Phantasie

Max Reger was a master of the organ, so compiling his entire output for the instrument is no small feat. This 14 disc set from MPS Jazz is a rare opportunity to enjoy all of Reger's organ works in one place.

Winner of the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition (2019) and BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists (2021-2023), Mithras Trio has gained recognition as one of the most engaging young piano trios. Its debut recording on Linn is a stimulating programme of works by Bridge, Grime, Erod and Ginastera. Titled Eros, it invites several associations with the Greek god of love: the allure of the female form is heard in Helen Grime's sparkling Three Whistler Miniatures, as is the beautiful maiden in Alberto Ginastera's Danza de la moza donosa. Frank Bridge's Phantasie Trio drips with hyperromantic indulgence, while Ivan Erod's Piano Trio No. 1, a nod to the title, is a work that marries Haydn and post-Bartok Hungarian folk influence, with some French Impressionist harmonies and no small element of jazz!

The German radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk Kultur, the German Music Council, and GENUIN once again jointly present the debut CD of a promising young musician: organist Aurel Dawidiuk is the winner of the 2022 German Music Competition in the organ category. His stellar career, however, goes far beyond that, as Dawidiuk is also celebrating his first international successes as a pianist and conductor. Exploring the theme of B-A-C-H in his organ debut, the major organ works assembled here span three centuries and include music by Johann Sebastian Bach himself, Johann Krebs, Franz Liszt, Zsigmond Szathmáry, and Max Reger – a rich diversity of music covering a wide range of styles!

The legendary DG Avantgarde vinyl series (1968-1971) is turning 55! In order to celebrate this occasion, the series is now released on 21 CDs for the first time. The Avantgarde series serves as a historical document for a time of radical change in musical thinking and the breaking of artistic boundaries. The question "What is music?" confronted many of the composers and musicians involved in the series, and the anti-authoritarian spirit of the 1960s and 1970s was a palpable influence. Deutsche Grammophon's Avantgarde Series reflects all the currents that thus arose, without aesthetic demarcations and across genres and instrumentations: large orchestral works stand alongside chamber music and solo forms, electronic music and improvisations.