Venezuelan trumpet virtuoso Pacho Florez wowed the packed Royal Albert Hall at the BBC Proms concert given by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under their chief conductor Domingo Hindoyan last year. Pacho and Domingo have a real chemistry on stage, they are old friends going back to their time in the Simon Bolivar Orchestra. This album showcases Pacho as composer as well as soloist - his own brilliant concerto Albares is vibrant, rhythmic and wonderfully written for the instrument. It, like the two other concertos on the album by Sierra and Ortiz have more than their fair share of ear worm tunes, and you won't be able to resist smiling and swaying to the infectious music.

Both accomplished musicians based in Bayreuth, Anna Bon and Wilhelmine von Bayreuth devoted a significant part of their output to the flute, the instrument of choice of Frederick II. Their sonatas reveal a marked taste for bold harmonies and a remarkable sense of invention. Several decades earlier, Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre had already dazzled the court of Louis XIV with her violin sonatas, described by the Sun King as "very beautiful" and above all "original, a quality found all too rarely today." Too rarely performed, these works find in Marta Gawlas, in her first solo album, a sensitive and inspired interpretation, fully equal to their uniqueness and poetic depth.

GERSHWIN IN VIENNA

After Bess's departure, what becomes of Porgy? Having fallen in love with Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, the brilliant pianist and arranger Vyacheslav Gryaznov decided to answer this question by taking up the opera's themes. With Rhapsody in Black, a concerto for piano and orchestra, he picks up the story where the opera leaves off: Bess in New York, Porgy following in her footsteps. Neither a pastiche nor a simple arrangement, Rhapsody in Black reclaims Gershwin's legacy by blending electrifying improvisations, big-band sonorities, and poetic ballads. With this New York fresco, complemented by Rhapsody in Blue, Gryaznov creates an extraordinarily vibrant diptych, superbly brought to life by the Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien and Wayne Marshall, a leading specialist and outstanding interpreter of Gershwin.

The superlative Pygmalion chorus are at the center of this new recording of the St. John Passion. Their striking presence radiates throughout the work, their exemplary articulation and collective energy moulding the drama and carrying it's emotional charge. Raphael Pichon's flexible yet precise direction restores it's original dramatic arc, instilling the peerless team of soloists with the same demandingly high standards of musical narrative and truth. This Passion wins out through it's clarity of gesture and compellingly forceful actualization.

Traetta's Ifigenia in Tauride draws us into the tragic heart of the House of Atreus. Orestes is consumed by guilt over the murder of his mother Clytemnestra, while Iphigenia bears the lasting scars of her near-sacrifice, planned by her own father Agamemnon. They are two tormented souls, profoundly alone, who find each other in a moment of overwhelming recognition. Traetta's music captures this tragic tension perfectly. Standing at the crossroads of Neapolitan bel canto and Gluck's dramatic reform, his vocal writing is never an empty display. Every line, every ornament, conveys raw, sincere emotion. Christophe Rousset leads the musicians of Les Talens Lyriques and a brilliant cast of soloists, with Rocio Perez delivering a deeply moving portrayal of Iphigenia, in this masterpiece by Traetta, recorded here for the first time.

Discover the allure of Gran Teatro La Fenice, one of Italy's most iconic theatres and among Europe's grandest opera houses. Known for hosting groundbreaking opera premieres in the 19th century, La Fenice has staged legendary works from the masters of the Bel Canto era-Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi. Each year, a quarter-million visitors from around the globe are drawn to this historic venue, while the Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro La Fenice now perform worldwide, including a celebrated appearance at Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie in July 2024. Now, Teatro La Fenice proudly presents a collection of it's finest opera recordings from the past 30 years, available for the first time on CD. Featuring between 10 and 15 carefully selected operas each year, these recordings bring the magic of La Fenice's world-renowned performances to your home. Indulge in the timeless beauty of Italian opera at it's best.

The session notes for the 1974 recording show that Fantasias Nos. 1-5 were recorded on Monday, 26 August; Fantasias 7-12 on Tuesday, 27 August, followed by a day without recording. Fantasia No. 6 was recorded on Thursday, 29 August 1974. In these early days, it was Nimbus' practice to assemble masters quickly after recording, and given the founders' fierce commitment to 'unedited' takes, it is a reasonable bet that the master was assembled from the best whole takes of each movement. Scribbled words on the last page of the session notes suggest future possibilities: Tartini 24 Sonatas, Boccherini Quartets and Quintets with a 'very, very good pupil' for 2nd violin and 'Amo' (Fleming) on cello. Alas, it never happened. Apart from the Recording Agreement itself, there is no general correspondence in the Nimbus archive to explain how Maurice Clare found himself at Nimbus' Birmingham studio, nor why Telemann was the chosen repertoire. It is intriguing that Maurice's signature on the Agreement dated 24 April 1975 (interestingly eight months after the recording session) is witnessed by Ida G. Carroll-the celebrated principal of Manchester's Northern School of Music. In 1973, she was a key player in the amalgamation of Manchester's two music schools into the Royal Northern College of Music and served as it's first Dean of Management until 1976. © Adrian Farmer

With Organ Landscapes X (Leipzig), renowned organist and Baroque specialist Jörg Halubek concludes his acclaimed album series Organ Landscapes. The tenth and final chapter of a fascinating journey of discovery to Germany's great historic organs. The crowning finale takes us to what is probably the most important place in organ history: St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, where Johann Sebastian Bach worked and made music history. Here, the magnificent Sauer organ (1889/1908) resounds-an instrument of unique tonal depth, which Halubek brings to life with masterful sensitivity and Baroque expressiveness. This album is not only a musical highlight, but also a worthy conclusion to an ambitious project that celebrates the diversity and beauty of the German organ landscape.

Alongside Smetana, Dvorak, and Janacek, Bohuslav Martinu stands as one of the great pillars of Czech music. Born in Policka in 1890, he revealed his precocious talent early on, composing his first string quartet at just ten years old. His interest in France and it's music, particularly that of Debussy, developed quickly. As a second violinist of the Czech Philharmonic, Martinu also became well acquainted with the works of Ravel and Dukas. In 1923, he moved to Paris, where he studied under Albert Roussel. He would spend the next seventeen years in France, fleeing the German occupation in 1941 to take refuge in the United States. In 1953, he returned to Europe, dividing his time between Nice, Rome, and Switzerland, where he died in 1959. A composer of vast cultural horizons and innate cosmopolitanism, Martinu's music reveals a ceaseless curiosity for diverse styles. Though his early work is steeped in Czech folk traditions, his voice soon broadened to incorporate French clarity, the Renaissance English madrigal, and the baroque concerto grosso. Within his vast output, chamber music holds a central place. In 1946, while composing his Sixth String Quartet, Martinu wrote: "In pure chamber music, I always feel most myself." This new recording presents works written between 1937 and 1945: the famous Flute Sonata, Sonata for Flute, Violin & Piano, the Madrigal Sonata for the same instruments, and the Violin Sonata No.3, music of vibrant vitality and rich emotions. Played with strong commitment by Ambroise Aubrun (violin), Jocelyn Aubrun (flute) and Steven Vanhauwaert (piano).

Wolfgang Kogert - Friedrich Cerha: Complete Works For Organ - Appearing in Cerha's jubilee year, this album pays tribute to an extraordinary late oeuvre by an extraordinary composer. / One of the central figures of European modernism, Friedrich Cerha is known for his monumental Spiegel cycle and his distinctive contribution to postwar music. This album presents his complete works for organ, composed between 2011 and 2020, marking a surprising late turn toward the instrument. Recorded by Wolfgang Kogert in close collaboration with the composer, these pieces reveal Cerha's characteristic clarity, concision, and expressive precision. Appearing in Cerha's jubilee year, this album pays tribute to an extraordinary late oeuvre by an extraordinary composer.

Howlin' Wolf, a towering presence in Mississippi Delta music and a trailblazer of Electric Chicago Blues, is a name that carries immense weight in music history. This remarkable live recording from Bremen, Germany, in 1964, offers an essential snapshot of his raw power. Captured during the groundbreaking American Folk-Blues Tour, this concert played a pivotal role in sparking the British Blues movement and remains a treasure for any devoted fan. Recorded In Bremen, Germany, November 6, 1964

The Gemshorn is a medieval wind instrument belonging to the ocarina family, traditionally made from the horn of a chamois, goat, or ox. It produces sound through a fipple mouthpiece similar to that of a recorder, with finger holes along the front allowing for a diatonic scale. The Gemshorn's gentle, flute-like tone -mellow and haunting- made it particularly suited for both sacred and domestic music in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. This new recording presents the gemshorn in combination with lute and percussion instruments, in Dances, spanning from the 12th till the 17th century. A highly attractive program, ranging from melancholy musings to visceral, sometimes barbaric dances. Played by Simone Erre (gemshorn), Ugo Nastrucci (lute) and Ensemble Abelardus.

While Rodolfo Ritter's repertoire encompasses many well-known and unfamiliar composers, he has made a speciality of Ponce's piano music. He recorded the two piano concertos (for Sterling) in 2013, as well as several solo pieces. Now, for Piano Classics, he embarks on a new adventure, which should win new friends everywhere for an idiom full of charm and optimism, essentially Romantic in spirit and piquantly coloured by the composer's Mexican heritage. A social and cultural revolution followed on the heels of Mexico's political revolution of 1910-1917, as a once largely rural nation became, within a matter of years, predominantly urban. Born in 1882, Manuel Ponce in some ways embodied the outward-facing spirit of that revolution, as the country's first internationally renowned composer of European-style art music ('classical'), and yet in the nostalgia-soaked language of that music evoked a romanticized past. This is the tension explored by Rodolfo Ritter as he begins a multi-volume journey through Ponce's piano output - only the second pianist to do so on record. Ponce was something of a child prodigy, already accomplished and cultivated as both a pianist and composer before he entered the national conservatoire in 1901. Take the dance for the left hand titled Malgre tout, which Ponce was inspired to write in 1900 as a homage to the sculpture of the same name by Jesús F. Contreras - a resonant depiction of a chained and defenceless woman who, "despite everything", looks up with hope (not so oblique as a politically charged metaphor). Earlier still is the bel-canto style lyricism of the Misterio doloroso (1899). Another pivotal work for the left hand dates from a full quarter-century later, the Prelude and Fugue which Ponce wrote in Paris while under the tutelage of Paul Dukas. No less schooled by an earlier period of study in Europe, as a pupil of Martin Krause in Berlin, comes the Variations on a Theme by Handel (1906). In the interim, Ponce channelled this classical technique through the melodies and rhythms of his home country in pieces such as the Rapsodia Mexicana No. 1 of 1911. Volume 1 of Rodolfo Ritter's survey contains all these and many more exciting discoveries. As a Mexican pianist, teacher and scholar of German heritage, Rodolfo Ritter is ideally placed to guide us through such unfamiliar territory.

Heinrich Schutz (1585-1672), often regarded as the most important German composer before J.S. Bach, stands as a central figure in the early Baroque. His music blends the expressive intensity of the new Italian style -absorbed during his studies with Giovanni Gabrieli in Venice-with the rigorous counterpoint and textual clarity favored in Protestant Germany. Schutz devoted much of his long career to sacred music, serving as Kapellmeister in Dresden and producing works that profoundly shaped the development of German liturgical composition. Among his most significant contributions are his Passions. Today, three authenticated Passions by Schutz survive: the St. Matthew Passion (1666), the St. Luke Passion (1665), and the St. John Passion (1664). While no St. Mark Passion by Schutz has survived, the existing three form a coherent and deeply expressive trilogy. Schutz's Passions are notable for their austere, devotional character. Unlike later Baroque Passion settings, they contain no instrumental accompaniment beyond the continuo pitch support used for recitative; instead, Schutz employs unaccompanied choral textures to emphasize the solemnity of the narrative. The Evangelist's recitation is delivered in a chant-like, highly inflected recitative, carefully shaped to illuminate the nuances of Luther's German Bible. Turba (crowd) choruses, though similarly unaccompanied, provide dramatic contrast through sudden harmonic shifts, rhythmic intensity, and dynamic changes. The St. John Passion, the most concise, is often admired for it's emotional directness. The St. Luke is more restrained, reflecting that Gospel's narrative tone, while the St. Matthew stands out for it's broader scope and particularly poignant choral writing. Founded in 2000 by the harpsichordist, organist and conductor Matteo Messori, the ensemble Cappella Augustana -composed of excellent European historically-informed singers and instrumentalists -focuses on the relationships between the Italian and Northern European music from the late Renaissance, through the Baroque era up to the Romantic Period. The Evangelist in the recordings is the eminent Gerd Turk.

Commemorating the 270th anniversary of Mozart's birth in 2026, the "MOZART COLORS 100" collection by Deutsche Grammophon and Decca is a masterful fusion of high-fidelity audio and innovative visual curation. By organizing 94 essential recordings and six genre-specific masterpieces into a spectrum of 12 thematic colors, the series transforms the act of listening into a mood-based experience, allowing the "jacket color" to guide the listener through Mozart's immense versatility-from his precocious childhood works to his universally beloved classics. The technical presentation is equally impressive, featuring the SHM-CD format for superior sound resolution housed in elegant, color-coordinated cardboard sleeves that appeal to tactile collectors. With insightful new commentary by Mai Takano and approachable branding by Toshiyuki Hirata, this 100-title series successfully modernizes a historical legacy, making the 2026 anniversary both a luxury for audiophiles and a welcoming entry point for new fans of the "Wunderkind."

The son of a mill owner, Josef Myslivecek (1737-1781) was born in Prague. After a brief period as a student of literature and philosophy, he started to study organ with Joseph Seger and composition with the renowned Frantisek Vaclav Habermann. After his success with his first symphonies he decided to go to Venice to study voice and composition with Giovanni Battista Pescetti, not only to perfect himself as a musician but probably also to integrate himself into the great operatic tradition of one of the most productive and lively cities of the time. Myslivecek's first opera 'Medea' was a huge success and soon he became the first internationally renowned Bohemian opera composer. During a stay with Padre Martini, he met Mozart in Bologna, who was greatly fascinated by the Bohemian's musical qualities. This 2-CD set presents the works for keyboard and piano: two sets of six sonatas and a Divertimento. The title specifies "for harpsichord or pianoforte, with a violin part ad libitum", which means the violin part is optional, the main part being played by the keyboard. The music remains firmly anchored in it's period, exploring all the musical potential that classicism has to offer: strong structures, refinement and charm, as well as elegant and cantabile melodies. Played on a copy of a Walter fortepiano from 1792 by Marius Bartoccini and violinist Rossella Croce. Bartoccini successfully recorded the complete keyboard music by Myslivecek for Brilliant Classics.

Celebrating Steve Reich's 90th birthday and the 20th anniversary of Colin Currie Group, this landmark release brings together a number of Reich's iconic works. United by the elegant symmetry of sextet forces, these pieces showcase the rhythmic vitality, harmonic clarity, and emotional depth that have defined Reich's music for generations. From the scintillating textures of Sextet, the driving power and poignancy of Double Sextet, and the hypnotic time-bending sonorities of Six Marimbas, the album offers a journey through Reich's unparalleled sound world. Colin Currie Group's fresh interpretation of Dance Patterns adds a lesser-known gem to this celebration, highlighting the composer's enduring fascination with movement and pattern. Recorded with the insight and precision that have become hallmarks of the ensemble, this album is both a tribute and a testament to Reich's lifelong influence and to the Colin Currie Group's deep connection with his music. These works do more than mesmerise-they uplift, entrance, and remind us why Reich remains one of the most significant voices in contemporary music.

Transcribing an established piece of repertoire for a new instrument unlocks new colors and expressions the original composer may have never dreamed of. On ART OF TRANSCRIPTION, flutist Alexander Lipay explores Brahms' Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Schubert's Sonatina No. 2 in A minor, and Franck's Sonata in A major with a fresh perspective, swapping the string instruments out for the liquid, ethereal sound of the flute. Accompanied by pianist Fanya Lin, Lipay unearths exciting qualities within each piece and breathes new life into well-known notes.

At the close of the seventeenth century, Farina, Minei, and Netti created some of the most popular pieces of their day. Their dialogues for soprano and bass offer a colorful palette of emotions. This recording presents the first modern performance of several pieces that once enchanted Neapolitan evenings. Their interplay of contrasting passions is a breathtaking musical postcard from the Bay of Naples.

This album brings together three landmark works for string orchestra from the 20th century by Béla Bartók, Paul Hindemith, and Manuel Castillo, performed by Camerata Gala under the direction of Alejandro Muñoz. The programme offers a compelling and well-balanced journey through three highly individual and stylistically "unclassifiable" voices, each representing a distinct historical and aesthetic context while remaining firmly outside rigid compositional schools. Bartók's Divertimento for Strings, one of his last works composed in Europe, blends neoclassical clarity with the rhythmic vitality and modal language of Hungarian folk music, resulting in a score of striking energy, expressive depth, and technical brilliance. Hindemith's Fünf Stücke, Op. 44 No. 4, written within the framework of Gebrauchsmusik, stands out for it's formal precision, contrapuntal craftsmanship, and pedagogical intent, while maintaining a strong and unmistakable musical personality. The programme concludes with Cuatro cuadros de Murillo by Manuel Castillo, a work of profound spirituality and refined orchestral colour, inspired by the religious iconography of the Sevillian painter and a cornerstone of the Spanish repertoire for string orchestra. Recorded at the Auditorio del Rectorado of the University of Córdoba, this release presents a thoughtfully curated programme of major interest to general audiences, specialists, programmers, and advocates of 20th-century string repertoire.

During our 2022 Continuo Foundation-supported tour of music from the manuscripts of Margaret of Austria (1480-1530), which we entitled Epitaph for a Green Lover, it became clear that there was keen demand for the programme. After every performance of this beautiful and unrepresented music, the audience asked if we had made a recording; in the end, we took heed. Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy, Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, was a great patron of the arts who loved to dance and sing. But, above all, she loved her green parrot. Our programme's title comes from the remarkable chanson Soubz ce tumbel with it's tragic text by Margaret's court poet, Jean Lemaire de Belges. In this song, we find a text drawn from de Belges's Epitaphe de l'Amant Vert, in which the amant vert ('green lover') refers to the beloved green parrot. This chanson, along with all the songs featured on this album, come from the two extant songbooks, or chansonniers, of Margaret of Austria, which are now housed in the Brussels Royal Library. Alongside the songbooks, Margaret's library consisted of over 350 treasures, including the Très Riches Heures de duc de Berry, the Sforza Hours, and an exquisitely decorated book of basse dances on black-stained vellum with silver and gold calligraphy. Such a collection gives a sense of how Margaret was a linchpin in Renaissance culture. Our aim is to transport the modern-day listener to Margaret of Austria's court through music. Our programme even allows us to give insight into her character, since some of her own poetry was set to music by her favourite musicians; we have featured a selection on this album. We have had such pleasure exploring this music and sharing it with audiences in concert, and are thrilled to now bring this stunning repertoire to listeners through this recording. © The Linarol Consort

With Just Wonderful, Duo Giovivo presents it's fourth album on the GENUIN label, showcasing both wit and remarkable versatility. Multi-instrumentalists Fabian Bloch and Muriel Zeiter bring together lively dances, jazz-inspired hits, well-known opera melodies, and freshly reimagined children's classics. Drawing on a total of seven instruments, they create an extraordinary sonic palette: Fabian Bloch effortlessly moves between euphonium, alphorn, bass trumpet, and Wunderhorn, while Muriel Zeiter impresses on piano, violin, and flute. Be it the Swedish "Vallflickans Dans" or the jazzy "What a Wonderful World," each piece is given it's own distinctive, highly personal character. A vividly crafted album that radiates joie de vivre-fresh, passionate, virtuosic, and just wonderful.

Shura Cherkassky was introduced to Nimbus by Wilfred Stiff, then a director of the London agent Ibbs & Tillett. Wilfred recognised a young label pushing ahead fast at the transition point between LP and CD, one with a fondness for artists whose careers were waning. Accordingly, he dispatched one of his most prestigious names to the Nimbus Studio. Cherkassky was at that time acknowledged as one of the 'great' generation whose undoubted king was Horowitz, but after a long, notable career that began in his mid-teens, his popularity in the concert hall and recording studio had fallen. Shura's late career was in need of a final boost. Cherkassky's first visit lasted four days - 31 January to 3 February 1981; the results of that session were released on LP, but never on CD. They are once again available in Volume 1 of this series (NI 7112). For this second session, once again he stayed in the big house, having taken one look at Monmouth's finest hotel - The King's Head - and declared, 'Oh no, I won't be happy here!'. The studio and piano, a 1969 Hamburg Steinway, were set up as before. It was a studio so completely unlike the characterless spaces he had famously grown to decry. Here there was no sterile barrier to his inspiration. The grand Victorian reception room at Wyastone Leys served as a spectacular performance space, it's full-height windows framing commanding views down the Wye Valley. Shura loved it, signing a copy of his Pictures at an Exhibition LP, 'To everyone in Nimbus with love and the most wonderful feeling of inspiration'.

Chopin Piano Concertos 1 & 2, recorded live with the Liepaja Symphony Orchestra Frédéric Chopin wrote two piano concertos, which are now considered among the most important works of the Romantic period. Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21, was composed first in 1829 but was not published until later. It showcases Chopin's youthful virtuosity and lyrical musical language, particularly in the slow middle movement. The Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11, followed in 1830 and seems more mature, with an even stronger emphasis on the piano over the orchestra. Both concertos are considered key works for Chopin's style: full of poetic melodies, brilliant technique, and sensitive expressiveness.