Almost twenty years ago, Isabelle Faust and Jiri Belohlavek established a new milestone in the discography of Dvorak's Violin Concerto. The coupling, the tumultuous Trio in F minor, inaugurated the violinist's long and fruitful collaboration with Alexander Melnikov and Jean-Guihen Queyras.

Inspired by the Psyche created collectively by Lully, Moliere, Corneille and Quinault, Locke's Psyche was a veritable artistic firework display: seeking to vie in splendor with the operas of continental Europe, it luxuriously combined theatre, song, dance, and spectacular machines and scenery. Sebastien Dauce here offers us his splendid reconstruction of this key masterpiece in the history of early English opera.

For their liturgical debuts in London and Leipzig respectively, Handel and Bach played the card of vocal and orchestral splendor. Whether celebrating the Peace of Utrecht (Handel's Te Deum) or the Nativity (Bach's Magnificat, performed here in it's original version), the RIAS Kammerchor offers us a flamboyant interpretation of these seminal works.

Celebrate the magic of Christmas with the reissue of two historic albums by The RIAS Kammerchor. The famous Berlin choir revisits some of the loveliest pieces of music ever devoted to the Nativity and the tutelary figure of Mary.

Pavel Kolesnikov’s deep affinity with the music of Chopin is once again on display: immaculate performances—and an intelligently planned recital, which builds towards the epic F minor Fantasy—can only enhance the listener’s appreciation of this much-loved repertoire.

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REVIEW:

Kolesnikov’s Chopin is exquisite, and this disc, a delicious sequence of confections, is one of the most enjoyable Chopin recitals of recent vintage.

– BBC Record Review