Label: ROMEO RECORDS 7213
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SONGS

Rosa Vento, sop.; R. Dominguez, R. Gower, R. Murciano, pianos; J. Spinney, flute; C. Araya, perc.

This disc fills a hole in the recorded repertoire. Ernesto Lecuona was the dominant figure in Cuban music life. Extremely prolific, he composed over 406 songs, but the recognition he has received over the last decade is mainly due to his piano works. This disc will change that perception. Antonio Gumersindo Garay lived to be 101 and was nick named ,"The Troubadour" of Cuba." Rosa Vento has appeared in opera and concert houses all over the world.

Label: ROMEO RECORDS 7224
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FRANZ LISZT: Sonetta del Petrarca No. 104, Pace non trovo; Sonetta del Petrarca No. 47, Benedetto si il giorno; Sonetto del Petrarca No. 123, I vidi in terra angelici costume;
PIOTR TCHAIKOVSKY: How Soon Do We Forget; Lullaby; It happened in the early spring; Canary;
SERGEI RACHMANINOV: Throughout the silence of the night; Lilacs; They answered; I have fallen in love for better or worse; Dream; Do not sing, Beautiful, for me; How lovely it is here; Island; Dreams; I long for you; vocalize

Olga Makarina, soprano; Igor Uoriash, piano
For this new CD, Olga Makarina has chosen a program of songs by three composers not usually recognized for their work in the genre. In fact, each of the composers, Franz Liszt, Piotr Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninov are best known for their splendid orchestral compositions. Nevertheless, Tchaikovsky wrote over one hundred songs while Liszt’s and Rachmaninov’s output come in at just a bit below this number. The songs of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov cover a wide range of emotions, and the Russian language lends itself to that wonderful melancholy, that bitter-sweet sensation of desperation tinged with hope that can make these songs so overwhelmingly touching and communicative. Her 2001-02 season included her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortileges.

Label: ROMEO RECORDS 7266/8
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Sonata No. 1 in D major, Op. 12 No. 1; Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 12 No. 2; Sonata No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 12 No. 3; Sonata No. 4 in A minor, Op. 23; Sonata No. 5 in F major, Op. 24 “Spring”; Sonata No. 6 in A major, Op. 30 No. 1; Sonata No. 7 in C minor, Op. 30 No. 2; Sonata No. 8 in G major, Op. 30 No. 3; Sonata No. 9 in A major, Op. 47 “Kreutzer”; Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 96

Uri Pianka, violin; Jonathan Zak, piano
Here, surely, is one of the finest performances of Beethoven’s Sonatas for Violin and Piano ever committed to disc. The performances were recorded live in Israel on three consecutive Saturdays in November, 1983. Uri Pianka’s and Jonathan Zak’s credentials as outstanding musicians are well known to classical music lovers. Both as soloists and as participants in chamber music they have proven time and again that their musicality and virtuosity combine to make each of their performances a special event. (3 CDs for the price of 2)

Label: ROMEO RECORDS 7271
Our Price: $15.25
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Three Mazurkas, Op. 63: B major, F minor, C sharp minor (1846); Two Nocturnes, Op. 62: B major, E major (1846); Barcarolle, Op. 60 (1845-46); Three Mazurkas, Op. 59: A minor, A flat major, F sharp minor (1845-47); Berceuse, Op. 57 (1844); Polonaise-fantaisie, Op. 61 (1846); Three Waltzes, Op. 64: D flat major, C sharp minor; A flat major (1847)

Aleck Karis, piano

For over twenty-five years Aleck Karis has been one of the leading pianists in the New York contemporary music scene. Particularly associated with the music of Elliott Carter, Mario Davidovsky, and John Cage, he has championed their works all over the world. In addition to his disc of piano music by Philip Glass (Roméo Records 2000) he has released four solo piano discs on Bridge Records featuring music by Mozart, Stravinsky, Schumann, Carter and John Cage. Other solo and chamber music recordings appear on Nonesuch, Tzadic, New World, Neuma, Centaur, CRI Records, featuring music by Davidovsky, Babbitt, Martino, Hyla, and Feldman, among many others. Karis has studied with William Daghlian, Artur Balsam and Beveridge Webster and holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School. Currently, he is a Professor of Music at the University of California, San Diego.

Label: ROMEO RECORDS 7275
Our Price: $15.75
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VILLA PARADISO – SOLO PIANO
Tracks: Les petits chemins (The little paths); Par les fenêtres du conservatoire (By the windows of the conservatory); Matins d’été au Cap Ferrat (Summer mornings at Cape Ferrat); Monsieur Louis; Brèves humeurs du ciel sur la terre (Brief moods of the sky on earth); La plage de Long Island (the beach of Long Island); Exile; Nostalgie d’un autre temps (Nostalgia of another time); La grande ville (The big city); Un souffle du passé (A breath of the past); Quand vient l’amour (When love arrives); Escale à Locronan (Port of Call at Locronan); Bamako; Les petits chemins (The little paths)(2nd version); Rachel et ses enfants (Rachel and her children)

Leo Nissim, piano
Leo Nissim was born in Nice, France, in 1956, of Greek parents from Salonica. He studied classics and received a first prize in piano and chamber music from the conservatory. A thirst for musical opportunities brought him to jazz, rock and African music over many years. He toured with numerous groups, then worked as a musician, arranger and composer with celebrated singers in the field of film music, publicity, TV and radio. He returned to piano and composition during a tour: the result is “Villa Paradisio”.
The impressionistic climate remains Leon Nissem’s first influence, but he also flirts with Africa, the romantics, the Celts and pop music, the essential for him being melodies, reflections of the Creator that animate those multiple poetic tableaux, conceived as marvelous voyages. To each music corresponds a poem-mirror, inspired by these intimate landscapes. Nissem writes, “My wife was inspired by the music to write the poem (in fact, short stories). Of course, she knows me more than anyone else, and all that she wrote ‘talks’ to me very deeply, and to me, her words and the music really stick together.