Amanda Maier (1853-1894) and Julius Rontgen (1855-1932) were a couple in both music and love. This new album includes world premiere recordings of Amanda Maier's preludes, Julius Rontgen's piano suite "Julklapp" (Christmas Gift), and the piano suite "Zwiegesprache" (Dialogues), that the young couple composed together. In addition to this, you also get Rontgen's brilliant variation work "Neckens Polska," which he dedicated to his future bride. This release is charming, beautiful, and highly romantic music at it's best, performed by one of Sweden's most outstanding musicians: the award-winning pianist Bengt Forsberg.

Puccini: Turandot (Recorded 1955)

This release is the third volume in the retrospective series featuring Finn Videro, the finest Danish organist of all time. When the four LP records were released worldwide with Videro playing the organ music of Buxtehude they won the Grand Prix du Disque and lifted Buxtehude playing to a new level that few since have reached. These recordings have been digitally remastered and presented here. Viderø was born in Fuglebjerg, Næstved. He was the organist at the Reformed Church in Copenhagen from 1928 to 1941, the Jægersborg Church from 1942 to 1947, the Trinitatis Church in Copenhagen from 1947 to 1971 and St. Andreas Church in Copenhagen from 1971 to 1977. He was guest lecturer at Yale University and held an honorary doctorate from the University of Åbo in Finland. In 1933, he co-published with Oluf Ring a widely used organ primer. His organ playing was uncompromising and many believed that Viderø's musical interpretations were as close to the authentic, artistic and historical representation intended by the composer as one could get.

The St Catharine's Girls' Choir, Cambridge, with director Edward Wickham, celebrate ten years since their foundation with this album of works for upper voices. In marking the momentous occasion in 2008 when St Catharine's created the first college-based girls' choir, the current choristers of this acclaimed group present a varied programme of secular works from British composers including Britten, Bennett and a world premiere by Sally Beamish. The St. Catharine's Girls' Choir- the only college-based girls' choir in the UK- was founded in 2008. The choir sings weekly in the College Chapel, as well as giving regular concerts and it's repertoire extends from the early Middle Ages to the twenty-first century, with several works written specially for it. The choir is made up of twenty girls, aged between eight and fifteen, drawn from local schools; and for this recording is augmented by former choristers. The choir has performed in some of the UK's leading venues, and has performed live in Radio 3's The Choir and toured to Poland and Hungary.

Classical Music

ORFEO presents Georg Gagnidze’s long-awaited debut album. Georgian baritone George Gagnidze - characterized by the American opera magazine Opera Now as a “gentle bear of a man” - on his long-awaited debut album presents celebrated and diverse opera characters such as Verdi’s murderous Count di Luna (Il trovatore), the vengeful Renato (Un ballo in maschera), the loyal friend Posa (Don Carlos) the great kink Nebuchadnezzar (Nabuko) and – outside the Verdi canon – Andrea Chénier’s revolutionary colleague Gérard, Mozart’s notorious seducer Don Giovanni and Wolfram (Tannhäuser), who pines for the love of Elisabeth.

Continuing their ongoing series with Resonus Classics, the Saint Thomas Choir of Men & Boys, Fifth Avenue, New York, and conductor John Scott release an album of celebrated as well as more recent American choral music. Featuring music from the last seven decades, this engrossing recording celebrates the very best of American choral works with music from Leonard Bernstein, Randall Thompson, Aaron Copland, Nico Muhly, Samuel Barber, Daniel Castellanos, Ned Rorem, and former Saint Thomas music director Gerre Hancock. World premiere recordings from Muhly (Bright Mass with Canons) and Daniel Castellanos (Eternal Light) are featured on this release. The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys is considered by many to be the leading ensemble of its kind in the Anglican choral tradition in the United States. The Choir performs regularly with Orchestra of St. Luke’s or with the period instrument ensemble, Concert Royal, as part of its own concert series. Its primary raison d’etre, however, is to provide music for five choral services each week. Live webcasts of all choral services and further information including recordings can be found at www.SaintThomasChurch.org.

Hailed as "Four of the Best" by the British press after their Wigmore Hall debut, the Philharmonia Quartet Berlin have long been acknowledged as ranking among the world's premier string quartets. Founded in 1984 by the principal concertmaster and string section leaders of the Berlin Philharmonic, the quartet appears regularly at the world's most prestigious concert halls and annual international festivals. The ensemble's substantial Thorofon Classics label discography includes quartets by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Shostakovich, Reger, and now, Brahms complete string quartets.

For the last seventeen years of his life – from 2003 to 2019 – Mariss Jansons was chief conductor of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and the Bavarian Radio Chorus. Both ensembles and their conductor appreciated each other deeply on an artistic as well as a human level, and this resulted in numerous unforgettable concerts. Jansons’ unrelenting demands on himself and his musicians, his always respectful treatment of his colleagues, and his great devotion to music all played a lead role in their work together. Mariss Jansons occupies a place of honor in the orchestra’s history, and its players will always revere and cherish his memory. With the death of Mariss Jansons one year ago, the music world lost one of its greatest artistic personalities.

Born the son of conductor Arvids Jansons in Riga in 1943, the young Mariss studied at the Leningrad Conservatory before completing his studies with Hans Swarowsky in Vienna and Herbert von Karajan in Salzburg. In 1971 he was a prizewinner at the Karajan Conducting Competition and began his close collaboration with today's St. Petersburg Philharmonic. From 1979 to 2000, Jansons was Music Director of the Oslo Philharmonic; from 1997 to 2004 he conducted the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; and in the 2003/04 season he became Chief Conductor of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and the Bavarian Radio Chorus. The 2004/05 season marked the start of his tenure at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, which ended in 2015. As a guest conductor, he worked with all the leading orchestras of Europe and the USA, and his discography includes many award-winning recordings.

Among the most active composers of the past century, Jean-Michele Damase undoubtedly occupies a prominent place. Student of the ecole francaise, he has always been linked to the great musical institutions, and he dedicated his activity to the musical theater, ballet, instrumental music and he gives particular attention to the flute and harp, for which he composed works in honor of Jean-Pierre Rampal and his mother Micheline Kahn, great harpist and direct interpreter of the works of Faure. His music ''refined and sincere'' is correctly interpreted in this album by the duo Luise-Parrino after 4 years from the composer's death.

Composer-Producer William Perry Has Played a Major Role in the Revival of Interest in Silent Films, Both Through His 100 Silent Film Scores and His Emmy Award-Winning TV Series 'The Silent Years', Hosted By Orson Welles and Lillian Gish. The Critically-Acclaimed Naxos Recording 'Music for Great Films of the Silent Era' (8.572567) Presented a Rich Array of Perry's Film Music; This Companion Volume Offers a Further View of Perry's Colorful, Exuberant Writing, Including His New Silent Film Heroines Song-Suite for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra, Celebrating Eight Legendary Silent Cinema Actresses. Perry's Supremely Melodic Sense of Period and Style Captures Perfectly the Romance, Grandeur and Humor of Those Entertaining Days When Movies Were Movies!

The 25th jubilee of Singer Pur simply must include a BEST OF release at a special price. This new album offers a wonderful overview of all the albums recorded by the ensemble for OehmsClassics. Since its founding in 1991, the ensemble Singer Pur- in its original formation of five former Regensburg Cathedral Choir boys and a soprano- has developed into one of the leading international a cappella ensembles. In 1994 the sextet won first prize at the German Music Competition in Bonn, and one year later was honored in Finland with the coveted “Grand Prix for Vocal Music” at the international Tampere Music Festival. Regular appearances in renowned concert series and at important festivals confirm the outstanding reputation of this experienced ensemble. The group has released 13 albums for OehmsClassics alond since 2004.

As is well known, Liszt wrote transcriptions of all nine Beethoven Symphonies. Here Frederic Chiu gives brilliant performances of Nos. 5 and 7. With a vibrant concert schedule, a legacy of 27 albums, and a stream of accolades from around the globe, pianist Frederic Chiu occupies a special place in the world of classical music. His non-traditional approach including interdisciplinary collaborations, integration of new technologies and emphasis on audience engagement distinguish Mr. Chiu as a maverick and innovator, a 21st Century artist.

The UNLV Wind Orchestra has received international acclaim for its fresh and creative approach to music making. Performing contemporary repertoire in addition to classical masterworks, the Wind Orchestra at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas has been responsible for commissioning and premiering numerous significant new works by America’s finest young contemporary composers. The ensemble is comprised of music majors, non-majors, and includes select graduate students enrolled in the masters and doctoral performance degree programs at UNLV. Under the baton of Professor Thomas G. Leslie, the Wind Orchestra has received acclaim for outstanding performances at conventions across the globe. They have also received outstanding reviews for twenty professional recordings of international repute. The cornerstone of this album- and the piece from where the album’s title comes- is Morton Gould’s Festive Music, penned in 1964 by the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra of Illinois. In 1991 Mark Jirousek transcribed the work for wind band- the arrangement heard on this release. This work is paired with other remarkable wind band pieces by composers Malcolm Arnold, Howard Hanson, Julian Tanaka, and Jean Francaix.

Classical Music

A new treasure from the archives of the Southwest German Radio! Hänssler Classic is proud to present a rare historical recording of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra with Lorin Maazel from 1958. Lorin Maazel is one of the most famous conductors in the world. Born in 1930, he received early lessons on the piano and violin at the age of seven and soon thereafter began to conduct. His program includes Beethoven's often neglected Second Symphony, which has always been in the shadow of it's "bigger brothers", especially the "Eroica" Symphony. Also included is the Coriolan Overture and Bartók's "Concerto for Orchestra". It is an extraordinary experience to hear how Maazel builds the suspense and consistency in these interpretations from early in his career. An important recording both for Maazel fans and those who want to become one. - Hanssler Classic

• French composer Erik Satie composed some of the most mystifyingly beautiful music in the piano literature, much of which is in constant demand for live performance and recordings. • Pianist Chisako Okano studied piano in her native Japan and then Germany, and leads a productive concertizing career.

Classical Music

Legends of the period-performance community Sarah Cunningham and Richard Egarr need little introduction, with their contributions to recorded music garnering critical acclaim from early music afficionados across the decades. They join forces for their AVIE Records debut recording of J.S. Bach’s celebrated Sonatas for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord, together with Cunningham’s dazzling arrangements of the composer's Organ Trio Sonata and Flute Partita to conclude the programme. The Gamba Sonatas have long since established themselves as a staple in the cello and gamba repertoires, notably extending their fame into popular culture through film and television features.

BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY NO 3 LEIN