Carl Reinecke was a brilliant piano virtuoso. He gave his first recital at the age of twelve; in 1843 at the age of nineteen he made his first concert tour of Denmark and Sweden; and in 1846 he was appointed pianist to the court in Copenhagen. In 1860 Reinecke accepted a position at the Leipzig Conservatory, teaching piano and composition; in 1897 he was appointed its director. Reinecke was also the chief conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, a position which he held for 35 years.

Reinecke was a prolific composer in many genres. He was the last major representative of the so-called «Leipzig school» which was founded by Mendelssohn and centered around the Leipzig Conservatory. While incorporating romantic trends into its music, the Leipzig school nevertheless rejected the most daring and radical manifestations of romanticism.

The works on this recording offer a remarkably succinct picture of Reinecke’s style. Tonbilder [tone poems] is a collection of twelve previous compositions in well-established genres. The attraction of the Kinder-Symphonie [children’s symphony] lies not only in the various rattles or the whistles employed but also with the «concert-puzzle» in the second movement. The late six-movement Serenade Op. 242 testifies not only to the evolution of the composer’s style, but also to his remarkable stability.

The Chamber Orchestra Kremlin has earned unanimous acclaim as one of the world’s leading string orchestras. A number of the orchestra’s 15 recordings for Claves Records have been distinguished with international awards. The ensemble of young musicians is led by Russian-American conductor Misha Rachlevsky.