Classics Explained: Schubert - Piano Quintet in A Major, 'Tr

Opera Explained: MOZART - Cosi fan tutte (Smillie)

Classics Explained: Dvorak - Symphony No. 9, 'From the New W

Claude Monet (1840-1926) was at the forefront of the Impressionist revolution in painting. Together with a small group of like-minded friends, he scandalized the critics by devising a new way of representing the world in all it's bewildering variety of light and shadow. Here, the world of Monet is given a musical perspective with a carefully chosen selection of pieces by the finest composers of his time. We may enjoy here some of the greatest moments in musical and artistic development in the late nineteenth century, as Impressionism was emerging triumphant. On this CD, Monet's incredible foresight and breathtaking depictions of natural beauty are musically complemented by such landmarks as Debussy's graceful Pr�lude � l'apr�s-midi d'un faune and Bizet's daring masterpiece Carmen. 1 CD with full-color, illustrated, explanatory booklet.

The music of Charles Tomlinson Griffes has a place in musicians', and especially pianists', hearts out of all proportion to it's quantity. Michael Lewin has recorded the complete piano music of Griffes on two CDs, of which this is the first. On this CD there are relatively familiar works, such as the Roman Sketches and Sonata, alongside yet-to-be published rarities, such as a charming transcription of Offenbach's Barcarolle, and a lovely Chopin like Prelude dating from the young composer's fifteenth year (he was to die, alas, only two decades later).

This uniquely cross-sectional approach to culture combines great art with great music, and examines the connections between the two. Each piece of music from the carefully chosen selection takes on a new dimension and provides a musical context to the work of leading painters and sculptors. This fascinating series, with a color booklet including a chronology of the principal artistic and political developments of the period, broadens our view of the music itself. The influence of Raphael (1483-1520) has perhaps exceeded that of any other painter in history. For centuries his works were revered as perfect models of grace and harmony, to the point where every creator of a kitsch Madonna felt obliged to plunder his manner and techniques. On this CD, the world of Raphael is given a musical perspective with a carefully chosen selection of pieces by the finest composers of his time. Inside, Hugh Griffith provides explanatory notes on his life and musical environment. 1 CD with full-color, illustrated, explanatory booklet.

Classics Explained: Bach, J.S. - Brandenburg Concertos Nos 4

Opera Explained: Puccini - Madama Butterfly

Anthony Louis Scarmolin was born in Northern Italy in 1890 and emigrated to the United States in 1900. The young Scarmolin showed great promise as a musician and enrolled as a piano student at the German Conservatory of Music in New York. He was a talented pianist, but fate intervened in the form of a hand injury and his Carnegie Hall debut recital was canceled. Scarmolin the composer is the focus of this recording, which features a number of his orchestral works. In his student days, he was a disciple of the atonality of Schoenberg, but the music of the mature Scarmolin is gloriously tonal. The exotic "Dance" from his opera 'The Caliph' opens the disc. The work is lushly scored and ultra-romantic in it's grand sweep, reminding the listener of the film music of Korngold and Waxman. On a lighter note, Scarmolin's 'Three Miniatures' are delightful pieces that charm with their colorful orchestration and pleasant melodies. The composer's more serious side is displayed with 'Invocation,' a tone poem for large orchestra that is, at turns, both reverent and heroic. This generously-filled disc presents a fascinating look at a composer deserving wider recognition.

Life and Works: Chopin

Opera Explained: BIZET - Carmen (Smillie)

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) is our prototype for the universal genius: painter, architect, military engineer, and anatomist, his far-ranging scientific curiosity placed him centuries ahead of his time. On this CD, the world of da Vinci is given a musical perspective with a carefully chosen selection of pieces by the finest composers of the day. Inside, Hugh Griffith provides explanatory notes on his life and musical environment. As soon as we discover that the nature of sound was something that absorbed the interest of Leonardo da Vinci for many years, and that, according to Vasari, he 'sang divinely, improvising his own accompaniment on the lira', we begin to realize the importance of music in his life. Exploring the music written during his lifetime forms a fascinating backdrop to his paintings, several of which are illustrated within the booklet.

BENNETT: Abraham Lincoln / Sights and Sounds

The famous Bol�ro and the enchanting Mother Goose Suite give us Ravel the orchestral sorcerer at the peak of his unsurpassed powers. From the fierce vitality of sun-baked Spain to the most poignant evocations of childhood and innocence, he captures the immediacy of experience as we feel it. Yet he saw himself as an artisan, not an artist, and a discoverer rather than a composer. Behind every work was a craftsman of astonishing skill - so astonishing that we can examine the artistic workshop in minute detail without dispelling any of the magic. 'Bol�ro is the most formula-ridden, deliberately repetitious piece of music ever to enter the mainstream concert repertoire,' says Jeremy Siepmann. Ravel himself regarded it as an experiment in form - yet it has proved one of the most popular and seemingly spontaneous works in all classical music. In his informative manner, Siepmann explains, 'Ravel seems to put all his cards on the table right at the outset... but like all top-class magicians... he had endless surprises up his sleeve.' With the surprises revealed, the spotlight put also on the enchanting Mother Goose Suite, and Ravel's fascinating life and behavior related in the accompanying booklet, this is a compelling recording.

There is perhaps no great piano concerto grander than the Brahms B Flat. With the spaciousness of a symphony, the drama of an opera, the intimacy of a lullaby and the intertwining raptures of the greatest love songs. It touches on almost every emotion with extraordinary immediacy and power. It's virtuosity is spell-binding, yet always substantial.