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Forthcoming from Naxos in their December releases is an enticing collection of Moszkowski works for violin and piano. The main interest here has to be the as-yet-unrecorded original works - Op16 Ballade and Bolero (the Ballade, of course, appears in its orchestral guise on the Hyperion release with the violin concerto played by Tasmin Little, and was recorded in LP days on a Polish Muza disc, in a version revised by the composer for violin and piano); and the 4 Morceaux Op82, which represent the composer at his best IMHO! This CD also includes the Suite Op71 for 2 violins & piano, but, as this work has now had several more than adequate outings in the recording studio, I feel that Naxos would have been better advised to include the composer's own version for a standard piano trio. which remains unrecorded. This then would also have provided the welcome opportunity to also include Moszkowski's 3 Pieces for cello and piano Op29, also still unrecorded, perhaps at the expense of (some of) the filler items, which are transcriptions by others of the Op12 Spanish Dances, Etincelles Op36 No6, Guitarre Op45 No2,  and Serenata Op15 No1.

Nevertheless, this is a must-buy for any Moszkowski enthusiast!

I see that Dynamic have issued this follow-up to their 2013 release of Kalkbrenner's Op1 with Luigi Gerosa. This hopefully suggests that they may be going to complete a Kalkbrenner sonata cycle - certainly the later examples are more interesting!

Having recently come across this new release from Trito (www.trito.es), I thought it should be mentioned here! The composers included are:  Felip Pedrell (1841-1922), who is represented by a short orchestral prelude to his opera "Quasimodo", and the more substantial "Lo cant de la muntanya" (3 symphonic scenes); Josep Rodoreda (1851-1922):- a Symphonic Poem in 5 separate movements "La Primavera"; Antoni Nicolau (1858-1933):- a 3 movement suite from the opera "Un Rapto"; and finally Amadeu Vives (1871-1932), whose brief "Ballet of the Witches", from his opera of 1900 "Euda d'Urich", concludes this all-world-premiere programme!

Having just had one listen, I would thoroughly recommend this disc, with the Rodoreda and Nicolau works making the most impression initially.

It would seem that 2015 so far bodes well for unsung string quartets; following hot on the heels of the eagerly anticipated Czerny double CD (a must have for me!), comes a Timpani release of all (?) three of Benjamin Godard's quartets. It is announced on amazon.fr as a May release, but no details yet on Timpani's own website. Performers are the Quatuor Elysée!

I have just "rediscovered" this work, which was published as the first number in the collection entitled "Le Nouveliste", Revue Musicale pour le piano par M Bernard. 6me Année, St Petersbourg. I am trying to establish whether this belongs to one of Raff's many multiple work opus numbers, possibly known under another title perhaps ..... It is 72 bars in length, in the key of G minor, and with a tempo marking of Allegro agitato quasi presto!  The other composers included in this volume are Liszt, Gutmann, Damcke & Döhler. Can anyone here please help identify this short work?

At last Hiller's Grand Duo Op135 for 2 pianos has been recorded (with works already available elsewhere by Moscheles, Chopin etc) However, my disappointment here, which I suspect may be shared  by others,  is the fact that again we have to endure the dreaded "historic instruments"! But perhaps the sound may just be acceptable enough to give us an idea of the work, or better still, encourage a recording on a couple of modern pianos!!https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/grand-duo/hnum/6808863

Have just noticed this interesting release on Simax PSC1237. It doesn't yet appear on the Simax site although it is showing on JPC with relevant soundbites. Also now showing on Amazon.co.uk as a February release!

I don't know if anyone here noticed that the Austrian pianist Doris Adam released a CD last year (I think) on the Japanese Camerata label of piano works by Alfred Grünfeld. Well it seems that a second instalment has recently been released (I have just ordered my copy!) although I am aware that this is not the easiest of labels to obtain in various countries, the UK included. However, on the evidence of Volume I, I can heartily recommend the performances and look forward to the second with anticipation. I would imagine that Grünfeld's stylistic preferences need little by way of introduction here, and anyone who enjoys Moszkowski's piano works would find more of a similar nature here, although in the liner notes it is mentioned that amongst unpublished scores are works for piano and orchestra, although it is not clear whether or not any of these survive!

I have just been advised by Mike Spring of Hyperion that the work uploaded as Kreutzer's 3rd Piano Concerto in E flat Op65 is certainly not the work published as such by Fr.Hofmeister. He has kindly given me a photocopy of the published Op65 and I can confirm this - all three movements being completely different! Obviously this leads us to the next question - can anyone identify the actual concerto we have in our downloads section? It is obviously contemporary with Kreutzer and is quite attractive - perhaps someone had uncovered a 4th Kreutzer concerto! Obviously we need to sort this matter out soon; certainly before any recording plans are put into place!

This looks like a must-have - an enticing 3CD set from Delos, performed by Kirsten Johnson, for only £10.10 from Amazon.co.uk!

I don't know whether any of our members here have used this Spanish site in the past, but I have just received notification that this outlet is cosing down with effect from TODAY - and consequently have some rather enticing extra low clearance prices, especially with any CPO titles they may still have. Anyway, I thought that I would just flag this up in case anyone is interested although there may not now be much left!

I am pleased to see that Naxos have adopted my suggestion to include the duet sonatas for piano in their superb cycle of Ries' piano sonatas. This 6th volume is now listed as a late July release and includes the early Sonatina Op6, the Op47, and, IMHO, the pick of the bunch - the impressive Op160! This work is surely one of the masterpieces in this particular genre!

Although not a "new release" as such, having just obtained a copy of this rather interesting 2CD set issued by www.budamusique.com, in association with the Fondation du Judaisme Français, I thought it well worth highlighting here. The main work here (CD2) is the Violin Sonata which dates from 1900, and was dedicated to Georges Enesco. The rest of the disc consists of shorter pieces for piano (6), flute & piano (3), cello & piano (3), and a couple of short piano pieces (originally for organ) composed by his daughter Henriette. CD1 consists mainly of solo songs.
Although his  music was much influenced by Fauré, Halphen's Violin Sonata owes more than a little to Franck, and, on the evidence of the music included on these  2CD's I certainly would be rather interested to hear his Symphony, which dates from 1898! - it would seem that his ms scores have been preserved and are now held in the musical collections of the Fondation.

I have just managed to obtain from cantus.hr, a copy of the 2CD set of chamber music by this Croatian composer. Although this is probably not exactly a new release, it has taken several unsuccesful attempts to order until at last I have the item in question in my hand! Although his dates may seem a little late for this forum, I can assure that these two generously-filled CD's contain only music which would find approval here!

The main work(s) here are a trilogy - Op14 - composed as a memorial tribute to his brother Vlatko, who died in 1930, and consist of (1) a piano quintet, (2) cello sonata & (3) a mixed set of pieces for piano solo interspersed with 3 further items for piano quintet. The rest of the anthology consists of the second string quartet Op15 and a piano trio Op7 entitled "Romantic".

So far I have only managed to listen in any detail to the piano quintet, which dates from 1928-1932, but is essentially late romantic with much folk-inspired content - the slow movement in particular I found made an impression! Overall the recording quality is perhaps not up to the highest standard but is more than adequate.

I have just received an e-mail from trito.es to confirm that the eagerly-awaited recording of the Garreta violin concerto has just been released. This is coupled with an early orchestral suite by Edouard Toldra. Hoping the mail from Spain does not take too long............

For those of us here in the UK, it may be rather disappointing to learn that the Spanish label Verso now has no distribution here. and consequently information concerning new releases has been less accessible, however, I was more than pleased to see that this label has released a 2CD set of the complete 3 Symphonies of Tomas Breton (Feb 2012). Furthermore, as it will be now necessary to order from a Spanish source, I went to trito.es and see also that they have available on their own label a recording of Breton's violin concerto coupled with that by Monasterio. Also on their label is a recording of symphonic works by Juli Garreta (b.1875), which seem to be most promising from the short sound samples!

 I see that JPC have at last announced this CPO recording as a new release for September! Also included is the Serenade for large orchestra Op34. I suspect that there may be more than a few here interested...........

I have just discovered that Moszkowski's Prelude & Fugue for String Orchestra Op85 is included on a CD issued by the Polish label CD Accord (ACD 168-2 "The Art of Fugue") last year. Apart from a Scherzo and Fugue by Erich Zeisl, the rest of the programme is rather run-of-the-mill, but it is good to at last have a commercial recording of the Moszkowski! Please accept my apologies if this has been noted before, but I suspect that it has escaped our attention!

Whilst trawling through the Merlin website re the Morawski CD, I notice that they are also offering a 3CD set of Dobrzynski's opera 'Monbar' - which in my case will be a must have! It seems though that the adjoining illustration for this release is incorrect, which may have put others off!

Most are probably aware that the overture has been available for some time on CD accord's 19th century Polish Symphonic Collection CD, which has now prompted me to dig out this CD!!

Although scarcely a "new recording" as such, I wondered if it was generally known that the American Symphony Orchestra's live performance (under Botstein & available as a download via i-tunes & various other outlets) of Czerny's Symphony No2 in D major IS NOT THE SAME WORK AS THE CZERNY SYMPHONY NO2 OP781 AS AVAILABLE IN TWO COMMERCIAL CD RECORDINGS!

The ASO "2nd Symphony" is the one dating from 1814 and was never published (unlike the other "Symphony no2 in D" Op781) & what an achievement for the 23-year-old Czerny, with an impressive work of just over an hour's duration of considerable substance & remarkable content!

There are also two choral works from the same concert available namely: Psalm 130 (1840), and a Fantasy for Chorus & Orchestra on Schiller's poem "The Power of Song", which dates from 1842. Once again, both of these works are from Czerny's unpublished "serious" output!

My apologies if these there has been previous mention here but I felt that these performances ought to be flagged up, especially as we have just been treated to performances from the Canadian Czerny Festival of other excellent examples of his more serious music, available on CD at last!