Following on from the success of the Red and Yellow series (a total of twenty-eight reissues), which have restored to the limelight the treasures of the label’s Baroque music catalogues, here are fourteen new titles offering a chance to renew acquaintance with further gems of the Baroque as well as a number of rarities. This third series also expands to embrace the Classical repertory (Mozart, Haydn etc.) and other cultures, notably those of the East, in recordings that form an integral part of Alpha’s identity and history. The fourteen reissues are performed by the leading musicians in the relevant repertory; most of these discs received one or more press distinctions on their first release. They are accompanied by full booklets, with articles in three languages (English, French, German) and richly illustrated chronologies. A wide range of photographers have provided the cover illustrations for the series, this time with the colour blue as the unifying thread.

14 distinct titles introduce this exciting new series uniting the finest Alpha and ZZT Baroque recordings. Discover - or rediscover - universally known works as well as world premiere recordings of rarities. Newly conducted artist interviews allow for fresh perspectives on their recordings. All releases, digipak in format with trilingual booklets, feature photographs by great (Magnum Cooperative) contemporary artists adorning the covers and a strong 'queen of colors' scheme, bringing to mind gods, kings, warriors, the devil, life, violence and death... Themes omnipresent in Baroque art!

Music Director Emmanuel Krivine and the Luxembourg Philharmonic devote this CD to two emblematic, major works from late in Béla Bartók’s life: the Second Violin Concerto (1939) and the Concerto for Orchestra (1944). + For the Violin Concerto, both Zig-Zag Territoires and the Orchestra invited the Albanian-born Tedi Papavrami, an international soloist of high repute, artistic and intellectual standards to record this 20th c. masterpiece + Mr. Papavrami’s recent recording of Eugène Ysaÿe’s complete violin sonatas for ZZT received tremendous press notice, astonishing the critics.

Alpha and the Festival of Aix-en-Provence continue their Young Talents series, in which Laureates of the Acad�mie of the Aix Festival are each accorded an album. The American baritone John Chest enjoys a brilliant career that has already led him to Glyndebourne Festival and the BBC Proms. In partnership with the Brazilian pianist Marcelo Amaral, he presents Die sch�ne Magelone by Johannes Brahms. Among all the wealth of Lieder that Brahms composed, this is his only real song cycle. Brahms had known these popular tales since his childhood, but it was thanks to Schumann that he discovered the novel published in 1797 by Ludwig Tieck, entitled The Love Story of the Fair Magelone and Count Peter of Provence. The work is representative of the poetic, idealized reinvention of the Middle Ages so characteristic of German romanticism: stories of star-crossed love, that usually end happily. "What strikes the listener most of all is the song cycle's epic scale - it is a veritable pocket opera, supported by pianistic writing of great complexity," writes Timoth�e Picard in the essay accompanying this release. The album's artwork is an original design by Maia Flore, a laurate photographer of the HSBC Foundation: her poetic universe has already featured in the preceding number of the series, 'Black is the colour' (Alpha 384).

This new release from Alpha features the young trio who takes their name from the legendary violionist Adolf Busch. The Busch Trio has already made a name for themselves on the international music scene as one of the most talented young trios. The trio has challenged themselves to record the complete chamber with piano of Antonín Dvorák, with the help of the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel and with this release, they are off to an astounding start.

Arguably more known for his operas, the Moravian composer Leos Janacek also wrote choral and instrumental works and Rikadla presents the chamber/choral aspects of Janacek's works unfolding essentially as a survey of his musical development with his early to mid then his astoundingly prolific creativity in the latter years of his life. The conductor Reinbert de Leeuw, with the Collegium Vocale Gent and Het Collectief ensemble present these choral works and instrumental pieces with performances of great poetic energy that contributes to a more rounded appreciation of the legacy of Janacek.

For her new, and Alpha debut, recording, pianist Olga Pashchenko has chosen the combination of Beethoven’s two Opus 49 sonatas and three sets of his variations, thus tackling what are commonly called ‘smaller forms’ but which remain important works nonetheless, especially the Variations, op. 35. • This young pianist commands admiration for her way of always enlarging her route, already a long one (she gave her first recital when she was 9, in New York), relying on certain great influences (in particular, Alexei Lubimov) and thereby further affirming her personality as an exceptional musician.

Following on from the success of the Red and Yellow series (a total of twenty-eight reissues), which have restored to the limelight the treasures of the label’s Baroque music catalogues, here are fourteen new titles offering a chance to renew acquaintance with further gems of the Baroque as well as a number of rarities. This third series also expands to embrace the Classical repertory (Mozart, Haydn etc.) and other cultures, notably those of the East, in recordings that form an integral part of Alpha’s identity and history. The fourteen reissues are performed by the leading musicians in the relevant repertory; most of these discs received one or more press distinctions on their first release. They are accompanied by full booklets, with articles in three languages (English, French, German) and richly illustrated chronologies. A wide range of photographers have provided the cover illustrations for the series, this time with the colour blue as the unifying thread.

Classical Music

Classical Music

For this second recording in duo, Lucile Boulanger and Arnaud de Pasquale propose a journey to 18th-century Germany, in the marvelous setting of the Sans Souci palace where Frederick II of Prussia had established his court. This disc, reflecting the extraordinary conjuncture experienced by the court of Berlin under Frederick II, brings together some of the virtuosic works for viola da gamba and fortepiano by Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, Johann Gottlieb Graun or Ludwig Christian Hesse and attesting to the results of fruitful collaborations between the composers at that court.

The Niquet, Shirley & Dino trio was formed on the occasion of Purcell's King Arthur, a show that marked the lyric stage and the world of the DVD. Five years later, their complicity has been further reinforced, and they present a work close to Herv� Niquet's heart: Boismortier's Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse. This opera-ballet, written for Carnival and first performed in Paris in 1743, occupies a particular place in Herv� Niquet's career since it was the first work played by Le Concert Spirituel 27 years ago: 'In addition to being composed by a genius of the Enlightenment, this comic opera is a gem of music, wit and humour,' says he. The wit of the famous Benizio couple is felicitously expressed in this story of which they have rewritten the comedy scenes, which had disappeared: 'From this succession of episodes, one more incongruous than the next, from this incredible accumulation of remarkably constructed gags (Niquet as Don Quichotte, Corinne Benizio/Shirley in a hilarious cantadora number, accompanied by Herv� Niquet with castanets, Gilles/Dino singing - not too badly! - a courtly air with harpsichord whilst the hysterical Duchess bellows in the wings), ensues a perfectly mad show' (ResMusica). The whole thing with all the necessary strictness in reproducing the music... Worth noting: the performance of the singer-actors and the splendid costumes and sets. A total spectacle filmed at the Royal Opera of the Ch�teau de Versailles. Bonus: a 52-minute documentary on the behind-the-scenes preparation of the production. 'First of all, we must hail the remarkable writing and dramaturgical work that is marvellously faithful to the work's off-beat universe. In phase with the reading of Shirley and Dino, the prize goes to the orchestra and dynamic, lively and invigorating conducting. Decidedly, Niquet has no rivals for transmitting his boundless love for this Poulenc of the Enlightenment.'

A Baroque West Side Story, Tancrède tells of the absolute but impossible love between two young people brought together by their passion but separated by their origins. • We are in the time of the Crusades: Tancredi is the champion of the Frankish army, and Clorinda the passionaria of the Saracen troops. • In the labyrinth of sentiments, sorcerer Isménor’s magic wand confuses the issues, luring the two heroes into the enchanted forest to better prepare their downfall. • With Tancrède, André Campra (1660-1744) established himself as one of the great opera composers between Lully and Rameau.

Of all the instruments that have marked the course of musical history, the piano has certainly gone through one of the most remarkable evolutions. It began as an intermediary, transitory stage between two instrumental traditions. Following it's invention by Bartolomeo Cristofori at the beginning of the 18 the century, the piano gradually replaced the plucked strings of the harpsichord with a hammered, striking action; this innovation enabled a far wider range of dynamic nuance, increasingly winning over musicians and composers in the 18th and above all in the 19th century. After Cristofori, the German keyboard maker Gottfried Silbermann further developed the instrument, and it's sound eventually became more like that of the modern piano as we know it. In the quest for interpretations that get as close as possible to those of past eras, some of today's pianists have adopted the early pianoforte, offering the listener the opportunity to discover the sounds the composer would have heard and conceived. Firmly convinced of the rightness of this approach, Alpha has collected 10 albums of these recordings, in an attractively produced set, presenting works by a number of different composers, including Haydn, Chopin, Beethoven and Schumann, performed by some of the label's iconic pianists, such as Freddy Eichelberger, Jos van Immerseel, Alexei Lubimov, and Eric Le Sage.

Mezzo-soprano Eva Zaicik, who has signed up with Alpha for several recordings, is one of the most prominent vocal artists of her generation. She was chosen as 'Revelation lyrique' at the Victoires de la Musique Classique 2018, and elected the same year a Laureate of the prestigious Queen Elizabeth of Belgium Competition. She has participated in the "Jardin dex Voix" of les Arts Florissants under William Christie, and regularly collaborates with Le Poeme Harmonique and Vincent Dumestre- but her constant accompanist is the harpsichordist Justin Taylor. Together with two other musicians- violinists Theotime Langlois de Swarte and Sophie de Bardonneche, they have founded Le Consort, to explore both sacred and secular works by composers such as Charpentier, Campra and Clerambault. For this recording they are joined by the flautist Anna Besson and gamba player Lucile Boulanger, both well-known to the Alpha label, as well as Louise Pierrard and Thibault Roussel. This recording is devoted to the Cantatas of Lefebvre, Monteclair, Clerambault and Courbois, more than half of which have never previously been recorded.