Kurt Leimer plays Rachmaninov’s third piano concerto, of almost legendary fame, and also his own second piano concerto, a light-hearted homage to all the great composers whose works this outstanding pianist used to perform with such verve and brilliance.

Kurt Leimer plays three milestones from the baroque, classical and romantic eras,  illustrating the appealingly “different” art of piano playing which his name has exemplified for almost 100 years.

Classicism in miniature in the gentle tones, colours and forms which can only be conveyed as charmingly and effectively as this by sensitive performers.

A yearning for the simple things in the life of an artist resonates through every note of this music, and is most particularly eloquent on the singing strings of the cello.

Powerful, serious, straightforward, no-nonsense post-romanticism: Max Reger’s pupil deserves more than mere respect.

The abysses and the hopes of the modern era – sometimes irreconcilable, sometimes confident, yet gripping in their dramatic diversity, density and clarity of expression: the Viennese Alban Berg and the Russian cosmopolitan, Alexander Tcherepnin.

Romantic treats for a surprisingly agile singer: the finest features of the trombone are all assembled here in a concentrated palette of colour.

A challenge to prejudice: vividly and passionately, the internationally celebrated Persian conductor Alexander Rahbari shares with us the musical history of his homeland.

2-CDs

Heroic lays, hallowed halls: Alexander Glazunov, the eternally youthful prodigy from St Petersburg, found the soul of Russia in everything and irradiated it with a palette of colour

From the bogey of the middle classes to the classicist: Jorge Bolet’s invaluable recordings turn Prokofiev’s metamorphoses into an historic event.

Alexander Glazunov was a master of ballet music that exemplifies the weightlessness of the best Russian school, seductive, subtle… a ballet in watercolour.

Borodin, that bluff professor of chemistry, and his refined, vivacious advocate Tcherepnin, provide lovers of symphonic music with an hour and a quarter of exciting orchestral experiences.

Russian history, Russian landscapes, Russian legends – or simply the Russian soul. In Glazunov’s hands the palette of tonal colours knows no limits.

The romantic piano concerto – sometimes dramatically effervescent, sometimes elegant, but always virtuoso and in ideal hands, with Jorge Bolet and Adrian Ruiz following the trail of Liszt and Schumann.

Three famous examples from sonata literature in one CD: classical awareness of form intersects with romantic and revolutionary impetuousness, and this is where Elly Ney’s irresistible Beethoven becomes an occasion to celebrate.

“Just as Beethoven’s impact radiated out into the whole world, far beyond his origins in Bonn, so Elly Ney enabled his music to be heard in other parts of the world, opened up the way to him for innumerable listeners, and touched their hearts.” (Wilhelm Daniels, Mayor of the city of Bonn)

“On wings of song”, these three Romantic composers tell us, even without words, of the secret yearnings of an era which never passed away and which is therefore truly timeless.

A classical spiritual affinity between the composers, and a rare ability to enter the mood of the sombre German dances – these round off the Nuremberg edition of the recordings of Elly Ney.

Half a millennium of Nuremberg’s musical history: an illustrated panorama in sound of a remarkable city, from Hans Sachs, the real Mastersinger, to the present day.

2-CDs

Working with her husband, the conductor Willem van Hoogstraten, enables Elly Ney to realize her personal ideals of Beethoven to the full.