Soprano Sumi Jo adds to an already impressive discography for Erato with this exciting set of arias by the great French Romantic composers, including the meltingly sensuous "Depuis le jour" from Charpentier's Louise and the rarely heard "La valse d'Edwige" from Offenbach's Robinson Crusoe. The beautifully selected repertoire, which takes in the masterworks of Thomas, Bizet, Gounod, Meyerbeer and Massenet as well, calls to mind the long reign of the great French coloratura Lily Pons.

Symphonie Espagnole / Poeme for Violin & Orchestra, Edouard Lalo (Performer), Ernest Chausson (Performer), Maurice Ravel (Performer), Kent Nagano (Performer), Vadim Repin (Performer), London Symphony Orchstra (Performer) Siberia, usually associated with ice and prison camps, has recently taken up a new export: violin prodigies. One of these is Vadim Repin, now 27 years old, and he is certainly fabulous. His technical virtuosity is stunning and effortless, his facility unlimited; this tempts him to favor extremely fast tempi that sometimes become hectic, but the runs are always crystal-clear. Equally striking is his tone: radiant, warm, and ravishingly beautiful; it is pure in every register, on every string, under all circumstances, and capable of a great variety of nuance and inflection. All this formidable instrumental equipment serves the expressive demands of the music. Creating and changing moods with natural poise, he gives every movement of the Lalo it's own character, playing with charm, mischievousness, humor, wistful nostalgia, somber inwardness, intensity, fire. The Chausson projects a fine blend of impressionistic languor and passionate abandon; the Ravel is a brilliant romp with idiomatic gypsy flair. The orchestra supplies bursts of color and supports him well, but the tutti passages are often so loud that it is wise to keep a finger on the volume button. -Edith Eisler

Mozart: Kronungsmesse, Exsultate Jubilate / Koopman, Schlick, Magnus, Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Performer: Barbara Schlick, Paul Agnew, Elisabeth von Magnus, Matthijs Mesdag, Orchestra/Ensemble: Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Amsterdam Baroque Choir, Conductor: Ton Koopman. This coupling of the two principal works here has been popular in recent years and has already given rise to several extremely good CDs; and here is another excellent version, with two short extra works thrown in. Indeed the selection, with an early work, a late one, Mozart's finest complete Mass setting, and a set of vesper psalms which typically shows a wide variety of styles, would make a first rate introduction to his sacred music. Ton Koopman has a keen sense of the stylistic basis of these pieces, the Mass and the vespers setting in particular: the lively tempos, the underlying sense of assurance and jubilation, the mix of the natural, fluent utterance and the serious meaning behind it- all this contributes to a series of performances that truthfully catch the atmosphere of Austrian rococo church music. One relishes, in the Mass, the brisk Gloria, with trumpets nicely prominent, the sturdy momentum of the Credo, the touch of delicate sentiment in the Benedictus. It is all greatly enhanced by the excellence of most of the solo singing, especially that of the delightful Barbara Schlick, so light and graceful, so natural in manner - there is some lovely singing from her in the Kyrie, but the Agnus Dei is simply magical, exquisitely sung, with the impassioned "Miserere" at it's climax leading very satisfyingly into the "Dona nobis pacem" with it's reassuring recapitulation of music heard before.

HANDEL: OPERA ARIAS

This DVD is an animated film adaptation for TV of EMI Classics' successful 1999 recording of Stravinsky's Le Rossignol featuring Natalie Dessay and James Conlon.

Grieg: Peer Gynt Suites 1 & 2 / In Autumn / Sakari Oramo Composed by Edvard Grieg / Conductor Sakari Oramo / Orchestra City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. As soon as the strings respond to the flute near the beginning of Peer Gynt's 'Morning' you sense this is a quality production. A bolder Grieg than we're used to hearing, less perfumed than dramatic and with impressive orchestral playing from the Birmingham orchestra.

Track listing includes "Oh, Del Mio Doce Ardor," "Parto, Ma TU Ben Moi," "Non Ho Coplay," plus more.

Mozart: Don Giovanni - Highlights / Barenboim, Furlanetto, Tomlinson, Salminen, Meier, Berlin Po, Et Al. Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Performer: Ferruccio Furlanetto, John Tomlinson, Matti Salminen, Waltraud Meier, Conductor: Daniel Barenboim, Orchestra/Ensemble: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin RIAS Chamber Chorus. Daniel Barenboim recorded K 492, K 527 & K 588 with the Berlin Phil in the early Nineties - those were the days. His Cosi is the best of the triptych.

The Magic Of The Cello - Composer: Franz Joseph Haydn, Luigi Boccherini, Antonio Vivaldi, Jean Louis Duport, Performer: Fr�d�ric Lod�on, Paul Tortelier, Robert Veyron-Lacroix, Xavier Gagnepain, Conductor: Theodor Guschlbauer, Jean-Pierre Wallez, Charles Munch, Orchestra/Ensemble: Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Paris Orchestral Ensemble, Lamoureux Concerts Association Orchestra. This is a fine, exquisitely performed sampler of superb cello pieces from the Baroque to the Romantics. The French soloists play the pieces with taste. It is a collection of famous cellists.