This recording will be one of the milestones of the Chopin year! Published in the 'Cite de la Musique' series and played by Edna Stern on a famous Pleyel piano from the music museum's collection, it features a selection of Etudes, Waltzes, Preludes and Ballades.The instrument is a 'twin' to the one Chopin used from 1839 to 1841.

This release is a landmark recording in its approach to Froberger's harpischord works. The suites are performed on a legendary antique instrument, the Ioannes Couchet Harpischord, classified as a ‘national treasure’ by the French State and subsequently acquired in 2003 by the Musée de la Musique. Christophe Rousset, the harpsichord specialist  who performs on this remarkable disc, writes: 'Given that most of its workmanship is contemporary with the output of Froberger and Chambonnières (the latter owned a Couchet harpsichord), this is the ideal instrument for approaching the musical world of the second half of the seventeenth century and the early eighteenth century'.

The sigh of the beloved and the torment of the betrayed are themes at the heart of Haydn's dramatic cantata, Arianna a Naxos. In this superb period recording, Stephanie d’Oustrac and Aline Zylberajch explore a palette of sharp, intense emotions. This work can be said to foreshadow the forms and moods later evoked by Schubert.

A journey into the heart of German romanticism, through the musical and poetic universe of Chopin, whose bicentenary year we celebrate in 2010. Chopin specialist Edna Stern and Swiss cellist Ophelie Gaillard reveal a richly evocative  musical landscape in these arrangements for cello and piano from Chopin's oeuvre. Gaillard's popular Dreams album of arias arranged for cello was a recent ABC Classic FM CD of the Week.

Classically trained from the age of 7, composer and keyboard player Jon Lord was diverted for over 40 years with his involvement in the rock group Deep Purple, during which time he penned such rock anthems as 'Smoke on the Water' and 'Child in Time'. He returned to full-time classical composing in 2002 and five years later achieved great acclaim for his Durham Concerto (AV2145), which made the top 10 in the UK’s Classical Artist Chart. To Notice Such Things, the follow-up album to his first classical success, is a collection of four newly-recorded orchestral works featuring Jon himself on piano. The title work is a six-movement suite for solo flute, piano and string orchestra, making poignant tribute to Jon’s long time friend, the late John Mortimer, QC. Literary references abound, appropriately for Mortimer (the creator of hit TV series Rumpole of the Bailey). 'To Notice Such Things' is the last line of the Thomas Hardy poem Afterwards, which ends the album in a reading by Jeremy Irons.

Classical vocal quartet New York Polyphony struck a chord with their 2007 Avie debut, I Sing The Birth (AV2141). An intimate meditation on the Christmas season, it garnered unanimous praise on both sides of the pond. For Gramophone Magazine it was “one of the season's best”, and it was an Editor's Christmas Choice in BBC Music Magazine. For their second release, the all-male ensemble delivers its signature fusion of historically informed performances in a range of styles. Interspersed between sacred masterpieces of Tudor England are four new works by British-Norwegian composer Andrew Smith, adding a modern harmonic richness and complexity to the album. The result is a compelling synthesis of ancient and contemporary vocal music.

Pinturas de Tamayo is the result of American composer Steven Stucky’s encounter with the art of the Mexican painter Rufino Tamayo. Initially struck by the painting ‘The Great Galaxy’ – reproduced on the cover of this CD – he chose this and four other paintings as his points of departure for a five-movement suite, which although it is far from pictorial certainly offers as much colour and poetry as the paintings themselves. In Spirit Voices for percussion and orchestra, Stucky has instead explored mythical beings from around the world, including Coyote, the trickster god of the Navajo Indians, mountain goblins of Japanese folk culture, and the Scottish bean nighe, a female wraith portending death. Written for the performers on this disc, the score consists of seven movements in which the percussionist sometimes plays a soloistic role, and in others is integrated into the orchestra. Closing the disc is Stucky’s Second Concerto for Orchestra for which he received the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in Music.

In these five sonatas from the 1760s, the period prior to C.P.E. Bach’s departure from Frederick the Great’s court in Berlin, we find some of his most attractive writing. The fabulous landscapes and high drama of so many earlier works (such as the Württemberg Sonatas on volumes 16 and 17 of this series) are left behind, as are the lyrical intimacy and simplicity of the so-called ‘easy’ sonatas. Or rather: these qualities are incorporated in the ‘new’ style and a certain synthesis is achieved. The result is a style featuring Bach’s familiar energy and vivacity but with greater equilibrium. Miklós Spányi has acquired a reputation as a leading interpreter and firm advocate of this music that stands between the Baroque and the Classical period. He performs on C.P.E. Bach’s own favourite keyboard instrument, the clavichord. Spányi’s ground-breaking work in this series has been called ‘a major contribution to recorded keyboard literature’ in American Record Guide.

Jean Sibelius is known as a great symphonist but he was also a highly skilled and prolific miniaturist who produced short, often aphoristic pieces throughout his life. Although less well-known than his orchestral works, his output for the piano is extensive, and we can now present the second instalment of music for solo piano in the BIS Sibelius Edition. Its predecessor, released as Volume 4 of the edition, contained the piano music that Sibelius composed during his youth and in his national romantic period. The music on this second set was written between 1905 and 1931, and includes the Three Sonatinas, widely seen as some of Sibelius’s finest piano works, as well as the five pieces from the composer’s Op.75, commonly known as ‘The Trees’, alongside several world première recordings. For close to six hours of music we join pianist Folke Gräsbeck whose previous Sibelius piano volume has been described as 'nothing less than heroic' (American Record Guide).

Torleif Thedeen and Roland Pontinen made their first recording together almost 25 years ago and have continued to play together ever since, in recital and on disc. On this recording they turn to Johannes Brahms’ two cello sonatas, central works in the repertoire of all cellists and often on the programme when this particular team gives a recital. Brahms himself was an excellent pianist, and among the string instruments he felt a particular affinity with the cello. ‘Thedeen's playing is wonderfully expressive - focused, clean, beautifully voiced' (International Record Review), and this is ‘a duo of unusual expressive powers'.

Daniel Barenboim ranks as one of the greatest Mozart interpreters of the 20th century. Among his recordings of Mozart’s piano concertos, there have thus far been no releases with Rafael Kubelík – Barenboim’s deeply admired conductor and 'brother in spirit'. Both interpreters were united by the same musical approach, a striving for uncompromising clarity in phrasing and structure. The result is a vibrant, exemplary recording of two of Mozart’s most significant piano concertos. In 1970, the year the recording was made, Kubelík had already been Chief Conductor of the Bavarian Radio Orchestra for nine years and had led the ensemble to international renown.

Georg Friedrich Handel’s great oratorio Israel in Egypt is perhaps the most valuable gift the composer ever gave to choral music. The chorus functions as protagonist in this powerful work, which tells the Old Testament story of Exodus with dramatic intensity. The prize-winning period instrument ensemble Concerto Köln teams with the Chorus of the Bavarian Radio Orchestra on the latter orchestra's own label, BR Klassik. The strong individual characteristics of the vocal soloists combine impressively with chorus and orchestra for what is bound to be considered a definitive interpretation of the original three-part version of Israel in Egypt from 1739.

To the surprise of many, the harmonium is anything but an instrument of church. Invented by the French Alexander Debain who filed the patent in 1842, it was designed as a domestic instrument and was popular in chamber music at the time. It was used in many well known transcriptions of orchestral music to keyboard. At the time, the harmonium was not regarded as the novelty instrument it is seen as today; far from being a poor man's organ, it was considered rich in its expressive qualities and many prominent composers wrote for the instrument. In dialogue with other instruments or voices its distinvctive sound creates rich and full harmonies. This release seeks to rediscover a sadly forgotten instrument and its charming chamber reportoire.

Apart from Henry Purcell, there are few composers in the history of music who set the English language in such an inspired and sensitive manner. Dorothee Mields and the Lautten Compagney, conducted by Wolfgang Katschner, have assembled a number of songs on the theme of love in its various facets: the spectrum ranges from feelings of wild, joyful, ebullience to the plaintive, melancholy lament of love. Most of the titles on the CD are from the incidental music which Purcell wrote from 1680 to 1695 for theatrical plays which appeared on the stages of London

Described as 'The Queen of English Classical', here Felicity Lott, known as 'Flott' to her friends, performs a selection of lighter repertoire, from Cole Porter to Ivor Novello, Coward, Barber and Berlin. Well-known and loved the world over for her musicality, beautiful tone, effortless ascents into the upper register, and superb delivery, here Dame Felicity is expertly accompanied by Graham Johnson.

Opera is one of the great musical passions of Gianandrea Noseda, who has explored the art form to stunning effect with the BBC Philharmonic. In September 2009 he became Music Director at Teatro Regio in Turin, one of Europe’s leading opera houses. Here he presents Aleko, recorded following a highly acclaimed performance at the Stresa Festival with the Coro del Teatro Regio di Torino and the BBC Philharmonic. The all-Russian cast of soloists includes Sergey Murzaev (soloist with the Bolshoi Theatre), Evgeny Akimov and Nadezhda Vasilieva (both soloists with the Mariinsky Theatre Company), Gennady Bezzubenkov and the world-renowned soprano Svetla Vassileva. Sometimes referred to as Rachmaninov’s answer to Carmen, Aleko (adapted from The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin) was written in 1892 as a graduation work at the Moscow Conservatory and the composer's first opera. As a companion to his two later operas, Aleko reveals a young Rachmaninov finding his own individual style.

This disc is the fourth in a series devoted to Bowen’s solo piano music, and like the earlier issues it is made up of a wide range of different works, from relatively large-scale structures to quite short, almost miniature, pieces. Here are the delightful and beautifully articulate three-movement Sonatina of 1954 and the early Suite Mignonne (the Fourth Suite) and Third Suite, both composed shortly before Bowen volunteered to join the Scots Guards during World War I. Also included are the Three Novelettes, published in 1949, which exemplify much of the emotional mood of the music of this collection, besides the rare influence of Sibelius and Bax. The early Polonaise in F sharp is a very different study: clearly a thinly veiled homage to Chopin, it demonstrates Bowen’s skill in creating a large single piece within a stylised dance form. The album is completed by another early inspiration, the distinctively titled miniature A Whim.

For a generation and more of television watchers and filmgoers with even a passing interest in music, the name of the British composer Geoffrey Burgon is associated with a string of successful soundtrack scores: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, The Chronicles of Narnia and many others. His masterful score for Brideshead Revisited, described as ‘the greatest score ever written for television’, earned him an Ivor Novello Award. This offering gives listeners premiere recordings of Burgon’s viola and cello concertos, alongside the song cycle Merciless Beauty featuring the luminous voice of Sarah Connolly.

Symphony No. 5 is widely considered as the finest among the nine numbered symphonies of Anton Bruckner, and ranks among his most famous works. In their first recording on Chandos for almost ten years, the Residentie Orchestra The Hague performs the work under its chief conductor, Neeme Järvi, who has conducted the symphony with orchestras across the globe, and is recognised as one of its key interpreters.

In the finale to Series One of the Sacred Music programme (COR16078), Simon Russell Beale presents a special concert for Easter from LSO St Luke's Church, London, performed by the award-winning choir The Sixteen, conducted by founder Harry Christophers. The music takes us on a journey of over six hundred years, from meditative plainchant through to the celebrated music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Highlights include Palestrina's motet Assumpta Est Maria, and Allegri's Miserere, for which the choir is world-famous.

Buxtehude’s cantata cycle, Membra Jesu Nostri, is a totally unique work in the canon. Based on texts from a medieval Latin hymn, ‘Salve mundi salutare’, the cycle contains seven cantatas each dedicated to a different part of Christ’s crucified body. The texts are based on the concept of an observer contemplating Christ’s body on the cross starting with his feet and moving up to his knees, hands, side, breast, heart and finally his head. Buxtehude plays cleverly with musical colours and textures and changes the mixture of voices and instruments to dramatic effect as the work develops. Harry Christophers and The Sixteen are joined by some fine soloists on this disc including Carolyn Sampson, Robin Blaze and James Gilchrist.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra celebrates Pierre Boulez’s 85th birthday with a true rarity: a recording of Igor Stravinsky’s complete ballet Pulcinella. Showcasing a stripped-down CSO and three endearing young vocal soloists, Boulez’s clean aesthetic brings this neoclassical masterpiece to life. Also included are Stravinsky’s brash Symphony in Three Movements and jaunty Four Études, which demonstrate the orchestra’s astonishing variety of colours. Boulez is currently the CSO’s Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus, having held the Principal Guest Conductor title since 1995. The tightly knit scores on this album are united by the intense focus of Boulez and the CSO, and stand as documents of his fruitful years in Chicago. 'Any recording of Boulez conducting Stravinsky is worth acquiring and this, one of his emblematic neoclassical works by the Chacago Symphony, with its distinctively brilliant brass and wind, is no exception' -Sydney Morning Herald

ARS NOVA Copenhagen and Paul Hillier here present the third recording in a series devoted to the narrative works (Historia) of Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672). The Danish vocal ensemble thus celebrate Denmark’s proud connection with this German master who was appointed Kapellmeister to King Christian IV and worked at the Danish court for two periods over the course of eleven years. The cover illustrations show reliefs in beaten metal by Karl Schmidt-Rott luff (1884-1976), a member of the Die Brucke group founded in 1905 in Dresden – a city with which Schütz himself was closely associated.
Watch the mini-documentary about this recording.

What happens when first-class cinema music for 1920s silent movies is lifted out of its context and recorded by a promising young pianist? Hear a cavalcade of well-wrought waltzes, tangos and two suites of 'cinema music' by Jacob Gade, the composer who became world-famous for his Tango Jalousie.

The most influential classical guitarist of the 20th century, Andres Segovia brought his instrument from flamenco and traditional gypsy music to the concert halls. Many of the works included in this beautifully presented 4-CD boxed set were composed specially for him. Segovia was also a prodigious transcriber of baroque and classical works for guitar, and this series presnts him performing works from J.S. and C.P.E. Bach, Purcell and Haydn, to Spanish and Latin American contemporaries Albéniz and Villa-Lobos.

The great French baritone Gerard Souzay is renowned for his penetrating musical insight, beautifully formed tone, superb diction and impressive stage presence. He created a new modern sound a new mode of expressiveness in Lieder singing. Souzay was equally successful in singing Lied, French art song and opera. This boxed set collector's edition of 4 CDs captures the essence of Gerard Souzay as a masterful interpreter of songs by Duparc, Fauré, Debussy, Ravel, Schumann, Schubert and more.

This beautifully packaged collector's boxed set presents an illuminating range of concerts Canadian maverick Glenn Gould recorded over his extensive career as a virtuoso pianist. The complete Goldberg Variations and Beethoven Piano Concertos and solo works are offered alongside Gould's groundbreaking performances of Berg and Schoenberg. A comprehensive survey of the legendary pianist's most divinely accomplished work.

Bernstein left an indelible mark on the modern school of conducting, bringing a greater level of physicality and showmanship to the role. His riveting intensity and idiomatic interpretations of the great classical masterworks are shown to great effect in these recordings of Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 'From the New World', Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 'Pathetique', Brahms' Symphony No. 4 in E minor, and many more indispensible performances.

Hailed as the finest violinist of the twentieth century, Yehudi Menuhin has inspired musicians all over the world throughout a long and distinguished career. This beautifully presented boxed collector's edition of 4 CDs features performances of concertos by Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Saint-Saёns, recorded between 1936 and 1953.

Victoria's nine Lamentations contain some of his most intense, mystical and moving music. Victoria clearly intended his nine Laments to be heard as an overall musical experience which, however effective across three days of liturgy, makes them ideal for a recording. As they proceed the number of voices gradually increases, with the final ‘Jerusalem' section always expanding the scoring, so that there is a crescendo not only within each Lament but within each set of three, and then over the nine. By the time we reach the eight-voice section, which is partly for double choir, the vocal effects are deeply impressive. So join The Tallis Scholars on a journey through some of the most unusual and complex works of the Renaissance.

This recording from La Venexiana unearths the passions first stirred with the arrival of one of the most dazzling masterworks of Baroque musical theatre: L’incoronazione di Poppea. For a long time attributed only to the exceptional talents of Claudio Monteverdi, today this opera is increasingly thought to be the result of the combined contributions of various composers over a period of time, among them Francesco Cavalli, Benedetto Ferrari and Francesco Sacrati. Following a recent acclaimed La Venexiana staged production, Glossa and the ensemble of Claudio Cavina present a highly-charged reading of the art of Monteverdi and his heritage, as transmitted by him and through the composers that followed him – an art which created, enlivened and ultimately completely changed the musical world of their times. La Vanexiana won a Gramophone for their previous Monteverdi opera recording, L'Orfeo (GCD920913).

20 years after the Orchestra of the 18th Century’s first engagement on tour with Bach’s Mass in B minor - a work which has for so long captivated the inquiring mind and interpretative insight of Frans Brüggen - a new tour was conceived to provide a fresh view of the piece. Setting down a recorded performance during tours has always been key to this orchestra’s process and last year the opportunity was taken at an exciting concert in Warsaw: a city and a country with whom director and orchestra have long and treasured memories. Accompanying the CD set is a booklet essay from David Vickers which provides a scholarly and insightful account of the social and musical background to the composition of the individual parts of a piece whose unity has provided the world with one of its greatest works of musical art. This new recording is more than a 20th anniversary celebration, reflecting as it does Frans Brüggen’s lifelong desire to understand and project the work of J.S. Bach.

In 1917 the Ballets Russes had a great success with a tableau by Goldoni: The Good Humored Ladies,with music by Domenico Scarlatti arranged by the contemporary Italian composer Vincenzo Tommasini. Diaghilev now requested a similar work from Stravinsky. Selecting the music of Pergolesi, Stravinsky constructed his score from fragments of unfinished works to form Pulcinella, based on a collection of stories documenting the amorous adventures of this character from the commedia dell'arte. Stravinsky’s youthful orchestral showpiece, Feu d'artifice was composed as a wedding present for Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's daughter, and hearing it prompted Diaghilev to commission Stravinsky for the work that would become The Firebird.Ravel's La Valse was commissioned by the impresario only to be rejected - it has nonetheless become one of the best-loved concert works of the 20th century.

The lyric charm of these two lamenting trios is all-encompassing of Romantic Russian chamber music, and is reflected in the empathy of the performances by this outstanding Russian trio. Glinka's Trio was originally scored for clarinet, bassoon and piano, but—especially in Russia—the music is more often heard in this version. The original use of wind instruments may have led Glinka to encapsulate the work into four relatively brief movements; in any event, the Trio is beautifully composed and proportioned. It is prefaced in the score by a quotation in French which can be translated as 'I have known love only through the unhappiness it causes'—the consequence of a series of unsuccessful love affairs. Tchaikovsky's heartbreak was the untimely death of Nikolai Rubinstein in 1881 aged only 45, and soon after he composed his only Piano Trio in his dear friend's memory. Elegiac throughout reflecting markings in the score such as piangendo (weeping), both this trio and Glinka's are perhaps musical manifestations of the saying: 'When a Russian is sad, he is very sad: when a Russian is very sad, then he is at his very best.'

'What a breath of fresh air! Played as they should be and never have been 'til now. This recording is a complete delight, a small pattering of allegros and adagios that purr as happily as a spring rain' -The Magic Flute, USA

'Delightful ... played with vivacity and finesse' -Gramophone

Isabelle Faust has gone back to the original manuscript sources to offer us her version of a masterpiece of the violin repertoire. In Bach’s time, music for solo instruments was still little explored territory, and his sonatas, partitas and suites immediately established themselves as a benchmark, technically challenging and brimming with creativity.

Star lutenist Paul O’Dette turns his focus to Marco dall’Aquila, a composer of remarkable individuality and creativity. In the lute’s transition from late-medieval style into fully formed Renaissance idiom, Marco was a pivotal figure and his trademark style brisé influenced the development of instrumental music for the next 200 years. O'Dette had intended to record in a church in the composer's hometown, L'Aquila, but an earthquake devastated the area and many of the beautiful medieval villages that surround the city. As a result, the album was made in the Castello church in a nearby town, with a reverberant acoustic that lends a special air of historical presence to the sound. The recording is dedicated to the victims of the earthquake.

Reflection celebrates 500 years of music-making in the English Parish Church. Over the centuries, on a daily basis, music has played an enormous role in enhancing the experience of Christian worship. The legacy is a vast body of music in many different styles to be enjoyed by Christians and non-Christians alike. Reflection focuses on those works of great beauty which provide spiritual nourishment and a place of sanctuary from today’s busy lives. Reflection features familiar composers such as Byrd, Tallis, Bach, Mozart and Elgar giving over an hour’s music to sooth the soul. The music is performed by the UK’s finest mixed choir, The Choir of Clare College Cambridge, directed by Timothy Brown.

Although well known and highly regarded in his lifetime and in the years following his death in 1596, the music of Philippe Rogier is largely known through one motet alone, Laboravi in gemitu meo. But there is much to explore in this genuinely underrated composer. Rogier was one of a long line of Flemish composers who worked at the Spanish court. The high regard that the musically astute Philip II held for Rogier was not misplaced, because he is one of the most fascinating and rewarding composers of the late sixteenth century: extraordinarily versatile, capable of plumbing the emotional depths in his penitential works (of which there are many) as well as exalting the heights in his festive music. The main work on this disc includes the parody mass Missa Ego sum qui sum, based on a motet by Gombert. It must rank as one of the finest settings of the Mass ordinary of the late sixteenth century, dazzling in its invention and sheer beauty. The much admired choir of King’s College London and their director David Trendell appear in their Hyperion debut.

The Choir of Westminster Abbey under their inspirational director James O’Donnell delve into the Abbey’s vaults for this latest fascinating disc. The triumphant mood of the Restoration required much glorious liturgical music, and the Abbey was home to some of the greatest composers and performers of the age. This recording presents music likely to have been sung by—and in some cases, almost certain to have been written for—the Choir of Westminster Abbey during the late 1670s and early 1680s. They sing four canticles from the compendious Service in B flat by Henry Purcell, together with psalmody in reconstructed contemporary style, and anthems and motets by Purcell and his contemporary John Blow, who famously both preceded and succeeded Purcell as Organist of the Abbey.

A second disc of Stravinsky’s ballet music from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Ilan Volkov, this time featuring the composer’s fascinating recreation of the music of Tchaikovsky. Stravinsky’s advocation of the—then unfashionable—music of Tchaikovsky was well-known. In 1928, Stravinsky was commissioned by Ida Rubinstein to compose a ballet for her company’s season which was based on music by Tchaikovsky. The result—The Fairy’s Kiss—is a complex and highly original masterpiece. As a whole the outcome is wonderfully disconcerting, and brilliantly challenges our perhaps too comfortable way of listening to late Romantic music. Scenes de ballet is in its way another ‘recreation’—a ballet ‘after Giselle’ written for performance on Broadway in 1944.

Hagai Shaham and Arnon Erez have been enthusiastically acclaimed for their dazzling duo performances: their infectiously relaxed bravado and continual flexibility belying their impeccable ensemble. For their latest disc they turn to two composers who are seminal figures in the development of Eastern European music during the early twentieth century. Dohnányi was one of the pivotal figures in Hungary’s musical life. This recording includes his most overtly folk-influenced work, Ruralia hungarica and his Romanza, arranged for violin and piano by Jascha Heifetz. In the first days of World War I Hungary was invaded by the Russian army. This portentous event provided the creative spark for Leoš Janácek’s only surviving violin sonata. Other works by Janácek heard in this recital include early pieces from his student years, and an arrangement of the delicate mood study ‘A blown-away Leaf’ from the celebrated piano work On an Overgrown Path.

Newly appointed as the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor after just one appearance with the ensemble, Yannick Nézet-Séguin came to London in April 2009 to conduct Brahms’s profound German Requiem. He presided over a performance of rare reflection and inevitability at the Royal Festival Hall that prompted an extraordinary silence from a capacity audience. In the young Canadian’s hands, Brahms’s uplifting choral masterpiece is marked by astutely judged tempi, emphasising the drama and the moment and drawing in and immersing the listener into this live concert recording. Nézet-Séguin has been a favourite with Sydney Symphony audiences.

Frederic Chopin’s Polonaise Brillante, Op. 3, is one of the few pieces this composer ever wrote for an instrument besides piano. Penned when he was only 19 years old, in the autumn of 1829, Chopin had fallen head over heels for a young woman in Warsaw. Unfortunately for Chopin, the love was unrequited. Chopin's father, in hopes of easing Chopin's heartbreak took his son on a week-long trip to visit the estate of Prince Radziwill, who had two beautiful young daughters, one of whom was a pianist. The Polonaise Brillante was composed for her to practise with her cello-playing father. Chopin wrote later to a friend that it was merely a salon piece to be enjoyed casually and that he had written it in a manner so as to show off the young Wanda's pretty fingers. However, he must have held it in high regard, for he included it on a concert tour in 1830, dedicating it to the renowned cellist Joseph Merk. Trio Chausson deftly navigate the listener through this wonderful selection of Chopin chamber music for the composer's bicentenary year.

Conductor Philippe Jordan writes: 'It is no accident that Strauss’s Alpine Symphony was on the programme of my very first concert as music director of the Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Paris: this musical transposition of a day spent among the mountain peaks depicts the start of a journey. And that was exactly the feeling I had as I prepared for the concert, the feeling that this was a first time. This grandiose work sums up the whole art of Western orchestral music; we could have chosen it as a culmination, but we preferred to make it a point of departure, and I am delighted with the audacity and enthusiasm we shared with the orchestra. I am very glad that this initial document recorded in public, a spontaneous account of our first encounter, is being released by Naïve.'

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach said of his father, Johann Sebastian, ‘he played the violin cleanly and penetratingly...He understood to perfection the possibilities of all stringed instruments. This is demonstrated by his solos for the violin and for the violoncello without bass’. It is demonstrated, indeed, by the Six Sonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin, which are presented on the present compact disc in a stunning performance by Sergey Khachatryan. The works illustrate well Bach’s lifelong habit of focusing on a specific musical genre for a specific period of time and exploring its compositional possibilities in an exhaustive way. Once he produced a set of unparalleled pieces, he moved on to other types of music, never again to return to the examined genre. Watch Khachatryan perform the C Major Sonata (BWV1005) on YouTube.

The composer writes regarding this release: 'In the early 1990s, I wanted to get away from the running times of between ten and twenty minutes that are invariably associated with commissions for orchestra. Since no one was offering me commissions to produce longer symphonic forms, I decided to bide my time. I dreamt of an extended, complex form comprising seven autonomous episodes regenerating themselves from within, fertilising other possibilities, and proliferating on the interstices left open by the preceding fluxes. The cycle of seven solos for that large solo instrument constituted by the orchestra started in 1991 with Go and ended in 2008 with Uncut, premiered at the Cité de la Musique in Paris on 27 March 2009. Over all these years, my path has been strewn with many other compositions, all of which have disgorged material into this cycle. The reverse is also true. Bits of ‘this’ found themselves ‘there’, scraps of ‘that’ spilled over ‘here’, constantly metamorphosing the overall make-up of the cycle.' - Pascal Dusapin

Over two-and-a-half decades, Pascal Dusapin has established his position as one of the most individual voices on today’s musical scene. He is a powerful personality, and his extensive catalogue has by now reached more than a hundred works, ranging from small solo pieces to full-scale operas, with a great deal of chamber music including seven masterly string quartets, and an orchestral output defining his position as one of today’s master symphonists. Australian concert-goers will be familiar with his work from the groundbreaking performance of his opera Medea at the Melbourne International Arts Festival 2009.

This opera, which marks the end of the apogee of Vivaldi’s first Venetian period, has come down to us without the music to Act II. Adopting a practice that was common in Vivaldi’s day, Alessandrini has reconstructed the missing music using already-existing pieces by Vivaldi very carefully chosen with the help of the musicologist Frédéric Delaméa. A very successful restoration, enabling us to discover a new work by the brilliant Venetian composer, presented here with an all-star Italian cast.

A period-instrument ensemble praised for its historically precise performances of Classical works, Quatuor Mosaïques was founded 25 years ago by members of the prestigious Concentus Musicus Vienna. After several award-winning Haydn releases, they now take on Schubert's towering monument of string quartet genre with its iconic theme, Death and the Maiden, alongside his earlier Quartet in G Minor D173. 'Quartet playing does not come any more eloquent or richly imagined than this'—Daily Telegraph (London)

Celebrated soprano Karita Mattila has proved herself to be irresistible in any musical genre! This compilation couples live performances of some of the world’s best-loved opera arias together with the Finnish diva’s unique interpretations of songs from Broadway musicals and the Great American Songbook, including two previously unreleased tracks from her earlier Fever album. Karita Mattila is the biggest Finnish star on the international stage of classical music. She has been named by Musical America the 'most electrifying actress of our day (who) drives the public into frenzies' during her New York Met performances. This release marks her 50th birthday in 2010, coinciding with Ondine’s 25th anniversary.

This new recording by The Philadelphia Orchestra and Christoph Eschenbach features a unique coupling of Tchaikovsky’s most popular orchestral pieces with two rarely recorded brass quintets by Victor Ewald, performed by the Orchestra’s outstanding brass principals. Romeo and Juliet is Tchaikovsky’s first acknowledged masterpiece and today one of the most popular orchestral compositions ever written. The swirling orchestral mastery of Francesca da Rimini makes for a true showpiece for the Orchestra with its legendary 'Philadelphia Sound'. The Mozart-like String Serenade remains one of the most beloved of all works for string orchestra. Both Peter Tchaikovsky and Victor Ewald were active composers in St. Petersburg's musical life during the same time and familiar with each other’s work. Esteemed by all lovers of brass music, Ewald’s Quintets are imbued with romantic Russian national feeling. This is the ninth CD to be released under the 'formidable Ondine-Eschenbach-Philadelphia partnership' (Gramophone).

This new recording features Rachmaninov’s 1910 setting of the Eastern Orthodox Church’s Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom. This a capella choral music was judged by contemporary church officials as '…absolutely wonderful, even too beautiful… it is not church music'. Today, the work is regarded as one of the great cornerstones of 20th-century sacred music. One of the foremost Slavic choruses in the world, the Latvian Radio Choir under Sigvards Kļava delivers a highly authentic performance; this may well become the new reference recording of this work. Audiophiles owning a SACD player will be stunned by the surround effect of this CD/SACD hybrid recording.

Adrianne Pieczonka's diary for the next few months makes it clear that this soprano, long celebrated for her Wagner and Strauss roles across the world, is now also in international demand for the Italian repertoire. She is singing Tosca in San Francisco, Desdemona in Munich, and Amelia, Simon Boccanegra, at the Met alongside Placido Domingo. None of which should be a surprise as she is one of the finest exponents of bel canto singing today. Pieczonka's foray into Puccini roles takes us from his debut Le Villi to the late Turandot. She can offer with ease the dramatic power necessary for the title roles of Madama Butterfly or Tosca, yet she still remains true to the lyrical ideal, whether in Lauretta's 'O mio babbino caro' or the soulful phrases of Mimi or Liu that are so beloved of the public.Tosca's prayer has become an acknowledged highpoint in her repertoire, a role for which she famously borrowed the jewellery of Maria Callas.

This is the 21st album on Pentatone by Mikhail Pletnev's acclaimed Russian National Orchestra, which specialises in the thrilling music of its motherland. Here, they play suites of four and five movements each from Rimsky-Korsakov's operas. This disc has been highly praised and awarder 9/10 on ClassicsToday.com:  'the music is gorgeously tuneful and atmospheric, the orchestration amazing, the playing excellent, the sonics vibrant...An irresistible disc, then, that would grace any collection'.

Described by The Times as a group that has 'stayed in character over four decades, yet returned itself to the times' and by Gramophone as 'enchanting the ear from first to last note' The King’s Singers are truly remarkable. They continue to be one of the most sought-after and critcally acclaimed vocal ensembles in the world, performing a rich and varied repertoire from Gesualso to György Ligeti and Michael Bublé. With a discography of over 100 recordings The King’s Singers have garnered both awards and significant critical acclaim. Their recent studio album Simple Gifts was awarded a Grammy in 2009. The coming year will see the release in the UK of The King’s Singers new album Swimming Over London, a disc that crosses genre borders in a way similar to Simple Gifts, using smooth jazz as the inspiration for new pieces and arrangements with the King’s Singers signature style and standards.

Cheerful dances and songs from all over Europe of the middle ages and early renaissance. From bear dances to Spanish songs, from brawls to revels, here is a happy, cheery album of dynamic medieval music recorded using instruments and performing techniques of the period.

An album of music for a special day. Use this lovely collection of organ music for church weddings to make personal choices for your own celebration - and listen to it afterwards as an atmospheric reminder of a unique moment in your life. From Bach to Wagner, there's something to suit everybody. Inside the booklet there's plenty of advice on how to choose music to suit your mood and style and to make sure that another important element of your special day can be just that bit more memorable. 

Quiet and contemplative music spanning four centuries, from the calm lute of the sixteenth century to the rich harmonies of the nineteenth, in a programme of some of the most profound music ever written. Long Adagios contrast with a series of short but moving pieces. Music by JS Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Mahler and others.

Virtuoso sounds from the King of Instruments! Famous toccatas by Bach and Widor frame an album of fast and furious organ music interspersed with gentle melodies from great organists of the past. Martin Souter presents the magnificent organ of Winchester cathedral in a thrilling sonic spectacular.

'The Piano Forte often talks of you; - in various keys, tunes and expressions I allow - but be it Lesson or Country dance, Sonata or Waltz, You are really its constant theme.' (From a letter by Jane Austen to Caroline Austen, 1817.) A further selection from Jane Austen's music library plus other popular piano pieces of the day played on a variety of fine pianos of the period.

Some twenty years ago, when he discovered by chance the music of Carlo Gesualdo, David Chevallier became entranced by the complexity of the counterpoint and the harmonic framework pioneered by the 'murderous composer', as rich as it is unpredictable. He began to incorporate these Renaissance ideas into his own formal experiments in the realm of modern-day jazz. With Gesualdo Variations he brings these two worlds together: to the pristine, at times anguished vocals of madrigals, jazz instrumentalists contribute improvisations and exchanges. These juxtaposed creative forces, far from constituting a collage, result in a highly original and meticulously blended project for fans of the previous ZigZag jazz/classical fusion, Bach-Coltrane (ZZT080101).

Two timeless stories of love, honour, justice and violence, captured on just one DVD – a highlight for every opera lover. Pietro Mascagni‘s Cavalleria rusticana and Ruggero Leoncavallo‘s Pagliacci speak to one‘s heart and soul. They are regarded as the most absorbing tragedies of Italian verismo music theatre. Adultery, jealousy and betrayal lead to the passionate conflicts that connect both operas. As a special guest the Argentinian Tenor José Cura stands out with his riveting performance. He is joined by Soprano Paoletta Marrocu with her expressive interpretation of Santuzza, Carlo Guelfi as Tonio and Fiorenza Cedolins as Nedda can convince the audience with their great voices. This atmospheric production was filmed at the Zurich Opera House in 2009.

Franz Schubert’s song cycle Winterreise was written late in his life. It is regarded both as a highlight of the genre and as the touchstone by which lieder singers are judged. It certainly became one of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau’s calling cards and it is probably this work that made the baritone an international household name. In this recording made for the Sender Freies Berlin in January 1979, we see two of the leading musicians of their day in the prime of their lives and at the very peak of their art. Both the experienced Schubert lieder singer and the Austrian pianist Alfred Brendel, known throughout the world for his authoritative interpretations of Schubert’s piano music – had performed Winterreise together frequently between 1975 and 1989. Coupled with a performance of Schubert's Die Schöne Mullerin from the 1991 Feldkirch Schubertiade, two years before Fischer-Dieskau announced his retirement.

This production of Verdi’s ever-popular, melodic opera was filmed in Busseto, near Parma, close to the composer’s home and birthplace. The story of the opera concerns the plight of Violetta, the mid-19th century Parisian courtesan who is dying of consumption. She responds to the ardent love of the young Alfredo but sacrifices him when his father, Giorgio, pleads that their love will ruin his daughter’s happiness and his son’s career. Leaving the musicality of the opera to conductor Plácido Domingo, Franco Zeffirelli is here concerned with a natural expression of Verdi’s opera – and Alexander Dumas’ story. Thus Zeffirelli directs the set designs, lighting, costumes as well as the acting. Zeffirelli’s La Traviata is a feast for the eyes and Domingo draws first class performances from his orchestra, chorus and cast.

Few conductors have made a greater contribution to our presentday understanding of Bruckner than Günter Wand (1912-2002). His readings of the composer‘s symphonies invariably concentrated on their timbre and hence their spirit. During the great final phase of his career, documented here, Wand devoted himself increasingly to Bruckner‘s works and his interpretations became more and more free, revealing both heartfelt emotion and musical intelligence. In this television recording of Bruckner’s Symphony No.8, Günter Wand and his inimitable style of conducting are captured in a particularly impressive way. These films of his concerts at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, from 1987 onwards, can truly be regarded as Günter Wand‘s legacy to the NDR Symphony Orchestra, his orchestra for almost 20 years, on which his mark is felt even today.

Few conductors have made a greater contribution to our present day understanding of Bruckner than Günter Wand (1912-2002). His readings of the composer‘s symphonies invariably concentrated on their timbre and hence, their spirit. During the great final phase of his career, documented here, Wand devoted himself increasingly to Bruckner‘s works and his interpretations became more and more free, revealing both heartfelt emotion and musical intelligence. He developed trademark fidelity towards Bruckner, which led to insightful readings of his works. Wherever possible Wand returned to the versions representing most clearly the composer‘s intentions - be it the origingal or scrupulously restored versions. In the television recording of Bruckner’s Symphony No.6, Günter Wand and his inimitable style of conducting are brought back to life in a particularly impressive way. These films of his concerts are at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, from 1987 onwards, can truly be regarded as Günter Wand‘s legacy to the NDR Sinfonieorchester, his orchestra for almost 20 years, on which his mark is felt even today.

Within Germany, Weimar means a town in the state of Thuringia saturated with the 'Deutsche Kultur' of the Weimarer Klassik, the legendary Bauhaus, and finally the life and work of Franz Liszt and his son-in-law Richard Wagner. In Weimar Richard Wagner began composing the first part of his Ring cycle, Das Rheingold. In 2008 the Weimar National Theatre launched a new production of the tetralogy. The conductor is Carl St.Clair, a former student of Leonard Bernstein. With Michael Schulz’s fine and highly intelligent staging this new Ring production becomes an outstanding document of contemporary opera theatre.

This is the first time this work has been released in the sumptuous Blu Ray Format (701804). This production of The Gambler (based on the novel by Dostoyevsky) was staged in 2009 by young up-and-coming director Dmitri Tcherniakov, who has worked at the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theatres, Opera de Bastille and La Scala. World-renowned pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim brings Prokofiev's daring and powerful score vividly to life.

Maestro Christian Thielemann gives one of his most powerful performances of Bruckner's two most popular works. Thielemann is a conductor admired above all as a specialist of Romantic music and a highly acclaimed Bayreuth Wagner Ring. With this formidable experience he enlivens and dazzles viewers in this fabulous recording. 'Under Christian Thielemann's guidance, the Munich Philharmonic sounds terrific.' - New York Times. 'Christian Thielemann is the most gifted German conductor.' - Financial Times

The archival gems included here are taken from footage for the legendary 1948 Hollywood film Concert Magic (the first ever concert filmed for movie audiences). At nearly 25 minutes, the Mendelssohn Concerto was originally too long for inclusion in the film, so although it is Menuhin’s only filmed performance of the work it has only recently been discovered. The encore pieces that follow are superb documents of his seemingly effortless virtuosity. These performances by the 32-year-old Yehudi Menuhin show him at the height of his career. Pianist Adolph Baller and the Symphony Orchestra of Hollywood conducted by Antal Dorati joined the violinist at the Charlie Chaplin Studios in 1947. Two features show Menuhin in interview in 1997 commenting on his playing technique, the origins of the film and candid memories of the time.

Pierre Boulez has already left an indelible imprint on the international music scene, not only as a composer and conductor but also as a music philosopher and teacher. This documentary, a homage on the occasion of his 85th birthday, shows his invaluable nurturing of young musicians as they come together during the summer for intensive rehearsal weeks. Adopting the perspective both of Pierre Boulez and of the students, the film conveys an infectious enthusiasm for contemporary music, a determination to do it justice, and a wonderful insight into the legacy that Boulez passes on to the next generation.

Acclaimed Italian conductor Maurizio Benini makes his Glyndebourne debut in Donizetti’s intoxicating and deeply touching opera, whose fast-moving comic story unfolds the romantic rivalry between penniless farmhand and bumptious soldier, both vying for the love of Adina. Will the bogus Dr Dulcamara’s potion – the elixir of love – help farmhand Nemorino win her heart? Peter Auty takes the role of Nemorino with Ekaterina Siurina as Adina.

Miyako Yoshida dances the title role originally created for Margot Fonteyn in the hauntingly beautiful underwater world of Ondine, vividly brought to life by The Royal Ballet. Frederick Ashton’s shimmering choreography, Lila de Nobili’s impressionistic designs and Hans Werner Henze’s specially commissioned, vibrant and inventive score, memorably combine to evoke the many moods and colours of the sea.

Ever since the world premiere of Parsifal at Bayreuth on 26th July 1882, the meaning of Richard Wagner’s last opera has been widely discussed. Nikolaus Lehnhoff’s visionary staging of this emotionally charged opera reveals a masterpiece of existential drama about human existence. Christopher Ventris and Waltraud Meier lead an inspired cast in a high definition recording in true surround sound.