All four of Arvo Part’s symphonies are released on a single disc for the first time, newly recorded with the NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic under the direction of one of Part’s most trusted colleagues, Tonu Kaljuste. Each of the symphonies, as the great Estonian composer has noted, is a world unto itself. Heard in chronological order they also tell us much about Part’s musical and spiritual journey, and the very different ways in which he has exercised his craft. Forty-five years separate his Symphony No. 1 (“Polyphonic”) written in 1963 while he was still a student of Heino Eller, from his Symphony No. 4 (“Los Angeles”) written in 2008, by which time he was (and still is) the world’s most widely-performed contemporary composer, and one whose now famous “tintinnabuli-style” has become an immediately identifiable artistic signature.

An orchestral debut, one of numerous song cycles and finally a short yet massive vocalinstrumental work. Years spanning their dates of inception: twelve. Significantly greater span - between the dates of their premieres, interspersed by greater and lesser historical events, most notably the First World War and both Russian revolutions, along with a series of personal trials and reappraisals of the artist's spirituality, as well as bad luck and unfavourable circumstances. What - apart from the author - links these works? Seemingly very little, yet certain common threads can be found. Among them that each of the three works is linked to a degree with some kind of specific literary text. 'Some kind of' that is to say different in each instance. Songs of a Fairy Princess is a clear example of a 'musical setting'. Symphony No. 3 subtitled 'The Song of the Night', has at its core the text of a Persian mystic, yet is fundamentally an instrumental work capable of being performed without voices.

The composer, virtuoso pianist, organist, critic and essayist Camille Saint-Saëns lived long enough to become a unique witness to an era of revolutionary changes in music. Recognised as a child prodigy by Gioacchino Rossini and Hector Berlioz, in his late years the author of Danse macabre had a chance to become acquainted with the early works of New Music. Atonality did not fire him with enthusiasm, which comes as no surprise, considering the fact that even Claude Debussy’s musical poetics proved quite alien to his tastes (Debussy felt the same about Saint-Saëns’ style). Extolled by Franz Liszt and the late Romantics, he was mostly dismissed by the modernists as eclectic and conservative. The appraisal was, however, far from unequivocal. From among eminent 20 th -century composers, both his pupil Gabriel Fauré and Fauré’s pupil Maurice Ravel admired Saint-Saëns, thus mapping out the lineage of the French Neoclassicism.

Violin on Stage presents selection of exquisite pieces from opera and ballet and features original works and arrangements for violin and orchestra, including dazzling showstoppers.