This box set brings together four CDs capturing Avishai Cohen's formative years, recorded between 1998 and 2001-a pivotal era shaped by his collaboration with Chick Corea. Adama (1998) introduces a bold fusion of contemporary jazz and Middle Eastern traditions. Devotion (1999) reveals a more introspective and spiritual voice, enhanced by strings and vocals. With Colors (2000), Cohen embraces a synesthetic approach where harmonies and rhythms evoke vivid imagery. Unity (2001), finally, fully reflects his vision of a global, socially conscious jazz led by the International Vamp Band.

Idil Biret who arrived in Paris at the age of seven and a half, unable to read music but playing Mozart's C major concerto as she will never play better. It was played by a great artist who happened to be a little girl who could not read music. One played her a piece of music once or twice and she knew it all. (Nadia Boulanger, Paris 1973)

Jodie Devos is sorely missed. Aged just thirty-five, she died on 16 June 2024. Wishing to perpetuate her memory and her art, we have decided to publish this boxed set containing all of the recordings she made for Alpha Classics over a period of ten years: six albums that bear witness to the exacting standards, sensitivity, eclecticism and curiosity of this unusual soprano who was loved by all. Also included is a concert she gave at the Gaume Festival in August 2017; this deeply moving programme reveals another side of Jodie, notably her love of American music and song, from Gershwin to Michel Legrand. All profits from the sale of this boxed set, which includes all the texts from the original albums, will be donated to the Jodie Devos Fund, created in 2025 to perpetuate the transmission and promotion of the operatic art that she held so dear.

[Their Beethoven performance's] were shockingly deep. I've never heard a quartet so young get so inside this ultimately inscrutable music LA Times The Calidore Quartet return to Signum Classics for the first instalment of their Beethoven Cycle: a 3-volume set of The Late Quartets. Their interpretation is informed by their diverse set of mentors which include Alban Berg, Emerson, Guarneri and yet still uniquely representing the sentiments, aesthetics and research of their generation. Their interpretations of Beethoven are already critically acclaimed with future performances planned at prestigious venues to be announced.

'Raptly revelatory and deeply communicative' (Fanfare): the earlier volumes of this Beethoven sonata cycle by Giovanni Bellucci have received an enthusiastic welcome in the international press, for the Italian pianist's depth of insight and his individual, dynamic response to this 'New Testament' of the keyboard. Now the newly recorded late sonatas are added to the previous two volumes to present a modern cycle, at a super-budget price, to set alongside distinguished pianists of former generations. The recordings have been made in the superb acoustics of the Salle de Musique at La Chaux de Fonds in Switzerland - the source of several previous and notable Beethoven recordings such as Claudio Arrau's late and magisterial address to most of the sonatas, on Philips. For this recording, Bellucci himself has acted as recording producer, assisted by sound engineering from Fabio Ferri, and the result is a sonata cycle of remarkable interpretative integrity, tracing in the most vivid terms Beethoven's evolution as a composer, from 18th-century rebel to 19th-century visionary. In this way the new set joins Bellucci's recordings of the nine symphonies as transcribed by Liszt, and the piano concertos, as a complete and artistically satisfying portrait of the composer. This box of sonatas is enhanced by an extensive introduction to the oeuvre by Bellucci, who discusses Beethoven in biographical and spiritual as well as musical terms. 'What exactly is the momentous decision that must be addressed by anyone wishing to perform Beethoven in the 21ist century?' asks Bellucci. 'In my view there can be no neglecting the life-giving flexibility of rhythm, a pliancy that eludes codification. Such flexibility calls for a deep understanding of musical syntax as well as perfect psychophysical coordination' - and in this regard he places himself in a distinguished interpretative tradition leading back to Artur Schnabel. The critics have agreed: 'Bellucci has a way through his approach to rhythm that makes the music inhale and exhale, rise and fall, in a totally natural way.. [that] transcended considerations of technical execution, the exquisite tone Bellucci draws from his Model D Steinway, and the exceptionally beautiful recording.,' (Fanfare). - This 9-CD set marks the completion of the Beethoven Piano Sonatas by Giovanni Bellucci. - Bellucci's Beethoven is highly personal, yet deeply searching for the meaning of the notes. His playing is free, with a strong sense of rhetoric and improvisation, adhering nevertheless strictly to the score and it's intentions. The result is fresh, exhilarating and illuminating, letting us marvel at the originality and genius of the music. Bellucci's humane vision of the music relates to Beethoven's own statement: "From the heart, may it return into the heart". - "Exhilarating, brilliant.never a dull moment.grandiosity of vision.", as Fanfare wrote enthusiastically. - Giovanni Bellucci is one of the most interesting and extraordinary pianists of today. Described by Piero Rattalino as "a force of nature, vast and palpitating", his playing is highly original, striving to recreate the original impact of the works he is playing: "he takes us back to the Golden Age of the Piano" wrote Le Monde. - His recordings, notably with works by Liszt, were showered with prizes such as Diapason d'Or, Choc, Editor's Choice, CD Maestro etc.

This unique box set explores the deep bond between Ludwig van Beethoven's music and literature-from Schiller and Goethe's poetic inspiration to Beethoven's theatrical scores like The Ruins of Athens, Egmont, and Fidelio. New text versions and insightful interpretations breathe fresh life into rarely heard works, highlighting Beethoven's belief in music as a moral force. A powerful journey through music shaped by words, and words inspired by music.

The Romantic Room is an expansive six-volume set exploring the rich and often overlooked chamber music of Louis Spohr, brought vividly to life by the Wdr Sinfonieorchester Chamber Players. Once hailed as the "German Paganini" and revered across Europe, Spohr was a pivotal figure of early Romanticism - an innovator who shaped the transition from Classical refinement to Romantic expression. This collection showcases his elegant string quintets and sextets, daring double quartets, and characterful potpourri, offering a portrait of a composer whose expressive range and artistic integrity remain strikingly relevant today. Spohr's chamber works are richly crafted and musically intricate, offering both technical challenges and expressive depth. These performances reveal a composer deeply rooted in tradition yet unafraid to experiment, blending lyrical intimacy with bold structural ideas. Following the highly acclaimed Brahms: String Sextets (Diapason d'Or) and String Quintets, the The Romantic Room: Chamber Works by Spohr box set is the Wdr Sinfonieorchester Chamber Players' third release on PENTATONE. The WDR Symphony Orchestra has also released an extensive discography with the label.

On 10 May 1740, Wilhelmine of Bayreuth's opera Argenore was to premiere at the Margrave's Theatre - a celebration that never happened. The dark dramma per musica, in which only an exile survives and King Argenore rules with brutal force, mirrors Wilhelmine's own life: her isolation at the Prussian court, her father's despotism, and the tense bond with her brother Frederick II are reflected in the opera's characters. Musically, Argenore features emotionally charged keys and a central role for Ormondo, who performs six arias. In 2022, the Gottingen Baroque Orchestra revived the opera in a world marked by crisis, highlighting the dangers of authoritarian rule and misinformation. A newly developed version replaced the Italian recitatives with a German monologue by Marlene Streeruwitz, while preserving all original arias - allowing the full dramatic force of Wilhelmine's music to emerge.

In celebration of their 25th year together as one of the most adventurous and influential percussion ensembles in contemporary music, So Percussion announces the release of 25x 25. In keeping with the group's forward-looking mission, this 8-disc box set is not a retrospective; more characteristically, it's a stand-alone listening experience, featuring more than 8 hours of entirely new and previously unreleased recordings, with each piece written for, in collaboration with, and premiered by So Percussion. Over the last 25 years, the members of So - Jason Treuting, Adam Sliwinski, Josh Quillen, and Eric Cha-Beach - have been hailed for their gripping performances and wildly creative collaborations. Cantaloupe Music (the label launched by the Bang on a Can collective, which released So's first-ever album in 2004), is pleased to offer this collection to longtime fans and newcomers alike. It's both a comprehensive portrait, and a forecasting of where contemporary chamber music is heading.

Inspired by their release earlier this summer of Mozart's 'Gran Partita', performed by a Milanese wind ensemble of principals from La Scala, Brilliant Classics here takes the excellent opportunity to combine that brand new recording of the pinnacle of Mozart's chamber music for winds with all the rest of his music in the genre, recorded for Brilliant back in the spring of 2001 by the wind soloists of the Rotterdam Philharmonic. Thus we have the leading players from two renowned orchestras breathing life into the wind music that played such a large role in the career of the Viennese genius. Mozart's chamber music for winds stems from the genre of Harmoniemusik: entertainment music that was in vogue in the second half of the 18th century named for the courtly wind ensemble of pairs of woodwinds plus horns, called Harmonie or Harmonieorchester in German-speaking countries. It's characteristic forms include the Serenades and Divertimenti. This was music that could be performed outdoors (due to the instruments' power of projection) or at informal settings such as meals (where they could be heard over lively conversation) with the musicians entertaining either themselves or an aristocratic dinner party, the so-called Tafelmusik (music for the table). Hence, Mozart was called upon often to write such works, either by wind-player friends (fellow Freemasons) or by his employers for the enrichment of courtly life. Other information: - CDs 1-6 recorded Spring 2001 in Rhoon, Netherlands; CD7 recorded December 2023 in Bernareggio, Italy - Booklet in English contains liner notes by Dr David Doughty - Composed primarily between the late 1770s and early 1780s, Mozart's Serenades and Divertimenti for Wind Instruments were mostly performed for courtly entertainment or social gatherings. In these works Mozart shows a deep understanding of wind timbres and their expressive potential. His ability to create quasi-operatic dialogues between instruments and his sensitivity to sonority make these works timeless treasures. - Among the most famous of these compositions is the Serenade No. 10 in B-flat major, K. 361, commonly known as the Gran Partita. This masterpiece, scored for 13 instruments, showcases a remarkable blend of rich harmonies, virtuosic passages, and expressive melodies, particularly in the renowned Adagio movement. The two Serenades KV 375 and 388 are strong, mature masterpieces in their genre. - Performed by the Soloists Delle Scala, and the Rotterdam Wind Players, directed by clarinetist Henk de Graaf.

Métier presents a landmark 4-disc box set from pianist Ian Pace in commanding performances of music by composer Michael Finnissy (b. 1946). Finnissy is widely regarded as one of Britain's most important living composers. Pace, one of the leading interpreters of Finnissy's work, presents an album focused around Finnissy's epic cycle for piano, The Verdi Transcriptions, alongside the second complete recording (after the composer's own) of the iconic English Country-Tunes, and works inspired by music of the late-18th and 19th centuries. The result is a broad view of Finnissy's extensive output of piano music in relation to Romantic aesthetics. The album is released in anticipation of the Métier label's upcoming celebrations of Michael Finnissy's 80th birthday in 2026. Finnissy's four-book cycle of Verdi Transcriptions reimagines Verdi's operas through a modern lens. As Finnissy states in his liner notes: "Transcribing sound into a written form (notation) involves making significant choices. The choices can color the ongoing exploration of that sound as 'composition.'" The result of those choices is a monumental, late-Romantic epic. Finnissy's English Country-Tunes has long been considered one of his signature and most technically demanding cycles. There is a similar line of composition through transcription as The Verdi Transcriptions, only in these works the source material is English folk music. Written in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee, the work can also be seen as a commentary on the spirit of British patriotism at the time. Ian Pace's readings reflect decades of study: he first performed English Country-Tunes in the 1990s and has played Finnissy's complete piano oeuvre in cycles (1996 and 2016). The set includes extensive liner notes by both Pace and Finnissy, offering rare insight into the compositional ideas and performance choices behind these demanding works. In Pace's recording of Michael Finnissy's other epic piano cycle, The History of Photography in Sound (MSV 77501), BBC Music raved: "Pace's intimate acquaintance with the totality of History is apparent in his commanding performance... this is a magnificent achievement for both composer and performer," and Gramophone hailed Pace as "Finnissy's David Bailey, each note shaded to perfection, structures translucently and sharply lit, defining sonic images of our time." Incomparable virtuoso, called the Paganini of the harp, Félix Godefroid was also a composer and teacher. This recording, performed by Sophie Hallynck, highlights the composer's studies in high virtuosity. Designed for his own use and that of professionals, they partake of both "absolute music" - as with the deservedly famous Étude in B-Flat Minor, Op. 193 - and the character piece, picturesque or sentimental. These musical miniatures are pieces overflowing with musicality in a refined style, but they express a pedagogical program first and foremost. Godefroid conceived of his études as a true school for harpists. Each technical problem becomes the medium for a musical expression - an approach that gives these études exceptional richness and relevance. Often based on one of those melodies for which Godefroid had such a knack, each one is set apart by a strongly marked expressive character, ranging from laughter to tears, as well as by it's structure, rhythm, novel sonorities, and harmonic surprises not lacking in audacity. Sophie Hallynck has risen to the technical challenges specific to each étude while staying faithful to the spirit of the era, with the aspiration to achieve a subtle balance between virtuosity and expression. Her essential objective has always been to make technique live through music, without ever obscuring that emotion that emanates from it. Shostakovich composed music for film throughout his life, from his teenage years as a pianist accompanying silent films in Leningrad until the early 1970s. New Babylon provoked a political and artistic storm upon it's release in 1929 but remains one of Shostakovich's finest film scores, performed here complete and uncut. Popular favorites The Gadfly and Hamlet are heard in premiere recordings of the complete scores. Also included is the music for Alone, The Girlfriends, Love and Hate, and The Fall of Berlin in premiere recordings that have garnered international critical acclaim. "This composer of the New Complexity movement admires avant-jazz. He also digs 19th-century classics. So, when adapting Verdi, he does it via the spirit of Cecil Taylor. Near the midpoint of Finnissy's "La Traviata" potpourri, you'll find dense fireworks as well as tenderness deriving from a motif Verdi once assigned to Violetta." - Seth Colter Walls, NYT

This substantial set dedicated to the vocal music of Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) features the great cycle undertaken (to date) by Krijn Koetsveld and the singers of Le Nuove Musiche: all nine books of madrigals, the music in Monteverdi collections such as the Selva Morale e Spirituale (1641) and the posthumous Messa a quattro voci ed salmi (1650), and the individual works by Monteverdi that were compiled in the collections of others, the so-called Fragments. To this is joined the cycle of operas directed by Sergio Vartolo and sung by casts of Italian early music specialists, including the first recording of the five-act version of Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria. These thoroughly researched, historically informed interpretations demonstrate Monteverdi’s pioneering and transformative role in the emergence and development of staged, dramatic vocal music. Also featured are the grand Vespers – sacred music in the Gregorian plainchant tradition but on an operatic scale – in a fantastic recording with fine Italian soloists and authentic period instruments including the early brass of La Pifarescha. Federico Bardazzi and Ensemble Felice make scrupulous interpretative decisions about the order of movements, interpolating the choral motets within the prescribed sequence of psalms to great effect. Finally, there are Monteverdi’s youthful three-part canzonettas, written when the composer was 17. They are rather simpler than the madrigals, both to sing and to appreciate, but their musical worth is amply demonstrated by the largely female voices of Armoniosoincanto joined by a mixed period-instrument ensemble of flutes, violas, theorbo and harpsichord. They impart just the right light-hearted mood and dramatic impact to the playful, folkloric secular strophic poetry. Genius innovator - inspiring past and present! Claudio Monteverdi lived in Italy during a very turbulent time and was one of the great designers of the new style in music. As a young man, he learned the ancient laws of composing, especially from Marcantonio Ingegneri. Under his inspiration, he wrote his first book of madrigals. We can follow his life closely through the final 9 books of madrigals. Each book is a new moment in his development as a composer. Ultimately, he gets his dream job in Venice as maestro di cappella, but he writes operas and other musical spectacles for other courts, including Mantua, Milan, Turin, and Parma. He enjoyed the recognition that finally came for that little boy from insignificant Cremona. The book consists of 9 chapters, one per madrigal book, and has 128 pages in total. Looking from Monteverdi’s perspective, and also from the perspective of the performer, the contemporary enthusiast. Mesmerized by the beautiful courtly poetry, but also intrigued by the innovator Monteverdi, who is always looking for other ways to express emotion in music in a special way. Each chapter focuses on one characteristic madrigal. The book comes with a CD so you can listen to all the wonderful works.

For Zhu Xiao-Mei, Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier is not only a masterpiece but also a source of inner freedom and comfort. In the interview printed in the album booklet, she shares her moving story of how, during her forced labor in the Cultural Revolution, she secretly copied Bach's preludes and fugues an act of resilience and spiritual rebirth. These recordings of the Well-Tempered Clavier from 2007 and 2010 are the result of a decades-long journey with Bach's music, which she regards as one of the deepest forms of human expression. This complete recording offers the listener a unique, emotional, and profound interpretation of this timeless work and this re-edition makes it once again available on CD.

The 21st edition of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, dedicated to the piano, came to a close on Saturday 31 May 2025 in a packed Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels, pulsing with the energy of the twelve finalists. A flagship event on the Belgian and international music scene, the Competition highlights exceptional young artists every year. The 2025 4-volume collection gathers the most striking moments from this edition. First Prize winner Nikola Meeuwsen succeeds Jonathan Fournel, Lukas Vondracek, Boris Giltburg, Denis Kozhukhin, and Anna Vinnitskaya. He shines here in Prokofiev's Concerto No. 2, accompanied by the Brussels Philharmonic under the baton of Kazushi Ono, as well as in Mendelssohn's Variations serieuses. Other orchestral performances on the album include: Rachmaninov's Concerto No. 3 by Valere Burnon (Third Prize, VRT Canvas-Klara audience prize and Musiq3 Prize), Brahms' Concerto No. 2 by Wataru Hisasue (Second Prize), and Schumann's Concerto by Arthur Hinnewinkel (Fourth Prize). The collection closes with Mozart's Concerto No. 27 performed by Jiaxin Min, accompanied by the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie conducted by Vahan Mardirossian. A prominent place is given to solo and contemporary repertoire: the two compulsory works, Music for the Heart by Kris Defoort - performed by Yuki Yoshimi - and Two Studies by Ana Sokolovic - by Shiori Kuwahara - precede Liszt's Reminiscences de Norma by Masaya Kamei (Fifth Prize) and Brahms' Sonata No. 1 by Sergey Tanin (Sixth Prize), recorded at Flagey. A vibrant testimony to this unforgettable edition, to be discovered and rediscovered with each listen.

Music is NOT that which sounds. Music is WHY that which sounds, sounds like it sounds - WHEN it sounds. The above quote by legendary Finnish conductor and larger-than-life composer Leif Segerstam neatly and - in typical Segerstam fashion - cryptically summarizes his philosophy on music, as wells as his unique approach to why music matters. It was felt by and intrigued anyone who was lucky enough to work with him, and it fuelled every aspect of his work in Aarhus, first as principal guest conductor (2018-21) and later honorary conductor (2021-22) for the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra. It is also evident in the recordings you have before you, the last ones made before his passing in October 2024. "This man has more music in his little finger than many conductors have in their whole body" is a popular quote by one of the orchestra's musicians, and it aptly describes the feelings of electricity and passion that ran through rehearsals with Leif. There is no doubt that music was everything - and in everything - of Segerstam's life.

The present edition contains the complete productions released by cpo between 1993 and 2018 on the subject of Michael Haydn's symphonies and wind concertos. During the course of a quarter of a century, as might well be imagined, a wealth of material accumulated that could not be put to renewed use without considerable cuts. Nine authors had contributed information about the sources and special qualities of the music to the original releases, which necessarily led to duplications, repetitions, and other redundancies that were to be avoided in the compilation. Moreover, it took some time for the numbering system currently in use for the works to be implemented. The authors initially continued to refer exclusively to the »Thematisches Verzeichnis der Instrumentalwerke von Michael Haydn« (to which we have assigned the letter P) that Lothar Perger had presented in the Denkmaler der Tonkunst in osterreich (DTo). The »enumeration« by the American musicologist Charles H. Sherman (1929-2018) later began to Appear in the booklets. Sherman initially compiled a provisional catalogue and then in 1993 published Johann Michael Haydn: A Chronological Thematic Catalogue of his Works in collaboration with T. Donley Thomas. This chronological listing (MH) and the P numbers, which soon will be 120 years old, are used whenever possible for the identification of the works recorded here. Our wish is that this unique edition may bring you great pleasure.

Velvety sound of unmatched beauty (The Guardian) "Musically, this 'Ring' blew away everything that had gone before - and we are talking about a performance history of more than one hundred years." (Die Welt) "Christian Thielemann creates a sound paradise." (Süddeutsche Zeitung) "Tcherniakov, as usual, manages details on a level rarely seen in opera." (The New York Times) "A dream cast of voices" (Le Monde) "Wagner at his best." (BR Klassik) "Spectacular und breath-takingly precise, that's how Thielemann illuminates the Wagner score." (NZZ) "Michael Volle's Wotan [...] is an event, [...] Rolando Villazón plays a fabulous Loge." (FAZ)

Dmitri Shostakovich is one of the indubitably great composers of the 20th century and left works of greatness in every genre, from the symphonies to opera, film- and light music, concertos, and, of course, chamber music. This collection offers a great overview of his contributions to that genre. It features a few favorites, like Rudolf Barshai's Chamber Symphony (arranged from String Quartet No.8), String Quartet No.1, and the Piano Quintet to lesser-known gems and rarely heard works for two pianos like the tiny, witty Tarantella or his dramatic, cinematic Concertino. It is capped with Alfred Schnittke's tribute to the master, the Prelude in Memory of Dmitri Shostakovich.

Deutscher Schallplattenpreis - The jury's statement: "Comprehensive and highly "Comprehensive and interpretatively high-ranking insight into the central creative field of an unjustly forgotten composer of the Schonberg generation, who stood in the Reger tradition and continued it not without a pronounced will to experiment. The edition of a young label enriches the record repertoire in an exemplary way and has a high information value." (Orgelwerke); "Excellent performance." (American Record Guide)

Louis Ferdinand Prince of Prussia (1772-1806) was not only heir to the Prussian throne, but also a talented composer. Inspired by the music of his time, especially Beethoven and Mozart, he created a series of works characterized by great emotional depth and melodic elegance. His oeuvre mainly comprises piano pieces, chamber music and songs that reflect both courtly refinement and personal sensitivity. Despite his early death, Louis Ferdinand left behind a remarkable contribution to German music of the early Romantic period, which is still recognized today.