It’s good to observe that commercial risks can become unexpected bestsellers. In keeping with 18th century home entertainment preferences, we had asked keyboard virtuoso Benjamin-Joseph Steens to record Bach’s Goldberg Variations on a clavichord instead of a harpsichord, and this recording became a hit (first on Youtube, then on compact disc). On his new album, Steens confronts the delicacy of his clavichord with the colourful intimacy of a traverso played by Jacques-Antoine Bresch, in an unprecedented exploration of keyboard and flute music by the Bach sons.
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According to René Jacobs, Lawrence Zazzo is the most versatile operatic countertenor of his generation. On his first Evil Penguin recording, however, he explores the intimacy of the lute song in a remarkable programme focusing on madness and midnight. Teaming up with lute virtuoso Shizuku Noiri, Zazzo samples some of the genre highlights by Dowland and Purcell but also concentrates on contemporary repertoire for countertenor. The result is a fascinating exploration of the dark and the light of the moon and the mind.
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Cello virtuoso Jan Pas is one the best-kept secrets of Belgian classical music. Although he became the cello solo in the Monnaie Opera orchestra at a prodigiously young age (18), and now leads the celli in the Bayreuther Festspielorchester, he has almost no recordings to his name. In order to fill this void, the Evil Penguin gave Pas carte blanche to record his repertoire of choice. The result is an eagerly anticipated 20th century programme featuring Debussy and Messiaen.
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Although we have grown accustomed to the harpsichord as the Baroque keyboard instrument of choice, 18th century connoisseurs preferred the smaller clavichord for home entertainment. Benjamin Steens challenges our listening habits by performing the Goldberg Variations on the clavichord, and demonstrating that – despite its delicacy – the instrument does full justice to Bach’s intimacy and the dazzling architecture of his music.
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Belgian traverso champion Jan de Winne teams up with Italian virtuosi Lorenzo Ghielmi (harpsichord) and Marco Testori (cello) to explore the “Italian” dimension in the flute sonatas from Händel’s Opus 1, a motley crew of works unjustly neglected. This repertoire is resuscitated on the present disc with thrilling musicianship and superbly alert interaction between soloists at the height of their power.
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Acclaimed keyboard virtuoso Jos van Immerseel and his period orchestra Anima Eterna rediscover Beethoven’s Fifth as it could have been played by the maestro himself. Recorded in High Definition (with Surround Sound) and with neck-flexing camerawerk, this performance at the historical Concert Noble makes for an electrifying live event. The concert is accompanied by a documentary (shot in Vienna, Antwerp and Brussels) which expands on the music, the maestro, and the trials and tribulations off and on stage. 
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On his third recording for the Penguin, Walter Boeykens explores 19th century chamber repertoire for two clarinets. There are interesting family ties on this disc between the original and the current performers. Mendelssohn wrote his Two Konzertstücke for two clarinets for father and son Heinrich and Carl Baermann, both exceptional clarinet virtuosi. Carl – no mean composer himself – wrote a Duo concertant  which he performed with his father. Like Heinrich, Walter Boeykens has a talented daughter (Anne) to play the second clarinet in this programme of delightfully accessible salon music.
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Belgium-born Benjamin-Joseph Steens is titular organist of the Cattiaux organ in the Saint Remi Basilica of Rheims and the Bernard Aubertin organ in Vertus. On these great instruments he recorded a recital with music by Bach and Buxtehude, the giants of the Baroque organ. The authoritative music critic Aart Van der Wal called Steens “a formidable organ player” on account of this recording, “both from the point of view of technique and interpretation.”
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Like Toots Thielemans, clarinet virtuoso Walter Boeykens is one of the few Belgians who achieved world fame in music. On this vintage recording, Boeykens tackles little played but fascinating 20th century repertoire. Both the neo-classicism of Marcel Poot and Jean Françaix, and the dodecaphony of August Verbesselt reflect the 19th century tradition, but also react against its pathos.
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The Evil Penguin pays hommage to the Belgian clarinet virtuoso Walter Boeykens with a series of three cd’s. It is only fitting that at the beginning of his life’s autumn, Walter Boeykens wanted to record the Clarinet Quintet, the masterpiece that Brahms wrote after he had (re)discovered the clarinet late in his own life. The result is a deeply moving registration by a truly great artist. The full extent of Boeykens’ importance becomes obvious when watching the DVD which accompanies the recording (a key passage is Boeykens’ work with Pierre Boulez while premiering the latter’s composition Domaines).
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