Shoji Yokouchi Trio

Shoji Yokouchi was a skillful studio musician, composer and arranger who worked in pop and other genres of music, but at the core he was always a jazz guitarist. In this album, Yokouchi is paired with another guitarist, Toru Konishi, to form a piano-less, twin guitar quartet. In this collaborative and competitive setting, the two guitarists in turn take the lead, comp, play counterpoints and take simultaneous solos. The interplay between Yokouchi (heard from the right channel, with a fatter tone) and Konishi (the left channel) is effective and exciting.

Shoji Yokouchi was a skillful studio musician, composer and arranger who worked in pop and other genres of music, but at the core he was always a jazz guitarist. In this album, Yokouchi is paired with another guitarist, Toru Konishi, to form a piano-less, twin guitar quartet. In this collaborative and competitive setting, the two guitarists in turn take the lead, comp, play counterpoints and take simultaneous solos. The interplay between Yokouchi (heard from the right channel, with a fatter tone) and Konishi (the left channel) is effective and exciting.

This is the final installment in the series of recordings of Beethoven's complete violin sonatas by Sayaka Shoji (violin) and Gianluca Cascioli (piano). The album includes the popular and euphoric No. 5 "Spring", the sublime No. 6, and No. 10, the only one of the violin sonatas from the composer's later period, which is reminiscent of Schumann and Brahms.

This is the final installment in the series of recordings of Beethoven's complete violin sonatas by Sayaka Shoji (violin) and Gianluca Cascioli (piano). The album includes the popular and euphoric No. 5 "Spring", the sublime No. 6, and No. 10, the only one of the violin sonatas from the composer's later period, which is reminiscent of Schumann and Brahms.

Satoshi Shoji, who plays various instruments such as the oboe and is active in various fields from classical music to pop music, and Junko Wada, who continues to play an active role as an organist in various fields, have a musical dialogue. The mellow English horn, the lively and graceful bass oboe, and the soft, rich baroque organ play the masterpieces of Telemann and Bach.

This is the final installment in the series of recordings of Beethoven's complete violin sonatas by Sayaka Shoji (violin) and Gianluca Cascioli (piano). The album includes the popular and euphoric No. 5 "Spring", the sublime No. 6, and No. 10, the only one of the violin sonatas from the composer's later period, which is reminiscent of Schumann and Brahms.

This is the final installment in the series of recordings of Beethoven's complete violin sonatas by Sayaka Shoji (violin) and Gianluca Cascioli (piano). The album includes the popular and euphoric No. 5 "Spring", the sublime No. 6, and No. 10, the only one of the violin sonatas from the composer's later period, which is reminiscent of Schumann and Brahms.

On GOLDBERG, a classical string trio meets a Syrian percussion group and honey-voiced vocalist Abdalhade Deb for a cross-cultural tour de force. The album fuses Bach’s score with improvisations, rhythms and sacred Islamic poetry. While some pieces are still close to Bach’s Baroque original, others are almost meditational in nature or come with an undeniable jazzy groove. GOLDBERG is unified in its diversity – true East-Meets-West classical world music.

The 11 works Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) created for piano trio make up a group of pieces equally remarkable as his 16 string quartets. With over half of them written before 1800, prior to the composer's turning 30, they clearly reveal his creative flights and struggles, first and foremost serving to attest to the grand formation of Beethoven's compositional principles and the attainment of his apex.

After the successful release of the Brahms Piano Trios, audite label is now presenting a second release with the Trio Testore. It sheds light on a special side of Russian chamber music: Tchaikovsky's and Rachmaninov's works for piano trio are conceived as dedications and memorials. This fact determines their individual form and their personal, passionate tone. They are thus exemplary for a tradition that made its effect well into the 20th century.