Peter Cornelius (1824-1874) is known to many listeners as the composer of the comic opera The Barber of Baghdad, but this disc (numbered Vol. 3 of his Complete Lieder) shows that he could also write utterly charming, light songs as well. Being music that abuts German pop music and operetta, it will certainly not provide you with a musical main course, but it is just chock full of frothy dessert treats. Song after song after song is tuneful, pretty but well written, catching an upbeat mood and sustaining it, and happily we have a quartet of singers and pianist who fully understand the idiom. In fact, kudos to pianist Veit for being the driving force of this disc. His playing is what continually catches the ear with it's verve, humor, and perfect touch. I was somewhat surprised, in reading his bio in the booklet, to discover that this pianist has also studied voice and attended master classes by famous singers as well as by famous pianists, but perhaps I shouldn't be. He certainly makes the piano lines sing.

Peter Cornelius thought of himself as a 'Poet-Musician' and almost all of his mature compositions were vocal. His early attachment to the New German school of Liszt and Wagner was strong but his songs, almost half of which were written in Weimar, retain a very personal quality. A gifted poet, he set a number of his own lyrics. With their colorful piano accompaniments, his songs possess economy, atmosphere and show an interest in cyclical writing. Whether mournful or, in the Rhenish Songs, exuberantly outgoing, they reveal his imaginative command of the medium. This is the first volume of Cornelius' complete Lieder.

Michael Hurd was a pioneer in composing brief, witty and, above all, performable choral music for children to enjoy. When Jonah-Man Jazz arrived in 1966, young singers and their teachers had modern-sounding music to make and share.

Peter Maxwell Davies is universally acknowledged as one of the foremost composers of our time, and is currently Master of the Queen' Music.

Peter Maxwell Davies is universally acknowledged as one of the foremost composers of our time, and is currently Master of the Queen' Music. Plainchant, musical tradition and the haunting landscape of his adopted Orkney Islands all serve as inspiration.

These performances were released previously by Koch, and it's good to see them reappearing here at budget price. Like most of Robert Craft's Stravinsky discs, this is very, very good, and questioning the conductor's authority in this music is tantamount to casting doubt on the composer himself (though not on his own hit-and-miss conducting!). The coupling is apt: both works are based on earlier music--Gallo and Pergolesi (for the most part) on the one hand, Tchaikovsky on the other. As Craft points out in his notes, however, Pulcinella remains comparatively faithful to the originals, with changes principally in terms of rhythm and scoring. The Fairy's Kiss, though, takes Tchaikovsky's tunes as a starting point, modifying them considerably, with most of the music being effectively original. Compared to the reference recordings above, Craft can appear to value precision over sheer excitement (as in the finale of Pulcinella), but this is quibbling: overall he gets fine results from both orchestras as well as from his three singers (in Pulcinella). If you're looking for both ballets complete, the combination of value and artistic quality on offer here speaks for itself.--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

The driving energy of Turkish/American composer Kamran Ince' Hot, Red, Cold, Vibrant recalls the motoric rhythms of John Adams' Short Ride in a Fast Machine with some unexpected jolts added.

Although the recorder boasts an immense repertoire from the Renaissance to the Baroque, to which Philip Lane pays tribute with his Suite Ancienne, this recording presents an exciting selection of 20th-century music for this popular instrument.

Peter Maxwell Davies is universally acknowledged as one of the foremost composers of our time, and is currently Master of the Queen' Music.

The International Solo Guitar Competition, sponsored by the Guitar Foundation of America, is one of the top events of it's kind worldwide. For more than fifteen years the competition has given winning performers a head start in their careers,.

Peter Maxwell Davies is universally acknowledged as one of the foremost composers of our time, and is currently Master of the Queen' Music. His musical idiom has been described by the New York Times as 'medieval mysticism.

The first cantata is about a rose - a symbol of love - which is spurned by Nysa and Chloris. The fourth cantata marks a turning point, which could well be the reason Ariosti scored the next three cantatas for alto. The title expresses it's content: 'Freedom acquired through love'. In the fifth cantata another image is used to depict the breakdown of love: a shipwreck. The first aria describes a storm at sea, with crashing waves, thunder and the absence of sunshine. The last cantata marks the return to the beginning: the protagonist has not really overcome his love for Nysa. Otherwise he would not feel that she, "who faithlessly seeks her delight in the arms of another, is the cause of my bitterness and misery". These cantatas make one understand that Ariosti was successful as a composer of operas; there is plenty of drama here. Not only the vocal parts but the instrumental parts as well depict the feelings expressed in the texts. It is impressive how the two melody instruments - originally two violins, here flute and violin - and the basso continuo illustrate the storm at sea in the first aria of Cantata No. 5. They also perfectly express the unhappy lover's feelings in his lament in Cantata No. 3.

This wide-ranging collection of favourite marches from around the world spans a period of 100 years, from Schubert' Marche militaire No.

John Ireland' violin sonatas gained extraordinarily positive reviews when they were premiered. The Star praised the 'delicacy, lucidity, and tonal charm' of the First Violin Sonata, the most genial and optimistic of the three sonatas recorded here.

Naxos' Takako Nishizaki Plays Suzuki Evergreens albums feature acclaimed violinist Takako Nishizaki who, as a child, studied with her father, Shinji, and with Shinichi Suzuki himself.