Anton Bruckner's early symphonies are not as widely performed or recorded as his mature works, so Mario Venzago's double-disc on CPO of the Symphony in D minor, called "No. 0" or "Die Nullte," and the Symphony No. 1 in C minor is a stand-out from the nearly unstoppable run of recordings of the Fourth, Seventh, and Ninth. Venzago and the Tapiola Sinfonietta give exceptional performances that have technical polish and expressive warmth, and the charm the musicians draw out of these pieces makes one wonder why they aren't more popular. Certainly, both symphonies approach the later ones in expansiveness and seriousness, and there's more than a little Brucknerian sonic grandeur in these fledgling efforts. Yet even though these are works of the late 1860s, the music is still strongly governed by Classical models, and because the influence of Richard Wagner is absent in the symphonies prior to the Third, listeners who ordinarily find Bruckner too complicated, heavy, and ponderous may find these lighter works more accessible and enjoyable.
The father of the Baroque period, Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the greatest composers of all time. His works, covering a wide range of instruments and voice types, continue to flourish to this day, forming a core part of musical learning. This special disc brings together the Trio Sonatas BWV525–530, works that originally appeared in a manuscript of works for organ. In this form, the pieces naturally became part of Bach’s teaching – a notable contribution to his oldest son Wilhelm Friedemann’s virtuoso organ technique.
Time is Now is like a delightful summer breeze, a refreshing album that recreates with absolute freedom some of the most excel and refined Latin American and classic repertoire. Mario Bauzá made it possible with that characteristic sound, filled of Latin flavour and vigorous radiance that will captivate you from the first track. You won't believe the mesmerizing adaptation of "Mack the Knife", for instance. Don't let this album pass in front of you. Go for it and enjoy it forever.
In this wonderful recording, cellist Lorenzo Meseguer and pianist Mario Mora bring together four composers who have historically been undervalued: From Fanny Mendelssohn’s Fantasia to Gustav Jenner’s Sonata in D major, the album also includes Felix Mendelssohn’s Sonata op. 58, a masterpiece for this combination, and an arrangement for cello and piano of Clara Schumann’s Three Romances op. 22.