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Schubert: Impromptu In B Flat; Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 6 & 29

ICA Classics

$11.99 ~~$14.99~~ Save 20% Feb 28, 2012

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonatas: No. 6 in F; No. 29 in B?, “Hammerklavier.” SCHUBERT Impromptu in B?, D 935/3 • Wilhelm Backhaus (pn) • ICA 5055 (62:35) Live: Bonn 9/24/1959

This recital features Wilhelm Backhaus (1884–1969) near the end of his long career. The German pianist was known throughout his lifetime for his interpretations of Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, and Mozart primarily, though it should not be forgotten that he was the first person ever to record the 24 Chopin etudes back in 1928. This recording remains a remarkable document of the ease of execution and the elegance of musical interpretation he shared with certain members of that generation of pianists. His technique was formidable in his heyday and—perhaps even more astonishing—it remained so to the very end of his career.

The opening of the “Hammerklavier” Sonata is a bit slow and heavy, but this soon gives way to a torrent of energy and an upsurge in tempo just a few bars later. Backhaus seems to want to show that each theme, each section, has its own character, which needs an adjustment in tempo to best bring that out. The pianist makes the most of the diverse musical sections in the sonata, from the fluid and graceful scalar passages in the first movement, which sound like shimmering silky waves made of delicate musical fabric in his hands, to the big chordal passages, which are powerful walls of sound that surround and engulf the listener. Backhaus has no qualms about enhancing the effect of certain of these latter passages by adding extra sonority in the bass parts—most often just doubling the octave. The slow movement, one of the most difficult and sublime in Beethoven’s oeuvre, is emotionally taxing to even the most seasoned performers. Backhaus intelligently chooses a flowing tempo: never so slow as to drag, but never too fast as to trivialize the music. The finale is taken at a brisk pace. There may be a few wrong notes here and there (albeit not very many), but his sense of pacing is thrilling: There is more than just a sense of danger; there is in his interpretations the conviction that regardless of the obstacles, he will triumph in the end. There is as much fire in this “Hammerklavier” as the best of them.

The other works on the recital are well played as well, the Schubert being particularly inspired. The gentle way in which the pianist caresses the instrument betrays the age in which he matured: This is elegant and lyrical, and Backhaus shows that though this composition is in the same key as Beethoven’s grandest essay for the piano, it is in character lightyears apart. The Beethoven F-Major Sonata is no minor work, and Backhaus gives it all the respect and love that he does the rest of the program. The opening movement is playful in that Haydnesque vein, the fugato finale lighthearted yet filled with Beethovenian determination and drive. The quirky middle movement is perhaps my favorite in the sonata, though. Backhaus revels in the mysterious opening phrases, lightening the path through the middle section, bringing the piece to a wistful end. It is three and a half minutes of pure bliss.

This is a remarkable recital, one that grows on you the more you listen to it—one captured in remarkable sound given its vintage. For a live recital, one should expect a few wrong notes here and there. Backhaus at 75 plays as few as I’ve ever heard in a riveting performance of the “Hammerklavier.” This is no lightweight rendering of the piece, either; this is one to remember. That said, I have a few other favorites: Richter, Gilels, Rudolf Serkin. The one that I come back to more than any other, though, is Peter Serkin (on Pro Arte). There is in his playing the soaring of spiritual heights along with a real sense of structural logic. The fugal finale is brisk, light, rhythmic—almost jazzy—in his hands. But Backhaus is a welcome addition to my collection. If you are a fan of the “Hammerklavier,” then this recording should be welcome to yours as well.

FANFARE: Scott Noriega

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Schubert: Impromptu In B Flat; Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 6 & 29
ICA Classics Feb 2012
CD
~~$14.99~~ $11.99

Schubert: Unauthorised Piano Duos Vol 2 / Clemmow, Goldstone

Divine Art

$19.99 Jan 02, 2007

R E V I E W S

They're at it again. The indefatigable piano duo team of Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow have been hard at work unearthing more hidden treasures from the classical repertoire: orchestral and chamber music arranged for piano duet or two pianos. A couple of years ago their first volume of "unauthorised" piano duos of Schubert's music featured The Trout Quintet, sparklingly rendered by this superlative husband and wife team of pianists, who sacrificed none of the character of the music in their interpretation of the transcription.

Now they have dug up a version for piano duet of the great B flat Piano Trio, which captures the spirit, the flavour and the zest of the vast and mighty trio. The arrangement was made by one Josef von Gahy, astonishingly not a professional pianist but a civil servant, though he must have been able to find his way around the keyboard as he was not only a friend but a regular duet partner of Schubert himself. A cracking disc for devotees of this genre, with a stunning transcription of the Arpeggione Sonata which catches all the grace, poise, and refinement of the work, along with its bubbling virtuosity."

-- Michael Tumelty, Glasgow Herald

The history behind this disc is interesting. Joseph von Gahy was not only a lifelong friend of Schubert but also his duet partner. After the composer’s death Gahy set about transcribing several of his partner’s vocal and instrumental works for piano duet. There is no question of the authenticity of the enterprise. Gahy remained faithful to the originals, even to the extent of parts of the phrases being split between the two players. So seamless is the performance of Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow that this cannot be detected.

The disc opens with Gahy’s arrangement of the Piano Trio in B flat major. The music is sublime. Exquisite melodies pour out from a composer in full creative flow reminiscent of his Lieder writing. Does it work without the violin and cello parts? On the whole, yes, although I’m not completely convinced about the Scherzo. Goldstone and Clemmow give a masterclass in the art of duet playing. They are completely sensitive to each other’s performance and play as one. After such a stunning opening the problem is that anything else that follows is likely to be an anti-climax – and it is. The Notturno, also written for violin, cello and piano, just doesn’t work as a duet; the Sonata in A major for arpeggione – an instrument long forgotten- and piano is not the composer’s best although there is evidence of his flair for melodic writing. The only work here originally written for piano duet is the so-called “Friendship” Rondo in D major, a nice-enough piece but not in the same league as the Trio. In spite of these reservations the disc is worth buying for that performance alone.

-- Shirley Ratcliffe, International Piano

The Piano Trio, D 898, Notturno D 897 and 'Arpeggione' Sonata D 821 are all original Schubert works and there is certainly nothing amiss to have them labelled unauthorized. So why is this and the previous issue of the 'Trout Quintet' been tagged as such? Josef von Gahy, who was not a professional musician, but a Hungarian civil servant happened to be one of Schubert's closest friends, and his admiration for the composer knew no bounds. They often played together four-hand works and Gahy's fine playing drew words of praise from Schubert many a time.

By the time of the latter's death, their relationship had become an inseparable one. As a humble homage to his great idol, Gahy decided to arrange some of Schubert's pieces for piano duet and this recording embraces three such arrangements plus the 'Friendship' Rondo, D 608, an original Schubert piece for two pianos, composed in honour of his great and dedicated friend.

The Goldstone and Clemmow duo, married since 1989, have etched a name for themselves in such repertoire, and these interpretations are as absorbing and entertaining as the arrangements themselves. While always highlighting the romantic streak of these works, they unfailingly bring to the fore both Schubert's and Gahy's flair for structure and melody.

-- Gerald Fenech, www.classical.net

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Schubert: Unauthorised Piano Duos Vol 2 / Clemmow, Goldstone
Divine Art Jan 2007
CD
$19.99

Schubert: Piano Trio in B-flat & Trout Quintet / Busch Trio

Alpha

$20.99 Oct 28, 2022

The Busch Trio continues its Schubertian explorations in two works brimming with melodic invention and nostalgia: the Trio in B flat and the famous ‘Trout’ Quintet in A major. But to those who see Schubert as the embodiment of the gemütlich (cosy) face of Vienna, his output, and especially his chamber music, responds with a spirituality, an intensity, and sometimes even a fury that are far removed from the atmosphere of the ‘Schubertiade’.

Despite the ‘effortless musicianship’ (The Times) and great emotional sensitivity ascribed to the Busch Trio by the press and their loyal fans, these three musicians are guided by the head as much as the heart when playing music, being very much aware of what they are doing. ‘The more you know, the more freedom you feel’ is one of the key maxims of the ensemble.

REVIEW:

The Busch Trio rivals classics recordings by, among others, Rudolf Serkin and the Marlboro Festival ensemble's, for musicianship and might be the most varied and imaginative of all. In addition, the recorded sound is the best of the lot, both for balancing the five instruments and for beauty. The tempos in all three performances are close, so that is a non-issue. There’s such a palpable delight communicated by the playing that I find this new account irresistible. The variations on “Die Forelle” that give the quintet its nickname are done with the lyrical phrasing of an exquisite Lieder singer. This testifies to the virtue mentioned above, that we hear a unified musical mind in the interpretation. In other hands the “Trout” Quintet can veer into sameness by the end, which the Busch Trio counters with a finale that sparkles exuberantly.

I have no hesitation in ranking both performances at or very near the top of a crowded catalog. The old guard fades, and it is heartening that the new generation can express Schubert as beautifully as anyone from the past.

-- Fanfare

Enthusiasm, affection and style...all those qualities are here again in abundance [on the Busch Trio's second Schubert album], the B flat Trio radiant where the E flat is motivically combative, the Trout Quintet perhaps the sine qua non of works composed for companionable music-making.

The striding opening of the Trio is suitably outgoing here, vividly transmitting its melodic generosity, but this ensemble’s extroversion does not ignore the clouds that cover its essentially sunny outlook on occasion. The mood is appropriately tender in the Andante, quizzical in the Scherzo and urbane in the finale. The Busch Trio’s sympathy with this repertoire feels absolute, their communicative ardour evident throughout the performance.

The two trios are works on the largest scale, so don’t often come with much more than brief couplings to add a few minutes to the running time. So it’s a blessing indeed to have the B flat Trio coupled with a whole Trout Quintet, and not one that’s rushed through, either. The Trout is one of those works that seems indestructible: it’s virtually impossible for even the most half-hearted performance not to convey bags of charm and charisma. When it’s played with the affection that the Busch lavish upon it, it’s irresistible. The recording smooths the edges off the piano sound but enables the contribution of each player to be heard ideally. Omri Epstein’s piano bubbles and ripples infectiously but the whole is anchored by the buoyant bass of Naomi Shaham. A true delight from start to finish.

-- Gramophone

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Schubert: Piano Trio in B-flat & Trout Quintet / Busch Trio
Alpha Oct 2022
CD
$20.99

Schubert: Piano Trios Nos. 1 & 2 - Piano Trio in B flat majo
Gramola Records Nov 2011
CD
$31.99

Handel: Apollo e Dafne - Harp Concerto In B-flat - Concerto Grosso In B-flat / Various Artists

Cameo Classics

$16.99 Oct 02, 2020

Beyond its musical riches, this medley of 1950s BBC radio broadcasts (from the Richard Itter Collection) opens a portal on England’s post-war Handelian revival. It is no accident that all these performances involve Thurston Dart, as harpsichordist, conductor or musicologist. His energy inspired a generation of musicians to explore neglected works by Handel and a host of other baroque composers, in a lithe chamber style more appropriate to their work than the heavyweight, orchestral grandeur favoured by previous generations. The efforts of Dart and other performers featured here paved the way for those more radical, ‘historically informed’ performance practices, which swept all before them in later decades.

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Handel: Apollo e Dafne - Harp Concerto In B-flat - Concerto Grosso In B-flat / Various Artists
Cameo Classics Oct 2020
CD
$16.99

Mozart: Piano Trios, Divertimento In B Flat K 254 / Kungsbacka Trio

Naxos

$19.99 Nov 18, 2008

MOZART Divertimento in B?, K 254. Piano Trios: No. 1; No. 3 • Kungsbacka Tr • NAXOS 8.570518 (63:28)

While the string quartet and piano trio almost certainly originated in earlier Baroque models, Franz Joseph Haydn is generally credited with having established both of them as permanent, formalized fixtures, if by no other measure than sheer dint of his voluminous output. At latest tally, Haydn’s piano trios number 45, though in the late 1970s, when the Beaux Arts Trio set out to record its monumental œuvre intégral for Philips, there were 43; and in a more recent period-instruments set from the Van Swieten Trio on Brilliant Classics that calls itself “complete” the total seems to have dwindled to 37. I suppose one could explain away the discrepancy based on an interpretation of what constitutes a piano trio; for clearly Haydn’s earliest efforts in the medium (he began writing trios as early as 1766 and continued as late as 1797) resemble more closely the trio sonata from which the piano trio most likely evolved.

No such ambiguities or count controversies exist when it comes to Mozart’s piano trios; for there are only six of them, and of those, all but one were written late in the composer’s life, between 1786 and 1788, a period that saw the creation of some of his greatest works. And yet, the trios have long been consigned to a seat at the back of the bus. It’s understandable, I suppose, to regard the modest forces of a piano trio as Lilliputian compared to the cast of singers and players to be marshaled for a performance of The Marriage of Figaro , completed in the same year as the G-Major Trio. But if you listen closely to these miniature masterpieces, you will hear the mature Mozart at work, with all of the perfection of craftsmanship and subtleties of melodic and harmonic expression to be found in the scores dating from the composer’s last five years.

That Mozart had the advantage of Haydn’s trios as models meant that he did not have to reinvent the wheel; it was ready-made for him to adopt and advance. Haydn had to learn how to free the cello from its trio sonata role of merely doubling the left hand of the keyboard part. Even in Mozart’s first foray into the medium, his 1776 B?-Major Divertimento, K 254, much of the time the cello still plays Doppelganger to the bass line. But by the time he came to write his five mature piano trios, Mozart had absorbed and in some ways surpassed what he learned from Haydn. I would not be prepared to claim, however, that the works in this medium, either by Haydn or by Mozart, prognosticate the piano trio’s future in the hands of Beethoven; for its transformation by Beethoven into a supersized and supercharged vessel for dramatic and expressive communication would cement its permanence, along with that of the string quartet, as the most populous and significant chamber music genre even unto the present day.

The 11-year-old Kungsbacka Trio (Malin Broman, violin; Jesper Svedberg, cello; and Simon Crawford-Phillips, piano) was formed in 1997 and takes its name from the Swedish town that hosted its first public performance in 2001. The current release, designated by Naxos as Volume 1, promises a follow-on disc containing Mozart’s remaining three trios. As of this writing, however, the Kungsbacka Trio has made only two other recordings—Schubert’s great E?-Major Piano Trio, also for Naxos, and for BIS a program of works by contemporary Swedish composer Karin Rehnqvist.

Despite the modest scale and the less than crown-jewel worth accorded these trios, there has been no dearth of high-profile ensembles that have committed them to disc, among them the always trustworthy Beaux Arts Trio, long available in a budget twofer from Philips, as well as more recent entries from the Florestan and Parnassus Trios on Hyperion and MDG respectively, and my own personal favorite from the Gryphon Trio on Analekta. Not to slight the period-instruments buffs, there’s also the Trio Stradivari on cpo and the London Fortepiano Trio on Hyperion.

The Kungsbacka Trio is a modern-instruments ensemble, but it plays stylishly and tastefully. Translation: articulation is crisp, vibrato is minimal, tempos are spirited in allegro movements and forward moving in andante movements, open strings are not avoided, and first-movement exposition repeats are taken.

For those who don’t already have one or more versions of these trios in their collections and/or who are not uncompromising advocates for period instruments, the Kungsbacka Trio can be recommended for very fine playing, and Naxos’s recording, at a price that can’t be beat, is excellent. A most satisfying first installment of Mozart’s six piano trios; I look forward to its completion.

FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

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Mozart: Piano Trios, Divertimento In B Flat K 254 / Kungsbacka Trio
Naxos Nov 2008
CD
$19.99

Bebop Riddle V for clarinet in B flat & alto sax in E flat

Nimbus

Book

$62.99 Oct 02, 2026

Bebop Riddle V is by turns sprightly, spry, energetic, and spirited. In this work, Thomas crafted animated, travelling, flexible, versatile, changing, fluid, and buoyant sonic adventures, a bit like two hummingbirds darting around a field of wildflowers. Iridescent, bold, and scintillating, the carefully sculpted and fashioned musical materials of Bebop Riddle V are agile and vivacious, and their flexibility allows pathways to braid harmonic, rhythmic, and contrapuntal elements that are constantly transformed - variously whimsical, jazzy and bebop-like, layered, and reverberating, with lyrical resonance, pirouettes, fulcrum points, and vitality. The two equally virtuosic parts - requiring highly characterized dynamics and articulations, as well as fast fingering changes - sparkle forth for 8 minutes, unfolding fourteen continuously developing phrases, each lasting between 15 and 50 seconds. The music is organic and concerned with transformations and connections at every level. Poetically speaking, this composition has a kind of fractal quality to it - each part has a similar flair, twirl, whirl, pivot, and character as the whole. There are seven additional alternative instrumentation versions for Bebop Riddle V which can be purchased separately.

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Bebop Riddle V for clarinet in B flat & alto sax in E flat
Nimbus Oct 2026
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$62.99

Bebop Riddle V for flute & clarinet in B flat

Nimbus

Book

$62.99 Oct 02, 2026

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Bebop Riddle V for flute & clarinet in B flat
Nimbus Oct 2026
Book
$62.99

Humoreske in B Flat Major
Channel Classics Jan 2001
CD
$20.99

Dussek, J.L.: Concerto for 2 Pianos in B Flat Major / Schuma
Centaur Records Dec 1995
CD
$18.99

Bebop Riddle V for 2 clarinets in B flat

Nimbus

Book

$62.99 Oct 02, 2026

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Bebop Riddle V for 2 clarinets in B flat
Nimbus Oct 2026
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$62.99

Bebop Riddle V for soprano sax in B flat & alto sax in E fla

Nimbus

Book

$62.99 Oct 02, 2026

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Bebop Riddle V for soprano sax in B flat & alto sax in E fla
Nimbus Oct 2026
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$62.99

Bebop Riddle V for soprano sax in B flat & clarinet in B fla

Nimbus

Book

$62.99 Oct 02, 2026

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Bebop Riddle V for soprano sax in B flat & clarinet in B fla
Nimbus Oct 2026
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$62.99

Schubert: Sonata in B flat Major D 960; Drei Klavierstucke D 946 / Ayako Ito

Challenge Classics

$9.49 ~~$18.99~~ Save 50% Apr 08, 2022

Ayako Ito: “Nowadays, in concert halls, we generally see a single type of piano that normally has 88 keys and is normally black. Things were quite different in the Vienna of the 19th century: the piano had fewer keys, was decorated with wooden inlay and had no steel subframe. All this made them sound quite different. Conrad Graf was one of the finest builders of pianofortes in Vienna in the period from 1820-40. And Franz Schubert was living in the same city.We can revive a rich, warm, singing, powerful and even orchestral sound on Graf's pianofortes. His pianos feature the Viennese action or “Prellzungenmechanik”, with their hammers built up from many layers of leather. These hammers allow the performer to impart subtle nuances and dynamic contrasts. Of course, the pianos are straight-strung. The player can alter the tonal color using four pedals, with one of the pedals specific to the pianoforte being the moderator. When the moderator pedal is depressed, a strip of cashmere slips between the hammers and the strings. Christopher Clarke (1947) built the instrument used for this recording in 2000, as a facsimile of Conrad Graf's pianoforte no. 995. Clarke's pianoforte always inspires me. I find it a miraculous instrument. The utter precision of the mechanism lets us explore the finest gradations and introduce the most subtle nuances – singing, speaking or whispering. It is a mechanism that demands a high technical mastery from the player.”

Review

Ayako Ito approaches the masterpiece D960 with romantic fervour, trusting the less powerful, more refined, tone of the fortepiano will provide authentic period sound compensation. Her opening theme isn’t as soft as pp, but smoother and more swinging than the Molto moderato marking suggests. The deep bass disturbance at the end of its first full statement (tr. 1, 0:24) is more threatening than the pp marking. The clarity of Ito’s running quavers in the ‘tenor’ part enhances the tense atmosphere, yet the third part of the first theme (0:58), more pleading, moves through quiet insistence. The second theme (2:06), is in the tenor part against the ‘soprano’ descant, with Ito’s sensitive balance the latter’s creaminess like a loving companion. The dancing three-quaver groups in triplets which eventually result skip buoyantly. The phrase of resolution terminating these (4:04) deserves more breadth, but the extraordinary exposition ‘first time’ codetta (4:55), like hobgoblins arriving, Ito makes boldly gawky.

In the development (10:19) Ito prefers cool examination rather than shock, its ff climax of the dancing triplets underplayed (11:27). But she builds the tension and dynamic well to the fruition of the third theme (12:18), the most tender and memorable. Ito makes the second theme recap (16:08) more delicate and sensitive. Her coda (19:22) is tranquil yet flowing.

The opening of the slow movement juxtaposes a left-hand four note rising figure and melancholic right-hand melody. Ito makes the first and final notes of the left-hand figure very clear as bell peals three octaves apart. In this C sharp minor funeral Ito is sorrowful yet smoothly dignified, her equipoise between the hands arguably overmuch easing the pain of bereavement. The central section in A major (tr. 2, 2:59) remembers the loved one and clarifies a relationship, its theme beginning in rich ‘baritone’ register, the soprano repeat (3:26) adding varied semiquaver runs. From Ito it feels like both parties confirm shared sadness. At the return to the opening (5:36) the left-hand has an additional four-note motif, three semiquavers and a quaver, for me like funeral carriage wheels biting into the road. Ito makes it a clear, inescapable presence. The decrescendo after the melody’s climax finds the left-hand unheeding the pathos of the melody briefly in C major (6:30); yet after the next melodic climax comes a blessing, the coda (7:55) easing calmly into C sharp major.

Ito’s finale’s rondo theme begins a bit stiff in marking out the rhythm; her second strain (tr. 4, 0:21) is catchier and first episode (1:24) blends calm tone with confident movement, the relationship between melody and accompaniment grippingly maintained, until a sudden silence and ff shock (2:36) of catastrophe, especially when the melodic outburst goes into descant register.

Best of D946, Three piano pieces, is for me the first. It’s in E flat minor with urgent first strain to its right-hand cyclical theme. The second (tr. 5, 0:15) adds more rhythm, then a melody picked out from the first notes of the three-quaver groupings (0:19). The return of the first strain is in E flat major (0:50), the touch more rhythm a vehicle for Ito screaming a scrunched appoggiatura at the fz climax. The central section second theme (2:54) is in B major, festooned with turns and phrase-ending arpeggios, Ito revealing it as leisurely and affectionate. Its second strain (4:13) adds glissando-like up-and-down [32nd notes], the return of the first more luxurious in chording and close more rhetorical. To this vibrant, varied piece Ito brings considerable gusto.

--MusicWeb International (Michael Greenhalgh)

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Schubert: Sonata in B flat Major D 960; Drei Klavierstucke D 946 / Ayako Ito
Challenge Classics Apr 2022
CD
~~$18.99~~ $9.49

Bebop Riddle V for oboe & clarinet in B flat

Nimbus

Book

$62.99 Oct 02, 2026

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Bebop Riddle V for oboe & clarinet in B flat
Nimbus Oct 2026
Book
$62.99

SYMPHONY NO.3 IN B FLAT MAJOR,
Sterling Records Aug 2013
CD
$20.99

Hindemith: Symphony In B-Flat Major & The 4 Temperaments - Berg: Chamber Concerto
Orfeo Nov 1989
CD
$16.99

Chausson: Symphony in B-Flat Major / Viviane / Soir De Fete
Chandos Jan 1999
CD
$21.99

Haydn, J.: Mass in B-Flat Major, "Harmoniemesse" / Mass in B
Haenssler Classic Feb 2009
CD
$20.99

Reicha: Variations - Bassoon Quintet in B flat major
Ars Produktion Jan 2011
SACD
$21.99

DUO
SteepleChase Jan 1988
CD
$22.99

DUOS
Hat Hut Records Sep 2011
CD
$20.99

MOZART: Serenade in B-Flat Major / Divertimento in F major
Chandos Jul 1993
CD
$6.99

Pisendel, J.G.: Sinfonia in B-Flat Major / Telemann, G.P.: V
Berlin Classics Aug 1993
CD
$21.99