Chamber Music & Recitals

The sublime early-instrument ensemble Trio Settecento (1700s Trio) took listeners on an unprecedented country-by-country Grand Tour of the European Baroque through a series of four recordings, issued individually between 2007 and 2012. Now the entire...

The stylistic pluralism which informs so much contemporary choral writing pays rich dividends in the work of Jaakko M?ntyj?rvi. This thrilling program from Trinity College Choir Cambridge and Stephen Layton is filled with exciting, accessible,...

The stylish idiom and sensitivity of this period string ensemble's previous recordings for Brilliant Classics has won wide critical praise. Concerning their 5-album set of Locatelli's Sonatas Opp. 8 & 12: 'Brilliant's collection should prove a most...

The STUMM family stands alongside Schnitger and Silbermann as one of Germany's most famous organ-building dynasties. It was founded by Johann Michael STUMM. He and five generations of his descendants built some 400 organs between Cologne and Karlsruhe,...

The struggle of dialects to be acknowledged with the same dignity as languages with a literature of their own has been a long one, and yet it seems forgotten by many. With this in mind and after a long quest for the sources of his own music, Donato...

The string quartets of Donizetti and Verdi, and the oboe concerto of Bellini, represent rare overlaps between the fields of operatic and instrumental music in 19th-century Italy. Moving into the 20th century, the operas of Respighi have gained a toe-hold...

The string quartets of Beethoven are among the greatest works of their kind, but he composed other works for quartet which have been neglected. This album is dedicated to these intriguing rarities. Alongside the wild and monumental Grosse Fuge, in many...

The string quartets by Leos Janacek can without any doubt be counted among the highlights of chamber music works of the period between the two World Wars. His first quartet from 1923 titled "Kreutzer Sonata" refers to the eponymous novella by Leo...

The String Quartet in E minor by Ethel Smyth, one of the most innovative and original figures in English music, has a masterful coherence and consistency. With eloquent writing for the viola in particular, it is both playful and reverential, and ends...

The string quartet genre has already once before been in the spotlight in the "Poland Abroad" series. With works by Joachim Mendelson, Roman Padlewski, and Simon Laks (eda 34), the focus was on the fate of three Polish composers who became victims of the...

The strident conviction of Goffredo Petrassi (1904-2003) his seven postwar Concertos for Orchestra could hardly be anticipated from the fluent pastiche of his piano Partita, composed in 1926. The Baroque titles of the four movements introduce a disarming...

The story takes place in Baghdad at the time of the reign of Caliph Harun-al-Rashid, which is best imagined at the distance of a fairy tale. It is about two young people, the rich merchant's son Alimelek and Irene, the caliph's niece. Both grow up in...