�tude Op. 25, No. 10 features many unique aspects not present in most Chopin's �tudes, including a significant and distinctive ternary form. The first theme is presented as a series of eighth note-tuplets in cut time, played at a very fast tempo of Allegro. The second theme is in B minor's parallel major, B major, and in triple metre. The second theme is repeated four times, and develops into a variation of the first theme, returning to cut time and B minor. Copious pedal point notes and phrase markings are present in the second theme, but the entire �tude lacks any pedal indications. Similar to the Op. 10, No. 4 �tude, Chopin emphasizes legato playing through the phrasing and (lack of) pedal marking. Throughout the entire work, Chopin marks only five dynamic markings; the entire first theme is to be played forte to fortissimo, and the whole second theme is piano.

The hugely prolific Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos was fiercely independent of any one compositional style or influence, yet his work is unified by a unique synthesis of Brazilian and Western cultures.

One of the pioneers of the 20th-century resurrection of interest in the harpsichord was the great virtuoso Wanda Landowska who assisted in the development of a harpsichord built by Pleyel of Paris. Performing on a 1930s Pleyel harpsichord, Christopher Lewis has chosen a program of 20th-century works by French or French-based composers. Poulenc's colourful Suite fran�aise is followed by Fran�aix's exciting and previously unrecorded Deux Pi�ces. Martinu's lyricism and intensity of expression can be heard in the Sonata and other pieces while Louis Durey's piquant Dix Inventions is both a homage to Bach's Two-Part Inventions and a work whose compositional technique is firmly rooted in the modern era.

Vocal solo and choral arias by Accademia Instrumentale Italiana; Oxford Camerata; Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca under the direction of Diego Fasolis, Bo Holten, Herve Niquet, Antony Pitts, Jeremy Summerly and Sergio Vartolo. Featuring Hildegard of Bingen's O Euchari in leta via and Dieterich Buxtehude's Membra Jesu nostri, BuxWV75: Ie. Ad pedes: Ecce super montes.

Polish-born virtuoso Karol J�zef Lipinski was recognized as one of the best violinists of the 19th century, rivaling Paganini for the title of greatest violinist in Europe. Lipinski dedicated his Capriccios, Op 10 to Paganini.

The best of instrumental Eternal Organ accompanied by Aurora Duo under the direction of Schaab-Gottschalg bring such classics as Amadeus' Andante in F Major, K. 616 and Bach's, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 to life.

Loris Margaritis was a distinguished Greek composer, performer and music-educator. He cultivated a spirit of 'music-universalism', reinvestigating the delicate balance between German Romanticism, French Impressionism and Modernism in his multi-layered.

As a composer of art-song, Ian Venables is considered to be one of the most important writing today. The Songs of Ian Venables (8.572514), Volume 21 of Naxos' critically acclaimed English Song Series, was the first devoted to a living composer. This new recording introduces US to his music for solo piano and brings together works written between 1975 and 2001. It is Venables' singular melodic gift and highly inventive use of harmony that combine to give US works that range from the deeply reflective and wistful to those in a lighter vein, full of charm and joie de vivre.

Classical Music

Aaron Copland's suite from the ballet Appalachian Spring won him a Pulitzer Prize and global recognition. The famous Quaker song 'Simple Gifts' and the American ambience of this suite contrast with the more modernist Symphonic Ode, which conveys rugged grandeur through an uncompromising structural unity. Neglected since the late 1960s, Paul Creston's music was once amongst the most frequently performed of any American composer. His poetic Symphony No. 3 is an orchestral Life of Christ, movingly expressed through themes inspired by Gregorian chant.

Peter Dickinson weaves together musical styles popular and classical, past and present, using a technique of �style modulation�. In his Mass of the Apocalypse the Book of Revelations� visions of a new heaven and earth interact with the liturgical text. The music of Sidney Bechet and Bix Beiderbecke played at Philip Larkin�s memorial service suggested the means for him to set the words of the great British poet, himself a jazz critic. His Five Forgeries spoof the styles of famous composers, while the other works showcase different aspects of his many-sided talent.

Paul Cezanne received almost no recognition until the last years of his life, but is now widely regarded as one of the key figures in the development of modern art. His structural use of colour was the starting point for the Fauve painters.

East meets West offers a series of geographical and musical connections that bind the music of composers Ian Krouse and Ronald Pearl. The album includes the first recording of Krouse's Roderick Usher's 'Phantasmion' (in it's 2009 revision), as well as the eloquent tone poem La Petite Fille aux Allumettes("The Little Match Girl"), and his version of a Hassidic song. Pearl: My Name is Red is inspired by Orhan Pamuk's novel and reveals a range of Islamic influences.

Inspired by diaries, letters, and personal accounts from the 1860s, Rappahannock County is a music-theatre work which movingly and dramatically commemorates the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. The location of the Rappahannock River as a border between north and south is a metaphor for the region's many conflicts. Performed by a cast of five singers who play over 30 r�les, the piece brings this dramatic historical period to life in songs which express the devastating impact of the Civil War on all of the people who endured it.

Classical Music