Albert Hude

This is a reissue of an original album on Doug Dobell's legendary 77 label, based at the famous Charing Cross Road record shop. Albert Nicholas was a favourite of Doug and John Jack, Cadillac founder, and one of the great jazz originators - he played with Jelly Roll Morton and others before settling in Europe.

Richard Wetz (1875 — 1935) was a provincial composer in the truest sense of the word, comfortably writing music in the accepted German forms, using recognizably German/Austrian melodic material, and scoring with typically German conservatism. His Second Symphony was completed in 1919, but could have been written anytime between 1880 and the early 1930s. It sounds a lot like Bruckner, Mendelssohn, Brahms and Wagner, and the most interesting thing about it is the fact that it does not include a Scherzo, but rather has two large quick(-ish) movements surrounding a brief adagio.

Scots-born composer Eugen d'Albert established his career in Germany, considered himself a German composer, and his 21 operas (written in German) are saturated with the musical language of Germanic post-Romanticism. Der Golem (1926) came from late in his career, and while its Frankfurt premiere was considered a success, it has not held the stage. This MDG recording comes from a first-rate production at Theater Bonn in 2010. The opera is skillfully written, but the recording confirms the judgment of history: Der Golem is just not an especially compelling piece, either musically or dramatically.

Albert King is truly a "King of the Blues," although he doesn't hold that title (B.B. does). Along with B.B. and Freddie King, Albert King is one of the major influences on blues and rock guitar players. Without him, modern guitar music would not sound as it does - his style has influenced both black and white blues players from Otis Rush and Robert Cray to Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan. It's important to note that while almost all modern blues guitarists seldom play for long without falling into a B.B. King guitar cliché, Albert King never does - he's had his own style and unique tone from the beginning…

Written between 1902 and 1937, these are stylistically diverse works of Albert Roussel, ranging from the Romantic to the Impressionist to the neo-classical. Roussel is always melodically attractive, formally inventive, technically brilliant, and harmonically appealing. In these consistently strong and persuasive performance by a variety of mostly Dutch musicians, Roussel's rarely heard chamber works sound as fine as is imaginable.

Richard Wetz (1875 — 1935) was a provincial composer in the truest sense of the word, comfortably writing music in the accepted German forms, using recognizably German/Austrian melodic material, and scoring with typically German conservatism. His Second Symphony was completed in 1919, but could have been written anytime between 1880 and the early 1930s. It sounds a lot like Bruckner, Mendelssohn, Brahms and Wagner, and the most interesting thing about it is the fact that it does not include a Scherzo, but rather has two large quick(-ish) movements surrounding a brief adagio.

Hyperion is delighted to introduce the highly sought-after German cellist Alban Gerhardt to the label with these dazzling performances of three cello concertos written within the span of five years either side of the close of the nineteenth century. This disc is a fitting start to Hyperion’s new series of Romantic Cello Concertos; a follow-up to the highly successful Romantic Piano Concerto series and Romantic Violin Concerto series.