Schönbrunn

This recording may not bring Anton Reicha "out of the shadow of the masters," as it promises to do. But Reicha, although he was recognized in his own time as one of Beethoven's most important contemporaries, remains a shadowy figure today, and listeners interested in the Viennese scene will be both intrigued and delighted by this pair of trios for flute, violin, and cello. Reicha emerges as a composer who, like Beethoven and Hummel, grappled with the problem of formal expansion even in the realm of chamber music, and his solutions were original ones.

Dutch conductor and violinist Andre Rieu headlines this special concert staged in front of Vienna's Schonbrunn Palace. Accompanied by the Orchestra and Choir of the Vienna State Opera, The Platin Tenors and the Elmayer Dance School's Vienna Debutantes, as well as vocalists including Mirisua Louwerse, Carmen Monarcha, Suzan Erens and Carla Maffioletti, Rieu plays works including 'The Grisettes of Paris', 'Roses from the South', 'The Beautiful Blue Danube' and 'Lips Are Sealed'.