The early Beethoven, the late Haydn… Where is the borderline between these 2 – what is the connection, what differentiates them? Although their ways of life & characters were clearly different, both masters lived in a time during which it was as important to obey the prescribed musical rules as it was to connect the artists intellect with his creativity, personality, & emotional world.

Arcadi Volodos is one of the world’s best pianists, celebrated as a “genius” and the “new Horowitz” for the unique combination of outstanding virtuosity and profound and expressive musicality. Volodos devotes his new CD to the hardly known Catalan composer Frederic Mompou. He believes that Mompou’s solo piano works are of outstanding quality and open new worlds. The fact that Mompou’s music is hardly known is a key to success for this CD. It can only reveal its deep und unique quality in the magnificent interpretation of Volodos. The music of Catalonian composer Federico Mompou (1893-1987) is almost completely unknown today. Unjustly so, in the opinion of Russian star pianist Arcadi Volodos, who has devoted his new solo CD to this remarkable musical personality.

A major figure of 18th century musical Europe, Telemann enjoyed in his time a bigger reputation even than Bach. This great master of instrumental music, open to French and Italian influences and to the new galant style that flourished in Germany, succeeded with considerable panache, especially in his chamber music, in creating a synthesis of European styles at the crossroads between Baroque and Classicism.

In 1878 Édouard Lalo wrote to the Spanish violin virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate: ‘Your arrival in my life has been my greatest artistic opportunity… without you, I would have continued to write insignificant odds and ends’. The three works gathered here all spring from this arrival, beginning with the Violin Concerto, composed in 1873. The melodious and charming concerto held a great significance for the composer, who regarded it as his first work truly worthy of the name. In the eye of the public it was soon to be overshadowed, however.

Where Justice’s self-titled debut took a heavy metal approach to electronica, its long-awaited 2011 sophomore album plays with a palpable passion for bygone progressive rock. “Horsepower” opens with a cavalcade of vintage synthesizer tones interlocking with angular guitar lines, sounding like the robots from Daft Punk have kidnapped Rick Wakeman. But dance floor disciples need not fear; the Parisian duo of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay delivers a disco-dappled standout jam in the following “Civilization,” where Ali Love provides androgynously sexy guest vocals.

Fiona Joy Hawkins is an Australian composer, vocalist, and pianist, who uses the stage-name Fiona Joy. She was born in Cessnock, New South Wales, to a creative family, and trained as a classical pianist. In 2015 Fiona contributed to a GRAMMY-winning album and traversed three continents, performing solo for a tour of China where she has been nicknamed 'The Piano Angel', not just for her romantic, melodic songs and lush arrangements, but also for her gracious and mesmerizingly ballet-like performance style in concert. A prolific composer, she has always been interested in creating music that evokes images, emotions and stories. Fiona describes her distinctive style and glorious voice as New Age and cites Bolero's Ravel as one of her most powerful musical inspirations…