Labels matter. I’ve learned to trust the record label Toccata Classics. They often release music by composers I’ve never heard of (and that’s saying something). But it’s always been music I’ve found worth exploring. So when I saw this release of Agnes Zimmermann’s violin sonatas, I knew I had to audition it. Agnes Zimmermann was […]
Toccata Classics
-
-
The serene Sonetti Spirituali of Pietro Vinci
Pietro Vinci published his Quattordeci Sonetti Spirituali in 1580. These works are prime examples of the Italian Mannerist School. The text is by Vittoria Colonna, one of the most popular poets of the day. The poems of the Sonetti Spirituali are religious, but Vinci gives them secular settings. His florid polyphony compellingly illuminates the text. Every note (and concordance […]
-
Moritz Moszkowski Orchestral Series Starts Ambitiously
Moritz Moszkowski was one of the most successful concert pianists of the 1890s. His fame today rests mainly on a small selection of his piano works that test the virtuosity of the performer. But this Polish composer wrote so much more; chamber music, concertos, and orchestral music. With this release, Toccata Classics launches an ambitious […]
-
Hans Gal – Music for Viola, Vol. 1 full of lyrical gems
Toccata Classics has released several volumes of Hans Gal’s music. And in the process, I think, helped audiences rediscover his remarkable music. Gal’s career in his native Austria was cut short with the arrival of the Nazis. Because of his Jewish ancestry, he was forced to flee and settled in England in 1940. Although well-respected […]
-
Henry Cotter Nixon orchestral series finishes strong
Toccata Classics have completed their Henry Cotter Nixon series. And I see the logic of their release schedule. Nixon spent most of his career outside of Victorian London, and therefore in the margins of British music. He didn’t have the resources available to his cosmopolitan colleagues and composed accordingly. The first volume of his orchestral […]
-
Sweetly nostalgic chamber music from Robert Fürstenthal
The story behind these works is fascinating, and critical to appreciate them properly. Robert Fürstenthal was a young Viennese composer whose career was just taking off. Germany annexed Austria in 1938, and the Jewish Fürstenthal fled to the United States. He became an accountant and abandoned composition. Only after reconnecting with his first love in […]
-
Hermann Graedener Violin Concertos make the grade
This is what I like about Toccata Classics. They don’t just do a single release of a composer I’ve never heard of — they do a whole series. And their instincts are usually spot on. In this case, the composer is Hermann Graedener (1844-1929). In his early years, he was a colleague and friend of […]
-
Steve Elcock chamber music series celebrates an original talent
Toccata Classics has already released the first volume of Steve Elcock’s orchestral works. This collection of chamber music provides another facet to this composer’s intriguing music. As a composer, Elcock’s a recent discovery. For years he worked his day job, composing in his leisure time and filing his pieces away. Unaffected by the demands of […]
-
Friedrich Gernsheim Piano Series Begins at Beginning
Friedrich Gernsheim was a talented pianist and composer with two strikes against him. He was a contemporary of Johannes Brahms, who overshadowed him during his lifetime. And he was a German Jew, so his legacy was (temporarily) erased by the Nazis. The 21st Century seems to be kinder to Gernsheim, given the number of recent […]