‘…this third album of Haydn’s last symphonies…is an absolute highlight in the Haydn discography. The rhetoric of the interpretations is complemented by the outstanding, wonderfully colourful, agile and well-balanced playing of the Danish Chamber Orchestra. The orchestra is completely at the service of the conductor and perfectly implements his ideas.’ – Pizzicato

‘The recording that surprised me the most is the Bruckner Fourth. Prêtre conducts the first movement with excitement and, above all, feeling. There are very moving, tender and lovely moments alongside rushing, magnificent sounds.’ – Pizzicato

Alberto Franchetti and Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari shared a similar dual heritage. Franchetti’s father was an Italian Baron, his mother was Viennese and Alberto studied in Germany where he composed the Symphony in E minor in 1884 as part of his graduation examination from Dresden Conservatory. Late Romantic and cast in the German symphonic tradition, it is a colourful, evocative and majestic work. Inspired by the wild beauty of the forests of the Rhine valley, Nella Foresta nera is a tranquil, atmospheric ‘symphonic impression’. Venetian-born to a Bavarian father, Wolf-Ferrari spent many years in Germany where he wrote his Sinfonia da camera. The work has an expansive symphonic breadth and utilises Romanticism’s full harmonic and melodic arsenal.

‘Armed with the 3,568 pipes of the concert organ at Nashville’s Laura Turner Concert Hall, the excellent Paul Jacobs gives a delightful performance, vigorously supported by Giancarlo Guerrero’s brightly polished Nashville Symphony, stripped of woodwinds in Parker’s scoring – something that only makes the organ’s tones stand out with extra clarity.’ – BBC Music Magazine

‘Alert, engaged, and simply delightful throughout is the playing of the Budapest Symphony Orchestra MÁV conducted by Mariusz Smolij, as well as soloists Klaudiusz Baran, Richárd Rózsa, Dávid Pintér, and Anna Górecka. In our increasingly strident and crass world, [Zador’s] unique and elegant music offers listeners a comforting place of repose.’ – MusicWeb International

‘“A superb performance of Taneyev’s massive and meaty Piano Quintet,” writes AFC, and one to rival 2005’s award-winning recording from Mikhail Pletnev and colleagues.’ – Gramophone

‘Alexandre Dossin…succeeds in presenting the two piano sonatas in exciting interpretations. The other works are also played by Dossin with great commitment, so that this album can be recommended to every friend of excellent piano music.’ – Pizzicato ★★★★

‘…the soprano Lenia Safiropoulou stands out with her warm, radiant tone. Mezzo-soprano Varvara Tsambali sings with moving sensitivity.’ – Pizzicato ★★★★

‘…an enjoyable and finely played version [of the Ninth Symphony], coupled with a cheerful account of the Study Symphony which will appeal to Bruckner completists.’ – MusicWeb International

Award-winning composer and educator Wenchen Qin enjoys one of the most distinguished and influential positions in China’s contemporary music scene with works that have garnered worldwide acclaim. Qin’s unique musical language is influenced by his multicultural background, integrating Eastern and Western elements to create profound spiritual spaces. All of these works are infused with literature, mythology and a fascination with nature. The Cloud River revitalises the sheng – an ancient Chinese instrument – with new playing techniques to depict clouds as a source of boundless imagination. With the sheng also playing a leading role, Poetry of the Land ruminates on how the land provides great inspiration.

‘Ida Aldrian is one of those singers who can dramatize content and at the same time deepen it intellectually. …Her flexible, warm and agile voice has a wide dynamic range and many colours, everything she needs to make Wolf’s songs expressive.’ – Pizzicato ★★★★★

‘…thrillingly vital, powerfully dynamic and exciting performances by the truly excellent Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz under conductor Michael Francis.’ – MusicWeb International

Misattributed in the past to composers including Pergolesi, the enduring success of Pietro Auletta’s L’Orazio saw it staged and adapted so many times over the centuries that its original 1737 structure is now lost. This is the opera’s first revival in modern times. The style of L’Orazio reflects the end of the Baroque period at a time when refined galant and pre-Classical inflections were taking hold. The work’s comic narrative of romantic complications and rivalries take splace amidst scenarios in which the music lessons of maestro Lamberto alternate with dubious theatrical engagements and carnival masquerades.

‘[De Maria] has the brilliant virtuosity required here and the ability to make the piano sing Chopin’s beautiful melodies, while the dance-based movements really do dance.’ – Fanfare

East Meets West offers a series of geographical and musical connections that bind the music of Ian Krouse (“One of the most communicative young composers on the music scene today” – Gramophone) and Ronald Pearl, whose guitar music is performed worldwide. The album includes the first recording in its 2009 revision of Krouse’s Roderick Usher’s “Phantasmion”, as well as the eloquent tone poem, The Little Match Girl, and his version of a Hassidic song. Pearl’s My Name is Red is inspired by Orhan Pamuk’s novel and reveals a range of Islamic influences.

‘Christoph König begins the program with the Overture op. 35, and his interpretation of the thematically varied piece is convincing in its power and verve, without any heaviness or pathos. The Solistes Européens Luxembourg also deliver an exciting interpretation of the 42-minute, imaginatively composed symphony, with good contrasts that enliven the first movement.’ – Pizzicato ★★★★★

There was a remarkable outpouring of Italian instrumental music from the 17th century onwards yet many composers who contributed to this flourishing body of work remain relatively unknown. One such composer is Pietro Marchitelli who was born around 1643 and was active in Naples as an outstanding violinist. Some 30 sonatas survive in a small number of collections. The seven lively and tuneful sonatas on this album conform to the precedent established by Corelli and are played by Labirinto Armonico, an ensemble that has collaborated with some of the very best early music performers.

‘This now surely has to be the top-rating digital set of Strauss’s tone poems. Tod und Verklärung, Don Juan, Macbeth and Don Quixote, all superbly played, complete the deal.’ – Gramophone

‘This is the best recording we have yet heard of Ermione… The conductor Antonino Fogliani holds the whole drama powerfully on course, as does the Ermione, Serena Farnocchia… Such continuity helps with the all-important task of keeping this harrowing music drama thrillingly on course.’ – Gramophone

Erwin Stein, a disciple of Arnold Schoenberg, arranged Gustav Mahler’s Fourth Symphony for chamber ensemble. The premiere was given in 1921 with Schoenberg conducting at one of his famous Society for Private Musical Performances in Vienna. Stein had known Mahler and gained a deep understanding of his compositional processes. in this arrangement he sought to highlight the symphony’s chamber texture and restore its tone colours.

Idil Biret wanted to record the many waltz transcriptions of Godowsky and others. Chief among these was the transcription of the Johann Strauss’ waltz Künstlerleben by Godowsky which she had performed at many concerts in the 1970s and the Blue Danube Waltz. However, there was another project scheduled before that; four Haydn Sonatas, some of the most beautiful among the many he composed. When Idil Biret suddenly fell ill in 2021 both projects were abandoned. Then, miraculously a stupendous recording of her performance of Künstlerleben in New York in December 1975 surfaced on the internet which led to reembarking on the project in a somewhat different way. The result is this CD, a compilation of Biret’s past performances of Waltzes and Dances from many composers including Bartók, Berlioz, Chopin, Debussy, Liszt, Ravel, Stravinsky and, of course, Leopold Godowsky – his piano transcription of the Strauss waltz Künstlerleben “Metamorphosis on Themes from Artist’s Life”.

The term ‘Baroque’ in music covers a period of around 150 years, from 1600 to 1750, and this collection of six operatic masterpieces shows the diversity of musical experience to be found from this era. All of these excellent Maggio Musicale Fiorentino productions were recorded in Florence, a city that was witness to the origins of opera and saw its rise in popularity with leading names such as Monteverdi and Vivaldi. Lully and Handel represent opera’s spread throughout Europe and its adaptation to national tastes, establishing theatrical traditions of romance and tragedy that are still universal to audiences today.

‘Tcherniakov’s staging…features exceptional physical energy and movement…and intense, detailed and personal (I want to say Chekhovian) acting from the trio of him, Kampe’s Isolde and Gubanova’s Brangäne. Unlike many Tristans…the complex text of all three big Tristan and Isolde scenes is not just delivered but debated, pondered over and sometimes even clearly not understood by the characters hearing it. That’s exciting, rather new and pulls us the spectators more into following it too. [Barenboim] guides these singers with care, love and excitement… The orchestra, I must add, is on especially tip-top form, with some superb work from brass and winds.’ – Gramophone

‘Splendid performances all, with state-of-the-art video and audio. …These amazing performances are well worth viewing, and the price is right.’ – ClassicalCDReview.com

Treading a tightrope between death, life and intense romance in the opulent world of 19th-century Habsburg royalty, Elisabeth tells the story of the beautiful Empress of Austria, from her wedding, to her tragic assassination by the hand of the Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni. Ongoing dark obsessions and inner turmoil are undercurrents as family schisms flare up amidst a crumbling empire. These powerful themes and a potent score brimming with fabulous music have combined to establish Elisabeth as the most successful German-language musical of all time. This spectacular open-air event presents Elisabeth at the fabled empress’s real-life home – Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna.

‘Thrillingly and fearlessly sung.’ – Gramophone

‘The production is enchanting and inventive and the magnificent solo performances under conductor William Christie lead one to wonder why it took so long for this wonderful work to be staged.’ – MusicWeb International

‘Wolfgang Koch’s Amfortas is acted with great courage and, barring a few effortful high notes, excellently sung. Tómas Tómasson, totally invested in Tcherniakov’s view of Klingsor, brings more variety of color to his vocalism than is usually heard in the role. Matthias Hölle, a former Gurnemanz now in his mid-sixties, sings an imposing Titurel.’ – Opera News

‘Spanish soprano Yolanda Auyanet produces the finest singing of the three principals, floating some lovely pianos and displaying a tonal glow that is elsewhere missing. Raul Giménez sounds old as the Emperor Altoum, but that is appropriate for the character, and Andrea Mastroni’s dark basso makes the most of Timur’s music.’ – Fanfare

‘Tcherniakov’s staging is required viewing and listening, and Garifullina confirms herself as a major star. Garifullina is superb here, her voice clean, clear and expressive. She herself is the very embodiment of youth, of the promise of Spring.’ – Classical Explorer

‘…this is well worth seeing for its top-class singing.’ – Gramophone

‘Vocally, Asmik Grigorian brings the heft of a Sieglinde to Rusalka, singing with a solidity and strength, yet pulling back for some gloriously soft-edged high notes.’ – Limelight