Cindy Castillo - Sonata Eroica - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The largest amount of organ music that has survived from earlier members of Johann Sebastian Bach's family was penned by Johann Michael Bach (1648-1694), a cousin of J.S. Bach's father and also the father of Maria Barbara, J.S. Bach's first wife. It is a collection of chorale preludes spread out over the liturgical year, although it is not possible to state that the collection is as ambitious and complete as that of Johann Sebastian's own (incomplete) Orgelbüchlein. The majority of these chorales can be found in the Neumeister Collection; this also contains a number of Johann Sebastian's early works that bear clear links to compositions by his first father-in-law.

Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (1892-1988) wrote 61 works for solo piano, of which only nine were published before the middle of the 1930s. The last of these publications was the Opus Clavicembalisticum, a work of unprecedented complexity and it is considered one of the longest and most complex pieces ever written for solo piano. It shows the composers desire to push the boundaries of what is possible in piano music and remains a fascinating and challenging work within the realm of 20th-century classical music.

A concert cellist, composer, scholarly collector and instrument maker, Auguste Tolbecque left his mark on the histories of performing early music, collecting, and of reconstituting historical musical instruments. Whilst several studies have been devoted to his life as instrument maker and collector, the least explored aspect of his life remains his work as composer. Up until this moment, no recordings have been made of his works. The of this album is not only a commemoration of the centenary of his death but is also a testimony to the many-sided career of one of the most singular characters of French musical life during the second half of the 19th century.