Paul Dessau (1894.1979) was among the most principled and hard-working composers whose career flourished under uneasy circumstances in post war East Germany after the country�'s partition. His exceptionally diverse output is reflected in the heterogeneous contents of this compendium, the value of which is unrivalled as an introduction to a vital figure in the culture of his time and place.

His political sympathies may be deduced from his frequent collaborations with the radical playwright Bertholt Brecht, and by the dedication of his Orchestral Music No.3 to Lenin. But he also wrote film music for early movies of Walt Disney, a dyed�-in-the-wool anti-Communist, and his art both embodies and transcends his surroundings.

Once past two discs of punchy orchestral music and a CD of piano music, which includes his musical interpretation of Picasso's seminal Guernica painting, the set concentrates on the dramatic music which lies at the heart of Dessau�'s oeuvre, all in local performances which were made by performers who knew the composer and his music well enough to lend their recordings the authoritative stamp of authenticity.

There are quirky continuations of the German Lied tradition, as well as more strident and even agitprop settings of texts from Brecht�'s 'Mother Courage'. Four of Dessau�'s seven operas are included: Puntila, Leonce and Lena, Die Verurteilung des Lukullus and Einstein, all of them politically motivated and influenced by cabaret culture while exploring Dessau�'s own spiky brand of tonality.

Contents:
CD 1
- Symphony No.2
Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin / Rolf Kleinert

- Symphonic Adaptation of the Quintet in E flat K614 by W A Mozart
Staatskapelle Berlin / Otmar Suitner

- Orchestral Music No.3 'Lenin' (with final chorus 'Epitaph for Lenin')
Walter Olbertz (piano)
Chor der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin / Christian Weber
Kinderchor des Deutschlandsenders / Manfred Roost

Total time 58'26

CD 2
- In memoriam Bertolt Brecht
- Bach Variations
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig / Paul Dessau

- Orchestral Music No.2 "Sea of Tempests"
Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester Leipzig / Herbert Kegel

- Orchestral Music No.4
Staatskapelle Berlin / Günther Herbig

Total time 65'06

CD 3
- Piano Sonata in F
- Guernica after Picasso
- Fantasietta No.1 in C sharp
- Nine Studies (1932)
- Sonatine for small orchestra and obbligato piano
Siegfried Stöckigt (piano)
Dresdner Philharmonie / Herbert Kegel

Total time 55'56

CD 4
1. Begrüßung for voice, flute and string quartet
2-4. Excerpts from 27 Lieder
5. Hebräisches Hirtenlied
Leipziger Kammermusikvereinigung / Max Pommer

From 4 Lieder des Glücksgotts
6. Söhnlein, kauf dir einen Strick

7. Kleines Lied (1965)

From 5 Lieder (1955)
8. Wir Vögel singen nicht egal

9-11. Excerpts from 27 Lieder
12-14. Excerpts from Der gute Mensch von Sezuan
Instrumentalgruppe / Helge Jung

15-17. Excerpts from 27 Lieder
From 2 Lieder (1950)
18. Wo bist du jetzt
From 5 Lieder
19. Ein Herz laviert nicht
From 3 Sonnets
20. Sonnet No.8
Gruppe Neue Musik Hanns Eisler / Max Pommer

21-23. Excerpts from 27 Lieder
24. Tierverse
Instrumentalgruppe / Helge Jung

From 27 Lieder
25. Konzert
From Der kaukasische Kreidekreis
26. Lied des Azdak
Leipziger Kammermusikvereinigung / Max Pommer

27. Kriegslied (3rd version, 1950)
From 3 Lieder (1974)
28. Doktrin
From 27 Lieder
29. Rundgesang

Sonja Kehler (voice), Roswitha Trexler (soprano, voice), Sylvia Geszty (soprano), Annelies Burmeister (alto), Peter Schreier (tenor), Vladimir Bauer (baritone), Siegfried Vogel (bass), Siegfried Hermann (flute), Thomas Heyn (guitar), Walter Olbertz (piano), Jutta Czapski (piano)
Total time 65'29

CD 5 Lieder II - Incidental Music 1894-1979
1-4. Excerpts from Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder
5-6. Excerpts from 4 Liebeslieder (1951)
7-10. Excerpts from Tierverse

From Der gute Mensch von Sezuan
11 Lied vom achten Elefanten

12-13. Excerpts from Herr Puntila und sein Knecht Matti
14-16. Excerpts from Der kaukasische Kreidekreis

Hanns Eisler
17-19. Excerpts from Die Rundköpfe und die Spitzköpfe
20-23. Excerpts from the movie Kuhle Wampe
24-29. Excerpts from Schweyk im Zweiten Weltkrieg

Total time 66'44

Gisela May (vocals), Walter Olbertz (piano), Siegfried Stöckigt (piano), Wolfram Krauß (piano), Werner Pauli (guitar), Gundula Sonsalla (guitar), Joachim Günther (cello)
Studioorchester / Henry Krtschil

CD 6
- Puntila
Chor der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin
Staatskapelle Berlin / Paul Dessau

Total time 68'54

CD 7
- Puntila (conclusion)
Chor der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin
Staatskapelle Berlin / Paul Dessau

Total time 43'25

CD 8
- Leonce und Lena
Chor der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin
Staatskapelle Berlin / Otmar Suitner

Total time 58'24

CD 9
- Die Verurteilung des Lukullus
Rundfunkchor Leipzig, Rundfunk-Kinderchor Leipzig
Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester Leipzig / Herbert Kegel

Total time 55'31

CD 10
- Die Verurteilung des Lukullus (conclusion)
Rundfunkchor Leipzig, Rundfunk-Kinderchor Leipzig
Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester Leipzig / Herbert Kegel

Total time 42'10

CD 11
- Einstein
Chor der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin
Helmut Oertel (organ), Wolfgang Hafermalz (piano, organ), Klaus Kirbach (piano, organ)
Members of the Staatskapelle Berlin / Otmar Suitner

Total time 49'04

CD 12
Einstein (conclusion)
Chor der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin
Helmut Oertel (organ), Wolfgang Hafermalz (piano, organ), Klaus Kirbach (piano, organ)
Members of the Staatskapelle Berlin / Otmar Suitner

Total time 46'01