Label: BIS 1003
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STRING QUARTETS, VOL. 1: String Quartet No. 1 in E flat major; String Quartet No. 2 in C major. Quartetto David.

Label: BIS 1004
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STRING QUARTETS, VOL. 2: String Quartet No. 3 in D minor; String Quartet No. 4 in E major. Quartetto David.

Label: BIS 1050
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HAFIS; SONGS; NIGHT, ETC. SCHOLA CANTORUM CH.; ICELAND/MANSON

Label: BIS 1057
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CELLO CONCERTOS; H. SUZUKI, CELLO; ORCH./AKATSU

Label: BIS 1106
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LAUNY GRONDAHL: Six Etudes de Concert, Op.11; Three Pieces for Piano, Op.15; Four Sketches for Piano, Op.19; Suite, Op.20; Three Etudes, Op.22. G. Henning Braaten, piano.

Label: BIS 1117
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LES PRELUDES; TASSO, ETC. BERLIN RSO/FRUHBECK DE BURGOS

Label: BIS 1128
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MANDRAKE IN THE CORNER - - CHRISTIAN LINDBERG: Mandrake in the Corner; AXEL JORGENSEN: Suite for Trombone and Orchestra; EGIL HOVLAND: Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra; JAN SANDSTROM: Cantos de la Mancha - Christian Lindberg (trombone); Singapore Symphony Orchestra; L. Shui. This is latest entry to the greatest trombone discography available. Here Lindberg displays his own concertoMandrake" and the new piece, inspired by Don Quixote, by his long time collaborator (Motorbike Concerto - BIS 538), Jan Sandstrom. Also here are the romantic musings of Jorgensen and the neo-classic Hovland work.

Label: BIS 1210
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12 TRANSCENDENTAL ETUDES - Freddy Kempf (piano) - Freddy Kempf has established himself as one of the most brilliant young pianists around. Here he leaps into the deep end with Liszt. These works were infamous knuckle-busters until Liszt's revisions, changing them into true Romantic character pieces. Kempf relishes the opportunity in each of these dozen gems.

Label: BIS 1242
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LERA AUERBACH: Twenty-Four Preludes for Violin and Piano, Op. 46 (1999); T'filah (Prayer) for violin solo (1996); Postlude for violin and piano (1999). Vadim Gluzman, violin; Angela Yoffe, piano. --------- Lera Auerbach is not yet thirty but has already an amazing list of accomplishments to her name. As well as being an acclaimed composer and pianist, she has also published two novels and several collections of poetry. (In 1996 she was named Poet of the Year by the International Pushkin Society). Her credentials in the field of music are no less impressive: In 2000 the International Johannes Brahms Society invited her to Baden-Baden, where she lived and worked as composer-in-residence at the composer's former home and the following year she filled a similar function at Gidon Kremer's Lockenhaus Festival. On this, the first widely distributed CD devoted to her music; the focus is on her music for violin and piano. The main work is the Twenty-four Preludes, in which all the major and minor keys are explored, as well as the full spectrum of violin technique. But - as may be expected of a poet - Lera Auerbach's aim is not to create a virtuoso showpiece, but to communicate. And anyone who listens to this music will agree that she succeeds. Further proof of the expressive qualities of her music is that the Preludes has attracted the attention of renowned choreographer John Neumeier who uses the work in a new ballet to be premièred in June 2003. On stage performing the music will be Vadim Gluzman and Angela Yoffe, to whom the work is dedicated and who have recorded it on this their first disc on BIS. We are happy to welcome this composer-musician trio, and to be able to offer the general public an emotional experience that shouldn't be missed.

Label: BIS 1274
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RUSSIAN BRASS MUSIC – NOKTURNO - ANATOL LIADOV: Fanfare Nos.1, 2 & 4 (1890)[ OSKAR BOHME: Trumpet Sextet in E flat minor, Op.30 (1906); Nachtmusik, Op.44 No.1 (1935); ALEXANDER GLAZUNOV: Fanfare Nos.3 & 5 (1890); In modo religioso (1892)[ NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Notturno (1888); ARAM KHACHATURIAN: Festliche Fanfaren (1975); EDISON DENISOV: Six pièces (1993) - brass partout directed by Hermann Bäumer - Herman Bäumer, who himself combines a career as a conductor with playing the trombone in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra presents his 'brass partout' ensemble in their second recording for BIS. The high level of technical ability of the players is more than matched by the musicality of the ensemble as a whole. 'Brass partout' started out as a student ensemble but the 21 players are now distinguished orchestral musicians who get together from time to time to perform music for brass ensemble. The present disc presents a 'Russian' programme with such listener-friendly composers as Rimsky-Korsakov, Khachaturian and Glazunov but also including a substantial work by that pioneer of the avant-garde in Russia, Edison Denisov. The critics received their first disc for BIS with enormous enthusiasm. Robert Layton wrote in Gramophone: "Not to beat about the bush, the playing is quite superb and the recording is absolutely state of the art. Recommended with enthusiasm." The German magazine Klassik Heute opined that "brass partout sparkle with wind virtuosity, but their musical expression and sensibility are no less convincing". While Martin Anderson of the International Record Review expressed the hope that BIS would "take its mikes along to meet Brass Partout again". Well, we have. Connoisseurs of brass playing should be licking their lips!

Label: BIS 1360
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LEPO SUMERA: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (1998/99); Musica profana (1997); Symphony No. 6 (2000). David Geringas, cello; Estonian National Symphony Orchestra; Paavo Jarvi, conductor. In the BIS catalogue, this is the fourth disc to be dedicated to the orchestral music of Estonian composer Lepo Sumera. And with the 6th Symphony recorded on it, the complete symphonic output of this fascinating composer, who in 2000 died at the age of 50, has been documented. As on previous discs it is maestro Paavo Järvi who presents the music of his compatriot, this time conducting the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. The Symphony (in two movements) can, to some extent, be regarded as Sumera's testament: not only is it the last music from his pen, but also possibly the most fascinating, enigmatic and tragically meditative music he ever wrote. On the present disc it is coupled with two other works from the composer's last period. In Musica Profana (1997) for string orchestra there is an elation and rhythmic energy reminiscent of baroque concertos for string instruments. At the same time Sumera's use of sequential techniques creates an almost minimalistic soundscape. The Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (1998/99) uses musical ideas from one of Sumera's student works, but employs them in the fashion of his last period. Sumera himself wrote "When writing a new work I never speculate upon its musical style. Sometimes I can't name the sources of my ideas. In case of the Cello Concerto, I am positive: this work was impelled by the solo instrument. The cello is a melodic instrument by nature, its sound can be fatefully passionate in its lower register, and delicate and sensitive in the upper one." The dedicatee of the work - and soloist on this disc - he described as the "excellent cellist and musician David Geringas whose brilliant technique and unusually rich palette of tone colors had inspired me to write for him." Previous Sumera releases have been warmly received over the years and we are happy finally to be able to tell the reviewer in American Record Guide (who has been looking forward to the next release since the May/June issue of 1997): Here it is!

Label: BIS 1446
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JOHN DOWLAND: Flow, my tears; Say love if ever thou didst find; Lachrim'; Me, me and none but me; Come again: sweet love
ROBERT JONES: Though your strangeness; My complaining is but feigning; Once did I serve a cruel heart; Sweet Kate; What if I seek for love of thee?; Lie down, poor heart; And is it night?; Grief of my best love’s absenting
ROBERT JOHNSON: Lady Hatton’s almain; The second witches dance; Hark! Wot ye what?;
ANONYMOUS: Zouch his march
Poetry by George Herbert, William Shakespeare, Sir Walter Raleigh, Ben Jonson, Francis Quarles, Thomas Campion and Abraham Cowley

Theatre of Early Music – James Bowman and Daniel Taylor, counter-tenors; Frances Kelly, harp; Elizabeth Kenny, lute; Mark Levy, gamba; Ralph Fiennes, recitation
For as long as man has created works of art, love and its attendant joys and pain has provided subject matter to a great part of them. One Golden Age for songs and poems about love was the 16th century in England, where Shakespeare, Dowland and many others sang to the glory of their lovers, loved ones and love itself, while never forgetting the grief, which almost certainly follows the passion. On this disc, counter-tenor Daniel Taylor and the Theatre of Early Music (also on the much praised BIS-CD-1346: Leçons de Ténèbres) have devised a program, which includes both songs and poems showing the many faces of Love, as painted by poets and composers in the years between 1560-1630. The musicians are joined by the acclaimed Shakespearean actor Ralph Fiennes, known from films such as Schindler’s List, The English Patient and The Constant Gardener, who recites poems by Shakespeare, Sir Walter Raleigh, Ben Jonson, Thomas Campion and others. These poems intersperse a collection of songs, duets and instrumental pieces by Dowland, Robert Jones and Robert Johnson. James Bowman, appearing on BIS for the first time, has had an unparalleled career. He was the very first counter-tenor to appear at Glyndeborne (in 1971) and has since visited most of the world's major opera houses. He and Daniel Taylor have explored the English lute songs before, together and on their own. Here they are joined by experts in this particular field: Frances Kelly, Elizabeth Kenny and Mark Levy have all made their reputations in this repertoire, both as soloists and in various ensembles. Together the six performers make Love Bade Me Welcome a unique disc: at turns bitter-sweet, tragic, joyful, full of hope and disillusion – just like Love itself!

Label: BIS 1453
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ARTISTS: Nathan Nabb, soprano saxophone; Masahito Sugihara, tenor saxophone; Winston Choi, piano; Kioko Yasuda, violin; Kazuko Nambara, harp; Shoko Ikeda, oboe; Miki Maruta, 17-string koto; Mari Kimura, violin; Sharon Bezaly, flute; Swedish Chamber Orchestra / Anne Manson

Label: BIS 1462
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24 Preludes for piano, Op.41 (1999); Ten Dreams, Op. 45 (1999); Chorale, Fugue and Postlude, Op.31 (1994/2003)

Lera Auerbach, piano
An ever-growing audience is becoming aware that the pianist and composer Lera Auerbach is a voice to be reckoned with. Championed by musicians such as Gidon Kremer, and recipient of numerous awards, this young Russian musician – now based in the USA – is represented on two BIS discs as a composer, BIS 1242 and the just released 'Ballet for a lonely violinist', BIS 1502. On the first of these can be found the 24 Preludes for violin and piano, which were greeted by one reviewer as a ‘modern masterpiece’ (Chicago Tribune), and earned its composer the following commendation in Gramophone: ‘Auerbach's music is put together with tremendous passion and imagination... the way she welds so many memorable moments into a convincing extended sequence shows a real composer at work’. As a pianist, Lera Auerbach has appeared in some of the world’s most prestigious venues. On BIS she has also released a disc of piano pieces composed by great Russian cultural heroes such as Leo Tolstoy and Boris Pasternak. Here she combines these two roles, performing her own 24 Preludes for piano, as well as Ten Dreams, and Chorale, Fugue and Postlude. The Preludes – lasting from 42 seconds up to 5 minutes – are microcosms that come together like a jigsaw puzzle depicting a great musical landscape. Quoted in the liner notes Lera Auerbach herself describes how the structure of this many-facetted work grew organically – sometimes in directions which surprised even herself: ‘It is one of the most beautiful moments when the material one is using is transformed into another dimension. Then one explores unknown worlds, which nonetheless seem familiar, as though from a dream.’

Label: BIS 150
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NORDIC SOLO FLUTE MUSIC: LIDHOLM: Sonata; MELLNAS: Fragments For Family Flute for 2 flautists with 10 flutes; HERMANSON: Suoni d'un flauto; Flauto d'inverno; VON KOCH: Monolog; Cantilena; SOMMERFELDT: Divertimento; Varlater; BERGH: Pan; THYBO: Aria con variazioni; SALMENHAARA: Preludi, iskelma ja fuuga; BASHMAKOV: Fantasia; MARTTINEN: Ilmatar, ilman impi. Gunilla von Bahr, flutes; Robert von Bahr, flutes.