There are projects on which the artistic director of a record label straightaway asks himself a few questions.For example,when it comes to recording Beethoven's three greatest hit sonatas,recorded a multitude of times by the leading pianists.However,a forte-pianist of the calibre of Alexei Lubimov already constitutes one good reason to implement the project,as does the choice of the facsimile of an Erard piano(1802,copy made by Christopher Clarke)of which the original was within Beethoven's reach.

Alfred Schnittke’s chamber music comprises a dozen works which include four string quartets (released in 2011 by ATMA with Molinari Quartet, Chamber Music vol. 1 ACD2 2634), as well as the three works featured on this volume 2.

Giuseppe Verdi was 79 when he finished his final opera the glorious comedie humaine - Falstaff, and he was 85 at the time his Four Sacred Pieces came to publication. In our own day we have seen England’s great symphonist, Ralph Vaughan Williams (b. 1872-d. 1958) complete between his 79th and 85th years such varied scores as the Eighth and Ninth Symphony, a Romance for Harmonica and Orchestra, a Tuba Concerto and choral pieces.

In a very short time, Yannick Nézet-Séguin has become one of the most sought-after young conductors in the world, popular with orchestras and audiences alike. Recently named as Music Director Designate of the Philadelphia Orchestra, he succeeded Valery Gergiev as Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008. He is also Chief Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. On this the second of four projected discs for BIS, the Rotterdam Philharmonic here perform two of Richard Stauss most popular works: The tone poem Ein Heldenleben (A Hero s Life) has often been described as an autobiographical work.

The virtuoso Venetian diva of the 17th century, Barbara Strozzi, Monteverdi's heiress, journeys the passions of the soul through a daring mosaic of styles and rhythms. Leonardo Garcia Alarcon, who is one of the rising generation of baroque conductors, is leading a major research project on the specific parameters which make up musical performance, paying particular attention to improvisation techniques and the relationship between text and music. His work at the Ambronay Festival has focused on the performance of 17th-century Italian music including rich and little-known repertoire of motets and madrigals by Barbara Strozzi, Isabella Leonarda and Antonia Bembo.