2019 release. "Finesse and fire from a starry musical duo... A recital that showcased the very best in collaborative music-making," was how the Toronto Star described the concert at Koerner Hall in Toronto that formed the basis for this recording. The program for the album comprises two works by Chopin, his Sonata in A Major and his Polonaise brillante in C Major, and Franck's Sonata in A Major, a transcription by the 19th century cellist Jules Delsart of the Belgian composer's glorious violin sonata.

Vivaldi: Oracolo In Messenia - Julia Lezhneva L Oracolo in Messenia, an opera written by Vivaldi for Vienna in 1740, was reconstructed by Fabio Biondi in 2011 in a triumpan open to the famous Resonanzen festival in Vienna, appropriately enough. Originally, the opera was intended to be performed in Vienna during Carnival in 1741, but due to the death of the Austrian Emperor and ultimately, himself, his plans fell through. Vivaldi expert, Fabio Biondi, reconstructed the work using a recently discovered libretto in the Library of Congress, Viavaldi s personal scores as well as those from his contemporaries.

Barricades - Jean Rondeau - The instruments integrate together perfectly, and the character of the pieces never suffers; this light-touch arrangement in no way lessens the authenticity of the album, much less it's musical appeal.

For the 70th birthday of the great Barbara Hendricks, Erato-France is releasing a new version of her best-selling compilation La Voix du Ciel. Now on 3 CDs, it assembles all titles which have made her the legend she is: Schubert and Gounod Ave Maria, Mozart Exsultate Jubilate, Pie Jesu from Faur�'s Requiem, Spirituals Nobody Knows, Joshua Fit among many other titles.

Taken together these motets and quasi-motets form one of the peaks of Bach's art as a composer of choral music. Compressed and complex, they make enormous demands on performers, requiring exceptional virtuosity, stamina and sensitivity to abrupt changes of mood and texture. Bach's characteristically skilful use of fugue, canon and counterpoint makes this music endlessly fascinating, but most of all these are works of emotional power, revealing Bach's compassionate nature, the dancing joy he takes in praising God, and his total certainty as he contemplates death. John Eliot Gardiner's extraordinary technical and interpretative skills ensure recognition of the motets and cantatas as some of the best of Bach. A key figure in today's musical landscape, John Eliot Gardiner has established a number of ensembles - both instrumental and vocal - that he directs in a wide-ranging repertoire. Baroque music, with which he first made his name, remains very important to him, particularly the works of Johann Sebastian Bach; he has even published a major biographical study of the composer, Music in the Castle of Heaven.

In 1968, as he approached the age of 70, Georges Auric began work on Imagin�es, a series of six intimate works in a modernist vein - concentrated and compelling in their expression. Famously a member of Les Six in the 1920s, the multi-faceted Auric studied under Vincent d'Indy and gained an international reputation for his film scores while also taking an influential role in France's musical life

The violin was one of Bach's favourite instruments and inspired his most lyrical outpourings. We know he was greatly influenced by the Italian masters whose work he discovered during his Weimar years - by the power of Frescobaldi, the melodic flexibility of Corelli, the sunny grace of Vivaldi - but he developed his own wonderful artistry in writing music of polyphonic density for the violin and 'playing' with it's sound palette. His deep understanding of the instrument clearly enabled him to exploit it's full potential and to write as well as perform music of the utmost virtuosity.

While an undergraduate at Cambridge, John Eliot Gardiner launched his career as a conductor with a performance of Vespro della Beata Vergine by Monteverdi, in 1964, which led to the foundation of the Monteverdi Choir. In 1968 he founded the Monteverdi Orchestra. Having changed from modern instruments to period instruments in 1977, the orchestra changed it's name to the English Baroque Soloists in 1978. Gardiner is one of the leading conductors of the historically informed movement.

Sabine Devieilhe and Alexandre Tharaud bring their customary clarity, finesse and insight to the works of four composers who defined the path of French art song or m�lodie from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. In an imaginatively balanced recital, the two French luminaries perform Faur�, Debussy, Ravel and Poulenc. Their program, built around Ravel's Cinq Chansons populaires grecques and Debussy's Verlaine setting Ariettes oubli�es, takes up the themes of love, war and death and offers both favorite songs like Faur�'s 'Apr�s un r�ve' and some rarer treasures.

Giacomo Meyerbeer, the master of Parisian grand op�ra, was hugely successful in his time and a major influence on Verdi and Wagner. His music has fascinated Diana Damrau since her student days. With her brilliant coloratura, lyricism and dramatic power, the soprano rises triumphantly to the vocal and expressive challenges of arias from 10 of his operas, singing in French, Italian and German. Two of the arias receive their world premiere recording with this album. The idea of a Meyerbeer album has been close to Diana Damrau's heart since she first recorded for Erato back in 2006. She became fascinated by the composer's music as a student in W�rzburg, when she was invited to perform his cantata Gli amori di Teolinda. "I immersed myself in Meyerbeer's world," she explains, "and was excited by his multifaceted writing for the voice, by his orchestral colours, his theatrical instincts, the powerful and varied way in which he expresses emotion, his splendid melodies and, last but not least, his ability to capture precisely the right 'national style'. If you compare his Italian, German and French works, it is like listening to three different composers."

MONTEVERDI: IL RITORNO DI ULISSE IN PATRIA

Since it's foundation Erato has made Bach one of the cornerstones of it's catalogue, with Jean-Fran�ois Paillard responsible for the orchestral works. His Ensemble Instrumental Jean-Marie Leclair which he founded in 1953 and later renamed Orchestre de Chambre Jean-Fran�ois comprised just fifteen or so players, in order to achieve greater legibility, lightness and vivacity, and it paid particularly close attention to style, thanks to an in-depth knowledge of historical performance practice. Rigor but also luminosity and sensitivity, intelligence and maturity without any loss of freshness or elegance, shimmering sonorities... The superlatives were showered on each new release. Over the years, Paillard's Bach recordings were also graced by a range of top-flight soloists: Rampal, Marie-Claire Alain to name but a few.

EDEN is an invitation to return to our roots. It is an overture to engage with the sheer perfection of the world around us, to consider if we are connecting as profoundly as we can to the pure essence of our being. It is a clarion call to contemplate if our collective suffering isn't perhaps linked to the aching separation from something primal within and around us. This is a vivid musical exploration through the centuries to remember and to create a new EDEN from within. - Joyce DiDonato

With Farewells, Warsaw-born countertenor Jakub J�zef Orlinski, partnered by pianist Michal Biel, offers a panorama of Polish song. Often nostalgic in spirit, the programme of the album spans 150 frequently turbulent years. "Michal and I started exploring the Polish art song repertoire when we were at the Juilliard School in New York," explains Orlinski, whose recordings until now have focused on the baroque era. "As a Polish duo we love to present Polish music to our public. I know that no language can present a barrier when it's set to music. I believe that music builds bridges and I am sure that those songs will get under the listener's skin." The album takes it's name from a triptych of songs written in 1948 by Henryk Czyz, who joins five other composers on the programme: Stanislaw Moniuszko (known as the 19th century's father of Polish opera), Karol Szymanowski (recognised around the world as a major post-Romantic composer), Mieczyslaw Karlowicz, Tadeusz Baird and Pawel Lukaszewski, a leading figure in contemporary Polish music.

Sabine Devieilhe and Alexandre Tharaud bring their customary clarity, finesse and insight to the works of four composers who defined the path of French art song or m�lodie from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. In an imaginatively balanced recital, the two French luminaries perform Faur�, Debussy, Ravel and Poulenc. Their programme, built around Ravel's Cinq Chansons populaires grecques and Debussy's Verlaine setting Ariettes oubli�es, takes up the themes of love, war and death and offers both favourite songs like Faur�'s 'Apr�s un r�ve' and some rarer treasures.

Beethoven's 16 string quartets occupy a place of honour in the chamber repertoire and, like his nine symphonies and 32 piano sonatas, trace his progression through his creative life. 2020 marks the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth, and Quatuor �b�ne is recognising this with an extensive tour, entitled Beethoven Around the World, which runs from Spring 2019 to December 2020. Over that period the French ensemble will give over 120 concerts in a total of 21 countries on six continents, focusing on complete cycles of the quartets from February 2020. Beethoven Around the World encompasses live recordings for Erato, building a complete cycle, made in seven of the world's great cities: Vienna (at the Konzerthaus); Philadelphia (Kimmel Center); Tokyo (Suntory Hall); S�o Paulo (Sala S�o Paulo); Melbourne (Melbourne Recital Centre); Nairobi, and, with the support of UNESCO, Paris (Philharmonie de Paris). Speaking of the ongoing tour, the members of Quatuor �b�ne say: "This is where Beethoven goes global. The quartets are 16 masterpieces that form an eternally modern artistic canon of unparalleled breadth and depth - they translate the purest humanity into music. In themselves they represent an odyssey, a round-the-world voyage." The players believe that the composer's music "transcends all linguistic, geographical and political borders... Both modern and timeless, it is universal. It cannot be readily classified as Classical or Romantic, as German, or even as Western, but it is music that expresses itself freely and which addresses the audiences of the future rather than it's own time... It can seem complex at first, but everything becomes clear as it's essence emerges." The ensemble also emphasises that: "The quartet as a genre gives individual players the chance to shine, yet is simultaneously predicated on collaboration and Concord: it shows democracy in action. It's emotional and intellectual power is considerable, yet it is also universally accessible as it embodies underlying ideals - enlightenment, fraternity and humanism, as typified by Goethe and by Schiller in his Ode to Joy [the inspiration for the final movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony]. At the same time it is informed by Kant's ideas on morality, goodwill and the categorical imperative, all of which were gaining currency in Beethoven's time. It also reflects the German philosopher's view of our relationship with the natural world, which has such resonance for the environmental issues of today." Appropriately, the tour will be associated with a carbon offset programme devoted to reforestation.

Orfeo in Gluck's opera Orfeo & Euridice has become a signature role for Jakub Józef Orlinski on stages around the world. Now the countertenor embodies the mythical Greek bard in a recording that for him is the realization of a dream. Made in his native Warsaw, it is conducted by the dynamic Stefan Plewniak and the instrumentalists and chorus are drawn from his ensemble Il Giardino d'Amore. The roles of Orfeo's wife Euridice and the god Amore are taken by two further rising stars of the opera and concert stage: the sopranos Elsa Dreisig and Fatma Said. Orlinski has acted as producer, casting director, and, with Stefan Plewniak, joint artistic director of the recording.

"One of my great dreams as a student was to sing the role of Orfeo," says Orlinski, "and now I've been lucky enough to perform Orfeo & Euridice in different settings... Working on those different versions I achieved my very own interpretation. I knew that I would love to create my own personal version of the piece, to record my dream role, expressing myself in the way I wanted... I had a clear vision of what I wanted to do with it and how. The most important thing for me as a musician is to have great collaborators, and I couldn't imagine a better team. Everyone was so willing to make the most of every single take during our long recording sessions. I am really grateful that I can work with people with so much passion... And now I invite you to follow Orfeo on his journey and listen to what the power of love can do."

Following his beloved and best-selling 2018 album of music from popular films, Renaud Capu�on returns to the magical world of cinema in Les Choses de la Vie - Cinema II. The violinist has dedicated this sequel to 19 titles written by French film composers or for iconic French films. This includes, among others, Michel Legrand's "The Windmills of Your Mind" featured on the 1968 soundtrack to The Thomas Crown Affair; Joseph Kosma's "Les Feuilles mortes", or "Autumn Leaves", heard in the 1946 film Les Portes de la nuit (Gates of the Night); and themes from the scores to The Shape of Water (2017) by Alexandre Desplat, Lawrence of Arabia (1962) by Maurice Jarre, Memories of Me (1988) by Georges Delerue, and Les Choses de la vie (1970) by Philippe Sarde, which inspired the project's name. "There's a great tradition of film music among French composers," explains Renaud Capu�on. "Each has their own personality, their own style. The music of Alexandre Desplat or Jean-Claude Petit has nothing in common with that of Gabriel Yared or Fran�ois de Roubaix, but all these titles have a typically French touch and charm." For this new cinematic musical experience, the French violinist has joined with the musicians of Les Si�cles orchestra and conductor Duncan Ward.

Vinyl LP pressing. The sixteen lullabies - or berceuses - that pianist Bertrand Chamayou has chosen for Good Night! Form a captivatingly varied album. His programme embraces a diversity of eras and musical cultures: Chopin, Liszt, Grieg and, of course, Brahms through Balakirev, Lyapunov, Alkan, Bonis, Busoni, Jan�cek, Martinu and Villa-Lobos to Helmut Lachenmann and a world premiere, Bryce Dessner's Song for Octave. "The lullaby's place is halfway between dream and reality," says Chamayou, "There is that special moment as you are falling asleep and you experience all kinds of emotions." A satisfying recital that will also enrich digital playlists, Good Night! #has been recorded in Dolby Atmos immersive sound.

A true living legend - inheritor of the great Soviet/Russian tradition, mentored by Sviatoslav Richter. A classic coupling echoing the legendary 1975 Richter album with Matacic. A musician who belongs among the most celebrated pianists of our time, who follows in the footsteps of the great Russian musicians of the Soviet era, such as David Oistrakh, Sviatoslav Richter, and Emil Gilels. She has won the prestigious Enescu, Marguerite Long, and Queen Elizabeth international piano competitions and been awarded prizes such OPUS KLASSIK Instrumentalist of the Year in 2020, the Caecilia Prize, and the Diapason d'Or. Her third Warner release (after critically acclaimed albums of the complete Schubert sonatas and Beethoven piano concerti) features Grieg's and Schumann's piano concerti. Her interpretation of Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No.2 in E Flat Major is a constant #1 in Warner Classics UK's top-streamed tracks - now at almost 70M streams worldwide.

The singing of the Monteverdi Choir is superlatively good and they have been well recorded. A splendid record. Gramophone Michel Garcin, Erato's renowned artistic director from 1953 on, was the first to provide Sir John Eliot Gardiner a really productive canvas on which to express himself. They embarked on a fruitful period of collaboration in 1975 and in February 1976 recorded a first LP together: dedicated to Purcell and entitled "Music for Queen Mary", it went on to achieve legendary status. On this 33 rpm record of two odes composed by Purcell in homage to Queen Mary, the natural rhythmic and gently expressive qualities in the artistry of Gardiner beguile the listener, while in the Funeral Sentences he achieves a completely dazzling delicacy of balance and lightness of touch. Considered back in the 1970s as one of the best, the polyphony of the Monteverdi Choir too retains a serenely luminous clarity.

One of the most prominent French conductors of his generation, Georges Prêtre (1924-2017) was celebrated for both opera and orchestral music. A former music director of the Paris Opéra, he has conducted the major orchestras of Europe and the USA. Before becoming Maria Callas's favorite conductor, he was also Francis Poulenc's one, who entrusted him with the premiere of many of his scores. This boxed set, which brings together each of Poulenc's works documented by Prêtre within the EMI catalogue, shows the many facets of his music: sincere, spontaneous, moving and capable of astonishingly contrasting registers.

Unanimously acclaimed by her peers, the music-loving public and the press, French pianist Catherine Collard (1947-1993) died far too soon. The memories of her concerts, master classes and generosity are still very much alive today. The recordings made for Erato and EMI gathered here bear witness to her exceptional talent.

RIHM / DUSAPIN / MANTOVANI: THREE MODERN CONCERTOS

FIVE CONCERTOS FOR HARPSICHORD