In the third CD in his continuing series of the great Swedish late romantic composer, Kurt Atterberg, Neeme Jarvi interprets the two symphonies here in an invigorating manner with tempos that are rather fast and sometimes abrupt. Although the performances by Ari Rasilainen done some 15 years ago to my ears are still the preferred performances of these pieces in terms of bringing out the greatness of Atterberg's musical genius, Jarvi offers the listener a valid interpretation. Although his tempos are often rather too rushed and the adagio moments almost too quiet, the Gothenberg musicians are playing music that is close to their heart with impassioned and soaring string playing and the brass sections brilliant. The slow lyrical introduction to the final movement of Symphony No 1 with concertmaster Sara Troback Hesselink gives us the most moving and beautiful bars Atterberg ever composed.

It would be especially interesting to hear Jarvi's interpretation of Atterberg's older contemporary Peterson-Berger who is mentioned in the booklet notes. Although his role as a music credit affected his reputation in his lifetime, this says little of his melodic qualities and orchestration, which makes him one of the three greatest Swedish late romantic composers to my ear with Atterberg and Wilhelm Stenhammer and a cut above Hugo Alfven and Ture Rangstrom.

This disc is especially valuable for the only performance of the 1947 revised version of the 5th symphony. The book notes are also especially valuable with informative background along with archival photographs. The recording is also the best available in Chandos 24 bit sound. These additional features should give this CD a 4 1/2 star rating.

Swedish composer Kurt Atterberg was self-taught and made a living for much of his career as an electrical engineer and patent official. His nine symphonies are only sporadically played outside Scandinavia, but between the world wars they were quite familiar in both Britain and the U.S., and their revival is probably overdue. Although longer than the rest of the works on the album, the curiously named Symphony No. 6, Op. 31 ("Dollar Symphony"), is an odd and not really typical work. It was completed in 1928 for a contest mounted by the Columbia record label on the 100th anniversary of Schubert's death, calling for a work in the spirit of Schubert's music.

March 8th, 2014 marks the 300th Birthday of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. This is the first recording of the complete piano works by C.P.E. Bach. Ana-Marija Markovina, the featured artist for these recordings, has been working for over ten years with the music of CPE Bach and has developed her own intuitive approach to his style. During his lifetime, CPE Bach was more famous than his father, Johann Sebastian; it is time to rediscover the incredible range and the quality of his once again.

Music for Heart and Breath is Richard Reed Parry´s debut as classical composer who is mostly known from the Grammy Nominated Uber Indie Rock Band Arcade Fire.

The Treaty of Utrecht concluded the War of Spanish Succession in 1713. Its terms were agreed principally between the British and the opposing French, but this caused disaffection among Britain’s German allies, including the Elector of Hanover (soon to be George I). The Elector was also disgruntled that his Kapellmeister Handel, absent and pursuing lucrative freelance jobs in London, composed a large-scale Te Deum and Jubilate for the Service of Thanksgiving held in Wren’s recently ­completed St Paul’s Cathedral.

In 2009 the venue of the Duisburg Philharmonics, the Philharmonie Mercatorhalle, received a new concert organ in the anglo-late romantic style, modeled after the English Town Hall organs of the time. We now present the first solo album featuring the new instrument, with Roland Maria Stangier at the organ.

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber’s (1644-1704) virtuosic 16 Mystery Sonatas, also known as the Rosary Sonatas, are the composer's best known works.
Played by violinist Sirkka-Liisa Kaakinen-Pichl and the Finnish Baroque ensemble. Ms. Kaakinen-Pichl is in great demand as a leader of countless renowned early music ensembles and orchestras, and has also worked for ten years as leader of Philippe Herreweghe’s Collegium Vocale.

Hungarian Kristóf Baráti is recognised as one of the most outstanding violinists of his generation. His dazzling technique (often compared with the young Heifetz), his sincere, intensely musical interpretations and strong personality have brought him to today's top. His recordings are widely acclaimed; garnering 5 star reviews in the international press (his Beethoven Violin Sonatas with pianist Klára Würtz are considered "today's reference recordings" by a leading German newspaper).

A star of Janine Jansen's status and influence could have a major orchestra accompany her in Bach's violin concertos, but she chooses instead to keep her hand-picked ensemble small and intimate, and enjoys the camaraderie of a chamber group. Indeed, the assembly of friends who join Jansen in the Violin Concerto in E major, BWV 1042; Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041; and Concerto for violin and oboe in C minor, BWV 1060, number no more than 12 players, and includes her brother Maarten Jansen on cello and her father, Jan Jansen, on harpsichord, as well as her touring colleague, oboist Ramón Ortega Quero. Such familiarity yields music of considerable verve and spontaneity, and wherever Jansen leads her musicians, they are quick to follow.

Partly composed on cantus firmus derived from plainchant, the Missa Rex Virginum is one of two that have survived from the pen of Juan de Anchieta, composer to the Catholic Monarchs, and is a typcial representative of the new style that Josep Cabré likes to call 'late Gothic', already at the dawn of the Renaissance. Anchieta, an emblematic yet still little-known figure of Basque music, had considerable influence in his own time thanks to his close relationship with the Castilian crown.

Leopold Koželuch (Czech pronunciation, born Jan Antonín Koželuh, alternatively also Leopold Koželuh, Leopold Kotzeluch) (26 June 1747 – 7 May 1818) was a Czech composer and teacher of classical music. He was born in the town of Velvary, in Bohemia (present-day Czech Republic).

Leopold Koželuch (Czech pronunciation, born Jan Antonín Koželuh, alternatively also Leopold Koželuh, Leopold Kotzeluch) (26 June 1747 – 7 May 1818) was a Czech composer and teacher of classical music. He was born in the town of Velvary, in Bohemia (present-day Czech Republic).

Kurt Atterberg (1887-1974) became briefly notorious when he won a $10,000 prize for a symphony in commemoration of Schubert in 1928, then later admitted he had written the piece with a cynical attitude simply to win the prize. (It became known in Sweden as his Dollar Symphony.) But he was a serious composer of some accomplishment, although his late-romantic style hardly seems to belong to the 20th century. Oddly, the later Piano Concerto (completed in 1935) seems like the less successful work here, as Atterberg strives for a heroic style that doesn't seem natural to him. The earlier Violin Concerto (1914) has a rhapsodic quality that suits the nature of the instrument well and will entertain a listener who doesn't insist on Beethovenian development. The performances and recordings are obviously labors of love and present the music quite well. –Leslie Gerber

Having heard the sixth symphony on a radio broadcast (albeit missing the second movement because of problems at the station), I decided to go out on a limb and buy the complete symphonies, being completely unfamiliar with Atterberg.
It was a decision I do not regret.

This album features 7 works for harpsichord, 6 of which are taken from the "Darmstadt Harpsichord Book" (DHB) housed in the university and municipal library ("Universitats- und Landesbibliothek") of the same city, with 5 of those works by Handel, and the 6th by Christoph Graupner. The harpsichordist on this recording, Genevieve Soly, is a scholar on the DHB and on the music of Graupner. She also contributed the liner notes on this recording, and wears her learning lightly there. She also plays well in all the works.