July New Releases

Postal Address: PO Box 691, Brookvale NSW 2099 | Phone: 02 9948 1811| Fax: 02 9948 5085 | Email: orders@savd.com.au

NAXOS CD OF THE MONTH | 8557991 | CD | 747313299126
GRIEG
SYMPHONY IN C MINOR, OLD NORWEGIAN ROMANCE WITH VARIATIONS
Malmo Symphony Orchestra, Bjarte Engeset (conductor)

2007 is the 100th Anniversary Year of Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Great performance of Grieg’s youthful Symphony
Founded in 1925, the Malmo Symphony Orchestra is a highly regarded orchestra with many fine recordings
Conductor Bjarte Engeset studied with Seiji Ozawa, Gustav Meier, Simon Rattle, Marek Janowski and others

GRIEG'S 'FORBIDDEN' SYMPHONY The 20-year-old Grieg’s Symphony in C minor - of which the composer himself wrote, on the score, ‘must never be performed’ - with its links to Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann and the Danish composer Niels Gade, is a remarkably assured work filled with positive, youthful energy, and many fresh musical ideas. The popular orchestral suite Three Orchestral Pieces from ‘Sigurd Jorsalfar’ Op 56, derived from the incidental music of the same name, was often taken by Grieg on his concert tours abroad. The concluding Homage March, a symphonic poem in itself, develops into a brilliant, almost barbaric festive march.

NAXOS | 8557613 | CD | 747313261321
DVORAK: SONATINA IN G MAJOR 100
ORR: A CARMEN FANTASY, DANZI: DON GIOVANNI VARIATIONS
Maria Kliegel (cello), Nina Tichman (piano)

Stravidarius’s beautiful ‘Ex Genrdon’ cello played by Maria Kliegel is named after the famous French cellist Maurice Gendron
This disc features both popular and appealing yet rarely-heard works
Maria Kliegel has a large, critically-acclaimed discography on Naxos

VIRTUOSO CELLO SHOWPIECES Maria Kliegel is one of the leading cello virtuosi of our time. She plays the legendary 'Ex Gendron' cello made by Stradivarius in 1693. For more than thirty years it was owned by Maurice Gendron and was eventually placed at her disposal by the Stiftung fur Kunst und Kultur in North Rhine Westphalia. Nina Tichman is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where she was awarded the Eduard-Steuermann-Prize for outstanding musical achievement. This beautiful new release also includes Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Figaro Variations from Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Cassado's Lamento de Boabdil, and Dvorak's Rondo in G minor Op 94 and Silent Woods (From the Bohemian Forest No 5).

NAXOS | 857011011 | CD2 | 747313011070
KORNGOLD
THE SEA HAWK & DECEPTION
Irina Romishevskaya (soprano), Alexander Zagorinsky (cello), Moscow Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, William Stromberg (conductor)

After ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’ (Naxos 8225268), ‘The Sea Hawke’ has been the most requested Korngold score by film music aficionados
Often compared to Mozart, Korngold was one of the most gifted composing child-prodigies in musical history
His film and concert music is enjoying an enormous resurgence in interest – it is passionate, melodious and richly orchestrated

FIRST COMPLETE RECORDING OF THE SCORE for the 1940 classic film 'The Sea Hawk' - newly recorded and including music omitted from the final release version of the film. In addition, also for the first time, the complete Korngold score to the 1946 Bette Davis drama, 'Deception', includes Korngold’s Cello Concerto as presented in the film rather than the concert hall version. This 2-CD set also includes the original trailer music for both films. Score restoration by John Morgan. Includes a 24-page booklet written by Korngold authorities Brendan Carroll, Rudy Behlmer and John Morgan.

ARTHAUS DVD OF THE MONTH | K100075 | DVD | 807280007596
BEETHOVEN
FIDELIO
Gabriela Benackova, Josef Protschka, Neill Archer, Marie McLaughlin, Robert Lloyd, Monte Pederson, Hans Tschammer, Lynton Atkinson, Mark Beesley, Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Christoph von Dohnanyi (conductor)

Beethoven’s only opera has tremendous dramatic power in this great Covent Garden production
Star soprano Gabriela Benackova has worked with leading conductors, including Abbado, Mackerras, Neumann, Rilling & Sawallish
Adolf Dresen’s production conveys Beethoven’s theme - the triumph of love and freedom over the forces of evil and oppression - with a natural, unadorned simplicity

1991 RECORDING OF ACCLAIMED PRODUCTION 'Those in search of a thoroughly teutonic Fidelio should speed to Covent Garden. The new production, comes via the Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels. It moves swiftly and surely, is powerfully cast and is conducted with fine muscular authority by Christoph von Dohnanyi.' (The Times) NTSC format.

CHANDOS CD OF THE MONTH | CHAN0743 | CD | 095115074329
FLAMING ROSE
HANDEL: ARIAS & TRIO SONATAS
Julianne Baird (soprano), Tempesta di Mare

The entire Chandos range is now available through Select Audio-Visual Distribution (other new release titles also feature in this Newsletter)
‘Baird makes an impressive case for authenticity in Baroque music by simply singing so beautifully.’ (The Washington Times)
Philadelphia-based Baroque orchestra and chamber ensemble, Tempesta di Mare, is becoming known for its dramatic power

HANDEL IN PEAK FORM American soprano 'Julianne Baird is a vocal phenomenon…a rare and wondrous voice guided by an extraordinary musical intelligence.' (Fanfare) 'The players of Tempesta di Mare supply a lovely, understated accompaniment that is historically informed but without any ornamental gimmickry.' (American Record Guide) This new release also features Handel's Trio Sonatas in B minor Op 2 No 1and in F major Op 2 No 4.

HARMONIA MUNDI CD OF THE MONTH | HMX2951693 | CD | 794881835829
ROSSINI:STABAT MATER
WITH MUSIQUE D'ABORD CATALOGUE
Krassimira Stoyanova (soprano), Petra Lang (mezzo-soprano), Bruce Fowler (tenor), Daniel Borowski (bass), RIAS Chamber Choir, Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin, Marcus Creed (conductor)

All-stops-out operatic-style Rossini sacred masterpiece in its definitive version
Includes the famous movement ‘Inflammatus’ for soprano and choir
Conductor Marcus Creed is perfectly in tune with the expressive requirements of this thrilling work

SIMPLY STUNNING RECORDING Rossini's setting of the Latin poem on the suffering of Mary at the foot of the Cross is one of his most powerful non-operatic works, vividly portraying the holy mother's emotions in a highly dramatic style that prefigured Verdi and provoked a commotion when it was premiered in 1833. The soloists fully meet Rossini's considerable vocal demands and Creed marshalls his forces to thrilling effect in this recording of Rossini's definitive 1838 revision of the original score.

HYPERION CD OF THE MONTH | CDA67627 | CD | 034571176277
HANDEL
NINE GERMAN ARIAS & OBOE SONATAS IN F & B-FLAT MAJOR & C MINOR
Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Alexandra Bellamy (oboe), The King's Consort

'Carolyn Sampson, now the best British early music soprano by quite some distance' (Gramophone)
The King’s Consort has more than 90 recordings to its credit with sales in excess of 1 million, and is critically acclaimed the world over
‘Carolyn Sampson comes across spectacularly well on disc…The ensemble consists of Jonathan Cohen on cello, Lynda Sayce on theorbo and Robert King on harpsichord and chamber organ, with outstanding violin accompaniment for the arias by Stephanie-Marie Degand. The oboe solo is beautifully played by Alexandra Bellamy throughout the sonatas. ‘ (MusicOMH.com)

JOYOUS & PROFOUND Carolyn Sampson's ravishing, silvery tones shine in her interpretation of Handel's Nine German Arias, which set sacred poems by his contemporary Barthold Heinrich Brockes. Expressive, articulate melodies for soprano and violin solo help to achieve great expressive effects. The three Oboe Sonatas provide delightful counterparts to the arias.

MICHAEL NYMAN CD OF THE MONTH | MNRCD107 | CD | 5060099970054
NYMAN
THE PIANO
The Michael Nyman Band

Spectacularly successful film and best-selling soundtrack
FURTHER MICHAEL NYMAN TITLES are listed in the Classical CD & SACD section

MULTI-MILLION SELLING TITLE Michael Nyman's score for Jane Campion's 1993 film The Piano is one of the most successful film soundtracks of all time. The soundtrack CD of the film became a multi-million seller, while the concert suite also became a staple of the band's concert repertoire and has been performed all over the world with the composer taking the roles of pianist and conductor.

NAÏVE CD OF THE MONTH | V5097 | CD | 822186050972
CLASSIQUE & ZEN
PEACEFUL MUSIC BY VIVALDI, SCHUBERT, MOZART, MAHLER, CHOPIN, DEBUSSY, HAHN, MONTEVERDI, RAVEL, BACH & BEETHOVEN
Philippe Jaroussky (countertenor), Ensemble Matheus, Jean-Christophe Spinosi (conductor), Anne Gastinel (cello), Claire Desert (piano), Noel Lee (piano), Marie-Nicole Lemieux (contralto), Daniel Blumenthal (piano), Ensemble Kapsberger, Rolf Lislevand (dir

Beautiful compilation of serene and sublime music from the 18th, 19th & 20th centuries
Top-selling artists, including Philippe Jaroussky (who performs in Australia during July) and Hopkinson Smith (who visited Australia in March)
Naïve recordings are imaginatively programmed, superbly engineered and beautifully packaged

MORE THAN AN HOUR OF BLISS This disc presents best-loved works by famous composers, including the Larghetto from Mozart's Clarinet Quintet, the Adagio from his Piano Concerto No 23, transcriptions of Schubert songs, arias from Vivaldi operas, the Adagietto from Mahler's 5th Symphony transcribed for voices, with beautiful piano works by Debussy, Beethoven, Chopin and Ravel, specially selected to create a tranquil mood - in all, 70 minutes of great classics.

WORLD VILLAGE CD OF THE MONTH | WV468070 | CD | 713746807023
GYPSY CARAVAN
MUSIC FROM & INSPIRED BY THE FILM 'WHEN THE ROAD BENDS/GYPSY CARAVAN'
Taraf de Haidouks, Fanfare Ciocarlia, Maharaja, Antonio el Pipa Flamenco Co., Esma Redzepova

‘A groundswell of attention for Gypsy music has built slowly over the last few years. Ethnomusicologists have always been fascinated by Roma, but the public has only recently caught the fever.’ (rootsworld.com)
Features Esma Redzepova, one of the candidates for the Peace Nobel Prize for 2002, whose 40-year career has made her a superstar. Her album Gypsy Carpet (WN495116) is also available.
Fanfare Ciocarlia won the BBC3 World Music Award 2006

YOU CANNOT WALK STRAIGHT WHEN THE ROAD BENDS Here is the glorious soundtrack with more than 20 songs from a film celebration of the Gypsy life. With leading performers from India, Spain, Macedonia and Romania, this has been described as 'The Buena Vista Social Club for Gypsy music. It captures the spirit of an amazing musical culture and the heart of the musicians and singers who express it.' (Cinematic Intelligence Agency). 'Across the globe, Gypsy music rears its melodious head...featuring fierce fans of the form (including Johnny Depp), the film is a gorgeous surround-sound celebration of misery and oppression turned into music.' (Vancouver Film Fest)

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naxos

	NAXOS \| 855531213 \| CD2 \| 747313531226 MONTEVERDI MADRIGALS BOOK 6 Delitiae Musicae, Marco Longhini (conductor)
FOND FAREWELLS Monteverdi’s 6th Book of Madrigals, conceived as his final contribution to the 'old style' of vocal writing, contains two particular masterpieces: the Sestina, a heartrending tribute to his wife, who had died in 1607, and the Lamento d’Arianna. The 1623 solo version of the Lamento is also on this album, as well as twelve rarely performed madrigals published between 1593-1634.

	NAXOS \| 8557374 \| CD \| 747313237425 BERG: STRING QUARTET & LYRIC SUITE WOLF: ITALIAN SERENADE New Zealand String Quartet
PASSIONATE MUSICAL AFFAIRS Alban Berg’s String Quartet of 1910 is both a graduation exercise and the composer’s first extended foray into atonality, while the highly expressive Lyric Suite was inspired by his love-affair with the wife of a family friend. Hugo Wolf’s Italian Serenade is a lighthearted piece later orchestrated as the first movement of a larger suite.

	NAXOS \| 8557508 \| CD \| 747313250820 STRAVINSKY VIOLIN CONCERTO, THE STAR-FACED ONE, SYMPHONIES OF WIND INSTRUMENTS & THE RITE OF SPRING Jennifer Frautschi (violin), Philharmonia Orchestra, St Luke's Orchestra, Twentieth Century Classics Ensemble, Gregg Smith Singers, Robert Craft (conductor)
125th ANNIVERSARY ALBUM This new recording of the 1967 edition of The Rite of Spring is released in celebration of the 125th anniversary of Stravinsky's birth. The Violin Concerto is widely considered his most perfect orchestral work. The Symphonies of Wind Instruments was the last of his pre-neoclassic creations. The Star-Faced One was dedicated to Debussy.

	NAXOS \| 8557695 \| CD \| 747313269525 CLEMENTI EARLY FORTEPIANO SONATAS VOL 2 Susan Alexander-Max (fortepiano)
EXPRESSIVE KEYBOARD SONATAS Famous throughout his lifetime as both a composer and virtuoso performer, Clementi wrote more than a hundred immensely popular and influential keyboard sonatas. Those on this CD, composed in the early 1780s, have a strong emotional impact, with their cantabile legato lines and exciting use of octaves, fortissimos and sforzandos.

	NAXOS \| 8557818 \| CD \| 747313281824 RICHTER GRANDES SYMPHONIES VOL 1 Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, Aapo Hakkinen (conductor)
CLASSICAL SYMPHONIES Dating from 1744, Franz Xavier Richter's first set of Grandes Symphonies comprises Nos 63 in B flat major, 40 in F major, 13 in C minor, 34 in F major, 36 in F major and 64 in B flat major. He was choirmaster of Strasburg cathedral, a colleague of Johann Stamitz and a follower of the dramatic Mannheim School of composition.

	NAXOS \| 8557848 \| CD \| 747313284825 BUSONI VIOLIN SONATAS NOS 1 & 2, BAGATELLES Joseph Lin (violin), Benjamin Loeb (piano)
LYRICAL CHAMBER MUSIC Ferruccio Busoni composed the majority of his chamber works between 1878-90, when he was fast emerging as a formidable pianist of the younger generation. The Violin Sonatas are strikingly assured works, in the second of which the composer found his true voice. The Four Bagatelles draw on popular German melodies.

	NAXOS \| 8557902 \| CD \| 747313290222 MORENO TORROBA GUITAR MUSIC VOL 1 Ana Vidovic (guitar)
'FIRST PRIZE WINNER OF THE TARREGA COMPETITION in Spain in 1998 at the age of 18 was Croatian guitarist Ana Vidovic. To comment on an international competition winner's technique seems a bit unnecessary - of course it's fabulous.' (American Record Guide) This CD presents Castillos de Espana (Castles of Spain), Las Puertas de Madrid (Gates of Madrid), Preludio, Vieja Leyenda and Jaranera.

NAXOS | 8557904 | CD | 747313290420
LISZT
VERDI OPERA TRANSCRIPTIONS
Alexandre Dossin (piano)

LISZT PAYS TRIBUTE TO VERDI Liszt's concert paraphrases are more than mere transcriptions, offering a re-interpretation based on thematic material drawn from their sources. Rigoletto Paraphrase de Concert, Aida Danza Sacra e Duetto Final, Il Trovatore Miserere, I Lombardi Salve Maria de Jerusalem, Don Carlos Coro di Festa e Marcia Funebre, Reminiscences de Boccanegra and Ernani Paraphrase de Concert.

	NAXOS \| 8559305 \| CD \| 636943930526 PORTER STRING QUARTETS NOS 1-4 Ives Quartet
AFFIRMATIVE & ASSURED American composer Quincy Porter, a contemporary of Roger Sessions, Howard Hanson and Roy Harris, played a significant role in shaping and directing American musical culture in the mid-20th century. His music is by turns highly chromatic, neo-classical, folk-inflected and characterised by his gift for melody and powerful rhythmic sense.

	NAXOS \| 8559314 \| CD \| 636943931424 CLASSIC AMERICAN LOVE SONGS BY ARLEN, GERSHWIN, WEILL & SCHWARTZ Carole Farley (soprano), John Constable (piano)
SOME OF THE GREATEST AMERICAN LOVE SONGS EVER WRITTEN 'It was exhilarating to find unknown songs by Kurt Weill, and record them for the first time...As Thomas Z Shepard indicates in his notes, “these songs, created from the 1920s through the 1950s, represent the quintessential sophistication and elegance of an idealized world”' (Carole Farley)

	NAXOS \| 8559320 \| CD \| 636943932025 GOTTSCHALK COMPLETE ORCHESTRAL WORKS Soloists, Hot Springs Music Festival Symphony Orchestra, Richard Rosenberg (conductor)
FROM THE SUNNY SOUTH Louis Moreau Gottschalk was one of the most colourful characters in American music. Dubbed ‘the Chopin of the Creoles’, he was the first to capture the syncopated music of South Louisiana and the Caribbean in works that anticipate ragtime and jazz by half a century. Includes the world premiere recording of La Casa del Joven Enrique.

	NAXOS \| 8559321 \| CD \| 636943932124 WUORINEN TASHI, PERCUSSION QUARTET, FORTUNE New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, The Group for Contemporary Music
VIRTUOSIC MODERN MUSIC Wuorinen has a profound desire to engage with the listener, and essential to this engagement is a spirit of adventure and fun. Both Tashi and Fortune were written for the ensemble Tashi. He seems especially in his element when writing for percussion instruments, as demonstrated here by the rhythmically exciting Percussion Quartet.

	NAXOS \| 8559342 \| CD \| 636943934227 BERGER STRING QUARTET WORKS Livia Sohn (violon), St Lawrence String Quartet
SOPHISTICATED MUSIC AT PLAY Jonathan Berger, Associate Professor of Music at Stanford University, has said 'I enjoy golf, because similar to music, you can never master it. I guess I like limitless challenges.' St Lawrence String Quartet has toured Australia to critical acclaim for Musica Viva. This CD presents Eli Eli, Sink or Swim, Miracles and Mud, for amos & Doubles.

	NAXOS \| 8570026 \| CD \| 747313002672 TURINA PIANO MUSIC VOL 4 Jordi Maso (piano)
SPANISH PIANO MUSIC Multi-award-winner Jordi Maso is piano professor at the Granollers Conservatory and at the High Music School of Catalonia, and features on many Naxos recordings. This new CD in Naxos' Complete Turina Piano Music series features Ninerias (Petite Suite) Series 1 Op 21 & Series 2 Op 56, Miniaturas Op 52 and Jardin de ninos (Jardins d'enfants) Op 63.

	NAXOS \| 857013941 \| CD3 \| 747313013975 BYRD MY LADY NEVELLS BOOKE (COMPLETE) Elizabeth Farr (harpsichord)
GREAT KEYBOARD COLLECTION William Byrd was undoubtedly the greatest English composer of the Elizabethan era. My Ladye Nevells Booke contains 42 keyboard pieces, six not found in any other manuscript or collection. It includes grounds (variations on a bass pattern or melody), variation sets, dance pieces, contrapuntal works and battaglia medleys.

	NAXOS \| 8570259 \| CD \| 747313025978 BLOCH FOUR EPISODES, TWO POEMS, CONCERTINO & SUITE MODALE Noam Buchman (flute), Yuri Gandelsman (viola), Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Members, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Atlas Camerata Orchestra, Dalia Atlas (conductor)
AN INDIVIDUAL COMPOSER Many of Ernest Bloch's most characteristic compositions draw inspiration from his Jewish heritage, although his music sometimes also has a neo-classical aspect. The diverse works on this disc showcase some of his lesser-known compositions for chamber orchestra and date from various times in his long and fruitful career.

	NAXOS \| 8570292 \| CD \| 747313029273 SOLER HARPSICHORD SONATAS VOL 13 Gilbert Rowland (harpsichord)
VIVACIOUS SPANISH KEYBOARD MUSIC A student of Domencio Scarlatti, Antonio Soler is principally known for his 120 or so keyboard sonatas, which feature typical Spanish rhythms and turns of phrase. Gilbert Rowland's many recordings of works by Soler, Fischer and Scarlatti recordings have received considerable acclaim from the musical press.

	NAXOS \| 8570347 \| CD \| 747313034772 BEATA MOON PIANO WORKS Beata Moon (piano)
MEET BEATA MOON Korean-American Beata Moon creates completely idiomatic music informed by a wide view of music history. In her Piano Sonata, she maintains a characteristic buoyancy, while Submerged recalls the pyrotechnics of Scriabin. In Transit is a short suite of delightful miniatures about New York City. This CD is a fine introduction to her piano compositions.

	NAXOS \| 8570352 \| CD \| 747313035274 HOWELLS SIR PATRICK SPENS & HYMNUS PARADISI Soloists, Bach Choir, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, David Hill (conductor)
MUSIC OF CONSOLATION Herbert Howells was one of the finest English composers of church music. Sir Patrick Spens, his first large-scale choral work, received only one known performance until this recording. Hymnus Paradisi was composed under heart-breaking circumstances following the death of his son. Howells’ command of choral and orchestral polyphony is masterly.

	NAXOS \| 8570401 \| CD \| 747313034970 HINDEMITH/BERG/HARTMANN: PIANO SONATAS SCHOENBERG: 3 PIANO PIECES Allison Brewster Franzetti (piano)
CONVINCING ADVOCACY A multiple Grammy nominee, pianist Allison Brewster Franzetti has received international acclaim from critics and audiences alike for her stunning virtuosity and musicality, both as a soloist and chamber musician. On this disc she presents seldom heard 20th-century masterpieces with elegant proficiency, crystal clarity and great enthusiasm.

	NAXOS \| 8570410 \| CD \| 747313041077 SS WESLEY ORGAN WORKS Jamie McVinnie (organ0
A TOWERING FIGURE Son of the organist Samuel and grandson of Charles Wesley, Samuel Sebastian held various positions as organist in English cathedrals. His organ music, inevitably influenced by J S Bach, after whom he had been christened, and by Mendelssohn, paved the way for the late 19th- and early 20th-century revival of organ music.

NAXOS | 8570414 | CD | 747313041473
FINZI
YOUNG MAN'S EXHORTATION, TILL EARTH OUTWEARS, OH FAIR TO SEE
John Mark Ainsley (tenor), Iain Burnside (piano)

PRECIOUS DREAMS Gerald Finzi made an unrivalled contribution to British 20th-century song, especially in his settings of Thomas Hardy, his favourite poet. This 3rd and final volume of Finzi songs includes two Hardy settings, A Young Man’s Exhortation and Till Earth Outwears.The posthumously published Oh Fair To See draws on various authors, from Christina Rossetti to Blunden and Bridges. Vols 1 & 2 on Naxos 8557644 & 8557963.

	NAXOS \| 8570506 \| CD \| 747313050673 BRIAN SYMPHONY NO 2 & FESTIVAL FANFARE Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Tony Rowe (conductor)
HIGH MUSICAL DRAMA While his 1st Symphony, The Gothic, had confronted the challenge of the post-Beethovenian choral symphony, his 2nd was Havergal Brian's first serious essay in the classical four-movement form, expanded through the Romantic aesthetic and modified by the impact of Wagnerian music-drama. The Festival Fanfare is his only extant composition for brass ensemble.

	NAXOS \| 8570600 \| CD \| 747313060078 SI CONG MA VIOLIN & PIANO MUSIC Hsiao-Mei Ku (violin), Ning Lu (piano)
CHINESE CHAMBER MUSIC Born in Southern China, Si Cong Ma studied in France, held important musical posts in the People's Republic of China and also worked in the USA. This CD presents Dragon Lantern Dance, Mountain Song, Madrigal, Suiyuan Suite (Inner Mongolia Suite), Lullaby, Lantern Festival Dance, Amei Suite, Rondo No 1 & Tone Poem of Tibet.

	NAXOS \| 866901415 \| CD2 \| 730099691420 HARTKE THE GREATER GOOD Soloists, Glimmerglass Opera Orchestra, Stewart Robertson (conductor)
WORLD PREMIERE Commissioned by Glimmerglass Opera, The Greater Good is a strikingly original composition based on a short story by Maupassant set in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War. With sure-footed dramatic pacing, its astute use of different musical techniques and musical styles portray the characters in a variety of moods and situations.

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	AMBROISIE \| AM127 \| CD2 \| 822186001271 DESMAREST VENUS AND ADONIS Karine Deshayes (mezzo-soprano), Anna-Maria Panzarella (soprano), Ingrid Perruche (soprano), Sebastien Droy (tenor), Henk Neven (baritone), Jean Teitgen (bass), Anders J Dahlin (countertenor), Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset (conductor)
WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING Between the death of Lully and the rise of Rameau, French Baroque opera thrived with a host of lesser-known composers including Henry Desmarest, who continued the great tradition founded by the Sun King's favourite composer with major works such as Venus and Adonis. This live recording has the sound quality of a studio-made CD and features an enthusiastic, talented cast.

	BIS \| BISCD1466 \| CD \| 7318590014660 SIBELIUS STRING QUARTETS Tempera Quartet
STRING QUARTETS BY A GREAT SYMPHONIST This CD includes the world premiere recording of the preliminary ending of the famous Quartet in D minor 'Voces intimae', as well as the Quartet in B-flat major Op 4, Adagio in D minor and Andante Festivo of 1922. The Tempera Quartet has been praised for its 'great beauty and surprisingly clasical balance' (Classica-Repertoire).

	BIS \| BISCD1555 \| CD \| 7318590015551 ARIOSTI STOCKHOLM SONATAS VOL 2 Thomas Georgi (viola d'amore), Lucas Harris (archlute, baroque guitar), Mime Yamahiro Brinkmann (cello)
THE AMOROUS VIOLA The manuscripts of Attilio Ariosti's Sonatas Nos 8-14 preserved in Stockholm are the basis of this truly delightful recording, the second in BIS's ongoing series. Vol 1 (BISCD1535) received critical acclaim - 'beautiful, well-shaped and authentically-aware performances' (MusicWeb International) - and Vol 3 will present the remaining sonatas from the Stockholm collection.

BIS | BISCD1629 | CD | 7318590016299
BUTTERFLIES & ILLUSIONS
GRIEG'S LYRIC PIECES ON THE ACCORDION
Mie Miki (accordion)

REFRESHING APPROACH TO GRIEG Mie Miki has chosen 24 of her favourite miniatures from Grieg's Lyric Pieces, as well as Anitra's Dance and The Death of Ase from Peer Gynt, and interpreted them on her own instrument, giving these lovely works a new life. 'Here I myself become the butterfly and regard the landscape from a butterfly's perspective,' she says. 'On the piano just the opposite would be true.'

BIS | BISSACD1339 | SACD | 7318599913391
PULKKIS
ENCHANTED GARDEN
Jaakko Kuusisto (violin), Sharon Bezaly (flute), Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Susanna Malkki (conductor)

NEW MUSIC FROM FINLAND Born in 1975, the prize-winning Finnish composer Uljas Pulkkis is already hot property. His Enchanted Garden (2000) is 'a musical fairy-tale' set during the course of a single day. The Flute Concerto (2001) was compsoed for acclaimed soloist Sharon Bezaly, while Symphonic Dali (2002) comprises three paintings for orchestra: The Colossus of Rhodes, Shades of Night Descending and Dawn.

BIS | BISSACD1572 | SACD | 7318599915722
BEETHOVEN
PIANO WORKS VOL 5
Ronald Brautigam (fortepiano)

OUTSTANDING BEETHOVEN SONATA CYCLE Few series of Beethoven's Piano Sonatas have met with such unanimous acclaim as Brautigam's: 'a stylistic paradigm shift' (Fanfare), 'another milestone in his discography and in the history of Beethoven interpretation' (klassik.com). Vol 5 presents the Sonatas No 16 Op 31 No 1, No 17 Op 31 No 2 'The Storm', and No 18 Op 31 No 3, relatively serene works from a period of emotional turmoil for the composer.

	BLACK BOX MUSIC \| BBM1108 \| CD \| 680125110824 MELLITS PARANOID CHEESE Mellits Consort
THE ULTIMATE IN CONTEMPORARY COOL Quirky contemporary American composer, Marc Mellits, a pupil of Steve Reich, was influenced as much by rock and dance music as by Reich and Glass, and all are on display here! Mellit’s music crosses many boundaries and appeals to contemporary classical audiences and lovers of trance, dance, chill-out and electronica.

	CHANDOS \| CHAN10431X \| CD \| 095115143124 KORNGOLD SONGS OF FAREWELL OP 14 & SYMPHONY IN F-SHARP MAJOR OP 40 Linda Finnie (contralto), BBC Philharmonic, Sir Edward Downes (conductor)
GRAMOPHONE CRITIC'S CHOICE Korngold's rarely-heard Symphony in F-sharp major is a work of real imaginative power and ranks alongside the major symphonic works of Mahler and Bruckner; with a powerful and deeply felt slow movement of grandiose character. His four orchestral Songs of Farewell recall those of Richard Strauss, Mahler and Zemlinsky.

	CHANDOS \| CHAN10432X \| CD \| 095115143223 KORNGOLD SURSUM CORDA OP 13 & SINFONIETTA OP 5 BBC Philharmonic, Matthias Bamert (conductor)
GRAMOPHONE EDITOR'S CHOICE Bamert's interpretations of these compelling examples of Korngold's early orchestral works were well received by critics on their original release: 'beautiful, sensitive and sympathetic, never overstated but always full-blooded' (BBC Music Magazine) 'The Chandos recording is altogether superb' (Penguin Guide - 3 STARS)

	CHANDOS \| CHAN10433X \| CD \| 095115143322 KORNGOLD MILITARY MARCH, CELLO CONCERTO OP 37, SYMPHONIC SERENADE FOR STRING ORCHESTRA OP 39 & PIANO CONCERTO IN C-SHARP (FOR LEFT HAND) OP 17 Peter Dixon (cello), Howard Shelley (piano), BBC Philharmonic, Matthias Bamert (conductor)
INVENTIVE & ELOQUENT Four works from different periods of Korngold's career, including the Cello Concerto (adapted from the film score of Deception), which Peter Dixon performs with elegance and lyrical understatement. Shelley's performance in the Piano Concerto has a radiant panache. 'First-rate playing and opulent, well-balanced recording.' (Penguin Guide - 3 STARS)

	CHANDOS \| CHAN10434X \| CD \| 095115143421 KORNGOLD SCHAUSPEIL OVERTURE OP 4, SEVEN FAIRYTALE PICTURES OP 3, EXCERPTS FROM VIOLANTA OP 8 & THE SNOWMAN BBC Philharmonic, Matthias Bamert (conductor)
YOUTHFUL KORNGOLD WORKS When this disc was originally released it presented the premiere recording of The Seven Fairytale Pictures. Together with the other three albums, it is being reissued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the composer's death, and features some of his most sumptuous orchestrations. 'Exemplary performances' (The Times)

	CHANDOS \| CHSA5050 \| SACD \| 095115505021 REGES TERRAE - MUSIC FROM TIME OF CHARLES V BY MANCHICOURT, MORALES, CLEMENS NON PAPA, GUERRERO & GOMBERT Nordic Voices
RICH RENAISSANCE REPERTOIRE The six-voice Norwegian a cappella ensemble Nordic Voices has recently signed with Chandos. This debut release features premiere recordings of music by Clemens Non Papa and Manchicourt. 'Intonation? Impeccable. Ensemble? Unfailing precision in phrasing, dynamics, color - everything finely tuned.' (Washington Post)

	CHILDREN'S GROUP \| 843272 \| CD \| 6847843272 PIGMANIA ONCE UPON A TUNE VOL 1 Judy & David
A SAX-WIELDING MAMA PIG tells her three not-so-little pigs, Frankie, Woody and Brainella, that it's time to leave home and start a life of their own. Frankie, Woody and Brainella learn that wisdom, good planning and hard work pay off when a sixties-throw-back Big Bad Wolf grooves onto the scene, BBQ sauce in hand...a fun musical education disc.

	CHILDREN'S GROUP \| 843292 \| CD \| 6847843292 GOLDIROCKS ONCE UPON A TUNE VOL 2 Judy & David
GOLDIROCKS PLAYS HER ELECTRIC GUITAR so loudly and so often that she is constantly in trouble with her family and friends. When her mother threatens to take it away, Goldie runs to the forest where she finds a tiny log cabin, which is the home of the Three Bears. The story unfolds and Goldie quickly discovers there's more to life than rock 'n roll...

	CHILDREN'S GROUP \| 843612 \| CD \| 6847843612 BEANSTOCK ONCE UPON A TUNE VOL 3 Judy & David
JACK MEETS GEORGINA WIZARD and trades the family cow for a bag of magical, musical beans. The groovy adventure begins when Jack climbs a gigantic beanstalk, meets a jazz-loving giant and restores his family's fortune. The beans celebrate with the biggest concert this side of Woodstock!

	CHILDREN'S GROUP \| 843622 \| CD \| 6847843622 REDS IN THE HOOD ONCE UPON A TUNE VOL 4 Judy & David
LITTLE RED IS SENT WITH A BASKET OF COOKIES for Granny, a motorcycle-riding go-go-dancing hip-hopping senior, when she veers off the path and is chased by B.B. Wolf, a cookie-loving rap star. The wolf's vanity is his ultimate undoing when he unwittingly finds himself in the middle of a cool dance party, clad only in Granny's pink pajamas.

	CHILDREN'S GROUP \| 844212 \| CD \| 068478442128 PEGGY'S VIOLIN A BUTTERFLY IN TIME Peggy McGuire Hills, Adrian Anantawan, Angela Fusco
JUNO AWARD NOMINATION FOR CHILDREN'S ALBUM OF THE YEAR This marvellous music education CD tells the story of the Butterfly Violin, from its creation in 1702 up to the present day, with 18 tracks of music by Bach, Pachelbel, Marcello, Saraste, Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Elgar, Gilbert & Sullivan, Tchaikovsky, Ravel and others.

	CHILDREN'S GROUP \| 844232 \| CD \| 068478442326 THE STORYTELLER'S BAG Peggy McGuire Hills, Lorne Cardinal, Cheri Maracle-Cardinal
INSPIRED BY LEGENDS OF THE OJIBWAY PEOPLE of Ontario, The Storyteller's Bag features stories illustrated by music: The Storyteller's Bag Overture, Muskrat's Dive, How The Loon Got Its Necklace, The Star Lily and Falling Stars Children's Songs. An imaginative mix of tales and chamber music, performed by respected North American artists and educators.

	CPO \| CPO7770492 \| CD \| 761203704927 WEINGARTNER SEXTET OP 33, OCTET OP 73 Olivier Triendl (piano), Ensemble Acht
CHAMBER MUSIC BY AN OLYMPIAN CONDUCTOR Renowned as a conductor, Felix Weingartner is much less well known as a composer, yet he wrote more than a hundred works. The Sextet of 1904 and the Octet of 1924 reveal Weingartner as a Romantic composer of sensitivity with his own unique style, grounded in Classicism, and astonishingly expressive.

	CPO \| CPO7771972 \| CD \| 761203719723 BUXTEHUDE DAS JUENGSTE GERICHT Ulrike Hofbauer, Monika Mauch, Margret Hunter, Harry van der Kamp, Henning Voss, Hans-Joerg Mammel, Olfa Tetampel, Joerg Jacobi, Wesser-Renaissance Bremen, Manfred Cordes
BUXTEHUDE 300th ANNIVERSARY Admired during his own lifetime by no lesser figures than Bach and Handel, Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707) is enjoying renewed interest in the tercentennary year of his death. This disc presents highlights from his grand dramatic cantata Wacht! Euch zum Streit.

	CPO \| CPO7772252 \| CD \| 761203722525 GEMINIANI VIOLIN SONATAS OP 5 Anton Steck (violin), Christian Rieger (harpsichord), Markus Moellenbeck (cello)
EXPRESSIVE, IMAGINATIVE, STIMULATING Originally composed for the cello, Geminiani's Violin Sonatas Op 5 are rewarding practical examples of the virtuosic technique he espoused in his famous publication The Art of Playing on the Violin, which is a foundational document of modern string technique.

CPO | CPO7772402 | CD3 | 761203724024
LULLY
THESEE
Howard Crook, Laura Pudwell, Ellen Hargis, Harry van der Kamp, Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) Orchestra & Chorus, Paul O'Dette & Stephen Stubbs

TRIUMPH OF WISDOM OVER LOVE Hailed by The Times, London, as 'the leading festival of early music', the BEMF brings together a superb cast to present one of Lully's pivotal operas, which tells the tale of Theseus and the vengeful Medea. BEMF's 2005 recording of Conradi's opera Ariadne (CPO7770732) was nominated for a Grammy, and Thesee deserves no lesser acknowledgment for the grand scale of its achievement.

	CPO \| CPO9997732 \| CD \| 761203977321 KARG-ELERT PIANO WORKS VOL 4 Ernst Breidenbach (piano)
ECCENTRIC & EFFECTIVE Although virtually forgotten today, Sigfrid Karg-Elert was regarded as Leipzig's greatest composer after Max Reger. His piano works, exquisitely coloured, highly characterful and sometimes exotically themed, comprise a wonderful collection of concert etudes and musical impressions. The previous three volumes on CPO have proved revelatory.

	CPO \| CPO9998892 \| CD \| 761203988921 FESCA SYMPHONY NO 1 & OVERTURES NDR Radiophilharmonie, Frank Beermann (conductor)
AN ORIGINAL YOUNG ROMANTIC Friedrich Ernst Fesca (1789-1826) scored a hit with his 1st Symphony of 1812, but his life was tragically cut short at the age of 37. The blend of vibrant energy and charming elegance that characterises his music provides some recompense for his early demise, while making us regret all the more keenly his untimely fate.

	GLOBE \| GLO5211 \| CD \| 8711525521100 TELEMANN SEVEN RECORDER SONATAS Saskia Coolen (recorder), Margriet Tindemans (viola da gamba), Peter Watchorn (harpsichord)
18th-CENTURY RECORDER MUSIC One of the most prolific and respected composers of the German Baroque, Georg Philipp Telemann has only recently emerged from the shadows of JS Bach and Handel to enjoy renewed popularity. The seven suave, witty and lyrical Recorder Sonatas presented here are largely drawn from his collections The True Music Master and Musical Exercises.

	GLOBE \| GLO6009 \| CD \| 8711525600904 TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY NO 6 & THE NUTCRACKER HIGHLIGHTS Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Kirill Kondrashin (conductor)
LIGHT & SHADOW These two works, among Tchaikovsky's most popular, show completely different aspects to his complex personality. The sparkling score of The Nutcracker, which brims with unforgettable dance melodies and brilliant orchestration, contrasts with the darkly passionate mood of the 6th Symphony, his symphonic swansong.

	GLOBE \| GLO6034 \| CD \| 8711525603400 RAVEL: MA MERE L'OYE (MOTHER GOOSE) & WORKS BY DEBUSSY, SCHUMANN & CHABRIER European Chamber Orchestra Per Musica, Julian Reynolds (conductor)
RAVEL'S MAGICAL ORCHESTRA Ravel originally wrote Ma Mere l'Oye as a piano duet, subsequently expanding it into the full ballet presented here. Also on this disc are Debussy's Sarabande & Danse (Tarantelle Styrienne), excerpts from Schumann's Carnaval, and Chabrier's Menuet Pompeux, each in Ravel's exquisite orchestrations.

	GLOBE \| GLO7001 \| CD \| 8711525700109 MOZART VARIATION WORKS FOR PIANO Ronald Brautigam (fortepiano)
MOZART SHOWING OFF Brautigam interprets six of Mozart's sets of variations, including the famous Twelve Variations in C major on 'Ah, vous dirai je, Maman' K 265 on a fortepiano by Paul McNulty, Amsterdam 1990, after Anton Walter, Vienna c.1785, a perfect instrument for these delightful displays of shameless keyboard virtuosity.

	HAENSLER CLASSICS \| CD93166 \| SACD \| 4010276019824 MAHLER SYMPHONY NO 2 'RESURRECTION' Sibylla Rubens (soprano), Iris Vermillion (mezzosoprano), MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig, Radio Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, Roger Norrington (conductor)
MAHLER TO THE LETTER 'This is the fourth in our series of live recordings of the Mahler symphonies, and we try as hard as ever to recreate the sound world which Mahler might have expected…nothing is left to chance...I am constantly struck by the importance of following Mahler's score to the letter.' Sir Roger Norrington

	HAENSLER CLASSICS \| CD93206 \| CD \| 401027601954 BRAHMS & FUCHS: CELLO SONATAS NO 2 ZEMLINSKY: CELLO SONATA IN A MINOR Johannes Moser (cello), Paul Rivinius (piano)
THE HERITAGE OF BRAHMS This important new release brings together music by Brahms, Brahms' pupil Robert Fuchs and Fuch's student Alexander von Zemlinsky, an impressive musical dynasty by any reckoning. Johannes Moser is a prize-winning young cellist who has been described as 'heroic' (Chicago Tribune).

	HAENSLER CLASSICS \| CD98207 \| CD \| 4010276017172 BEETHOVEN PIANO SONATAS VOL 7 Gerhard Oppitz (piano)
OPPITZ COMPLETES HIS BEETHOVEN CYCLE Gerhard Oppitz, who recently visited Australia, concludes his critically acclaimed Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle with No 22 in F Op 54, No 24 in F-sharp minor Op 78 and No 29 in B-flat Op 106 'Hammerklavier', works which look both back towards Haydn and forward to the future of Romanticism.

	HAENSLER CLASSICS \| CD98229 \| CD \| 4010276017974 SILVESTROV PIANO WORKS Jenny Lin (piano)
DUETS WITH SILENCE Valentin Silvestrov's deceptively simple music subtlely creates an intimate link between the performer and the listener. His remark that 'the most important lesson of the avant-garde is to be free of all conceived ideas, particularly those of the avant-garde' perfectly captures the paradox of his sensitive and seductive music, where silence can be as articulate as sound.

	HAENSLER CLASSICS \| CD98260 \| CD \| 4010276019107 ITALIAN BAROQUE LUTE MUSIC BY PICCININI, GALILEI, KAPSBERGER & CASTALDI Joachim Held (lute), Carsten Lohff (organ)
BIRTH OF THE BAROQUE Around the turn of the 17th Century a musical sea-change was taking place as Renaissance counterpoint became displaced by a newly expressive melodic style of composition that would blossom into the Baroque. The works on this disc are a treasure trove from this time and include pieces composed by Galileo's brother Michelagnolo Galilei.

	HAENSLER CLASSICS \| CD98295 \| CD \| 4010276020080 GRADVAL WORKS FOR OBOE Lajos Lencses (oboe), Ulrike Sonntag (soprano), Libor Sima (bassoon), Francois Killian (piano), Budapest Strings, SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart, Andrey Boreyko (conductor)
WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS Clemence de Grandval studied with Chopin, Flotow and Saint-Saens, becoming a prolific and frequently performed composer. This new release presents world premiere recordings of a number of her works, revealing a magical Romantic imagination. 'Lajos Lencses is one of the greatest oboists of our time' (Diapason)

	HARMONIA MUNDI \| CSO901701 \| CD2 \| 810449017015 MAHLER SYMPHONY NO 3 Michelle DeYoung (mezzo-soprano), Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Women of CSO Chorus, Chicago Children's Choir, Bernard Haitink (conductor)
IMPORTANT NEW RELEASE ON NEW LABEL Dubbed by the Chicago Sun-Times 'one for the history books', Haitink's interpretation of Mahler's mighty 3rd Symphony innaugurated his period as Principal Conductor of the CSO in October 2006. This 2-CD album is the first release on the CSO Resound label and was recorded live in the Symphony Center's Orchestra Hall.

	HARMONIA MUNDI \| HMA1951303 \| CD \| 794881835928 DELALANDE SYMPHONIES La Simphonie du Marais, Hugo Reyne (director)
SYMPHONIES FOR THE SUN KING In October 1990, Hugo Reyne presented the first complete recording of the Symphonies pour les soupers du Roy with his ensemble La Simphonie du Marais, founded three years previously. Here are the highlights of this recording which rehabilitated Delalande's music with full historical accuracy.

	HARMONIA MUNDI \| HMA1951422 \| CD \| 794881836024 WEILL BERLIN REQUIEM Alexandre Laiter, Peter Kooy, Elisabeth Glab, La Chapelle Royale, Ensemble Musique Oblique, Philippe Herreweghe (conductor)
A MOVING COMMEMORATION Weill's Berlin Requiem was commisioned by the Frankfurt Radio to marki the 10th anniversary of the end of WW1 and completed in 1929. 'The performances of these moving laments over man's inhumanity are excellent, and the recording captures all the brilliant, sharp, sonorities of Weill's wind-and-percussion orchestra.' (Classic CD)

	HARMONIA MUNDI \| HMA1951441 \| CD \| 794881836123 OCKEGHEM REQUIEM Ensemble Organum, Marcel Peres (conductor)
15TH-CENTURY CHORAL MASTERPIECE In 1461 at the dawn of the Renaissance, Ockeghem composed the first polyphonic Requiem to have come down to us. In restoring the plainchant which would have accompanied it, Marcel Peres adds further glory to a monument of purity and piety.

	HARMONIA MUNDI \| HMA1951667 \| CD \| 794881836222 BIBER LITANY OF ST JOSEPH Cantus Colln, Concerto Palatino, Konrad Junghanel (director)
SALZBURG BAROQUE The prince-archbishops of Salzburg encouraged the creation of an extremely rich output of religious music, the compositions of Biber and Muffat ranking among the summits of the genre, not only in the wealth of their vocal and instrumental forces, but also in their sumptuous sonorities.

	HARMONIA MUNDI \| HMA1951672 \| CD \| 794881836321 SONGS & PSALMS OF THE REFORMATION Ensemble Clement Janequin, Dominique Visse
AWAKENING OF PROTESTANT MUSIC The Reformation aimed at returning sacred music to the congregation of the faithful, and Psalms could be heard sung in the streets, shops and homes of those who practised domestic polyphonic music. By simply changing the words, popular Renaissance secular chanson melodies gained a new life.

	HARMONIA MUNDI \| HMA1951675 \| CD \| 794881836420 BIZET L'ARLESIENNE INCIDENTAL MUSIC & SYMPHONY IN C Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, Josep Pons (conductor)
TRIUMPH & TRAGEDY Written by the 17-year old Bizet, the totally classical Symphony in C major is a delicious, perfectly balanced work whose themes recall Mozart and Rossini. Twenty years later, he wrote orchestral incidental music for Alphonse Daudet's famous play, L'Arlésienne, depicting the characters of the tragedy with subtlety and skill.

	HARMONIA MUNDI \| HMA1951703 \| CD \| 794881836529 GERMAN CANTATAS BY TUNDER, KUHNAU, BRUHNS & GRAUPNER Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe (conductor)
HOLY GERMAN MUSICAL HERITAGE The vocal music produced in Germany between the 1650s (after Schutz) and 1710 (the beginning of JS Bach's career) is here revealed as an inexhaustible treasure trove of admirably constructed and deeply expressive works that have lost none of their pristine charm of effectiveness.

	HARMONIA MUNDI \| HMA1951708 \| CD \| 794881836628 SCHUBERT DIE SCHONE MULLERIN Werner Gura (tenor), Jan Schultsz (piano)
ACCLAIMED LIEDER INTERPRETATION Schubert's immortal 1824 song cycle of disappointed love rarely sounded so fresh as on this recording. 'The tenor Werner Gura is also outstanding for hypersensitive response to verbal inflexion dissolved into so liquid a line.' (Gramophone) 'Gura is admirably elegant.' (Classic CD)

	HARMONIA MUNDI \| HMA1951776 \| CD \| 794881836727 ROSSINI STRING SONATAS Ensemble Explorations, Roel Dieltiens (director)
SPARKLING STRING SONATAS Rossini was only twelve when he composed his Sonate a quattro in 1804. Although the galant spirit of the 18th century is still present in them, the future operatic composer already asserts himself in these youthful works. Despite their youthful provenance, they nonetheless never fail to provide refined entertainment.

	HARMONIA MUNDI \| HMA1957009 \| CD \| 8427592000898 TURINA PIANO WORKS Albert Guinovart (piano)
SPANISH MASTER OF THE PIANO Joaquin Turina was one of the most important Spanish composers of the first half of the 20th century, raising the reputation of Spanish music to a highly regarded level. Himself a professional pianist, he composed assuredly for this instrument. This disc presents a selection of characteristic piano works composed between 1912 and 1935.

	HARMONIA MUNDI \| HMA1957026 \| CD \| 8427592000966 PUERTA DE VELUNTAD LITURGY & MYSTICISM IN HISPANO-JEWISH MUSIC Alla Musica, Miguel Sanchez (conductor)
AWARD-WINNING ALBUM This CD presents poems from Yehuda Halevi and Salomon aben Gabirol, two of the greatest Hispano-Jewish poets of the Middle Ages, as well as verses of the Song of Songs, in a beautifully evocative testimony to the Spanish-Jewish musical tradition. Awards from ClassicsToday.com, Diapason d'or & Goldberg: '5' Excellent.

	HARMONIA MUNDI \| HMU90714648 \| CD3 \| 093046714628 HANDEL ARIODANTE Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (mezzo-soprano), Juliana Gondek (soprano), Lisa Saffer (soprano), Jennifer Lane (mezzo-soprano), Freiburger Barockorchester, Nicholas McGegan (conductor)
OPERA OF SPANISH INTRIGUE The late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (1954-2006) leads a stellar cast on this re-released complete recording of Handel's Ariodante, one of the most popular and widely performed of all Handel’s operas. 'McGegan encourages an energy and verve that never slips from the highest standard of style and refinement." 5 STARS from Classic CD.

	HELIOS \| CDH55229 \| CD \| 034571152295 MASTERPIECES OF PORTUGUESE POLYPHONY BY CARDOSO, REBELO, DE CRISTO & FERNANDEZ Westminster Cathedral Choir, James O'Donnell (master of music)
THE PORTUGUESE RENAISSANCE During the sixty years 1580-1640 Portugal was a province of Spain, and Portuguese polyphony reached its creative peak. Cardoso, arguably the best known of the composers, is represented here by his Lamentations for Maundy Thursday and other motets, alongside sumptuous music by Joao Lourenco Rebelo, Pedro de Cristo and Aires Fernandez.

	HELIOS \| CDH55234 \| CD \| 034571152349 GEMINIANI LA FOLIA, SONATAS & CONCERTOS The Purcell Quartet, The Purcell Band
INFLUENTIAL BAROQUE COMPOSER A student of Alessandro Scarlatti and Corelli, Francesco Geminiani was a great 18th-century violinist whose music proved influential for its virtuosity and sophisticated style. This disc presents a nice survey of his Trio Sonatas, plus two Concerti Grossi, one based on Corelli's music. 'The Purcell Quartet play with dedication and spirit.' (Penguin Guide)

	HELIOS \| CDH55241 \| CD \| 034571152417 DOWLAND AWAKE SWEET LOVE & OTHER SONGS James Bowman (countertenor), David Miller (lute), viols of The King's Consort
PENSIVE PANGS OF LOVE An Australian music writer once described John Dowland as 'the Leonard Cohen of the English Renaissance', which captures his melancholic sensibility rather well! Here are 23 tracks (including several by his contemporaries) that meditate upon love, life and death, with some excursions into the more light-hearted regions of love's pleasures, songs and dances.

	HELIOS \| CDH55269 \| CD \| 034571152691 BACH & TELEMANN OBOE & OBOE D'AMORE CONCERTOS Paul Goodwin (oboe, oboe d'amore), The King's Consort
BEAUTIFUL BAROQUE CONCERTOS Paul Goodwin is widely regarded as the foremost baroque oboist of his generation. 'A winner all the way…exemplary from start to finish.' (Hi-Fi News) 'These are winning performances, with recording to match.' (Fanfare) 'Sheer delight.' (BBC Record Review)

	HELIOS \| CDH55277 \| CD \| 034571152776 BRUCKNER MASS IN E MINOR Corydon Singers, English Chamber Orchestra Wind Ensemble, Matthew Best (conductor)
A TESTAMENT TO FAITH Though perhaps better known today for his immense Romantic symphonies, Bruckner's sacred music lies at the very heart of his compositional output. The Mass in E minor for voices and winds is among his most heartfelt works. 'One of the most beautiful recordings of a choral masterpiece I have ever heard.' (The Sunday Times)

	HELIOS \| CDH55289 \| CD \| 034571152899 THE GARDEN OF ZEPHIRUS 15TH-CENTURY COURTLY SONGS Gothic Voices, Christopher Page (director)
LOVE CURES NOT SADNESS Dufay and Landini are recognised as masters of their time. No less accomplished, however, were the less familiar composers also featured on this highly praised disc. 'I believe this is the finest record of Medieval polyphonic song yet produced.' (Gramophone) 'I don't know a finer record of such fascinating material. Beautifully done.' (BBC Record Review)

	HYPERION \| CDA67497 \| CD \| 034571174976 BAIRSTOW CHORAL MUSIC Roderick Williams (baritone), The Choir of St John's College Cambridge, Britten Sinfonia, Paul Provost (organ), David Hill (director of music)
BRITISH CATHEDRAL MUSIC Edward Bairstow set his texts 'with a beauty which makes one never able to think of the words without recalling the music', as the Dean of York wrote in tribute to this doyen of British music. Classic works are presented alongside rarities, including Five Poems of the Spirit, and the Evening Services in D and G.

HYPERION | CDA67564 | CD | 034571175645
TSONTAKIS: MAN OF SORROWS & SARABESQUE
& WORKS BY SCHOENBERG, BERG & WEBERN
Stephen Hough (piano), Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Litton (conductor)

SERENE RELIGIOUS MUSIC George Tsontakis has been acclaimed as a giant on the American contemporary music scene. He wrote Man of Sorrows, a six-movement meditation on the suffering of Christ, especially for Stephen Hough, from whose premiere performance in 2005 this recording is taken. Iconic piano works from the Second Viennese School round off this stunning new release. Hough tours for Musica Viva Australia later this year.

	HYPERION \| CDA67587 \| CD \| 034571175874 WALTON: VIOLA CONCERTO (ORIGINAL 1928 VERSION) RUBBRA: VIOLA CONCERTO & MEDITATIONS ON A BYZANTINE HYMN Lawrence Power (viola), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ilan Volkov (conductor)
MAJOR WORKS FOR VIOLA William Walton's Viola Concerto is one of his greatest works, suffused with vigour and dazzling brilliance. His exact contemporary, Edmund Rubbra, shows his indebtedness to Tchaikovsky and Sibelius in his own Viola Concerto. 'Power is a latter-day Orpheus, an expression of music's power to disarm, encourage, soothe and serenade.' (Financial Times)

	HYPERION \| CDA67599 \| CD \| 034571175997 SCHMITT PSALM XLVII, SUITE SANS ESPRIT DE SUITE & LA TRAGEDIE DE SALOME Christine Buffle (soprano), BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Thierry Fischer (conductor)
EXOTIC, ORIENTALIST FRENCH MUSIC Florent Schmitt represents the unbridled, Dionysian strain in early 20th-century French music and was influenced by such radicals as Richard Strauss and the modern Russians. Salome is his most famous ballet (choreographed by Diaghilev), while his Psalm 47 is a savage paean of barbaric splendour.

	HYPERION \| CDA67634 \| CD \| 034571176345 THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE TROUBADOUR & TROUVERE SONGS Duo Trobairitz
L'AMOUR, TOUJOURS L'AMOUR Faye Newton (soprano, symphonie) and Hazel Brooks (vielle) celebrate the music of courtly love - the pleasures of Spring, the sorrow of foiled seduction, the cruelty of husbands and the devotion of chivalric knights in service to their ladies. This is Duo Trobairitz's debut CD and a delightful introduction to 12th- and 13th-century art music.

	HYPERION \| CDS442413 \| CD3 \| 034571142418 VERACINI SONATE ACCADEMICHE OP 2 The Locatelli Trio
VERACINI THE VIOLIN VIRTUOSO Elizabeth Wallfisch (violin), Richard Tunnicliffe (cello) and Paul Nicholson (harpsichord, organ) present Veracini's 12 Academic Sonatas, which are 'fascinatingly inventive works, showing their little-known composer as a great deal more than a historical figure. The recording is vividly real and immediate.' (Penguin Guide)

	K617 \| K6172032 \| CD2 \| 3383510002038 MONTEVERDI L'ORFEO Victor Torres, Adriana Fernandez, Maria Christina Kiehr, Gloria Banditelli, Antonio Abete, Roberta Invernizzi, Furio Zanasi, Gerd Turk, Coro Antonio il Verso, Elyma, Gabriel Garrido (conductor)
400th ANNIVERSARY RE-RELEASE Four centuries ago, Monterverdi composed his now legendary opera Orfeo. To mark this important anniversary, Gabriel Garrido's acclaimed recording is being reissued. 'If this release doesn't win a Grammy, then I give up.' (Continuo) 'The sound is gorgeous, marvellously clear and warm' (Fanfare)

	LIGIA \| LIG103181 \| CD \| 3487549901819 BONIS GUARDIAN ANGEL - WORKS FOR PIANO Laurent Martin (piano)
A NEGLECTED COMPOSER REDISCOVERED Melanie Bonis (1858-1937) may not be a household name today, but as a student she attracted the support of Cesar Franck and went on to become a prolific composer, her music increasingly influenced by Impressionism. Her music is essentially Romantic, abundant in harmonic and melodic inspiration yet not lacking in humour.

	LIGIA \| LIG104180 \| CD3 \| 3487549901802 MENDELSSOHN: ORGAN WORKS PLUS LIGIA 2007 CATALOGUE Olivier Vernet, Cedric Meckler (organ)
THREE CDs FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! Mendelssohn 's organ music comprises a wide range of works, from the well-known Sonatas to numerous preludes, fugues, chorales and other shorter pieces. This set also includes Mendelssohn's own 4-hand transcription of music from A Midsummer Night's Dream.

	LYRITA \| SRCD201 \| CD \| 5020926020123 ARNOLD ENGLISH & IRISH DANCES, SCOTTISH & CORNISH DANCES, SARABANDE & POLKA London Philharmonic Orchestra, Malcolm Arnold (conductor)
THE COMPOSER CONDUCTS 'Arnold regularly takes a warmly expressive view without ever sacrificing tension, often springing rhythms infectiously. The analogue sound…is given a splendid transfer…one after another these little jewels first grab and then delight the ear with their brilliant pastiche of folk melodies…this is a wonderful box of delights' (Gramophone)

	LYRITA \| SRCD237 \| CD \| 5020926023728 FINZI LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST, LET US GARLANDS BRING, TWO SONNETS BY JOHN MILTON, FAREWELL TO ARMS & IN TERRA PAX John Carol Case (baritone), Ian Partridge (tenor), Jane Manning (soprano), John Noble (baritone), John Alldis Choir, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Vernon Handley (conductor)
LEGENDARY PERFORMANCES, FIRST CD RELEASE Gerald Finzi excelled in the setting of the English language and his contribution to English song was highly significant. He composed incidental music for a 1946 production of Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost in only three weeks. Let Us Garlands Bring comprises five settings of Shakespeare's songs.

	MELODYIA \| MELCD1000218 \| CD \| 4600317002184 DVORAK PIANO QUINTET OP 81, STRING TRIO OP 74 Borodin Quartet, Sviatoslav Richter (piano), Igor Oistrakh (violin), Victor Pikaizen (violin), Miroslav Rusin (viola)
SLAVIC PASSION This highly-rated disc brings together two Dvorak chamber works, each full of the dramatic and lyrical contrasts for which the composer is much loved, performed by great Russian artists. The Piano Quartet was recorded at the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire in 1983. The String Trio was recorded by the ??-Union Radio in 1980.

	MELODYIA \| MELCD1000732 \| CD \| 4600317007325 BEETHOVEN PIANO SONATAS NOS 8 'PATHETIQUE' & 23 'APASSIONATA', EIGHT BAGATELLES, FANTASIA FOR PIANO, CHORUS & ORCHESTRA IN C MINOR Sviatoslav Richter (piano), Choir, All-Union Radio Large Symphony Orchestra, Kurt Sanderling (conductor)
RICHTER IN TOP FORM In Richter's opinion, his best version of the Apassionata Sonata on disc is this fairly early recording of a recital he gave in Moscow. The Pathetique Sonata and the Choral Fantasia share the 'fateful' key of C minor, each alternating high drama with hope-filled lyricism. The Bagatelles show Beethoven at his most charming and whimsical.

	MELODYIA \| MELCD1000840 \| CD \| 4600317008407 RACHMANINOV THE BELLS & SYMPHONIC DANCES RSFSR Academic Russian Chorus, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Kirill Kondrashin (conductor)
RACHMANINOV RINGS TRUE The Bells was the composer's favorite work, and he considered its premiere in Moscow in 1913 to be the greatest triumph of his career. Completed in 1940, the Symphonic Dances is Rachmaninov's last composition. Kondrashin is an exemplary interpreter of Rachmaninov's music, being himself both fiercely talented and an exile from his homeland.

	MELODYIA \| MELCD1000935 \| CD \| 4600317009350 R STRAUSS AN ALPINE SYMPHONY Leningrad Philharmonic, Yevgeny Mravinsky (conductor)
A TOWERING INTERPRETATION Born in St Petersburg, Yevgeny Mravinsky died in Lenigrad (the same city, of course) and his conducting was memorably described by David Fanning: 'The Leningrad Philharmonic play like a wild stallion, only just held in check by the willpower of its master...you hardly know whether to feel exhilarated or terrified.' Just the thing for Strauss's great tone poem!

MICHAEL NYMAN | MNRCD1012 | CD2 | 5060099970016
NYMAN
MAN AND BOY:DADA
John Graham-Hall (tenor), William Sheldon (boy soprano), Vivian Tierney (soprano), Michael Nyman Band, Paul McGrath (conductor)

AN OPERA IN TWO ACTS, with a libretto by Michael Hastings, Man and Boy:Dada tells the story of the unlikely friendships between the ageing Dadaist artist Kurt Schwitters, exiled in war-torn London, a 12-year-old boy, Michael, who shares the artist's obsession with collecting London Transport bus tickets, and Michael's mother, widowed by the war. The recording reunites the cast from the UK premiere at the Almeida Theatre in July 2004.

	MICHAEL NYMAN \| MNRCD103 \| CD \| 5060116570472 NYMAN THE PIANO SONGS Michael Nyman (piano)
THE LONG-AWAITED ALBUM OF SOLO PIANO RECORDINGS by Michael Nyman and the first release of the record label MN Records, The Piano Sings features music originally recorded for film soundtracks from 1993 to 2003 including Gattaca, Wonderland, The Diary of Anne Frank, End of the Affair, The Claim, Man with a Movie Camera and The Piano.

	MICHAEL NYMAN \| MNRCD104 \| CD \| 5060116570250 NYMAN THE LIBERTINE Michael Nyman Orchestra
MUSIC FOR A COMEDY OF MANNERS The Libertine is director Laurence Dunmore's film of the celebrated Stephen Jeffreys play, starring Johnny Depp, John Malkovich and Samantha Morton. It tells the story of the 17th century Earl of Rochester (Depp), his friendship with King of England Charles II (Malkovich) and his affair with actress Elizabeth Barry (Morton).

	MICHAEL NYMAN \| MNRCD105 \| CD \| 5060099970030 NYMAN THE DRAUGHTSMAN'S CONTRACT Michael Nyman Band
THE DRAUGHTSMAN'S CONTRACT brought both director Peter Greenaway and composer Michael Nyman to the attention of the mainstream film audience. To match the film's 17th-century setting, the soundtrack took music by Henry Purcell as an inspiration, with saxophones, electric bass and Nyman's own compositional style giving it a modernity that resonated with audiences.

	MICHAEL NYMAN \| MNRCD106 \| CD \| 5060099970047 NYMAN NYMAN/GREENAWAY REVISITED Michael Nyman Band
THE MOST POPULAR MUSIC from the five soundtracks provided by the composer for Peter Greenaway's feature films from 1982-91:The Draughtsman's Contract, A Zed and Two Noughts, Drowning By Numbers, The Cook The Thief His Wife And Her Lover, and Prospero's Books. Greenaway gave Nyman immense scope for the music; Nyman responded with some of the best film music of the last quarter-century.

	MICHAEL NYMAN \| MNRCD108 \| CD \| 5060116570564 NYMAN SIX CELAN SONGS & THE BALLAD OF KASTRIOT REXHEPI Hilary Summers (contralto), Michael Nyman Band, Sarah Leonard (soprano), Nyman Quartet
TWO OF NYMAN'S MAJOR VOCAL PIECES performed by two favoured singers of the composer, Hilary Summers and Sarah Leonard. Six Celan Songs is Michael Nyman's most profound song cycle, originally composed for Ute Lemper. The Ballad of Kastriot Rexhepi tells of an 18-month-old Kosovan boy left for dead during the Kosovo war, found and re-named by the Serbs, and later reunited with his parents.

	MICHAEL NYMAN \| MNRCD109 \| CD \| 5060116570571 NYMAN ACTS OF BEAUTY & EXIT NO EXIT Cristina Zavalloni (soprano), Sentieri Selvaggi, Carlo Boccadoro (conductor), Andrew Sparling (bass clarinet), Nyman Quartet
TWO WORLD PREMIERES Acts of Beauty is a song cycle based on miscellaneous texts on beauty from a 1556 text of Vincenzo Cartari, which looks at the measurements of beauty by comparing buttocks to beauty in the urban environment. Exit No Exit began life as a 'homage' to the England football team as part of an extended documentary broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

	MICHAEL NYMAN \| MNRCD110 \| CD \| 5060116570588 NYMAN NYMAN BRASS Wingates Band
BRASS BAND ARRANGEMENTS The two main sequences on the album are from the scores to The Ogre (Volker Schlondorff, 1996) and The Libertine (Laurence Dunmore, 2005). The album is completed with the Michael Nyman Band classics, In Re Don Giovanni and Chasing Sheep Is Best Left To Shepherds from The Draughtman's Contract (Peter Greenaway, 1982).

	MIRARE \| MIR030 \| CD \| 3760127220305 JS BACH A FUNERARY MONUMENT FOR THE QUEEN OF POLAND Katharine Fuge (soprano), Carlos Mena (alto), Jan Kobow (tenor), Stephan Macleod (bass), Francis Jacob (organ), Ricercar Consort, Philippe Pierlot (conductor)
IMPOSING TRIBUTE TO A QUEEN JS Bach's little-known funeral ode for the Queen of Poland is a moving, multi-movement cantata containing entirely new music written especially for her memorial service in 1727. Bach's Lutheran Mass in A major and Prelude & Fugue BWV544 beautifully complement the ode's intensely emotional mood. An exquisite performance.

	ONDINE \| ODE10995 \| SACD \| 0761195109953 BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTOS NOS 1 & 2 Olli Mustonen (piano & conductor), Tapiola Sinfonietta
FRESH APPROACH TO BEETHOVEN Olli Mustonen is known for his visionary interpretations of popular standard repertoire. In this, his first recording of these Beethoven concertos, Mustonen plays his own cadenzas. This is the first volume of a new 3-volume SACD set, which will present all five piano concertos and the piano version of Beethoven's Violin Concerto.

	ONDINE \| ODE11045 \| SACD \| 0761195110454 TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY NO 4 & THE SEASONS (JULY-DECEMBER) The Philadelphia Orchestra, Christoph Eschenbach (conductor & piano solo)
GLORIOUS PERFORMANCES Following the success of his recording of Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony and The Seasons (January-June) (ODE10765), Eschenbach brings his outstanding talents as a conductor to the 4th Symphony, and as a pianist to the second half of The Seasons. The live recording perfectly captures the renowned 'Philadelphia sound'.

	ORFEO \| ORFC693071 \| CD \| 4011790693125 BACH VIOLA DA GAMBA SONATAS Daniel Muller-Schott (cello), Angela Hewitt (piano)
NEWLY MINTED BACH PERFORMANCES Muller-Schott and Hewitt achieve a felicitous balance between the chamber aspects of JS Bach's three Viola da Gamba Sonatas and their concerto-like ambitions. CPE Bach's Sonata in D major rounds off the disc. Both performers are thoroughly at home in the musical worlds of Bach and son, presenting convincing interpretations on modern instruments.

	ORFEO \| ORFC718071 \| CD \| 4011790718125 HARTMANN CONCERTO FOR PIANO, WINDS & PERCUSSION, CONCERTO FUNEBRE & SYMPHONIC HYMN Wolfgang Schneiderhan (violin), Maria Bergmann (piano), Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Raphael Kubelik (conductor)
AUTHORITATIVE PERFORMANCES Recorded between 1972 and 1975, these orchestral works by Karl Amadeus Hartmann were important parts of Kubelik's repertoire and are here released for the first time on CD. Bergmann premiered the Concerto for Piano, Winds and Percussion in 1953, while Schneiderhan was particularly fond of the Concerto Funebre.

	ORFEO \| ORFC719071 \| CD \| 4011790719122 DVORAK: HUSSITE OVERTURE BRAHMS: VIOLIN CONCERTO Henryk Szeryng (violin), Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Rafael Kubelik (conductor)
A BRILLIANT CONCERT The Bavarian RSO opened its 1967 Vienna Festival concert with this high-octane performance of Dvorak's Hussite Overture. Szeryng was an elegant soloist in the Brahms Concerto, entering into a musical dialogue with the orchestra that was described as 'both subtlely sensitive and quick-witted'.

	ORFEO \| ORFC720071 \| CD \| 4011790720128 CHOPIN: POLONAISE IN F-SHARP MINOR, BALLADE IN F-MINOR; BRAHMS: PAGANINI VARIATIONS; LISZT: REMINISCENCES OF DON JUAN; MENDELSSOHN: CAPRICCIO IN E MINOR; CHOPIN: SCHERZO IN E MAJOR Shura Cherkassky (piano)
BRILLIANCE & DEPTH Cherkassky's unpredictability and virtuosity kept audiences on the edge of their seats. In these previously unreleased recordings from 1951 and 1953, exemplary discipline and stupendous technique are enriched by his unique interpretative vision, which highlights points of detail unsuspected until someone like Cherkassky laid them bare.

	ORFEO \| ORFC722071 \| CD \| 4011790722122 REGER: PIANO CONCERTO OP 114 SCHUBERT: SONATA IN B MAJOR D960; SCHUMANN: 6 INTERMEZZI OP 4 Eduard Erdmann (piano), Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hans Rosbaud (conductor)
THREE GREAT ROMANTICS Outstanding artistic intelligence and exceptional abilities allowed Eduard Erdmann to master the 'murderous' difficulties of Reger's formidible Piano Concerto. His uniquely imaginative phrasing and lightness of touch are perfectly suited to realising the contrasting dream worlds of Schubert and Schumann. Recorded in 1950-51.

	PRAGA DIGITALS \| PRD250239 \| CD \| 794881822829 FELD VIOLA CONCERTO, STRING QUARTET NO 4, CLARINET QUINTET, TWO PIECES FOR CELLO & PIANO Raphael Oleg (viola), Czech Radio Symphony, Vladimir Valek (conductor), Jan Mach (clarinet), Michal Kanka (cello), Jaromir Klepac (piano), Prazak Quartet
NEW MUSIC FROM BOHEMIA Czech composer Jindrich Feld is the heir of Martinu, Bartok, Berg and Stravinsky, his musical language combining Slavonic Expressionism with a splendidly nostalgic feeling. The Viola Concerto (2003-4) celebrates the lyrical qualities of the solo instrument, with the support of spacious and well-considered orchestration.

	PRIMA VOCE \| NI7941 \| CD \| 0710357794124 VERDI ARIAS Zinka Milanova (soprano), RCA Victor Orchestra, Renato Cellini (conductor), Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Mitropoulos (conductor)
TRIBUTE TO A GREAT SOPRANO Famous arias from Un Ballo in Maschera, La Forza del Destino and Il Trovatore. 'Zinka Milanova…turned phrases so eloquently that they became not merely acceptable musical phrases, but heart-storming expressions of emotion' (Cecil Smith on Milanova's Chicago debut in 1940).

	PROFIL \| DCDPH05044 \| CD2 \| 881488504422 FORTNER: BLOOD WEDDING POETIC TRAGEDY IN TWO ACTS Soloists, Cologne Opera Chorus, Gurzenich Orchestra of Cologne, Gunter Wand (conductor)
GUNTER WAND EDITION VOL 12 With a text by Federico Garcia Lorca, Wolfgang Fortner's Blood Wedding was premiered in 1957. This Cologne Opera performance was acclaimed for its 'elegant boldness, spiritual elegance and intense brilliance' (Kolner Stadtanzeiger). Fortner (1907-1987) was an influential German composer, composition teacher and conductor.

	PROFIL \| PH06025 \| CD \| 881488602555 PLEYEL 2- & 4-HAND PIANO WORKS Wolfgang Brunner, Leonore von Strauss (fortepiano)
CLASSICAL PIANO Born a year after Mozart and trained by Haydn, Ignaz Pleyel was one of the most popular composers of his time, before becoming a publisher, then a piano-maker. Several of his charming piano pieces in the Classical style are performed here on modern fortepianos modelled on Viennese instruments dating from around 1790.

	PROFIL \| PH07024 \| CD \| 881488702453 FRITZ WUNDERLICH - THE LEGEND ARIAS, OPERA & OPERETTA SCENES & SONGS Fritz Wunderlich (tenor)
EARLIEST COMMERCIAL RECORDINGS Legendary German tenor Fritz Wunderlich performs highlights from Cavalleria Rusticana, La Boheme, Die Fledermaus and Maske in Blau. The 25-year-old singer is clearly ready to conquer the opera houses of the world - yet only a decade later, his career would come to a tragic end, making these recordings all the more precious.

	PROFIL \| PH07064 \| CD \| 8148870643 FLIGHT AND FIRE PIANO MUSIC OF LERA AUERBACH Ksenia Nosikova (piano)
MUSIC AS POETRY Young Russian pianist and composer Lera Auerbach writes music bursting with vitality and colour, generous in spirit and enchanting. Praised for her 'refined sensibility and exquisite pianism, fascinating to watch and hear' (New York Concert Reviews), Ksenia Nosikova has performed extensively in Europe, Russia, and both Americas.

	PROFIL \| PH07072 \| CD \| 881488707250 GEORGIAN GUITAR MUSIC Oleg Timofeyev (guitar)
GEORGIA ON HIS MIND Oleg Timofeyev has loved Georgian music since his childhood, describing it as 'flamboyant, virtuosic, sometimes melancholy, but never sentimental'. One this disc he brings out 'the nuances of melancholy and humour, tenderness and vitality' inherent in this repertoire, playing Russian 7-string and classical guitars.

	RESONANCE \| CDRSN3103 \| CD \| 743625310320 LATIN MUSIC FOR FLUTE & GUITAR BY CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO, UGOLETTI, RODRIGO, VILLA-LOBOS, PIAZZOLLA, IBERT & GNATTALI Daniele Ruggieri (flute), Piero Bonaguri (guitar)
SOUND OF SUNSHINE An attractive, summery album of 20th-century music for flute and guitar, including the world premiere recording of Ugoletti's Tango e Canzone. Renowned soloists Daniele Ruggieri and Piero Bonaguri give bright, virtuosic performances which sparkle with vibrancy and capture the sunny yet passionate nature of the music.

	RESONANCE \| CDRSN3104 \| CD \| 743625310429 KIDS LOVE BALLET Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Enrique Batiz (conductor)
IDEAL INTRODUCTION FOR CHILDREN Both kids and parents will love this disc, which includes three of Tchaikovsky's best-loved ballet suites: Swan Lake Op 20, Sleeping Beauty Op 66a and The Nutcracker Op 71a. The sleeve notes have been specially commissioned to appeal to children.

	RESONANCE \| CDRSN3105 \| CD \| 743625310528 TELEMANN & HANDEL OBOE SONATAS Marilyn Zupnik (oboe), Mark Schuman (cello), Raymond Leppard (harpsichord)
BAROQUE MUSIC FOR OBOE Here is a collection of some of Telemann's and Handel's greatest oboe sonatas. American oboist Marilyn Zupnik is principle with the Minnesota Orchestra and active as a chamber musician and soloist. 'Full of character, her technique unassailable and her feeling for Baroque ornaments a constant pleasure' (Gramophone)

	SANCTUARY \| CDDCA1185 \| CD \| 0955168236 BELOVED CLARA Lucy Parkham (piano), Martin Jarvis & Joanna David (readers)
PASSION, MUSIC & TRAGEDY Through their music and readings from their intimate letters and diaries, this album recounts the highly-charged story of the relationships between Robert and Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms, between whom one of the most famed love triangles existed. The combination of music and narration makes this album broadly appealing

	SUPRAPHON \| SU3843 \| CD \| 099925384326 SMETANA: PIANO WORKS VOL 3 CZECH DANCES I & II, BETTINA POLKA, THE PEASANT WOMAN POLKA, ANDANTE IN F MINOR & ROMANCE IN G MINOR Jitka Cechova (piano)
HEAR SMETANA WITH FRESH EARS The energetic young pianist of the highly successful Smetana Trio presents Smetana's greatest piano cycle, the Czech Dances, as well as the very last piece from the composer's pen, the Romance. Volumes 1 (SU3841) and 2 (SU3842) are also available. 'Electrifying performance...a landmark series' (International Record Review)

	SUPRAPHON \| SU3906 \| CD \| 099925390624 JANACEK STRING QUARTETS Panocha Quartet
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! The Panocha Quartet will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2008, and new recordings (Ravel & Suk, SU3855) as well as a number of reissues of their most successful titles are being released to celebrate the occasion. Janacek's String Quartets Nos 1 and 2 are gems of 20th-century chamber music, and a touchstone for string quartets.

	SUPRAPHON \| SU3908 \| CD4 \| 099925390822 CZECH MASTERS OF THE 18TH CENTURY MUSIC BY GALLINA, KOPRIVA, VENT & LOKAJ Various Artists, including Prague Chamber Orchestra & Prague Radio Chorus
FIRST TIME ON CD Discover an incredibly rich heritage of music by hitherto unknown Czech masters performed by leading Czech singers, soloists and ensembles. Newly remastered recordings ensure excellent audio quality, bringing to life sacred vocal works and instrumental pieces from the late 18th century.

	SUPRAPHON \| SU39092 \| CD \| 099925390921 DVORAK PIANO QUINTET NO 2 OP 81, STRING QUINTET OP 77 Kathryn Stott (piano), Laurene Durantel (double bass), Skampa Quartet
POPULAR CHAMBER MUSIC BY DVORAK The Skampa Quartet has chosen two quintets from Dvorak’s mature period for its new album. In the String Quintet, the vitality of the first and last movements frame the tender lyricism of its slow movement. The Second Piano Quintet is unusually brilliant and rewarding for the pianist, the charismatic Kathryn Stott.

	SUPRAPHON \| SU39162 \| CD3 \| 099925391621 SMETANA MAJOR ORCHESTRAL WORKS Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Valek (conductor)
NEW RECORDING OF CORE CZECH REPERTOIRE Ma Vlast (My Country), Richard III, Wallenstein’s Camp, Hakon Jarl, Triumph Symphony in E major, March for Shakespeare Festival, Ceremonial Prelude in C major, Georginen-polka, Louisen-polka, Our Lasses-polka. The PRSO and its principal conductor Vladimir Valek are respected performers of the Czech symphonic literature.

	SUPRAPHON \| SU39172 \| CD3 \| 099925391720 MARTINU COMPLETE STRING QUARTETS Panocha Quartet
CREATIVE REVELATION Martinu’s string quartets were written over the entire span of his life, and each of them is a world unto itself. This complete collection was recorded between 1979 and 1983, the peak of the Panocha Quartet’s career. By turns contemplative, passionate, Romantic and Impressionistic, these are seven marvellous pieces.

	SUPRAPHON \| SU39182 \| CD \| 099925391829 MARTINU THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH Marcela Machotkova, Jiri Zahradnicek, Vaclav Zítek, Karel Prusa, Prague Philharmonic Choir, Prague Symphony Orchestra, Jiri Belohlavek (conductor)
MODERN RETELLING OF AN ANCIENT ADVENTURE Martinu’s oratorio The Epic of Gilgamesh is as exciting and mysterious as the ancient Babylonian tale on which it is based. Martinu’s conception and execution are truly ingenious, making use of early Baroque forms. Outstanding performances by the soloists, chorus and orchestra bring this masterful work unforgettably to life.

	SUPRAPHON \| SU3928 \| CD \| 099925392826 MARTINU, JANACEK & KABELAC CELLO WORKS Tomas Jamnik (cello), Ivo Kahanek (piano)
DEBUT CD FROM TWO PRIZE WINNERS Martinu's 2nd Cello Sonata and Variations on a Theme of Rossini, Janacek's Fairy Tale and Kabelac's Cello Sonata Op 9 make for a fascinating survey of 20th-century Czech chamber music. Pianist Ivo Kahanek won the Prague Spring Festival International Competition in 2004, while cellist Tomas Jamnik was the winner in 2006.

	SUPRAPHON \| SU3929 \| CD \| 099925392925 STAMIC VIOLA CONCERTOS Jan Peruska (viola), Prague Philharmonia, Jiri Belohlavek (conductor)
A CZECH MUSICAL FAMILY Here are three Viola Concertos by Jan Vaclav Stamic and his sons Carl and Anton, each outstanding instrumentalists and composers of the 18th century. Jan Peruska, longtime first viola of the Prague Symphonists and member of the famous Stamic Quartet, is a worthy interpreter of these classical gems.

	SUPRAPHON \| SU3935 \| CD \| 099925393526 BEST OF EVA URBANOVA ARIAS BY VERDI, PUCCINI, CILEA, MASCAGNANI, JANACEK & SMETANA Eva Urbanova (soprano), Prague Symphony Orchestra, Jiri Belohlavek (conductor), Prague National Theatre Orchestra and Choir, Ondrej Lenard, Oliver Dohnanyi (conductors), Janacek European Symphony Orchestra, Frantisek Preisler (conductor)
EASTERN EUROPEAN STAR Eva Urbanova, opera singer, soloist of the National Theatre Opera in Prague, and guest artist at prestigious foreign opera houses (including New York’s Metropolitan Opera) celebrated 20 years as a concert and opera soloist this May. This selection offers the best of her recordings of famous roles in the Czech and international repertoire.

	TAHRA \| TAH610 \| CD \| 3504129061012 BEETHOVEN: PIANO CONCERTO NO 1 RAVEL: PIANO TRIO; LISZT: TWO LEGENDS Alfred Cortot (piano), Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Vlado Perlemuter (piano), Jeanne Gautier (violin), Andre Levy (cello)
IMMORTAL PIANO ARCHIVES These historical recordings - Beethoven (1947, Cortot's only recording of this work, carefully restored, previously unissued), Ravel (1954, previously unissued) and Liszt (1939, excellent audio quality) - are brought together on this disc to celebrate the Tahra label's 15 Anniversary.

	TAHRA \| TAH628 \| CD \| 3504129062811 MOZART PIANO CONCERTOS NOS 19 & 20 Clara Haskil (piano), Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire [OSCC], Jerzy Katlewicz (conductor), Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan (conductor)
A MOZARTEAN MUSE Mozart's Piano Concertos No 19 with the OSCC (1956, previously unissued) and No 20 (1956, live recording from the Salburg Mozarteum) confirm Haskil's status as a supreme interpreter of these Classical concerto showpieces. Purity of tone and phrasing, transparency and sensitive inspiration were the hallmarks of her style.

	TAHRA \| TAH629 \| CD \| 3504129062910 MOZART PIANO CONCERTOS NOS 21 & 23 Monique Haas (piano), Baden-Baden Symphony Orchestra, Hans Rosbaud (conductor), NDR Symphony Orchestra, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt (conductor)
CLEAN, PRECISE INTERPRETATIONS These previously unreleased Mozart recordings (both from 1956), Bach's Italian Concerto and Rameau's Les Cyclops (DECCA recordings, 1946) commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the death of Monique Haas, a glamorous performer once described as 'looking like she had just stepped out from an advertisement for Dior'.

	TAHRA \| TAH630 \| CD \| 3504129063016 CHOPIN PIANO CONCERTO NO 2, BARCAROLLE, 3 MAZURKAS & 2 NOCTURNES Youra Guller (piano), Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Edmond Appia (conductor)
PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED RADIO SUISSE ROMANDE RECORDINGS Youra Guller' career wavered between failure and glory, her life a tapestry of heady success, nervous breakdowns, sumptuous receptions and drug addiction. Twenty-five years after her death, she has acquired an almost mythical status. Her only known recordings are three rare LPs.

	TAHRA \| TAH631 \| CD \| 3504129063115 SCHUMANN: PIANO CONCERTO; LISZT: PIANO CONCERTO NO 1 RACHMANINOV: PIANO CONCERTO NO 4 Arturo Benedetti-Michelangeli (piano), Svizzera Italiana Radio/Television Orchestra (Hermann Scherchen (conductor), Florence Maggio Musicale Orchestra, Dimitri Mitropoulis (conductor), Rome RAI Orchestra, Franco Caracciolo (conductor)
INTIMATE PORTRAIT Besides the Schumann Concerto with Scherchen and the Liszt Concerto with Mitropoulos, this CD includes a previously unissued recording of the Rachmaninov 4th Concerto under Caracciolo. The liner notes were written by Benedetti-Michelangeli's friend, Professor Clementy, who draws an intimate portrait of the famous pianist.

	TESTAMENT \| SBT1411 \| CD \| 749677141127 HAYDN SYMPHONIES NOS 88, 95 & 101 Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner (conductor)
A COMMANDING CONDUCTOR With a minuscule beat, acerbic personality and allegedly ‘sadistic’ tendencies, Fritz Reiner was, quite possibly, the conductor most disliked by the musicians who played under him. Fortunately his extraordinary podium technique and total command of a score earned him a respect that his personality did not inspire, as these recordings from the 1960s show.

	ZIG ZAG \| ZZT070302 \| CD \| 376000921393 CHARPENTIER TRISTES DESERTS & OTHER SONGS, EPITAPHIUM CARPENTARIJ, ORPHEE DESCENDANT AUX ENFERS Gerard Lesne (countertenor & director), Cyril Auvity (tenor), Edwin Crossley-Mercer (baritone)
MARVELLOUSLY MELANCHOLY MOODS A famed countertenor himself, Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed a number of heart-meltingly beautiful songs, including Tristes Deserts, the title track of this beautiful disc. The Epitaphium Carpentarij is an unusual cantata - it features the composer's ghost among its characters! His treatment of the Orpheus story is highly effective.

	ZIG ZAG \| ZZT070503 \| CD \| 3760009291447 EARTHLY LIFE SONGS OF MAHLER, BARTOK, TCHAIKOVSKY, BRAHMS, LUTOSLAWSKI & JANACEK Salome Hallery (soprano), Nicolas Kruger (piano)
LIFE IN SONG The 36 songs on this recital disc encompass both folk wisdom and poetic lyricism, dealing with frustrated love, arranged marriages, mothers mourning sons killed in war, poor harvests and betrothed couples ardently awaiting their marriages - in short, the human condition in miniature - whether with piety, emotional truth or amused irony.

ZIG ZAG | ZZT2030102 | CD | 3760009291379
TCHAIKOVSKY
SYMPHONY NO 4 & THE NUTCRACKER SUITE
Anima Eterna, Jos van Immerseel (conductor)

PERIOD-INSTRUMENT TCHAIKOVSKY 'Here's proof of the "authentic" movement's advances into new territory. The works are all too well known, but that makes hearing them on the instruments for which they were written (gut strings, wooden flutes, calfskin-covered timpani) a revelation. None of this would mean that much were it not for Jos van Immerseel's brilliant mastery of the scores.' 5 STARS (The Independent)

	ZIG ZAG \| ZZT2030301 \| CD \| 3760009291249 BRAHMS CLARINET SONATAS OP 120 NOS 1 & 2 Florent Heau (clarinet), Patrick Zygmanowski (piano)
4 STARS FROM LE MONDE DE LA MUSIQUE 'Brahms inspires a sincere eloquence from Florent Heau, phrasing that is a model of sobriety and a dramatic urgency that proceeds with an infinite variety of nuances. The same holds for Patrick Zygmanowski's piano playing' (Les Echoes)

	ZIG ZAG \| ZZT2030903 \| CD \| 3760009291515 PIECES FOR TWO PIANOS BY SAINT-SAENS, FRANCK, INFANTE & POULENC Jos van Immerseel & Claire Chevallier (1897 & 1904 Erard pianos)
4 STARS FROM THE INDEPENDENT 'What makes this disc special is the sound of the 2 pianos…They bring a delicious piquancy to these attractive scores.' (The Independent). Saint-Saens' Danse Macabre & Variations on a Theme of Beethoven Op 35; Franck's Prelude, Fugue and Variation Op 18; Infante's Three Andalusian Dances; Poulenc's Elegie, L'Embarquement pour Cythere & Capriccio 'The Masked Ball'

	ZIG ZAG \| ZZT2031101 \| CD \| 3760009291348 MONTEVERDI VESPERS OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST Akademia, Francois Lasserre (director)
ffff AWARD FROM TELERAMA Lasserre has selected movements from Monteverdi's published sacred music to create a Vespers service for St John, a fascinating counterpart to his more famous Vespers for the Blessed Virgin Mary. 'A very fine recording project which will be an essential acquisition for anyone interested in this music.' (Early Music Review)

	ZIG ZAG \| ZZT2031102 \| CD \| 3760009291508 HANDEL TRIO SONATAS L'Assemblee des honnestes curieux, Amandine Beyer (director)
HANDELIAN 'GREATEST HITS' Handel frequently recycled musical material from his own works, though rarely without refreshing them. Movements from Il Parnasso in Festa, Apollo e Dafne, Alcina, the Concerto Grosso Op 3 No 3 and the Chandos anthem My Song Shall Be Away are among those found in these delightful Trio Sonatas.

	ZIG ZAG \| ZZT2040201 \| CD \| 3760009291355 PICCINI THEORBO WORKS Les Libertins, Pascal Monteilhet (theorbo)
4 STARS FROM LE MONDE DE LA MUSIQUE Working directly from the lute tablature, rather than a modernised conventional musical score, Monteilhat and his colleagues Monica Pustilnik (Renaissance guitar) and Jean-Marc Aymes (organ) bring to life every subtle nuance, ornament and expressive gesture that Alessandro Piccinini intended to convey.

	ZIG ZAG \| ZZT20403011 \| CD \| 3760009291331 GEMINIANI CONCERTI GROSSI NOS 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11 & LA FOLIA Ensemble 415, Chiara Banchini (violin & direction)
GEMINIANI REVIVAL 'This is an outstanding release even in terms of the technicalities: sound, intonation…But the playing is best of all. Miss Chiara Banchini both directs and plays solo violin, and she has produced a rendition with light, delicate energy and depth of feeling.' (American Record Guide). Geminiani's music is currently enjoying a surge of popularity!

	ZIG ZAG \| ZZT2040601 \| CD \| 3760009291478 JS, CPE & WF BACH TRIO SONATAS FOR TWO FLUTES Valerie Balssa, Jean-Pierre Pinet (flutes), Hager Spaeter-Hanana (cello), Blandine Rannou (harpsichord)
EXQUISITE PERFORMANCES The stylistic evolution in chamber music from Baroque to Classical can be traced on this delicious recording in which two flutes flutter like birds on the wing through music of fascinating polyphonic interplay, rich melodic invention and buoyant harmonies. 'sumptuous counterpoint...subtle sonorities' (Diapason)

	ZIG ZAG \| ZZT2041001 \| CD \| 3760009291492 BEETHOVEN PIANO SONATAS NOS 1, 13 & 28 Helene Couvert (piano)
CHOC DU MONDE DE LA MUSIQUE / DIAPASON D'OR 'His music constantly moves forward, in a spirit of tremendous determination,' comments young French pianist Helene Couvert. 'I feel deeply in tune with this search for energy. His music reflects my character which is direct, optimistic and resolute.' This is a marvellous survey of early, middle and late Beethoven sonatas.

	ZIG ZAG \| ZZT2041002 \| CD \| 3760009291485 LANZETTI CELLO SONATAS OP 1 Gaetano Nasillo (cello), Andrea Marchiol (harpsichord), Sara Bennici (continuo cello)
SONATAS FOR AN ENGLIGH PRINCE Salvatore Lanzetti was one of the leading lights of the 'new music' that swept across Europe from Naples during the 18th Century - virtuosic, melodic, full of contrasts and special instrumental effects (such as double- and triple-stopping). Dedicated to Frederick, Prince of Wales, theses Cello Sonatas are well worth rediscovering.

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classical dvd
arthaus | bel air

	ARTHAUS \| K101431 \| DVD \| 807280143195 CLASSICAL MASTERPIECES VOL 3 SCHUMANN: SYMPHONY NO 3 'RHENISH' Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Kent Nagano (conductor)
SCHUMANN'S LOVE-SONG TO THE RHINE VALLEY See the orchestra in rehearsal and performance to gain insight into the collaboration between a great conductor and his orchestra. Recorded Live in the Berlin Philharmonie, 2006. Includes an exclusive 52-minute documentary with Kent Nagano.

	ARTHAUS \| K101433 \| DVD \| 807280143393 CLASSICAL MASTERPIECES VOL 4 BRAHMS: SYMPHONY NO 4 Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Kent Nagano (conductor)
TECHNICALLY AND VISUALLY OUTSTANDING Recorded Live in the Berlin Philharmonie, 2006. Includes an exclusive 52-minute documentary with Kent Nagano. ALSO AVAILABLE Beethoven Symphony No 3 'Eroica' (K101429) and Mozart Symphony No 41 'Jupiter' (K101427) - an excellent educational/concert series for all to enjoy.

	ARTHAUS \| K102125 \| DVD \| 807280212594 TCHAIKOVSKY CYCLE VOL 3 SYMPHONY NO 3 OP 29 'POLISH', SWAN LAKE (EXCERPTS) & CONCERT FANTASY OP 56 Mikhail Pletnev (piano), The Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Fedoseyev (conductor)
DIRECTED FOR TELEVISION Hailed as the definitive video productions of Tchaikovsky's music, The Tchaikovsky Cycle features perceptive interpretations and masterly playing. Live Recording from the Alte Oper Frankfurt, 1991. Also available Vol 1 Symphony No 1 (K102 121) and Vol 2 Symphony No 2 (K102123).

	BEL AIR \| BELAIR-BAC022 \| DVD \| 3760115300224 VERDI AIDA Nina Stemme (Aida), Luciana d'Intino (Amneris), Salvatore Licitra (Radames), Juan Pons (Amonasro), Matti Salminen (Ramfis), Gunther Groissbock (King), Zurich Opera Orchestra, Adam Fischer (conductor)
HIGH DEFINITION RECORDING Nina Stimme makes her debut as Aida with an astonishing performance in a new production by Nicolas Joel at the Zurich Opera, sharing the stage with a star-studded cast. Includes a 52-minute documentary 'The Story of Aida' and an interview with video director Andy Somer.

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non-classical cd & sacd
jazz | world

jazz
hat hut | iris music | le chant du monde | living era

HAT HUT | HATOLOGY648 | CD | 752156064824
MYTHA-HOW IT ALL STARTED

Hans Kennel, Alphorn Quartet & Orchestra

A NEW APPROACH TO AN AGELESS INSTRUMENT The energy of the music of this alphorn quartet (expanded on some tracks) hasn’t diminished since its first CD was released in 1991. Hans Kennel is a leading expert on folk tradition, in particular on that of Central Switzerland. His interest, however, does not stem from ethnomusicological hunting and gathering practices but from a living experience with music, both improvised and other kinds.

	IRIS MUSIC \| IR3001970 \| CD \| 3464630019707 ROOTS Rosenberg Trio
GYPSY JAZZ FROM THE NETHERLANDS Stochello Rosenberg (lead guitar), Nous'che Rosenberg (rhythm guitar) and Nonnie Rosenberg (double bass) grew up in a musical family and immersed themselves in the music of Django Reinhardt. Joined by Bernard Berkhout (clarinet), they present Reinhardt's music alongside original compositions.

	LE CHANT DU MONDE \| CM2741507 \| CD \| 794881844227 CHILLTIMES Ludovic Beiez (accordion, accordina), New Quartet
AN ARTICULATE ACCORDIONIST This disc presents original compositions, hallmarked with elegance, a city-beat sensibility and immense technical accomplishment. Beier can make his accordion hum a jaunty ditty, reminisce, run a risk, venture into the unknown or cry with love-filled yearning with all the punch and sincerity of a seasoned jazz singer.

	LE CHANT DU MONDE \| CM2741509 \| CD \| 794881846221 LES BRANCHES DES ARBRES SE SOULEVENT Louise Vertigo (vocals), Didier Guegdes (guitar), Sylvain Daniel (bass), Philippe Drai (drums), Valentine Duteil (cello), Jean Philippe Dary (keyboards), Javier Santos (percussion)
VIVE LA CHANSON 'French Chanson' is such a broad category that it is almost impossible to describe, except to say that it is a constantly self-renewing form, open to influences from everywhere. Louise Vertigo contributes a smooth voice, and her band adds a nice groove, some funky sounds, a bit of fun and a good mix of acoustic and electronic backing.

	LIVING ERA \| CDAJA5662 \| CD \| 743625566222 MORE AND MORE Webb Pierce 'The Wondering Boy'
LEGENDARY KING OF 50s COUNTRY MUSIC Louisana-born Webb Pierce was THE top country star, bigger even than Hank Williams, Eddy Arnold or Hank Shaw. The 30 mono recordings collected here cover the years 1951-56, including In The Jailhouse Now, Slowly, I Don't Care and Wondering - in all, 12 No 1 Hits.

	LIVING ERA \| CDAJA5669 \| CD \| 743625566925 AND THE ANGEL SINGS Martha Tilton
BENNY GOODMAN'S 'ANGEL' The "liltin' Miss Tilton" is best remembered as the singer who fronted the great Benny Goodman band for many of its top hits, including the title track of this fine tribute disc. 24 original mono recordings 1937-55 include I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart, This Can't Be Love, and What Goes On Here In My Heart?.

	LIVING ERA \| CDAJS2121 \| CD2 \| 743625202120 THE JEEP IS JUMPIN' Johnny Hodges
CENTENARY ISSUE Johnny Hodges (1907-70) raised the art of jazz alto sax-playing to an unparalled level of beauty, making him the supreme instrumental voice within the great Duke Ellington band for almost 40 years. 46 original mono recordings 1941-55, including Squatty Roo, Violet Blue, Wishing And Waiting, I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good.

world
ad vitam | daqui | le chant du monde | marabi | radio france

	AD VITAM \| AVR070330 \| CD \| 3760109130134 COR'DI MEMORIA Tavagna
HEART OF CORSICAN MEMORY Song has always held a central place in the everyday life of the Corsican community, nourishing its deepest feelings and most secret dreams. The ensemble Tavagna has championed this rich and earthy repertoire for nearly 40 years, with passionate singing that constantly renews the ancient tradition of their island home.

	DAQUI \| 332031 \| CD \| 794881844623 CHIN NA NA POUN Patrick Vaillant (electric mandolin, vocals, melodica), Manu Theran (vocals, percussion), Daniel Malvergne (tuba, marching baryton, vocals)
SOUTHERN FRENCH CABARET Victor Gelu was a famous 19th-century poet and songwriter from Marseilles who wrote in response to the brutal advent of industrialisation in his region. Vaillant, Theron and Malavergna have delved into this provocative repertoire, combining the grotesque, the high-spirited and deeply felt into their own 'oom-pa-pa' cabaret tribute.

	LE CHANT DU MONDE \| CM2741230 \| CD \| 794881754526 MEMORIES OF DJANGO Angelo Debarre, Tchavolo Schmitt (guitars), Tchavolo Hassan, Chiquito Lambert (rhythm guitars), Etienne Lemauf (double bass)
LIVING MEMORIES Playing on guitars modelled on the Selmer 452 jazz instrument of 1939, Debarre, Schmitt and friends pay tribute to the great Django Reinhardt with 11 tracks in the Gypsy Jazz style. The result is like opening a musical time capsule from almost 70 years ago and capturing the authentic sound with superb modern digital recording technology.

	LE CHANT DU MONDE \| CM2741515 \| CD \| 794881846429 HOMMAGE Marcel Loeffler (accordion), Cecile Verny (vocals), Costel Nitescu (violin), Mandino Reinhardt, Dino Mehrstein, David Reinhardt, Yorgui Loeffler (solo guitars), Gauthier Laurent (double bass), Cedric Loeffler, Joselito Loeffler (rhythm guitars)
MANOUCHE ACCORDION Since Django Reinhardt, Manouche jazz has largely become the realm of guitarists, with the exception of accordionist Marcel Loeffler, who has performed with all the major Manouche musicians of his generation and attracted worldwide acclaim for his musical elegance and unerring sense of swing.

	MARABI \| MRB468212 \| CD \| 794881849628 MANDINGO EMPIRE OF MUSIC Various Artists, including Ali Farka Toure, Salif Keita, Oumou Sangare, Rokia Traore, Toumani Diabate, Amadou & Mariam, Mory Kante, Ba Cissoko & Boubacar Traore
MUSIC FROM THE MUSIQUES METISSES FESTIVAL Both innovators and heirs of a great tradition, the artists presented on this collection are the ambassadors of the culture that has stemmed from the Mandingo Empire. All of them have performed at the Musiques Metisses Festival. Most of them come from Mali and Guinea.

	RADIO FRANCE \| C560212 \| CD \| 794881825622 CLASSICAL TADJIK SONGS Farhod Qori Halimov (singer, tanhur lute), Gozal Muminova (dutor & rabob lutes), Toraqul Juraulov (doyra percussion)
CENTRAL ASIAN SONGS The great singer and tanbur lute exponent Farhod Qori Halimov belongs to an ancient line of performers who represent the best of the Shashmaqom classical repertoire from Uzbekistan. His music, a subtle chamber-music characterised by improvisation, is enhanced by the dutor and rabob lutes and doyra percussion.

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audiobooks

	NAXOS AUDIOBOOKS \| 147212 \| CD \| 9789626344729 THE GREAT POETS - WILLIAM BLAKE Read by Robert Glenister, Michael Maloney & Stephen Critchlow
POET, PAINTER & VISIONARY William Blake (1757-1827) is best known for a mere handful of poems such as Tyger and Jerusalem, yet there is much more to this extraordinary artist whose 150th Anniversary is being celebrated this year. This is an excellent introduction to his diverse poetic output.

	NAXOS AUDIOBOOKS \| 147412 \| CD \| 9789626344743 THE GREAT POETS - RUDYARD KIPLING Read by Robert Hardy, Robert Glenister & Stephen Critchlow
AN ACUTE OBSERVOR OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE Although sometimes still regarded as a product of the colonial era, Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) is regarded more generously now as a master of popular verse. Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907, his writings belong in the mainstream of British literary tradition.

	NAXOS AUDIOBOOKS \| 246012 \| CD2 \| 9789626344606 LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY By Frances Hodgson Burnett Read by Teresa Gallagher
A GREAT CHILDREN'S CLASSIC Since its publication in 1885, Little Lord Fauntleroy has become a favourite with children. Cedric, an American boy, becomes the heir to a British earldom and moves from New York to his ancestral castle, where he comes to terms with aristocratic ways and makes his family more compassionate and aware of the need for social justice.

	NAXOS AUDIOBOOKS \| 346312 \| CD3 \| 9789626344637 THE PROPHET & THE WANDERER By Khalil Gibran Read by Robert Glenister
ONLY RECORDING OF THESE GREAT CLASSICS Khalil Gibran (1883-1931) was Lebanese by birth but spent the major part of his life in America. He wrote many collections of stories with a wise or whimsical tone, none more popular than his first collection, The Prophet, or his final anthology, The Wanderer.

	NAXOS AUDIOBOOKS \| 446512 \| CD4 \| 9789626344651 THE CASEBOOK OF SHERLOCK HOLMES By Arthur Conan Doyle Read by David Timson
SIX BAFFLING CASES These are among the last mysteries tackled by Sherlock Holmes before his retirement to the Sussex Downs. Who stole the Mazarin Diamond? What is the importance of the name Garrideb? A vampire in Sussex and a murder on Thor Bridge are among the cases he must solve...

	NAXOS AUDIOBOOKS \| 447012 \| CD4 \| 9789626344705 THE MOON OF GOMRATH By Alan Garner Read by Philip Madoc
MAGIC & MYSTERY Alan Garner's exciting and atmospheric tale of magic and evil which began with The Weirdstone of Brisingamen continues with The Moon of Gomrath. Protagonists Colin and Susan are not safe from the evil Morrigan and once more find themselves back in Fundindelve with the wizard Cadellin.

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