Arnold Mendelssohn is just beginning to be rediscovered. Recordings such as this will help immensely. Mendelssohn was the great nephew of Felix and rose to prominence at the turn of the 20th Century. He was an accomplished organist and held several Protestant church positions. He was a colleague of Hugo Wolf and counted Paul Hindemith […]
Romantic period
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Emilie Mayer – A Composer Worth Knowing
If you’re not familiar with Emilie Luise Friderica Mayer, this release provides an excellent introduction. Mayer studied composition with Carl Loewe in the 1840s. Mayer was prolific, and her works were often performed in her lifetime. After her death, Mayer’s music fell into obscurity. A renewed interest in women composers of the past has brought […]
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Ignaz Brüll – Orchestral Works; Brahms’ Friend in the Spotlight
Moravian composer Ignaz Brüll (1846-1907) moved to Vienna in 1856. He was an accomplished composer and pianist and was well-known for both talents. Brüll was a close friend of Brahms. Brahms’ symphonies were often first heard in two-piano arrangements — with Brahms and Brüll at the keyboards. Although quite successful during his lifetime, his music […]
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Salomon Jadassohn – a Late Romantic Rediscovered
Salomon Jadassohn is better known as a teacher than a composer. While at the Leipzig Conservatory he taught Edward Grieg, Ferruccio Busoni, and Frederick Delius, just to name a few. As a composer, he completed over 140 compositions. This release features his four Serenades for Orchestra, along with his first symphony and first piano concerto. […]
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Jan Ladislav Dussek Piano Sonatas Volume 2
Brilliant Classics is using eight pianists for their traversal of Dussek piano sonatas. It’s a, well, brilliant idea. It allows each pianist to dive deep into the works they’re going to record. Volume 2 of the series features pianist Piet Kuijken. His thoughtful liner notes show the amount of research he’s applied to these sonatas […]
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Louis Glass Complete Symphonies, Vol. 2 – Insightful Performances
Volume 2 of CPO’s series present two Louis Glass works with a common theme. Both the works have strong theosophist elements. Glass found inspiration in the movement’s mystical imagery. The 1912 Fantasia for Piano and Orchestra bears this motto: “From the spirit’s eternal canopy tones calling man sound down. And man turns away from the […]
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CPO Revives Brahms Contemporary, Anton Urspruch
Anton Urspruch (1850-1907) is hardly a household name — even among classical music aficionados. In the 1880s, though, he was a rising star. Urspruch studied composition with Joachim Raff and Ignaz Lachner. He was a star piano pupil of Franz Liszt. As a scholar, he’s credited with the revival of Gregorian Chant. Urspruch enjoyed an […]
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#ClassicsaDay #SchumannsCircle Week 4
Robert Schumann was born on June 8, 1810. Some of us contributing to the #ClassicsaDay feed decided to celebrate that birthday. For the month of June, we encouraged folks to post works by Schumann and his circle. Schumann worked with several major composers of the day. He also reviewed up-and-coming composers in his magazine. Here […]
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Wenzel Heinrich Veit String Quartets, Vol. 2 – As Good As the First
When I reviewed Volume 1, I said I was very much looking forward to this release. I’m not disappointed. The Kertész String Quartet performs to the same high standard they established with the first volume. On the whole, this period-instrument quartet has the same warm, rich sound I enjoyed before. This time, though, I detected […]