Alistair Mcgowan The Piano Album, Vol 2

For the first time in its history, a complete Beethoven sonata cycle was performed at the Salzburg Festival by none other than the world-renowned and influential Beethoven expert and pianist Rudolf Buchbinder. With more than 45 performances of the Beethoven sonata cycle in concert halls all over the world Buchbinder has set new standards in the interpretation of Beethovens works (Bayerischer Rundfunk). Buchbinders performance is that of a real master, effortlessly changing between lightning fast, technically challenging moments and tender lyrical passages. Where others can pride themselves in getting through without any accidents, Buchbinder is a poet, precise in every arpeggio, touching every keystroke (Kurier). This recording includes two concerts which feature sonatas 3, 6, 7, 16, 19, 24, 26, 28, and 29.

Born in the vicinity of Cologne, only two years after and some sixty km distant from Beethoven, Johann Wilhelm Wilms was once a musical force to be reckoned with. In Amsterdam, where he lived from the age of 19, his music was actually performed more frequently than Beethoven’s at one period, and his orchestral works were played in such musical centres as Leipzig. Besides chamber music and solo sonatas, Wilms composed several symphonies and concertos, among them piano concertos for his own use.

This sequel of the highly successful CHRISTMAS ALBUM VOL. 1. Features legendary classic interpretations of baroque music: for the first time one single CD combines all four Christmas concertos from Corelli, Locatelli, Manfredini and Torelli with Vivaldi's Winter, the Bach Air and Pachelbel's Canon. Nothing is more redolent of a Berlin-style Christmas than the timeless sound of Herbert von Karajan with the Berlin Philharmonic, making this the ideal gift to brighten the winter season.

Once again, the piano duo of Goldstone and Clemmow has discovered works transcribed for piano, four-hands that are sure to fascinate not only fans of piano duets, but also those of the original composer. Through observant reading of a biography of Schubert, the team realized that transcriptions had been made of some of his chamber music by one Josef von Gahy. Gahy was one of Schubert's closest friends in Vienna, a civil servant, and very accomplished amateur pianist. Gahy frequently played Schubert's piano music at evening Schubertiades, but more importantly, Gahy and Schubert often played duets at the piano together.