Featured Classical Recordings – Arts and Music

The versatility of the wind band has been widely recognized and utilized throughout the history of Western music. The beginning of the 20th century was no exception, and that’s why the Peabody Conservatory Wind Ensemble offers four of the century’s best known compositions in this style on their latest release Trendsetters: Music for Wind Band.

It has never been easy for cellist to adapt the Bach sonatas for viola da gamba to their instrument. Since Bach wrote no works for cello and accompaniment, these three sonatas are the closest they have! Cellist Audrey Cienniwa has attempted to bridge the performance gap by placing the sonatas on the the five stringed piccolo cello.

At the age of 18, Johannes Brahms was asked to tour with renowned Hungarian violinist Eduard Hoffman. Brahms was drawn to the music which Hoffman played, a combination of gypsy music and traditional "classical music. So it came as little surprise when he created two volumes of Hungarian dances taking advantage of the four-hands technique.

The role of concerto soloist in the early 18th century was moving away from a violin-centered view to incorporate wind instruments. At this time, the trumpet was still seen as an instrument whose days had passed. But thanks to some ambitious composers, it resumed a place of prominence, even before the advent of the valved trumpet.

We head into the WFIU vault for this week’s featured recording, all the way back to 1999, for three of the early music world’s most celebrated musicians on one CD! "Rebel: Violin Sonatas" may have been released ten years ago, but the quality of this recording stands the test of time.

The acclaimed William Ferris Chorale adds to their discography with a look at new music being written in America and some works that have been overlooked by recording ensembles. Premiere recordings from Hovhannes, Rochberg, and the ensemble’s founder, William Ferris, are among the many gems on this CD.

We’re back from vacation, but if you’ve been following the WFIU website, you’ll have noticed we didn’t stop featuring recordings. So this week, we’ll look back, however briefly, at the featured CDs for July.

Even a poor pianist like me has been exposed to the compositions of Frédèric Chopin. His music is almost synonymous with the instrument. Chopin is also exceedingly well-known for his use of ethic music types in classical composition, including the folk dance from his native county, Poland, the mazurka. .

The last thing anyone needs is ANOTHER recording of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, right? Not necessarily. Violinist Lara St. John teams up with the hit of last year's BBC Proms, the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuala for a pairing you won't forget.

Lutenist Nigel North is at it again. This time it's for volume four of John Dowland's lute music, titled "The Queen's Galliard." This recording is completely devoted to Queen Elizabeth I's favorite courtly dance of French origin, the Galliard. Over 25 tracks you'll hear Dowland's many variations on this dance form.

This week's featured CD is the premiere recording on the Watjen Concert Organ. Organist Carole Terry tours the repertoire for this release on Loft Recordings.

The Noteworthy Duo perform music of Latin American on "Between Flute and Guitar."

Sol Gabetta's fourth CD, "Cantabile", was released simultaneously with her third in September of 2008. So for this week, we'll take a listen to both of them.

Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers was introduced the American public through two appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and the Emmy Awards at the age of 11. Her latest project is a journey that takes this 39 year-old artist across many borders of musical cultures.

This week we turn the clock back 13 years. In 1996, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir released the CD “An American Heritage of Spirituals” under conductor Albert McNeil.