Bohuslav Martinu

Reinecke's work is a musical re-telling of the well-known story of Undine, the water spirit who marries a knight, but is betrayed and takes her revenge on him. Frank Martin's virtuosic Ballade (1939) features an acrobatic flute cadenza, roaming melismas and irrepressible cascades, generating a compelling sense of drama. In 1945, while in exile during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, Martinu composed his Flute Sonata, in which the virtues of his distinct musical language are plain to hear - lyrical lines, a rhythmic drive which is both energetic and lively and an effective use of tone colour. Six years later the bird-lover Messiaen composed Le merle noir, constructed around the song of the blackbird, which he painstakingly noted down and then found the means to imitate on the flute. Poulenc's melodic Sonata, finally, has become a signature work for its composer: its lightness, transparency and sonic refinement have charmed audiences ever since the first performance.

Paul Watkins is one of the world’s finest cellists. He is much in demand throughout the world and although he has made several recordings for Chandos in the past, this is his first as an exclusive artist. He is accompanied by his brother Huw Watkins, with whom he has developed an extremely rewarding musical partnership.

The three cello sonatas of the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu span the period 1939 – 52 and are full of rewarding musical invention. The experience of his long exile was often expressed in his music, particularly here in the Third Sonata and in the Variations on a Slovak Theme. If in the First, competed in 1939, the unease occasioned by World War II may be detected in the first two movements, the energetic finale, driven by Martinu’s motoric rhythms, prompted the composer to remark of its first performance: ‘It came as a last greeting, a beam of light from a better world (which is the opinion of others, not my own). For several minutes we realised what music could give us and we forgot about reality.’

In the Second Sonata, of 1941, the composer embraced classical forms, though the first movement is typically vigorous and energetic, in the composer’s most rhythmic manner. The second movement is full of passionate longing, with a gorgeous lyrical cello line, whilst the finale uses the composer’s characteristic motor rhythms, with powerful stamping gestures suggesting Bohemian peasant dances.

The Third Sonata, completed in October 1952, is the most immediately appealing of the three sonatas, full of attractive Czech melodies and offering essentially good-natured melodies and harmony – as well as humour, especially in the finale.

The Variations on a Theme of Rossini (1942), dedicated to Gregor Piatigorsky, shows the composer at his most wittily light-hearted, and offers brilliance and virtuosity in spades. The Variations on a Slovak Theme (1959) were written during the composer’s final illness – Martinu had been diagnosed with stomach cancer. They are certainly appealing and resourceful, but strong feelings for the distant homeland are distinctly audible.

The cello is perhaps the most romantic instrument of all. Its deep and sonorous sound evokes a melancholy and romantic atmosphere, touching a sensitive chord in everybody's soul.

This set contains some of the best-loved pieces for cello and piano. Two young exciting artists, Timora Rosler and Klára Würtz, make their debut together, playing with heart-felt warmth and musicality.

The Israeli/Dutch cellist Timora Rosler took first prize at the 1996 "Stuttgart International Cello Competition". In 1997 she won the "Vriendenkrans of the Royal Concertgebouw" in Amsterdam. She was praised by the jury as follows: "Timora Rosler has a capturing talent, intimate expressiveness, virtuosity and a natural feeling for the composition … Her interpretation is exceptionally fascinating".

An exciting artistic journey at the heart of Europe, based on 25 years of creativity in the countries separated by an ideological wall from Western Europe. Three works starting with a Romanian masterpiece leading to the discovery of a Serbian plea, via an unknown jewel composed by a Czech in the USA.

The Ames Piano Quartet, the resident chamber music ensemble at Iowa State University, holds a unique position in the chamber music field as one of the few piano quartets in the world. The combination of their lush string sound, blended with the orchestral quality of the piano, produces an exquisite and rare sonority that The Washington Post optly described as "one of the most heavenly combinations of instruments around."

This set, which contains passionate and brilliant interpretations of some of the greatest music in the piano quartet repertoire, embodies all of the releases by the ensemble over the last 20 years on Dorian Recordings, plus a bonus CD of two works that have never before been released on Dorian.

Since her debut CD in 2001, Yeon-Hee Kwak, the winner of two Echo Klassic awards, has been known as the “Paganini of the Oboe”. Now she pays homage to three first-class oboe composers of the 20th century.