos of Petzold with a collection of three 'Parthias' - partitas by another name - from an even more obscure figure, Isfrid Kayser. Known as 'Concors digitorum discordia', this collection was published in Augsburg in 1746 and conforms to the conventions of a Baroque suite with it's graceful sequences of dances, prefaced by a grand overture and concluding with a dashing Presto movement. As so often, Fernando de Luca demonstrates his abilities to revive this music with lucid phrasing, lively registration and an unfailing sense of Baroque style. Scholarly background on both composers is provided in the booklet with an essay by Francesca Scotti. Christian Petzold (1677-1733) was a German organist and composer, holding court positions in Dresden. From 1703, he was organist at the Sophienkirche in Dresden and from 1709 also chamber composer at the Saxon court there. Extensive concert tours took him to Paris in 1714 and Venice in 1716.

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Petzold & Kayser: Harpsichord Music
Brilliant Classics Feb 2025
CD
$22.99

Weiss: Sonatas / Wolfgang Rübsam

Brilliant Classics

$6.99 ~~$13.99~~ Save 50% Apr 23, 2021

Silvius Leopold Weiss (1687-1750) was a German composer and arguably the master lutenist of the 18th century. In addition to being one of the greatest players of all time, he was one of the most important and most prolific composers of lute music in history. He wrote around 600 pieces for lute, most of them grouped into ‘sonatas’ (not to be confused with the later classical sonata, based on sonata form) or suites, consisting mostly of Baroque dance movements. This recital features some of Weiss’s sonatas (he called them ‘Suonate’) for solo lute. They have come down to us in a variety of tablature manuscripts, and many are missing their preludes, which were usually improvised. Weiss’s music is characterised by a unique understanding of the capabilities of his instrument, its strengths and its weaknesses. Like J.S. Bach’s, his music represents the culmination of a high Baroque style a little at odds with the more progressive aspirations of his younger contemporaries. The cantabile style of playing heard in these marvellous performances is directly inspired by the instrument, a lute-harpsichord built for Mr. Rübsam in 2015 by the acclaimed American instrument-maker Keith Hill. It consists of one manual with one set of gut strings at eight-foot pitch, and two sets of jacks which pluck the strings in two different places. One, positioned farther from the nut, produces a flutey sound, and the other, closer to the nut, produces a more nasal timbre. A second set of strings, made of brass at four-foot pitch, produces a halo-effect by resonating with the eight-foot register played by the performer. It gives the rather dry sound of the gut strings a much more singing quality of tone.

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Weiss: Sonatas / Wolfgang Rübsam
Brilliant Classics Apr 2021
CD
~~$13.99~~ $6.99

WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF AMANDA MAIER

APARTE

$20.17 Feb 27, 2026

Though Amanda Maier left her mark on the musical life of her time, the centuries that followed largely forgot her name. With this album, the Trio Ernest opens a door onto her musical world, highly personal, alongside works by Grieg, the Schumanns, and Reinecke. At it's heart lies Maier's beautiful Trio in E-flat major, at the crossroads of German Romanticism and Swedish folk tradition, as well as the Swedish Airs and Dances, whose color and charm are brought to life by Eleonore Billy's nyckelharpa.

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WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF AMANDA MAIER
APARTE Feb 2026
CD
$20.17

Mix & Match

Romanian Tradition

ARC Music

$13.99 Sep 24, 2013

Lively and vibrant traditional music and dances from all regions of Romania, this recording features accordion, taragot (variant of an eastern oboe), clarinet, violin, double bass, braci (5-string guitar) and kobza (lute). Extensive information about the group as well as the various dances and music is available in English and German.

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Romanian Tradition
ARC Music Sep 2013
CD
$13.99

Ewig dein Mozart lieder und briefe eines komponisten

Solo Musica

$20.99 Nov 13, 2012

Anna Maria Kaufmann the Canadian and German Musical and opera singer releases the first album on the Label Solo Musica. It's a Good Day for Singing a Song - the first line of the title song puts it in a nutshell. Anna Maria Kaufmann has fulfilled a musical dream and presents a brilliant selection of their favorite songs on her new album It's a Good Day! Anna Maria Kaufmann leading US on a musical journey into the 1950 's and 1960 's at a time when Bossa Nova Mambo and Cha Cha Cha bring the people to the dance floors. With her unique voice she performs great songs from that time period like Amado Mio and Mambo Italiano. Whether passionate melodies with Latin American rhythms such as Mambo Bacan and Libertango moving ballads such as Moon River or immortal evergreens such as Bel Ami all the songs go immediately direct into the heart.

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Ewig dein Mozart lieder und briefe eines komponisten
Solo Musica Nov 2012
CD
$20.99

Pfitzner: Symphony in C - Schumann: Konzertstuck for 4 Horns / Schwarz, Seattle Symphony

Naxos

$9.99 ~~$19.99~~ Save 50% Sep 25, 2012

The musical expression of German Romanticism is the theme of this disc. The trajectory of Schumann’s Konzertstück, Op 86, written for four horns and orchestra, goes from heroism to introspection. Two of his Symphonic Etudes, Op 13, were orchestrated by no less a figure than Tchaikovsky, while Albert Parlow orchestrated four of Brahms’ most exciting Hungarian Dances. Mendelsssohn’s Overture to his Ballad Opera Die Heimkehr aus der Fremde (Song and Stranger) embodies classical virtues. Anton Webern’s Langsamer Satz for string quartet has been vibrantly orchestrated by Gerard Schwarz. Hans Pfitzner, one of the last representatives of the movement, is represented by his concise, melodic Symphony in C major.

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Pfitzner: Symphony in C - Schumann: Konzertstuck for 4 Horns / Schwarz, Seattle Symphony
Naxos Sep 2012
CD
~~$19.99~~ $9.99

German: Merrie England Suite & More / Leaper, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra

Naxos

$19.99 Aug 26, 2022

Acknowledged by Sir Arthur Sullivan as his musical heir, Edward German enjoyed huge acclaim during his lifetime. His dances are ‘charged with the fragrant essence of the greenwood’ and the Overture to Nell Gwyn, with its richly English themes, explains Elgar’s liking for German’s music. The gloriously romanticized Gipsy Suite pays subtle homage to Dvořák; the dances from Henry VIII were responsible for his early celebrity; and Tom Jones (on 8.660270-71) and Merrie England were two of his greatest stage successes. Conductor Adrian Leaper is a prominent conductor in Naxos’ roster and in addition to those light music discs he has also recorded formidable recordings of Elgar and Wieniawski (8.572952), and Havergal Brian (8.572014), among many others.

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German: Merrie England Suite & More / Leaper, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Naxos Aug 2022
CD
$19.99

A German Spirit
Naxos Sep 2026
CD
$19.99

ROMANTIC POEMS & VIENNESE DANCES
PRAGA Jan 2018
SACD
$22.92

Grieg: Symphonic Works, Vol. 1 / Aadland, WDR Sinfonieorchester Koln [Vinyl]

Audite Musikproduktion

Vinyl

$27.99 Nov 18, 2014

Edvard Grieg: Symphonic Works Vol. I present two of the composer’s principal collections on 180g vinyl LP: the first Peer Gynt Suite, Op. 46 and his four Symphonic Dances, Op. 64. Eivind Aadland's roots in the tradition of Norwegian folk music influence his interpretations. Grieg's connections with Germany stretched from his Leipzig studies to his numerous concert performances and extraordinary circulation of his works there. This recording, with the WDR Symphony Orchestra Köln, represents on several levels a German-Norwegian synthesis already in existence during Grieg's lifetime.

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Grieg: Symphonic Works, Vol. 1 / Aadland, WDR Sinfonieorchester Koln [Vinyl]
Audite Musikproduktion Nov 2014
Vinyl
$27.99

VIOLIN SONATAS

Gramola Records

DVD + Blu-Ray

$43.99 ~~$57.99~~ Save 25% Jan 27, 2017

Beethoven's first Sonatas for violin and piano Op. 12/1-3, composed during the years 1797 and 1798, contain unmistakable elements of his later composition style, which challenged his contemporaries’ critical taste accordingly. The violin sonatas No. 4 Op. 23 and No. 5 Op. 24 and their composition correlate, according to findings of musicologists, closely with Beethoven’s own relationships. The former one seems to portray the darker side of love, its unfulfillment, whereas the later so-called ‘spring sonata’ – as a sort of characterization of a loving heart’s feeling of spring – references the sweet, beautiful aspects of love. The three sonatas Op. 30/1-3, composed in 1802, the year when he also wrote the ‘Heiligenstädter Testament’, reflect Beethoven’s emotional state and are characterized by heavy mood swings. Maybe the most famous work is the ‘Kreutzer’ sonata No. 9 in A major Op. 47, once termed unplayable by its dedicatee, the French violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer. By contrast, Beethoven’s final violin sonata No. 10 in G major Op. 96 seems more heartfelt in tone and was praised by critics as the ‘most poetic and musically most sensitively crafted’ of his sonatas. Thomas Albertus Irnberger and Michael Korstick furthermore present the variations ‘Se vuol ballare’ WoO 40 on a theme from the opera Le nozze di Figaro by W. A. Mozart. The Rondo in G major, WoO 41, and the Six German Dances, WoO 42, were written in 1794/96 and convey ease and almost juvenile cheerfulness – a trait also prevalent in the interpretation of Irnberger and Korstick.

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VIOLIN SONATAS
Gramola Records Jan 2017
DVD + Blu-Ray
~~$57.99~~ $43.99

Tchaikovsky Overtures (Ballet in three parts)

Bayerische Staatsoper Recording

Blu-Ray

$36.99 Sep 05, 2025

For his ballet Tchaikovsky Overtures, Alexei Ratmansky chose overtures by Pyotr Tchaikovsky which the composer had created in various stages of his life for concert performance. Content-wise, these musical works draw on the dramas of William Shakespeare: Hamlet, The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet. Although Alexei Ratmansky clearly has not created a narrative ballet, the narrative motifs from these three of Shakespeare's plays appear on the surface of the choreographic structure time and again, thus, Shakespeare's 'voice' serves as the foundation for both the dance action on stage and the music resonating from the orchestra pit. Traditionally, overtures are heard at the beginning of an opera or a ballet and carry over into a plot. In Alexei Ratmansky's Tchaikovsky Overtures, however, overture follows on overture, whereby a new beginning is truly followed by another one. Interwoven into this is a fundamental pledge of the theatre to have a new world appear with every opening of the curtains and to set a beginning that opens in the future. With the devices and resources of classical and neo-classical ballet, Alexei Ratmansky continuously refers in his choreography to the history of dance art. We should not forget here that ballet literally had to fight to survive in different epochs. The hope that factual reality would dissolve into something dance-like also constantly resonates here. Opalescent in character, the "Fantasy Overtures", the generic name of the orchestral pieces chosen from Tchaikovsky's oeuvre to be performed in the ballet program, become ideal templates for a ballet, which must also be understood as fantasizing. They represent a fantasy about the role of classical ballet today, the memories it carries, and how it might shape it's future.

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Tchaikovsky Overtures (Ballet in three parts)
Bayerische Staatsoper Recording Sep 2025
Blu-Ray
$36.99

HUNGARIAN DANCES / SLAVONIC DANCES / TILL
DECCA UK May 2023
SACD
$40.49

Gluck: Orpheus und Eurydike - A Dance Opera by Pina Bausch [Blu-ray]

BelAir Classiques

Blu-Ray

$36.99 Jan 26, 2010

Note: This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players, and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Choreography and stage direction by Pina Bausch.

Dancers: Yann Bridard (Orpheus), Marie-Agnes Gillot (Eurydike), Miteki Kudo (Amor), Ballet de l'Opera national de Paris.

Duration: 104 minutes
Image: 16:9 HD
Sound: PCM Stereo, DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles: French, German, English, Spanish, Italian
Region: All

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Gluck: Orpheus und Eurydike - A Dance Opera by Pina Bausch [Blu-ray]
BelAir Classiques Jan 2010
Blu-Ray
$36.99

Bilse: Waltzes, Marches, Polkas / Simonis, Cologne West German Radio SO

CPO

$18.99 Oct 28, 2008

BILSE Sturmmarsch Galopp. Baumgartenallee Polka. Marienwalzer. Nur mit Dir. Schlesische Lieder. Catharina Quadrille. Die Fürstensteiner. Mit Bomben und Granaten. Winterflocken Galopp. Victoria Walzer. Königspolonaise. Die Provinzialen. Concerthaus Polka. Schützenmarsch • Christian Simonis, cond; Cologne West German RSO • cpo 777 341 (72:10)

You’ve got to hand it to cpo. I don’t know where they come up with these obscure Romantic composers, but here’s another one. The long-lived, Silesian-born Benjamin Bilse (1816–1902) was known in his time interchangeably as the “Hungarian Strauss,” the “Bohemian Strauss,” and the “Danish Strauss.” A native of Liegnitz, Bilse became steeped in the folk music of Poland and Silesia, founding the Bilse Orchestra in 1842. As was not uncommon for small-town musicians of the time, Bilse was proficient on many instruments and pretty much taught himself composition by studying and conducting the works of contemporaries and peers.

If the foregoing paints Bilse as a provincial, backcountry bandleader, the impression is a false one. By the 1860s, we find him in Berlin, a highly popular composer and presenter of public concerts, an important impresario of musical events, and a hardworking organizer of music societies and organizations. He is even credited with having played a significant role in the establishment of the Berlin Philharmonic.

As a composer, Bilse’s ambitions seemed to be more modest. Like the Danish waltz king, Christian Lumbye, the Austrian Joseph Lanner, the French Waldteufel, and the Austrian Strauss clan, Bilse contented himself with writing waltzes, polkas, and marches for the entertainment of mass audiences. And while such works may have been aimed at satisfying popular tastes, they were superbly crafted—some of them miniature masterpieces—and the ensembles assembled to perform them were of the highest professional caliber.

This is feel-good music. If you love a good John Philip Sousa march, you will joyously feather-dust your furniture to Bilse’s Mit Bomben und Granaten (“With Bombs and Grenades”) and Swiffer your floors to the Sturmmarsch Galopp . My sense is that unlike the waltzes of Johann Strauss II, Bilse’s waltz and polka numbers, such as the Victoria Walzer and the Concert House Polka , were less intended to be actually danced to than they were intended to be listened to as stylized, self-sustaining concert pieces. Of their type, these are masterfully written works, highly polished, handsomely scored with an ear for instrumental color, and tremendously engaging.

Based on the milieu of composers to which Bilse belonged and the musical genre to which he contributed, you will know whether this sort of thing appeals to you or not. If so, I can tell you that the performances and the recording are top drawer, and I, personally, haven’t had so much plain old fun listening to a CD in quite some time. Strongly recommended.

FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

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Bilse: Waltzes, Marches, Polkas / Simonis, Cologne West German Radio SO
CPO Oct 2008
CD
$18.99

Traditional Music from Turkey

ARC Music

$13.99 Apr 29, 2014

"Traditional Turkish music and songs from various regions of Turkey: Black Sea Coast, Anatolia, Aegean region, South region (Adana) and from Lake Van near the Eastern border, etc. Played on traditional instruments, recorded live at the “Festival Mondial des Cultures” in Drummondville, Canada. Booklet notes, in English and German, include information about the music, instruments and dances."

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Traditional Music from Turkey
ARC Music Apr 2014
CD
$13.99

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Schubert, F.: Symphonies Nos. 5 and 8 / 6 Deutsche
Delos Jan 1991
CD
~~$18.99~~ $14.99

German Lieder
Bayer Jan 2012
CD
$20.99

1929 - Tempo, Tanz und Technik / Theis, Munich Radio Orchestra

BR Klassik

$19.99 Nov 03, 2023

October 29, 1923 was a date steeped in history. In the middle of a year of political and economic crises, the age of public radio in Germany was ushered in with the first broadcast of the "Berliner Funkstunde" (Berlin Radio Hour) from the attic of an office building on Potsdamer Platz. Radio offered entirely new possibilities for the production and reception of music. The two compositions on this CD not only benefited from these developments but also played an active role in shaping them.

Eduard Künneke's five-movement Concerto grosso "Tänzerische Suite" op. 26 for jazz band and large orchestra corresponded to modern dances: the Overture is a Foxtrot, the Andante a Blues, the Intermezzo a Tango, the valse mélancolique a Boston Waltz, and the Finale a Foxtrot again. The suite was celebrated as a milestone in contemporary radio music and soon became part of the regular concert program.

Hanns Eisler's cantata "Tempo der Zeit" (Tempo of the Times) op. 16 for soloists, narrator, choir, winds, and percussion was written in 1929. The libretto was written by the popular lyricist Robert Gilbert, under the pseudonym of David Weber. With its pure wind ensemble and percussion, "Tempo der Zeit" captures the typical Songspiel sound of the time. The fact that Eisler used the "modern" medium of radio, of all things, to get his fundamental criticism of blind enthusiasm for technology across to the people is an ironical aspect of the work’s composition and reception history. This CD is part of the special programme focus on the topic "The Wild Sound of the Twenties".

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1929 - Tempo, Tanz und Technik / Theis, Munich Radio Orchestra
BR Klassik Nov 2023
CD
$19.99

Kálmán: Der Zigeunerprimas / Flor, Lienbacher, Rossmanith

CPO

$36.99 Mar 22, 2005

KÁLMÁN Der Zigeunerprimas ? Claus Peter Flor, cond; Gabriele Rossmanith (Sári); Edith Lienbacher (Juliska); Zoran Todorovich (Gaston); Roberto Saccà (Laczi); Wolfgang Bankl ( Pali Rácz ); Sunnyi Melles (narr); Munich RSO; Slovakian P Ch; Bavarian St. Op Children?s Ch ? cpo 777 058 (2 CDs: 101:23)

About three years ago, the Ohio Light Opera released an English-language recording of the complete score, with dialogue, of Kálmán?s early hit Zigeunerprimas (?The Gypsy Violinmaster?). Known to its first American audiences by the name of its heroine, Sári , this story of generational conflict in a family of Hungarian musicians offers ample opportunities for local color á la Hongroise , in so doing providing a resume of the shifting styles of central European operetta at the turn of the century. In my review of that release (26:1), I noted that the composer frequently timed the American and European premieres of his stage works so as to maximize their impact on both sides of the Atlantic, to great success, and with a notable impact on his style, which embraced ?American? dance forms and syncopations faster than did the works of his continental contemporaries

I also noted that the virtues of the Ohio recording lay primarily in the quality of the playing?higher than is often the case from that summer-stock company?and the naturalness of the atmosphere. Surprisingly, while the new recording scores in many areas by comparison, especially in the quality of the direction, orchestral playing, and interpretation (hardly surprising, given the provenance of the musicians), not to mention that it is presented in the original German, the less-polished Ohio effort remains a surprisingly resilient contender.

The reason for this has more to do with the presentation than the performance. If the German recording had merely been cut, or if it consisted solely of musical excerpts, one would be able to rue a loss in dramatic continuity, particularly in the many involving melodramas that run through the score. But the producers have gone a step further, introducing a narrator, who intrudes between musical numbers not only to provide plot summary, which she delivers somewhat in the manner of a carnival barker, but also snatches of dialogue. In itself, the voice of Sunnyi Melles serves the purpose, but when she is called upon to embody the old gypsy violin master and his son, even when they are arguing with one other, one wishes the radio studio had at least hired some other actors. Perhaps to save airtime in the broadcast, dialogue is cut and summarized, often archly and pompously. Elsewhere, the recording falters with a grating, stilted use of a children?s choir in Sari?s entrance scene. While the number calls on her to interact with a group of children, their stilted laughter and clockwork ?oohs? and ?aahs? suck spontaneity out of the moment.

Yet the virtues of the present recording are obvious from the first chords of the overture, with its idiomatically sensitive rubato phrasing, suggesting both an authentic ?Hungarian? flavor and the underlying melancholy?the sense of loss?of the title character. Particularly apt are the many stylistic shifts, which correspond to the changing traditions and tastes reflected in the different musical worlds of father and son. The virtuosic solo violin passages keyed to the father?s world have their folk-music roots underscored by a generous application of cimbalom (an effect missing from the Ohio production); Claus Peter Flor captures the springing fox-trot and waltz rhythms of the son?s emphatically turn-of-the-century world with a constant sense of interest. Narration aside, the finely balanced recording and orchestral playing are almost worth the price of admission.

As the ?Gypsy Master? Pali Racz himself, Wolfgang Bankl projects a weighty and appropriate sense of age, his baritone a bit woolly and weary but constantly in the part. The key moment is his character?s final humiliation. Greeted as an exotic, Racz is asked to play at a Parisian party where his son has already scored with appropriately light and ?modern? dance music. But the bored guests viciously ridicule his old-fashioned gypsy virtuosity as ?horrible scratching.? Bankl invests his voice here with palpable heartbreak, as he sings the reprise of his love song to his ?old Stradivarius.? The finality with which he packs up his career and delivers his prized old instrument to the son he has always undervalued is truly moving.

Bankl?s ?older? voice effectively contrasts with the heroic sound of Zoran Todorovich as his rival and Sari?s eventual love-interest, Gaston. Todorovich has become a constant at Austrian operetta festivals in recent years, and the baritonal steel of his voice does render Gaston a convincing romantic lead. The other roles are also well cast. Edith Lienbacher?s Juliska is light and a bit warbly, but blends glowingly with Roberto Saccà?s light tenor (as the put-upon son Laczi), particularly in the duet at the opening of the second act, whose own distilled Wagnerism bears more than a passing similarity to the Pavillon duet from The Merry Widow . Gabriele Rossmanith rounds out the principals with a powerfully sung Sari. Special mention should also be made of the excellent solo violin work that runs throughout; much of this score comes across as a kind of ?violin concerto in the form of an operetta,? but the soloist unfortunately goes uncredited.

Now that we finally have a recording of Zigeunerprimas in its original language, the choice is clear but difficult. For theatrical atmosphere and a sense of how Kálmán?s theater works for the American stage, the OLO recording may do nicely; but for atmosphere, color, interpretation, and sheer vocalism, the Munich recording comes out far ahead. If only that narrator could somehow be plucked out, I could recommend the new cpo recording without reservations.

FANFARE: Christopher Williams

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Kálmán: Der Zigeunerprimas / Flor, Lienbacher, Rossmanith
CPO Mar 2005
CD
$36.99

FOR A LITTLE DANCING
INTAKT RECORDS Feb 2011
CD
$18.35

Buxtehude: Trio Sonatas, Op. 1 & 2

Brilliant Classics

$14.99 Nov 21, 2025

The key to Buxtehude's trio sonatas, both for performers and for listeners, is an awareness of the stylus fantasticus which German composers of the late 17th and early 18th centuries developed in response to the new freely inventive style of Italian composers such as Claudio Merulo and Girolamo Frescobaldi. 'It is the most free and unrestrained method of composing,' wrote one contemporary theorist. 'It is bound to nothing, neither to any words nor to a melodic subject, instituted to display genius and to teach the hidden design of harmony and the ingenious composition of harmonic phrases and fugues.' The seven sonatas in each of these collections, published in Hamburg in 1696, offer a continuous succession of short movements, up to eight per sonata, which alternate between slow and fast tempi, and improvisatory and contrapuntal textures, dominated by a dazzling array of ostinato variations which embed the melodies in the listener's consciousness. We encounter witty solos, dialogues and conversations, sublime suspensions, jaunty syncopations and occasional excursions into strange and modal harmony. The expressive range is accordingly wide, venturing in Op.1 No.6 into a D minor realm of darkness and desperation. The musicians on this new recording of Buxtehude's trio sonatas are experienced and skilful practitioners of Baroque style, with an impressive catalogue of albums on Brilliant Classics to their credit. Valerio Losito has recorded the violin sonatas of Scarlatti, Telemann and Tessarini, among others, while Simone Stella has made complete surveys of the organ and harpsichord output by Froberger and Pachelbel - 'performed with natural flair, especially with respect to clarifying counterpoint' (Gramophone). Simone Stella introduces these fascinating works, milestones in the history of German-Baroque chamber music, with an extensive booklet essay. This is 'music full of lyrically delicate, sorrowful, and dramatic emotions,' he says, 'as well as melodious, harmonically gratifying, and full of vitality, a world of sound that consecrates him as a unique genius in the Pantheon of Music.' - Dietrich Buxtehude (c. 1637-1707) was a prominent German-Danish composer and organist of the Baroque period, renowned for his influence on later composers such as J.S. Bach and Handel. Best known for his sacred vocal music and virtuosic organ works, Buxtehude also wrote a substantial body of chamber music. - Published in 1694 and 1696 respectively, Buxtehude's Trio Sonatas comprise two sets of seven sonatas each. On this recording they are played with one violin, viola da gamba and harpsichord. These works represent a blend of German counterpoint and Italianate style. The sonatas are notable for their variety of forms, including fugal sections, dance movements, and expressive slow passages, the inventive use of harmony and rhythmic vitality reflecting the lively spirit of the early Baroque. The Op.1 and 2 sonatas are among the earliest significant instrumental works in Northern Germany, and they contributed to the development of the sonata genre. - Played by three foremost representatives of the Italian Historically Informed Performance Practice: Valerio Losito, Bettina Hoffmann (viola da gamba) and Simone Stella. Valerio Losito successfully recorded for Brilliant Classics works by Tessarini, Veracini, Dal Barba, Telemann and Alessandro Scarlatti.

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Buxtehude: Trio Sonatas, Op. 1 & 2
Brilliant Classics Nov 2025
CD
$14.99

Mix & Match

Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker / San Francisco Ballet [Blu-ray]

Opus Arte

Blu-Ray

$39.99 Nov 17, 2009

Note: This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players, and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
NUTCRACKER
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Uncle Drosselmeyer – Damian Smith
Clara – Elizabeth Powell
The Nutcracker Prince – Davit Karapetyan
King of the Mice – David Arce
Queen of Snow – Yuan-yuan Tan
King of Snow – Pierre-François Vilanoba
Sugar Plum Fairy – Vanessa Zahorian

San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Ballet Orchestra
Martin West, conductor

Helgi Tomasson, choreographer

Recorded live at the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, California, on 19 and 20 December 2007.

Bonus:
- Illustrated synopsis and cast gallery
- Interviews with Helgi Tomasson, Michael Yeargan and Martin Pakledinaz
- Documentary: 1915 World's Fair

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: 2.0 and 5.0 PCM
Region code: 0 (all regions)
Menu languages: English
Subtitles (extras only): German, French, Spanish, Italian
Running time: 133 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (BD 50)

R E V I E W:

3353290.az_TCHAIKOVSKY_Nutcracker_Martin.html

TCHAIKOVSKY Nutcracker & • Martin West, cond; Damian Smith ( Drosselmeyer ); Elizabeth Powell ( Clara ); Davit Karapetyan ( Nutcracker ); David Arce ( Mouse King ); Yuan Yuan Tan ( Snow Queen ); Pierre-François Vilanoba ( Snow King ); Vanessa Zahorian ( Sugar Plum Fairy ); Maria Kochetkova ( Grand pas de deux ); San Francisco Ballet O • BBC/OPUS ARTE BD7044D (Blu-ray: 132: 00) Live: San Francisco 12/19–20/2007

& Illustrated synopsis, cast gallery, artist interviews, documentary on 1915 World’s Fair

David L. Kirk gave the DVD release of this production a thorough review in Fanfare 32:5, rightly declaring this to be “a first-class production with brilliant dancing, imaginative special effects, colorful costumes, and attractive scenery,” and numbering it among his three preferred video Nutcrackers . I second that notion.

In order for the San Francisco Ballet to take possession of this ubiquitous classic, choreographer Helgi Tomasson and his superb design team moved the action to San Francisco in 1915, the year the city hosted the World’s Fair. What this means in practical terms is that the women’s costumes in the first act are much slimmer and more dance-worthy than when the ballet is set in its original, earlier period, and that the action in the second act takes place in what seems to be a fairy-infested World’s Fair exhibition hall. As fine as the dancing is (from soloists and corps alike), it’s really the costumes of Martin Pakledinaz (including a Ballets Russes touch in the act II getups) and the scenic design of Michael Yeargan that make this production so vivid.

Now, it must be said that Tomasson’s choreography doesn’t entail much deep psychology (aside from establishing some motifs that really pull the developments in act I together). There’s nothing at all sinister about Drosselmeyer, who here is just an odd toymaker who likes to entertain kids with magic tricks (and serves as Clara’s chaperone through act II). There are no psychosexual shenanigans involving Clara and the Nutcracker, and despite the 1915 setting, the battle with the mice follows the conventions of 18th-century warfare, with nary a sniff of the trench or mustard gas.

Conductor Martin West’s work with the company orchestra is good, although the conducting and playing tend to lose focus in low-key numbers like the Arabian Dance. The best musical contribution to a video Nutcracker I know is Charles Mackerras’s account for the Pacific Northwest Ballet production, with its pointed rhythms and intense yearning. You can obtain the audio alone from Telarc.

The extra features here are truly interesting, not just filler. The audio is PCM only (choice of two or five channels), and the 16:9 picture is derived from a film transfer of multicamera video. There are a couple of sloppy little video edits that probably occurred when the show was being rushed onto PBS a couple of years ago, and should have been corrected before the home-video release, but they’ll slip by most viewers.

This endearing production deserves to be a basic Nutcracker for every household.

FANFARE: James Reel

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Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker / San Francisco Ballet [Blu-ray]
Opus Arte Nov 2009
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Brahms: Hungarian Dances

Delos

$18.99 Nov 16, 2018

Who actually wrote Johannes Brahms’ Hungarian Dances? Brahms probably heard most of these tunes as a child growing up in Hamburg, played by the Gypsy orchestras that were famous for their “Hungarian” dance tunes. These passionate and high-spirited melodies fascinate with their abrupt changes of mood, fanciful reveries and extravagant embellishments. Brahms may even have written a few of the melodies himself! But his hand is evident in the lush harmonies and emotional depth. This version for violin and piano was arranged by Brahms’ friend Joseph Joachim, the greatest violinist of his generation. The dances are played brilliantly by violinist Sabrina-Vivian Hopcker, who captures flawlessly the wild exuberance and deep sorrow of these alluring tunes. Fabio Bidini is the ideal collaborator, and together they have produced an album of uncommon beauty and appeal.

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Brahms: Hungarian Dances
Delos Nov 2018
CD
$18.99

Unendliche Liebe

Haenssler Classic

$20.99 Apr 17, 2026

Without doubt, the German lieder tradition came to maturity during the first decades of the 19th century. Examples exist throughout the 18th century, and the general song tradition in Europe goes back many centuries earlier. But the first significant outpouring of German song emerged with Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Schumann. Such is the great simplicity of the form - just voice with piano accompaniment, setting texts that touch on powerful emotions - that composing lieder remained relevant well into the 20th century and beyond. The present recording demonstrates the genre's enduring attraction for both composers and performers, as well as it's expressive range.

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Unendliche Liebe
Haenssler Classic Apr 2026
CD
$20.99

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