Mozart's piano trios mark a decisive moment in the evolution of chamber music, elevating the genre to new artistic heights. This critically acclaimed complete recording by the world-class ensemble Trio Parnassus captures that transformation with intellectual rigour and musical sensitivity. Both celebrated masterpieces and lesser-known fragments are presented in this thoughtfully curated edition, setting a benchmark for quality and artistic vision.

The idea behind this recording by the acclaimed harpist Oliver Wass (first prize winner at the "Suoni d'Arpa" International Competition and now professor at the Royal College of Music in London) is to juxtapose music by Misha Mullov-Abbado with works by (mostly) Italian composers from four earlier centuries. The artist's ambition was to record the music he commissioned from Misha Mullov-Abbado and pair it with music for modern harp and Italian triple harp. The album is in fact performed on an Italian triple harp for the early repertoire, and on a modern pedal harp for the classical and modern repertoire. The performance also includes a chamber music section featuring Henry Roberts on flute, Luba Tunnicliffe on viola-both members, along with Wass, of the Pell�as Ensemble-and Gabriela Opacka-Boccadoro on violin. The CD also features a highly fascinating world premiere recording (and performance) of the Concerto for Harp and Orchestra by Luigi Molino, recorded live at the opening concert of the "Suoni d'Arpa" Festival in Saluzzo (Cuneo) on August 24, 2024. Oliver Wass here is accompanied by the Ensemble APM orchestra, conducted by Luca Vacchetti.

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons (2015) Itzhak Perlman, London Philharmonic Orchestra When it comes to evoking the colors and moods of Vivaldi's Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, Itzhak Perlman deploys an inimitably rich and varied palette. He directs the London Philharmonic Orchestra from the violin.

Recording Bach's complete Six Sonatas and Partitas has long been a dream of mine," says Augustin Hadelich "They are formidable tests of technical ability and stamina, but also of musical imagination and expressive range - they never cease to provide challenges, hope, and joy." For his interpretation, sensitive to historical practice, Hadelich chose to use a baroque bow. "It was a revelation," he says. "It felt liberating... Passages of three- and four-note chords felt more fluid... The dance movements danced more and the slow movements sang more.

Camille Saint-Saëns, virtuoso pianist, organist and conductor, was also a great admirer of Liszt. His Symphony No.3, which adds both his chosen keyboard instruments to the orchestra, and his Piano Concerto No.4 utilize the codes of the old master, the better to transcend them. As partner of Les Siècles since 2017, harmonia mundi felt it was a must to reissue these fiery readings of two masterpieces in the great French Romantic tradition, for which François-Xavier Roth invited two eminent soloists.

Christina Pluhar, L'Arpeggiata and eight guest singers explore the musical highways and byways of Naples, the most intoxicating and idiosyncratic of Italy's large cities. Alla Napoletana, a double album, expresses the city's mercurial personality in music from the 17th to the 20th centuries, embracing the operatic style of the so-called Neapolitan School, which rose to prominence in the late 1700s, and popular songs and dances. Among them are several examples of the tarantella, the lively, sometimes frenzied dance that epitomizes southern Italy.

David Fray adds a landmark of the solo keyboard repertoire to his Bach discography: the Goldberg Variations. "The Goldberg Variations are a real test," he says. "They are the work of a lifetime, perhaps a work about life itself... a kind of rite of passage, a journey. Every element of human life is in them... When you play the theme again after the 30 variations, in it's original purity, it is as if you're at the end of your life, looking back over everything that has happened in the last hour-and-a-half. Few works give such a sense of eternity".

2019 release. With this collection, Lang Lang goes back to his first love - to the pieces that made him want to become a musician in the first place. Rediscovering the most popular and accessible pieces written for learners and lovers of the piano, this album is a journey; of inspiration, of discovery, fantasy and learning. It is a moment for Lang Lang to illuminate these classic pieces as the masterworks they truly are. It is also a reflection on the music that influenced him most during his early childhood.

MANON LESCAUT

MUSIC AT THE COURT OF EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN I

Classical Music

2018 release. Pianist Daniil Trifonov releases Destination Rachmaninov - Departure, the first of two albums comprising Trifonov's cycle of the great Russian composer's piano concertos. The album features concertos nos. 2 and 4, along with Rachmaninov's solo piano transcriptions of three movements from Bach's Violin Partita in E major. The second album will complete the cycle, and both are recorded with the Philadelphia Orchestra and it's music director Yannick N�zet-S�guin.

Two CDs. Bach's monumental Goldberg Variations stand alone in the piano literature as a work of unique artistry and brilliance. Lang Lang first began exploring this masterpiece more than 20 years ago and presents this record as the outcome of a long personal and emotional journey. Marking a new stage in Lang Lang's artistic development, it is the project of a lifetime. Alongside a studio recording is a contrasting performance, a single take from a recital in Leipzig's iconic St Thomas Church, where Bach worked and is now buried. The heart of this project is the deluxe edition - a unique offering with simultaneous studio and live recording.

MY TRIBUTE TO YEHUDI MENUHIN

2015 debut solo album from Seong-Jin Cho, winner of the 17th International Chopin Piano Competition. Cho took the coveted first prize, among the most prestigious titles in the world of classical music. He was named winner on Tuesday 20 October 2015, following three weeks and four stages of competition in Warsaw. This release contains highlights from the 21-year-old South Korean pianist's recital rounds. This live album marks the start of a long-term collaboration between DG and the Fryderyk Chopin Institute, created to promote the work of outstanding interpreters of Chopin's music to the widest possible audience.

Acclaimed British composer Max Richter made history, with a ground-breaking piece of work: his 2015 work, Sleep, is an eight-hour lullaby. An exploration of music, consciousness and human connectivity, the work is intended to be listened to while sleeping. The landmark work is played on piano, strings, with subtle electronic touches and vocals - but no words. This album, From Sleep, is a one-hour version. Max Richter is a German-born British composer who has been an influential voice in post-minimalist composition and in the meeting of contemporary classical and alternative popular musical styles since the early 2000s. Richter is known for his prolific output, composing and recording his own music; writing for stage, opera, ballet and screen; producing and collaborating on the records of others; and collaborating with performance, installation and media artists.

The pianist performs works by Rachmaninoff and Schumann/Liszt in these 1958 and 1972 live performances at the Big Hall of the Moscow Conservatory with the Moscow Philharmonic conducted by Kyrill Kondrashin. B&W.

Canadian Brass playing songs from Canada... Is there anything more Canadian? To be covered by Canadian Brass means a song has to be able to transcend their lyrics and be easily recognised and enjoyable to the ear as instrumental covers. Aptly named Canadiana, the collection features songs by Shawn Mendes, k.d. lang, Joni Mitchell, Drake, Deadmau5 and of course Rush, done in true Canadian Brass style. As the most celebrated and enduring brass quintet in history, known for their skill and precision in performing both classical music and their own arrangements of modern songs, they have sold well over 2-million albums and have held Billboard chart positions in every decade of the group's existence.

SUN CLOUD

VERDI TENOR

DANCES

18 CDs, cap box. For the first time, DG brings together all of it's celebrated early Maazel recordings. Iconic stuff in a handsome, limited-edition box, offered at an attractive price, with gorgeous original cover art. Highlights include Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6, Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 2-6 & 8 "Unfinished," "Romeo & Juliet" by Berlioz, Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, Prokofiev: "Peter and the Wolf" & more.

LISZT

LISZT PROJECT

Brian Wilson -"At My Piano" - Genius, icon, and trailblazer Brian Wilson revolutionized music as head of the Beach Boys. Now, he retraces his steps and reimagines the most iconic songs from his back catalog into their purest form, with him alone at the piano. Featuring "God Only Knows," "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "California Girls," "Good Vibrations," and many more on SOLO PIANO.