Music of the (early) Baroque evokes sympathy, provides opportunities for identification and serves as a vehicle for moral or religious teaching. And finally, the Baroque musical 'exploration of the soul' as a soundtrack of life can and intends to give support, comfort and strength. Soprano Isabel Schicketanz's recording displays this impressively. It is a compilation of towering works from the 17th�century.

Despite all the warnings from the prophets of doom, Bruckner's music has thankfully prevailed. Bruckner was always in search of the ideal structure for his symphonies. Dissatisfaction and perfectionism both caused him anguish and served as motivation in his determination to advance on an artistic level. His goal was to compose absolute music in the spirit of Beethoven. It is his Third Symphony above all, "in which the trumpet introduces the theme", that encapsulates this striving for absolute music - music that is timeless and continues to touch people's hearts.

After studying at the University of Leipzig and spending several years as an organist at the city's Nikolai Church, the Saxon musician Johann Rosenmuller had to abruptly leave his position around 1655 for reasons less than honorable. He eventually found his way to Venice, where he worked at St. Mark's Basilica and the renowned Ospedale della Pieta. Among the many musical "souvenirs" he later brought back from the South was a new church style, infused with a vibrant colorfulness previously unknown in the more austere musical traditions of the North. It's no wonder that worshippers felt as if they were hearing angelic choirs and left the sacred concerts with their faith renewed. This�musica coelestis�continues to capture pure hearts and inspire a better life, even 340 years after the great composer's death.

Poema 1. Ad Astra is the first in a series of recordings by Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra in which Music Director Alexander Shelley asked Canadian Composers to craft compositions that respond to masterpieces by German Composer, Richard Strauss (1864-1949). Kelly-Marie Murphy responds to Don Juan and Kevin Lau to Death and Transfiguration. This latest cycle of recordings, a dialogue between the past and our modern era, strikes a perfect balance between the exhilaration of the new and the charm of the timeless classic.

CHARLIE PARKER WITH STRINGS

The great cellist Jacqueline Du Pr� would have been 80 years old on January 26, 2025, if illness had not taken her too early at the age of 42. This LP brings together Camille Saint-Sa�ns' famous 1st Cello Concerto with Jackie's husband Daniel Barenboim at the baton, and Frederick Delius' rarer Cello Concerto, which perfectly fits with Du Pr�'s playing and sensitivity (this time accompanied by Sir Malcolm Sargent). Warner re-released on LP a few years ago the 1968 EMI studio recording of the Saint-Sa�ns Concerto, also with Barenboim (but with the New Philharmonia Orchestra). The live recording on this new vinyl was made three years later, in 1971, with the Philadelphia Orchestra in it's city, and released on CD at the end of the 90s by Teldec. It is released here on vinyl for the first time.

Bushakevitz's playing gleams with understated wit and sensuality - a catalogue of emotions GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE. "A very special pianist - Bushakevitz is a master of expression. His playing is filled with a sense of longing and nostalgia." THE JERUSALEM POST. "As always, Bushakevitz was detailed, nuanced and with great lyrical flair for pieces that require both a display of formal technique and improvisational instinct" SCHERZO

Drummer/composer/educator Steve Johns moved to New York after graduating from the New England Conservatory of Music in 1982. While still a student, he won the Outstanding Drummer Award at the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival. His musical career then took off performing with a barrage of luminaries of the world jazz scene. Here is Johns' SteepleChase leader debut showcasing not only his versatile dexterity but his astounding talent as composer.

Scorrete lagrime mie, flow my tears: tears of sorrow, of joy; pious tears, passionate tears; tears of longing, of betrayal; of death, and of life. In their treatment of these themes, Barbara Strozzi, Francesca Caccini, Sigismondo d'India, Giovanni Battista Bovicelli, Lodovico Viadana, Giovanni Bassano and Bartolomeo Barbarino use highly-colourful word-painting and encourage and require an extreme level of subtlety and variation in sound colours, articulations and shading; their sacred and secular monodies thus constitute a perfect conduit for exploring the vocal virtuosity of the trombone, an instrument that historically has perhaps more than any other been associated with the voice. These vocal compositions are supplemented with select instrumental works including three original compositions. For this project, Maximilien Brisson is joined by Christophe Gauthier and Luc Beausejour on organ and harpsichord, who provide a basso continuo approached here not as mere accompaniment, but as an equal and essential partner.

This series to mark the 200th birthday of Anton Bruckner in 2024 is dedicated to his symphonic works. Hansjorg Albrecht will perform all of Bruckner's symphonies in many new transcriptions for organ at important locations such as Zurich, Leipzig, Linz, Vienna and London. Bruckner's works are framed by contemporary compositions that deal with Bruckner's work in the "Bruckner Windows". Hansjorg Albrecht concludes the extensive project to commemorate Anton Bruckner with the last recording of the Study Symphony.

Thomas Str�nen - "Relations" / Musical messages from Oslo, New York, Basel and Lugano - recorded between 2018 and 2022 - are juxtaposed and recombined on an absorbing recording that features Norwegian drummer Thomas Str�nen solo and in a series of duets. With such partners as Craig Taborn, Chris Potter, Sinikka Langeland and Jorge Rossy, the musical frame of reference is very broad. Str�nen offers a project that implies new threads of connectivity, new creative relationships. Produced by Manfred Eicher. Verve Label Group; ECM; Jazz.

Following two highly acclaimed albums, the Maxwell Quartet rounds off it's Haydn mini-series with the composer's two Op. 77 string quartets, juxtaposed with it's signature pairing of Scottish folk music. The quartet, which has become known for it's 'infectious enthusiasm' and 'irresistible' playing (BBC Music Magazine), showcases it's compelling storytelling with Haydn's last foray in the genre. The two quartets balance and complement each other perfectly: one brilliant, enigmatic, youthful and light, the other considered, noble and with a certain degree of gravitas. The complementary choice of Scottish folk music is equally balanced, ranging from the joyful - The Marquis of Tullibardine, Captain Campbell's March, etc. - to the more sombre - Hector the Hero. The cleverly constructed programme epitomises Hatto Beyerle's aphorism (the Maxwell Quartet's mentor, and dedicatee of this album): 'In order to truly understand Haydn's music, you must first understand folk music.'

Lady in Satin is an album by the jazz singer Billie Holiday released in 1958 on Columbia Records, catalogue CL 1157 in mono and CS 8048 in stereo. It is the penultimate album completed by the singer, and the last to be released in her lifetime.

Walk the mountains and the valleys, touch the lakes and rivers, smell the clean air and pine forest, see bleak winter wildness and spring flowers exploding, pause so you don't disturb the wildlife; watch, and be watched! Later inhale the faint smoke from distant warming fires and the food they cook. Embrace the day, and mould your thoughts and creativity. These are some of the life experiences had by Grieg, Rautavaara, Abrahamsen and Sibelius, who form the featured composers on this new recording.

The second volume of the perfect pairing Br�tzmann & Nilssen-Love, recorded at Zuiderpershuis in Antwerp, August 2015. The music is less frenzied and aggressive than listeners may be used to, as the musicians shared their exploration of new tools with a more contemplative approach. To be sure, both Br�tzmann and Nilssen-Love summon the usual energy here and there, but it's a genuine revelation to hear them feel out new sounds in real-time, whether it's the former caressing the rheumy nasality of the contra-alto clarinet, or the latter reveling in the sustained resonance of his new gongs. Still, even if they were trying out new tools, their rapport and level of engagement was just as strong and deep as ever. Colliding schedules prevented them from ever wrapping up the production on the album, but they began planning for it during the pandemic. Sadly, it fell to Nilssen-Love to shepherd the project at home, but it was worth the wait. This duo album represents a major statement from both musicians. Artwork by Br�tzmann, design by Lasse Marhaug. Liner notes-transcription of an interview with Peter Br�tzmann. Peter Br�tzmann: tarogato, contra-alto clarinet, bass saxophone. Paal Nilssen-Love: drums, gongs, percussion.