Ring Around Quartet & Consort – Frottole: Popular Songs of Renaissance Italy (2015) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Ring Around Quartet & Consort – Frottole: Popular Songs of Renaissance Italy (2015) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Set to vernacular texts dealing mainly with the theme of love, frottole were short, improvisatory polyphonic songs with instrumental accompaniment that flourished in the Renaissance courts of Italy for some forty years between c. 1480 and 1520. Despite its apparent simplicity, this completely new genre of song inspired some of Europe’s greatest vocal and instrumental musicians. The recent invention of movable type added further to its popularity. This recording explores a representative selection, including work published by the historically pivotal figure of Ottaviano Petrucci.

Friedemann Eichhorn, Fazil Say – Liebestod (2023) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Friedemann Eichhorn, Fazil Say – Liebestod (2023) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Friedemann Eichhorn, geboren 1971 in Münster, ist der Kronberg Academy seit dem Jahr 2000 eng verbunden. Als Teilnehmer des ersten Festivals „Chamber Music Connects the World“ musizierte er mit Yuri Bashmet, Eugene Istomin, Gidon Kremer und Boris Pergamenschikow. Einen wichtigen Teil seiner Arbeit widmet Friedemann Eichhorn der Entwicklung von Geigentalenten. Im Jahr 2002 wurde er als einer der jüngsten Violin-Professoren Deutschlands an die Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt in Weimar berufen, 2006 wurde er zum Direktor des Instituts für Streicher und Harfe gewählt. Darüber hinaus ist er Künstlerischer Leiter des Internationalen Louis-Spohr-Wettbewerbs für Junge Geiger in Weimar. Viele Jahre unterrichtete Friedemann Eichhorn an der Sommerakademie des Mozarteums Salzburg. Seit 2012 ist Friedemann Eichhorn Direktor der Kronberg Academy Studiengänge.

Fort Smith Symphony, John Jeter – Price: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4 (2019) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Fort Smith Symphony, John Jeter – Price: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4 (2019) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Lists of American music “firsts” often include Florence B. Price’s 1933 Symphony No. 1 in E minor, which became the first symphony by an African American woman performed by a major American orchestra. Even that work is not so common these days. With echoes of Dvorák and William Grant Still, the work features a jovial “Juba Dance” in place of a scherzo. More interesting is the first movement, where African American influences — syncopations, pentatonic scales — seem to be struggling over the course of the substantial first movement to break out from the rather weighty material. But the highlight of this release from the Fort Smith Symphony of Arkansas and its conductor, John Jeter, is Price’s Symphony No. 4 in D minor, composed in 1945 and here receiving its recorded world premiere. Despite the similar four-movement layout, with a juba dance in the same spot, it’s a more complex work than its predecessor in every way, and its rediscovery is a major event. Sample the first movement with its subtle treatment of the spiritual “Wade in the Water.” The slow movement makes reference to that of Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 (“From the New World”) and is all the more impressive for making an entirely distinct impression despite the similarities. The Fort Smith Symphony, from Price’s home state (she and her husband fled after a horrifying lynching episode), delivers idiomatic performances, and the Symphony No. 4 finale is especially exciting. Highly recommended.

Fine Arts Quartet, Anna Kreetta Gribajcevic, Jens Peter Maintz – Spirit of Bohemia (2021) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Fine Arts Quartet, Anna Kreetta Gribajcevic, Jens Peter Maintz – Spirit of Bohemia (2021) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Antonín Dvořák’s music, imbued with the spirit of Bohemia, reflects a love of his native land. His String Sextet, written in the distinctive style which brought him international fame, was an immediate success at its premiere. Composed just eight years earlier, his String Quartet No. 4, unpublished until 1968, features pioneering, wild outer movements, highly unusual for the time, which foreshadowed the modernist innovations of composers decades later. A moving Andante religioso, which Dvořák made use of in future works, lies at its heart. The Polonaise exploits both the soulful and virtuoso character of the cello.

Fiona Campbell – Ross Harris: Symphony No. 6 “Last Letter” & Face (Live) (2020) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Fiona Campbell – Ross Harris: Symphony No. 6 “Last Letter” & Face (Live) (2020) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

In Symphony No. 6 “Last Letter”, Ross Harris explores settings of four poems by Vincent O’Sullivan, interlinking them with three musical interludes. The darkness of the subject matter draws from the composer music of powerful and at times despairing intensity. Face was written as the First World War centenary approached its conclusion and confronts the trauma of facial injuries suffered by soldiers in the conflict. Choruses and solos are punctuated by orchestral commentary, the music freely mixing tonal and atonal elements to heighten the expressive gravity of the personal tragedies depicted.

Flaka Goranci, World Chamber Orchestra – La femme: Journey of Female Composers (2022) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Flaka Goranci, World Chamber Orchestra – La femme: Journey of Female Composers (2022) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Through much of history the language of women has been told through men, but La Femme turns this narrative upside down. All of these composers share an unrelenting will to be artistic, often in opposition to the societies in which they found themselves. From the very earliest medieval verses by Kassia via the blind virtuoso Maria von Paradis’ famed Sicilienne and holocaust victim Ilse Weber’s moving Wiegla, to powerful modern statements by the likes of Niloufar Nourbakhsh and Flaka Goranci’s own contribution, The Speech of Love- this entire project is dedicated to all creative women in music.

Fazıl Say, Friedemann Eichhorn, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Christoph Eschenbach – Fazil Say: Violin Works (2020) [FLAC 24 bit, 48 kHz]

Fazıl Say, Friedemann Eichhorn, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Christoph Eschenbach – Fazil Say: Violin Works (2020) [FLAC 24 bit, 48 kHz]

Fazıl Say is one of the world’s most prominent pianists but he is also a much-admired composer with a substantial catalogue of works. He combines both these accomplishments in his two Violin Sonatas, the first of which is suffused with Turkish motifs and dances, such as the horon. The Second Sonata takes as its theme the abuse of nature and the need to resist despoliation. His Violin Concerto is subtitled ‘1001 Nights in the Harem’ and is full of rich melodies and atmosphere, and features an array of Turkish percussion instruments.

Fanny Clamagirand, Vanya Cohen – Saint-Saëns: Music for Violin & Piano, Vol. 3 (2021) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Fanny Clamagirand, Vanya Cohen – Saint-Saëns: Music for Violin & Piano, Vol. 3 (2021) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Saint-Sa”ens composed many original works for the violin. He also took the art of arrangement to new heights of refinement, believing his transcriptions were independent of their models, following the precedent of composers such as Liszt. This album presents early or alternative duo versions of some of Saint-Sa”ens’s most popular works, in which the declamatory style of the originals – such as the ever-popular Danse macabre or the habanera-infused Havanaise – is made more intimate and subtle. Composed for the exclusive use of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium in 1918, the Air de Dalila here receives its world premiere recording.

Fábio Brum, Kammerensemble Konsonanz, Pacho Flores – Egregore+ (2020) [FLAC 24 bit, 48 kHz]

Fábio Brum, Kammerensemble Konsonanz, Pacho Flores – Egregore+ (2020) [FLAC 24 bit, 48 kHz]

The aim of this innovative album is to introduce listeners to the rich variety of sounds in the trumpet family and through the use of modern instruments—one especially developed for the project—to imbue the music with unique colours and textures. All the pieces were either arranged or written specifically for this album and the programme includes the first ever orchestration of Théo Charlier’s operatic Solo de concours as well as Efraín Oscher’s evocative Rapsodia latina, which introduces a new instrument, the piccolo cornet in A.

Fábio Brum, Seville Royal Symphony Orchestra, Noam Zur – Alchemy: New Music For Trumpet and Orchestra (2022) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Fábio Brum, Seville Royal Symphony Orchestra, Noam Zur – Alchemy: New Music For Trumpet and Orchestra (2022) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Like alchemists of old, attempting to recombine the four elements, here Fábio Brum presents four distinct musical languages in a programme forged during lockdown. Gabriele Roberto’s Tokyo Suite charts the astonishment of a traveller dazzled by the vast megapolis, whereas Dimitri Cervo’s The Brazilian Four Seasons offers a colourful, energetic panorama of the natural and human worlds. Fábio Brum’s very personal musical journey is highlighted by the contrast between the Talmudic contemplation of Menachem Zur’s De Profundis and the abstract ruminations of Nicola Tescari’s Trumpet Concerto ‘Nine Moods’.

Fülöp Ránki – Bartók: Piano Works (2021) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Fülöp Ránki – Bartók: Piano Works (2021) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Béla Bartók’s formative years as a composer in Budapest were stimulated by fashionable musical salons hosted by the wealthy Emma Gruber (later Zoltán Kodály’s wife). His landmark Rhapsody, Op. 1 is dedicated to Gruber, while the earlier Variations are a romantic homage to his talented colleague Felicie Fábián, composer of the theme.

Fabio Brum – 9 Trumpets & 1 Piano: Trumpet Music from Around the World (2022) [FLAC 24bit, 96 kHz]

Fabio Brum – 9 Trumpets & 1 Piano: Trumpet Music from Around the World (2022) [FLAC 24bit, 96 kHz]

“Nine Trumpets and One Piano” is an album of works dedicated to leading trumpeter Fábio Brum and written for the classically conceived combination of trumpet or other high brass instruments and piano. The composers are drawn from across the globe, though the majority live in South America, and represent a wide variety of stylistic backgrounds. The music is exciting and vibrant – not least in its dancing, driving rhythms – and exploits neo-Classical traditions as well as minimalism, jazz and folklore, all heard here in world premiere recordings.

Fine Arts Quartet – Beethoven: Works for String Quartet (2020) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Fine Arts Quartet – Beethoven: Works for String Quartet (2020) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

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 ways the culmination of Beethoven’s achievements in the string quartet genre, this recording further displays his mastery of counterpoint by bringing to light brilliant yet forgotten original versions of his quartets Op. 18, No. 1 and Op. 131, plus six virtually unknown miniatures, including his Preludes and Fugues.

Fritz Kreisler – Kreisler: The Complete Recordings, Vol. 10 (2021) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Fritz Kreisler – Kreisler: The Complete Recordings, Vol. 10 (2021) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Fritz Kreisler was in his early 50s during the two years covered by these recordings – consolidating his status as the world’s most beloved violinist, touring Italy and elsewhere in Europe, as well as giving notable concerts in Carnegie Hall and throughout the US. The Great Depression and the premature death of his brother Hugo added to personal stresses in 1929, but these recordings, many of which are unpublished tests, reveal Kreisler at his best.

In the Sonatina mouvement written in New York by Dvořák and renamed Indian Lament by Kreisler, we hear the composer’s yearning for his homeland, enhanced by beautiful double-stops. In Ravel’s Habanera, Kreisler’s seductive rhythm is to the fore, while Godowsky’s Nocturnal Tangier is full of North African promise.

Enrico Dindo – Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Works for Cello & Piano (2019) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Enrico Dindo – Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Works for Cello & Piano (2019) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco wrote that the cello is an instrument Ive always particularly loved, and this is reflected in the deft way he exploits its colours and techniques in chamber works recorded here that include unpublished gems and a world premiere. The sophisticated Cello Sonata and Sonatina also reveal the composers skill as a pianist, giving equal roles in a symbiotic relationship that tests both players virtuosity. Impressionist flavours in I nottambuli or Night Owls contrast with a Toccata that blends fireworks with lyricism, as does the Jewish soulfulness of the popular Chant hébraïque with the playful Scherzo that uses the English traditional tune Sumer is icumen in.

Emily Jaworski Koriath – These Distances Between Us: 21st Century Songs of Longing (2022) [FLAC 24bit, 96 kHz]

Emily Jaworski Koriath – These Distances Between Us: 21st Century Songs of Longing (2022) [FLAC 24bit, 96 kHz]

The four American composers on this album have all won recognition for their diverse approaches to contemporary art song. Both Emmy-nominated Craig Brandwein, in his beautiful Three Rilke Songs and Jonathan Santore in Two Letters of Sulpicia use computer generated electronics to enhance the vocal line, while Edie Hill’s setting of poems by Amy Lowell exemplifies why her music has been described as “full of mystery” (Stereophile). The common thread running throughout Jessica Rudman’s works is expressivity, and These Distances Between Us charts a cycle that recognizes the precarious nature of personal connections.

Ensemble Origo, Eric Rice – Le nozze in Baviera (2021) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Ensemble Origo, Eric Rice – Le nozze in Baviera (2021) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

The wedding in 1568 of Renate of Lorraine to Wilhelm V, heir to the throne of the Duke of Bavaria, was a sumptuous, 18-day spectacular designed to rival those of the Italian courts. Orlande de Lassus had been the courts maestro di cappella since 1556. Using an eye-witness account of the event, Ensemble Origo presents a hypothetical reconstruction of some of his musical contributions a Te Deum, the moresca (a genre related to the villanella), and an improvised comedy thereby shedding light on some of the various meanings that the music had for its 16th-century listeners. Ensemble Origo is an early music ensemble founded in 2010 and directed by Connecticut-based musicologist and conductor Eric Rice. Its aim is to present vibrant performances and recordings of early music from the Middle Ages through to the Baroque that reflect the context in which the repertory was originally produced and heard; Origo is Latin for earliest beginning, lineage, or origin. The ensemble draws on a roster of musicians from Connecticut, Boston, and New York.

Emmanuele Baldini, Luca Delle Donne – Wolf-Ferrari: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-3 (2021) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Emmanuele Baldini, Luca Delle Donne – Wolf-Ferrari: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-3 (2021) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s reputation rests largely on his operas, but the instrumental music he composed at the beginning and end of his career deserves a wider currency. The influence of Brahms can be detected in the First and Second Violin Sonatas, though Wolf-Ferrari’s distinctive long-breathed melodies and chromatic flow are clearly present; the dramatic and expressive Second also includes references to Wagner’s Tristan. With its neo-Bachian figuration, passages of intense melancholy and uplifting operatic fantasy, the final Third Sonata is an enigmatic work, and unlike any other in the repertoire.

Elan Quintet – Onslow: String Quintets, Vol. 4 – Nos. 23 & 31 (2021) [FLAC 24 bit, 192 kHz]

Elan Quintet – Onslow: String Quintets, Vol. 4 – Nos. 23 & 31 (2021) [FLAC 24 bit, 192 kHz]

“Georges Onslow is best known for a body of chamber music that follows the musical lineage of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. A master of the quintet medium, Onslow offered variations of ensemble to players, the two presented here being cast for string quartet and double bass. The tempestuous Quintet No. 23 in A minor is charged with almost ceaseless nervous energy and Schubertian lyricism; the mature Quintet No. 31 in A major is both subtle and elegant, with a brilliant assemblage of details such as walking bass and violin-cello duets.”

Evelyn Glennie – Joan Tower: Strike Zones, Small, Still/Rapids & Ivory and Ebony (2021) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Evelyn Glennie – Joan Tower: Strike Zones, Small, Still/Rapids & Ivory and Ebony (2021) [FLAC 24 bit, 96 kHz]

Joan Tower is widely regarded as one of today’s most important American composers. The works heard here in their world premiere recordings are part of a growing legacy that one pundit has described as “The Power of Tower”.