Pifferari di Santo Spirito: Pifferari Safari

No.: PK 90793 
The Pifferari di Santo Spirito are a very unusual trio with a sense of humour all their own.The selection of pieces on this CD (from jazz to classic) could be described as a musical anti-depressant.
As its title suggests, is a selection from several concerts, presenting highlights of their large repertoire. The very first impression you may have when listening to this recording is that there are at least eight musicians playing, but there are, in fact only three, sometimes two and once or twice just one. This effect is created by the use of a whole range of well known, lesser known and exotic woodwind instruments played in quick succession using a Pifferari trick called the flying change.

Recitals

Süddeutsches Streichoktett (jetzt Ensemble Octopus): - No: PK 10294
N W Gade (1817 - 1890): String Octet op. 17 F-Dur. In his time Gade was the main representative of a national conciousness in Danish music and has his origins in the early Romanticism of Spohr and Mendelssohn.
J S Svendsen (1840 - 1911): String Octet op. 3 A-Dur. More than Gades work Svendsens String Octet reveals an unmistakeable national almost folk character. Svendsen may be counted among the most characteristic representatives of Norwegian Romanticism.
Dimitri Schostakowitsch: Präludium and Scherzo op. 11
The Suddeutsches Streichoktett (now Ensemble OctOpus) is the only permanent Octet in Germany.

Andras Verpeleti / Christian Schmitt: Trumpet & Organ - No.: PK 11794
Works of Handel (Concerto in D), J. Stanley, G.B. Fontana, Gabrieli, Merula, Telemann, Krebs, Hindemith, Hidas, Vivaldi.
Andras Verpeleti (Trumpet) *1970 Budapest/Hungary . Won 1985 & 1987 the first prize on the National Trumpet Competition in Miskolc (Hungary), 1990 he was second in the European Trumpet Competition Malcolm Arnold in London. Christian Schmitt (Organ) *1967 in Ingelheim/Rhine. He won the following first prizes: 1992 at the 2 Concours Intern. d«Orgue in Carouge/Geneva, 1994 Organ Competion at the International Orgelwoche Nuernberg, 1996 Intern organ competition Gelsenkirchen. They play together since 1992, pieces from baroque to modern

Pifferari di Santo Spirito: Orpheus in His Underpants and other curiosities - A Pifferari concert: ... as if you were sitting in the audience ... - No: PK 12595 
You will realise how the rich variety of sounds, as in the Orpheus ouverture, are created, using a Pifferari trick called the flying change. Add to this the spinet or the mighty church organ. By the way, the underpants are representative of the way the or-chestral score has been reduced to the basics without losing any of its richness or lustre. This third CD is a complete live concert. Not content with playing several instruments one after the other, the Pifferari use another trick whereby the two windplayers play and sing at the same time enabling them to play in four part harmony! Unless of course you happen to have a cold, in which case you can play two parts at once on the bamboo double recorder by Santi Occorso, as in the first verse of the Bach chorale. 
Recitals

Petra Edelmann, Harfe: Marcel Tournier -Images pour Harpe - No.: PK 14196 

Marcel Tournier (* 1879 + 1951) Four suites for harp. In 1897 he exchanged his private lessons for the harp class with the master when he entered the conservatoire, and it was there that he realized still another musical talent and passion, composition. After only four years of study, in 1899 this amazing young musician won the Premier Prix in harp, eventually he won the second Grand Prix de Rome, the Prix Rossini, and recognition for his orchestral work by the Institut de France. All three of these accomplishments were achieved in the same year, 1909. These awards proved his capabilities, and in the glow of such success Tournier became a teacher of harmony and counterpoint at the conservatoire. 
Petra Edelmann won several competitions and had concerts directed by S. Celibidache, L. Maazel and D. Kitajenko. 

Margot Hampel, flute - Andreas Paetzold, piano: Opera fantasies for Solo flute and Piano - No: PK 15296

Co-Production with the Bayerischer Rundfunk.
Excerpts from the operas: Freischütz, La Traviata, Carmen, La Molinara and Oberon.
At the end of the 18th century there was a boom of arrangements for the most well known operas, which became known as Harmony Music. Many operas became popular as a result of these arrangements. The blossoming of instrumental virtuosity brought forth a special type of opera fantasy developed for instrumental soloists, who took the part of the prima donna, and pianists, who substituted for the orchestra. Travelling virtuosos brought these melodies all over the world. It was more of a challenge for the accomplished musician to perform not only the melodies, but to adorn them with improvisation which brought their technical brillance to light. 

Pifferari di Santo Spirito: Kammermusik der kuriosen Art- No: PK 17996 

Maxi-CD of Chamber Musik, among other titles you will be guided through the history of music by 14 Happy Birthday Variations.
The Pifferari have developed a completely new type of chamber music concert. Not only their numerous repertoire and their extraordinary collection of instruments, but also the way they present their music prove that they are a class amongst themselves. They have played in capital cities e.g. Berlin, Paris, Washington and Tokyo.

Recitals

Botho Sigwart Count Eulenburg (1884 - 1915) was known as a  talent at his time, but he was nearly forgotten in the years to come.
Botho Sigwart finished his piano sonata during the war in 1915, shortly before his dead. 
The pieces on this CD have  never beforebeen recorded.

Pifferari di Santo Spirito: With a Twinkle in ther Eye - No.: PK 20004 

The Pifferari are a very unusual trio with a sense of humour all their own. In the form of the Pifferari the oboists Margaret and Matthias Friederich and the organist Peter Schumann have developed a completely new type of chamber music concert. Not only their numerous and varied repertoire and their extraordinary collection of instruments, but also the way they present their music (interspersing it with clever and witty commentary, thereby creating a rapport with the audience) prove that the Pifferari are a class amongst themselves. Founded in 1988 the trio have aiready appeared in four very different capital cities: Berlin, Washington, Paris and Tokyo. Their repertoire includes arrangements of golden oldies, Renaissance and Classical works, the Viennese Classic, parlour pieces, jazz and 20th century music, also original Baroque pieces and many compositions of their own.

Recitals

Das Schatzkästchen –
die musikalischen Perlen des Adolf Clemens wurden geborgen. No.: St 20071
Clemens (* 15. 02. 1909 – † seit Dez. 1942 vermisst) gehörte zu den großen Hoffnungsträgern unter den modernen Komponisten in den Dreissigern. Er weigerte sich, in die NSDAP einzutreten und wurde 1942 in den sicheren Tod nach Stalingrad geschickt. Seine Lieder für mittlere Stimme und Klavier blieben viele Jahrzehnte unentdeckt bis mit Hilfe seiner Ehefrau Gertrud Clemens, des Jazzpianisten Tobias Sudhoff und des Sängers Martin Linsay dieser Schatz nun endlich geborgen wurde.
Auf dieser CD befindet sich eine kleine Auswahl – zum Beispiel von J. Kneip, jenem mit ihm befreundeten Dichter, vertonte er mehrere Zyklen, u.a. das alte Haus.
Alle diese Lieder – und noch viele andere – fasste er unter dem Titel „Schatzkästchen“ zusammen. Ein Schatzkästchen, welches er im Laufe der Jahre mit vielen kleinen Kostbarkeiten füllen wollte.

Eine Reise von der Romantik bis zur klassischen Moderne.

Pifferari di Santo Spirito: The Winter Tyres– a melodrama, after Schubert, No.: St 20101

At last, after a gap of six years, here is the sixth Pifferari CD.
The Pifferari have been going strong now for 22 years!
The title piece is the melodrama, with music, called "The Winter Tyres" after Schubert. (I should explain for non German speakers: Winterreise = winter journey and Winterreifen ... well, it works in German anyway.) It is the amazing story of a careless lady called Rosamunde and the ADAC (the German version of the AA or RAC).
When, in the springtime, the idea was conceived, nobody could have prophesied that in the autumn winter tyres would be a top item of news (in Germany ...)! So it came about that the local newspaper (RNZ) printed an article entitled: "Winter Tyres Will Be Compulsory": what better advertising than this could we have hoped for!
A colourful collection of curiosities accompany the main work: –
Colin Friederich´s opus I, "Glocken-Impressionen" ("Bell Impressions"). He composed the trio after having attended a rehearsal of the "Frindsbury Handbell Ringers".
Dietrich Lohff divulges the secret of Beethoven´s Elise ...
The three gemshorns in "Alpenglühen" imitate alphorns in the opening of the 2nd. movement of Friedrich Gulda´s Cello concerto.
"Pavana Pomposa" is another gemshorn trio. It is, so far, the one and only rediscovered composition by the troubadour: "Guntram of the Neckarbanks".
The young woodwind virtuoso Colin Friederich (* 1999) demonstrates the typical "Pifferari-Flying-Change": he plays three different ocarinas in the piece "Green Eyes" (Grüne Augen [oh! that was already in English, oops!]).
His big brother, David (* 1991), presents his prowess as a percussionist in "Circus Renz" (xylophone), and "Keep Smiling", and ... and ... and ...

Recitals