THREE DUETS FOR VIOLIN AND VIO

The 18th century was one of the most important periods for Portuguese music. This amazing series of compositions were considered European musical heritage yet today are nearly unknown and missing from the discography and the concert venues. Divino Sospiro is one of Europe’s leading ensembles for Baroque and pre-Romantic music performed on period instruments.

Francesco Cavalli was the most successful Venetian opera composer of the mid-seventeenth century. This new production is orchestrated and conducted by the internationally reputed baroque specialist Federico Maria Sardelli. It is directed by the young Frenchwoman Mariame Clement, who is currently making a name for herself with her infectious directing in German and French opera houses. The title role is sung by the promising counter-tenor Christophe Dumaux.

Thanks to Karajan's charisma, he was able to give impressive performances with the Turin and Rome RAI Symphony Orchestras, performances that are indelibly marked by his strong personality. Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 was recorded at the RAI Auditorium in Turin on 1st March 1953, when Karajan was making his first LP recording of this work with the Philharmonia Orchestra, which he began in July 1952 and completed in the autumn of the following year. Also included is a triumphant performance of Sibelius's Finlandia, one of the orchestral works most loved by Karajan.

Mercadante: Flute Concertos Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 6 / Theme and V

Cavalli: 5 Magnificat and Other Sacred Works

Adaiewsky: 24 Preludes for Voice and Piano - Piano Music - B

Japanese television captures Herbert Von Karajan as he leads the Berlin Philharmonic in his first Japanese concert performed at the NHK Hall, Tokyo on November 3rd 1957. In November 1957, while the Berliner Philharmoniker were on tour in Japan, Karajan proposed some of the best works in his repertoire, starting with the Prelude to Die Meistersinger by Wagner and continuing with Richard Strauss' Don Juan and Beethoven's Fifth Symphony - the "symphony" par excellence which he had on November 1954 for EMI with the Philharmonia Orchestra. The pieces include: Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg, Act I: Prelude, Don Juan, Op. 20, TrV 156 and Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67. Starring Herbert von Karajan. Language: English

In the Elysian fields the Anzolo Rafael (the Angel from the facade of the Church of San Raffaele in Venice) informs an incredulous Goldoni that he will be able to journey down to earth, to his native Venice, and mingle with the masks of Carnival ball on the theme of Shakespeare's "Venetian dreams". Giorgio Baffo, a poet contemporary of - and hostile to - Goldoni, forces himself onto them at the last moment, as the villain of the situation. With Othello (Shakespeare in disguise), Desdemona, Arlecchino, Mirandolina and Despina, the three interact a surreal, dream-like opera where imagination runs rampant, in a whirling succession of images, where fragments are linked like in a kaleidoscope and rhythm plays an essential role. Directed by Davide Livermore, Davide Mancini. Starring Cristina Zavalloni, Alda Caiello, Barbara Hannigan.

In a time when operas are often set to different contexts from the ones they were intended for, a philological production has its merits, representing both a rediscovery and a provocation. This Barbiere di Siviglia, which at first sight might appear old-fashioned, restores, in fact, to perfection the setting of an early 19th-century Italian theatre. It was a time when the glorious tradition of popular comedy, a direct descendant of the 16th-century �commedia dell�arte�, was very much alive, and the singers entertained the audience with humor that was direct and catchy. Bepi Morassi�s direction witnesses to the importance of that heritage, based on the improvising skills of actors that came from the common people and needed to communicate concepts of common social life, through colorful costumes, musical instruments and masks modeled on the archetypes of the day. Humor, which here triumphs, makes of this Barbiere di Siviglia, a truly entertaining visual and audio experience.

IL CROCIATO IN EGITTO

Starring Luca Grassi, Matteo Barca, Desiree Rancatore.

RICCI, Ruggiero: Henry Vieuxtemps - An Homage

This collection of Sonatas and Variations for flute and piano includes the world premiere recording of Schubert's 5th variation bis op. 160.

Verdi: Il Corsaro