Merissa Meyer

Nonesuch Records releases an album of Bach works recorded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, mandolinist Chris Thile, and bassist Edgar Meyer, Bach Trios, on April 7, 2017. The album comprises works by J.S. Bach originally written for keyboard instruments, plus one sonata for viola da gamba. In 2011, Ma, Thile, and Meyer—along with Stuart Duncan—collaborated on The Goat Rodeo Sessions, which won two Grammy Awards.

Soft and cantabile, with sparkling virtuosity: we owe it to the internationally celebrated soloistSabine Meyer that the clarinet has conquered the world's concert stages as a solo instrument.

A collection of works of renowned modern composers, written in the end of the 20th century.

The last time cellist Yo-Yo Ma teamed with bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolin player Chris Thile (of Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers fame) for a classical/bluegrass hybrid, the result was the gold-selling Songs of Joy & Peace. Here, Ma, Meyer, and Thile are joined by fiddler Stuart Duncan in a different kind of string quartet.

The four clarinet concertos by Louis Spohr (1784–1859) have fared well on disc, relatively speaking. Notorious for their difficulty, these works have been slow to win champions among top-flight clarinetists, but the tide is turning. Paul Meyer is a French clarinetist no relation, apparently, to the German siblings Sabine and Wolfgang Meyer who has recorded a number of CDs on various labels including Denon and EMI. For Alpha he has previously recorded the clarinet chamber music of Schumann. I believe the present recording, in which he also serves as conductor, is his first in that capacity.