“Enrumbado”, the new CD by the duo composed of Sicilian accordionist Antonino De Luca, who now lives in the Marche region, and Marche saxophonist Leonardo Rosselli, with the special participation of the great Spanish flutist Jorge Pardo, considered one of the great innovators of contemporary music for his ability to blend jazz and flamenco and for his prestigious collaborations with Paco de Lucía, Camarón de la Isla and Chick Corea (with whom he won a Grammy in 2020). An original project – dedicated to the Brazilian multi-instrumentalist and composer Egberto Gismonti – which explores the encounter between flamenco culture, Brazilian culture, the world of electronic experimentation and concrete music.

The most comprehensive tribute ever issued on record to the art of the Italian pianist Sergio Fiorentino. Many recordings here newly remastered and receiving their first-ever issue in the digital age. A landmark set for pianophiles. This set has been curated by the collector Ernst Lumpe, who contributes a lengthy appreciation and introduction to the booklet of the set, alongside an essay by Christoph Schlüren & Ottavia Maria Maceratini. It was Lumpe who drew the pianist out of retirement during the 1990s, resulting in an ‘Indian Summer’ of recordings made in Berlin until not long before the pianist’s death in 1998. They are reissued here, alongside much less familiar solo and concerto recordings from the 1950s and 60s – ‘The Early Recordings’ – and separate sections dedicated to Fiorentino’s particular, free-wheeling mastery of Chopin and Liszt.

The most comprehensive tribute ever issued on record to the art of the Italian pianist Sergio Fiorentino. Many recordings here newly remastered and receiving their first-ever issue in the digital age. A landmark set for pianophiles. This set has been curated by the collector Ernst Lumpe, who contributes a lengthy appreciation and introduction to the booklet of the set, alongside an essay by Christoph Schlüren & Ottavia Maria Maceratini. It was Lumpe who drew the pianist out of retirement during the 1990s, resulting in an ‘Indian Summer’ of recordings made in Berlin until not long before the pianist’s death in 1998. They are reissued here, alongside much less familiar solo and concerto recordings from the 1950s and 60s – ‘The Early Recordings’ – and separate sections dedicated to Fiorentino’s particular, free-wheeling mastery of Chopin and Liszt.

Tribute to an outstanding 20th century pianist: SERGIO FIORENTINO - The legacy "He is the only other pianist," said legendary Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli about Sergio Fiorentino. How is it that one of the greatest musical geniuses of the 20th century is still so unknown? Sergio Fiorentino (1927-1998) was a remarkable Italian pianist whose career combined extraordinary artistry with a silent, almost mysterious presence in the music world. Born in Naples, Fiorentino showed an extraordinary talent at a young age and studied at the renowned San Pietro a Majella Conservatory with Alfredo Casella and Paolo Denza.

After years of friendship and shared music in France, the Netherlands, and Denmark, friends Camille Prenant and Casper Christensen release their first album together! Camille Prenant and Casper Christensen met in The Hague, the Netherlands, in 2019. They quickly became close and played together daily during their time in Holland. Since then, they have maintained their friendship through music by traveling across Europe, exploring new musical horizons, sharing their influences, and experiencing some memorable adventures during their tours and travels together.

The most comprehensive tribute ever issued on record to the art of the Italian pianist Sergio Fiorentino. Many recordings here newly remastered and receiving their first-ever issue in the digital age. A landmark set for pianophiles.
This set has been curated by the collector Ernst Lumpe, who contributes a lengthy appreciation and introduction to the booklet of the set, alongside an essay by Christoph Schlüren & Ottavia Maria Maceratini. It was Lumpe who drew the pianist out of retirement during the 1990s, resulting in an ‘Indian Summer’ of recordings made in Berlin until not long before the pianist’s death in 1998. They are reissued here, alongside much less familiar solo and concerto recordings from the 1950s and 60s – ‘The Early Recordings’ – and separate sections dedicated to Fiorentino’s particular, free-wheeling mastery of Chopin and Liszt.

Camille Saint-Saens, a virtuoso pianist and prolific composer, enriched the repertoire of sonatas for solo instruments and piano with works characterized by elegance, technical mastery, and lyrical beauty. The Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in D minor, Op. 75 (1885) stands out as a master- piece. A tour de force of Romantic expression, it traverses a wide emotional spectrum, from fiery passion to serene introspection. Similarly, his Cello Sonatas balance dramatic intensity with moments of tender lyricism, offering a richly textured dialogue between cello and piano.

The Pieces de Clavecin by Charles De Mars (1702-1774) are written in the rich tradition of French Baroque harpsichord music. A composer largely overshadowed by luminaries like Francois Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau, De Mars nonetheless contributed to the genre with his distinctive style, characterized by elegant ornamentation and a refined sense of harmony. De Mars's harpsichord works are steeped in the galant aesthetic, bridging the ornate Baroque style with the more expressive and accessible traits of the early Classical peri- od. His music often features dance forms like the allemande, courante, and sarabande, which were central to the French clavecinistes. One of the hallmarks of his Pieces de Clavecin is his innovative use of ornaments, or agrements, which add a shimmering quality to the melodies.

Timo Lassy, one of the leading lights in the current generation of Finnish Jazz, releases a new live album with his hard-cooking trio on We Jazz Records. That's Lassy on tenor sax, Ville Herrala on double bass and Jaska Lukkarinen on drums – each member a We Jazz recording solo artist on their own right. Recorded at G Livelab, Helsinki's premiere live music spot, in 2023 and including new versions of tracks all accross the sax man's celebrated catalog, Live in Helsinki proves why Lassy usually packs the house when he plays a hometown show.

The new CD by the Trio Unterholz is being released these days on the Swiss label UNIT Records. To mark the occasion, a release concert will take place at the Kulturbunker Kassel, featuring a special guest. With their music, Unterholz draws on references to the African-American musical tradition of jazz, as it developed as a self-confident expression since the 1960s. Based on their own compositions, the musicians combine subtle musical poetry with high-energy expressiveness. Their collaborative playing process lacks any standardized predictability, which lends the constant interaction between the three musicians its innovative freshness.

Luis Rivera, born in San Antonio, Texas, and raised in Ohio, initially pursued psychology after graduating in 1948. However, his passion for music soon led him to leave his career as a clinical psychologist to fully embrace life as a musician. As a pianist, Luis performed with Roy Milton’s band in Texas and later accompanied Billie Holiday at the Tiffany Club in Los Angeles in 1953. That same year, inspired by “Wild” Bill Davis’s organ sound, Luis adopted the Hammond organ and quickly gained recognition. He formed his first trio and performed at major venues like the Oasis, Morocco, and the Keyboard in Beverly Hills, while also recording tracks for the Federal label.

This unique programme of four works for cello and piano by significant twentieth-century composers is a reflection of the greater interest in writing for the cello that the inspiration of two highly gifted instrumentalists was to have during that period. For many music-lovers, the major cello virtuosos of the century were Pablo Casals and Mstislav Rostropovich, each of whom dominated the instrument in their respective halves of the century. However, one ought not to assume that all the music in our collection was invariably written with those artists in mind. With one exception, it was not.

The oeuvre of the Argentinean composer Sergio Parotti is not only large in quantity, but also in variety of formats. His extensive catalogue includes symphonic and operatic works as well as chamber music and works for solo instrument. Contrary to what common sense might presuppose, the task of composing for a single instrument is often more complex and challenging than composing for a larger organ. The reason is simple: in such cases, both the composer and the performer must take up the challenge of maintaining the audience's attention and enjoyment with limited resources.

With her upcoming CD "Echoes of Latvia" Laura Zarina presents women composers from her homeland Latvia - featuring many world premiere recordings and inspired by the literature of her native language. For more than 10 years, Laura Zarina has been bringing the music of Latvian composers to a wider audience. This includes the rediscovery and recording of a previously lost violin concerto by Latvian-Canadian composer Janis Kalnins, released in 2019 by the Canadian Music Centre label, as well as the European premiere of the violin concerto by Latvian-Canadian composer Imants Ramins, which was broadcast live on Latvian Radio Klasika in 2023.

Not long ago, the West developed an overwhelming love for all things Korean: cuisine, romance dramas, pop groups. Much less notorious is the emerging Korean scene of serious music composers. Internationally-acclaimed pianist Eun-Hee Park aims to shed light on its abundance with her new release, KOREAN SOUNDSCAPES.