Ensemble Dialoghi MOZART | BEETHOVEN Quintets for Piano and Winds

Authenticity: conforming to an original so as to reproduce essential features. Historically Informed Performance: an approach to the performance of classical music, which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of the musical era in which a work was originally conceived. These two definitions, without reservations, certainly go hand in hand like whipped cream on pumpkin pie, with the Ensemble Dialoghi, a chamber music group made up of Spanish, Italian, and Canadian musicians. Except for the bassoon which itself dates from 1805, all the other instruments were crafted during the last ten years, but are built after period instruments from the late 18th century.

Attention - Do not adjust your system. On the contrary, it's your inner musical ear that requires adjusting and fine tuning on first listen. It took me a minute or two to "get" that the sound, and music, I was hearing were not only right, but accurately and expressively musical. I immediately pulled out, for comparison, my copy of the 1984 Sony recording featuring Murray Perahia on piano with members of the English Chamber Orchestra, a recording that up until now I considered to be exemplary. Lifeless, dull and uninvolved are my impressions of it now. What a sharp contrast between the two; not only sonically but also interpretatively. You can tell by the make-up and attire that the members of Ensemble Dialoghi are sporting on the CD cover and on their website, that they consider themselves to be more like buskers, minstrels or saltimbanques rather than just simply musicians. Their motto is "chamber music as a way of communicating", and they certainly go out of their way to project the composer's spirit, and inherent joy and beauty within the music, to the audience, as if they were staging a dramatic presentation.

If Wolfgang and Ludwig were still alive today they would most likely exclaim: "Wow, this sounds just like the good ol' days!" (Jean-Yves Duperron)

Isabelle Faust FRANZ SCHUBERT Oktett

In response to a commission from Count Troyer, who wanted a work closely modelled on Beethoven’s famous Septet op.20, Schubert – despite his fervent admiration for the older composer – resolutely struck out on his own by delivering an . . . Octet. While the enlarged forces opened his path towards symphonic writing, examination of the form and expression reveals a much more accomplished and personal composition than has generally been recognised by commentators. Isabelle Faust and her partners, enthralled by what is an exceptional work in every respect, offer us a new interpretation of it on period instruments.

Freiburger Barockorchester / Gottfried von der Goltz W.A. MOZART The Last Concertos

This recording is the last of the triptych of CDs that the Freiburger Barockorchester has devoted to Mozart's concertos. His final instrumental work, the Clarinet Concerto, was written just a few months after the last Piano Concerto, No. 27 in 1791. In both cases, the performers have gone back to the original manuscripts to unearth the details of Mozart's own performing practice. If his markings are followed precisely, as here, it is possible to rediscover his fascinating variety of sonic perspectives.

Lorenzo Coppola completed his diploma in Classical clarinet under the guidance of Eric Hoeprich at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Since then he has been one of the most sought-after clarinettists in the field of historical performance practice. He has played with such ensembles as La Petite Bande, Les Arts Florissants, the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, the Orchestra of the 18th Century and the Freiburger Barockorchester. Lorenzo Coppola also performs chamber repertoire with Ensemble Zefiro, Ensemble Philidor, the Académie Sainte-Cécile, Harmonie Bohémienne and Düsseldorfer Hofmusik.

Undoubtedly one of the most prominent keyboard performers in the world, Andreas Staier embarked upon a solo career in 1986 and, since then, his indisputable musical mastery has made its mark on the interpretation of Baroque, Classical and Romantic repertoire. He has formed a highly successful trio with violinist Daniel Sepec and cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras; they have recently recorded their first CD, of Beethoven, for harmonia mundi. His extensive discography has won critical praise from the international press, whether for BMG,Teldec or hm for whom he has released his last five recordings: Mozart's Sonatas in two CDs; Haydn concertos with the Freiburger Barockorchester; Hamburg 1734, with the German harpsichordist Christine Schornsheim; and, more recently, Beethoven's sonatas for violin and piano, with Daniel Sepec performing on Beethoven's own instrument. In February 2007, and again with Christine Schornsheim,Andreas Staier released a cd dedicated to a very special instrument: the Stein 'vis-à-vis’.