Works of Andreas Vesalius of Brussels

Born in Vechta in northwestern Germany, Andreas Romberg (1767-1821) began touring throughout Europe as a violinist at age 6 with his cousin Bernard. After working in orchestras in Bonn, Hamburg, Paris and Vienna, where he concertized with Beethoven, he succeeded Louis Spohr as the court music director for Duke August of Gotha, Thuringia. Well regarded during his lifetime, Romberg's decline can be traced directly to the ascendency of his more famous contemporary. Tracking the number of public performances of Beethoven's string quartets versus Romberg's reveals an inverse relationship.

The maximalist Franz Liszt and the almost minimalist Erik Satie might seem a preposterous album pairing, but violinist Andreas Seidel and pianist Steffen Schleiermacher – really, it is Schleiermacher whose project this seems to be, although he gets second billing – make a strong case for its relevance. The key is that it is the mysterious late works of Liszt that are featured. Between Liszt's works of the early 1880s and the famous Gymnopédies of Satie is a period of just seven or eight years, and, more importantly, a common spareness of melodic material and, in some cases, an interest in popular music.

In this unusual recording Andreas Skouras demonstrates the tremendous range of tonal and expressive possibilities offered by the harpsichord. The program is highly personal but also dramaturgically cogent: A selection from the sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti is juxtaposed with four works from the 20th century.

Bach transcribed the works of other composers and reused his own works for often educational purposes. This magnificently interpreted anthology by Andreas Staier is a delight for the ears, happiness enhanced by a splendid sound recording, and what instrument(s)!

Andreas Späth is a new name to me, but his long and distinguished career saw him create a varied catalogue of over 150 works. He was also a clarinettist, violinist, organist, and voice teacher, as well as becoming the city music director in Neuchâtel and an honorary member of the Swiss Music Society among other things. Very little of his music has found its way onto recordings, so this extensive overview of his chamber music with clarinet is very welcome indeed. This release is titled ‘Romantic Clarinet Chamber Music’, but Späth’s idiom has a Classical poise and an elegant lack of sentimentality, at least in the Introduction & Variations on Weber op. 133. This has a nice variety in its variations, emphasising lyricism and witty inflection rather than pure virtuosity, though there is indeed some of this in evidence, and we are fortunate to be in the safe hands of soloist Rita Karin Meier.

The organ works of Gottlieb Muffat (1690-1770), imperial court and chamber organist in Vienna since 1717, are based on the classical genres, which Muffat, however, knows how to skilfully combine with the musical language of his time. His most important organ works remained unprinted during his lifetime and have only survived in copies, thanks in part to the Viennese Minorite Father Alexander Giessel. Only in recent years has his collection been made accessible in a modern edition, which Jörg-Andreas Bötticher has recorded here for the first time. The three organs of the monastery church of Muri in the canton of Aargau, which are among the best preserved baroque organs in Switzerland, were at his disposal.

Counting the album of violin sonatas he made with violinist Daniel Sepec, this is the third Schumann release from historical-instrument specialist Andreas Staier. Staier's recordings of earlier keyboard music had some really surprising sounds, but with Schumann, playing an 1837 Erard, it's a realm not too far removed from the modern piano: better able to capture the intimate shadings of the Fantasiestücke, Op. 12, perhaps. But, even more so than in previous releases, Staier has come up with a really arresting program this time, and done it full justice.