Barber / Innig - Organ Works - SUPER-AUDIO CD [Super Audio CD (SACD)]

Sensational organ transcriptions have made Jean Guillou famous far beyond his native France. His command not only of organ playing but also of the piano and composition is demonstrated by the absolutely boundless technical and intellectual demands posed by his oeuvre. In Zuzana Ferjenciková Guillou now has found more than just a worthy heir the first volume in our series featuring Guillou's organ works includes a recording premiere and reveals the profound emotional affinity uniting these two exceptional artists. Guillou's op. 1 InchFantaisieInch rightfully forms the beginning. Dedicated to his teacher Marcel Dupre, this first work by the young composer promised great things. Independence in spirit and a pronounced sense of sound along with fascinating virtuosity would also distinguish his later works InchSaya ou l'oiseau bleu,Inch born of an improvisation on a simple Korean motif, and InchHymnusInch for the gigantic Cologne Cathedral exhibit other facets of this multifaceted composer. However, this time the focus is on Pictures at an Exhibition after Mussorgsky. It is not least through Ravel's genial orchestral version that this cycle has continued to enjoy the greatest popularity over the years. Guillou far transcends Ravel, and now and again he allows himself compositional interventions a linking piece here, a counterpoint there. In this way a completely new work is produced that also tonally is a virtuosic tour de force.

Rudolf Innig - American Organ Music [SUPER-AUDIO CD] Hybrid SACD date 06/18/2013

In the collective imagination, the string quartet is associated with the great classical repertoire, but in the past twenty years it has inevitably been affected by the experimentations of contemporary music and by the influence of the increased circulation and popularity of jazz. Thus the creation of a Inchnon-classicalInch string quartet which, however, borrows the classical quartet's discipline, technique and founding philosophy. The Alkemia Quartet became immediately interested in the works of Giovanni Sollima. Though entirely notated, these pieces require some improvisation and a modern and transverse freedom of interpretation, fully reflecting the technical and creative mastery of their composer, who melds music from John Dowland to Kurt Cobain, from Bach to Webern. Sollima 4 strings starts from the roots, blending minimalistic Mediterranean atmospheres with Celtic, pop and rock music, always in the search of a new, suitable sound. This programme includes the world premiere recording of Africa, a work dated 1994 in the Sonzogno catalogue and about which Sollima said InchI found it dancing, in a tragic way. You dug it up again, and you have given it an awesome, new, fresh, sensual, dynamic and very personal reading.Inch