Christophe Rousset continues and concludes his exploration of Bach's splendid keyboard corpus in this new recording, which combines depth, virtuosity and interiority. The Toccatas are among Bach's earliest works composed between 1705 and 1712. They bear witness to the influence of northern masters such as Buxtehude, and are above all the site of Bach's stylistic blossoming, giving free rein to his fantasy, his freedom and his architectural and expressive genius.

Though Amanda Maier left her mark on the musical life of her time, the centuries that followed largely forgot her name. With this album, the Trio Ernest opens a door onto her musical world, highly personal, alongside works by Grieg, the Schumanns, and Reinecke. At it's heart lies Maier's beautiful Trio in E-flat major, at the crossroads of German Romanticism and Swedish folk tradition, as well as the Swedish Airs and Dances, whose color and charm are brought to life by �l�onore Billy's nyckelharpa.

For the second volume of their complete symphonic works by Mendelssohn, Les Ambassadeurs - La Grande �curie bring together two works marked by the composer's trip to the British Isles in 1829 and his visit to Fingal's Cave. The musicians have chosen here the first versions of these pieces - less famous than the later versions - which are being recorded here for the first time on period instruments.

With Vieni, o Notte, Francesca Aspromonte signs her first recording for Apart� with an all-Scarlatti program. Together with Arsenale Sonoro and Boris Begelman, she explores three cantatas (sometimes described as serenate) in which the composer makes the night the stage for his characters' thwarted loves. He gives them arias and recitatives that are painful, contemplative, or searing, complemented by two sonate a quattro with madrigalian lines, whose quartet performance by Arsenale Sonoro highlights the bold harmonic shifts, the shadows, and the light. The album closes with All'hor che stanco il sole, a world-premiere recording - a musical meditation on love and loss. Here, Aspromonte unfolds a mastery of line and text that reveals the full sensuality of this music.

Founded in 2016, the Sypniewski Trio brings together Magdalena, Anna and Caroline Sypniewski. For "Origines", their first album, the three sisters return both to the birth of the string trio and to the origins of their own ensemble. The programme includes Purcell's fantasias for viols - intimate pieces enriched by the musicians' historically informed performance practice - alongside trios by Sibelius and Beethoven (the third of the Op. 9 set, the most ardent and innovative of his works in the genre), as well as Kaija Saariaho's intense Cloud Trio. These varied musical landscapes offer the Sypniewski sisters the opportunity to play with virtuosity on the paradox of the trio format, where individuality and cohesion serve a single musical narrative, which they shape with precision and poetry in a spirit of total commitment.

In 1892, Brahms returned to the piano to deliver his final works for the instrument: four collections of music written in a sparse, almost ascetic style, before the Vier Ges�nge that would close his oeuvre. "Playing a late Brahms intermezzo is like walking in the snow: every trace remains." Fabrizio Chiovetta approaches these songs of farewell with his characteristic elegance and directness.

After their first recording, Nuits parisiennes, Manon Galy and Jorge Gonzalez Buajasan open the door to the inner worlds of Romanticism. Surrounding Mendelssohn's rare Sonata in F major MWV Q 26 (his only mature violin sonata), Brahms's Second, and Grieg's Third are a few poetic and intimate gems, such as Sibelius's Berceuse and Fibich's Po�me. Between "melancholy waltz and languorous vertigo," violin and piano become the exalted yet nostalgic voice of the composers' most personal confidences.

After Bess's departure, what becomes of Porgy? Having fallen in love with Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, the brilliant pianist and arranger Vyacheslav Gryaznov decided to answer this question by taking up the opera's themes. With Rhapsody in Black, a concerto for piano and orchestra, he picks up the story where the opera leaves off: Bess in New York, Porgy following in her footsteps. Neither a pastiche nor a simple arrangement, Rhapsody in Black reclaims Gershwin's legacy by blending electrifying improvisations, big-band sonorities, and poetic ballads. With this New York fresco, complemented by Rhapsody in Blue, Gryaznov creates an extraordinarily vibrant diptych, superbly brought to life by the Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien and Wayne Marshall, a leading specialist and outstanding interpreter of Gershwin.

Traetta's Ifigenia in Tauride draws us into the tragic heart of the House of Atreus. Orestes is consumed by guilt over the murder of his mother Clytemnestra, while Iphigenia bears the lasting scars of her near-sacrifice, planned by her own father Agamemnon. They are two tormented souls, profoundly alone, who find each other in a moment of overwhelming recognition. Traetta's music captures this tragic tension perfectly. Standing at the crossroads of Neapolitan bel canto and Gluck's dramatic reform, his vocal writing is never an empty display. Every line, every ornament, conveys raw, sincere emotion. Christophe Rousset leads the musicians of Les Talens Lyriques and a brilliant cast of soloists, with Roc�o P�rez delivering a deeply moving portrayal of Iphigenia, in this masterpiece by Traetta, recorded here for the first time.

This complete recording of the a cappella choral works of Francis Poulenc marks the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Ensemble Aedes and brings to a close a cycle initiated in 2009. Francis Poulenc's a cappella choral compositions form a unique ensemble, revealing a fragile interiority suffused with profound humanity. For him there was no sense of division between the secular and the sacred in his choral works: he appears to have considered them as a single entity, stemming from the same inspiration. From the Chanson � boire (1922) to the Laudes de saint Antoine de Padoue (1957), all of his compositions show the same fervor, clarity, and depth of feeling.

Little is known about Johann Sebastian Bach's sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord. Are they early works or products of his late period? Do they form a cycle, or are they a collection of independent pieces? Long-time musical partners Atsushi Sakai and Christophe Rousset set out to record these enigmatic works, in which the gamba, as so often in Bach, becomes at once the voice of lamentation and an instrument of dialogue with the divine.

The myth of Orlando Furioso, conceived by Ludovico Ariosto in the 16th century, is one of the most fertile for dramatic and musical imagination. Between chivalrous heroism, romantic torment and psychological turmoil, it explores the limits of passion and the fractures of the human soul, offering Baroque composers an ideal terrain for expressing the tension between reason and madness, order and chaos. This program bears witness to this, traversing the many faces of Orlando through excerpts from operas by Vivaldi, Handel, Steffani, Fux and Porpora, where recitatives, arias and instrumental movements mirror his inner world.

Schumann is one of the great lifelong companions for musicians, including, Dasol Kim. The composer manages, with remarkable subtlety, to capture the fleeting yet striking moments and emotions of existence. His Carnaval, the Forest Scenes, and his final composition, the Geistervariationen ("Ghost Variations"), dedicated to Clara and first published in 1939, contain numerous references to popular imagination, literature, Schumann's life, and his reflections - all of which Dasol Kim explores here.

The Chevalier de Saint-George is in many respects an exceptional figure. Born in Guadeloupe in the eighteenth century to an aristocrat and an enslaved woman, he received in Paris the education of a court gentleman: violinist, fencer, Freemason, participant in the Revolution, and conductor, he was also a composer. It is naturally to the violin that he dedicated his finest works, among which the concertos, marked by a virtuosity that is both unbridled and graceful, stand out in particular. Romuald Grimbert-Barr� and the Orchestre national de Cannes pay tribute to this extraordinary life by pairing the Op. 5 and Op. 8 concertos with Thierry P�cou's Concerto Hommage � Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George. Through it's many biographical references, the work offers multiple poetic points of entry into the life of this singular and fascinating figure, who remains far too little known today.

In the 1730s, many composers tried their luck in London. Geminiani revolutionized instrumental writing with his famous treatise on interpretation and presented an amazing version of La Folia; his pupil Avison orchestrated concertos by Scarlatti, and Porpora ventured away from opera to rediscover the vocality of the cello with one of the most beautiful concertos of that period. Oph�lie Gaillard and Pulcinella treat us to a frenzied and poetic night in London. They meet Vivaldi, Hasse, Scottish composer James Oswald and virtuoso cellist Giovanni Battista Cirri. Guest artists Sandrine Piau and Lucile Richardot take on magnificent vocal pieces by Geminiani and Handel.

There is a link between the style of the early masters and that of the innovators, asserted Sch�nberg. The program of this recording seeks to prove this saying of the master of the Second Viennese School. Hortense Cartier-Bresson sets up a dialogue between the fathers of serial music and Bach. Interweaving the Toccatas BWV 910-913-914 with the first Sonata of Berg, the Three Pieces of Sch�nberg and the Variations of Webern, this recording explores the great Austro-Germanic tradition and it's inheritance.

Liszt's predestination for sacred music doubtless stemmed from his childhood, when he had close ties to Catholicism through his father. He went on to compose many works expressing the virtues of various saints, and to those works Martin Haselb�ck and the Orchester Wiener Akademie are devoting a series of recordings. The first volume features St. Cecilia, with Cantantibus organis, St. Francis of Assisi, with La pr�dication aux oiseaux (the first of his Deux L�gendes for orchestra) and the Cantico del Sol di Francesco d'Assisi, and also St. Francis of Paola, with St. Fran�ois de Paule marchant sur les flots (Deux L�gendes No.2) and An den heiligen Franziskus von Paula. While bearing little resemblance to Liszt's secular compositions, these works are equally impressive in their beauty and refinement. This recording, while providing us with a fine opportunity to witness once again the composer's admirable skills, highlights an aspect of Liszt's work that is all too often forgotten.

Fran�ois Couperin's early publications include a number of airs serieux, as well as several short pieces that were included in the collection of Pi�ces choisies pour le clavecin published by Ballard in 1707. Here Christophe Rousset and Cyrille Dubois reveal little-known aspects of the art of Fran�ois Couperin. Some of these pieces testify to the composer's taste for music in the Italian style, which is also evident in his sonatas, which include not only the famous La Steinkerque, but also La Superbe and La Sultane, in which Rousset conducts Les Talens Lyriques. The program also presents a hitherto uncataloged drinking song, Souvent dans le plus doux sort, the only known autograph piece so far discovered.

By the mid-18th century Vienna had established itself as the center of European musical life, witnessing the development of the Classical style and then Romanticism. At the same time, the guitar was rapidly evolving and, in the absence of interesting original compositions, it's repertoire saw the flourishing of a whole host of arrangements, before the mad "guitar mania" that was to take hold in the 19th century. Here, Edin Karamazov and Pavel Steidl perform new arrangements for two guitars of three emblematic works of that period. Bringing together pieces illustrating the structural mastery and playfulness of Haydn, the melodic inventiveness of Mozart and the poetic imagination of Schubert, they present a musical portrait, for twelve strings and four hands, of the Austrian capital at that time.

After Mozart's youth symphonies, the Freiburger Barockorchester returns to the composer with his concertante music. A 'portrait of the artist as a young man', his last three violin concerto were composed when he was twenty years old. Melodically inventive, structurally rich, and showing complexity in the dialogue between the soloist and the orchestra, these works represent important milestones, not only in Mozart's output, but also in the concerto genre in general. Often recorded, these concertos are presented here in a new version: in accordance with practices of the time, Kristian Bezuidenhout improvises a pianoforte part, while conducting the orchestra, over which the violin of Gottfried von der Goltz, an artist at the height of his powers, soars with great finesse.

Women poets, composers, dreamers, and mothers; their femininity is expressed through their artistic creations and works. From the Virgin Mary to Sor Juana In�s de la Cruz, via Mother Earth or Pachamama, Diana Baroni, Ronald Martin Alonso and Rafael Guel Frias pay tribute to the outstanding female personalities of the New World, from the time of colonization to the present day. The sonorities of the flute, the Baroque guitar, the viola da gamba and the percussions blend with those of the voice to paint a powerful and poetic portrait of this ancestral heritage.

Born in 2000, Simon B�rki has won many international competitions and is currently studying at the Juilliard School, New York, with Sergei Babayan. His d�but recording features works by Rachmaninov - 2023 marks the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth - and Scriabin, Tchaikovsky, Liszt and Schumann. The program confirms Simon B�rki's affinities, with some of Rachmaninov's sombre �tudes-Tableaux and Pr�ludes, together with two �tudes by Scriabin, and a selection of transcriptions and short pieces. In these (post-)Romantic miniatures, the young pianist demonstrates his outstanding virtuosity and sober elegance, as well as the exciting flamboyancy and intensity of his playing.

With Th�s�e, Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques continue their tour of Lully's operas, in which they have become specialists. Lully's third musical tragedy, and one of the least recorded, Th�s�e recounts the hero's youth, long before his battle with the Minotaur or his intrigues with Ariadne and Ph�dre. The story takes the listener on a journey through a series of changing settings - from the underworld to the island of paradise, from Versailles to Athens - supported by the incredible vocal eloquence of Lully's music, underpinned by a constant and hitherto unrivalled tension. At the center of the drama, Karine Deshayes sings a flamboyant M�d�e, a pugnacious and tragic figure, guiding the listener through the most enraged opera in Lully's catalogue. Matthias Vidal and Deborah Cachet portray a most poignant Th�s�e/Egl�, giving the duets all their dramatic power. M�d�e's emblematic aria ("D�pit mortel, transport jaloux") alone captures the movement and wizardry that run through the entire work - one of the most captivating achievements of the Sun King's surintendant.

Andreas Scholl, the Czech Ensemble Baroque and Roman V�lek, introduce us to the splendid works of Frantisek Tuma - a little-known Czech composer who was a prominent musical figure in the 18th century. The musicians here perform several of his emblematic motets and cantatas composed for Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenb�ttel, embracing Tuma's splendid invention and intensity of expression.

Christophe Rousset offers his version of Bach's Die Kunst der Fuge, finally tackling the German master's most mysterious work, a phenomenal and unfinished construction whose instrumentation has given rise to musicological debate in recent centuries. Behind the prowess of this cathedral-like work, the performer reveals all the virtuosity that it demands from the keyboardist who brings it to life. This is a meditative journey to the heart of the most ethereal compositional treatise ever written.