Hölderlinfenster is a monumental two hour song cycle setting the famous German Romantic poet Friedrich Hölderlin (250th anniversary this year). He lived in a tower on the Neckar river for 35 years after suffering from mental illness, cared for by a poem-loving shoemaker. People came to visit him rather as they did Beethoven, as a living icon. The Nicaraguan/British composer Geoffrey Álvarez writes music that is tonal but with a heavy polytonal colouration - a sort of "lyrical dissonance". There is great beauty and drama here, always feeling solidly within a Lieder tradition. The soprano, April Fredrick won widespread acclaim as the lead in John Joubert's opera "Jane Eyre". Alessandro Viale is in increasing demand as solo pianist, accompanist and Baroque harpsichordist, with many CDs to his