The 12 Valkyries are figures from the Nordic mythology - they collect the slain heroes from the battlefield and bring them to "Valhalla", the "holy hall".

This piece goes out to Isabella Charlotta Maria Zita Beneking, my little Valkyrie. Isabella, one of my identical-twin daughters, died in 2006, 2 days before her birth.
This tragedy is the main reason for the deep melancholy in my works.
Thank you, dear Paul (https://soundcloud.com/paul-de-clerck), for playing it for her!
I am sure she will listen to it from "Valhalla"....

The whole series is devoted to Isabella, you can find the scores booklet here: http://www.beneking.com/valkyries
There are some further recordings of this series coming soon.

Painting: Peter Nicolai Arbo, Valkyrie, 1865

Booklet with Scores

Valkyrie No. 12 - played by Paul de Clerck - for Isabella Charlotta Maria Zita

The great success of my "Valses melancoliques" (including the award-winning No. VIII - le desir eternel) encouraged me to continue this musical idea of melancholic valses, resulting in 12 new valses from C minor to B minor, created in a 14 day "composing rush" in April 2013 :-)

Pianist Carlos Marquéz (https://soundcloud.com/cmdigital), whom many of you know for his outstanding piano recordings, was so kind to play some of the "Swans". 
Enjoy his breathtaking performance of this piece!

Carlos played all 10 Valses melancoliques Series I, which you can find on iTunes and many other platforms. Truly can recommend this!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/beneking-10-valses-melancoliques/id600563482

All 12 "Swans" will also be published as an album towards the end of 2013, performed by pianist Danaë Vlasse (https://soundcloud.com/danae-vlasse).
Here is a "Preview" of the first 6 valses: 
https://soundcloud.com/stephan-beneking/preview-valses-melancoliques

The scores for this series you can find here: http://www.beneking.com/swans
The direct link to the booklet with all scores:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4v1JwJiY6oJVURybWNwbURSLUU/edit?usp=sharing


Valses melancoliques I

Valses Melancoliques II - "The Swans" - No. 3 played by Carlos Márquez www.beneking.com

1 Ave Maria Caccini

Tchaikovsky - Nutcracker - Waltz of the flowers

Prelude (4)

The Atlanta Baroque Orchestra live in concert, Sunday, 22 May 2011, at Roswell Presbyterian Church in Roswell, Georgia, Julie Andrijeski, Director and Violin.

Charles Avison, Concerto, Op. 2 No. 1 in G minor, Movement 3

Schubert -  Ständchen in D minor - Balázs Szoko - piano

Happy sound created by James Last
played by Michael Hauber on Steinway B 211

Happy Heart - James Last - Steinway

Sonata 46 for violin and classical guitar

Sandra Haniszewska - Violin
Tomasz Kandulski - Classical Guitar

I was attending music school as an undergraduate in 1998 at the University of Texas at Austin. At the time, Matthew Gould (of Duo 46) was attending as a Doctoral student in guitar and living in Austin with his partner, violinist Beth Schneider. They had started Duo 46 maybe a few years before this. I was hanging out with them a lot in those days - just going over to their apartment or whatever. One day, Matt said to me, "Hey man, why don't you write us a piece?", and I said, "Umm.. ok."

At this point, I don't think they expected much. They hadn't had that many pieces written for them yet, and I was just starting as a composer, only in my second year of school. I decided I wanted to write something that would really show off what they could do technically and musically, and that would leave audiences breathless.

Not knowing how to begin, I lifted a line from a piece that I had just written - a solo flute piece titled "The Five Rings of Miyamoto Musashi". That became the opening line of the piece. Then, inspired by the one movement sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti, I wrote the piece based on that line. The piece is full of things that I was just discovering and becoming influenced by at the time: baroque sonatas, renaissance lute music (hence the "lute" tuning of the guitar), the tangos of Piazzolla as well as the ever-present rock and heavy metal that has always been part of my music. Since Duo 46 premiered the piece in 1999, Sonata 46 has become one of my most frequently and widely performed pieces.

Notes

Sonata 46 (Haniszewska-Kandulski Duo)

I'm not asleep... but that doesn't mean I'm awake.  ~Author Unknown

piano: Carlos Márquez

Reflections

Dirk Maassen: Lullaby for the Sleepless

A set of 11 original piano nocturnes by pianist composer, Phil Best. 

Nocturnes are dark, melancholic virtual love songs full of pathos and longing. Each one feels like an intimate soliloquy about unrequited love, heartbreak and desire.

Inspired by Chopin's masterpieces of this genre, Phil explores a more contemporary approach, mixing in jazz, blues, pop and filmic elements.

Tchaikovsky - Nutcracker - Waltz of the flowers

Fiona Bechmann