Swiss-born Michel Corboz was a conductor whose joy in singing inspired his exploration of choral works and opera. A fine baritone with a background in church music, he said that he even wanted "an orchestra that sings". In 1964, opening up a new world of possibilities, producer Michel Garcin signed Corboz and the Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne - the group he had founded three years earlier - to the Erato label. Over the ensuing years, Corboz (who died in 2021) built an extensive discography, expanding the audience for composers like Monteverdi - sparsely represented at the time - Carissimi, Lalande and Marc-Antoine Charpentier, while reinforcing the presence of such figures as Bach, Handel and Purcell. Intent above all on doing justice to the composer, he readily collaborated with both period specialists and the modern instruments of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and Lisbon's Gulbenkian Orchestra. A substantial number of the recordings in this 74-disc set are receiving their first CD release and have been specially remastered in high definition. Encompassing the Renaissance and the Baroque, this is the first and larger of two boxes to be devoted to Corboz's Erato discography; it's counterpart will range from the Classical era to the 20th century.

Marking Beethoven's 250th birthday in a suitably heroic fashion, Fazil Say has recorded all 32 of the composer's piano sonatas. He sees the sonatas as "a sacred text for musicians" and Beethoven as "A revolutionary composer starting to create music 50 to 100 years ahead of it's time," adding that: "When we interpret a composer's work, we need to remain faithful to it. In other words, we need to feel like a composer. Compositions should be interpreted with the same freshness as a completely new piece of music that has just been created."

Simeon ten Holt’s unmistakable minimalist style is the driving force behind Canto Ostinato, one of the composer’s most famous works. Canto Ostinato is the best-loved Dutch piano composition of the 20th century, with its mesmerising melodies never failing to soothe the mind.

The instruments and number of performers for the piece are unspecified; written ‘for keyboard instruments’, the work has been recorded many times with piano, but this unique set brings together 12 arrangements of the work – for piano, as well as for organ, marimba and synthesizer. With a variety of recording venues ranging from throughout The Netherlands to Canada, this compilation is a must-have addition to any classical music collection.

Jeroen van Veen is a leading light in modern piano performance, as well as a successful composer. Chairman of the Simeon ten Holt Foundation, he has won critical acclaim with ensembles such as The International Piano Quartet, DJ Piano and Jeroen van Veen & Friends.

Other information:
- Recorded in 1999 - 2013.
- Anyone having experienced the power of Canto Ostinato by Simeon ten Holt will come under the spell of the hallucinatory effect of this iconic work, the most famous Dutch work for piano of the 20th century, one of the “classics” of minimal music.
- Jeroen van Veen and friends present the work in a variety of arrangements, ranging from piano solo through multiple pianos, organ, marimbas and synthesizers, each revealing other aspects of this deceptively simple work in which the harmonies shift imperceptibly in slowly changing waves.
- Liner notes on the composer by the artist, who worked in close collaboration till the composer’s death last year.

Recordings were made of Szymon Goldberg (1909-1993) over virtually a 60-year period. It must have been one of the longest studio careers of any violinist - it was certainly one of the most consistent in quality. The present set gathers up all the 78rpm material, which itself covers some two decades and presents the violinist in repertoire to which he did not return in later years, such as string quartets, string trios and string duos. An earlier volume (Music & Arts CD-1223, 8 CDs) presented Goldberg's best live recordings. Despite an often difficult life, Goldberg had an extraordinary ability to project a balanced view of the music he played. He was the archetypal Classical violinist and in his everyday life, behaved exactly as he played - a rare gift. In person, he was diminutive and soft-spoken. On stage, he never hectored the audience through his violin or pulled the music about to create an effect. Taking the view that the composer knew best, he did not impose an egotistical interpretation. Rather, he sought out the quiet centre of the piece he was playing and let his performance grow out of that. It followed that he was a great Mozart violinist, possibly the finest of the last century. He was, perhaps, at his best in chamber music, well represented here; but he was also an assured soloist and made a few excellent concerto recordings in the 78rpm era. Volume I of this Goldberg project (CD-1223) was released in 2010 and was named a Musicweb International Record of the Year and earned a gold medal from Diapason Magazine.

When the ORFEO label was established in Munich forty years ago, surely no one with the music scene back then would have predicted that the record company would develop into a firmly established player on the classical music market. One of the label’s main priorities in the early years was vocal music, with opera rarities top of the list and since the mid 1980s the re-use of historic tape recordings. Big names featured on the label’s own productions, while ORFEO also developed into a talent factory by discovering and nurturing young artist. This “Legendary Conductors” 10 album set for the anniversary of 40 years of ORFEO label history presents a selection of outstanding recordings with legendary conductors in the true sense of the word.

Messiaen’s artistic mission was to invent new musical languages to explore and portray the mysteries of the Christian faith. These “languages” employed many compositional techniques, including modes of limited transposition, Hindu rhythms, Greek rhythms, plainsong, birdsong, “communicable language,’ and serialism. Born in Avignon to Pierre Messiaen, a Shakespeare scholar, and the poet Cecile Sauvage, Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) exhibited a rare musical talent from an early age. He was admitted to the Paris Conservatory at age eleven, where he won five First Prizes- notably in classes with Marcel Dupre, Maurice Emmanuel, and Paul Dukas. In 1930, he was appointed Organiste Titulaire of Sainte Trinite Church in Paris, a position he held until the early 1970s. At the outbreak of WWII, he became a French army hospital attendance, and in 1941 was taken prisoner and held in a POW camp in Silesia (where he composed Quartet for the End of Time). Upon his repatriation in 1942, he was appointed professor of harmony at the Paris Conservatory. During his lifetime, Messiaen was famed as an organist and pianist and frequently performed his own difficult compositions in concerts around the world. Colin Andrews is an internationally famous concert artist, with extensive experience in the music of Messiaen. One of only four organists to have recorded Messiaen’s complete organ works, Andrews was recently named “Membre d’Honneur” of the Association Grand Orgue Trinite Messiaen, based at Messiaen’s church in Paris.

This comprehensive collection showcases one of the most fascinating and renowned conductors of the Soviet Era. A founding member of the Borodin Quartet, Rudolf Barshai was born in Russia in 1924 and was regarded as the leading violist of is generation by his early 20s. He founded the legendary Moscow Chamber Orchestra before emigrating to Israel in 1977 and denouncing Soviet authorities. Today his recordings, especially of Shostakovich, stand out as some of the greatest of all time. Those recordings and many others, all performed live from 1956-1974, are included in this 10-CD set.

Surely, no map could chart the fantastic voyage presented in this release. For while this odyssey takes us around a large part of the globe, via the music of Ireland and the British Isles, Germany, France, Spain and Italy, North Africa, Turkey, the Balkans, and Asia, it is largely an imaginary voyage, an interior journey made by the performers, inspired by their travel experiences and their passion for a geographical or temporal ‘elsewhere’. Music has the power of transporting us, in both senses; it can open the ear – and the mind – to other worlds, other cultures and customs; and it can exhilarate and transcend the senses. Here are recordings by iconic artists of the Alpha label such as le Poème Harmonique, Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien, and Cappella Mediterranea – all represented in this release.

Highlights include:

Traditional songs & dances of Naples, Ireland, The Balkans, The British Isles & North Africa on baroque instruments | Le poème harmonique plays music of French traditions | Cappella Mediterranea performs music from Spain, 16th-20th centuries | Doulce Mémoire performs music from the meeting points of Western and Middle Eastern cultures in the Renaissance | Andreas Staier leads performances of Bach cantatas

Past praise for previously released volumes included in this set:

Aux Marches du Palais / Le Poème Harmonique

The infectious La molièra qu’a nau escus, the rhythmic zest and mellow harmonies of the largely homophonic Le 31 du mois d’août, the pastoral delicacy of Réveillez-vous, belle endormie, are only a few of the standouts that required frequent use of the repeat button on my CD player. As for the 11 musicians who make up Le Poème Harmonique, they are vastly skilled, rhythmically disciplined, and theatrically vivid where required, as in the galvanizing a capella tarantelle, Sarremilhòque. (The music may be from France, but various patois are employed, as well.) This group is far from the “churchly” type that usually brings great delicacy and little passion to such music. One hopes we’ll hear more from them in the future.

-- Fanfare

J.S. Bach: Complete Organ Music, Vol. 1, Composer Johann Sebastian Bach, Artist Stefano Molardi organ, Format 4 CD, Stefano Molardi is shaping his recorded survey of Bach's complete organ music as self-sufficient and musically satisfying recitals which, disc by disc, explore the diverse styles at the composer's disposal, the flexible usage to which he, the ultimate 'compleat musician', puts 'his' instrument through it's paces, and the different liturgical demands which he was required to meet during the course of his career as he moved from church to court and back again. Grand Weimar- and Leipzig-composed preludes and fugues rub shoulders with intricate trio sonatas which he had initially conceived as chamber music, and between them nestle intimate chorales from his C�then days. Accordingly, Molardi makes full use of the potential flexibility of his chosen Trost organ in the Stadtkirche 'Zur Gotteshilfe' in Waltershausen, deep in the provincial heart of Thuringia. This is Bach country, and although the organ has been periodically restored since it was finally inaugurated in 1755, almost 30 years after the work was begun, it retains the classic characteristics of it's age and situation: a thorough restoration in 1998 returned the instrument to it's original glory. Born in Cremona, Molardi has undertaken a Renaissance career as not only organist but harpsichordist, conductor and scholar, not only at home in the rarified confines of early music but a virtuoso who has performed the complete organ works of Liszt and Franck and made an extraordinary recording of Verdi arranged for organ. These Bach discs are, perhaps appropriately, less overtly spectacular but no less imaginative in their rhythmic and coloristic response. A new recording (2013) of Bach's complete organ works is, even in these overfed and crisis-stricken days, an event of the first order. First of all because the music is of such overwhelming beauty and power, one of the greatest creations of humanity, and secondly because there is still so much to discover and illuminate in these works. These recordings are based on the choice of instruments: organist Stefano Molardi chose German instruments from Bach's time, lending an authentic character to the project. This first set features the wonderful Trost Organ of the Stadtkirche Zur Gotteshilfe in Waltershausen, Thuringia, built in 1725 and gloriously restored in 1998. Stefano Molardi is a "renaissance man", organist, harpsichordist, scholar, historian and writer. He recorded extensively for Divox, DGG and other labels. His playing is clear, crisp, free and rhythmically vibrant. The CD's are programmed like concerto programs, a fine diversity of genres and styles, to avoid monotony and uniformity.

Alan was a complete musician - a composer, performer, teacher, and a person of extraordinary natural musicality. Small wonder then that he was viewed with profound respect by all those within the musical profession who were privileged to come into contact with him... As a pianist one was struck by his innate rhythmic verve, a facet which indeed radiated through all his compositions - but perhaps the quality above all else that will be remembered was that which can best be described as a mezzo voce bel canto, the realisation of a choice and refined ear, and the product of a deep thinker and inner tranquillity'. It is that satisfying synergy of elegant lyricism and rhythmic energy which distinguishes the keyboard works of pianist and composer Alan Richardson. (Paul Conway)

Previously available on six single CDs, BIS offers Ronald Brautigam's Mozart Sonata cycle in one package. While the music easily could have fit on five discs, you still get six for the price of three. It's wonderfully worth it. To be sure, Brautigam's Paul McNulty fortepiano (modeled after an Anton-Gabriel Walter instrument circa 1795) doesn't match the timbral differentiation between registers we often encounter from other fortepianos. It has the advantage, however, of a clear, resonant sound and, praise be, it holds its tuning. Brautigam's imaginative interpretations capture Mozart's many moods, from the gallant style of the six earliest sonatas to the tensile drama and operatic leanings of the A minor (K. 310) and C minor Fantasia and Sonata (K. 457 and 475). Sometimes Brautigam's tapered diminuendos seem a bit arch and unnatural. At least his occasional mannerisms don't emerge as interpretive tics. If you're looking for a reasonably priced Mozart Sonata cycle played on a period instrument, look no further. Excellent sound and annotations, too. --Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Gothenburg Symphony OrchestraNeeme Jarvi, conductor Symphony no 1 in G minor "Winter Dreams", Op. 13; Romeo &Â?JulietSymphony no 2 in C minor "Little Russian", Op. 17; Overture in FSymphony no 3 in D major "Polish", Op. 29; The Snow Maiden, Op.12Symphony no 4 in F minor, Op. 36; Symphony no 5 in E minor, Op 64Symphony no 6 in B minor "Pathetique", Op. 74; The Tempest;Overture on the Danish National Anthem; Voyevoda Dances;Dmitri Pretender and Vassily Shuisky; Serenade for N.Rubinstein;Capriccio Italien; Francesca da Rimini; etc.

Classical Music

From 1947 to 1956 Ruggiero Ricci played on the 1734 Guarneri del Gesu "Ferni, Duc de Camposelice" and from 1956 to 1999 he usually played on the 1731 Guarneri del Gesu "Gibson, ex-Huberman, " which he purchased in 1977. For him the Guarneri sound (as opposed to Stradivari) was a matter of preference, able as it was to give the required brilliance, color and attack that he sought. Until 1981 he also owned violin Lorenzo Storioni c. 1779, with which he recorded the 6 Bach Solos on February 27-28, 1981. This 4-album set presents live and studio recordings, ranging from 1952 to 1986, including some rarities which have never been released commercially, like the Bartok Romanian Folk Dances, Bloch Violin Sonata No. 1, Prokofiev Violin Sonata No. 1, and Saint-Saens Violin Sonata No. 1 Op. 75.

To list the various distinctions awarded to the recordings that make up this sumptuous offering is almost impossible; suffice it to say that the entire series received the Grieg Award in 2007, the year of the hundredth anniversary of the death of the composer, as well as a very special commendation by the UK Grieg Society the same year.

During 2003-2006, as the individual discs were released, reviewers all over the world were heaping praise over the series – astoundingly enough, as this is repertoire that at least in part belong to some of the most well-represented on disc. But this did not seem to matter to the critics, who described the performance of the Piano Concerto as one that ‘will make you fall in love with the music all over again’ (American Record Guide) and that of the Holberg Suite ‘so compelling that it simply makes you forget about any other’ (Classics Today.com), deeming the Peer Gynt Suites to be ‘interpretations that rejuvenate even this almost hackneyed, overly familiar music, relieving it of all the ballast of performance history’ (klassik.com).

It was the freshness of the performances by Ole Kristian Ruud and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra that struck most critics – freshness coupled with expertise: ‘Bergen musicians have lived with these scores since their creation and all the performances here have a relaxed, idiomatic naturalness in their virtuosity’ (Gramophone). A second point was the superior sound quality – the result of inspired and painstaking work by the BIS recording staff in combination with the splendid acoustics of the Grieg Hall in Bergen. ‘Sonically this production features demonstration quality both in stereo and SACD multi-channel formats’ wrote the reviewer of Classics Today.com; ‘a fabulous complete cycle, admirably served by the splendid recording technique’ was the verdict in Classica-Répertoire.

The third factor contributing to the warm reception was of course the music itself, the fascination and power exerted by the Piano Concerto and the complete Peer Gynt, the emotion projected in Bergliot and Den Bergtekne, the charm and freshness of the orchestral songs and Lyric Suite – in the words of one reviewer: ‘music that you'd have to be either deaf or dead not to love’. The complete traversal, generally considered a reference point in the Grieg discography, is now available in this stereo-only version at a very advantageous price. (8 CDs for the price of 3)

Peter Maxwell Davies is universally acknowledged as one of the foremost composers of our time, and is currently Master of the Queen' Music.

The string quartet is at the very heart of 20th century British music, encompassing some of the quintessential works of the chamber music repertory. This compendium features fine examples of the genre, revealing the precocious talents of Benjamin Britten and John Ireland, the quicksilver craftsmanship of Frank Bridge and Alan Rawsthorne, the ‘captured sunshine’ of Edward Elgar’s writing and the evocative pastoral renderings of Arthur Bliss and Arnold Bax. Although the musical styles of each of the composers featured in this collection are unique, their contributions are unified by an innate understanding and mastery of the string quartet form. The multi-award winning and twice Grammy Award-nominated Maggini Quartet’s consummate and much lauded interpretations of these works are presented here together for the first time.

Excerpts from select reviews of previously released items included in this set:

Ireland: String Quartets

These works make for gratifying listening. The performances from the Maggini Quartet are simply magnificent: what devotion these musicians lavish on this music. Furthermore, the recording is quite superb in its intimacy, blend, and balance — the listener feels like the “fifth” member.

– Fanfare

Bax: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2

Both quartets are important contributions to the repertoire, something made abundantly clear by the Maggini Quartet's masterful, deeply felt, and finely executed readings. The ensemble's burning conviction will make you a believer too.

– ClassicsToday

Alwyn: String Quartets Nos. 1-3

With controlled vibrato and sharp attacks, theirs is a compellingly stark, uncompromising, physical approach, stressing the modernity of the works. Lyrical sections, as a result, stand out in bold relief.

– Fanfare

These four Naxos American Classics releases selected for this Americana collection... focus on some of the defining moments of that history. First... a panorama of works inspired by Abraham Lincoln in defnitive performances conducted by Leonard Slatkin... Then Hannibal Lokumbe's rousing tribute to Rosa Parks... features the Detroit Symphony and the combined singers of two of Michigan's most venerable choruses. Next, Peter Boyer's dramatic account of the arrival of immigrants to Ellis Island in the early 20th century is narrated by an all-star cast including Eli Wallch and Olympia Dukakis. Finally, the first ever complete recordings of two film scores by Virgil Thomson for 1930s documentaries detailing the plight of rural Americans priot to the New Deal... " - Frank J. Oteri, NewMusicBox. Com

One of the musical and audiophile highlights of jazz recording history is available in unsurpassed SACD sound. A celebration of the 30th anniversary of the recordings, the analogue masters have been transferred using improved technology to SACD. For the first time, the complete recordings are collected with full documentation and photos. Some of the tracks, previously only available in limited editions, are all present in this collection. The set also includes a previously unreleased DVD, in which Lars Erstrand (vibes) and Georg Riedel (bass) recall these wonderful concerts.

"The orchestra is full of interesting colors, and, under Yablonsky gives the familiar melodic material considerable direction and shape. There is something wonderfully human about the interpretive ideas that makes these performances so interesting." -- Peter Dobrin, The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 2003

"Let me say immediately that this new complete Swan Lake is thoroughly recommendable, and most enjoyable, both as a performance and recording. The Russian State Symphony Orchestra is obviously thoroughly at home in this glorious music. So is their excellent conductor, Dmitry Yablonsky, whose tempi can hardly be faulted.Throughout the four acts, Tchaikovsky's magnificent score is presented spontaneously and excitingly, vividly underlining the coherence of this masterpiece. The Russian solo playing is consistently impressive: Act 2's 'Dances of the Swans' (with fine solo violin and cello contributions) are as vivid as the national dances of Act 4. The orchestra is set back realistically and the effect is always convincing, suitably brilliant with good range and atmosphere and arresting climaxes (the Russian trumpets are especially striking)." -- Ivan March, Gramophone

Five CD set containing a quintet of albums from the Alt-Pop band packaged in mini LP sleeves and housed in a slipcase. Includes the albums Train, Drops Of Jupiter, My Private Nation, Alive At Last and Save Me, San Francisco (Golden Gate Edition).

In Genesis' incredible body of work, 'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway' is a landmark record, and one of the most influential progressive rock albums of all time. Originally released in November 1974, 'The Lamb' is celebrating it's 50th Anniversary with a 5LP + Blu-ray Super Deluxe Edition. This definitive compendium was created with input from all band members involved in the record and follows the arc of the album's creation and tour, giving fans a deep dive into the music and visual elements. - The 5LP + Blu-ray box includes the original album remastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road from the 1974 analogue tapes; the complete 'Live From The Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA' show from January 1975, including two previously unreleased encore tracks; 'The Lamb' Dolby ATMOS mix overseen by Peter Gabriel and Tony Banks at Real World Studios; Download card featuring three never-before-released demos from the Headley Grange Sessions, plus 96kHz/24-bit high resolution audio of the new remasters. The set is complete with a 1975 tour programme reproduction, replica ticket, poster and a 60-page coffee table style book featuring rare images and new liner notes by Alexis Petridis.

Listen to the Naxos Podcast to learn more about this release

The Eighth Book of Madrigals, subdivided into a substantial series of vocal and instrumental partbooks, contains some of Monteverdi's greatest music. In this sumptuous collection the material is carefully arranged by category into madrigals of war, love and those for the stage, with a wide array of human passions and compositional styles. This is the first recording to present Book Eight in its original, uncut form, also incorporating instrumental sinfonias and dances by Biagio Marini to round off Monteverdi's design. In keeping with seventeenth-century practice, the madrigals are performed entirely by male voices, including a boy soprano in the role of Cupid.

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REVIEWS:

The quality of the performances is extremely high. Technical prowess is always in the service of the music, and Marco Longhini is not averse to pushing his all-male ensemble to extremes of slow or fast tempos or to special vocal effects. Another strength of this excellent interpretation is the size and scope of the instrumental forces. There are 9 players in the continuo group, a further 9 in a mostly string ensemble (including 2 recorders), and a viola da gamba quartet. This gives Marco Longhini a very wide palette to draw on for dramatic power, theatrical variety, and evocative effect.

– American Record Guide

As Longhini has pointed out in previous releases, the instruments to be used is largely left to the performers, and in the composer’s day would probably have depended on those available. In this series of discs he has opted for a ‘middle-of-the-road’ approach, so as not to become ornate, yet providing more that an obliging backdrop. In the vocal group there are, of course, no female voices in music of that period, so that much rests on the shoulders of the outstanding countertenor, Alessandro Carmignani. Yet again I will heap praise on the sonorous bass voice of Walter Testolin, his deep voice is an earthy delight. Solos permeate all of the madrigals, and when numerous voices are used, the Delitiae’s blend is pure joy. Longhini's approach throughout this series has that feel of dedication and authenticity, the music continually intriguing, immediately likeable, and, in every way, it has been a wonderful experience with this as its crowning glory. The engineers have once again played their part in the clarity of texture they have created. It is terribly sad that it is coming to an end, but there remains just one more book, the unfinished Ninth, that was published after the composers death.

– David's Review Corner (David Denton)

Limited 12 vinyl LP set. This Dire Straits - Live 1978-1992 set features remastered, extended, and unreleased recordings from some of their most coveted live albums and performances. The collection includes Live At The Rainbow, Alchemy, On The Night, Encores, Live At The BBC, plus artwork prints and exclusive booklet.

3CD/1DVD/2LP.