Ferdinand Ries grew up in the same musical environment that nurtured Beethoven, both counting Ferdinand’s father Franz as one of their teachers and the two of them becoming the closest of friends. Ries was a gifted and prolific composer in every instrumental genre. His Violin Sonatas are based on the Viennese Classical style established by Mozart but with a freshness and originality that includes movements such as the Adagio of the Sonata, Op. 38, No. 3, one of Ries’s loveliest creations. The Sonatas Op. 38, Nos. 1 & 2 can be heard on the 2nd volume of this edition, which was “unreservedly recommended” by Fanfare magazine. Violinist Eric Grossman is a versatile performer hailed for his flawless technique, superb musicianship, and commitment to a wide range of repertoire. Grossman has performed across the US, Europe, Korea, Japan, and Cuba in recital and as soloist under such conductors as Zubin Mehta, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, and Michael Gielen.

With its unique combination of instruments, the Vienna Reed Quintet creates a new and refreshing sound that differs significantly from that of the conventional wind quintet. This programme opens up three very special keyboard works to these exhilarating sonorities, starting with the virtuoso dances of Rameau’s descriptively titled suite La Triomphante. Mozart’s Fantasia has all the stately grandeur of a Bach fantasia, while Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin is a tribute both to his great musical ancestor and to friends who fell during the First World War.

This album collects instrumental, vocal, and chamber music by "six women composers from The Netherlands", to quote its subtitle directly. These works cover a span of about 160 years, and are presented in the chronological order of the composers' birth years. This CD is yet another example of how the now-sadly-defunct NM Classics label served the music of its country so well. This album comes recommended to those interested in Dutch music, and music by female composers.

The violin concertos of Ludwig van Beethoven and Alban Berg are, on the surface, more different from one another than two compositions could ever probably be. Yet both stand as titans within the violin repertoire and broke incredibly significant new ground. Beethoven's lone Violin Concerto was different than anything that came before it and set the tone for virtually every concerto written after it for nearly a century.

Judicaël Perroy has become widely known as an extraordinary virtuoso classical guitarist and musician with several prizes to his credit. In 1997 he captured the prestigious first prize of the 15th Guitar Foundation of America International Competition and Convention awarding him tour of the United States and Canada with more than sixty concerts and master classes. In between his North American tour that year, he gave several concerts in France where his performances were broadcast live on France-Musique followed by extensive recital tours throughout the world.

For all that there are wonderful things in the string quartets preceding this set of six in Op. 76, for me there is a new depth of profundity and invention here, marking yet another step up in Haydn's ceaselessly evolving creativity. Haydn had already composed masterpieces, some dating back thirty years before this; the quality and popularity of many of those such as the "The Joke", "The Razor" and "The Lark" are indicated by the very fact that they acquired those nicknames and in this set of six we have three undoubted chefs d'oeuvre all similarly given labels to denote their originality and appeal.

Alexandre Tharaud records Beethoven for the first time! Beethoven’s last three sonatas, Nos. 30, 31, 32, composed 1820-22 and are considered some of the most difficult works in the repertoire. The NY Times said “[Alexandre Tharaud] imbued the opening of Beethoven’s Sonata No.31 (Op. 110) with a poetic introspection…”

“Nobody plays this music more authoritatively and eloquently,” wrote London’s Sunday Times of Stephen Kovacevich in Beethoven. “He is in his element, responding wholeheartedly to the extreme physicality that Beethoven brought to music … but the wit and delicacy of the playing are also remarkable.”Kovacevich himself has spoken of his love for the “fun and virtuosity” of the composer’s early sonatas, while in the often

Johann Wilhelm Hässler was a great and famous keyboard virtuoso in the second half of the 18th century. His style forms a bridge between the Baroque and the early Classical era, a period of “Sturm und Drang”, highly virtuosic and extravagant in its expression of feelings and character. Harpsichordist Michele Benuzzi undertook thorough research into this music, some of which was formerly attributed to Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, before he prepared the present edition, as well as writing the extremely informative liner notes. Played on a magnificent historic 18th century instrument from the Russell Collection in Edinburgh. New Premiere Recording.

Cedille Records want the world to know about two of Mozart's less-familiar contemporaries, Chevalier J.J.O. de Meude-Monpas and Chevalier de Saint-Georges, as well as later composers Joseph White and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. All were men of mixed African and European descent who made important contributions to European music in the 1700s and 1800s. Celebrities in their day, they've been all but forgotten in our era.

On Instrument of the Devil, gifted young violinist Rachel Barton Pine displays her technical prowess and the instrument's emotional range in an unusual, virtuosic program that, in her words, offers listeners something other than "the usual potpourri of encores."

Chicago-based violinist Rachel Barton Pine bounced back from a devastating accident (she was dragged for several hundred feet by a commuter train after her case strap was snared in the automated doors) and has delivered innovative programs in recordings for Chicago's Cedille label and, increasingly, for major labels. Here she tackles mainstays of the violin concerto repertory, the five Mozart violin concertos and the Sinfonia Concertante for violin, viola, and orchestra, K. 364. It's often a charming set, not only because of Barton Pine's efforts, but also because of the nature of her interaction with the conductor, 90-year-old Neville Marriner, leading the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.

Contemporaries, amicable friends, and even mutual admirers, the legacies of Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Clement could not have ended up being more different. In fact, Clement's name is little known today save for music history buffs who recognize the close relationship he had with Beethoven and are aware that Beethoven wrote his Violin Concerto with Clement in mind. Violinist Rachel Barton Pine is heard on this Cedille album playing these two closely intertwined concertos with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Jose Serebrier. In fact, this recording represents the first for the Clement concerto, a work that has remained essentially dormant for almost two centuries.

The great recordings of the "Nordic choral marvel": Swedish choral conductor Eric Ericson was one of the true legends in his field. When he died in 2013 at the age of 94, he had spent decades working to place his two Stockholm choirs among the international musical elite. His recordings from the 1970's enjoy real cult status – unique interpretations of a cappella works from the Renaissance to the 20th century, from Gesualdo to Penderecki, released here for the first time in a single box.

The Daily Telegraph describes Nikolaj Znaider as "the most stimulating young musician playing today, drawing on musical intelligence, perception and dynamism to give performances of rare intensity." This release presents one of the world's foremost violinists playing two landmark concertos, accompanied by the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester "one of Europe's finest orchestras" (The Guardian) under the baton of its music director Riccardo Chailly.