Passionate period-instrument performances of revolutionary masterpieces by the original young ‘rebel with a cause’: Ludwig van Beethoven! This wonderful album includes ballet music, arias, concert music and the complete Symphony No 1.

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Wind players from one of the world’s greatest orchestras in dazzling performances of virtuoso chamber music. From Anton Reicha's charming early-19th-century music to Martinu and Janacek's sparkling 20th-century masterpieces, this album is a delightful introduction to the wind ensemble repertoire.

The young Nury Guarnaschelli  is a world-renowned horn player, much admired by leading conductors such as Claudio Abbado. She plays delightful music from the Classical and early Romantic  periods - beautiful and highly enjoyable on all counts.

No singing, just sumptuous orchestral playing! A celebration of 'Holy German Art', Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg is the only comedy among Wagner's mature operas and contains some of his most rousing and nationalisitic music. This wonderful album also includes some rarely-heard music - Wagner's Faust Overture, Columbus Overture & Entreactes tragiques Nos 1 and 2. It's a great introduction to Wagner's world and an interesting alternative to the usual recordings of operatic highlights.

Arias by Handel, Purcell and Bach. 'Must have' collection of the very finest recordings by this outstanding singer. This unique 2-CD set survey's Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson's remarkable career. She could summon the deepest rage, sadness or joy in her performances to thrilling effect, bringing to life the greatest heroines of Baroque opera and oratorio.

Vivid a varied collection of English song sung by a leading young countertenor. ‘You are conscious of being in the presence of greatness.’ (The Guardian). Bejun Metha has an amazing voice, as rich and full as a mature female mezzo-soprano - think of Kathleen Ferrier or Marylin Horne, for instance - and sings these much-loved folksongs with extraordinary emotion and  finesse.

Eloquent singing  by ‘one of America’s leading vocal ensembles’ (International Record Review). Spirituals are the bedrock of American music - moving, expressive and much-loved by people of all ages and musical tastes. Theses Spirituals range from celebratory and defiant to heart-breaking and mournful.

Revelatory account of Schubert’s  posthumously-published song set by a partnership praised for its ‘exquisitely thoughtful and refined’ artistry (The Telegraph, UK). This is the third and final volume of Mark Padmore's  and Paul Lewis's Schubert Lieder series on Harmonia Mundi. Also available and highly praised albums from this accomplished duo: Winterreise (HMU907484), Die Schone Mullerin (HMU907519)

Quintessential Spanish piano music played by an acclaimed young Spanish pianist: ‘Perfection’ (Daily Telegraph), ‘Flawless art’ (El Mundo), ‘Stardom’ (Scherzo). Includes Nights in the Gardens of Spain, Four Spanish Pieces, Fantasia baetica, Le Tombeau du Claude Debussy, Pour le tombeau de Paul Dukas, Cancion, Noturno, Mazurka & Serenata andaluza.

Impressionism with a touch of jazz make Maurice Ravel’s music highly popular. This gorgeous album also includes Guillaume Lekeu's tremulously emotional violin sonata which was composed for the great violinist Eugene Ysaye. The two equally popular and hugely talented young performers are well known to Australian audiences.

The brilliant Leopold Trio  interprets this immortal work with sensitivity and vigour. Dmitry Sitkovetsy’s arrangement for string trio is a classic in its own right, quite different to Bach’s original version for harpsichord, which is a Baroque masterpiece without compare.

Three world premiere recordings feature on this scintillating album of Romantic  rarities in Hyperion’s acclaimed Romantic Piano Concertos series. Sommervell and Cowan may not be household names, but this album shows that their immediately appealing music deserves to be much better known.

2 CDs for the price of 1! Benchmark performances of very enjoyable Classical keyboard works by an outstanding pianist. Clementi's music is closer to that of Haydn or the early Beethoven than to that of Mozart and has only recently been rediscovered by modern music lovers. Well worth discovering for yourself.

Expect the highest standard of early music singing, immaculately polished and poised on this unusual album of sublime ceremonial music from the princely chapels of 15th-century England. The House of Lancaster was devoted to religious music, partly in order to strengthen their precarious position against their enemies, the House of York, during the famous Wars of the Roses. The booklet is beautifully illustrated with full-colour examples of the original illuminated manuscripts from which this music is drawn.

Final volume in Russian maestro Valery Gergiev’s highly acclaimed Mahler Symphonies recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra. 'Mahler's message is important for all time, for all people, for all centuries', says Gergiev. Also available:  Symphonies No 1 (LSO0663), No 2 (LSO066), No 3 (LSO0660), No 4 (LSO0662), No 5 (LSO0664), No 6 (LSO0038), No 7 (LSO0665), No 8 (LSO0669).

Disc of the Week - Daily Telegraph (UK) 6 August 2011: ‘Here is a Lucia to match Callas or Sutherland. Natalie Dessay’s light soprano gives a vivid impression of Lucia’s vulnerable personality. The Mad Scene is enthralling. Piotr Beczala is a gloriously virile Edgardo, and the Italian style of the Russian cast more than acceptable. With Valery Gergiev a surprisingly sensitive conductor, this is a top-rank recording of a marvellous opera’ This dramatic and highly satisfying recording of the original version uses glass harmonica instead of flute in the famous Mad Scene to truly uncanny effect! This new recording is sure to set the new benchmark for this popular bel canto operatic classic.

Handel’s genius as a theatrical composer shines throughout this superb collection of arias and duets from his oratorios. Two expert singers excel in this emotionally rewarding Baroque vocal repertoire, brilliantly accompanied by the renowned period-instrument ensemble Il Complesso Barocco under the sensitive direction of Alan Curtis.

World premiere recording of the original viola part for Harold in Italy that Berlioz composed for Paganini. The temperamental Italian virtuoso rejected the work but it has become a mainstay of the concert repertoire nonetheless! Paganini's own Sonata for viola and orchestra is a great companion piece.  Stunning young violist David Aaron Carpenter and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy are marvelous musical partners in this romantic repertoire.

This extraordinary story of the devilishly talented  violinist is ‘the best we have seen’ (Paganini Institute, Genoa). This outstanding documentary is a fascinating film about the man who made himself the most talked about, the most famous, the most successful, the richest and the most controversial classical soloist that the world of music has ever known. Paganini was the inspiration for Liszt, himself a self-made legend of 19th-century music.

FIVE CLASSIC OPERAS ON SIX DVDS AT AN EXTRAORDINARY PRICE
12 1/2 HOURS OF OPERA!
Puccini Gianni Schicchi - Alessandro Corbelli, Felicity Palmer, Marie McLaughlin, Massimo Giordano, Sally Matthews, Vladimir Jurowski (conductor), Annabel Arden (director)
View Trailer for Gianni Schicci
Donizetti L'elisir d'amore - Ekaterina Siurina, Peter Auty, Alfredo Daza, Luciano di Pasquale, Eliana Pretorian, Maurizio Benini (conductor), Annabel Arden (director)
Verdi Falstaff - Christopher Purves, Tassis Christoyannis, Dina Kuznetsova, Marie-Nicolre Lemieux, Jennifer Holloway, Bulent Bezduz, Adriana Kucerova, Vladimir Jurowski (conductor), Richard Jones (director)
View Trailer for Falstaff
Bizet Carmen - Anne Sofie von Otter, Marcus Haddock, Laurent Naouri, Lisa Milne, Philippe Jordan (conductor),  David McVicar (director)
View Trailer for Carmen
Rachmaninov The Miserly Knight - Sergei Leiferkus, Richard Berkeley-Steele, Maxim Mikhailov, Viacheslav Voynarovskiy, Albert Schagidullin, Vladimir Jurowski (conductor), Annabel Arden (director)
View Trailer for The Miserly Knight
London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Glyndebourne Chorus (L'elisir d'amore, Falstaff & Carmen)

The internationally famous Glyndebourne Festival brings together the world’s most acclaimed artists, conductors and directors excel in producing top-flight performances every year and this new collection offers the choice of five classic opera productions. Ideal box set for both the beginner and the opera connoisseur, a festival of delights!