Whenever the Bach family and their friends gathered there was music-making. This exquisite albums presents intimate chamber music (sonatas and trio sonatas) by JS and CPE Bach as well as Telemann (the father, son and godfather of the album title). Paradiso Musicale, featuring acclaimed recorder player Dan Lauren, plays with disarming freshness and invites you to join them for this 'at home' event.

Clarinetist Martin Frost is an intrepid adventurer who challenges conventional notions of how classical music should be presented. Together with the acclaimed Australian Chamber Orchestra, whose recording of Mozart Violin Concertos Vol 2 (BISSACD1755) was a 2011 ARIA Award finalist, he plays an impressive variety of music with stylish verve.

2 CDs for the price of 1! From the unique Capriccio Archive comes an all-star survey of Romantic and modern orchestral songs, including Mahler's Ruckert Lieder and Songs of a Wayfarer, Zemlinsky's Symphonic Songs Op 20, Schreker's Five Songs for Deep Voice, Wolf's Five Orchestral Songs and rarities by Wellesz and Bloch - all sung by outstanding singers.

Johann Friedrich Fasch helped lay the foundations of the Classical style of music. He delighted in exploring orchestral colour and thematic development, which later composers such as Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven brought to new heights as the Classical style in turn gave rise to Romanticism. Tempesta di Mare are renowned for their zestful and virtuosic interpretations. Volume 1 is available on CHAN0751.

First volume in a beautiful new series from Chandos. The Norwegian composer Johan Svendsen was a contemporay of Edvard Grieg and is best known for his Norwegian Rhapsodies. Open to the new musical trends launched by Berlioz, Liszt and Wagner, he also wrote a significant body of other joyful, lyrical and Romantic music from the pomp-and-ceremony of Festival Polinaise to the charming folkloricism of Ifgol gjett e gjeitin (When I Was Tending The Mountain Goats).

Seventh and final volume in Chandos' acclaimed Rachmaninov Series. His 'choral symphony' The Bells, the brooding cantata Spring and the poignant Three Russian Songs were recorded live at the 2011 Proms in London's Royal Albert Hall. 'The soloists soared, the choir bloomed, and Noseda powered the orchestra through thrilling climaxes' (The Guardian). Volumes 1-6 are also available (CHAN10442, CHAN10475, CHAN10544, CHAN10583,CHAN10589, CHAN10677).

Scintillating music by composers and poets from Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan and California, including Ann Boyd's iconic choral classic As I Crossed A Bridge Of Dreams and the world premiere recording of Ross Edwards' Sacred Kingfisher Psalms (2009), both sublimely spiritual Australian works. 'Everything Paul Hillier touches turns to choral gold' wrote The New York Times, and nowhere moreso than on this fascinating new album.

Halle Principal Oboist Stephane Rancourt is the soloist in Vaughan Williams' virtuosic Oboe Concerto which, beside his A London Symphony, was one of the composer's favourites among all his works. The Symphony vividly evokes the street cries, Cockney mouth-organs, Westminster chimes and ever-changing moods of the vibrant British capital city.

Ouvertures' or Orchestral Suites were among the most popular large-scale instrumental works of the Baroque Era. A grand French Overture introduces a series of dance movements in each of Bach's magnificent compositions, the third of which features the famous 'Air on a G String'.  In the 3rd and 4th Suites trumpets and timpani add a splendidly martial touch, while the 2nd Suite showcases solo flute.

Having completed his landmark recordings of Beethoven's Complete Piano Sonatas (HMX290190211), Piano Concertos (HMC90205355) and the Diabelli Variations (HMC902071), Paul Lewis returns to his other musical passion - the music of Franz Schubert - with these three late Piano Sonatas, Impromptus and Piano Pieces. Of his recent all-Schubert recital at the 92nd Street Y  in October this year, The New York Times praised ' the intimacy of his interpretations, the resigned melodies unfolding with a sorrowful glow...a warm, inviting sound and heartfelt commitment' of his subtle interpretations.

Hailed as 'one of the most accomplished Handel singers around' (Chicago Tribune) and praised for reaching 'the heart of the music' (The Times), young soprano Lucy Crowe combines a voice 'of great beauty, freshness and purity' (CT) with unerring musicianship and compelling theatricality. She is superbly accompanied by The English Concert, which also plays several sonatas on this highly enjoyable album.

Absolute unanimity of tone and complete command of the Classical style by the renowned Takacs Quartet (which has toured Australia to the highest acclaim on many ocassions) make this new recording a 'must have' on all counts. Haydn's astonishing elegance, lyricism and immense skill in fusing the profiound with his trademark wit abound in these chamber music masterpieces.

Best known for his organ music, Charles-Marie Widor also composed these two dazzling piano concertos which here receive their first recordings. The highly regarded performers respond with enthusiasm to Widor's imaginative French Romantic style. Hyperion's pathbreaking Romantic Piano Concerto series is returning countless forgotten classics to the rightful place in today's discography.

Recorded in Edvard Grieg's home town with his 'own' Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the ever-popular Piano Concerto in A minor receives an exciting and magesterial interpretation by Stephen Hough (who recently toured Australia). The almost superhuman virtuosic and lyrical demands of Franz Liszt's two piano concertos pose no threat to Hough's impeccable artistry.

Britain's star viola player' (The Times) Lawrence Power has often been compared with the pioneering violist Linel Tertis, for whom the three works on this disc were originally composed. The unabashed romanticism and pastoral elegance of Vaughan Williams' Flos Campi (Flowers of the Fields) and the rarely-heard Suite complement John McEwan's lush and melodious Viola concerto.

Following the resounding success of his Homage to Chopin (CDA67803), Jonathan Plowright is now the first artist to record the album of works written and published in homage to Polish pianist, composer and politician Jan Paderewski. With works by Bartok, Benjamin, Goossens, Milhaud, Britten, Chaminade, Wieniawski and others, this is an ear opening album of pianistic pleasures.

Naïve's Vivaldi Edition has become almost an addiction to lovers of The Red Priest's vivacious music. This second volume of his Bassoon Concertos is set to match the achievement of Volume 1 (OP30496) which gained an Echo Award, Diapason d'Or and Choc de Classica. Sergio Azzolini also joins oboist Hans Peter Westermann on Vivaldi Basson and Oboe Concertos (OP30379).

Soloist Laurent Korcia brings a shimmering intensity to Korngold's hyper-Romantic Violin Concerto and a controlled emotionalism to Tchaikovsky's much loved masterpiece. Prone to over-interpretation, these two works here benefit from the extraordinary collaboration between the solo instrument and the orchestra, subtley co-ordinated here by conductor Jean-Jacques Kantorow, himself also a violinist of note.

First in a new series of splendid recordings from The Gabrieli Consort. Rarely has this barn-storming, rule-breaking, super-sized monster of a masterpiece sounded so utterly coherent and convincing. From its softest choral whispers to its loudest bursts of braying period-instrument brass, Berlioz's Great Mass for the Dead resounds like the soundtrack to Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel fresco of The Last Judgement. This astonishing live concert recording involving some 400 performers is simply too good to miss - a revelation!

First commercial release of an absolute treasure! Recorded at the Abbey Road studios shortly after the 18-year old Maurizio Pollini won the Warsaw Chopin Competition, this album is a spine-tingling experience. Producer Peter Andry recalls: 'This was pianism of the very finest kind. Rarely had I heard such perfection.' The musicality and spontaneity of Pollini's interpretations are simply revelatory.

Live recording from the Vienna Musikverein. Ozawa is at his impishly most playful as he conducts this light-hearted concert which is broadcast to more than 50 countries worldwide. BONUS: Seiji Ozawa Picture Gallery, Vienna Opera Ballet, Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Dance of the Machines, Vienna 2002 - Art & Delights.

SOME WITH THE NEW EUROARTS AND IDEALE AUDIENCE CATALOGE The Berlin Philharmonic's annual Europa Concerts are 5-star events in the musical calendar. Filmed live at Lisbon's spectacular Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, this DVD brings out the best from the acclaimed artists. BONUS: A Portrait of Lisbon, Behind-the-scenes Picture Gallery.

Recorded between 1988 and 1990, Grammy Award-winning pianist Daniel Barenboim plays Mozart's complete piano sonatas with all the mastery which this beloved music demands. A rare treat for music lovers and an especially valuable document for pianists.

Founder choreographer of The Royal Ballet, Frederick Ashton created more than 100 ballets over his 60-year career. The three shorter works on this marvellous DVD demonstrate his sophisticated, elegant and widely popular style, and include music by Meyerbeer, Massenet, Tchaikovsky, Paganini, Brahms, Strauss, Tommasini and Stravinsky.

When this fascinating film was first released in Germany it was censored: 30 minutes were removed because they were deemed 'political', 'uncomfortable' and 'irrelevant'. Now restored to its complete form and approved by Placido Domingo, this DVD features Wagner's grandson Wolfgang who explains the meaning behind Parsifal and the first performance on film of Anna Nebtrnko.

Sigiswald Kuijken's highly personal interpretation of Bach's cantatas have gaine critical notice for their 'striking delicacy. His vocal soloists sing with disarming simplicity and ease in arias, and blend superbly in ensemble. A rare treat, Kuijken - and Bach - at their very best' (5 STARS, BBC Music Magazine on Vol 9 - ACC25309). On this recording, Vol 14, Kuijken and Co present four of Bach's beautiful Christmas Cantatas.

Christmas motets and highlights from cantatas by Bach family members, Johann Sebastian, Carl Philipp Emanuel, Johann Christoph Friedrich, Johann Christian and Wilhelm Friedemann. An enjoyable survey of seasonal music by a most productive musical dynasty.

Dame Felicty Lott and the Joyful Company of Singers serve up a rich Christmas feast, well spiced with favourite carols and readings by actor Gabriel Woolf. 'compiled with rare intelligence' (MusicWeb International). Includes music by Vaughan Williams, Victoria, Byrd, Leighton, Samuel, Reger, Cornelius, Barber, Guerrero, and many more.

Recorded in the Chapel of St John's College Cambridge in superb surround sound this album features music by Rutter, Rodney Bennett, Elizabeth Poston and Leighton, as well as a bumper selection of traditional favourites all performed by one of the world's best loved British choirs.

The Tallis Scholars, hailed as 'the rock stars of Renaissance music' (The New York Times), present the fifth in their multi-award-winning series of recordings of the complete Masses of Josquin des Pres. His Missa Beata Virgine, probably the most performed Mass setting of the entire Renaissance period, is paired with his early Missa Ave Maris Stella.

Inspired by the traditional servide of Nine Lessons and Carols given every Christmas Eve in England, this recording presents the Nativity story as told through chant, motets, 17th-century dialogues and carols. Paul Hillier has sourced and arranged a wonderful bouquet of music from Italian, German, Danish, English and American sources.

Set on Christmas Eve, Tchaikovsky's ever-popular ballet The Nutcracker is here presented complete in a stunning new recording. The Russian National Orchestra is recognised by Gramophone as one of today's top ten orchestras, while conductor Mikhail Pletnev domonstartes his warm-hearted affinity for this great Romantic music.

One of the world's most popular vocal ensembles, The King's Singers, mixes an eclectic assortment of modern Christmas classics with special arrangements of much-loved favourites. 'beautifully detailed…even the most familiar carols sound fresh' (Classic FM Magazine)

For almost 40 years, until earlier this year, Bambini di Praga (Children of Prague) toured the world winning the hearts of audiences. This Christmas album celebrates their remarkable achievement with an irresistable offering of seasonal music from Bohemia, England, Moravia, America, Poland, Germany, Spain and France.

Recorded live in Munich in 2010 with an especially colourful lighting design, this is a wonderful performance. The excellent line-up of soloists, the acclaimed Bavarian Radio Choir and the multi-award-winning Academy of Ancient Music Berlin are ably directed by Peter Dijkstra. The booklet inlcudes the libretto.

This new DVD follows Simon Russell Beale as he explores the history of Christmas music across two millennia, from parpyrus fragments preserving the earliest known pieces of Christian music to the stories behind some of today's most popular carols. The Sixteen also presents a special Christmas concert including some fo the works featured in the documentary.

WATCH THE SIXTEEN PERFORM 'IN DULCI JUBILO'

This new DVD, recorded at LSO St Luke's in London, ranges from the beautiful simplicity of Praetorius's Es Ist Ein Ros' Entsprungen to the mad capers of Gordon Langford's arrangement of Deck The Hall. Pure delight from start to finish, a stand-out Christmas show.

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