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Bach: Mass In B Minor / Biller, Krumbiegel, Lattke, Langner [blu-ray]

Accentus Music

Blu-Ray

$41.99 Mar 25, 2014

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

Also available on standard DVD

Johann Sebastian Bach
MASS IN B MINOR
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Reglint Bühler, soprano
Susanne Krumbiegel, mezzo-soprano
Susanne Langner, alto
Martin Lattke, tenor
Markus Flaig, bass

Leipzig St. Thomas Choir (Thomanerchor Leipzig)
Freiburg Baroque Orchestra
Georg Christoph Biller, conductor

Recorded live at St. Thomas Church, Leipzig, 23 June 2013

Picture format: 1080i Full-HD
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: Latin, English, Korean
Running time: 114 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (BD 25)

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Bach: Mass In B Minor / Biller, Krumbiegel, Lattke, Langner [blu-ray]
Accentus Music Mar 2014
Blu-Ray
$41.99

Brillance
Analekta Jan 2011
CD
$20.99

COMPLETE SINGLES AS & BS 1954-62

ACROBAT

$21.04 Dec 09, 2016

The Coasters were one of the vocal groups of the '50s and early '60s who bridged the gap between the doowop and R&B eras of the early '50s through to the rock 'n' roll explosion and beyond, with a run of hits that extended into the 1960s. They began life as a spin-off from the doowop group The Robins, adopted by the up-and-coming songwriting and production team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller as a vehicle for their work, changing their name after their first hit from The Robins to The Coasters as they switched from Leiber & Stoller's Spark label to the Atlantic subsidiary Atco when the duo signed a production deal with the label. This great-value 56-track 2-CD set comprises all their A &B sides as The Robins and The Coasters from their Spark debut in 1954 through to 1962, plus, as a bonus, the two titles which appeared on their albums during the period and were not otherwise released on singles. It naturally features their eighteen chart entries from the period, including the legendary US and UK hits Searchin', Yakety Yak, Charlie Brown and Poison Ivy, plus other memorable US successes like Smokey Joe's Cafe, Down In Mexico, Youngblood, Hog For You Baby, Along Came Jones and Little Egypt. It's not only a hugely entertaining slice of R&B-flavored rock 'n' roll, with hits that were landmarks along the rite of passage for many baby-boomers, but a testimony to the songwriting and production genius of Leiber and Stoller, their humorous 'street saga' songs providing the biggest of the group's hits.

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COMPLETE SINGLES AS & BS 1954-62
ACROBAT Dec 2016
CD
$21.04

Byrd and the Bird

Alpha

$20.99 Apr 24, 2026

Giovanni Antonini and Sheng-Fang Chiu form a leading recorder duo who enjoy exploring varied and unexpected repertoires. This album is named after a piece composed by Giovanni Sollima in 2024: it pays tribute to William Byrd and combines the tenor recorder with the sopranino recorder, the perfect imitator of birdsong. This programme spans the ages, from the art of diminution and improvisation in the 15th century to Bartók's duets from the 1930s-originally composed for two violins-via the refined duets of Jacques Hotteterre in the 18th century and a sonata by Telemann from 1727. Don't miss Nuovo ricercare No. 4 (1973) by Amico Dolci, child prodigy of the flute and son of the great sociologist and pacifist Danilo Dolci. The two instrumentalists have mischievously chosen to highlight this quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet: '[playing the recorder] is as easy as lying: control these holes with your fingers and thumb, blow with your mouth, and it will produce the most eloquent music...'

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Byrd and the Bird
Alpha Apr 2026
CD
$20.99

Mix & Match

WIND ENSEMBLE & CONCERT BAND

Wergo

$20.99 May 01, 2000

In 1926 Hindemith encouraged the composition of a new kind of original music for wind ensemble (military band) for chamber music performances at Donaueschingen and helped raise the genre to a level of achievement which continues today. Three of these works from 1926 are published on this CD, together with Hindemith's famous masterpiece Symphony in B flat and Ernst Krenek's Dream Sequence.

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WIND ENSEMBLE & CONCERT BAND
Wergo May 2000
CD
$20.99

Fuguecraft

DUX

$32.99 May 04, 2018

Piotr Slopecki - one of the most interesting Polish pianists, accustomed us to his outstanding interpretations of Bach's music (The Goldberg Variations or the cycle Die Kunst der Fuge). The present album is a kind of phonographic opening of this versatile artist - pianist, organist, composer and arranger, who is familiar with jazz - to other worlds of the music he practices. This is a very discrete opening, as the album dedicated to three outstanding composers who seem to only slightly differ from the atmosphere of Bach's works. The amazing Partita in E minor BWV 830 - the first Bach composition published during the composer's lifetime - is accompanied by the Fantasia No. 3 by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, whose compositional technique was one of the inspirations for the works of the Master of the Fugue. Ludwig van Beethoven returns to the counterpoint technique in the Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, Op. 106, which allows for discovery of this absolutely innovative work in the mainstream of music directly referring to the output of the Cantor of Leipzig.

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Fuguecraft
DUX May 2018
CD
$32.99

THE DEEP

CHESKY RECORDS

$16.60 ~~$16.61~~ Save 0% Jul 07, 2017

2017 release. The duo album has tremendous lineage throughout Jazz history and on Chesky Records. The Deep adds another timeless pairing with Shelly Berg and David Finck complimenting each other on 14 stunning new cuts, many of which were improvised on the spot. We are hearing them react to each other and create in real time with no discussion other than with their instruments, showcasing a lifetime of masterfully honed skill and experience. That this improvised material works so well with the standards they chose is further testament to the musicianship of Berg and Finck. Part of the Chesky Binaural + Series, all recorded with a single microphone, the band appears right before you with this spacious, lush and multi-dimensional recording. Now headphone users will hear the same three-dimensional sound and imaging as audiophiles have for the past 25 years with Chesky Recordings. Also these new Binaural+ Series albums capture even more spatial realism for the home audiophile market, bringing you one step closer to the actual event. You will hear some of the most natural and pure music ever recorded.

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THE DEEP
CHESKY RECORDS Jul 2017
CD
~~$16.61~~ $16.60

Rubinstein Collection Vol 12 - Beethoven, Schubert: Trios
Sony Masterworks Jul 2001
CD
$11.98

Schubert: Variations

Analekta

$20.99 Nov 21, 2025

Volume 11 of Mathieu Gaudet's complete Schubert piano sonatas cycle brings us the fascinating second book of Impromptus D. 935, including the immortal Theme and Variation in B flat major. The youthful Sonata no. 2 in C major D. 279 and the « Noble » Waltzes D. 969 round up this spectacular album, full of singing melodies, contrasting atmospheres and romantic drama.

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Schubert: Variations
Analekta Nov 2025
CD
$20.99

Mix & Match

SO SO SATISFIED
RHINO Feb 2022
Vinyl
$27.13

PIANO CTOS 3 IN C MIN / PIANO CTOS 5 IN E-FLAT MAJ
SONY Jul 2004
CD
$14.99

Modern Lullabies

DUX

$10.99 ~~$21.99~~ Save 50% May 20, 2022

MODERN LULLABIES is an original album created on the initiative of an outstanding flautist, Agata Kielar-Dlugosz. She invited renowned harpist Carlos Peña Montoya to participate in the project. The album contains premiere recordings of works by outstanding Polish and foreign composers for a rare combination of instruments, a duo of flute and harp. The presented collection of miniatures includes lullabies only, i.e. pieces derived directly from the utilitarian tradition of folk song, which over time, permanently and quite seriously, became part of world music. The most famous and well-established compositions in the history of music in the form of a lullaby include Johannes Brahms's Wiegenlied, Op. 49 No. 4 for voice and piano, Fryderyk Chopin's Berceuse in D-flat Major, Op. 57 for piano, or Gabriel Fauré's Berceuse for violin with piano accompaniment.

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Modern Lullabies
DUX May 2022
CD
~~$21.99~~ $10.99

MASS IN B MINOR
ERATO May 2009
CD
$15.99

Chopin & Elsner: Fortepiano Trios

Profil

$18.99 Nov 11, 2016

Frederic Chopin’s Piano Trio op. 8 is one of his fully fledged masterpieces, even though the composer completed it at the young age of 19. Chopin wrote it between 1828-1829, during his studies at The Royal University of Warsaw under the aegis of his instructor for composition, Joseph Elsner. As the musicologist Maciej Galub remarked, Chopin felt he had to face three challenges as debuting composer: Appropriating the great form, then contending with the “brilliant” style of the piano compositions by his contemporaries Hummel, Weber or Ries, and finally establishing a national Polish musical idiom, for instance by using folk dances. In his piano trio, Chopin overcame these three challenges masterfully. The Piano Trio in B-flat major by Joseph Elsner, which is included on this release, was published in Vienna under the title “Grande Sonate pour le Clavecin ou Forte-piano avec Accompagnement d’un Violon et Violoncelle oblige.” Formally it corresponds to the model with three movements for the piano trios from Haydn and Mozart. The first movement is an energetic sonata allegro. This is followed by a melodic imaginative larghetto. The finale consists of a bright rondo, whose theme has folk-like features.

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Chopin & Elsner: Fortepiano Trios
Profil Nov 2016
CD
$18.99

Chamber Works

Kontrapunkt

$22.99 Aug 06, 2001

Composer Kuno Kjærbye (b. 1959) belongs to the younger generation of composers educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. His teachers include Ib Nørholm, among others. Kuno Kjærbye is also active as a violinist and his compositions are often inspired by the instrument’s natural traits. About this CD the composer comments: “All the music on this CD is built on certain quarter-tone modes. It comes naturally to me as a violinist; your everyday scale study provides you with a sensitivity to hearing the small differences between, for example, a G sharp and an A flat. All the duos have a fundamental tonality which is extended by means of quarter-tone.”

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Chamber Works
Kontrapunkt Aug 2001
CD
$22.99

Schubert & Purcell: String Trios

Resonus Classics

$9.49 ~~$18.99~~ Save 50% Jun 16, 2023

In their debut album, the Sakuntala Trio presents the world premiere recording of Franz Schubert’s String Trio in B-flat major, D.471, in this innovative and compelling completion by Professor Brian Newbould. Of this first trio, only the first movement and the beginning of the slow movement, were penned by Schubert, before he abandoned the work, leaving a gem of a fragment. The album also features the second version of Schubert’s String Trio in B-flat major, D.581, together with a selection of Peter Warlock’s transcriptions of Henry Purcell’s Three-Part Fantasias.

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Schubert & Purcell: String Trios
Resonus Classics Jun 2023
CD
~~$18.99~~ $9.49

TCHAIKOVSKY VOL. 1

BelAir Classiques

DVD

$24.99 Nov 19, 2013

Volume 1 of this three volume set recorded at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris with Yuri Temirkanov conducting the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra includes Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23 (1875) with acclaimed soloist Denis Matsuev, and Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36 (1878).

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TCHAIKOVSKY VOL. 1
BelAir Classiques Nov 2013
DVD
$24.99

J.S. Bach: Solo Keyboard Music

Idil Biret Archive

Vinyl

$74.99 May 30, 2025

Bach published during his lifetime four volumes of keyboard pieces under the title Clavierubung which began with a set of six Partitas, published between 1726 and 1731. The first of the set was the Partita No. 1 in B flat major. The Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, was apparently written during Bach's time at Cothen, probably about 1720, and revised in Leipzig about 1730. The six English Suites, the 3rd being included here, have nothing particularly English about them, except their title. They were written perhaps in Weimar in about 1715 or possibly during Bach's period at Cothen. Bach brought together a set of five French Suites, of which the 5th is Biret's favourite, later augmented to six and forming part of the Clavierbuchlein for Anna Magdalena, his second wife. The Italian Concerto in F major was published in 1735 in the second volume of the Clavierubungen, with the original title Concerto nach Italienischen Gusto. It reflects the style of the Venetian solo concertos by Vivaldi.

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J.S. Bach: Solo Keyboard Music
Idil Biret Archive May 2025
Vinyl
$74.99

Dohnányi: Complete Music for Cello and Piano / Danzi, Rapetti

Brilliant Classics

$10.99 ~~$13.99~~ Save 20% Sep 24, 2021

“I could not have written it better myself!”, remarked an astonished Brahms on hearing the 18-year-old Erno Dohnányi’s Opus 1 (the First Piano Quintet) in the summer of 1895. Often hypercritical and disparaging of other composers, Brahms was so impressed by Dohnányi that he promoted his music in Vienna. Just two years later the elder composer passed away, but he might have remarked similarly about Dohnaìny’s Cello Sonata in B flat of 1899. This magnificent composition sounds undeniably like an affectionate homage to him. In 1902, Dohnányi performed the Cello Sonata in Frankfurt with Hugo Becker, one of the most famous cellists and pedagogues of his time, and a few years later Becker would be the dedicatee of Dohnányi’s Konzertstück in D Op. 12 for cello and orchestra, which the composer also arranged for cello and piano. Dohnányi and his friend Béla Bartók, three years his junior, always admired each other, though they could not have differed more in terms of style and character, their diametrically opposed approaches particularly apparent in their use of Hungarian folksongs. By contrast to Bartók’s innovative ethnomusicological perspective, Dohnányi continued presenting gypsy melodies in the Romantic fashion of Liszt and Brahms, as evidenced in his Ruralia Hungarica Op. 32, a cycle of seven pieces scored for various forces, one of them (Op.32d) being for cello and piano.

REVIEW:

Ernst von Dohnanyi (1877-1960) was a fine Hungarian composer, beloved by Brahms and Bartok and cellist Hugo Becker, to whom he dedicated the 25-minute Konzertstück, Op. 12. That was originally for cello and orchestra, which explains why the piano takes off on its own so much. It is effective. Ruralia Hungarica consists of pieces for everything except the kitchen sink, but only this 6-minute piece is actually for cello and piano. Both artists work together well and are recorded with warmth. This is the only place to find the Konzertstück played with piano.

-- American Record Guide (David W. Moore)

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Dohnányi: Complete Music for Cello and Piano / Danzi, Rapetti
Brilliant Classics Sep 2021
CD
~~$13.99~~ $10.99

Beethoven: String Quartets Nos. 10 & 13 / Chiaroscuro Quartet

BIS

SACD

$21.99 Oct 20, 2023

After the six Op. 18 quartets, the much-acclaimed Chiaroscuro Quartet now turns to two masterpieces from Beethoven’s middle and late periods. String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major, Op. 74, nicknamed ‘Harp’ because of the abundant pizzicati in its first movement, comes across as a genial and unproblematic work that was very well received immediately upon publication and has remained one of the composer’s best-loved quartets. String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130, is in a very different vein. Belonging to the series of so-called ‘late’ quartets composed between 1824 and 1826, it is a six-movement structure modelled on an eighteenth-century divertimento, adding two movements to the traditional four-movement scheme: an Alla danza tedesca and a Cavatina. Despite its evocation of an archaic dance, the Alla danza tedesca is typically Beethovenian, with its original treatment of dynamics. The Cavatina, which moved the composer to tears during its composition, is a lyrical and moving piece. Beethoven had intended to conclude this imposing work with a large-scale fugue, but its boldness baffled his first listeners and, at the request of his publisher, he resorted instead to a more approachable movement presenting a mixture of laconic dryness and, in places, tender lyricism.

REVIEW:

Though there’s no shortage of recordings of the Beethoven quartets, versions by groups taking an historically informed approach to these works, such as these from the Chiaroscuro Quartet, are still relatively rare. The ensemble's sound world is warmer, more expressively flexible and transparent than we have become so used to in this familiar music. The wonderfully paced opening of the E flat Quartet Op 74, grows steadily in insistence, until it blossoms into melody in a totally unforced way, setting the tone for everything that follows; there seem to be no preconceptions in these performances, everything comes from the music itself.

The challenges of the B flat Quartet Op 130 are on a different level, and not every decision the Chiaroscuro make in that work is convincing – the great slow movement, the Cavatina, is taken just a fraction too fast, for instance, but the finale that follows (the replacement that Beethoven composed in 1826, not the original Grosse Fuge) has a wonderfully clipped character that, like a lot in these performances, seems perfectly appropriate.

-- The Guardian (Andrew Clements)

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Beethoven: String Quartets Nos. 10 & 13 / Chiaroscuro Quartet
BIS Oct 2023
SACD
$21.99

Schubert: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 2 / Diogenes Quartet

Brilliant Classics

$13.99 Sep 24, 2013

There is little doubt that Vienna at the turn of the 19th century was the musical capital of the world; a nexus for the string quartet composer, who could alternate composing for the leading virtuosos of the day with creating works that satisfied the then-increasing predilection for domestic music-making. Against this background, striving to find his own voice and using the medium as a path towards his early symphonies, was the young, prodigiously talented Franz Schubert. Similar to Beethoven, Schubert stood out in his refusal to target the general public with his writing, though there is much evidence to suggest that the majority of his early string quartets were written for and first performed by his family's own ensemble.

This recording brings together three such works written during Schubert's teenage years, beginning with the Overture in B B470 -- seemingly the only one of its kind for string quartet by the composer, and in which traits such as unison playing and fanfares reveal the focus of his orchestral experimentations at that time. Recorded for the first time using a playable version that was made from the original orchestral score, the work is followed by D112, also a work of different origin (originally a string trio). Schubert is still searching for the right response to the quartets of the Viennese masters here, though the finale's lower-voice writing and virtuosic interjections of the first violin do reveal an increasingly original conception of the quartet sound. More compact and less experimental is D353 -- something that is perhaps due to Schubert's contemporaneous studies with the Italian composer Antonio Salieri.

Continuing their complete survey of Schubert's string quartet output with this recording is the Diogenes Quartet, whose first offering (94315) was released to critical acclaim. The Munich-based group is considered one of the most successful string quartets of the younger generation; "Glorious string tone and impeccable ensemble are trademarks of this first-rate quartet" (MusicWeb International, June 2012).

Other information:

- Recorded on 3--5 December 2012, Himmelfahrtskirche, München-Sendling.
- The second instalment of the recording of Schubert's complete string quartets by the German Diogenes Quartet presents two early, but by no means immature quartets: the B flat D112 and the E major D353, 'Hausmusik' for domestic use, written by a composer whose genius lent a ray of eternity to every note he wrote.
- A world premiere for the Overture D470, and orchestral piece in Italian style, arranged for string quartet by Schubert himself, and completed for this recording by musicologist Christian Starke.
- Contains notes on the music and a biography of the quartets.

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Schubert: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 2 / Diogenes Quartet
Brilliant Classics Sep 2013
CD
$13.99

Chopin Sonata, Op. 58 & Liszt Sonata, S. 178

Nimbus

$16.99 Mar 20, 2026

Ronald Smith approached Nimbus at a turbulent time in the industry. His long-time recording partnership was in transition, and he would make six visits to the Nimbus studio, a peaceful space in the ballroom of the Victorian mansion at Wyastone Leys just outside Monmouth. His initial visits in February and August 1980 were concerned with core repertoire: Chopin's Etudes Op. 10 and Op. 25, his Sonata Op. 58, and the Liszt Sonata. He returned in 1983 to record Liszt's transcription of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony and Busoni's transcription of Bach's Chaconne. In 1985 there were two visits: in May to record an album of popular Beethoven Sonatas, then in September to deliver Balakirev's B-flat minor Sonata and Scriabin's 'Black Mass' Sonata No. 9. A final visit in June 1986 was devoted to Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. The sessions in 1980 were both 'analogue', being made on reel-to-reel tape machines. We had little idea how quickly such industry-wide state-of-the-art technology would be brutally swept aside by the arrival of digital recording, and it's market counterpart, the Compact Disc. Ronald's Chopin Etudes were released on LP the following year. The LP sleeve went as far as announcing the catalogue number of the upcoming Chopin/Liszt Sonata pairing. The master was approved and ready to go. But all things 'digital' upended all sense: the record world, it's media, and followers clamoured for digital recordings of standard works. Labels rushed to satisfy the demand (Nimbus was no exception), and unreleased 'analogue' masters fell into a dark hole. Ronald Smith's later digital recordings enjoyed immediate release, but not so the Chopin/Liszt Sonatas-until now, 45 years on. © Adrian Farmer

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Chopin Sonata, Op. 58 & Liszt Sonata, S. 178
Nimbus Mar 2026
CD
$16.99

Mix & Match

Bach: Inner Spaces / Tavsanli

Solo Musica

$20.99 Oct 20, 2023

The album "Inner Spaces" is the third album of the Istanbul-born pianist Serra Tavsanli. With great certainty one can claim that it is her most personal album. With the works by Johann Sebastian Bach recorded here, she not only presents a masterful interpretation on a modern grand piano, but also connects the music with her own history and origins. In doing so, she reveals her innermost self and provides insight into very personal spaces of thought.

Based on the initials B A C H, Serra Tavsanli has selected the pieces that match the key. Even more, because in the album's booklet she writes: "Pieces that for me stand for different concepts that make up being human and play a role in all traditions and religions. B (Partita in B flat major) symbolizes faith; A (Partita in A minor) stands for hope. C (Toccata in C minor) represents love. B (French Overture in B minor) symbolizes our present. With this selection, the pianist takes her audience directly into her emotional worlds, into her "Inner Spaces".

Serra Tavsanli has ventured deeply into the world of Bach and is completely absorbed in it while playing. In a certain way, she also intentionally makes herself vulnerable. Her playing is narrative, it opens up associative spaces and is at the same time effortless, yet completely uncompromising. In the booklet she writes: "I was suddenly there, where everything succeeds, where it is safe and free. A place that is accessible to everyone, and where origin, religion, skin color or gender no longer play a role. A place where we are not alone." Serra Tavsanli decided to share her insights and experiences, which made her become an exceptional pianist, with her audience. At concerts, she likes to recite texts that she wrote in collaboration with cultural manager and Bach specialist Folkert Uhde to give the works even more context, but also to bring them into our time.

"As an artist, I want to open this place to everyone, to share with anyone and everyone the experience that fear becomes strength, that paralysis becomes strength. A place of hope, of freedom, of doing well. A place where no one is excluded," Serra Tavsanli describes her concern. With this recording, she will certainly succeed in this.

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Bach: Inner Spaces / Tavsanli
Solo Musica Oct 2023
CD
$20.99

Blomstedt Conducts & Rehearses Brahms

BR Klassik

$19.99 May 15, 2026

The distinguished Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt, long associated with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra as a regular guest, conducted Johannes Brahms' Variations in B-flat major on a Theme by Joseph Haydn, Op. 56a, in concerts on February 13 and 14, 2014 in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz. This new BR-KLASSIK CD presents not only the live recording of this compelling interpretation but also a live orchestral rehearsal recording from February 10, 2014. The latter forms part of BR-KLASSIK's acclaimed series Conductors at Rehearsal, offering a glimpse into their artistic work with the orchestra. Brahms composed the Variations on a Theme by Haydn in Tutzing during the summer of 1873. The work was premiered on November 2, 1873 in Vienna, conducted by the composer himself. A short while later, Brahms introduced an alternative version for two pianos (Op. 56b), which premiered in 1874, also in Vienna. The Variations are based on the melody of the so-called "Chorale St. Antoni, " taken from the second movement of a Divertimento in B flat major (Hob. II:46) that was most likely mistakenly attributed to Joseph Haydn. The chorale may not even have been written by the composer of the Divertimento and could originally have been a pilgrimage song honouring St. Anthony of Padua in western Hungary (present-day Burgenland). Regardless of their origins, Brahms' Variations (theme with nine variations and finale) stand as one of the composer's most important and most celebrated orchestral works, and remain a cornerstone of the Romantic repertoire. The detailed rehearsal recordings on the CD provide a deeper insight into this magnificent work. Listeners can experience first-hand how the conductor's wishes, ideas and instructions are implemented, how his explanations and his temperament change the resulting sound, and what thoughts lie behind the interpretation of the work. Thanks to this series, which is now also available on CD, the unique artistic partnership between Herbert Blomstedt and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra can be documented. Blomstedt's seemingly inexhaustible source of energy - music itself - is palpable in every word and every bar. ? Herbert Blomstedt conducts the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in concerts on February 13 and 14, 2014 ? Live recording of Johannes Brahms' famous Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a ? Includes "Conductors at Rehearsal": live recording of the orchestra rehearsal on February 10, 2014 for the Munich concerts ? Electrifying live atmosphere from the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz

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Blomstedt Conducts & Rehearses Brahms
BR Klassik May 2026
CD
$19.99

Mix & Match

Beethoven: Piano Trios, Vol. 2 / Sitkovetsky Trio

BIS

SACD

$21.99 Aug 04, 2023

With the three piano trios, Op. 1, Ludwig van Beethoven took a genre still largely associated with salon music and raised it up to rival the string quartet. The works are innovative in form as well as in content. From this collection, the Trio in G major, Op. 1 No. 2, appears as a cheerful and engaging work. While it has been said that one could discern ‘the master’s happy youth […] still unclouded, light and frivolous’, hints of ‘the deep seriousness and tender intimacy that would follow’ can also be found. Knowing very well that well-placed dedications could result in princely rewards, Beethoven dedicated his Piano Trio in B flat major, Op. 97, to the Archduke Rudolph of Austria, hence its nickname, ‘Archduke’ Trio. With this work, Beethoven bade farewell to the genre with arguably his most important contribution, a trio of which a critic wrote that in it ‘genius, art, nature, truth, spirit, originality, invention, execution, taste, power, fire, imagination, loveliness, deep feeling and lively jesting entwine in sisterly harmony’.

After the success of its Ravel and Saint-Saëns trios recording [BIS-2219], the Sitkovetsky Trio presents the eagerly awaited second installment of its series devoted to Beethoven’s piano trios.

REVIEW:

This is a delight: sprightly, well-articulated playing which bounds with vitality. The energy of the performance is driven by the pianist Wu Qian, absolutely attentive to all of Beethoven’s quirky markings and sudden sforzandos; the touches of rhythmic subtlety also come from the piano, just momentary holdings-back to shape a phrase or clarify a structure.

The much earlier Trio Op 1 No 2 in G is more firmly in the Haydn tradition, and has a cheery, rather rustic style; Alexander Sitkovetsky’s violin sings in the Largo, then Beethoven adds a Scherzo, before the uproariously funny repeated-note finale – not rushed here, but delivered with just the right manic wit.

-- BBC Music Magazine

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Beethoven: Piano Trios, Vol. 2 / Sitkovetsky Trio
BIS Aug 2023
SACD
$21.99