Following the success of Intrecci - New Compositions and Arrangements for Solo Guitar (Stradivarius, 2024), winner of the Amadeus d'Oro award, Giacomo Susani presents his new recording project Under a Crescent Moon, an album that continues and deepens the exploration of the expressive possibilities of the classical guitar. The CD is the winner of the "Per Chi Crea" grant by SIAE and the Italian Ministry of Culture (MiC), 2024 edition, as was the previous album Intrecci, which won the 2023 edition. Unlike the previous work, structured in distinct pairs of pieces, Under a Crescent Moon takes on a more unified character. All the music-original compositions and arrangements-was conceived, studied, and recorded within a highly concentrated period of just over one month, giving the album a strong linguistic and expressive coherence. The three original works share a consistency of language that defines a distinctive style, while remaining sufficiently flexible to convey clearly defined expressive nuances and, consequently, ever-changing musical qualities. The album's title is drawn from a haiku by Matsuo Basho and serves as a poetic invitation to delve into the intangible and evocative sonorities of the guitar, it's resonances, and the richness of it's sound. As the artist explains: "The guitar is not only the recipient of my abstract ideas, but a generative engine of visions, sounds, and form: at once a poetic inspiration and concrete destination of the creative act" The album features three large-scale original compositions: Due appunti - structured in two movements (Preludio and Toccata), the piece moves from the mysterious and questioning character of the Preludio to the brilliant and highly fluid Toccata, which radically transforms the music's character from suspended to assertive and forward-driving. Under a Crescent Moon - six musical miniatures inspired by as many haiku by Matsuo Basho, translating poetic imagery and content into sound. These brief yet densely expressive poems inspire six musical moments, each aiming to depict not only the image evoked by the words, but also their emotional resonance in the composer. Suite a uno - a five-movement suite (Preludio, Arabesque, Interludio, Corale, Finale) built upon a single harmonic structure, maintaining a clear formal coherence. Arrangements of masterpieces by Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel frame and permeate the original compositions: from Ravel's Prelude in A minor to selected piano pieces from Debussy's Children's Corner and Preludes (Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum, The Little Shepherd, Golliwogg's Cakewalk, La Fille aux cheveux de lin). These are not simply transcriptions, but true arrangements that engage deeply with the idiomatic nature of the guitar. The recording was made using a remarkable historical guitar built in 1926 by Spanish luthier Domingo Esteso. Now celebrating it's 100th anniversary, the instrument displays extraordinary elegance, depth, and nobility-an ideal medium for these sonorities and a powerful source of inspiration for their imagination.

Pianist, conductor, composer, close friend of Busoni and champion of Ravel in the United States, Rudolph Ganz remains one of the great forgotten figures of early twentieth-century music. Through eleven works, including five world premiere recordings, Dominic Chamot retraces Ganz's singular artistic journey at the crossroads of Romanticism and Modernism. From the intimate lyricism of his early piano miniatures to the more daring harmonic language of his later works, this programme reveals a composer of striking individuality and imagination. The album places Ganz alongside composers who shaped his artistic world and dedicated important works to him: Christian Sinding, Ferruccio Busoni and Maurice Ravel. Performed by the award-winning German-Swiss pianist Dominic Chamot, this recording combines discovery, virtuosity and historical insight.

Under the direction of Music and Artistic Director Rafael Payare, Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal presents two landmark works created for Sergei Diaghilev's legendary Ballets Russes: Maurice Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe and Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. This prestigious company played a decisive role in shaping the image of an artistic modernity that challenged established norms in the early decades of the 20th century, with these two works leaving a lasting mark on the history of ballet and music. Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe, described by the composer as a 'choreographic symphony', is a vast musical fresco built on a refined orchestral palette, subtle harmonic writing, and a sophisticated blending of instrumental colours. Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, with it's innovative rhythmic language, harmonic construction, and powerful evocation of ancient rituals, became a landmark work of the 20th century. Together, these scores reflect the extraordinary creative energy surrounding the Ballets Russes and the composers who transformed the musical landscape of their time. This release extends the exclusive recording partnership between the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal with Rafael Payare and PENTATONE, including Mahler's Symphony No. 5 (2023), Mahler's Rückert-Lieder with Sonya Yoncheva and Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben (2024), Schoenberg's Pelleas und Melisande and Verklarte Nacht (2024), and Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique and Le carnaval romain (2025).

East meets West: Japanese-American violinist Anne Akiko Meyers pairs the world of French music with contemporary Japanese works on her AVIE Records debut. Sonatas by the fathers of French impression - Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel - foreshadow Olivier Messiaen's Theme et variations, whose chordal structure evokes Toru Takemitsu's Distance de Fee. Anne gives the world premiere recording of Birds in Warped Time II by Japan's most prominent living composer, Somei Satoh, whose work she is closely associated with, having also performed and recorded his Violin Concerto. Newly reissued: repackaged artwork and remastered audio in HD stereo and Immersive Audio, we're excited to be releasing this stunning programme on 180g Vinyl LP for the very first time.

East meets West: Japanese-American violinist Anne Akiko Meyers pairs the world of French music with contemporary Japanese works on her AVIE Records debut. Sonatas by the fathers of French impression - Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel - foreshadow Olivier Messiaen's Theme et variations, whose chordal structure evokes Toru Takemitsu's Distance de Fee. Anne gives the world premiere recording of Birds in Warped Time II by Japan's most prominent living composer, Somei Satoh, whose work she is closely associated with, having also performed and recorded his Violin Concerto. Newly reissued: repackaged artwork and remastered audio in HD stereo and Immersive Audio, we're excited to be releasing this stunning programme on 180g Vinyl LP for the very first time.

Spain is my second musical homeland' - Ravel It is not without irony that prior to the 20th century some of the most famous 'Spanish' classical music was written by the French! Romantic-era intellectuals saw Spain as a seductive and magical attraction, with it's Moorish-style palaces and gardens, festivals, bullfights, costumes, castanets, and flamenco dancing and while Bizet's Carmen carries the greatest weight, pride of place actually goes to Camille Saint-Saëns whose 1863 Introduction and Rondo capriccioso for violin and orchestra already bore a Hispanic flavor (Carmen would not be written for another eight years). In Ravel's case, Spain was already in his blood, thanks to the influence of his Basque mother, but it was a marvel to many, including Manuel de Falla, that he should instinctively have achieved such an authentic sense of Spanish style. The idea for this project was the result of conductor Pierre Bleuse's desire to immerse himself with the musicians of the Odense Symphony Orchestra in the music of Ravel, especially the composer's Spanish-influenced music. The musicians have captured all the colors and details of articulation needed to bring this extraordinary music to life. French conductor Pierre Bleuse has established himself as one of the most dynamic and versatile musicians of his generation. Since 2021 he has served as Music Director of both the Ensemble intercontemporain in Paris, the Odense Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director of the Pablo Casals Festival in Prades. Bleuse is particularly admired for his interpretations of the French orchestral repertoire, especially Ravel. As you will hear on his OUR Recordings debut, his performances balance elegance with dramatic intensity, revealing both the brilliance of the orchestration and the expressive depth beneath it's shimmering surface.

Vivantes brings together the Katok Ensemble, led by Paul Serri, and the Belgian composer Patrick Leterme for a programme conceived at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Charleroi. Spanning works by Maurice Ravel and Guillaume Lekeu, alongside a new composition for string quintet - Racines, Ailes, Brises - the music explores an organic connection to life, nourished by immersion in nature and the resonance of texts by George Sand, Romain Gary and Vinciane Despret. Leterme deploys a particularly precise style of composition, whose deliberate fragility transforms sensitivity itself into a form of resistance.

For his debut solo album, Zachary Hatcher explores the contrasts that define the harp: the shift between ancient and modern and the thin line between dreams and nightmares. The album is built around Zachary's own transcription of Maurice Ravel's Ondine. The piece has long been absent from the harp repertoire because of it's immense difficulty; Zachary is currently the only harpist performing it. This focus on the outer limits of the instrument continues with his own Sonata for solo harp, a work in three movements-Burlesque, Waltz, and Prayer-that reflects his recent return to composition. The album also features Consolation and Swan Descending, two works by Per Norgård that capture a specific Nordic introspection, as well as Paul Hindemith's Sonata and Henriette Renie's Piece Symphonique; these two works, while standard for harpists, are stylistically unusual for their composers.

SPAIN

The Places
The tour starts in the countryside near Sancti Petri, and shows other aspects of the fertile landscape of Andalusia, leading to the historic hillside town of Medina-Sidonia, seat of the Guzman family whose Duke led the Spanish Armada in 1588. The resort of Sitges in Catalonia is followed by the great Cathedral of Seville, reputedly the largest Gothic church in the world, and towns that reflect the Moorish past of this region of Spain.

The Music
The French composer Maurice Ravel inherited from his mother, of Basque origin, a strong interest in Spain. Spanish elements influence much of his music including the Rapsodie espagnole, completed in 1908, Ravel’s first major orchestral work and a demonstration of his originality and of his gifts as an orchestrator. The music moves from the stillness of night to two characteristic Spanish dances and a final Spanish fiesta. Isaac Albéniz enjoyed a double career, winning an international reputation as a virtuoso pianist and doing much to establish Spanish music in a form acceptable at home and abroad. He divided the later years of his life, a period of deteriorating health, between Paris, Barcelona and Nice, years which saw the composition of his Iberia.

Picture format: NTSC 4:3
Sound format: PCM Stereo / Dolby Digital 5.1 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 55 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

This album centres on Ravel: Ravel the composer with Ma Mere l'Oye - originally a suite for piano four hands composed in 1910, orchestrated the following year to become a ballet and Ravel the arranger with Mussorgsky's famous Pictures at an Exhibition, as well as his orchestration of Schumann's Carnival, an embryonic project begun in 1914 for the great Nijinsky, who would ultimately never dance it. Only four excerpts were transcribed, and they were not published until 1975, on the centenary of Ravel's birth. Joseph Swensen, conducting the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, brings them back to life and infuses this colourful programme with his passion and infectious enthusiasm.

Leif Ove Andsnes is a leading pianist of his time, known for his exceptional musicianship and subtil touch, his considerable technical flair being unfailingly put at the service of his interpretations. He was a pioneer for being the first home-trained superstar pianist to have emerged from Norway. This box is the story of a 20-year partnership that has yielded a rich seam of recorded treasures, first for Virgin and then for EMI. Running through this cornucopia of 34 albums (36 CDs), we find recurring themes: Grieg (Andsnes even recorded some Lyric Pieces on the composer's own piano at Troldhaugen), Nordic music in general, Schumann, Rachmaninov, Schubert.