Label: ROMEO RECORDS 7209
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SERENADE IN D, OP. 11 (RECONSTRUCTED A. BOUSTEAD); PIECES BREVES (ARR. BUSSER).

Brahms wrote the Sereande, Op. 11 for nine instruments and later orchestrated it. This delightful chamber version is presented here in a fine performance. The three short pieces by Cesar Franck were arranged from 3 of the composer's organ pieces. They sound like they were actually written for chamber ensemble with the ingratiating melodies brought to the fore

Label: ROMEO RECORDS 7217
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An exciting new voice!
ITALIAN OPERA ARIAS - BELLINI; DONIZETTI; VERDI; PUCCINI.

Olga Makarina (soprano); St. Petersburg Radio Orchestra; Gorkovenko, cond.
Arias from: I Capuleti e I Montecchi; I Puritani; Norma; La Sonnambula; Linda di Chamounix; Lucia di Lammermoor; Luisa Miller; Otello; La Traviata; and Gianni Schicchi.
Ms. Makarina is definitely a rising star. Born in Russia, she is a graduate of the Mannes School of Music in New York. She is appearing at the Met, Spring 2002 Ravel's L'Enfant et les Sortileges and has appearances booked all over the US in the coming year.

Label: ROMEO RECORDS 7220
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POÈME MYSTIQUE
ERNEST BLOCH: POÈME MYSTIQUE (SONATA NO. 2);
BEDRICH SMETANA: FROM MY NATIVE LAND;
ALEXANDER ZEMLINSKY: SERENADE IN A MAJOR;
SERGEI PROKOFIEV: FIVE MELODIES, OPUS 35 BIS;
JOSEF SUK: FROM FOUR PIECES, OPUS 17.

Sergiu Schwartz, violin; Alec Chien, piano.
The major attraction on this new violin/piano recital is Ernest Bloch's Violin Sonata No. 2, "Poeme Mystique." The present recording is especailly noteworthy since it is the first and only one to include Bloch's revision of the work. The composer's daughter, Suzanne Bloch provided violinist Sergiu Schwartz with the manuscript and entrusted him with the honor of realizing her father's final thoughts on the workin performance. The Zemlinsky Serenade appears to be a first recording of this work. Sergiu Schwartz and Alec Chien turn in exceptionally refined, musical performances.

Label: ROMEO RECORDS 7222
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SAMUEL BARBER: Sonata for Piano, Op. 26;
BELA BARTOK: Suite, Op. 14;
FRANZ LISZT: Notturno No. 3 "Reve d'amour"; Etude transcendante No. 10, in f minor;
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Sonata in f minor, Op. 57 "Appassionata";

Madeleine Forte, piano.
Hear Madame Forte's sensational live performance of the excruciatingly difficult Barber Piano Sonata, a real tour de force!
"Forte's gorgeous tone and sensuous line evoke classic French pianism . . . elegant Chopin . . . her Maurice Ravel holds its own against interpretations by many of her more celebrated peers." NEW YORKER
"Forte offers outstanding accounts of Chopin's music." CLAVIER
"Madeleine Forte offers a generous Chopin disc. She is a polished artist. In a program that invites comparison with myriad others, she proves a technically adept, interpretively secure performer. TUROK'S CHOICE
"Her interpretations remind me of Arthur Rubinstein's" AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE
"On these large scaled Chopin masterpieces, she plays with a full bodied tone, with great power and even majesty . . . performances nuanced, controlled and unaffected . . . they should be heard." FANFARE

Label: ROMEO RECORDS 7242
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JOHANNES BRAHMS: Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8
ROBERT SCHUMANN: Piano Trio No. 2 in F major, Op. 80

The Yuval Trio: Jonathan Zak, piano; Uri Pianka, violin; Simca Heled, cello
This new Brahms/Schumann Piano Trios CD represents the Yuval Trio’s 4th recording for Romeo Records (7219 – Brahms Trios 2 & 3; 7225 – Piano Trios by C. Schumann, Dvorak and Bruch; 7231 – Israeli Trios and Duos). The Brahms and Schumann Trios on this CD are splendid examples of Romantic expression in chamber music, and the Yuval musicians bring their customary passion and skill in execution to both works. A truly wondrous disc.

Label: ROMEO RECORDS 7264
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Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano, Op. 21 (Sz. 75, BB 84, 1921); Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano (Sz. 76, BB 85, 1922)

Uri Pianka, violin; Jonathan Zak, piano
Recorded live on 3 consecutive Saturdays in November 1983 in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Bartok’s two sonatas for violin and piano are heard here in live performances. Uri Pianka, longtime concertmaster of the Houston Symphony, brings great authority and commitment to these works and Jonathan Zak is the perfect partner. This recording must be heard by any lover of Bartok’s music. It makes some other recorded performances sound tame by comparison. The notes on the sonatas for the booklet accompanying this CD were especially written for this release by Bartok authority János Kárpáti.

Label: ROMEO RECORDS 7277
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SONGS FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797 – 1828): Der Leierman; Aufenthalt; Der doppelganger; Der Wanderer D. 493; Der Tod und das Madchen; An die Musik JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833 – 1897): Die Mainacht; Wiegenlied; O wüßt ich doch den Weg zurück; O kühler Wald; Feldeinsamkeit; Sapphische Ode; Wie Melodien zieht es mir; Verrat SERGEI RACHMANINOV (1873 – 1943): The Dream; How peaceful; He has taken everything from me; Cease thy singing, maiden fair; Fragment from A. Musset; Morning; Don’t believe, my friend; Yesterday we met; Everything is passing; For long in love; In the Mysterious Silence of the Night; Child, You Are Beautiful Like a Flower; She is as fair as day; Oh no, I beg you, do not leave! Yoram Chaiter, bass Irena Zelikson-Litchen, piano Yoram Chaiter was born in Ukraine (former Soviet Union). He began his musical education by studying the piano. He immigrated to Israel in 1973. Among the roles he performed are Colline in La Boheme by Puccini, excerpts from Boris Godunov by Mussorgsky and Escamillo in Carmen by Bizet. Appeared in Macbeth by Bloch during the Bloch Festival at the Technion.