Johann Sebastian Bach

In this new specially priced set, Phoenix Edition has used recently reconstructed concerto manuscripts in an attempt to faithfully capture the music of Bach’s early years.

These works are devotedly performed on historical instruments by renowned Baroque specialists.

‘Russia is old, Russia is vast, Russia is mighty. But her advance in art, letters and music is comparatively recent’. So wrote Joseph Lhévinne in 1917. Mikhail, Glinka emerged along with Pushkin, Turgenev and Tolstoy in the early 1800s and was to become the father of Russian music. At the same time as Glinka was establishing himself as the first nationalistic composer of the nation, the first great pianist-composer settled in Moscow - the Irishman John Field. Field can lay claim to not only inventing the nocturne, but also to laying the foundation stone of what would become the great piano school of Russia. The latest students of this great tradition are very much with us today: Lugansky, Kissin and Demidenko can all be found in this set.

This remarkable 25CD survey of some of the great Russian pianists of past and present follows the tradition from those who can, through their teachers, trace a direct lineage to Clementi, Field, Beethoven, Czerny, Henselt and Liszt. The Rubinstein brothers Anton and Nikolai established the St Petersburg and Moscow Conservatories, and from the 1840s, Russia started to produce the first of the great virtuosos.

Great names such as Neuhaus and Horowitz are to be found in this set, as well as Richter, Gilels – both with three CDs each – Berman, Ashkenazy, Pletnev, Gavrilov and many more. Other names (Konstantin Igumnov, Viktor Merzhanov, Yakov Zak) may be less familiar to Western ears, but will offer fascinating perspectives on the developing school of Russian pianism, and the subtly various approaches to phrase and timbre within it.

The repertoire ranges from Russian warhorses such as the First Piano Concertos by Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev to intimate salon pieces such as Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons, including rarely heard works such as Kabalevsky’s set of Preludes. The monumental concertos by Brahms, Beethoven and others are well represented, as are the litmus tests of Classical and Romantic piano literature: there are several contrasting versions of Liszt’s B minor Sonata and Beethoven’s Sonata No.32.

A fabulous survey of some of the greatest pianists of the past century and more to emerge from the great Russian tradition of piano playing and teaching. A must for all lovers of the piano.

Of historical interest – many recordings are rare, and have been hitherto been unavailable on CD.

Comprehensive booklet with detailed notes on every pianist and the recordings.

Igor Oistrakh is the soloist and conductor in these wonderful live performances recorded in 1982.

Born to sing J. S. Bach, Anne Sofie von Otter brings elegant style, richness of voice, and career-long commitment to Baroque music to this glorious recording of alto and soprano arias she herself selected. Featuring beloved staples like the moving “Erbarme Dich” from the St. Matthew Passion and the “Agnus Dei” from the B minor Mass, this follow-up to her successful release of Music for a While includes lesser-known repertoire to entice the most jaded lover of voice, Baroque or Bach. Lars Ulrik Mortensen leads Concerto Copenhagen, the acclaimed Scandinavian Baroque ensemble, in instrumentations of fascinating variety unusual in Bach solo vocal albums

Within J. S. Bach’s wonderfully rich organ repertoire, the six organ trio sonatas are unique in their degree of difficulty and musical splendour. The version represented on this CD features the instrumental combination of recorder and harpsichord or organ. Occasional alterations had to be made to accommodate the recorder. Some keys have been altered to suit the range of the recorder, something Bach also did regularly with his own arrangements. Over the past centuries, the organ trio sonatas have inspired many musicians to make arrangements. In this particular instrumental version the six sonatas form a welcome and invaluable addition to the 18th-century recorder repertoire.

Reine-Marie Verhagen studied the recorder with Pieter van Veen and Walter van Hauwe and graduated in 1976. She is a regular member of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, conducted by Ton Koopman, and has performed in several 17th century operas with the ensemble La Sfera Armoniosa and its musical director Mike Fentross.

Tini Mathot first studied piano, then harpsichord, at the Sweelinck Conservatory of Music in her home town of Amsterdam. She works closely together with her husband and former teacher Ton Koopman, a duo which performs numerous well- and less-known works for harpsichord, fortepiano and organ. Tini Mathot is recording producer for Ton Koopman, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir. Tini Mathot is mainly active as a performing musician in the field of chamber music. She is a member of the Corelli Ensemble, along with Reine Marie Verhagen. She was awarded the Diapason d’Or in France for the interpretation of the Haydn Trios on CD, released by Erato (with Andrew Manze, violin, and Jaap ter Linden, violoncello).

“crisp, clear-sighted approach to the music, all of which proceeds at a proper tempo and, where appropriate, with a spring in its heels. The slow movements are sensitively expressive…. This is basically how such works would have been heard in their own time, you may feel this is the way it should be…. The strings are 'authentic' and respectful of every element of style….I thoroughly enjoyed this disc and ….the superb recording.” Gramophone

“Ivor Bolton is again recorded …close enough to enable him to be heard in realistic balance with the strings. …(his) clean and incisive fingers bring the music to life in these most enjoyable recordings, two discs (refers also to RRC1308) that, having found their way there, should not gather dust on anyone's shelf.” Gramophone