What circumstances would compel a composer to purposely conceal his finest compositions, while at the same time publishing an abundance of, if not mediocre, certainly second-rate music? The name Carl Czerny (1791-1857) has been known to generations of pianists as the author of the most widely...

This beautifully recorded Grand Piano disc is the first of a planned series of the complete keyboard music of Franz Hoffmeister. All world premiere recordings, the program is played with sensitivity, spirit and sparkle on a modern grand piano by Bulgarian pianist Biliana Tzinlikova. Franz...

Between 1997 and 2006, Naxos released a series of thirteen recordings performed by harpsichordist Gilbert Rowland of the complete keyboard sonatas by Antonio Soler. What’s shaping up to be another cycle of Soler’s sonatas began in 2011, with two key differences: one is that the...

It’s always a pleasure to discover something fresh from the early Classical era, where we may not suspect many surprises remain. The ongoing Pleyel Edition on Ars Production has reached volume fifteen with this release offering three of the Austrian-born French composer’s dozen...

In the mind of many of us, “Papa” Haydn is granted parentage for the birth of the symphony (although in reality, it’s much less a “birth” at all than one continuous gestation). Certainly, Haydn wrote some 30 symphonies before Mozart wrote his first, and he did...

The music of French composer Martin Berteau has never been well represented on record. In fact, all I discovered were brief appearances on a handful of 18th-century cello anthologies. That’s surprising given the fact that Berteau is widely considered to be the founder of the French...

We have Bridge Records to thank for continuing this marvelous survey of the guitar works of the great early 19th-century composer, Mauro Giuliani. David Starobin is one of the finest master guitarists playing this music. The disc not only shows off Giuliani’s solo pieces but also his highly...

Imagine listening to some amazing music, written by a contemporary of Mozart who is not even listed in Grove’s or Baker’s. That is the case with this wonderful CD of the fortepiano works of Felipe Rodriguez. There are very few existing works from this priest who became an organist....

Brilliant Classics is a label well known to collectors for its extensive catalog of bargain collections and editions. These compilations are culled by licensing previously released and largely unavailable material from major record labels. However, the label has also been quietly building a...

Very little is known about the 18th century Spanish composer and organist Manuel Blasco de Nebra. During his lifetime, he was renowned for his dramatic performances on the organ, fortepiano and harpsichord, and as a composer, he was highly prolific. Blasco de Nebra is known to have completed...

Guitarist and musicologist Thomas Schmitt is heard on this new Centaur CD in an enjoyable program from Spain of sonatas, variations and dances for guitar. The album title is Spanish music for 6-course guitar around 1800. What is most unique and interesting about the disc begins with the...

With this release of the complete piano chamber music by Franz Xaver Mozart, the Equilibrium label not only fills an important gap in the catalog, but also adds rare substance to our perception of the composer’s father, Wolfgang Amadeus. Franz Xaver’s chamber music with piano is...