“Sergei Nakariakov plays the trumpet the way the rest of us breathe – if we are lucky.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

Fun, furious, frantic, and utterly fantastic! The surreal world of Lewis Carroll’s Alice, both in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, is given an extra twist in Gerald Barry’s operatic treatment. At less than an hour for the whole opera, this short, sharp shot of mayhem is ideal as a family treat. Meet a kaleidoscope of colorful characters in this joyful, headlong rush into a world gone deliciously mad. This release is based on the original production of the same title, a co-production between Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Irish National Opera.

Here we meet Jörg Widmann as soloist, conductor and composer. With his piece Con brio, premiered in 2008, he pays a vibrant tribute to Beethoven in general and his Seventh Symphony in particular. At the head of the excellent Irish Chamber Orchestra, of which he is principal conductor, he has also recorded the aforementioned Symphony no.7, which occupies a special place among the most grandiose works of Beethoven; he himself considered the second movement to be one of his finest compositions! He wrote this symphony in 1812, when deafness was beginning to take its toll on him, the Napoleonic Wars were raging in Russia, and he met Goethe. Richard Strauss was in his twilight years when he composed his last instrumental work, the Duett-Concertino for clarinet and bassoon with string orchestra and harp, in 1947.

This cd is a passionate plea on behalf of this brilliant composer, whose virtuosity is never empty but always inspired, glowing with dramatic tension. particularly in slow movements there is a menacing depth to his tonal colours and atmospheres, whose originality and sheer joy in experimentation still fascinates us today. Weber knew and loved the clarinet like no other, excepting only Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. the works gathered together on this cd are all declarations of love to the clarinet. and so i join in, unisono, with berlioz’s enthusiastic cry from the heart:o Weber!!!