Comment:Here is an amazing collection of Concertos for 2 Pianos by mainly little known 20th century composers, any one of which would be a concert hall sensation. Joshua Pierce and Dorothy Jonas play fast and furious through these inventive, original concertos.
Comment:Continuing its series of recordings made by pianist Nadia Reisenberg, Romeo Records have collected her performances of Haydn Sonatas and Variations made for Westminster between 1955 and 1958. Music and playing are marvellous!
Comment:James Brawn continues his acclaimed Odyssey through Beethoven's 32 Piano Sonatas. In Volume 5 he presents four that are usually overlooked as they are early works, and which he sees as being integral to the whole of Beethoven's piano vision.
Reviews:"He just molds each phrase as skillfully as possible, the fast movements sounding every bit as vital and vigorous as any you've heard; and the slow movements as lyrical, as serene, as thoughtful as any around." John J. Puccio, Classical Candor, December 2017. "In truth, though, all of his performance on this disc convey the irrepressible joy of his music making." Joseph Newsome, Voix des Arts, December 2017. "…this is 100% Beethoven from phrase to phrase, page to page, start to finish, and always at the service of the composer's master plan." Jean-Yves Duperron, Classical Music Sentinel, November 2017. "Brawn's ongoing Beethoven cycle continues to show him to be a thoughtful pianist who does not draw attention to his own technique but to the intricacies of the music - an approach that works particularly well for works of Beethoven's time…" Mark J. Estren, Infodad.Com, February 2018. "The virtues present in the previous releases are all here - stringent channeling of the composer's innermost ideas, wonderful articulation, fine sense of rubato and an absolutely uncluttered technical arsenal that presents Beethoven not as a heroic giant but as an immensely personal communicator." Steven Ritter, Audiophile Audtion, 24 February 2018. "Brawn instills an urgency and vitality that is hard to ignore." Chang Tou Liang, Straitstimes (Singapore), February 2018.
Comment:The soloists are - Lenka Cafourkova and Gabriela Eibenova, soprano, Pascal Bertin, alto, Virgil Hartinger, tenor and Marian Krejcik, bass, in this third selection of Zeleka's Psalmi, some of which are World Premiere recordings.
Comment:Supraphon fill gaps in our knowledge of Martinu with his Bouquet of Flowers, composed in 1937, which draws on Moravian Folk songs. There is also the first studio recording of Jan Novak's (1921-1984) wonderful Philharmonic Dances. An essential disc!
Comment:Lowell Liebermann is one of America's most frequently performed living composers. His music covers many forms, with an extensive catalogue of piano music, which explores a range of emotional experiences. David Korevaar is a wonderful guide.
Comment:With Josef Feco, bass are Andrej Farkas, Dominik Klempar and Drahoslav Bango, sharing piano between the tracks and Martin Feco, drums. It's Classic Jazz trio music, swinging, tuneful and beautifully played, but with that special Czech Jazz sting!
Comment:Bartosz Dworak leads his Quartet from his violin and is joined by Piotr Matusik, piano, Jakub Dwoark, bass and Szymon Madej, drums. Their originals aim for "non-existent perfection," that showcases lively New Polish Jazz.
Comment:Anna Kijanowska is a Polish-American pianist. She is particularly interested in performing Polish music. On this disc she features Sonatas by two Polish composers, Bacewicz (1909-1969) and Lukasz Wos (1967-) whose Sonata dates from 2016.
Comment:Joan La Barbara (1947-) is a pioneer of the New York Contemporary music scene in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The pieces on this disc sound like field recordings but are her multitracking in a studio, their effect in Surround Sound is amazing!
