Just how much wonderful French music there is to discover from the period circa 1900 is revealed to us by Duo Avad on their new Genuin recital. Cellist Clemens Krieger and pianist Rieko Yoshizumi present original compositions and arrangements that reach far beyond the standard repertoire. The album features tiny treasures of little-known composers such as Gabriel Pierné and Louis Vierne as well as unknown works by the "greats" such as Debussy, Ravel and Fauré. Of particular note is the Soir triste by Lili Boulanger, who died much too early. Reconstructed by the ensemble, it is recorded here for the first time. This is intimate, impressionistic chamber music, elegantly and finely performed at the highest level.

Pianist Swetlana Meermann-Muret takes us on a journey through the heights and depths of the Russian soul in her new GENUIN CD. The prizewinner of international competitions devotes herself to gems of piano literature—the rarely recorded miniatures by Anatoly Lyadov and Anton Arensky. Lyadov's Préludes, in particular, are more than just precursors of well-known works by Rachmaninoff and Scriabin! Swetlana Meermann-Muret, a native Russian pianist, devotes herself to these treasures with an attention to detail and a warm sound. Moving testimonies of a lost culture!

World premiere recordings are brought together on this new GENUIN CD featuring works by the composer Christian Ridil: Renowned musicians from the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, among others, play in formations ranging from brass quintet to flute and percussion to the exquisite combination of (chromatic) harmonica and harpsichord. The works of the Goethe University Frankfurt's former university music director are characterized by stylistic diversity, wit, charm, and virtuosity and yet bear Ridil's clear signature.

Fast identisch sind die Lebensdaten von Johann Graf mit denen von Johann Sebastian Bach. Der Rudolstädter Hofkapellmeister gehörte zu den am meisten geschätzten Geigern seiner Zeit. Die Geigerin Anne Schumann, der Bratscher Klaus Voigt und der Cembalist Sebastian Knebel veröffentlichen hier ein Programm mit seinen musikgeschichtlich bedeutenden, jedoch bisher selten gespielten Violinsonaten. Die Werke umfassen leidenschaftliche und virtuose Musik im italienischen Stil, der gerade Klaus Voigt eine besondere Färbung gibt: Er unterstützt das schwingende und klare Violinspiel von Anne Schumann durch die Viola da spalla, eine Art mit einem Gurt vor dem Bauch gehaltenes kleines Cello.

The musicians working with soprano Maacha Deubner take us to exotic worlds of sound on their new recording, which is exclusively comprised of world premiere recordings. These include works by the Russian composer Elena Firsova and fellow composers, set in dialogue with the oeuvre of the poet Ossip Mandelstam. In addition to Firsova's works, we make acquaintance with music by Sofia Gubaidulina, Edison Denisov, and Valentin Silvestrov. Maacha Deubner and her colleagues from the KAPmodern ensemble of the Kammerakademie Potsdam devote themselves to the invariably highly expressive music, performing it with great seriousness and mastery.

The very young violinist Lucie Bartholomäi from the Ore Mountains presents an extraordinary debut recital. For her first production with Genuin, she plays works written exclusively by great female composers. In addition to the romantic music of Amy Beach, Louise Farrenc, and Clara Schumann, the program includes sparkling miniatures by Rebecca Clarke. Bartholomäi and her piano partner Verena Louis devote themselves to this too seldom performed repertoire with great attention to detail, chamber music intimacy, and richness of color. A real voyage of discovery!

The internationally sought-after cellist Michael Heupel and his pianist Mario Häring, who has also won several awards, enter into an exciting dialogue with the past. On their new GENUIN CD, they present works related to early music. Gaspar Cassado composes a sonata in the "old Spanish style," and Igor Stravinsky sets off into the world of commedia dell'arte. Zoltán Kodály explores Johann Sebastian Bach, and Alfred Schnittke serves up sugar-sweet, baroque-inspired gems, holding up at times a miniature distorting mirror. A virtuosically played, inspiring collection that transcends the past and future.

On their new GENUIN release, the internationally award-winning flutist Atsuko Koga and her fellow musicians Georgiy Lomakov (cello) and Radoslaw Kurek (piano) bring together music by Ludwig van Beethoven, Gabriel Fauré, and Charles Martin Loeffler. The trio's airy, free sound with its unusual combination of instruments is a perfect match for the three works, which represent the piano trio genre in completely different ways: Beethoven's Gassenhauer Trio as an amusing and witty play on stereotypes of its time, Fauré's late work as a detached and intimate meditation, and finally Loeffler's misty impressionistic poems an absolute discovery!

The star tenor Daniel Behle sings for the first time here in a Genuin production. Together with the orchestra of the Kammeroper München, he interprets two of the most beautiful song cycles ever, namely Franz Schubert's Schwanengesang and Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe. In both cycles, Alexander Krampe transforms the original piano accompaniment into an exciting orchestral arrangement. This is best supported by the sonorous and supple voice of Daniel Behle: from the delicate weaving of Schubert's Liebesbotschaft to the pale surfaces of his Doppelgänger to the cutting rhythms of Schumann's Die alten, bösen Lieder.

Combo CAM presents a recording full of rarities: music from all over the world, from Peru to Sephardic Spain, and from Frescobaldi to Purcell. The early music ensemble's instrumentation, with its richly colored percussion, plucked instruments, recorders, and voice, is unusual; the tailor-made arrangements are unique! An added extra of the production is Doris Meeresbüchner, the "soul" of Combo CAM, who guides listeners and readers of the booklet through the program in her characteristic style.

It is often said that Elliott Carter is the most European of all American composers. Without a doubt, the New York-born composer is one of the most interesting personalities of the New Music scene in the USA. His wide-ranging compositional output is complex, filled with philosophical and poetic allusions that range from orchestral and chamber music, solo instrumental and vocal pieces to his first opera, which he first wrote at the age of 90. He wrote his compositions from his head, without using any instruments, and many of his works were only heard at the premiere. For his 100th birthday, the Sonatina for oboe and harpsichord was premiered by Heinz Holliger and Peter Salomon and has now been recorded for the first time on GENUIN. With this recording, the Swiss Chamber Soloists honors the rich oeuvre of Elliot Carter – music that is full of elegance and transparency.

The young cellist Sebastian Fritsch demonstrates his sense of musical expression on his debut CD, which joins the ranks of the prizewinner recordings of the German Music Competition. At times delicate, at times turbulent, he plays his instrument in a program that is rich in contrasts, ranging from Antonio Vivaldi, Robert Schumann, and Sergei Rachmaninoff to the contemporary composer György Kurtág. He courageously takes on all these different styles and challenges and finds his own narrative form. The joy and passion in the interaction with the harpsichordist Olga Watts and the pianist Oliver Triendl can be clearly felt when listening to the recordings.

The Trio Then-Bergh (violin), Wen-Sinn Yang (cello), and Michael Schäfer (piano) provide a cross-section of the golden age of Russian music in their new Genuin recording. These three exceptional musicians play masterpieces compiled and arranged by the composer Alexander Krein in the first half of the 20th century. Krein is a masterful arranger who makes the soul of each piece shine in the trio version. Works by Tchaikovsky (for example, from his String Serenade and The Seasons) and Rimsky-Korsakov (from The Golden Cockerel) are presented here, as well as wonderfully sentimental salon music from Glière to Tcherepnin.

Mit einer gelungenen Verbindung der Gegensätze von Gefühl und Verstand beschäftigten sich im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert nicht nur französischen Philosophen und Kunsttheoretiker, sondern auch Komponisten dieser Zeit. Um jene Pole barocker Musik und ihre Spiegelungen in der zeitgenössischen Moderne kreist diese Produktion der russischen Pianistin und Cembalistin Alexandra Ivanova, die damit ihr Genuin-Debüt bestreitet. Ihre Die mutige Gegenüberstellung von zeitgenössischer und Alter Musik kombiniert aufschlussreich französische Cembalomusik des Barock mit Werken der lettischen Komponistin Anita Mieze (*1980). Und siehe da: Plötzlich erscheint Neues vertraut und Altes aufregend neu.Listening to Alexandra Ivanova's debut CD with GENUIN, we are able to experience the very essence of the harpsichord! The Russian pianist and harpsichordist presents herself in a juxtaposition of contemporary and early music that creates exciting reflections: the new seems familiar, while old seems excitingly new. Ivanova combines Couperin, Rameau, Duphly, and Royer with works by the Latvian composer Anita Mieze, born in 1980. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the associations between feeling and reason not only occupied the minds of French philosophers but also of great musicians: This extraordinarily sonorous CD revolves around these poles of baroque music and how they are reflected in modernity.

Johann Sebastian Bach composed timeless music for solo instruments and invented his own musical worlds for violin, violoncello, flute wonderful, pure architectural beauty. For his GENUIN CD, the saxophonist Arno Bornkamp has arranged solo sonatas by Bach, choosing a different register for each work by using the baritone, soprano and alto saxophones. The symbiosis between instrument and music seems ideal, and, guided by the principles of historical performance practice, the co-founder of the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet plays with great ease and flow.