Label: AMATI SACD 2205
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WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: Concerto for Harpsichord & Orchestra in D major KV 107/1; Concerto for Harpsichord & Orchestra in G major KV 107/2; Concerto for Harpsichord & Orchestra in E flat major KV 107/3
JOHANN CHRISTIAN BACH: Quintet in D major for Transverse flute, Oboe, Violin, Cello & Obligate harpsichord, Op. 22; Sonata in C minor for harpsichord, Op. 17/2

Tatjana Vorobjova, harpsichord
Le Parnasse Musical: Eva Morsbach, recorder & transverse flute; Ina Stock, baroque oboe; Gabriel Nußberger & Martina Theobald, violin; Martin Burkhardt, cello; Tatjana Vorobjova, harpsichord

Label: ARS PRODUCTION SACD 38068
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CHRISTIAN ERNST GRAF (1723 – 1804): Sinfonia I & III; Cello ConcertoNo. 1 in D major; Cello Concerto No. 2 in C major
CARL FRIEDRICH ABEL (1723 – 1787): Cello Concerto in C major

ARTISTS: Klaus-Dieter Brandt, cello; L’arpa Festante

The life and work of Christian Ernst Graf (1723-1804) remains largely unexplored – a striking fact given the outstanding quality of the works that have been re-discovered and recorded. Little is known about Christian Ernst’s life in his birth town Rudolstadt before he moved to the Netherlands. In the 1750s, he became a composer at the court of Princess Anna van Hannover (1709–1759), widow of stadtholder Willem IV (1711–1751), and at the Court of His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange. Graf’s compositional idiom is characterized by an almost modern sensibility and inventiveness, both expressive and brilliant in style – qualities that are apparent in the two violoncello concertos presented on this SACD. Like Marin Marais in his viola da gamba pieces, Graf explored the virtuosic possibilities of the violoncello to its limits.

Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38007
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WILLIAM CHRISTOPHER HANDY (1873 – 1958): St. Louis Blues
HAROLD ARLEN (1905 – 1986): Somewhere Over The Rainbow
PERCY MAYFIELD (1920 -1984): Hit The Road, Jack
DUKE ELLINGTON (1899 – 1974): It Don't Mean A Thing
JOSEPH EASTBURN (1837 – 1918): Little Brown Jug
THEO MACKEBEN (1897 – 1953): Nur nicht aus Liebe weinen
ENNIO MORRICONE (*1928)/JOHAN DE MEY: A Moment for Morricone
ENRIQUE FRANCINI (1916 – 1978): La vi llegar
FRIEDRICH HOLLAENDER (1896 – 1976): Guck doch nicht immer nach dem Tangogeiger hin
FREDERICK LOEWE (1901 – 1988): I Could Have Danced All Night
WERNER RICHARD HEYMANN (1896 – 1961): Liebling, mein Herz lässt Dich grüßen
HARRO STEFFEN (*1920): Tanz mal wieder Bossa-Nova
LEONELLO CASUCCI (1885 – 1975): Schöner Gigolo, Armer Gigolo
ANTON PROFES (1896 – 1976): Am Sonntag will mein Süßer mit mir Segeln geh'n
SCOTT JOPLIN (1868 – 1917): Wall Street Rag
CHARLES CHAPLIN (1889 – 1977): Bathtub Nonsense
HERBERT GRONEMEYER (*1976): Mambo
GEORGE GERSHWIN (1898 – 1937): The Man I love; Embraceable you; I Got Rhythm
EMMERICH KALMAN (1882 – 1953): Weißt Du es noch
NIKOLAUS BRODSZKY (1905 – 1958): Be My Love
TRADITION: Loch Lomond; Irish Blessing

Berliner Cellharmoniker: David Drost, Alexander Kahl, Andreas Kipp, Rouven Schirmer
Since its founding in 1994, Berliner Cellharmoniker has been able to successfully establish itself in the international music-scene. The ensemble has won various competi¬tions including the “Charles Hennen” Chamber Music Competition (the Netherlands) and the Violoncello Ensemble Competition in Beauvais (France) – and has also been distinguished with the EMCY (European Union of Music Competi¬tions for Youth) special prize “Dancing Angel”, the special prize from the city of Beauvais as well as the European Foundation for Culture’s promising young artist prize “Pro Europa”. This success has led to several radio and television appearances in addition to numerous guest performances at renowned concerts or well-known music festivals, such as the Rheingau Music Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad.
Berliner Celiharmoniker’s extensive re¬pertoire ranges from classical works and virtuoso pieces to Avantgarde and uniquely interpreted own arrangements from film scores, easy listening, pop and jazz of which the latter can be heard on this CD. The quarte¬t’s special attention to contemporary music has inspired several composers to compose their own pieces especially for the ensemble.
To give you the feeling that you are u part ofthe ensemble and completely surrounded by the four Cellharmoniker, this CD has been re¬corded in the SACD (Super Audio CD) format for play back on a SACD-compatible device. When playing back on a conventional CD player, the music will be reproduced in high-quality stereo sound.

Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38008
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Variations sur un thème de Beethoven for 2 pianos, Op. 35 (1874)
Introduction et Rondo capriccioso for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 28 (1863) – version for 2 pianos by Claude Debussy (1889)
“Le Rouet d’Omphale”Symphonische Dichtung für Orchester, Op. 31 (1871) – version for 2 pianos (1877)
“Marche heroïque” für Orchester, Op. 34 (1871) – version fro 2 pianos (1871)
“Suite algérienne” for Orchestra, Op. 60 (1880) – version for piano 2 hands by Gabriel Faure (1880)
Scherzo in B major for 2 pianos, Op. 87 (1890)

Vilija Poskute & Tomas Daukantas
After getting the diplomas at the music academy in Vilnius the two Lithuanian pianists Vilija Poskute and Tomas Daukantas decided to continue their studies in Switzerland. Since 1999 they are living in Winterthur/Switzerland. At the college of music in Zurich/Winterthur they received their concert diplomas and afterwards the ensemble diploma with honour.
In 2000 the two pianists decided to work together as a piano duo on two pianos or one piano four hands. This cooperation was very successful, they won the following international competitions: 2001 – winners of the International Franz Schubert competition for piano duo in the Czech Republic, 2002 – winners of Concorso Palma d’Oro Liguria and 1st prize Concorso Internazionale di Musica Citta di Pavia and Concorso Internazionale Camillo Togni Brescia as well as Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Zurich, 2003 – winners of the International chamber music competition Verona promotion price ORPHEUS-concerts, 2004 – 1st prize Concorso Pianistico Internazionale Repubblica di San Marino. Both pianists visited master classes among others with Rudolf Buchbinder, Hans-Peter and Volker Stenzl, Yaara Tal and Andreas Groethuysen. Concerts in Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Spain, Czech Republic, England, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Lithuania, and the USA.

Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38013
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“COLOURS OF THE HARP”
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685 – 1750): Das Wohltemperierte Klavier I: Prelude No. 8 in E flat minor BWV 853
CARL PHILLIPP EMANUEL BACH (1714 – 1788): Sonata in G major Wq. 139 “Solo für die Harfe”
WILLIAM CROFT (1678 – 1727): Suite No. 3 in C minor: Ground
LOUIS SPOHR (1784 – 1859): Fantasie in C minor, Op. 35
MARCEL TOURNIER (1879 – 1951): “Trois Images”, Suite No. 1 Op. 29 (Clarie de lune sur I’étang du parc; Au seuil du temple; Lolita la danseuse)
GABRIEL FAURE (1845 – 1924): Impromptu, Op. 86
HENRIEETE RENIE (1875 – 1956): Contemplation; Ballade Fantastique

Anton Sie, harp

Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38014
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Messe Brève No. 7 in C major
Messe Brève in B flat major
Deuxième Messe in F major, Op. 1
Ave Maria

Martin Schmending, organ; Patrik Herget, soprano; Axel Werntges, contralto; Hartmut Roth, tenor; Philipp Tetzlaff, bass

Jungendkantorei Hösel/Toralf Hildebrandt
The Jugendkantorei Hösel is a school choir composed of pupils of the 4th to the 13th forms. The choir is responsible for the performance of church music at the Adolf Clarenbach Church in Ratingen-Hösel. Its repertoire covers all periods of musical history, although its main focus is the regular performance of Bach’s cantatas during the ecclesiastical year and the cultivation of musical literature for choir and organ. Radio and CD recordings, choral concerts and concert tours in Germany, Europe and Northern America complete the choir’s numerous activities. The choir has therefore given a great number of concerts in Germany (Saint-Thomas Church in Leipzig, etc.), in Switzerland (Zürich Cathedral, etc.), in Poland (Breslau Cathedral, etc.), In Italy (Saint-Ignatius Church in Rome, etc.), in the Czech Republic (Saint-Nicolas Church in Prague, etc.), as well as in Austria, Spain and Hungary and twice in the U.S.A. (in particular in Chicago and Washington). The choir is prize-winner of numerous national and international music competitions (it won for example the 2nd prize at the Palestrina Competition in Rome in 2000 and the 1st prize at the Musica Sacra Competition in Prague in 2001). Every singer who wishes to be a member of the choir must pass an entrance examination and must attend the daily rehearsals and singing lessons.

Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38025
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CESAR FRANCK (1833 – 1890): Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major (version for cello and piano, 1886)
SERGEI RACHMANINOV (1873 – 1943): Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor, Op. 19 (1901)

Friedrich Kleinhapl, cello

Andreas Woyke, piano

Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38038
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Airs de ballet aus der Oper “Etienne Marcel” (1879) – version for 2 pianos 4 hands by Claude Debussy (1890)
From “Samson et Dallila”, Op. 47 (1877) – version for piano 4 hands by Paul Dukas (ca. 1890?)
Berceuse, OP. 105 for piano 4 hands (1896)
Pas redouble, Op. 86 for piano 4 hands (1887/1890)
“Le Carnaval des animaux” Grande Fantaisie zoologique, for 2 pianos, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, flute, clarinet, harmonica and xylophone (1886/1922)

Vilija Poskute & Tomas Daukantas, piano duo

Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38040
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FRANZ KROMMER (1759 – 1831): Quartet in B flat major for bassoon, 2 violas and cello, Op. 46 No. 1; Quartet in E flat major for bassoon, 2 violas and cello, Op. 46 No. 2
JOHANN NEPOMUK HUMMEL (1778 – 1837): Trio in G major for 2 violas and cello

Jane Gower, bassoon; Quartet Island: Antoninette Lohmann, viola; Galina Zinchenko, viola; Jennifer Morsches, cello
Franz Krommer’s wind music dates from a golden age of wind music composition, a time where profound sentiments, intellectual discourse, and delicacy of expression in instrumental music was not seen to be the sole domain of strings or piano. As all of Krommer's superlative wind music, the quartets Op. 46 are highly instrumentally idiomatic and often virtuosic. They exploit the full three octave range of the period bassoon to dramatic effect, use a full palette of tonal colours and textures, and feature many different effects at which the bassoon excels; running staccato figures, wide intervallic leaps, as well as soaring tenor cantabile lines. The quartet Island was founded in 1999 in order to explore the unjustly neglected early 19th century repertoire for bassoon, violin, viola and cello, on the instruments of the era. Island has performed throughout Spain, France and the Netherlands, and featured extensively in the 2006 Flanders Festival. In 2008 the quartet makes its second tour for the Dutch Netwerk voor Oude Muziek. Its first CD recording of the Quartets of François Devienne, released on Centaur Records, is a première on historical instruments, as was the following, of the three Quartets, Op. 40, of Franz Danzi and the present recording.

Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38068
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CELLO CONCERTOS & SINFONIAS
CHRISTIAN ERNST GRAF (1723 – 1804): Sinfonia I & III; Cello Concerto No. 1 in D major; Cello Concerto No. 2 in C major
CARL FRIEDRICH ABEL (1723 – 1787): Cello Concerto in C major

Klaus-Dieter Brandt, cello

L’arpa festante
The life and work of Christian Ernst Graf (1723-1804) remains largely unexplored – a striking fact given the outstanding quality of the works that have been re-discovered and recorded. Little is known about Christian Ernst’s life in his birth town Rudolstadt before he moved to the Netherlands.
In the 1750s, he became a composer at the court of Princess Anna van Hannover (1709–1759), widow of stadtholder Willem IV (1711–1751), and at the Court of His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange. Graf’s compositional idiom is characterized by an almost modern sensibility and inventiveness, both expressive and brilliant in style – qualities that are apparent in the two violoncello concertos presented on this SACD. Like Marin Marais in his viola da gamba pieces, Graf explored the virtuosic possibilities of the violoncello to its limits.
Founded in 1983 as one of the earliest German early music ensembles, L’arpa festante has developed an outstanding reputation. One of the ensemble’s main interests is the rediscovery and historically informed performance of forgotten works from the 17th Century and the Classical era as well as the symphonic and oratorio repertoire of the Romantic era.

Label: ARS PRODUKTION SACD 38078
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Prelude, fugue et variation for Organ, Op. 18 (arr. Ethel Bartlett and Rae Robertson); 10 selections from “L’Organiste” (arr. Poskute & Daukantas); Première Fantasie in C major for Organ, Op. 16; Cantabile in B major for Organ (arr. Henri Duparc);S onata for Violin and Piano in A major (arr. Alfred Cortot)

ARTISTS: Vilija Poskute, piano; Tomás Daukantas, piano

Label: BIS SACD 1109
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FRENCH MUSIC FOR TRUMPET AND ORGAN: HAKAN HARDENBERGER, TRUMPET; SIMON PRESTON,ORGAN (AARHUS CATHEDRAL, DENMARK) PRIERES SANS PAROLESà SUPER AUDIO CD û SPECIAL PLAYER NECESSARY.

Label: BIS SACD 1463
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CARL NIELSEN (1865 – 1931): Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, Op. 57 (1928)
KALEVI AHO (*1949): Clarinet Concerto

Martin Frost, clarinet
Lahti Symphony Orchestra/Osmo Vanska
Martin Fröst’s latest releases feature the core repertoire for his instrument from the 18th and 19th centuries: the Mozart Concerto and Quintet, Brahms’s sonatas and, most recently, Weber’s concertos. All of these offerings have been singularly well received by reviewers and record buyers alike, and have contributed to Fröst’s flourishing concert career. While his concert programmes certainly include the works of Brahms, Schumann and their likes, Fröst is however also known as one of today’s most charismatic performers of contemporary music, and on this disc he shows us why. Combining two great Scandinavian works for the clarinet, from 1928 and 2005 respectively, he makes a passionate case for music as a timeless and universal means of communication. Carl Nielsen’s Concerto was one of the composer’s last works, but although Nielsen had by this time reached the status of elder statesman in Danish musical life, the work was met with consternation at its première. It has since become part of the repertoire, but as implied in a recent Copenhagen concert review, it can still misfire: ‘There are those who play Carl Nielsen’s knotty clarinet concerto from 1928 as a chunk of dogged, fragmented and rather shrill modernism. And then there are those, like the Swede Martin Fröst, who bring it off as a piece of wild and visionary leprechaun music, almost like an extraordinary breakneck improvisation.’ In marked contrast, Kalevi Aho’s Concerto, composed for Fröst some 80 years later, was immediately hailed as ‘a masterpiece’ at its première, in London in April 2005: ‘Until you've heard Martin Fröst, you really haven't heard the clarinet. This young Swedish musician becomes the clarinet. His entire body moves and breathes with the instrument - and he creates sounds the likes of which you will go a very long way to hear… It's a mark of Fröst's imagination and genius that he chose the Finnish composer Kalevi Aho to write him a clarinet concerto... a work of beguiling beauty and huge excitement’ (The Times, UK). Supporting Fröst in both works is the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä, whose expertise in the music of both Kalevi Aho and Nielsen is well documented, in the concert hall as well as on disc.

Label: BIS SACD 1523
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Clarinet Concerto No.1 in F minor, Op.73; Clarinet Concerto No.2 in E flat major, Op.74; Quintet in B flat major for clarinet and strings, Op.34 (arranged for string orchestra); Concertino in E flat major for clarinet and orchestra, Op.26

Martin Frost, clarinet
Tapiola Sinfonietta/Jean-Jacques Kantorow
Like Mozart with Anton Stadler and later Brahms with his Richard Muhlfeld, Carl Maria von Weber could also call upon an exceptional clarinetist: Heinrich Baermann, who inspired all of the works on this disc. Although they were written before Weber had composed Der Freischutz, the opera, which made him an instant star of early Romantic music, they are now among his most played works. The Concertino and the two Concertos were all composed in 1811, in an almost-frenzy that testifies to the inspiration Weber must have experienced when first hearing Baermann. This is also audible in the music, which showcases the instrument’s technical capabilities and displays its richness of colors, while providing it with gripping moments in aria-like slow movements and virtuosic and vivacious finales. To perform these works an all-round musician is needed: someone like Baermann – or like Martin Frost! With his latest release on BIS – chamber works by Brahms (BIS-SACD-1353) – Frost captured the hearts and ears of both audiences and reviewers, as testified by a number of distinctions and by the following quote: ‘[His] smooth, even tone is deliciously seductive, and he can darken or lighten the sound at will, from velvet warmth with a sensitively applied vibrato, to a soaring clarity that never goes louder than lovely … I could write more, but if you'll excuse me, I'd rather like to be seduced all over again.' (Andrew McGregor, BBC Radio 3: CD Review).

Label: BIS SACD 1620
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CARL MARIA VON WEBER (1786 – 1826) – THE SYMPHONIES
Symphony No.1 in C major; Symphony No.2 in C major;
Andante e Rondo Ungarese for bassoon and orchestra;
Concerto in F major for Bassoon and Orchestra

Jaakko Luoma, bassoon

Tapiola Sinfonietta/Jean-Jacques Kantorow
The Tapiola Sinfonietta has recorded a number of highly acclaimed discs for BIS spanning a repertoire from Rautavaara, Pärt and Shostakovich to Saint-Saëns and Mozart. On one of the orchestra’s most recent releases, under conductor Jean-Jacques Kantorow, the program was centered on the clarinet concertos by Carl Maria von Weber, with Martin Fröst as soloist. The orchestra’s contribution to the much-praised result was noticed by the reviewers, as witness the following description on website classicstoday.com: ‘perfect accompaniments: swift, sensitive, texturally transparent, and rhythmically snappy’. On the present disc Tapiola Sinfonietta and Kantorow revisit Weber, again focusing on works by the young composer, from before the fame that the opera Der Freischütz would bring. The two symphonies – the only works in the genre that Weber composed – were written in the space of six weeks around New Year 1808, while Weber were staying at the court of the Count of Württemberg-Öls in Carlsruhe (nowadays Pokój in Poland). Their scoring reflects the forces available in the Count’s orchestra: apart from strings and timpani Weber could call upon a flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns and two trumpets. We may assume that the wind players were of exceptional quality, as these works offer them plenty of opportunities to show off. The symphonies also bear witness to the period of transition from classicism to romanticism, particularly in terms of orchestral color. The two works for bassoon and orchestra included on the disc were composed a few years later, specifically for Georg Friedrich Brandt, bassoonist in the Munich Court Orchestra. They are here performed by Jaakko Luoma, the principal bassoonist of the Tapiola Sinfonietta, who gives them their full measure of both flamboyant virtuosity and lyric songfulness.