Orchestral & Symphonic

When opera singers go from their standard repertoire into something new, from the stage to the recording studio or simply from one performance to another, the results may be better or worse, a great achievement or a great disappointment. None of which...

When Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his first two sonatas for piano and violoncello (op. 5) in 1796, he was entering new compositional territory. Violin sonatas already existed; Mozart had already written several, but the cello had not yet established itself...

When Leopold Stokowski began his conducting career, the music of Wagner featured in his very first concert and was to remain close to his heart for the rest of his life..1. Entrance of the Gods Into Valhalla 2. Act 1. Prelude 3. Liebesnacht 4. Liebestod...

When Leonard Bernstein was asked by Jackie O to compose the inaugural work for the opening of the J.F. Kennedy Center for performing arts in Wash. D.C. Maestro Bernstein wrote: "The Mass is also an extremely dramatic event in itself, it even suggests a...

When Kent Tritle and Nina Stern first devised this recording project of music from the Four Quarters of the Old City their aim was to create a soundscape that reflected Jerusalem's reality as well as it's role in the dreams and ideals of the great...

When introduced to the audience in Liverpool by Domingo Hindoyan, Roberto Sierra's music was greeted with standing ovations. His name may be new to many, but his music is vibrant, appealing, accessible, and extremely well crafted. "The works included on...

When Fritz Kreisler made his first London recordings towards the end of 1911, he was already wildly popular in Britain. He was equally busy in Berlin and Vienna and visited the United States on occasion.1. La Precieuse in the Style of Couperin 2. Scherzo...

When Fran?ois Couperin published his Mass for the Convents in 1690, he had just turned 20, yet he had created the most exceptional collection of organ music to be written during the reign of Louis XIV. On the magnificent and historic Great Organ of the...

When encountering a composer's work for the first time, it's a perfectly natural response to compare it to music we already know. We all do it, and this instinct to relate the new to the familiar can help US begin to understand new musical languages and...

When drifting over the bridge connecting the 19th century with the 21st century, the chances are that we might be fulfilling Mickiewicz's dreams. Hardly anyone knows that the poet dreamt of composing and that music played a remarkable role in his life...

When Capriccio started out in 1982, still producing LPs and tapes, it was the first digital Beethoven Symphony cycle with the Dresden Philharmonic and Herbert Kegel that first turned heads. Several other key projects were pivotal to the label quickly...

When Bach composed them, in his last years in Kothen, those pivotal years that were to lead him to Leipzig, he already had an incredible number of masterpieces behind him. He took the trouble to make a beautiful fair copy of this work. It's a product of...