Robert Schumann's Studien and Konzert-Eteden transform Paganini's violin Caprices into stunningly virtuoso pieces for piano. Containing the hidden 'voice' of his beloved Clara the Humoreske Op. 20 is filled with contrasts Schumann expressed as composing and writing and laughing and crying all at the same time. Ukrainian pianist Mariya Kim has gained global recognition through prizes including the Horowitz Paderewski and China Shenzhen International Piano Competitions and the Seoul and Jose Iturbi International Music Competitions. Her achievements have also brought her a Yamaha Foundation Award.

Beneath the shimmering surface of Delius�s little-known violin sonatas are the latent exuberance and nostalgic rapture which have made his orchestral music so popular. Across the decades separating the B major Violin Sonata of 1892 from the Third Violin Sonata of 1930, Delius developed a unique musical language which leavened the post-Romantic heritage of Wagner with French Impressionism and European and Afro-American folk idioms; an intoxicating mix that moved Sir Thomas Beecham to call him �the last great apostle in our time of beauty and romance in music�.

Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 103 and 104

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7, 'Leningrad'

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' Strathclyde Concertos are amongst his most imposing contributions to the genre. The solo pairing of his Concerto No. 5 was inspired by Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola, the soloists appearing in dialogue over intricate harmonies and dense string textures. Illuminated by Peter Bruegel's painting Children's Games, the distinctively scored Concerto No. 6 has an uninhibited lightness and transparency. Strathclyde Concerto No. 2 can be heard on Naxos 8.573017, Nos. 3 and 4 on 8.572353.

In his lavishly scored oratorio the Liturgy of Orpheus Yannis Markopoulos combines fragments of Orphic poems with a narrative text by Panos Theodoridis to create a work brimming with melodies, rhythms and instrumental tone colours, including those of guitar.

Tintner Memorial Edition, Vol. 6: Beethoven Symphony No. 3 &

The Fine Arts Quartet’s albums of Mendelssohn’s String Quintets (8.570488) and Glazunov’s chamber music (8.570256) were named “Recordings of the Year” by Musicweb International, and their recording of Schumann’s string quartets ( 8.570151) was hailed by the American Record Guide as “one of the very finest chamber music recordings of the year”. On this disc the acclaimed Fine Arts Quartet performs Camille Saint-Saëns’s two magnificent string quartets. “Saint-Saëns has been unfairly tarnished as being a lightweight composer,” notes first violinist Ralph Evans. “Listening to these serious, intellectual, brilliantly crafted yet delightful works will change minds in a hurry.”

BALLADES FOR SAXOPHONE AND ORCHESTRA

Bela Bart k' pantomime the Miraculous Mandarin was banned after it's first performance in 1926, but the composer' orchestral suite quickly became a popular concert work, appreciated for it's energetic rhythms and daring harmonies.

The great Polish composer Witold Lutoslawski was an important conductor of his own highly expressive music. With Chain 1 he developed a new compositional method linking contrasting musical ideas into a satisfying whole.

The Dominion Quartet continues it's exploration of the string quartets of Alfred Hill, an Australian-born composer who studied in Europe and lived for much of his life in New Zealand.

Kraus, J.M.: German Songs (Complete)

Clementi: Piano Sonatas, Op. 50: No. 1, Op. 34: No. 2 and Op

The Naxos Deutsche Schubert-Lied-Edition: Schubert set the poetry of over 115 writers to music. He selected poems from classical Greece, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, from eighteenth-century German authors, early Romantics and Biedermeier poets.