The Karlsruhe-based Josef Schelb (1894–1977) is one of the better-kept secrets of twentieth-century German music. His output was substantial: he lost most of his early music in a bombing raid in 1942, but – as if to make up for lost time – wrote some 150 more works after that. In the four chamber works recorded here Schelb’s contrapuntal mastery is given a bucolic twist under the influence of French Impressionism, the two traditions combining to invest these pieces with a freewheeling energy and downright sense of fun.

“attractively recorded and vigorously performed” – MusicWeb International, August 2017 (Schelb - Chamber Music with Clarinet, TOCC0358)

“All the performances here are well-recorded, stylish and alert. I enjoyed the music very much, and look forward, with eager anticipation, to the next volume. This constitutes an auspicious start to what promises to be compelling orchestral cycle.” – MusicWeb International, February 2018 (Schelb - Orchestral Music Vol.1, TOCC0426)

“all the soloists are admirable, as is conductor Jürgen Bruns, who delineates orchestral strands very adeptly and is clearly as in tune with the lyricism as well as the more harmonically advanced nature of Schelb’s compositional arsenal.” – MusicWeb International, September 2021 (Orchestral Music Vol.2, TOCC0604)