JULIETTE GRECO A LA PHILHARMONIE DE BERLIN

20th Century Blues is a live 1996 album by British singer-actress Marianne Faithfull, in collaboration with pianist Paul Trueblood.

GREAT PUCCINI

These two ballets reveal a specific facet of Stravinsky's genius, his skill in pastiche. Having used music from eighteenth-century Naples for Pulcinella, he turned to Tchaikovsky for Le Baiser de la fee. On both occasions, he succeeded in transforming the exercise of homage into a highly personal work. Stravinsky had a special artistic affinity with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, which amply repays the debt in this new recording.

A century after his death on 25 March 1918, many harmonia mundi artists were eager to pay tribute to Claude Debussy, the magician of melody and timbre, the great 'colourist' and father of modern music. With the musicians of Les Siecles, we have the opportunity to discover on period instruments the original colors of such key works as Jeux and the Nocturnes.

A century after his death on 25 March 1918, many harmonia mundi artists were eager to pay tribute to Claude Debussy, the magician of melody and timbre, the great 'colourist' and father of modern music. In the three chamber sonatas, here combined with the composer's final pieces for solo piano, we attain the purity, the absolute concision, the distant and mysterious world that give these works a testamentary dimension.

VOICES

VALENTIN SILVESTROV: FORGOTTEN WORD I WISH TO SAY

LSO Live marks the beginning of it's 25th anniversary year with the release of Mendelssohn's Elijah, recorded live in concert with Sir Antonio Pappano earlier this year. From it's first performance, Elijah received roof-raising applause. It is one of the three greatest oratorios in musical history, bringing the sacred to life in glorious song. The life of the Biblical prophet is told in a series of dramatic episodes. We follow the fortunes of the steadfast, open-hearted Elijah, and encounter ministering angels and the vengeful queen Jezebel. The London Symphony Chorus and four electrifying soloists give voice to the oratorio in English, as in it's first premiere. Gerald Finley breathes life into the role of Elijah, and the Orchestra ramps up the drama without losing sight of the stillness at the heart of the storm.

The poetics of space and the art of time, high-precision mechanism, rhythmic exhilaration; Ligeti's music defies criteria and codes. This recording provides an opportunity to assess the evolution of the musical language of one of the twentieth century's greatest composers, from the early Concert Romanesc to the later concertos for piano and violin, performed here by two fabulous virtuosi.

Rachminov's Symphonic Dances was one of the first four releases on the LPO Label. As a celebration of the LPO 20 Anniversariy, they are releasing a new recording of the Symphonic Dances, recorded in March of 2023, paired with Rachmaninov's The Bells. Both recordings are performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of our prinicpal conductor, Edward Gardner. The Bells, a choral symphony incorporates Edgar Allan Poe's namesake poem, with a traditional Georgian melody Dies Irae. Motifs of Dies Irae can also be heard in the final movement of the Symphonic Dance; where the Dies Irae theme represents Death.

Rachminov's Symphonic Dances was one of the first four releases on the LPO Label. As a celebration of the LPO 20 Anniversariy, they are releasing a new recording of the Symphonic Dances, recorded in March of 2023, paired with Rachmaninov's The Bells. Both recordings are performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of our prinicpal conductor, Edward Gardner. The Bells, a choral symphony incorporates Edgar Allan Poe's namesake poem, with a traditional Georgian melody Dies Irae. Motifs of Dies Irae can also be heard in the final movement of the Symphonic Dance; where the Dies Irae theme represents Death.

A dark, pessimistic work, Belshazzar casts an uncompromising gaze on the fate of empires and those who govern them. In 2013, William Christie and Les Arts Florissants recorded a noble and majestic account of this formidable oratorio. The Times proclaimed "Belshazzar is delivered with ringing zest by Allan Clayton, Rosemary Joshua and other top Brits, and an orchestra forever on the boil."

Deeply resonant spiritual music transmitted via piano, organ, and harmonium by beloved composer and Ethiopian Orthodox nun Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru. Church of Kidane Mehret collects all the musical work from Emahoy's 1972 private press album of the same name, alongside two additional unreleased piano recordings, exploring Emahoy's take on "Ethiopian Church Music." Recording herself in churches throughout Jerusalem, Emahoy engages directly with the Ethiopian Orthodox musical liturgy. For the first time, we hear Emahoy on harmonium and massive, droning pipe organ, alongside some of her most moving piano work.

Deeply resonant spiritual music transmitted via piano, organ, and harmonium by beloved composer and Ethiopian Orthodox nun Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru. Church of Kidane Mehret collects all the musical work from Emahoy's 1972 private press album of the same name, alongside two additional unreleased piano recordings, exploring Emahoy's take on "Ethiopian Church Music." Recording herself in churches throughout Jerusalem, Emahoy engages directly with the Ethiopian Orthodox musical liturgy. For the first time, we hear Emahoy on harmonium and massive, droning pipe organ, alongside some of her most moving piano work.

A stinging critique of capitalist society, 'he Seven Deadly Sins brings into sharp focus the perpetual battle between money and morals. Created by the trail-blazing duo of the Weimer Republic, Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht, the satirical ballet-chante The Seven Deadly Sins was to be the pair's final collaboration. Hitler had come to power, and the Jewish Weill and Marxist Brecht had both left Germany in haste. Weill was to come to terms with capitalist America more readily than Brecht, writing a series of popular musicals for Broadway with other collaborators. But, in The Seven Deadly Sins, Brecht's pen is still dripping with venom as he excoriates the continent's sleazy, materialistic values, the biblical septet of vices here given a contemporary twist. The story tells of daughter Anna (Magdalena Kozena), who is sent away from her family, tasked with bringing back enough money to build a house on the Mississippi River. Through seven years and seven cities-from Memphis and Los Angeles to Philadelphia and San Francisco-Anna encounters the seven deadly sins, and is forced to make her choice between what is profitable and what is right. Sir Simon Rattle, the London Symphony Orchestra and a star-studded line-up of soloists bring this shamelessly entertaining work to life alongside a collection of Weill's other most memorable works, including Death in the Forest and Little Threepenny Music.

Two years after his #1 classical crossover hit Piano Piano, cofounder of The Lumineers and multi-instrumentalist Jeremiah Fraites is back with a breath-taking follow up record Piano Piano 2. With arguably bolder and more genre-bending instrumentation, Piano Piano 2 features a stunning vocal performance by Grammy-nominated folk artist Gregory Alan Isakov on a reimagined orchestral cover of the Radiohead classic "No Surprises."

This new recording by Jordi Savall features emblematic works by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. It allows us to hear the orchestra Le Concert des Nations at it's best in a repertoire in which Jordi Savall has already distinguished himself many times, both on disc and in concert. A disc that is not only an ideal Christmas gift, but also the cornerstone of any Carpenter discography worthy of the name.

The first release to document the solo cello work of musician and composer Lucy Railton, the 40-minute composition Blue Veil recorded at Eglise du Saint-Esprit in Paris invites listeners into the realm of precision-tuned states of resonance: states made manifest through Railton's careful traversal of her cello's most subtle acoustic characteristics as they harmonically interlock with mind's embodied modalities of attention and imagination. Blue Veil arises out of, is sustained in and finally dissolves back into Railton's momentary presence with her intimate connection to the cello, a way of hearing that allows for a deeper engagement with harmonic resonance, one that opens a space for immediate encounters of mind and sound. Railton's exploratory practice of harmonic perception emerges from a focus on the physical qualities of intervallic and chordal sounds, their textural qualities, degrees of friction, and inner pulsations. Composing in the moment guided by resonances within the cello's body, her own, and their shared vibrational space, Railton moves through Blue Veil by giving sounds what they ask for: sounds of pure texture manifesting as a move through temporal transparency, sounds of rough texture marking regions of dimensionally dense space. Railton's creative and highly refined use of just intonation harmony deforms sound's inner movements in ways that suggest a mode of listening that actively supplies imagery of sounds implied or completely absent rather than merely savouring those fully present. This active mode of "listening-with", playfully and semi-metaphorically referred to by Railton as "sing-along music", allows listening to reflexively participate in the music's movement as it gradually passes through richly saturated domains of harmonic imagination. And just as the precisiontuned tones of Blue Veil lose their individuality when fusing multifaceted uniformity, listening's structures of reference and recognition dissolve into nameless waves of intensity, continuously unfolding themselves upon and merging with the listener. Blue Veil is the result of a deep exploration of the inner worlds of tuning, an undertaking in turn informed by and emerging out of Railton's realisations of the music of Catherine Lamb and Ellen Arkbro, her collaborative work with Kali Malone and Stephen O'Malley as well as her interpretive practice in performing the work of Maryanne Amacher, Morton Feldman and others.

The orchestra of Le Consort, in the course of it's exploration of Vivaldi, reveals the many facets of this inexhaustible cycle. To achieve this, Theotime Langlois de Swarte has held up a subtle mirror to other works by the 'red-haired priest'. All of them perpetuate the seasons in their own way, through shared memories and impressions; in the background Lambranzi's Venetian dances complement this musical picture awash with colors.

Jenufa is pregnant, but she isn't married. In her isolated mountain village this means disgrace, or even death. The composer pondered his characters' predicament for many years. The opera he eventually completed is a blazing vision of human suffering and redemption, rooted in the rhythms of everyday life. Jenufa brings together a remarkable cast, including Agneta Eichenholz's heartbreaking portrayal of a vulnerable young woman and Katarina Karneus' achingly powerful Kostelnicka. The third in a series of Janacek operas presented by Conductor Emeritus Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO, this next installment follows the critically acclaimed Katya Kabanova, released in 2024, and The Cunning Little Vixen, released in 2020.

Sir Colin Davis's recording of Dvorak's Symphony No 9 was the first title recorded and released on LSO Live, immediately establishing the label's international reputation. In celebration of it's 25th anniversary, LSO Live presents a remastered edition of Dvorak's Symphonies Nos 6-9, recorded with Davis in the label's early years. As one of the leading figures of nationalism in music, Dvorak's symphonies exude the essence of his Czech homeland. The influence of his native Bohemia shines out from every one of the symphonies, which are full of drama and laced with rich folk melodies. These recordings are paired with works by Smetana and Janacek, who also drew on the mythology and pastoral beauty of their beloved country. Janacek's "Sinfonietta" showcases the Czech musical tradition through dancing strings and celebratory brass, while Smetana's six tone poems that form "Ma vlast" depict aspects of Czech myth and natural wonders, including the river Vltava as it flows through the countryside and into Prague. The release of this album in 2024 also marks the 200th anniversary of Smetana's birth, the 120th of Dvorak's death, and the 170th of Janacek's birth.

Today, Miklos Rozsa is best known for classic film scores like Ben-Hur and Lust for Life. Living in America, yet yearning for his native Hungary, Rozsa took a momentary step away from Hollywood to write a violin concerto that sings, dances and positively smoulders. This rare performance of his Violin Concerto shows that even without the pictures, his music can hold an audience spellbound. Taking centre stage for this recording is London Symphony Orchestra Leader, Roman Simovic, who joined the Orchestra in 2010. His virtuosity and musicality have taken him throughout all continents, performing as soloist with world-leading orchestras and conductors. The accompanying work on this album is by Rozsa's fellow Hungarian, Bela Bartok, whose passionate Violin Concerto No.2 was known simply as his Violin Concerto throughout his life. His other concerto, written two decades earlier, was only published after the composer's death. The London Symphony Orchestra frequently invites it's members into the solo spotlight, and this album joins the ranks of other widely lauded recordings by principal players of the LSO.

Kali Malone's The Sacrificial Code is the 2019 breakthrough album of the acclaimed composer's pipe organ pieces. Her temporally informed studies of harmonics and intonation breathed life into a suite of compositions which leaves the heart moved and mind still. This 2025 edition was mastered by Rashad Becker and features a new track Sacrificial Code III. Pitchfork praised the album for it's �time-stretching properties� and �clean minimalism�. Resident Advisor described the album as an �exercise in concentration, restraint, and focus�. Tiny Mix Tapes emphasized the �intensity and intimacy� of the album, pointing out how Malone's close miking technique brings out every textural detail of the organ, creating a highly focused and immersive listening experience.

Legendary Opera stars from the Golden Age of Television. Many performances released for the first time. All newly remastered from Voice of Firestone telecasts, 1949-1963, and issued for the first time with English subtitles. Arias from Aida, Semiramide, Faust, Don Pasquale, Barber of Seville, etc., sung by Leontyne Price, Joan Sutherland, Jussi Bjoerling, Richard Tucker, Hilde Gueden, Cesare Siepi, Leonard Warren, Jan Peerce, Rise Stevens, Jean Madeira, Eugene Conley, Patrice Munsel, Anna Moffo, Renata Tebaldi, Franco Corelli, Eleanor Steber, Bidu Sayao, and Mildred Miller. Black & White, Mono, NTSC (Playable all regions), 4:3, 94 minutes.