Star conductor Herbert von Karajan is best known today for his studio recordings. However, although as a media pioneer he recognised the technical possibilities for creating recordings, he always considered the live concert to be the ideal. The radio recordings with the Berliner Philharmoniker, which were made in Berlin between 1953 and 1969 and which we present to you in this edition - mostly as first releases - represent an exciting paradox in this respect: they are snapshots that capture the spontaneity of the live performance, the magic of the unique musical moment. Never before has it been possible to experience Karajan the live artist and his joint work with the Berliner Philharmoniker as vividly as in this comprehensive edition.

More than three decades after his first recording of the great Classical trumpet concertos, Reinhold Friedrich returns to the works that have accompanied him since the beginning of his artistic life. Yet this recording is far more than a repetition: 36 years of intensive engagement, new insights gained from original sources and urtext editions, and a fresh perspective on historical instruments lead to a fascinating and deeply personal reassessment of this repertoire. At it's heart are the five great Classical trumpet concertos by Johann Michael Haydn, Leopold Mozart, Joseph Haydn and Johann Nepomuk Hummel - works composed within a period of only four decades, yet documenting a fundamental transformation in the art of trumpet playing. In Salzburg, we encounter the breathtaking virtuosity of the natural trumpet and a style of performance still rooted in the traditions of the Rococo, with it's distinctive approach to articulation, ornamentation and musical expression. Michael Haydn and Leopold Mozart wrote for exceptional virtuosi whose astonishing abilities still command admiration today. With Anton Weidinger's invention of the keyed trumpet, a new chapter begins in Vienna. Joseph Haydn's celebrated concerto of 1796 and Johann Nepomuk Hummel's E major concerto of 1803 explore the instrument's newly acquired chromatic possibilities - while demanding an entirely different understanding of sound, articulation, dynamics and musical character. Drawing on original sources and the distinctive sound world of historical instruments, Reinhold Friedrich challenges interpretative traditions that have shaped these works for decades. Haydn's concerto emerges not merely as a virtuoso audition piece, but as a profoundly lyrical and cantabile work of remarkable expressive refinement. Hummel's extrovert concerto, meanwhile, reveals a wealth of surprising musical connections, with references and quotations reaching towards Mozart, Haydn, Cherubini and - most strikingly - Beethoven and his Fidelio. As a natural consequence, the programme concludes with Beethoven's great Leonore aria, 'Abscheulicher, wo eilst du hin?', in a historical arrangement for trumpet and piano. The result is a compelling journey through four decades of musical history - and Reinhold Friedrich's very personal confession of a repeat offender: a return to familiar masterpieces which, after 36 years, suddenly appear in an entirely new light.

In this recording, Gianluca Cascioli explores Beethoven through a dialogue between an historical instrument and the musical text itself. Drawing on original sources and contemporary accounts, he seeks neither recon- struction nor tradition, but a renewed understanding of the works' inner logic. From the dramatic architecture of the 'Appassionata' to the visionary language of Op. 109 and the concentrated poetry of the Bagatelles Op. 126, these performances aim to reveal Beethoven's music with freshness, clarity and expressive depth.

The Odessa-born pianist Boris Bloch uses this CD box set to lend weight to his desire to transcend the boundaries of human life through art in order to attain higher insights. The set includes 13 CDs with works by, among others, Scarlatti, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and Tchaikovsky. 'This edition bears the title 'Aveu passionne'-on the one hand because of the Tchaikovsky piece of the same name (in English, 'Passionate Confession'), and on the other because of my most intimate connection to all the works gathered here,' says Boris Bloch. 'Of his diligence'-as Lessing puts it-'everyone may boast.' Well then: this edition documents nothing more and nothing less than the eternal and unattainable goal of grasping at the stars beyond. Robert Musil posed the question: 'What remains of art?' He gave his own laconic answer: 'We remain, as changed beings.'

Beethoven composed four piano quartets when he was just 15 years old, at a time when this instrumental combination was rare, even experimental. Mozart wrote for this ensemble at around the same time, but there is no evidence that Beethoven was familiar with the works of his elder. His teacher at the time, Christian Gottlob Neefe, Kapellmeister to the Elector of Cologne, introduced him to the myriad subtleties of Mozart's music. A man of great erudition, Neefe also taught his young protege politics, literature and philosophy. The Goldberg Trio, which formed within the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra and was awarded the gold medal at the Vienna International Music Competition in 2019, is joined by the French pianist David Bismuth, a pupil of Maria Joao Pires since the 2000s, whose Beethoven album has received numerous awards, to record this cycle, which is full of vigour and energy.

On their first CD, the Trio Neo musicians - Nemorino Scheliga, Theo Plath and Aris Alexander Blettenberg - have brought together two works full of contrasts: Michail Glinka's Trio pathetique and Ludwig van Beethoven's Trio op. 38. Although they were composed at roughly the same time, they open up windows on very varied musical worlds: on the one hand Glinka's passionate, highly Romantic style, on the other hand Beethoven's classically inspired clarity and serenity.

The Unreleased Tapes With previously unreleased recordings from his family's archive, this release provides yet another impressive testament to his immense discographical legacy. 'And yet, listening today to those great, mightily effective recordings with their solemn, strict pulse and impulsive contrasts, with their Expressionist, almost Romantic sound, one might be forgiven for bemoaning a vanished performance ideal.' (Lothar Brandt)

Born in Chile, Claudio Arrau (1903-1991) was one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, an artist who was totally serious about his role in life, a man completely dedicated to the music of the great composers who shared his insights and understanding of their work with his public. Where other famous pianists play the piano for excitement, power or display, Arrau plays to probe, to divine, to interpret. Says Arrau, 'An interpreter must give his blood to the work interpreted.' Arrau is definitely not onesided or without spiritual grandeur. Having won particular fame as a great Beethoven interpreter, he is no less celebrated for his Mozart, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Brahms and Debussy. Among the famed peers of his generation, it is a range without equal. Located on the campus of Ambassador College in Pasadena, California, the 1262 seat Ambassador Auditorium was a major West Coast concert hall between 1974 and 1995 presenting around 2500 concerts, and attracted the greatest instrumentalists and orchestras. role in the musical life of our ensemble. It's musical complexity and the depth of expression which Mozart achieves through only three voices are seemingly miraculous: it is one of those pieces which constantly rewards rehearsal. One simply never gets tired of playing it! When the opportunity to record this masterpiece arose, we were faced with the challenge of what to play alongside it. Our dear friend Rob Fokkens had written two short movements for string trio which seemed to fit beautifully with Mozart's music: Rob's translucent harmonic and rhythmic style offers unique expressive possibilities. The chance to commission the great Julian Joseph was not to be missed, and his work, Bring it!, wonderfully demonstrates his brilliance and lyricism, and the subtly of his harmonic language. We sincerely hope you enjoy listening to the music on this album as much as we loved preparing it! to Islamic Iberia or the Al-Andalusian era of Spain between the 8th-15th centuries. Yet the fi rst men? on of Flamenco by name is not un? l 1774, where it appears in an epistolary novel, Cartas Marruecas, by the playwright and soldier, Jose de Cadalso y Vazquez. In collabora? on with soparno Victoria Couper, kanun player, Konstan? nos Glynos, and oud/Flamenco guitarist, Ignacio Lusardi Monteverde, this album seeks to explore this ques? on by tracing the infl uences on Flamenco through Arabic music alongside Sephardic song and the Spanish composers of the late-16th to 18th centuries. What happened in these intervening centuries?

Last instalment in Narratio Quartet revolutionary version of Beethoven's String Quartets. This last 4CD box contains all the likewise revolutionary late Quartets, from opus 95 until opur 135, never premiered until after Beethoven's death. Once more Narratio Quartet conveys a completely unheard account of these masterpieces, an interpretation different from all the others. On volume 2 (Middle Quartets, CC 72981). Fanfare (USA): "This is a truly special release that fully lives up to the promise of the Narratio Quartet's op. 18. It is a necessary purchase for all Beethovenians. " In the shortlist of the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik DE). On volume 1 (Early Quartets, CC 72969). Recomendaro de Ritmo (SP). BBC Music Magazine (UK): "There is much to enjoy in the quartet's poised and stylish playing".

Beethoven's works for violoncello and piano are among the first of this genre. Where previously the piano dominated or merely accompanied, now two equal partners appear, complimenting each other in brilliance and virtuosity. The three cello sonatas, which come from different creative periods of Beethoven, allow insights into the development of the celebrated composer. Ludwig Hoelscher and Jorg Demus, two of the most famous and influential musicians of the last century, dedicated themselves to this multifaceted work in 1972. The resulting recordings express the two master instrumentalists' in-depth study of these works, while offering an intimate experience of chamber music performance. The recordings included in these CDs stood the test of time. The original records, released in 1974, are highly prized by connoisseurs and collectors. These recordings have been lovingly remastered and are now, for the first time, available in digital form. The remaster enables a crystal-clear listening experience of the masterful interpretations without losing their historic character.

This recording was released on LP in 1977 but has never been reissued. Naturally, Imogen has more to say now than she did in 1973, at just twenty-four years old. Yet there is already real poise and gravity in this playing. We offer this re-release in that spirit, acknowledging the inspirational career that followed, and wishing her continued success as she embarks on her farewell tour in 2026. © Adrian Farmer

This re-release of Beethoven: Violin Sonatas 4, 5 & 7 continues Viktoria Mullova and Alasdair Beatson's acclaimed exploration of Beethoven's violin sonatas on period instruments. Recorded in 2020, the album pairs Mullova's 1750 Guadagnini violin, strung with gut, with Beatson's fortepiano by Paul McNulty, offering performances grounded in historical practice. The programme brings together the dramatic Sonata in A minor, Op. 23, the lyrical "Spring" Sonata, Op. 24, and the sharply characterised Sonata in C minor, Op. 30 No. 2. Heard together, these works reveal Beethoven's expanding dialogue between violin and piano at a pivotal stage in his early maturity.

Greatest ever Danish pianist in rare releases. With this eighth volume, Danacord's series The Great Danish Pianist Victor Schioler is brought to it's conclusion. The series contains the greater part of Schioler's studio recordings, supplemented by a selection of live performances and productions made for Danish Radio, and it encompasses, with a single exception, all the works he recorded in the studio. Where he recorded the same work on more than one occasion, one version has sometimes been included and in other cases two or three. Volume 8 presents Schioler in three capacities: as solo pianist, chamber musician and concerto soloist. CD 1 opens with Beethoven's Cello Sonata Op. 69 and Brahms's Cello Sonata in F major, both featuring Schioler in inspired and sympathetic partnership with the 22-year-old Erling Blo¨ndal Bengtsson, who had by 1954, when these recordings were made, already established a considerable reputation. The two cello sonatas are followed by solo piano music, again by Beethoven and Brahms. First comes the Moonlight Sonata, which Schioler recorded no fewer than three times: in 1929, 1942 and 1951. The first and last of these recordings-both outstanding performances-are interpretatively quite close to one another: a slow and dreamlike first movement, a restrained and delicately played middle movement taken at a moderate tempo, and finally a dramatic and stormy yet perfectly controlled finale. The 1942 recording presented here is no less masterly, but differs markedly from the 1929 and 1951 versions in it's more classical approach, with a considerably faster and far less inflected first movement. Fu¨r Elise, which follows immediately afterwards, is not generally counted among Beethoven's major works, popular though it is. Yet Schioler's delicate touch and poetic phrasing elevate this modest work into a little masterpiece. Victor Schioler Volume 1 DACOCD 491-492 Victor Schioler Volume 2 DACOCD 782-783 Victor Schioler Volume 3 DACOCD 832-833 Victor Schioler Volume 4 DACOCD 867-868 Victor Schioler Volume 5 DACOCD 872-873 Victor Schioler Volume 6 DACOCD 962-963 Victor Schioler Volume 7 DACOCD 987-988

For this third volume of their complete recording of Beethoven's piano trios, the Busch Trio presents the famous Trio in D Major, known as the 'Ghost' - a title which, according to Czerny, is likely a reference to Shakespeare and, in the slow movement, to the first appearance of the ghost in Hamlet. For the second trio of Opus 70, Beethoven chose the key of E-Flat Major, which gave rise to the 'Eroica' Symphony and would, in 1809, inspire the no less heroic 'Emperor' Concerto. The Variations in G major, Op. 121a, based on an aria from a comic Singspiel by Wenzel Müller, round off this programme. In these, Beethoven builds up the most grandiloquent introduction in all his chamber music.

Known for his highly versatile approach to bassoon playing and innovative programming, Bram van Sambeek teams up with pianist Hans Eijsackers to present their new album, Relics and Discoveries. The release features a programme of concert-tested works partially dedicated to the conservatory repertoire most beloved by bassoon students. Several pieces originated as Paris Conservatoire competition commissions from the institution's composition faculty. Tansman's engaging Sonatine, Koechlin's three slow movements, and Dutilleux's Sarabande et cortege each reflect their composers' fiercely independent personalities: each energetic, contemplative, and masterfully crafted. A major discovery is Fazil Say's substantial and colourful Suite. Originally for alto saxophone, it is arranged here for bassoon in it's original key of E flat minor to preserve the instrument's unusual tonal 'friction'. Kinan Azmeh's November 22nd, a meditative evocation of childhood sounds from a Damascus market, adds emotional depth. Closing the programme is Eugene Jancourt's arrangement of the Allegretto from Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, a movement van Sambeek connects to both personal memory and climate activism. Together, these works challenge the misconception that the bassoon repertoire is limited, offering pieces that range from conservatory staples to newly unearthed gems.

This box set represents the culmination of Viktoria Mullova's celebrated series of Beethoven Violin Sonata recordings - a distinguished body of work produced in collaboration with pianists Kristian Bezuidenhout and Alasdair Beatson that has earned consistent critical acclaim since it's inception in 2009.

The Chiaroscuro Quartet continues it's thrilling journey through Beethoven's string quartets with three works that chart the composer's development in the genre. The 'Razumovsky' Quartets (1806), commissioned by Count Razumovsky for his house quartet led by Schuppanzigh, expanded the genre's scale beyond Op. 18, baffling early listeners with their symphonic ambition. The first two were released last March (BIS-2688). The third and final quartet of the set, Op. 59 No. 3 in C major, which opens this recording, is the most accessible, with a Mozart-indebted introduction, a Slavonic-sounding Andante, and a flamboyant fugal finale. The F minor Quartet, Op. 95 ('Quartetto serioso', 1810), written amid personal turmoil, is starker and more radical - compressed, harmonically abrupt, and structurally fragmented, ending unexpectedly in a light F major coda. Finally, the Grosse Fuge (1826), originally the finale of Op. 130, represents Beethoven's most uncompromising achievement: a vast, dissonant fusion of fugue and variation that baffled contemporaries but was later hailed by Stravinsky as timeless and revolutionary. Together these works chart Beethoven's progression from conversational classicism to visionary modernism.

1795 was a good year for music on all accounts: old grandmaster Haydn saw the performance of his 104th and final symphony, while young Beethoven was sketching out the final movement of his first. Acclaimed Texan period ensemble Philharmonie Austin juxtaposes the two on BEETHOVEN-HAYDN, rounding off the program with Haydn's much-loved early Cello Concerto No. 1. As close as the two symphonies may be chronologically, they differ markedly in spirit. The motor in Haydn's works is mercurial wit; the driver in Beethoven's symphonies, a rather primordial force that would later push chamber ensembles to expand to the gigantic dimensions of the modern orchestra. But Mark Dupere and Philharmonie Austin have a trick up their sleeves: they underline the revolutionary aspects of Haydn, and then trace them again in Beethoven. Original and clever — the old master would have been pleased.

Beethoven's Seventh Symphony emerged at a biographical crossroads, between his definitive establishment as a leading composer and the onset of increasing isolation caused by his advancing deafness. At the time of it's premiere, it was the second-longest symphony ever written, surpassed in scale only by Beethoven's own Third, the 'Eroica.' Since it's first performance in 1813, there has never been a period in which it was not counted to the composer's most popular works. Since 2025, Francois-Xavier Roth-who had already served as Chief Conductor of the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg from 2011 to 2016-has been Chief Conductor of the SWR Symphony Orchestra. A musical visionary and remarkably versatile conductor, Roth has recorded and released all of Richard Strauss's tone poems, the ballets of Igor Stravinsky, the orchestral works of Ravel and Berlioz, as well as the complete symphonies of Bruckner, Mahler, and Schumann. With the present recording, Roth and the SWR Symphony Orchestra set a highly musical opening marker for a collaboration that promises to continue with great momentum in the years ahead.

Victor Julien-Laferriere and Consuelo continue their complete recording of Ludwig van Beethoven's symphonies with a triumphant double bill: the 'Eroica' Symphony, a grand epic that has left it's mark on the history of music, and the whirlwind Seventh, which Richard Wagner would go on to describe as 'the apotheosis of dance'.

A new recording of Beethoven masterpieces by a Hungarian pianist acclaimed for her 'intelligence, technical finesse, and innate musicality' (Classics Today). As issued by Brilliant Classics in 2025, a 34CD box of music from Bach to Bartok demonstrated the impressive range of Klara Wurtz's musical affinities, in recordings which span over two decades. According to Rob Cowan in Gramophone, the box testified to a career of consistent excellence in the studio, 'her performances attentive to detail, sprightly and invariably at one with her chosen repertoire'. Such praise amplified the enthusiastic reception accorded to her long-pondered recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations, made for Piano Classics, and which was given an Editor's Choice by Gramophone for it's 'selfless commitment and personality, bringing delicacy, drama and architectural splendour to this great music.' In her latest recording, Klara Wurtz turns to equally canonic repertoire by Beethoven: the Third Piano Concerto, the 'Pathetique' and 'Moonlight' Sonatas. This illuminating combination allows the listener to trace Beethoven's development in a concentrated span of three years on the cusp of the 19th century, and specifically through his special feeling for the tragic-heroic key of C minor, which reached it's most celebrated expression in the Fifth Symphony. The slow movement of the 'Pathetique' Sonata has achieved hardly less iconic status in the popular imagination. It's mood of inward contemplation transports the listener to a space inside the mind of the 28-year-old Beethoven, which the outer panels of the sonata further heighten with their high and noble drama. From three years later, the C sharp minor of the 'Moonlight' Sonata further intensifies those contrasts of serenity and struggle with it's sublime opening movement followed by a pair of intricate and fiendishly demanding movements. In 1800 - the year before the 'Moonlight' - Beethoven addressed the legacy of Mozart head-on in the Third Piano Concerto, which takes both it's key and the shape of it's opening motif from the earlier composer's Concerto K491. Klara Wurtz is given attentive and lively support by the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice under their experienced Armenian music director, Vahan Mardirossian.

In this third volume of his acclaimed Beethoven fortepiano cycle, Roberto Prosseda explores four early piano sonatas composed between 1796 and 1799, including the iconic Pathetique Sonata, the expansive Op. 7, and the intimate Op. 49 sonatas. Performing on an original 1820 Conrad Graf fortepiano, Prosseda reveals a Beethoven who is bold, unpredictable, and deeply theatrical - an improviser whose music breathes with rhetorical power, expressive contrasts, and remarkable spontaneity. Rather than seeking historical reconstruction, this recording offers a fresh rediscovery of Beethoven's creative imagination through the distinctive colours and responsiveness of one of the finest surviving instruments of it's kind. Recorded at the renowned Musicafelix Studio in Prato, Italy, this album benefits from an exceptional acoustic environment that beautifully captures the fortepiano's unique palette of transparent bass, eloquent middle register, and crystalline treble. Together, Prosseda's insightful interpretation and the studio's natural sound create an immersive listening experience that brings Beethoven's early masterpieces vividly to life, balancing architectural grandeur with poetic intimacy. 'I continue to perceive a remarkably living presence: a Beethoven who improvises, experiments, and takes risks.' - Roberto Prosseda

Introducing Jiaxin Min in her debut album, this recording marks the arrival of a compelling new voice on the international piano scene. Emerging as an audience favourite from the Queen Elisabeth Competition she combines expressive intensity, clarity of thought and a deeply personal artistic vision. Centred around the idea of farewell and reunion, the programme brings together Beethoven's intimate Sonata Lebewohl ('Les Adieux'), Liszt's dramatic Ballade No. 2, and Barber's powerful Piano Sonata. Through these landmark works, Jiaxin Min explores themes of absence, transformation and rediscovery, drawing on her own personal journey through music and returns to the stage. Balancing virtuosity with introspection and emotional depth, this first album reveals an artist of rare maturity and personality.

Pianist Nicolas Namoradze's much-anticipated Ondine debut marks a significant milestone in his rapidly ascending career. Winner of the triennial Honens International Piano Competition in 2018, Namoradze has since been prominently profiled in major international media, including The New York Times, and has earned widespread acclaim for both his performances and recordings. A Musical America New Artist, BBC Music Magazine Rising Star, and Gramophone One to Watch, he was named Pianist of the Year by the UK Critics' Circle in 2022.

A longtime member of the internationally acclaimed Anagnoson & Kinton Piano Duo, Leslie Kinton makes his solo recording debut with Beethoven: Diabelli Variations. Centred on a landmark work in the piano repertoire, the album explores Beethoven's remarkable ability to transform a simple theme into a vast and imaginative musical journey. In 1819, composer and publisher Anton Diabelli sent a short waltz theme to leading composers of the day, inviting each to contribute a variation for a planned published volume. Beethoven initially dismissed the theme as a 'cobbler's patch,' but eventually responded not with a single variation but with an entire set of thirty-three. The result is a kaleidoscopic work, at once witty, virtuosic, profound, and deeply inventive, often regarded as one of the greatest sets of piano variations ever written. Toronto-born pianist Leslie Kinton has built a distinguished career as a performer, scholar, and educator. As a member of the Anagnoson & Kinton Piano Duo, he has performed throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, appeared with major orchestras across Canada, and recorded nine albums. The duo is heard regularly on CBC Radio and has been broadcast internationally on the BBC, NPR, Czech Radio, Hilversum Radio, Hong Kong Radio, and Radio Suisse Romande. In 2019, Anagnoson & Kinton were named Honorary Fellows of The Royal Conservatory of Music, the organization's highest distinction. He studied piano with Pierre Souvairan, Jeaneane Dowis, and Karl Ulrich Schnabel, composition with Samuel Dolin, and holds a Ph.D. in music theory from the University of Toronto. Kinton is Professor of Piano Performance at the University of Western Ontario.

The scenes shown all breathe an air of peace and tranquility. Starting with an evening landscape in Bohemia we move to a lake in the Tyrol to the Museo Vela with it's gesso figures Bavarian craftsmen fashioning glass and the Corniche near Cannes in the South of France. Other scenes include the ancient Chapel of St Sixtus at Eygalieres the Church of St Jakob at Tramin night in Madrid and a nocturnal view of Seville the whole culminating in the great Basilica of St Mark in Venice.

The Places ò the tour of France takes US to Burgundy to the Pays de la Loire to Franche-Comté and elsewhere and includes glimpses of the 17th century Château de Cheverny with it's hunting museum and souvenirs of the chase and the Château d'Arlay with it's site for falconry. The Château de Bussy-Rabutain was rebuilt in the middle of the 17th century by Count Roger of Bussy-Rabutain exiled from the French court after his scandalous Histoire amoureuse des Gaules a literary preoccupation reflected in his collection of pictures. The restored gardens of the Château de Villandry are seen in their formal lay-out. The Music ò the music chosen to accompany the tour of the fertile and varied landscapes of France is by Beethoven and consists principally of his Pastoral Symphony a work that reflects his feelings as he recollects a visit to the countryside.

• Against the backdrop of St Petersburg’s beautiful Court Capella, Eldar Nebolsin performs the piano concertos of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov with a passion and sincerity as palpable onscreen as live in the hall. With such evident pleasure and seemingly with ease, he transformsthe familiar into something fresh and wonderful. He is seen live with Vladimir Lande and theSt Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra. Bonus material shows Nebolsin as soloist in anintimate and equally engaging performance of Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Sonata.In 2005, Eldar Nebolsin was unanimously awarded the Sviatoslav Richter Prize in the FirstInternational Piano Competition in Moscow, where he was also honoured with the specialaward for The Best Classical Concerto Performance. He enjoys a busy international careeras a soloist, recitalist and chamber-music player, appearing with conductors, orchestras andcolleagues of international distinction.

SICILY

The Places
Sicily has enjoyed a remarkably varied history, held by Phoenicians and Carthaginians, it became part of Roman territory, later to be occupied by Ostrogoths, recaptured by the Byzantines, ruled by Saracens, and occupied by the Normans, followed by German, French, and Spanish overlords. It was only in the mid-nineteenth century that the island was drawn into the unified country of Italy. The historical changes that Sicily has undergone are reflected in its culture.

The Music
The music chosen for this tour of Sicily is by Beethoven and consists of three of his best known piano sonatas, the Pathétique, the Moonlight and the Appassionata.

Picture format: NTSC 4:3
Sound format: PCM Stereo 2.0
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 57 mins
No. of DVDs: 1