Violin Concertino, Triptych for Orchestra

Avie continues to champion the works of Hans Gál with the label’s first foray into the continental Briton’s orchestral oeuvre. This album of three premiere recordings is framed by two works for violin and orchestra, both from the 1930s but written under entirely contrasting circumstances. When he wrote the Violin Concerto in 1931-32, Gál was at the height of his career and enjoying widespread recognition. By the time the Concertino was composed in 1939, his life had been turned upside down by the catastrophic Nazi occupation of Germany and later Austria, forcing Gál and his family to flee to England in 1938. German violinist Annette-Barbara Vogel, who previously recorded a disc of Gál’s chamber works with piano for Avie, has become one of the composer’s most ardent proponents. Gramophone Editor’s Choice: Gal’s Complete Works for Solo Piano by Leon McCawley (AV2064)

Aria and Recitative from Lucia Silla, Ballet Music from Idomeneo, Contradances

Apollo’s Fire, the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra founded in 1992 by award-winning harpsichordist and conductor Jeannette Sorrell, launches a major new association with Avie with two releases that exemplify 'the intense detailing Sorrell and company bring to music from the Baroque and Classical eras.' These vibrant performances of varied works by J.S. Bach and Mozart feature popular repertoire brought together in pairings that have not appeared on disc before. The all-Mozart recording leads with the composer’s darkest Symphony, No. 40 in G minor. American soprano Amanda Forsythe joins the group in a dramatic recitative and virtuoso aria from Lucio Silla. Also included is the Ballet Music from Idomeneo, a festive and rarely-heard suite from the last great work in the opera seria tradition. Rounding out the disc are four lively and entertaining Contradances. 'Led by a brilliant harpsichordist, Jeannette Sorrell, the ensemble exudes stylish energy... a blend of scholarship and visceral intensity.' -Gramophone

Harpsichord Concerto in D Minor BWV1052, Harpsichord Concerto in F Minor BWV1056, Violin Concerto in D Minor BWV1052 (reconstruction)

Taking its name from the classical god of music and the sun, Apollo’s Fire is dedicated to the performance of 17th- and 18th-century music on period instruments. Founder and Music Director Jeannette Sorrell and her ensemble of dynamic and creative early-music artists from North America and Europe have been praised internationally for stylistic freshness and buoyancy, animated spontaneity, technical excellence, and creative programming. An award-winning harpsichordist and conductor, Sorrell studied with Gustav Leonhardt in Amsterdam and Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood. This 2-CD Bach set takes the ever-popular Brandenburg Concertos, and uniquely couples them with two Harpsichord Concertos, one of which is also presented in a reconstruction for violin.

Pereira Cello Concertino

The great Brazilian cellist Antonio Meneses extends his fruitful association with Avie with his sixth release and first concerto recording for the label. Directing the Northern Sinfonia from the cello, Meneses pairs the two classic Haydn concerti with a world-premiere by his compatriot Clovis Pereira. With flawless technique and unerring musicality, Antonio navigates Haydn’s infectious fast movements with astonishing facility, and the inner slow movements with enduring expressiveness. The Pereira, dedicated to Meneses, melds a quasi-Baroque style with elements of the musicians’ homeland, particularly the northeast countryside of the State of Pernambuco, where both cellist and composer hail from.

'Antonio Meneses is a master of his instrument' –BBC Music Magazine

4 Impromptus D899, 4 Impromptus D935

The brilliant career of Italian pianist Andrea Lucchesini was launched in 1983, when he became the first Italian ever to win the Dino Ciani International Competition at La Scala in Milan. He has since made numerous award-winning recordings and performed all over the world with such orchestras as the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Houston Symphony, London Philharmonic, under the baton of such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Semyon Bychkov and Riccardo Chailly. A probing musician, Lucchesini is well-known for his advocacy of contemporary music – his first recording for Avie featured the complete solo piano works by Berio (AV2104) – yet he is equally at home with the Romantic masters as this, his first recording of Schubert, demonstrates.

'Pianism of an uncomparably high order, technically, musically, interpretively… Discs seldom get as good as this.' –International Record Review

Serenata Five Songs for Baritone

Vasily Petrenko and the RLPO first collaborated with the Liverpool-based European Opera Centre on a Russian double-bill of Shostakovich’s The Gamblers and Rothschild’s Violin by Fleishman. The resulting 2-CD set on Avie garnered a Gramophone Editor’s Choice and contributed to Petrenko’s winning the Young Artist of the Year accolade at the 2007 Gramophone Awards. The team reunites for a rare, live recording of Wolf-Ferrari’s humorous one-act opera, Susanna’s Secret. Wolf-Ferrari’s neo-classical score is as seductive as the Edwardian plot in which the new wife of a jealous Count attempts to hide her smoking habit. When he catches her, their improbable reconciliation results in a rather different sort of smouldering. The recording is uniquely rounded out with Wolf-Ferrari’s Serenata, five songs extracted from his seldom-heard Italian Songbook.

Herr Deine Augen sehen nach dem Glauben BWV102, Es erhub sich ein Streit BWV19, Wer Dank opfert der preiset mich BWV17, Es ist dir gesagt Mensch was gut ist BWV45

All four works in this volume of Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan's acclaimed Bach Cantatas cycle come from the second half of 1726. During this period Bach often chose works by other composers for his weekly performances in the St Thomas Church at Leipzig, and was therefore able to dedicate more time and effort to those cantatas that he did compose himself. In particular the introductory choruses of the cantatas included here demonstrate this, with their large-scale, almost symphonic conception. Reviews of recent releases in this series have confirmed the consistently high quality of the enterprise: 'superlative – virtually flawless performances of three of Bach's most inspired cantatas' (BBC Music Magazine). The soloists on the present instalment include three seasoned participants in Robin Blaze, Gerd Türk and Peter Kooij. Newer to the cantata series is the soprano Hana Blažíkova, whose first appearance on Volume 43 was noticed by many reviewers: ‘Blazikova proves  to be excellent: her opening aria [Süsser Trost] – exuding a deeply poignant poetry'.

Sonata No 28 in A Major Op 101, Sonata No 30 in E Major Op 109, Sonata No 31 in A flat Major Op 110, Sonata No 32 in C Minor Op 111

The 32 piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven have been called ‘the New Testament of piano music' and belong to the most recorded repertoire of any instrument. With this disc, volume eight in his traversal of Beethoven's music for solo piano, Ronald Brautigam has reached the last of the 32, completing a sonata cycle which has made a great impression on all who have been following it: 'Beethoven the revolutionary comes closer than ever in Brautigam's fiery interpretations' (The Times). Brautigam has chosen to record these seminal works on fortepiano, and throughout the series uses two different instruments mirroring the rapid development of the piano during the three decades that saw the birth of these sonatas. But first and foremost it is the purely musical qualities of Ronald Brautigam's cycle that have impressed listeners: ‘Stunning performances that are technically breathtaking, stylistically astute, emotionally intense and musically alive in every moment' (Gramophone). The final chapters in Beethoven's pianistic testament are no less thrilling than those that have preceded them, and Brautigam's readings of them make for a grand finale of the sonata cycle.

Composed for the 1744 celebrations at Drottningholm Palace of the marriage between the Swedish crown prince Adolf Fredrik and Lovisa Ulrika of Prussia, Johan Helmich Roman's Drottningholm Music is a key work in Swedish art music. Consisting of 24 individual movements, it forms an inventory of short pieces suitable for providing the proper musical ambience for the royal celebrations, which took place over four days. As befitted the occasion, the character of the music is buoyant and witty, and when the atmosphere occasionally veers away from the carefree, it is towards a graceful melancholy rather than grief or pain. The work is performed by Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, guided by Andrew Manze, the orchestra's principal conductor and one of the world's leading specialists in baroque music.

Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra No 2

With fifteen symphonies in his oeuvre to date, as well as numerous other orchestral pieces, Kalevi Aho is one of today's most important composers of orchestral music. Twelve of the symphonies have already been released on BIS, in recordings that have earned ever-growing interest. American Record Guide described Symphony No.7 as 'one of our century's great orchestral scores'. Symphony No.13 was written for the fifth anniversary of the Sibelius Hall in Lahti in 2003, and exploits the acoustic capabilities of the hall to the full. Subtitled ‘Symphonic Characterisations', the work portrays a spectrum of human character types in two long movements divided into a number of shorter sections. One year before the symphony Kalevi Aho completed his Second Piano Concerto, for piano and string orchestra. It was written with the Finnish pianist Antti Siirala in mind, and in the composer's own words ‘the demanding piano writing is primarily a consequence of Siirala's remarkable command of the Beethovenian-Lisztian-Brahmsian pianistic tradition.' Siirala is the soloist on the present recording, supported by Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Osmo Vänskä, the eminent team which also gave the first performances of these two works.

Suite from the ballet Joanna Tentata Op 37a, Symphonic Dances Op 6, Concerto Grosso Op 5

For more than fifty years, Eino Tamberg has remained an influential figure in the musical life of his native Estonia. His breakthrough on the international music scene came in 1956 with Concerto grosso, Op.5, which also heralded the success of the ‘new wave' of Estonian composers, including Arvo Pärt. Tamberg's passion for instrumental colours stands out, and manifests itself in the Concerto grosso, with its solo group including flute, clarinet, trumpet, alto saxophone, bassoon and piano; the use of the saxophone is especially notable in view of the fact that in the Stalin era this instrument had been branded as ‘decadent'. A year later, Tamberg again included saxophones in a score, namely that of his Symphonic Dances, Op.6. The work incorporates Estonian folk tunes, although these have been transformed in various ways and are almost completely integrated into the symphonic texture. These three scores are conducted by Tamberg's compatriot and long-time champion Neeme Järvi.

In some of his very first orchestral scores, such as Uirapuru from 1917, Heitor Villa-Lobos was already concerned with the vast Amazonian forests. The subject surfaces in a number of works throughout his production, for instance in the depictions of virgin forests in Choros No.3 and No.10. In Floresta do Amazonas, one of his very last works, Villa-Lobos again focused explicitly on the rain forest, the creatures that live in it, and the myths that have been woven around it. The work has been described as a symphonic poem for soprano, male-voice choir and large orchestra, and began its existence as a commission for the soundtrack to The Green Mansions, a Hollywood film starring Audrey Hepburn and Anthony Perkins. Not used to writing for the cinema, Villa-Lobos did not consider the need to synchronize the music with what was going to take place on the screen. He therefore arrived in Hollywood with a finished score, and eventually another composer was engaged to write the film music, in which some of Villa-Lobos' own themes were included.

1888 'Romantic' version

Symphony No.4 in E-flat major has been one of Anton Bruckner's most popular works ever since its first performance in Vienna 1881, when the composer was reportedly called out to take a bow after each movement. It is often called the ‘Romantic', a nickname that Bruckner himself used, most probably in reference to the literary genre of the medieval romance, rather than to the concept of romantic love. Indeed, Bruckner provided a sort of programme to the work, setting the scene for its opening as follows: ‘Medieval town – first daylight – on proud chargers knights sally forth ... the wonder of nature surrounds them ...' What was performed in Vienna in 1881 was a second, revised version of the symphony, which had actually already seen first light in 1874. In spite of the success of the revised version, further revisions took place before publication, resulting in the so-called ‘1888 version' recorded here. It has been said that Bruckner took Beethoven's Symphony No.9 as the starting point for his symphonies. It therefore seems logical that Osmo Vänskä and his Minnesota Orchestra have chosen to record this work after their acclaimed cycle of Beethoven's symphonies. The reviewer in American Record Guide found it ‘hard to think of a more distinguished Beethoven cycle by an American orchestra since the legendary Toscanini traversal of 1939'.

Flute Concerto No 1 in G Major K313, Oboe Concerto in C Major K314, Symphony No 32 in G Major K318

Irena Grafenauer and François Leleux are two internationally renowned woodwind soloists who emerged from the ranks of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. The 1981 recording of the Mozart's Flute Concerto K313 with the Slovenian soloist Irena Grafenauer is of very special value in the orchestra's discography, because it is one of the few recordings with the great Günter Wand on the podium. Leleux ranks today as one of the most sought-after oboe soloists in the world. This CD presents him in 2001 with Mozart’s Oboe Concerto accompanied by the orchestra in which he held the position of principal oboist until 2005, with Sir Colin Davis. The live recording of the short, one-movement Symphony K318, which conjures the atmosphere of an Italian opera in the concert hall, was made during Davis’s early years as Chief Conductor of the orchestra.

Serenades KV100, KV185, KV203-204, KV239 'Serenata Notturna', KV250 'Haffner Serenade', KV525 'Eine kleine Nachtmusik', Divertimenti KV113, KV131, KV136-138, KV295, KV247, KV251, KV 287, KV334 Kontretanze KV123, KV101, KV609, KV610 "Les filles Malicieuses

Reissue of a popular collection of Mozart’s chamber works conducted by the legendary Hungarian violinist Sándor Végh, considered to be one of the great chamber violinists of the twentieth century. This attractively packaged 10-CD boxed set offers excellent value and the ideal collection for any Mozart lover.

Winter Scenes, Sonata No 3 Op 27, Sonata Op 64, Preludes

Kenneth Leighton was a pianist of considerable accomplishment and his activities as both a composer and a musician often centred on the piano. As a composer-pianist, he had an innate understanding of the instrument and what he described as its ‘inexhaustible possibilities’. His first published work was for the instrument, Sonatina No. 1, Op. 1a, and the last music that he wrote, before his death at the age of fifty-eight, was the beginning of a compendium of Preludes for piano, the partially complete result of which features in this recital. Two of the works on this disc, recorded here for the first time, date from the years 1951–55, a time of self-discovery in his musical language, which included a period of study in Rome. Winter Scenes, a suite of seven short movements, remains unpublished and, as far as is known, was never performed in public by Leighton or any of his contemporaries. Along with the progressive Sonata No. 3, Op. 27, it demonstrates Leighton’s growing mastery of piano technique. Margaret Fingerhut has an extensive discography on Chandos. In a recent review she was described as ‘an accomplished and stylish advocate’ (BBC Music).

Schumann Piano Concerto A minor Op 54, Chopin Piano Concerto No 2 in F minor Op 21

The popular coupling of Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor and Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21, featuring Louis Lortie as the soloist, is here re-issued on Chandos Classics. CD Review wrote of the performance of Schumann’s Concerto: ‘…his playing is thrillingly imaginative and I cannot recall ever having heard the Finale sound so physically exciting as it does here.’ About the performance of Chopin’s F minor Concerto, the reviewer noted: ‘Lortie produces a scintillating reading which resounds in the mind long after the music has ceased.’ The Philharmonia Orchestra is conducted by Neeme Järvi.

Symphony No 3 in D G503, Symphony No 8 in A G508, Symphony No 21 in C G515

Matthias Bamert and the London Mozart Players here present a selection of symphonies by Luigi Boccherini. None of the symphonies is well known and they are seldom recorded. Boccherini was born in 1743 in Lucca. He was to become one of the greatest cellists of his time, and travelled all over Europe giving virtuoso performances. His compositional genius only fully emerged when he took up permanent residence at the court of the Infante Don Luis in Spain. He is most popular for his chamber music, especially the string quintet genre, but his output also included about thirty symphonies. The Contemporaries of Mozart series is one of the longest-running on Chandos and offers performances of rarely recorded works, played by an orchestra which understands this repertoire completely.

As part of the Musica Italiana series, the BBC Philharmonic and Gianandrea Noseda perform two important works by Alfredo Casella, a largely forgotten Italian composer who was actually one of the most important of his generation. Italian composers in the early years of the twentieth century were not much interested in the symphony. Casella, however, was a major exception. On the advice of Giuseppe Martucci, the 13-year-old Casella had been sent to the Paris Conservatoire where, alongside outstanding fellow students such as Maurice Ravel and George Enescu, he received the all-round professional training that would not have been available to him in Italy.He was much influenced in his early piano pieces not only by his composition teacher, Gabriel Fauré, but also by Debussy and Ravel. Symphony No. 2 in C minor is dedicated to George Enescu, and here receives its premiere recording. Drawing from as many as ninety of the hundreds of Scarlatti sonatas available to him, in the neoclassical Scarlattiana, Casella presents an abundance of melody, the work’s general light-heartedness effectively offset by such thoughtful episodes as the matching slow introductions to the opening Sinfonia and the Finale. These two orchestral works demonstrate Casella’s fascinating tonal language. They are beautifully conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, a long-time champion of Casella’s works.

In November 1971, Dame Janet Baker – a great champion of opera sung in English – performed the title role in Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea with Sadler’s Wells Opera at the London Coliseum, conducted by the baroque and classical specialist Raymond Leppard. This was the first time the company had produced the work and, happily, a performance was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.This release of that broadcast has been re-mastered. Chandos Opera in English now enables listeners to experience the artistry of Dame Janet, at the height of her career, on this latest Archive Edition.

Cantique de Jean Racine, Ave Verum Corpus, Tantum Ergo, Ave Maria, Maria Mater Gratiae, Messe Basse

2010 sees the re-release at mid-price of John Rutter’s Gramophone Award-winning 1984 recording of Fauré’s Requiem. The first-ever performance on disc of the work in its intimate original version – famously re-discovered by Rutter in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris after a century of neglect – remains one of the timeless jewels in the crown of the Collegium catologue. Hailed on release as ‘the Fauré Requiem of the future’ (Music Week), Rutter’s performance with the Cambridge Singers and members of the City of London Sinfonia has transformed the way in which we view one of the great works of European sacred music, and remains definitive.

During the course of the Age of Enlightenment a rather special, indeed unique, occasion took place (on July 6, 1750, to be exact) with the first performance of a composition by William Hayes to a well-known humanist text: The Passions, An Ode for Music (written in 1746 by William Collins). In those days the detailed study of human passions and feelings was an omnipresent theme in the worlds of science and art. With such a backdrop, the poetry of Collins and the music of Hayes join together to create a captivating work which manifests a deep understanding of human nature, is packed tight with philosophical references and which enjoys a subtly sharp dry sense of humour. The result is a dramatic oratorio of the greatest musical quality, which combines the language of the late Baroque with elements of the style galante and which even hints at the arrival of Classicism. In a series of consistently original and surprising mini-scenes, ten ‘passions’ become involved in theatrical disputes (among them Fear, Revenge, Melancholy, Hope and Cheerfulness). Anthony Rooley is responsible for the rediscovery of this significant work and here leads a performance with soloists and ensembles closely linked with the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.

Bach Johann Unser Leben ist ein Schatten, Bach JS Ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn, Bach Heinrich Ach dass ich Wassers g'nug hatte in meinem Haupte, Johann Ludwig Bach Die mit Tranen sehen, Georg Christoph Bach Siehe wie fein und lieblich ists,

The Bach Familiy contains exceptional music the greatest dynasty of musicians that has ever existed. The boxed set presents not only the well-known works of JS Bach but also a selectino of music by his forefathers, sons and grandchildren. Even before Johann Sebastian began composing, his uncles Johann Ludwig and Georg Christoph Bach, and children Wilhelm Friedemann and Johann Christian after him, and still later Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst - to name but a few key members of the famous Bach family - were all accomplished musicians and composers. For nearly two hundred years, generations remained dedicated to singing God's praises in music. Helmuth Rilling, who has made the music of the great Johann Sebastian and his family his life's work, performs these pieces with delicacy, energy and intelligence - providing an overview of the  stounding diversity of musical language of the Bach family.

12 Etudes Op 10, Berceuse Op 57

After his sensational first recording for Harmonia Mundi (more than 120,000 units sold!) blind Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii fills us with wonder in this new recording of Chopin's Piano Concerto Op.1 for the composer's bicentenary celebrations. Gold medallist at the thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Tsujii is heard here in a captivating all-Chopin program of his competition performances.'Through all three rounds, he played with unfiling assurance and his unforced, utterly natural Chopin E minor Piano Concerto was an oasis of loveliness amid too much point-making from other contestants'.

Three Songs Op 42, Four Songs Op 17, Seven Lieder Op 62, Five Songs Op 104, Four Quartets Op 92, Three Quartets Op 31, Eleven Gypsy Songs Op 103

Lachrimae Antiquae, Lachrimae Antiquae Novae, Lachrimae Gementes, Lachrimae Tristes, Semper Dowland semper dolens, M Gryffith his Galiard, Sir Henry Umptons Funerall, The Earle of Essex Galiard

The unique features, superb playing, recording and annotation make this an issue of unusual interest and irresistible attraction' -Gramophone

'Excellently recorded, the disc makes for an intriguing and valuable supplement that should be heard by anyone wishing to expand their understanding of this marvellous music' -Goldberg

Two Motets Op 29, Geistliches Lied Op 30, Three Sacred Choruses Op 37, Psalm 13 Op 27, Three Motets Op 110, Two Motets Op 74, Ave Maria Op 12, Fest und Gedenkspruche Op 109

Of all late nineteenth-century composers, Brahms was without peer as a contrapuntalist, and nowhere is his total mastery and understanding better demonstrated than in the unaccompanied motets.

'Ideal for the more adventurous listener who enjoys a ramble down the lesser-known by-ways of the musical repertoire' -The Music Magazine

'A must for any serious collector' -Organists' Review

The all-male vocal ensemble Cinquecento have won great praise for their recordings of Renaissance rarities. Their tone, vocal flexibility, collective and individual musicianship and commitment to their chosen repertoire places them at the very forefront of modern-day specialists in this music.Their latest disc features the music of Adrian Willaert, a contemporary of Josquin and for many years chapel master of the Venetian basilica di San Marco. Two extraordinary early works, Missa Mente tota and Quid non ebrietas, testify to the composer’s remarkable talent and love for complex contrapuntal constructions. Also included are four beautiful motets. The disc is completed by one of the many compositional tributes rained upon Willaert at his death: Cipriano de Rore’s Concordes adhibete animos, a suprisingly joyful posthumous panygeric containing an ostinato on the words ‘Live on Adrian, glory of the Muses’. All works except for Josquin’s Mente tota and two of Willaert’s are premiere recordings.

Sonata in G minor H47, Sonata in A major H29, Sonata in B flat major H25, Sonata in C minor H27, Sonata in E flat major H50

The pianist Danny Driver has garnered the highest critical acclaim for his two York Bowen discs on Hyperion. Now, demonstrating his extraordinary versatility, he turns to a composer from a very different age—yet one who has been similarly overlooked by the musical establishment, while always having a place in the hearts of connoisseurs of arcane keyboard music. CPE Bach (1714–1788), second son of Johann Sebastian, was both revered and criticized by his contemporaries for his bold departures from conventional modes of musical expression. He perfected a highly original and intensely personal compositional style known as the empfindsamer Stil (literally, the ‘sensitive style’). As the works on this recording show, Bach’s approach to musical expressiveness found voice in frequent mood changes, abundant rests and ‘sighing’ motifs, deceptive cadences and dramatic, rhetorical harmonic interjections. Bach became particularly renowned for his ability to improvise fantasias—seemingly free-form, stream-of-consciousness flights of fancy characterised by unmeasured rhythm and distant harmonic excursions. Yet underlying even the most improvisatory of his compositions is a coherent structure.

I will lift up mine eyes, The Trinity College Service, Te Deum laudamus, Toccata on Te Deum laudamus, O Lord support us

David Briggs studied with Jean Langlais in Paris and was profoundly influenced by the playing of Pierre Cochereau, Organist Titulaire at Notre Dame Cathedral (1955-1984), from an early age. Briggs is Organist Emeritus of Gloucester Cathedral, where he directed the music for eight years. He is renowned worldwide for his brilliant improvisations and is also a prolific composer. This disc includes Briggs’ Notre Dame Mass and features four movements of David Briggs’ own improvisations—the Introït, Offertoire, Élévation and Sortie. Very much aligned with French liturgical practice, this is Briggs captured in the heat of the improvised, unedited moment. These improvisations display a masterful range of mood and colour. There is delicacy, reflection and repose, alongside mighty bombast and truly gothic ‘shock and awe’. Listening to them is an uniquely thrilling musical experience. Also included are some of Briggs’ much more Anglophone anthems. The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, who will tour Australia with Musica Viva later this year, perform with their inspirational director Stephen Layton, and of course the composer at the organ.

Sonata, Sonatina, 9 Epigrams, Romance lyrique, Adagio

The wonderful young cellist Natalie Clein has been a familiar name since winning the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition in 1994. Since then, she has pursued a distinguished career performing with the most celebrated orchestras and conductors around the world. She has also made a number of recordings—generally concentrating on the most popular cello repertoire. For her Hyperion debut she turns to a composer who is extremely close to her heart, the great Hungarian national composer Zoltán Kodály, who by his discovery and creative use of his folk-music heritage forged the standard by which 20th-century Hungarian music should be judged. Kodály's amazing, ardent Sonata for Solo Cello (1915) is undoubtedly the greatest utterance in this most demanding of genres since J S Bach’s solo cello Suites. Calum MacDonald remarks, ‘had he written nothing else apart from this magnificent sonata, Kodály would still deserve to be accounted one of the greatest musical geniuses that Hungary has ever produced’. Natalie Clein’s performance of this highly emotional monlogue is a passionate, coruscating tour-de-force. Also included are a delightful selection of Kodály’s other works for cello; performed here with award-winning Hyperion regular and Natalie’s frequent duo partner, Julius Drake.

A very special relationship exists with the music of Edward Elgar as the London Philharmonic Orchestra is often referred to as ‘Elgar’s Orchestra’. This release marks the first re-issues onto a single disc of the acclaimed recording of Dame Janet Baker's Sea Pictures from a concert recorded by Capital Radio in 1984 and a landmark premiere release from the same concert of Elgar's Symphony No.1. When the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Elgar Society were planning a concert to mark the 50th anniversary of Elgar’s death, Vernon Handley was the natural choice of conductor. Handley’s feeling for English music was second to none, and his rapport with Elgar’s music in particular is clear in these performances recorded live at the anniversary concert. Sea Pictures evokes contrasting images of the sea from five poems sung here by Dame Janet Baker, a peerless interpreter of the work. Elgar’s First Symphony is one of Elgar’s finest works for orchestra – hailed after its première as ‘the greatest symphony of modern times’.

Each release from the Mariinsky label to date has featured music by some of the great Russian composers with whom the Mariinsky Theatre has enjoyed close relationships. For the label’s sixth release, Valery Gergiev turns to the music of Igor Stravinsky, a composer who grew up in St Petersburg, attending performances at the Mariinsky Theatre where his father sang. Less than four years separate the premieres of Les Noces and Oedipus Rex, yet they each represent high-points in two distinct phases of Stravinsky’s career. Although the concept of Les Noces is highly innovative – a ‘dance cantata’ – the music remains rooted in Russian folk traditions. Stravinsky dedicated the ballet to Diaghilev, whose Ballet Russes gave the première, and it marks the crowning glory of Stravinsky’s so-called ‘second Russian period’. The opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex is the first great work of Stravinsky’s neo-classical period. It features a major change in his compositional style, influenced in part by the loss of ‘Russian identity’ following his emigration. It is sung in Latin with Jean Cocteau’s original French narration spoken here by Gérard Depardieu!

L'armee du crime, Resistance, Heroisme, Poesie, Executions, Bach Matthaus Passion BWV244, Vivaldi Laudate Pueri Psalms 112, Mozart Concerto for Piano II and Orchestra K365

Highly praised at this year's Alliance Française French Film Festival and at its first outing in Cannes 2009, Army of the Crime is set in Nazi-occupied France, where the poet Missak Manouchian leads a mixed bag of youngsters and émigrés in a resistance: Twenty-two men and one woman fighting for an ideal and for freedom. News of their daring attacks, including the assassination of an SS General, eventually reaches Berlin. Under the orders of the Gestapo, French police and collaborators hound Manouchian and his cohorts until, to escape torture, one of their associates denounces the whole group. After a show trial, the 23 heroes are brought to face a firing squad. Alexandre Desplat is a two-time Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe Award-winning film composer who studied his craft with Iannis Xenakis.

Ravel Hebrew Song, Bloch Nigun Baal Shem, Jewish Life No 1 'Prayer', Jewish Life No 2 'Supplication', Jewish Life No 3 'Jewish Song', Hebrew Meditation, Traditional Songs, Zygel Nigun, Psalmodie, Chemah

The emblematic recording devoted to ‘Jewish Songs’, which has been so important in the career of the cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton, is now available once more, with new texts written by the artist herself in a 72-page booklet. In addition to the original recording, this reissue includes a recording of Ravel’s Chanson hébraïque, in which Sonia Wieder- Atherton is joined by Sinfonia Varsovia and Jànos Fürst. Also, one traditional Jewish song as been added as a bonus. Wieder-Atherton's breathtaking 2009 release Chants d'Est perfectly captures the ethereal, poetic voice of her instrument.

This specially priced new recording features Finnish guitarist Timo Korhonen with the Partitas for Solo Violin by J.S. Bach, in his own arrangement for modern guitar. This release follows on the success of his Bach Sonatas for Solo Violin (ODE11282). While many guitarists carry single movements in their repertoire, such as the famous Ciaccona from Partita No. 2, Korhonen’s acclaimed project covers the complete works with admirable variety and depth. Korhonen’s transcriptions remain very faithful to the original violin score: 'My aim was to execute the musical content, as if Bach had actually written it for six-string guitar back in 1720.'

Andris Nelsons and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra leave us not a moment of doubt that even at the age of 27, Stravinsky could draw on an extraordinary wealth of compositional gifts. There is the boldness and the precision of his rhythms, while his rich, varied harmonies and his inspired melodies betray an aesthetic that is still far from anti-Romantic. They are juxtaposed on this recording with Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms, with all its Orthodox austerity, its reduced textures and angular contours.

Fantasy for Piano Duet D940

Julia Fischer and Martin Helmchen now need no introduction: their first volume of Schubert's works for violin and piano (PTC5186347) was an overnight success. The unique feature on this CD is a rare Julia Fischer performance as a pianist in Fantaisie in F minor D 940 Op.103, a four-hand piece.

The Summer Is Coming, Sing Lullaby, Walking in the Snow, Here is the Little Door, God Be in my Head, A Hymn for St Cecilia

A true master and exponent of the British choral music tradition, Herbert Howells' compositions and settings are brought to life in this collection of his secular and sacred works. Performances come from the youthful talents of The Rodlofus Choir, led by their director Ralph Allwood. Rodolfus is made up of singers aged from 16 to 25 who have been chosen from past and present members of Eton College's summer choral courses for prospective choral scholars. Many members of the choir are choral scholars, some are at music college, and most hope to make a career in music. Ralph Allwood founded the choir in 1984, and has been Director of Music at Eton since 1985. Signum has released two very well received discs with the choir previously - one of choral arrangements by Clytus Gottwald, and another of Vespers by Monteverdi.

In autumn 1905, as a student in Berlin, Klemperer conducted the off-stage band for performances of the Second given by Oskar Fried. Mahler himself attended and instructed Klemperer on how to get the proper effect he wanted from the brass – 'blaring, but from a long way away'. He was pleased with the result and congratulated the young conductor. A short time later Klemperer played the first movement’s off-stage side-drum when Mahler took over from Arthur Nikisch to conduct the Third Symphony in Berlin. Determining now to call on the composer in Vienna for a reference, Klemperer, as visiting card, brought his own piano arrangement of the symphony, playing the Scherzo from memory (a reduction which seems to have been lost during Klemperer’s wartime years in America). Mahler wrote to his wife Alma how impressed he was and, eventually, wrote out a most complete testimonial on a visiting card: 'Gustav Mahler recommends Herr Klemperer as an outstanding musician, who despite his youth is already very experienced and is predestined for a conductor’s career. He vouches for the successful outcome of any probationary appointment'.

Violin Sonatas in D Major Op 12 No 1, A Minor Op 23, G Major Op 30 No 3, C Minor Op 30 No 2

Alina Ibragimova and Cédric Tiberghien met whilst members of the BBC New Generation Artists scheme, immediately establishing a rapport which has brought them invitations from the world's leading recital halls and will be seen by Australian audiences late 2010 with their national tour as a duet for Musica Viva. Writing about the duo in The Times, Geoff Brown enthused, 'these players have the potential to conquer the world'. Alina and Cedric played several of Beethoven’s violin sonatas together during the time when they were both participants in BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists scheme, but it wasn’t until the beginning of October 2009 that they tackled the complete cycle. Thanks to a residency at Aldeburgh, they were able to concentrate on rehearsing these central pillars of the violin-and piano repertoire for an entire week – ‘playing, talking, thinking, morning until evening, feeling the connections, the moods, the links between each sonata, each key’, Tiberghien reminisces.

A revelatory new recording of the St John Passion, which combines elements of all four extant performing versions. This is a drama of outstanding intensity whose edition was not definively set by Bach. There were four public concerts which gave different structural arrangements of the work: 1724, 1725, 1728 et 1746-47. Benoît Haller - already renowned for his interpretive powers in choral music thanks to his specialised work with the music of Schütz - underscores the importance of this passion which goes far beyond purely liturgical purpose: it plumbs the depths of deep, at times visceral emotions. To support this intense drama, Haller chose his ideal version from the four, 'the one which we felt was the most balanced, correct, and edifying'.

St Matthew Passion, St John Passion, Mass in B Minor, Christmas Oratorio

In the late 1960s and early 70s Karl Münchinger and his Stuttgart forces were mainstay of the record catalogue when it came to Baroque repertoire. Their recording of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons was a bestseller in its day, and had a very long life in the record catalogues. Münchinger and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, whilst not period instrument musicians, were pioneers in what was then thought of as more authentic performance practice. These are clean performances with small-scale forces used with great precision, with all the 19th-century richness that had been necessary at one time to re-introduce these masterworks to the repertoire stripped away to reveal to many for the first time the true sound of the music. These recordings were the audio equivalent of seeing a restored painting by a great master for the first time. Münchinger was astute in his choice of soloists, and the cast list for these recordings reads like a roll call of the great performers of the period. These recordings are important historical documents that can nonetheless hold their own alongside today’s period practice interpretations.

Videte Miraculum, Dum Transisset Sabbatum, Honor virtus et potestas, Loquebantur variis linguis

Thomas Tallis lived through one of the most turbulent and dangerous periods in English history. Entering in to the service of Waltham Abbey in 1538 his employment looked secure, writing masses and music for many religious festivals and services. Henry VIII’s simmering row with Rome over his divorce from Queen Katherine so he could marry Anne Boleyn finally boiled over, and in 1540 Waltham Abbey was ‘taken down’. The break with Rome and the dissolution of the monasteries meant that Tallis was out of work. He received severance pay, and with these funds purchased a quantity of musical manuscripts and a technical manual on polyphonic music. Armed with the knowledge from these materials, he obtained his next job as a member of Henry VIII’s Chapel Royal. Here Tallis wove a dangerous path over the shifting sands of political intrigue and religious persecutions to serve not only Henry, but Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. It is for the Anglican Church under Elizabeth that he made his greatest contribution to English music. Tallis’s masterpiece, the 40 part motet Spem in alium was commissioned by Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk. It was intended to  surpass a work for 40 voices by Alessando Striggio, which it achieves with remarkable mastery of choral technique.

The Noonday Witch, In Nature's Realm

Antonin Dvořák’s reputation as a symphonist finally established itself with the publication of his 5th and 6th symphonies, and the triumphant reception accorded to his greatest symphony the 7th. The 8th is a lighter, sunnier work and was an immediate success, especially in the UK where the composer enjoyed good press and public adulation, and the work was referred to for a short time as ‘The English’ – oddly, considering it is full of lively Czech and Bohemian dance rhythms. The 9th symphony is both an American and a Czech symphony. Dvořák commented that upon discovering African American melodies ‘I discover all that is necessary for a great and noble school of music’. At the time of composition he was staying at the small American town of Spillville (300 inhabitants), which had a large émigré Czech community. Although surrounded by people from his homeland, he longed to return home, and a nostalgic feeling permeates the score alongside the influences of Native American themes and Negro spirituals. It has been a concert-hall favourite since its premiere in New York in 1893. Dvořák abandoned the symphony after 1893, and embarked on a series of tone poems that contain some of his most remarkable music, foreshadowing the later tone poems of both Sibelius and Strauss, as well as the distinctive sound world of Janácĕk. The Noonday Witch together with the other 3 works in the series are all based on Czech folk tales – often brutal and scary. In this work, the mother tries to quieten her baby saying that the noonday witch will come for the baby as punishment if it won’t stop crying… the baby continues to cry, the witch appears and strikes both mother and child dead.

Versions for 2 pianos

George Gershwin was one of the great prodigies of 20th-century piano music, and also one of its greatest losses – he died suddenly, aged just 39. Gershwin moved freely among the top echelons of American music and artistic life, and frequently played tennis with Arnold Schoenberg, yet some of the waspish critics of the time (and some colleagues) were hostile to his excursions in to the concert hall with ‘serious music’. His wonderfully crafted concerto is the perfect fusion of classical technique and the world of jazz. The music has a self-confidence that captures the spirit of the age – this is New York in the 1930s: optimistic, fun-loving and life-affirming. Rhapsody in Blue was premiered in 1924, and was commissioned by Paul Whiteman. Orchestrated by Ferde Grofé, the work soon entered the concert repertoire. However, Gershwin also intended it to be played on two pianos, as it is on this CD with the spectacular Labèque sisters alongside the two-piano arrangement of the Concerto in F.

Albinoni, Cimarosa, J S Bach, Sammartini, Telemann

Swiss composer and oboist Heinz Holliger has made a huge contribution to the rediscovery of little known and neglected works for the instrument. He has also been responsible for many new compositions for the oboe, and his repertoire ranges from the baroque as heard on these 3 CDs accompanied by the Academy of St Martin In The Fields, through the classical era of Stamitz, Krommer, Hummel, Moscheles, Mozart, Bellini and Fiala to the avant-garde where he has worked closely with Pierre Boulez.

This classic Haydn album was recorded by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, led by Neville Marriner. The 3 symphonies date from the early years of Haydn’s employment at Eisenstadt, the court of the highly cultured and music loving Prince Paul Anton Esterhazy. The orchestra at Haydn’s disposal was much larger than the small band of his previous employer, Count Morzin, for whom he had composed around 15 symphonies. These three symphonies are a huge advance over the early Morzin symphonies – they are four-movement works, with a minuet placed 3rd, and Nos. 6 & 7 have slow introductions. This became the template for the classical symphony for many decades – Beethoven’s 1st, 2nd, 4th and 7th and the early symphonies of Schubert all have the same structure – even in Brahms’s 1st symphony this innovative structure of Haydn can be found. Not for nothing was Papa Haydn known as ‘the father of the symphony’! These works were designed to show off the skills not only of their composer, but also some of the extraordinary musicians in the Esterhazy orchestra. There are prominent roles for the flute, violin, cello together with the oboes and the bassoon – perhaps a nod in the direction of the old concerto grosso as the prince was somewhat conservative in his musical tastes. He was an early fan of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and this may lie behind his commission to Haydn of three symphonies depicting the times of day. The depiction of sunrise at the opening of No.6, and the storm in the finale of No.8 are noteworthy examples of Haydn’s genius in using the orchestra to depict programmatic and dramatic images.

Songs by Faure, Poulenc, Ravel, Leguerny, Hahn, Duparc, Gounod, Chabrier, Bizet, Franck, Roussel

Gérard Souzay (1918-2004) was born into a musical family: his father was a cellist, and his two brothers and his sister all singers. Souzay chose to study philosophy at the university, and it was only after a meeting with Pierre Bernac in Paris in 1942 that he was persuaded to enter the Paris Conservatoire to study singing. He entered the concert circuit shortly after the end of the war, and soon displayed the qualities that would make him one of the great singers of the 20th century – a love of words and a superb technique that combined a fine tone with a natural gift for expression. His obituaries in 2004 all commented on the qualities of his voice, and were full of epithets such as ‘warm’, ‘lyrical’, ‘supple’, ‘sensual’ and ‘vibrant’. Keen not to be pigeon-holed as a French singer of French music, he performed in 12 languages over a wide range of repertoire, but it is nonetheless in the world of French Song, a medium he did so much to champion, that the qualities of his voice can best be appreciated. This 4CD set brings together the recordings he made in the 1960s.

Ais, Tracees, Empreintes, noomena, Roai, Jonchaies, Shaar, Lichens, Antikthon, Synaphai, Horos, Eridanos, Kyania, Erikhton, Ata, Akrata, Krinoidi, Metastaseis, Pithoprakta, ST 48, Achorripsis, Syrmos, Hiketides

It would be an understatement to say that Iannis Xenakis, who passed away nearly ten years ago, dominated the second half of the 20th century. Whether or not assisted by computer, he built vast musical architectures, which diverge resolutely from what was being done at the time and is still being done: another world of sounds, combined according to a different, but never gratuitous, approaches resulting in something magical. The listener is surrounded by sound, immersed and taken into a universe unlike any other. In this collection of five discs representing the major part of his output in this sphere, here is Xenakis, master of the symphony orchestra. Some works are essential scores of the orchestral repertoire, such as Jonchaies, Lichens, Aïs and Synaphaï. This is a perfect and, in fact, unique kaleidoscope in the record catalogue, of Xenakis' inestimable contribution to orchestral music in the latter half of the 20th century. Arturo Tamayo and the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra are established masters in these challenges and, on several occasions, have given 'all-Xenakis' concerts, in particular at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. 'This is viscerally exciting music.' - BBC Music Magazine,

'Those discs are strongly recommended.' -Gramophone Awards

Jean Huré studied in Angers before moving to Paris in 1895 and founding an École Normale de Musique. A reputed teacher—it was to him that Maurice Ravel would entrust the young Manuel Rosenthal— virtuoso pianist and organist, he was also a prolific composer who won acclaim in all genres: the worthy heir to Franck and Debussy. This disc brings together his Violin Sonata and String Quintet; whereas the latter was available at one time, this is the premiere recording of the Sonata. This disc is also the occasion to welcome a newcomer to the Timpani label: Marie-Josèphe Jude. A pupil of Aldo Ciccolini and finalist at the prestigious Clara Haskil Competition in 1989, she was named ‘New Talent of the Year’ at the Victoires de la Musique awards in 1995. Here she combines her talent with that of the Louvigny Quartet, whose commitment to rare scores and superb playing can never be overly stressed. ’The Louvigny Quartet outdoes itself in mischievousness and poetry.’ -Diapason

In 2008, thanks to Timpani, listeners were able to discover for the first time the orchestral works by Philippe Gaubert, a great French symphonist and a memorable personality. The success of that first volume was resounding, with an 'outstanding' rating from International Record Review and proclaimed 'Record of the Year' on MusicWeb amongst other accolades. Timpani have now released Gaubert’s masterpiece, Le Chevalier et la Damoiselle — a world premiere with the wonderful Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, under the inspired direction of Marc Soustrot. Composed in 1941 for Serge Lifar’s ballet and a premiere at the Paris Opera, it had a triumphal reception with public and press alike. Every night, a young princess, who has been put under a spell, turns into a doe. Served by three faithful lords, the spell will not be broken until she experiences suffering through true love. A knight errant will be the happy winner of the tournament and the lady’s heart.

Elegies, Three Songs, L'Offrande Lyrique, Images Fontaines, Three Carols

Timpani continues its project recording the complete works of Jean Cras, a great Breton composer as well as a rear-admiral and inventor of the Cras ruler, well known by all sailors, with a marvellous programme featuring more world premiere recordings: the songs with orchestra. Alongside the Élégies, initially for orchestra alone, are two cycles previously recorded in their version with piano: L’Offrande lyrique (a sumptuous orchestra of Indian silk) and Fontaines (with a delicate chamber orchestra). Rediscovered in the composer’s archives, four songs arranged for voice and string quartet complete the disc. The Orchestre de Bretagne, under the direction of Claude Schnitzler, accompanies three superb singers: Ingrid Perruche, Philippe Do, an artist highly appreciated for the ‘beauty of his lyric-tenor timbre, his refined mezza voce and the purity of his style’, often compared to Nicolai Gedda and Georges Thill, and Lionel Peintre, one of the finest specialists of French mélodie.

It is said even Giuseppe Verdi briefly gave consideration to writing an opera based on this whodunit, when Cilea decided to set the material to music in 1899. The opera’s world premiere in Milan in 1902 was a triumph, due in no small measure to a stellar cast of singers that included Enrico Caruso as Maurizio. For a decade the work was performed regularly throughout Europe and America; thereafter it increasingly disappeared from the repertoire. After revisions to the score and plot and significant cuts, Adriana Lecouvreur made a successful comeback and established a presence once again on the international stage. The premiere of the definitive version took place in Naples in 1930. Since this time the three main roles of Arturo Colautti’s libretto have regularly been filled by great artists. In the present stylised production by Lorenzo Mariani, which features reduced décor but magnificent rococo costumes, the 'violet-perfumed murderess' is taken by mezzo-soprano Marianne Cornetti, one of the most in-demand representatives of her vocal range. Opposite her, in the role of Adriana, is a soprano who as a Verdi and verismo specialist also appears regularly at all the major international opera houses, Micaela Carosi. The 'cock-of-the-walk' role is sung by the world-class tenor Marcelo Álvarez. His timbre, velvety smooth yet robustly virile, is ideally suited to a vocal characterisation of the idolised Maurizio.

Studio recording from the early years of television. The camera’s roving eye lends Otto Schenk’s production an intimacy which inspires a vocal and dramatic tour de force from Wolfgang Windgassen and Sena Jurinac in the roles of the tragic lovers Othello and Desdemona. Musical direction is in the hands of the great Verdi conductor Argeo Quadri. Unlike other opera films of the time, the producers in Vienna did not use playback but recorded each scene live. Now available to all fans of opera for the first time on DVD, this film compellingly documents the great German Verdi tradition – a tradition in which Othello has always maintained a leading position.

In its series of celebrated opera productions from the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Arthaus presents a staging of Rigoletto, one of Verdi’s most popular operas. The tragic opera about the Duke of Mantua, the court jester Rigoletto and his daughter Gilda forms part of the composer’s trilogia popolare together with La Traviata and Il Trovatore. It is full of melodious arias, expressive duets and highly dramatic orchestration. With the brilliant Marcelo Álvarez singing the Duke of Mantua and baritone Carlos Álvarez, whose Rigoletto has been hailed as the perfect embodiment of Verdi‘s court jester, appearing in the title role, this production presents international stars in two of the leading roles. The dramatic requirements of this interpretation are both musically and visually extremely well met by the leading male singers and Inva Mula’s Gilda, a Verdi soprano par excellence. The remarkable ensemble, orchestra and chorus of Barcelona’s Liceu under the experienced baton of Jesús López Cobos prove the opera house’s international standing once again. Graham Vick’s production and Paul Brown’s sets and costumes aim to convey the essence of the drama conceptually rather than literally, making for a captivating performance.

In their series of celebrated opera productions from the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Arthaus presents a staging of Rigoletto, one of Verdi’s most popular operas. The tragic opera about the Duke of Mantua, the court jester Rigoletto and his daughter Gilda forms part of the composer’s trilogia popolare together with La Traviata and Il Trovatore. It is full of melodious arias, expressive duets and highly dramatic orchestration. With the brilliant Marcelo Álvarez singing the Duke of Mantua and baritone Carlos Álvarez, whose Rigoletto has been hailed as the perfect embodiment of Verdi‘s court jester, appearing in the title role, this production presents international stars in two of the leading roles. The dramatic requirements of this well-conceived and convincing interpretation are both musically and visually extremely well met by the leading male singers and Inva Mula’s Gilda. She is a Verdi soprano par excellence. The remarkable ensemble, orchestra and chorus of Barcelona’s Liceu under the experienced baton of Jesús López Cobos prove the opera house’s international standing once again. Graham Vick’s production and Paul Brown’s sets and costumes aim to convey the essence of the drama conceptually rather than literally.

One of the lesser known works by Giuseppe Verdi, Simon Boccanegra is regarded by most opera lovers as one of his finest. The action takes place in the 14th century and deals with the political and personal rivalry between the corsair Simon Boccanegra, who has been elected Doge of Genoa with the help of the plebeian vote, and the local nobleman, Jacopo Fiesco. Arthaus presents a 'visually alert, musically sensitive and disturbingly coherent' production of the piece on DVD. The staging was directed by one of the giants of the European theatre, Peter Stein. His fondness for atmospherically dense spaces in which the characters can fully develop is particularly well brought out in his Vienna production, not least because he had at his disposal two remarkable singing actors for the principal male roles, Thomas Hampson and Ferruccio Furlanetto. The Vienna State Opera’s Simon Boccanegra was a great event in the house’s history, and the beauties of this unique work to blossomed under Daniele Gatti’s care.

Arthaus presents the quintessence of operetta, Die Fledermaus, in a lavish staging from the theatre where it is most at home: the Vienna State Opera. Under the direction of theatrical living legend Otto Schenk, a dream-team of perfectly matched singers made this a memorable night in true Viennese style. The premiere of this 1979 staging was greeted enthusiastically by the audience, and a legend was created, one that has spread beyond Viennese opera-going circles. Now released on DVD, the show is as fresh as ever, reveling in that particularly sparkling New Year’s Eve spirit. The cast of this unforgettable Fledermaus gathered some of the best operatic singer-actors of the time: the wonderful Lucia Popp creates a bourgoise Rosalinde with her own charm. Edita Gruberova is a brilliant Adele, and with her magnificient vocal prowess she is a far cry from the typical clichéd soubrette. Bernd Weikl’s Eisenstein and Walter Berry’s Falke add an ironic touch and Brigitte Fassbaender is of course the incarnation of Prince Orlofsky.

Schubert Impromptu in A Flat Major D935, Beethoven Piano Sonata No 14 in C sharp minor Op 27, No 2 'Moonlight' First Movement

How many people remain in good shape, both mentally and physically, at the age of 106? The answer is very few but Alice Sommer Herz is among those exceptional few. And how many have the gift of forgiveness? And how many are free of hatred? Gigi Sommer has both of those qualities. She was imprisoned, with her six-year-old son, in the Theresienstadt concentration camp and saw unspeakable atrocities. She lost both her mother and her husband in Nazi death camps but she does not hate her persecutors. That is not because they are anything other than monstrous criminals but because she has the wisdom to know that all hatred hurts the soul of the hater, not the hated and Gigi Sommer’s inspiring soul is among the things which she has kept intact and unblemished through her hundred and six years. She was a pianist of distinction, played more than 100 concerts in the Theresienstadt camp and is in no doubt that music saved both her sanity and her life and the lives of many others in those unimaginable circumstances. On this DVD Alice Sommer speaks with her quiet grace and wisdom about her life, her experiences and her beliefs. She also plays music by Schubert, Smetana and Beethoven in a manner that reminds us of her teacher Artur Schnabel and a bygone age in music making. The film We Want the Light made Gigi Sommer an international star.

In this production from 2009 stage director Graham Vick and set designer Paul Brown conjure up an 'openair spectacle of superlatives' (Die Zeit).  Bregenz festival´s lakeside stage is known in popula culture from the James Bond film Quantum of Solace, and this monumental Aida is Bregenz's most successful opera ever!

This recording presents the most important work of the baroque keyboard repertoire – The Well-Tempered Clavier - played by four world-class pianists. Each artist performs twelve Preludes and Fugues selected from this well-cherished collection of educational and yet deeply moving pieces. The performances were recorded at four exceptionally charming venues: the Palazzo Labia in Venice, the Guell Palace in Barcelona, the Wartburg in Eisenach, Germany and the New Art Gallery in Walsall in England. They were impressively staged and skilfully filmed, thus opening new perspectives on the work. The complete Well-Tempered Clavier, which normally requires 4 audio discs, fits onto 2 DVDs in state of the art 5.1 surround sound in Dolby Digital and on wide screen in 16:9 ratio. 'Visually speaking, it's difficult to imagine a more beguiling presentation of this timeless music. Shot in a variety of settings and lightings within four different locations, employing a vast range of establishing shots and tracking angles, the eye is seduced as much as the ear. A defining moment in piano filmatography.' -Classic FM

Tchaikovsky, Toyama, Paganini, Wieniawski, Lumbye, Chapy y Lorente, Bizet, Bernstein, Williams, Kreisler, Wagner, Elgar

As the cameras reveal the scale of this open-air event, held at Berlin’s Waldbühne in 2002, it is not only the music that is transmitted but the extraordinary atmosphere. This is a programme of musical bon-bons – pieces regularly given as encores: it’s as if the joyous moment following a successful performance has blossomed into a whole evening. Vadim Repin is clearly happy to indulge, performing here with all the appropriate showmanship and artistry alongside the first-class Berliner Philharmoniker and Mariss Jansons. There is a palpable satisfaction from all involved, musicians and crowd alike.

Jonathan Kent’s spectacular production of Purcell’s huge semi-opera is joyous, imaginative and witty. Glyndebourne, with its intimate auditorium, provides the perfect setting for a drama which is partly spoken and partly sung. Based on an adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the story is lavished with a brilliance that justifies this production’s acclaim. Paul Brown’s inventive designs, Kim Brandstrup’s exquisite choreography, an excellent cast of actors and singers and outstanding playing by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under William Christie combine to make a seamless theatrical experience, here recorded in High Definition and true surround sound.

'There are too many highlights to mention in this varied and infinitely delightful entertainment. Glyndebourne has a triumph on its hands.' -The Stage