in Memoriam Albert Dderlein

Francoise Groben played with notable orchestras such as the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, the Japan Philharmonic and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Georgia and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra under conductors of the calibre of Leopold Hager, Daniel Harding, Mstislav Rostropovich and Yevgeny Svetlanov. She died in Luxembourg, quite unexpectedly, on May 28, 2011. The recordings collected here illustrate the entire spectrum of Françoise Groben's artistic interests, demonstrating that she was not only a leading soloist but also a gifted and coveted chamber musician who regularly included pieces by Luxembourg composers in her programmes and was strongly committed to contemporary female composers.

The book is a commemorative volume honoring the mathematician Paul R. Halmos (1916-2006), who contributed passionately to mathematics in manifold ways, among them by basic research, by unparalleled mathematical exposition, by unselfish service to the mathematical community

This disc contains three pieces by Pierre Boulez with the composer himself conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Ensemble Intercontemporain. "Eclat" for 15 instruments (1965) continues Boulez's interest in aleatoric form. In this work consisting of a succession of elegant little motifs, the pitches, tempo, and dynamics are all predetermined, but the conductor can, on the spur of the moment, decide which motif he wants to signal next. "Multiples", meant to always follow "Eclat" to form a single piece "Eclat/Multiples", was begun in 1971 and is still unfinished. It is an expansion of the ideas of the first piece, lasting twice as long and with the added instrumentation of nine violas, a basset horn, and a second piano. It shows a much greater variety of rhythms, and much of the writing consists of tuttis against the isolated cells of "Eclat". "Rituel" for orchestra in eight groups (1974/75) was written in memory of Bruno Maderna, a Darmstadt figure who is nearly forgotten now but who was a close friend and inspiration to many composers who came of age in the 1950s. With its solemn pace and sad, mournful tones, the piece serves as a strong antidote to that usual conservative accusation that serialism "can't communicate anything."