Anton Dolgov

These three masses are early works but Bruckner had already gestated into Bruckner by the time of their composition. His symphonies regularly quote motifs from these works; they resonated in his mind down the years (and in fact, the F Minor Mass was written as a palliative gesture when the poor bugger was madder than usual).

In his lifetime, Anton Rubinstein (1829-1894) was most celebrated as a pianist and was often considered Liszt's only real rival. However, he was also an extremely productive composer, his output including eight concertos, two of which are for 'cello.

As one of the most respected Czech composers of his time, Jan Anton Kozeluch (1738-1814) composed around 45 masses and Italian operas, among other things, but was overshadowed by his cousin Leopold Antonín Kozeluch (1747-1818), with whom he is still often confused today. Kozeluch also wrote two bassoon concertos. The Bassoon Concerto in C major was one of the most frequently performed masterpieces for bassoon in the 18th century, and with it the Italian bassoonist Sergio Azzolini is now opening the Kozeluch album with the Camerata Rousseau under the direction of Leonardo Muzii.

After starting his compositional career writing for the Catholic Church, Anton Vranicky (1761-1820)- aka Wranitzky - had to change direction, since the reforms of Emperor Joseph II reduced the need for liturgical works in the 1780's. So he turned to the secular. Appointed as the leader of the small court ensemble of Prince Lobkowitz, the famous patron of Haydn, Beethoven and many others, he traveled among the Prince's 5 palaces, composing, arranging and playing chamber music. These two works are from that period, the very pinnacle of the Classical era.

This recording may not bring Anton Reicha "out of the shadow of the masters," as it promises to do. But Reicha, although he was recognized in his own time as one of Beethoven's most important contemporaries, remains a shadowy figure today, and listeners interested in the Viennese scene will be both intrigued and delighted by this pair of trios for flute, violin, and cello. Reicha emerges as a composer who, like Beethoven and Hummel, grappled with the problem of formal expansion even in the realm of chamber music, and his solutions were original ones.

it’s not often that you get to hear the music of Anton Eberl (1765-1807), a Viennese composer who was both a pupil and a friend of Mozart (and of course a contemporary and supposed rival of Beethoven as well). These are technically quite competent works whose temperament straddles both classical and romantic styles, but there probably won’t be a rush to an Eberl revival anytime soon.