Doktor Faust was left incomplete at the time of Busoni’s death. Intended as his masterpiece, the opera’s genesis was complex and long. Based on Goethe’s tragic play, the story of Faust’s pact with the devil is well known but the opera’s structure represents Busoni’s unique conception, cast in two Prologues, a beautiful orchestral Intermezzo and three scenes. Exploring ideas of rationality and metaphysical doubt as well as the concepts of artifice and pretence inherent in operatic performance, the result is one of the most creative and unsettling of Busoni’s works.

For years, the artists Peter Herbert and Wolfgang Mitterer have been linked by a professional and friendly bond. Peter Herbert, the busy jack-of-all-trades, who says he prefers playing in a duo rather than alone, and Wolfgang Mitterer, who always creates the necessary sensation for some brutal sounds. The first conscious perception of Mitterer's brilliant playing style - according to Peter Herbert - was at a concert by the legendary band The Pat Brothers (Linda Sharock/Wolfgang Puschnig/Wolfgang Reisinger/Wolfgang Mitterer). Since then, Peter Herbert has harbored the desire to record an album with Wolfgang Mitterer as a duo, as both are at home in jazz and improvisational music. Several collaborations followed over the decades, but the duo album had to wait until today.

November, Doug's 19th release, is filled with the colors of Autumn. It takes us through the month in New England, from darker and colder days to the first snow and the precious warmup of an Indian Summer before winter sets in. It includes 13 meticulously crafted original compositions, emotively performed in Doug’s signature style.

This album is a brilliant example of how the saxophone can interact with a string ensemble. The original compositions offer moments of lyrical beauty, complex harmonic interplay and moments of quiet introspection that speak for Peter Lehel`s maturity both as composer and improviser.

Following the success of her debut album Lina Lövstrand Stories (2022) and extensive touring across Sweden, Lina Lövstrand is now releasing her follow-up album, Lina Lövstrand Woodwind Stories. This new album features eight compositions, each showcasing different nuances of woodwind instruments—flutes, recorder, and bass clarinet. Lina skillfully arranges the instruments in harmonious layers, complementing the unity of the musicians. The album is released under the Tengtones label.

This is the second in a two-part series focussing on the musical properties of the ‘square’ piano, an instrument largely unknown today, yet of great significance to a large sector of society, especially in Australia during its colonial days. To this end, the program includes works from the late eighteenth century as well as contemporary pieces that explore its particular sound qualities in different contexts. In use is an original square piano labelled Robertson of Liverpool c. 1835 by James Smith, semi-restored. Further instrumentation is provided by a Flemish reproduction harpsichord by Marc du Cornet.

Jim Keays final, never before released album - Caledonia. This album was deeply personal and meaningful to Jim. Written at a time where he had the space to look at his entire life retrospectively and philosophically…. where he came from, what he had been through and where he was standing at the time. Welcome to the Family - Welcome to Caledonia

Marco Pieri, born in 1966, picked up musical instruments very early thanks to his father and his love for the Beatles (we are in 1973/74). He plays bass, harmonica, and guitar, and had his first live experience at age 11 with a quintet where his brother (Max Pieri) also played, performing original songs and covers of Neil Young.

There are numerous legends surrounding the Christmas carol "Silent Night". What is certain is that it was first heard on Christmas Eve 1818 in St. Nikola in Oberndorf near Salzburg. Sung as a duet with the author Joseph Mohr, who also played the guitar, and the composer Franz Xaver Gruber. The Belgian conductor Erik Van Nevel and his ensemble Currende capture the chamber music atmosphere with only six singers and six instrumentalists. Their Christmas concert with works by mainly Austrian composers was recorded in Leuven in 2023.

Sonorous, romantic horn sounds perfectly match the organ with its many contrasting colours and huge tessitura. Yet, hardly any original compositions have been written for this combination. However, the music of the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner and his Belgian French contemporary Cesar Franck lends itself perfectly to transcriptions for horn ensemble and organ. Both were famous organists and both include prominent horn parts in their orchestral works. Their compositions were deeply influenced by the music of Richard Wagner. Three examples of Wagner's innovative musical language, along with works by Weber, Delibes, Massenet and Richard Strauss complete the programme of this CD. Herman Jeurissen wrote all the arrangements and conducts the Ensemble Capricorno with Geerten van de Wetering, organ.

This album, released by The Gustav Holst Society, with Albion Records, is in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Gustav Holst's birth on 21 September 1874. It is based on chamber works written or arranged for violin with either voice or another instrument, by Holst himself and four composers who were contemporary with him - with a focus on neglected works but including a new arrangement of one very popular piece. Distinguished violinist Hannah Roper is joined by Martin Jacoby at the piano, by soprano Emma Tring and by harpist Valeria Clarke.

The corridor leads from somewhere to somewhere, and through all kinds of doors you can enter Renaissance halls, Baroque church halls, smoky cellars of jazz pubs, modern rooms, blue or red salons, or even the wide-open natural landscapes of folk music. And it is just such a wide variety of music that this ensemble plays, without any genre restrictions, almost just making music for pleasure, pushing its own boundaries.

Karl Böhm in 1973 for the 425th anniversary of the orchestra wrote, “I headed the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden for nine years – the most wonderful and meaningful time of my life.” He was forty in 1934, when he moved to assume direction of the Dresden State Orchestra and Opera. There, his sensitive yet dramatic style of conducting, his vigour and intellectual resilience, his feel for classical form and unerring sense of tempo, very soon won the respect and trust of the musicians and singers in his charge; they did after all represent one of the best orchestras and most capable opera ensembles in Europe.

The fantastic Italian producer Antonio Martino never ceases to surprise us with his very eclectic yet equally fascinating choices. This is undoubtedly one of the reasons our friendship has developed over the years—being on the lookout for sounds, creations, and after all, it doesn’t matter if we push beyond the borders of jazz or find ourselves on more classical projects. You can take all the projects Antonio has produced and put them together—there’s nothing to throw away.

Seven new compositions and six composers from Latvia representing the young and middle generation - this is the balance sheet of the Sharp Green album by the Atomos Saxophone Quartet. It features a variety of composers with roots in academic as well as non-academic music, but all are united by their willingness to surrender to the adventurous spirit of Atomos, which has encouraged them to explore the possibilities of the sound of a saxophone quartet.