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One of the most versatile trumpeters in the classical world, Simon Höfele, releases a new album “Nobody Knows” together with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Geoffrey Paterson and Ilan Volkov. On his 4th album on Berlin Classics he plays the trumpet concertos by Bernd Alois Zimmermann, Christian Jost and Toshio Hosokawa, spanning an arc from the 20th to the 21st century and proves once again that the trumpet can do more than just "shine". “These three works are really important to me. I have played all three before and I was always fascinated by their darkness.”, he explains his choice of repertoire. “This is heavy, almost depressive music, and that applies to all three of these works. This is heavy music in two respects: loaded with gloom, and also not at all easy to play. The is a definitive political message to “Nobody Knows de Trouble I see”, which makes it even more fascinating.”

What happens when you fuse the power of Beethoven, the raw emotion of Janáček, and the exoticism of Frucht with a beautifully exuberant string ensemble? The Ulysses Quartet gives a definitive answer on SHADES OF ROMANI FOLKLORE, an album exploring the rich and vibrant tradition of Romani music.

“Although it is certainly part of a performer’s task both to nurture a special relationship with a work and to give the public a chance to enjoy it, the first thing that you need to do is to separate the work from its history.”