Although Robert Schumann was always very keen on literature, as a young man he did not show very much interest in the genre of the song. As a student in Leipzig, he composed a few songs, including five by the Swabian poet Justinus Kerner. But afterwards he mainly devoted himself to instrumental music. But a year later, he composed 138 songs in a feverish fit of work. ‘Composing and playing music,’ he wrote to Clara, ‘almost kills me. Ah, Clara, what a bliss it is to write for song; I had missed it for a long time.

"Paul Armin Edelmann is the perfect song-poet with a wonderfully balanced and seamless voice; a dreamy, soft legato binding every phrase, text and music in an exemplary manner into a single unit of song and story. A feast for the ears." (FonoForum)

Rued Langgaard’s string quartets are passionate works from the eccentric composer's youth. This recording series presents all 9 quartets together for the first time in the distinctly dramatic interpretation of the prizewinning Nightingale String Quartet. With this release we have reached the world premiere recording of Rosengaardsspil (Rose Garden Play), which with the other works on the CD bears the fascinating marks of the composer's great unrequited youthful love during a summer holiday long ago in Sweden.

In this ear-grabbing new release from Delos, we get to revel in both the compositional wizardry and the stunning electric violin virtuosity of Tracy Silverman: perhaps the leading exponent of his instrument. Like quite a few other leading composers of our day, he spices his heady creations with classic American genres like jazz and rock, achieving a fascinating contemporary fusion that will beguile a huge range of modern listeners. The CD’s centerpiece is a chamber version for electric violin and string quartet of his second violin concerto, Between the Kiss and the Chaos. Its five movements are inspired in turn by iconic individual masterpieces of visual art by Van Gogh, Michelangelo, Matisse, Picasso and O’Keefe – making it something of a latter-day Pictures at an Exhibition. The result is music that is catchy and immediately appealing, yet cerebral and often profound. Expert and enthusiastic collaboration comes courtesy of the Calder Quartet.

One of the former Soviet Union’s leading composers and a member of the so-called Armenian ‘Mighty Handful’, Arno Babadjanian was admired by musicians of the stature of Shostakovich, Khachaturian, Rostropovich and David Oistrakh. He was also an outstanding pianist and a very considerable virtuoso. Babadjanian’s music explores his native Armenian folk tradition as well as elements of jazz and twelve-tone techniques.

ICA Classics have already released four CDs of the great Russian conductor Evgeny Svetlanov in Russian music comprising Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov and Shostakovich. He was also a masterly conductor of non Russian composers of the late romantic era including  Bruckner, Elgar, Mahler as well as Brahms and Debussy, two composers he performed quite regularly throughout his career. This  gripping 1975 concert with the LSO  is recorded in brilliant stereo and has never been available before. The bonus consists of Dame Janet Baker's wonderful singing of the final song from Chausson's Poeme de l'amour et de la mer;  'La Mort de l'amour - Le Temps des lilas'. It derives from the same concert and was previously issued on BBC Legends.

BACH, J.S.: Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben / Magnificat, BWV 243 (60 years of the Munich Bach Choir)
Munich Bach Choir • Albrecht
Oehms Classics OC1801

The Munich Bach Choir has been in existence since1954. Karl Richter, a Crucian and later organist at St. Thomas’s Church in Leipzig, had taken over the Heinrich Schütz Circle there when he was appointed to St. Mark‘s Church in Munich in 1951. He soon gave the Choir a more powerful name – the Munich Bach Choir. Since 2005 the Choir and Orchestra have been directed by Hansjörg Albrecht, whose soloistic career has also been accompanied by OehmsClassics for many years.

Tzimon Barto is recognised as one of the foremost American pianists of his generation. His new double-CD for Ondine features Paganini variations by three composers, Liszt, Brahms and Lutosławski, as well as the popular Paganini Rhapsody by Rachmaninov.

The Young Austrian clarinettist Benjamin Feilmair was named “Bank Austria Artist of the Year 2013/14”. He recorded a CD of music that sits on the fence between “classical” and other genres such as Jazz and Tango. “The Feilmair brothers certainly have the tools to become international soloists.” read the American Record Review in 2012. Paladino music and the Bank Austria are proud to accompany them on their way to achieve it.

For several years now, Laurent Wagschal has been a ‘Timpani artist’, and discs devoted to Maurice Emmanuel, Gabriel Pierné and, most recently, Dukas have confirmed his place in the current French piano landscape. There is his technique, of course, which allows him to tackle particularly difficult works, but there is also his honed sense of construction and musical discourse. Thus the rerelease, at an economical price, of this disc, recorded a few years ago for the label of the late, lamented Pierre Dyens, will be warmly received. Devoted to pieces by Schmitt, this programme is a welcome addition to Timpani’s already rich Schmitt catalogue, a reference honoured by numerous distinctions.

Written in French in 1828 for the Paris Opéra, Le Comte Ory has maintained its success to this day. Re-using some of the music of his Viaggio a Reims, Rossini turns the disguise-based libretto into a spirited play of erotic lightness. Lluís Pasqual’s witty and clever production was recorded at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. The dynamic, international young cast is headed by tenor Yijie Shi in the title role, Laura Polverelli as his astute page and María José Moreno as Countess Adèle. Paolo Carignani conducts with verve and brio.

Carlos Kleiber, the eccentric and reclusive conductor par excellence, is remembered as much for the rarity of his appearances as for the brilliance of his interpretations. In marked contrast to his contemporary Herbert von Karajan, Kleiber refused to participate in the international music business – as well as in most interviews. Accordingly, Kleiber the Man and Kleiber the Musician have remained an elusive mystery that this new documentary, following extensive research amongst the conductor´s musical companions, collaborators and friends, sheds light upon. Featuring Riccardo Muti, Otto Schenk, Ioan Hollender, Sir Peter Jonas, Michael Gielen, Ileana Cotrubas and many more as interview partners as well as several musical excerpts of previously unseen footage. “What the film … conveys is the tremendous emotion that Kleiber produced in people or, rather, that he stirred up in them.” (Süddeutsche Zeitung)

“Going somewhere”, a documentary by the renowned filmmaker Catherine Maximoff, awarded with the Dance on Camera Award, presents Wayne McGregor during an extraordinary workshop led in a small British town's high school, during which the dancers turn out to be researchers themselves and explore their physical boundaries.

STRAVINSKY, I.: Rite of Spring (The) / Capriccio / Symphony of Psalms
Bernstein
Ica Classics ICAD5124 [DVD]

This memorial concert took place at the Royal Albert Hall in April 1972 on the first anniversary of the death of Igor Stravinsky, ‘the last great father-figure of Western music’ (Leonard Bernstein). Bernstein called it an homage to Stravinsky’s universality and chose the three featured masterpieces for their suggestion of ‘the extraordinary range of his art’. Conducted by Bernstein, this electrifying, unique event is now being re-introduced to the public in DVD form.

THE CLASSIC ARCHIVE STRINGS
Szeryng • Stern • Milstein
Idéale Audience 3073974 [Blu-ray Video]

This collector’s edition makes rare classical archive footage from the years 1957-1975 suitable for Blu-ray disc lovers; with more than 17 hours of material lovingly restored, the edition includes various concerti, recitals, interesting documentaries, some in colour, some in glorious black and white, as well as comprehensive booklet information.

Arthur Pita’s adaptation of Franz Kafka’s 1915 novella had its premiere at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Studio Theatre in 2011. The role of Gregor Samsa was created for Royal Ballet Principal Edward Watson, and draws on his extraordinary technical abilities. The unusual and absurd story is conveyed through startling choreography – an intelligent presentation of the pressures and yearnings of the young Kafka. Frank Moon’s score and Simon Daw’s stark, white designs create a claustrophobic atmosphere, while the horror of Gregor’s physical alteration is evoked by black fluid that smears the stage. Although Gregor’s mother and father struggle to come to terms with his transformation, his younger sister, Grete, is more sympathetic. However, her feelings change and she undergoes her own metamorphosis as she moves from childhood to adulthood. The Metamorphosis won a South Bank Sky Arts Award and Edward Watson won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance for his role.