Renaud Capu�on recognises Vivaldi's Four Seasons as "a highlight of the violin repertoire", but It has taken him some time to add it to his discography. "For years, I refused to play it," he explains. "I'd heard it too much in the corridors of the M�tro in Paris and as holding music on the phone. But once I'd accepted to play it, I was blown away by the power of the music... I realised that it's famous because it's amazing! It's a masterpiece. I've now played it frequently with Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and it feels fresh and new every time." He has chosen to complement Vivaldi's four concertos with two sparkling concertos composed in Paris some 40 years after Vivaldi's death. They are by Chevalier de Saint-George (1745-1799), born in Guadeloupe of French and African descent, who became a prominent and influential figure in Paris. He has been described in the New York Times as a composer who holds a "truly unique place in Western classical music history".

For his first album as an exclusive Erato artist, the French clarinettist Pierre Ge�nisson focuses on his instrument's most inspired 18th century advocate: Mozart. The centrepiece of his programme is the composer's sublime clarinet concerto. "The spiritual and symbolic scope of this concerto is immense," says Ge�nisson. "Every time I come back to this masterwork, I experience the same thrill as when I discover a piece for the first time... Mozart and the clarinet - what a special combination!" Ge�nisson is established as one of today's leading French wind instrumentalists. A multi-faceted soloist, and a frequent guest with orchestras around the world, he trained in Paris at the Conservatoire National Sup�rieur de Musique and in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California. His repertoire ranges from Mozart to jazz by way of folk music, and his lively interest in new music has led to collaborations with a number of prominent composers. Collaborating on this album with the period instruments of Concerto K�ln and conductor Jakob Lehmann, Ge�nisson plays period clarinets, copies of instruments from Mozart's time, and modern clarinets specially crafted for the recording. The programme complements the sublime concerto with a number of shorter pieces. In two arias from La clemenza di Tito G�nisson partners mezzo-soprano Karine Deshayes, but his clarinet also 'sings' the vocal lines in arrangements of numbers from Cos� fan tutte and Le nozze di Figaro. Rounding out the album is a new arrangement by Bruno Fontaine of the 'Lacrimosa' from the Requiem, made for clarinet, organ and Fender Rhodes electric piano.

The new opus "Wonder Women" by L'Arpeggiata and Christina Pluhar is dedicated to women. On the one hand, it is a homage to all the wonderful female composers of the 17th century, but also to all the talented female musicians of all times who too often had to hide their talent behind their husbands or give up their careers too early. On the other hand, Christina Pluhar also draws her inspiration from the traditional music of South America and Italy and looked for songs that tell stories about extraordinary, strong, courageous but also sad women. First and foremost is the wonderful Mexican song "La Bruja" (The Witch), which symbolizes the freedom of all women at all times and in all cultures. Celebrate women in all their facets and with all their talents together with Luciana Mancini, C�line Scheen, Benedetta Mazzucato, Vincenzo Capezzuto, Christina Pluhar and L'Arpeggiata!

GLUCK: ORFEO ED EURIDICE

CONCERTI GROSSI OP 6 NOS 1 2 4 & 6 / VAN WASSENAER

MORS ET VITA

BELLINI: LA SONNAMBULA

This is the most successful recording in the Erato history: Mozart's Flute and Harp Concerto and Clarinet Concerto by the most wonderful cast of the 1960s, Jean-Pierre Rampal and Lily Laskine for the first one, and Jacques Lancelot for the second, all accompanied by Jean-Fran�ois Paillard and his chamber orchestra. A recording full of refinement and elegance which particularly suits to these two works. On January 7th we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Jean-Pierre Rampal's birth, the leading flautist of his time who brought his instrument to the firmament and made it so popular around the world. Flautist Eugenia Zukerman said of him after he died in 2000: "He played with such a rich palette of color in a way that few people had done before and no one since. He had an ability to imbue sound with texture and clarity and emotional content. He was a dazzling virtuoso, but more than anything he was a supreme poet."

Laurence Equilbey, conducting her period-instrument Insula Orchestra, champions more music by Louise Farrenc, a prominent and pioneering composer in 19th century Paris. This set completes the cycle with Symphony No. 2 in D Major Op. 35 and two overtures: Overture No. 1 in E minor, Op. 23 and Overture No. 2 in E-flat Major, Op. 24. The Financial Times states,.The score is so well written that it deserves a prominent place in the history of the early Romantic symphony... Equilbey and the Insula orchestra gave it a fleet, fiery performance. Their crusading spirit lived up to the day's billing".

CAGE2 is the title of Bertrand Chamayou's new album - he calls it the twin brother of his most recent Letter(s) to Erik Satie - both recorded at the Miraval studios. CAGE� is also the title of a performance Bertrand Chamayou conceived with dancer and choreographer �lodie Sicard, featuring 12 pieces composed by John Cage for prepared piano, in the period between 1940 and 1945. John Cage wrote all the pieces of this album for dance solos: for the American dancer Syvilla Fort, for dancers and choreographers such as Val�rie Bettis, Wilson Williams, Pearl Primus, Jean Erdman, but also for the terrific Merce Cunningham. Bertrand has also delivered brilliant booklet notes on Cage, the genesis of the prepared piano and the pieces themselves.

Handel: Messiah (2xCD + Bonus DVD) / "A lifetime of performing Messiah has brought me enough courage to record this singularly famous piece of music. With the finest musicians and soloists on the planet surrounding me, I'm finally ready to lay down my personal interpretation for posterity." The American conductor John Nelson, especially famed for his interpretations of Berlioz, conducted Handel's most celebrated oratorio at Coventry Cathedral in the heart of England in November 2022. "In today's turbulent world, I hope that this concert of Messiah in this symbolic location can be a powerful message of hope." The performance is now released as a three-disc set - comprising the audio version (2 CDs) and the video (1 DVD). Nelson's chosen version of the score reflects Messiah's evolution over the period from 1741 (the original autograph) to the early 1750s, when a 'standard' version of the oratorio took shape. In addition, the CDs offer eight bonus tracks - alternative versions of now-familiar arias. Joining John Nelson are the historically informed orchestra and choir of The English Concert, soprano Lucy Crowe, countertenor Alex Potter, tenor Michael Spyres and bass Matthew Brook. As the Times wrote of the performance: "From shadowy strings in 'For behold, darkness shall cover the earth' to gilded trumpets and exuberant timpani in the final chorus, this was Handel straight from the opera house: dramatic and eloquent."

The first album from Nathalie Stutzmann as conductor features Dvor�k's well known Symphony No. 9" From The New World". Nathalie Stutzmann studied conducting with legendary Finnish teacher Jorma Panula, and has benefited from the mentoring of Simon Rattle and the late Seiji Ozawa. She holds two major posts in the USA - Music Director at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra - and has guest engagements with the London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Bayreuth Festival amongst others. Simon Rattle told the NY times: "Nathalie is the real thing. So much love, intensity and sheer technique."

Max Emanuel Cencic Fantastic Cencic - Even in an age of thrilling countertenors, Max Emanuel Cencic stands out for the heroic scale and brilliance of his voice, his expansive lyricism, and his imagination and enterprise in choice of repertoire. Cencic has excelled as both a soprano and a mezzo-soprano, and Fantastic Cencic showcases his extraordinary interpretative range - from the great and lesser-known masters of the Baroque to the bel canto of Rossini and composers of the Romantic era from Schubert to Strauss. The third of these three CDs comprises recordings from the early 1990s, shortly after Cencic left the Wiener S�ngerknaben, which are released here for the first time.

John Eliot Gardiner TITLE: Purcell: King Arthur (2CD) Label: PRX/Warner Classics/Parlophone - With it's lavish music and elaborate staging, the semi-opera King Arthur is one of the master-pieces in Purcell's works. On a text by the poet John Dryden very freely inspired from Arthurian legend and specifically devised for him, Purcell created a work of great expressive intensity which includes many of his most beautiful and well-known arias The importance of Monteverdi to John Eliot Gardiner is signalled by the fact that, when he founded a choir in 1964, it was for a performance of Monteverdi Vespers. The Monteverdi Choir went on to celebrate it's 50th anniversary in 2014 with a performance of the same work. Units Per Set: 2

Emmanuelle Ha�m TITLE: Handel: Aci, Galatea e Polifemo (2CD) - Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, an unstaged serenata composed for a ducal wedding in Naples in 1708, is not to be confused with the slightly more operatic Acis and Galatea, written in London in 1718. Both adapt a tale from Ovid's Metamorphoses, the Italian work is bolder in conception and far more virtuosic than it's English pastoral counterpart and features some of Handel's finest arias Units Per Set: 2