Myung Whun Chung, piano
Myung Whun Chung's first solo piano recording: ten short pieces by Debussy, Chopin, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Schubert, Schumann and Mozart, recorded in July 2013 at the Teatro La Fenice, Venice.
Seventh Symphony, Piano Concerto
Erkki-Sven Tüür's Piano Concerto (2006), with soloist Laura Mikkola, and Seventh Symphony 'Pietas' (2009), with the NDR Choir, played by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Järvi, recorded in Frankfurt in June 2009 and June 2010.
Galina Ustvolskaya
Galina Ustvolskaya's Trio (1949), Violin Sonata (1952) and Duet (1964), played by violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, pianist Markus Hinterhäuser and clarinettist Reto Bieri, recorded in March 2013 at the RSI Auditorio in Lugano.
Tõnu Kõrvits, Veljo Tormis, Anja Lechner, Kadri Voorand, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tõnu Kaljuste
MirrorSix works by Estonian composer Tõnu Kõrvits, three of them based on songs by Veljo Tormis, with cellist Anja Lechner, singer Kadri Voorand, the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir under Tõnu Kaljuste, recorded February 2013 in Tallinn.
Compositions demonstrations 1946-1974
One of the key figures in electronic music development, though better known as an inventor, Le Caine did make pieces and some of the best are collected here. Some humorous and plunderphonic (happy birthday made from the scream in Berg's Lulu), some informative - demonstrations by Le Caine of his instruments and some just very entertaining or ear-turning. Echoes of Raymond Scott.
Cantante e tranquillo
Slow movements and miniatures by Beethoven, Bach, Ligeti, Kurtág, Schnittke and Knaifel played by the Keller Quartett, with Alexei Lubimov in the Schnittke; recorded 1995-2012 in Vienna, Eichstätt and Zürich and compiled with producer Manfred Eicher.
Quasi parlando
Four works for soloists and string orchestra by Tigran Mansurian (1978-2012), with Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin), Anja Lechner (cello) and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta led by Candida Thompson. Recorded October 2012 at the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam.
Between Two Waves
Three works by Victor Kissine: the piano concerto Between Two Waves, the Duo (after Osip Mandelstam) for viola and cello, and Barcarola for violin, strings and percussion, with Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica. Recorded live at the Lockenhaus Festival in July 2011.
Music for piano and string quartet
Konstantia Gourzi's chamber music: piano pieces, two string quartets and two works for piano quintet, played by pianist Lorenda Ramou and Ensemble Coriolis. Recorded July 2012 at the Himmelfahrtskirche, Munich, produced by Manfred Eicher.
Sacred Songs
Six sets of a cappella sacred songs, psalms and prayers by Valentin Silvestrov (2006-2008), sung by the Kyiv Chamber Choir under Mykola Hobdych, recorded in 2008 at St Michael's Cathedral, Kyiv.
Canto Oscuro
Russian pianist Anna Gourari's ECM debut: Bach chorale preludes, the Chaconne and a prelude in transcriptions by Busoni and Siloti, with Gubaidulina's Chaconne and Hindemith's Suite 1922, recorded in May 2011 at the Reitstadel, Neumarkt.
Chamber Music
Chamber works and songs by Harrison Birtwistle (1998-2011): two sets of Lorine Niedecker settings, the Trio and Bogenstrich, played by Till Fellner, Lisa Batiashvili, Adrian Brendel, Amy Freston and Roderick Williams, recorded at the Herkulessaal, Munich.
Fantazias
Henry Purcell's twelve Fantazias in three and four parts (1680), played by the John Holloway Ensemble (violin, two violas, cello), recorded in March 2015 at Radiostudio DRS, Zürich, and released by ECM New Series in 2023.
Precipitando - Alban Berg / Leoš Janáček / Franz Liszt
Hungarian pianist Dénes Várjon's first solo ECM New Series album: Berg's Piano Sonata op. 1, Janáček's In the mists and Liszt's Sonata in B minor, recorded in April 2011 at the RSI Auditorio in Lugano and produced by Manfred Eicher.
Helena Tulve, Arianna Savall, Vox Clamantis, Jaan-Eik Tulve, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Olari Elts
Arboles Iloran por lluviaFive works by Estonian composer Helena Tulve, with soprano Arianna Savall, Vox Clamantis, Ensemble Hortus Musicus and the NYYD Quartet under Jaan-Eik Tulve and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra under Olari Elts, recorded in Tallinn in 2009 and 2010.
Kurtág / Ligeti: Music for Viola
Kim Kashkashian plays György Kurtág's Signs, Games and Messages for solo viola (nineteen pieces) and György Ligeti's Sonata for viola solo (1991-94), recorded in May 2011 at Propstei St. Gerold and produced by Manfred Eicher.
String Paths
First portrait album of Dobrinka Tabakova: the Cello Concerto, Suite in Old Style, Insight, Frozen River Flows and Such Different Paths, with Maxim Rysanov, Kristina Blaumane, Janine Jansen and the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, recorded in Vilnius and Berlin.
Five Pieces - Takemitsu / Hindemith / Janáček / Silvestrov
Debut album of the Italian sisters Natascia (violin) and Raffaella Gazzana (piano), playing Takemitsu's Distance de fée, Hindemith's Sonata in E, Janáček's Sonata and Silvestrov's Five Pieces, recorded in March 2011 at the RSI Auditorio in Lugano.
Intimate rituals
This Romanian-born composer is noted for having developed the technique of 'spectral composition' during the 1960s. According to the man himself, this is defined as a "variable distribution of the spectral energy, synthesis of the global sound sources, micro- and macro-form as sound-process, four simultaneous layers of perception and of speed, and spectral scordaturae, i.e. rows of unequal intervals corresponding to harmonic scales." If you're any the wiser as to what he's on about do drop us a …
Streichquartett N°4 Opus 33
String Quartet No 4, opus 33 (1976-87). Performed by the Arditti String Quartet. "infinite to be cannot be infinite, infinite anti-be could be infinite" (for nine string quartets or a string quartet surrounded by an imaginary 128 string-"viola da gamba"). "Among contemporary composers, Horatiu Radulescu is one who has something essential to express about the enigma of time: multi-layered lines of events, their structuring, perception and potential for poetic-religious message are -- together wit…