Quasi Experimentation

Research, experimentation, discovery and rediscovery of new forms and ways of expression are the basis of a musician’s work and, in the realisation of this project, they represent the cornerstones of an artistic partnership intended to give value to an important part of the saxophone repertoire, namely that related to transcriptions with piano accompaniment. Though the saxophone is a relatively recent instrument, it became a leading protagonist on the musical scene of the 20th century.

A shared passion for experimentation and a creative engagement with musical tradition unites the composers and performers featured on this new GENUIN release. Violist Ionel Ungureanu (Principal Violist of the MDR Symphony Orchestra) and pianist-composer Sandro Nebieridze present exciting chamber works by Ernest Bloch and Jaromír Ludvík Hruška. The program includes two 20th-century viola sonatas that explore cultural legacy and global sonic landscapes. The album is further enriched by the performers' own composition, “Tunisian Rhapsody”, which forges a musical bridge between the works of Bloch and Hruška. The result is a multifaceted dialogue of distant echoes—interweaving, inspiring, and transporting the listener into new sonic worlds.

Including premiere recordings, this programme provides us with a privileged opportunity to engage with 36 of Ludwig van Beethoven’s rarely heard sketches, variations and briefest of compositions, even the earliest of which have much to teach us about the emergence of his unique voice and style. The range of Beethoven’s musical experimentation reveals a lasting interest in counterpoint, as well as practical pages such as cadenzas for a Mozart concerto, an incomplete sonata and a second version of the famous bagatelle Für Elise. A significant supplement to his greatest works, these miniatures bring the full arc of Beethoven’s singular genius into ever clearer focus.

Four CD set. An anthology of George Martin's sound productions before the advent of the Beatles; before the collaboration that would change popular music forever. He re-defined the role of producer; pioneering the recording itself as an art form. This edition is testament to a elegant, fearless musical innovator. The surrealistic, sometimes free-form recordings he created with comic geniuses Sellers, Milligan, Cribbins and Ustinov involved sound effects and collage. These madcap sonic adventures, allied to his understanding of the workings of an orchestra, his contacts within the classical fraternity, his love of the romantic and impressionist composers, and his fascination with studio experimentation made George Martin uniquely able to provide a particular objectivity and realise what the ever-curious Beatles, or any artist, would ask of him. As head of Parlophone, determined to explode the label onto the scene, he sought artists of character; taking mobile recording units out to capture Flanders And Swann's two-man show and the irreverent satirical revue, Beyond The Fringe. The Top Five was breached in 1960 both by Matt Monro and by Peter Sellers And Sophia Loren. George Martin's first UK Number One single, and an exemplar, was 'You're Driving Me Crazy' by The Temperance Seven who combined a revival of popular music from the 20s with styles from the Edwardian era.

Barry Douglas’s critically acclaimed series of Schubert’s piano works reaches its fourth installment.