Leleux Oboe

Akiko Suwanai (born in 1972) is one of the brightest violinists to have emerged in the late 20th century, winning the Tchaikovsky International Competition, the youngest person to do so, in 1990. She has gone on to an impressive concert and recording career that encompasses both traditional repertoire and world premieres. Her 2006 album J.S. Bach: Violin Concertos was an instant success. Her performance is impressive: incisive, nuanced, and idiomatic. Her tone has an appealing warmth, but she remains true to the character of the music and doesn't lapse into Romantic tone quality or interpretations.

This seven-disc box set from Alpha presents Robert Schumann’s complete chamber music with piano, played by a highly respected interpreter of Schumann's works, Eric Le Sage. The pianist is joined by outstanding musicians Paul Meyer, Francois Salque, Franck Braley, Antoine Tamesit, and others, who enable the listener to fully appreciate these masterful works written by genius of German Romanticism.

Each of the five members of wind ‘supergroup’ Les Vent Français, partnered by pianist Eric le Sage, plays a sonata written by Paul Hindemith in the dramatic years between 1936 and 1943 – compact, lucid and engaging works for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and alto horn. “These Hindemith sonatas are a great asset to the wind repertory,” says oboist François Leleux. “Hindemith took a very particular approach to each instrument, with a wonderful sense for its individual sound.”

Take five of the world’s finest wind players and put them in the solo spotlight with the classy Münchener Kammerorchester for support. The result is a must for music lovers drawn to the elegance of the Classical age. Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante for oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon is the masterpiece here, but Danzi’s two works are sheer delights, full of invention and good spirits. Devienne and Pleyel both offer a single work, each well worth an outing when performed with this kind of artistry.