Introducing a revolutionary new CD that challenges the stereotypes and prejudices against the double bass. This tribute album showcases the full potential and versatility of the instrument, featuring compositions by renowned composers such as Myroslav Skoryks, John Rutter, Peteris Vasks, and Sergei Rachmaninov. Experience the warm, soft, and welcoming tone of the double bass as it takes center stage in this diverse collection of music. From the spiritual anthem of Ukraine, Melodie by Myroslav Skoryks, to the familiar choral sounds of John Rutter's The Lord Bless You and Keep You, this album is a love letter to the double bass and an invitation to embrace its songful and tuneful credentials.

Listening to this beautifully played collection of Schubert’s piano trios, the two completed ones and the lonely single movements, I realized that this is the one recording I have that was made on fortepiano. Other favorites, including the recordings by the Beaux Arts Trio, the lesser known Trio di Trieste, and the more romantic recording by Arthur Grumiaux, Pierre Fournier, and Nikita Magaloff, are on modern instruments. That wouldn’t matter, perhaps, if the performances on this new disc were less convincing. Jan Vermeulen has been recording the Schubert sonatas to great acclaim. He now has added a recording of the trios that is clearly articulated, impassioned, at times even jaunty.

Yes, it sounds crazy to make yet another recording of Schubert's Trout Quintet a "reference recording", particularly given the number of really good ones already in circulation. Never mind. There is no finer performance available, and certainly none better recorded: gorgeous, perfectly natural sound whether in regular stereo or SACD surround-sound. So what makes this performance so special? First, and speaking generally, this has got to be one of the most shapely, elegant, and effortlessly flowing versions ever committed to disc.

Schubert's quintet (which gets its name from his song "The Trout," used for a set of variations at its apex) is as lighthearted as it is melodious, qualities reflected in this excellent performance. The period-instrument balances are ideal; the fortepiano, less resonant than a modern piano, does not overpower the strings. The arpeggione was an odd, newly invented six-stringed instrument when Schubert wrote for it. The lovely sonata is here played on an obsolete five-stringed instrument, the violoncello piccolo–closer to the original than the modern cello or viola usually heard on recordings. The "Notturno" is a haunting movement, probably intended for a larger work.

While still a controversial matter, there seems to be general agreement that Schubert's "Grand Duo" is a symphony that the composer failed to find time to orchestrate (or perhaps a piano reduction of one which he actually did orchestrate). In any case, there isn't a trace of piano style in the music, and in any of its various orchestral arrangements it makes a fully mature Schubert orchestral work. Raymond Leppard's performance is a very fine one, and it's excellently recorded. Along with a jaunty performance of the zippy Third Symphony, this disc makes a very appealing novelty.

Hearing the three dramatic chords that open the Zauberharfe overture played by this excellent Swiss orchestra (the oldest in Switzerland) I was immediately struck by the clarity of attack and rich instrumental color. As the performance progresses the Musikkollegium Winterthur exhibits an alluring full-bodied tone and characterful playing completely in the Schubertian style. The same goes for the pensive B minor Entr’acte, the lovely Entr’acte 3, and the charming No. 9 Ballet.

I can claim possibly some very small influence on this record. Some years ago Jessye Norman broke the last and very difficult phrase of Ganymed with a breath. I then pointed out in a review that Gerald Moore (in Singer and Accompanist London: 1953) had urged singers to phrase it in one as Norman has done in recitals, and now on record, ever since. Cause and effect? I don't know. This is, in any case, one of the most rewarding performances on the record, sung with conviction and, throughout, with long-breathed phrasing.

This set of recordings, as testified to by Mr. Cesar above, are simply breathtaking, individually, and as a complete traversal of Schubert's finest work for solo instrument. His painstaking preparation and studious forethought shine through clearly, illuminating and bringing to us deeply introspective yet fleet traversals of this amazingly sad, yet wistful, ponderously illuminated and wonderously elated and shot-through, delicately, with wispy tenderness, are simply positive testament to the caliber of this great artist.

Schubert's 'Wanderer Fantasy' and Schumann's 'Fantasie' are two highly remarkable works: while musically embodying the romantic spirit of the age in their unconventional structures and lyrically imaginative styles, they also act as self-portraits to their creators through the evocation of their creative process. In these new orchestrations by Joseph James, the familiar beauty of the works is rekindled in exciting and fresh interpretations performed by the illustrious English Chamber Orchestra alongside concertante solos from members of the Schubert Ensemble.

Depois de vários anos descatalogados, os três álbuns que Pedro Burmester gravou para a etiqueta “EMI Classics”, são agora reeditados. Schumann “Kreisleriana”, Schubert “Sonata D 784” e Bach " Variações Goldberg" são os compositores e as obras eleitas por Pedro Burmester nestas três gravações dos finais dos anos 90.

Composed during the final weeks of Schubert's life, the Quintet in C major for two violins, viola and two cellos ranks among his greatest accomplishments. Schubert's decision to use a second cello (rather than the second viola as in Mozart's quintets) adds to the overall richness of the piece and gives it a darker, more melancholy timbre. In its day, Schubert's Quintet was truly a revolutionary work. It is truly symphonic in scope, with 'orchestration' that mimics motifs characteristics of writing for winds and brass. This new recording from the Arcanto Quartet and cellist Olivier Marron (2004 first prize winner at the international Johann Sebastian Bach competition in Leipzig, Germany) illuminates the colors and decodes the complexities of this timeless masterpiece.

Founded in 2007, the Edding Quartet has quickly become a reference in the interpretation of the Classical and Romantic string quartet repertoires, proposing refined, intelligent readings of these often-heard works. In 2008, the members of the Quartet, along with clarinettist Nicola Boud, bassoonist Julien Debordes, horn player Nicolas Chedmail and bass player Damien Guffroy, founded Northernlight, an ensemble, exploring the masterpieces for string and winds from the Classical and Romantic periods.

Christian Li walks in the footsteps of Mendelssohn, bringing the music from his travels around Europe to life. Recorded with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, we follow Mendelssohn’s own journeys, with pieces written in Leipzig, Düsseldorf, Munich, Venice & London, including music from the composer’s own inspirations and contemporaries: J. S. Bach, Mozart & Schubert.

The first joint album from countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and guitarist Thibaut Garcia, À sa guitare takes it's name from a song by the 20th century French composer Francis Poulenc. But it's frame of reference is extraordinarily wide - both culturally and stylistically. It's 22 tracks range across 400 years and music by composers and songwriters from France, Britain, Austria, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Argentina and the USA.