The Concerto “Melante” ensemble (the name is an anagram of “Telemann”) has already earned high praise for its first CD, “Spirituosa,” of works by Telemann: “Whoever thinks they know Telemann should buy this CD so that their knowledge is decidedly expanded.” (Toccata 2011)

It was in Prague and Brno, the two largest cities in what is now the Czech Republic, that Antonín Dvorák and Leo Janácek the principal representatives of the nineteenth-century Czech national school, along with Bedrich Smetana launched their respective compositional careers. While Janácek, thirteen years younger than Dvorák, saw the latter as a father figure, the two men shared the same poetic Slavic soul. Indeed, Janácek said of Dvorák: I could exchange his personality for his works; it is as if his melodies came straight from my heart. Nothing can ever break such a bond.

Über den Komponisten Balthasar Fritsch ist nur wenig bekannt. Zwischen 1570 und 1580 in Leipzig geboren, war er Komponist sowie Mitglied der Leipziger Stadtpfeifer. Umso beeindruckender sind die Kompositionen Fritschs. Die vierstimmigen Werke seiner ersten Veröffentlichung "Primitiae Musicales" stehen ganz in der Tradition der Tanzmusik, mit klarer, leichtfüßiger Rhythmik, Vogelstimmen und Echos.

Ian Bostridge, one of the outstanding tenors of our time, earning widespread praise for his intelligent and nuanced performances, resumes his partnership with Julius Drake for their latest disc of Schubert Lieder. From Schubert s joyful tribute to the natural world in Der Einsame to the desolation of Der Wanderer an den Mond , this delicately shaped programme explores the theme of longing in various guises. This release, the third volume in this Wigmore Hall Live series, captures some of the most exquisitely crafted songs of the 19th century.

Mozart’s Concerto K 107 and selected Haydn divertimentos, all arranged for pianoforte, two violins and cello. Brilliant musical entertainment at the highest level in unique performances. The Austrian "Ensemble Castor" was founded in 2010 by internationally successful musicians from the early music scene and immediately received high praise for its “stunning performances”. For their dhm release the musicians chose early concertos and divertimentos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn (namely Concerto K 107 and Divertimentos Hob. XIV: 4, XIV: 9, XIV: 7 and XIV: 8), which they recorded in arrangements for hammerklavier, two violins and cello. These pieces, all written primarily for domestic use, offer brilliant musical entertainment at the highest level.

The Hungarian Quartet, formed in 1935, embodied the very best of the Central European tradition of string-playing, and this cycle, recorded in Paris in the early 1950s, represents an essential staging post in the quest for Beethoven “These performances will give endless pleasure,” wrote Gramophone, “… the ensemble attack and technical proficiency of this quartet are beyond praise … and so is their grasp of the music.” These recordings have now been remastered from the original tapes in 24BIT-96kHz digital sound.