Ola Tuja

In addition to having written the first Viennese operetta, Franz von Suppe was a master of the Italian, French and German styles which he blended like an alchemist to form his own unique, irrepressible compositions. Two imperishable examples are here, the overtures Poet and Peasant and Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna. This album also explores his previously unrecorded Fantasia Symphonica, recently rediscovered in Viennese archives by conductor Ola Rudner, which displays masterful orchestration, distinctive melodies and a mastery of counterpoint. Other rarities complete this fresh look at the breadth of Suppe's ambition.

On "Steamdome II: The Hypogean", Ola Kvernberg presents an even more souped-up crew than last time, still shamelessly mixing genres and with a newly-won desire to jolt you out of your home office and give you an hour of music therapy, free of pandemics and global disasters in general.