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This extensive collection brings together the complete string quartets of Czech composers Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana, Leoš Janáček and Bohuslav Martinů.

Those by Dvořák chart the evolution of his style, from his interest in Wagnerian music in the years prior to 1870 – String Quartet in D major – to the folk‐infused works of his later life, such as the String Quartet in G major Op.106, and show the influence of his time in the United States, with the String Quartet in F Op.96 ‘American’. The quartets of Smetana have a distinctive neo‐classical flavour while those of Janáček show strong links to his operatic works. Prolific composer Bohuslav Martinů composed six quartets, of which two were mislaid during the war. One of these, his fifth string quartet, is widely considered to be one of the most pivotal works in the composer’s oeuvre, written in 1938, a year of much upheaval in Martinů’s life. Many of the quartets in the collection hold an emotional dimension, all of which are exquisitely brought to life by the Stamitz Quartet.

Established in 1985, the Stamitz Quartet quickly became known as leading interpreters of Czech repertory. Winners of the 1986 National Broadcasting Union Competition in Salzburg, the Quartet’s rise to fame was meteoric; they have since participated in tours throughout Europe and America and undertaken a variety of recording projects, of which this collection is one.

Recorded between 1987 and 1993.

Contains extensive liner notes on each piece.

Bernando Pasquini was a musician of considerable reputation in 17th‐century Rome. Having held various organist posts throughout the city, he struck gold in 1666 when he was made organist and director of music to Prince Gianbattista Borghese. In 1706 he, along with his contemporaries and fellow musicians, Arcangelo Corelli and Alessandro Scarlatti, was made a member of the Arcadia, a movement bgun by Queen Christine of Sweden. Keyboard music in Italy in the 1600s was to undergo a radical change, with an introduction to Rationalism and simplicity; Pasquini himself is known to have been particularly enamoured with the works of Palestrina and Frescobaldi. Aside from his skills as a performer and composer, Pasquini was also an immensely gifted teacher. Each of the sonatas for two basso continuo instruments bears the hallmarks of the partimento teaching technique, which involves a kind of dialogue between teacher and student. The sonatas include the fashionable styles of keyboard music of the time, such as the Allegro da concerto, Adagio, Fugue, Corrente and Gavotte. The recording boasts two multi‐awardwinning organists. The first, Luca Scandali, was educated at the Conservatory ‘G. Rossini’ of Pesaro in his native Italy and has performed in festivals all over Europe. He is

currently Professor of Organ and Composition for Organ at the Conservatory ‘F. Morlacchi’ of Perugia. The second, Swiss organist, Hadrien Jourdan, studied at the Conservatory of Geneva and regularly participates in festivals and recordings throughout Europe.

Recorded in 2012. Organs: Pietro Nacchini, 1757; Gaetano Callido, 1785. Harpsichord: copy after Ignazio Mucciardi, 1789, by Giulio Fratini & Pierpaolo Pallotti, 2012. Contains liner notes on the works and biographies of the artists.

The composition dates of the two violin concertos by Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist Béla Bartók are separated by thirty years and provide a snapshot of his creative process at vastly different points in his life. The first concerto (1907–8) had a rare emotional relevance: it was dedicated to the violinist Stefi Geyer, the object of Bartók’s affections, and showcases different aspects of her personality. This two‐movement work is reminiscent of the works of Strauss and Liszt. The lamenting theme of the first movement represents Bartók’s unrequited love for Stefi, whose theme is repeated with tonal variation. This is followed by a lively second movement, with brilliant sections of arpeggios and scales, as well as whimsical leaps. The second concerto (1937) is from a time in the composer’s life when folk music had become a firm characteristic of his works, and explores more adventurous harmonies than the first. One of the great Classical and Romantic works, the neo‐Classical concerto also contains elements of Baroque and Renaissance music, giving it an historical dimension.

Highlights are the beautiful canon of the second‐movement theme and the reappearance in the third movement of the theme from the first, this time in a rousing triple‐time dance.

Internationally acclaimed violinist Thomas Zehetmair has enjoyed a remarkable career, performing and recording all over the world. He has also become equally sought‐after as a conductor and is currently Musical Director of the Northern Sinfonia (UK).

Recorded in July 1995 at the Italian Institute, Budapest.

Contains liner notes on the pieces.

Boris Blacher’s oratorio, Der Großinquisitor, was only half finished in 1943. Having found himself in truly dire straits – forced to withdraw from musical life thanks to his inclusion on the Nazi register of Jews in music, and hit by a particularly nasty relapse of tuberculosis – it took the friendship and hospitality of his pupil, Gottfried von Einem, to help him regain his health and confidence, and finish the oratorio.

The text is based on Dostoyevsky’s novel, The Brothers Karamazov, illustrating Jesus’s return to earth in 16th‐century Seville. The depiction of the heretics burned to the glory of God could not be a clearer reflection of the fate of the Jews at the hands of the Nazis. Distinct from the other works in Blacher’s oeuvre thanks to its seriousness and tonal harmony, Der Großinquisitor also contains elements that are typical of the composer’s style, such as terse rhythms and seemingly aimless melodic lines.

The role of the Inquisitor is sung by German bass‐baritone, Siegmund Nimsgern, who has enjoyed an international career as an opera singer, performing with the Royal Opera (London), Metropolitan Opera (New York) and the Vienna State Opera, among others. Alongside him is the Rundfunkchor Leipzig and Dresdner Philharmonie, conducted by Herbert Kegel.

Recorded in May 1986 at the Lukaskirche in Dresden.

Contains liner notes on the work.

Sung texts includes in booklet.

The French violinist and composer Jean‐ Baptiste Cartier once said: ‘If God wanted to speak to man through music, he would do so through the works of Haydn; if he wished to listen to music himself, he would choose the works of Boccherini.’ Often considered the finest Italian composer of the Classical era, Luigi Boccherini was not party to the Viennese school of music which was in vogue at the time, and therefore his compositions retain that unmistakable Italian flair, but with modest and subtle brilliance.

His Stabat Mater – written in 1781 and scored for small forces of just soprano and strings – exudes elegance and beauty. While bearing the influence of the Stabat Mater of Pergolesi from 45 years earlier, Boccherini’s composition often delves into the realms of the operatic, thanks to arias such as the passionate and dramatic ‘Quis est homo’ and the agile ‘Cujus animam gementem’.

The Stabat Mater is sung by Italian soprano Barbara Vignudelli, international performer and prizewinner, widely acclaimed for her interpretations of both sacred music and opera. She is joined by the musicians of the Orchestra da Camera ‘Benedetto Marcello’, which is directed by Flavio Emilio Scogna.

Contains notes on the composer and the music.

Sung text included in booklet.

Mozart excelled in all areas of composition, and his horn concertos – despite making up a very modest part of his total output – still reside among the finest achievements in the horn literature. The composer became acquainted with the mellow sonorities of the instrument from an early age, courtesy of his friend Joseph Leutgeb, who had been employed by the Hofkapelle in Salzburg. It was not until the remaining 10 years of his life, however, that Mozart finally set to work on his six concertos for horn.

Apart from K370b/371, which represents the composer’s first attempt at writing a horn concerto and whose musical content differs markedly from that of the later ones – there are no ‘hunting effects’ in the rondo and the first movement is more declamatory in style than lyrical – it seems that all of the works were composed for Leutgeb, who was often a target of Mozart’s mockery and teasing. Though the numerous points of harmonic, melodic and structural correspondence between the pieces suggest that Mozart did not take this genre especially seriously, the works still delight the listener for their gaiety, lightness of touch and warmth of orchestration. It is therefore a shame that only three of the six pieces remain complete, a resulting combination of more pressing work, lost manuscripts and the composer’s untimely death. Jeurissen, the soloist on this recording and principal horn player of the Residentie Orchestra in The Hague, has taken it upon himself, based on analyses of similar passages in other works by Mozart, to work up all of these fragments into playable, practical versions. The results are laudable, and Jeurissen’s passion for the works is evident from his highly accomplished, charismatic playing.

Described and caricatured as an eccentric and even as a late developer, Anton Bruckner, born in Linz, Austria, in 1824, is today considered one of the greatest late‐ Romantic composers. Famed for his symphonies – grand, epic creations that are individually linked responses to the notion of absolute music – Bruckner was also a fine choral composer. This release is dedicated to his three Masses and Te Deum of 1884.

Indeed, Bruckner was not quite forty by the time he came to write his Mass No.1 in D Minor. An extraordinary modern work, it was universally acclaimed upon receipt of its first performance, and was essentially responsible for Bruckner finally leaving the excessively long years of study behind him. Its success also spawned the Mass in F Minor, a work that coincided with important biographical events in the composer’s life – including the death of his venerated teacher, Simon Sechter. While the Third and final Mass was written for choir and 15‐ strong wind orchestra, a combination suited to the work’s open‐air premiere on the Linz Cathedral Square, the Te Deum – perhaps the composer’s finest piece of choral writing and one which is musically related to the Seventh and Ninth Symphonies – was composed between 1881 and 84. When Bruckner realised that he would not be able to complete his Ninth Symphony, he is said to have considered using the Te Deum as its final movement. The Chamber Choir of Europe and the Rundfunkchor Berlin are the two eminent choral bodies featured on this release, expertly directed by Nicol Matt and Heinz Rögner respectively and accompanied by a host of acclaimed soloists. All in all, this is an engaging release that represents a worthwhile addition to Brilliant Classics’ ever‐expanding vocal catalogue.

Gustavo Núñez, principal bassoon with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, is considered one of the best bassoonists of his generation. He was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1965.

After playing the violin for several years, he switched to the bassoon at the age of eleven and was first taught by his father.

From the age of sixteen he studied with Kerry Camden at the Royal College of Music. From 1984-1988 he pursued his studies with Klaus Thunemann in his prestigious class in Hannover, Germany. Still a student, Gustavo Núñez was awarded the Prix Suisse at the International Competition in Geneva, and the Carl Maria von Weber Prize in Munich, both in 1987. In 1988 he played with the Darmstadt opera and from 1989 he was principal bassoon with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, where he remained until his Concertgebouw appointment in 1995.

In addition to his work with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gustavo Núñez teaches at the Robert Schumann Academy of Music in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Cecilia Bartoli presents Vincenzo Bellini’s “Norma” like you have never heard it before – a new complete studio recording of one of the most iconic operas in music history, in its original form.

For generations Bellini’s “Norma” has been looked at from the vantage point of the Verismo era at the beginning of the twentieth century. Now Cecilia Bartoli unveils the opera’s original pre-Romantic style and colour by taking Norma back to its roots.

For the first time ever the entire music is recorded with period instruments from Bellini’s time. Traditional cuts are reinstated. Keys and tonalities are put back into place and the music is executed according to Bellini’s own tempo indications. A new critical music edition was compiled from the autograph score and many manuscript sources.

Originally planned as an 85th birthday tribute, this set documents over 3 decades of exceptional artistry by the Sir Colin Davis, one of the musical pillars of the Philips label (now part of Decca Classics), who died Sunday 14th April 2013. He was a musician of incomparable integrity and class.

After signing to Philips exclusively in the mid-1960s, over more than three decades he then produced work for the label of the highest quality and range:-

• the first (and still greatest) Berlioz cycle

• pioneering Tippett,

• superb Haydn and Mozart,

• plus top-ranking Sibelius, Beethoven, Stravinsky, Dvorak and Britten, and much else.

His many recording orchestras included the English Chamber Orchestra, London Symphony, BBC Symphony, Royal Opera House, Royal Concertgebouw, Boston Symphony, Bavarian Radio and Dresden Staatskapelle, as well as the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics.

His great Philips collaborators on disc include Stephen Kovacevich, Kiri Te Kanawa, Jon Vickers, José Carreras, Jessye Norman, Arthur Grumiaux and Claudio Arrau.

An extraordinary number of his recordings have achieved legendary status and are enduring staples of the catalogue. This set balances all his most important musical spheres as well as many of his most important artistic relationships with soloists, orchestras and opera houses around the world.

The booklet notes are in English, French and German with an excellent appreciation of his work for Philips by Jeremy Hayes.