The spectacular score for Daphnis et Chlo� is Ravel's most ambitiously scaled work. First performed in 1912 and designated a 'symphonie chor�graphique', it runs for about an hour and calls for a large orchestra (including miniature bronze cymbals, castanets and a wind machine) and a wordless chorus as it portrays the adventures of a pair of young pastoral lovers in ancient Greece. When the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, conducted by Aziz Shokakhimov, performed Daphnis et Chlo� in concert in 2024, R�sonances Lyriques admired "a euphoric soundscape", citing the "opalescent timbres... captivating unity and legato in the upper strings; controlled, noble amplitude in the lower strings; impeccable, often seemingly weightless woodwind; brass that was not so much keen-edged as embracing; multicoloured percussion... and harps that were both intense and aristocratic."

I waited a very long time to record the Beethoven symphonies, said Daniel Barenboim when this cycle was first released in 2000. "I waited for the music to mature in me - or me in it - and to find an orchestra that not only did what I asked it to do, but which really felt every detail in the music exactly as I did at the moment we were playing it. This is the greatest joy that a conductor can have." Beethoven's 9 Symphonies recorded by Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin for Teldec in 1999 will be released for the first time on vinyl, in 3 separate albums.

Yo-Yo Ma/Andris Nelsons/Boston Symphony Orchestra -"Shostakovich: The Cello Concertos" - For the 50th anniversary of the composer's death, Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra conclude their award-winning, decade-long Shostakovich Project by presenting the Shostakovich symphony cycle, featuring Yo-Yo Ma's performances of the two cello concertos. Introducing the latter work to the audience, Ma said, "This piece is as relevant today as it was then. I think Shostakovich's artistic truth was to represent the voice of the MNvoiceless." Verve Label Group; Deutsche Grammophon; Classical CD Digipak.

MIKHAIL PLETNEV / CHOPIN & SCRIABIN: PRELUDES - The legendary pianist, Mikhail Pletnev, proudly presents his first Deutsche Grammophon recording in decades: Chopin & Scriabin: Preludes. The renditions captured reflect a master's perspective on two masterpieces of the piano repertoire. In a historic milestone for DG, the engineering team captured the performances on a pure analog vinyl format (AAA), the first time since the 1980s that this has been done for a frontline release. The analog version was recorded on a Studer tape machine with two custom-made Sennheiser microphones, while at the same time an 11-channel microphone setup was used for the digital CD version. The tape was cut and pasted with the virtuosity of earlier sound engineering, so to speak "by ear" at the Emil Berliner Studios, while the same cuts had to be made visually on the computer.

In my opinion, film music is one of the rare territories where a composer can write freely, providing that he chooses the films and subjects that suit his personality. This is the ideology that Howard Shore, one of the most innovative film composers, has embraced for more than 40 years. This album provides the perfect synthesis of three Paris concerts, which aimed to define the mysterious contours of the composer's multifaceted output. 2 CD Softpak with booklet included. NUMBER OF DISCS: 2

THREE TENORS CONCERT 1994

On his 2025 album, Canadian star pianist Jan Lisiecki brings the diverse sounds of the prelude to life, highlighting that it is far more than just a curtain-raiser to something else. Fr�d�ric Chopin's extraordinary 24 Pr�ludes Op. 28 are inspiration and centrepiece of this recording. For Lisiecki, Chopin was a "master of the short form" who "brought the prelude out of the shadows and into the spotlight." Chopin's pieces are complemented and contrasted with selected preludes by other composers from across three centuries, each representing a pinnacle of achievement in the genre - from Bach, Messiaen, Rachmaninoff to G�recki. Lisiecki seeks "to showcase the broad possibilities of the humble prelude" that takes "the audience on a musical expedition" through these kaleidoscopic miniatures.

Jan Lisiecki - "preludes (Chopin, Bach, Rachmaninoff, Messiaen, Gorecki)" Canadian star pianist Jan Lisiecki showcases the kaleidoscopic world of the prelude. Taking the notion of the prelude as meaning something "that comes before," Lisiecki asks: "Can a recording project be composed entirely of such introductions, then, one leading directly into the next, and still be profound?" Verve Label Group; Deutsche Grammophon; Classical.

Acclaimed pianist Beatrice Rana presents her latest album, a radiant tribute to J.S. Bach's Keyboard Concertos. Featuring BWV 1052, 1053, 1054, and 1056, this recording captures the intimate chemistry of Rana with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, with Candida Thompson as concertmaster. Recorded in April 2022, following a 10-concert tour together, the album reflects the depth and brilliance born of their shared musical journey. Bach's timeless elegance and energy are reimagined through Rana's expressive artistry and the ensemble's dynamic interpretation.

D�sir�-�mile Inghelbrecht (1880-1965), a pivotal figure in 20th-century French music, was renowned as a conductor, composer, and passionate advocate for French repertoire. This comprehensive box set showcases Inghelbrecht's complete discographic legacy for Path�, Ducretet-Thomson, Columbia and Erato. Spanning his 78 RPM records from 1929 to 1939, LP recordings from 1953 to 1955, and live broadcasts from 1955 to 1962, the collection highlights his favourite pieces interpretations alongside the major orchestral works of Debussy, of whom he was a close friend. Many of these recordings, including several CD premieres, underline Inghelbrecht's dedication to preserving and sharing the essence of French music.

The Planets is the most frequently performed piece of 20th century British music with immediate and lasting appeal. This high-profile live recording from 2006 was long overdue for the Berliner Philharmoniker who had not recorded The Planets since the legendary Karajan recording of 1981. Sir Simon Rattle had previously recorded another version of The Planets with the Philharmonia Orchestra, back in 1980, which was also hugely successful. Contrary to popular opinion The Planets is not a typically "English" piece. Holst's eclectic musical world was inspired by his fascination with astrology (mythology and horoscopes), Sanskrit writings and his admiration for the works of his contemporaries - particularly Debussy, Stravinsky, Ravel and Scriabin. "A magisterial performance, closely attentive to detail, in which the continental influences are highlighted as never before... The climax of 'Uranus' is a thriller: a massive build-up, with the famous organ glissando not spotlighted but spreading a great cloud of atmospherics in it's wake. Rattle also makes the best case yet for Colin Matthews' 'extra' planet 'Pluto'." BBC Music Magazine

Cho Seong-Jin - ANDRIS NELSONS - BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / 10 years after of Seong-Jin Cho's first prize victory in the 2015 Warsaw Chopin Competition, during which the young Korean pianist ascended into stardom with a Deutsche Grammophon discography that includes Liszt, Brahms and Debussy, he prepares a monumentous body of work for the 150th birthday anniversary of Maurice Ravel. Deutsche Grammophon

Recorded with Daniel Harding as conductor and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Much of the violin writing in the Sibelius concerto is purely virtuosic, but even the showiest passages alternate with the melodic. This concerto is generally symphonic in scope, departing completely from the often lighter, 'rhythmic' accompaniments of many other concertos. Renaud: "I discovered the concerto by Samuel Barber on a recording made by Isaac Stern, which is very moving for me because Stern played it on the violin that is now mine. I heard it again in Gil Shaham's interpretation. The first two movements are very lilting, very melodic and generate a lot of images. The finale is very virtuoso."

Beatrice Rana, characterised by Gramophone as a pianist of "fire and poetry, imagination and originality, temperament and charm, all on top of fearless technical address", brings together two monumental sonatas: Beethoven's 'Hammerklavier' op 106 and Chopin's 'Funeral March' op 35. The Chopin has been in Rana's recital repertoire for more than a decade, but it was during the confinement of the pandemic that she first undertook intense study of Beethoven. "I really found a deep connection with this music, especially because of the isolation, being locked away from the rest of the world. Despite the fact that it reflected so much of what was going on at that time, it's a very positive piece. It really helped me through the pandemic. It is a very human sonata, but the Chopin sonata is human in a very different way. The trio in the middle of the funeral march [the famous third movement] is kind of �bermenschlich - how a philosopher might describe surpassing oneself in a transcendental way." Rana also believes that both works show their composers in technically adventurous form: "The last movements of the two sonatas are both experiments at the highest level and in completely different ways... In the Beethoven every line is going everywhere... and in the Chopin the two hands are parallel for the entire movement." She concludes that both works "transcend the human condition in very different ways - but not altogether different... They both have so much to do with the fear of death, with the fear of loneliness. Each finds a solution in different ways."

TREE OF LIGHT

If I've accomplished anything, said Ravi Shankar, "it's that I have been able to open the door to our music in the West." Born in Varanasi in 1920, he achieved worldwide renown as a sitar player and unprecedented influence as an ambassador for Indian classical music, revealing new possibilities to such figures as George Harrison of the Beatles, jazz saxophonist John Coltrane and composer Philip Glass. As a performer, composer, teacher and writer, Ravi Shankar is renowned throughout the world for his pioneering work in bringing Indian music to the West. Shankar has been a cultural influence in the West for more than four decades as India's most recognized and esteemed musical ambassador. "If East has to meet West, then few musicians have achieved it with such open joy as Ravi Shankar." The Guardian This album features Ravi Shankar's first Concerto for sitar, commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra in 1970; it was the first album Andr� Previn recorded for EMI Classics (now Warner Classics), in 1971. The work was premiered at London's Royal Festival Hall on 28 January 1971 and sets a sitar recital of four ragas (including one by Ravi Shankar's guru Allauddin Khan, adapted for the concerto) across four movements and within the grand sweep of a full western orchestra. "The first Concerto was really a snapshot of a moment in history. It was the first time we were seeing raga music across an orchestral arrangement, creating a composite soundscape." Anoushka Shankar (Ravi's daughter) "Shankar's concerto is a compelling, almost textbook-ideal adaptation of one musical tradition into another. It's melodies and rhythms come from raga, and the techniques of development also rely on Indian tradition, including sections for improvisation by the soloist. But Shankar uses the Western orchestra with imagination. Sometimes he looks for equivalents: Bongos serve as tabla; two harps play scales, echoing the sitar; the strings fill in the tambura's drone. Sometimes he creates new effects, as in a stunning lyrical horn solo or the wonderful wind and percussion writing." Los Angeles Times

Vinyl LP pressing. Originally released in 2001 to popular success, 'Classical Chillout' was as well-known for it's iconic cover artwork as it was for it's innovative selection of music. A skilful blend of traditional classical pieces - many known from film and television - programmed alongside genre-defying 'modern classics' - from movie themes, club classics to modern minimalism (more recently defined as 'neoclassical'). Fast-forward 18 years and Classical Chillout has been given a 2019 makeover - many of the great tracks you know and love from the original album alongside fresh new sounds in keeping with the original album concept. Available for the first time on vinyl, 'Classical Chillout' is back!

In response to the vinyl craze and to extend very nice successes of vinyls composers best of on Warner Classics (Beethoven, P�rt, Debussy, Piazzolla and more recently Chopin, Mozart and Bach) the new one focuses on the emblematic composer of German Romantic music: Franz Schubert. A LP using the same refreshed style artwork as the previous Mozart & Bach and which includes highlights from greatest masterpieces performed by first-class musicians: Elisabeth Leonskaja, Barbara Bonney, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Alexandre Tharaud, Alban Berg Quartett, Gautier Capu�on, Renaud Capu�on, Ian Bostridge, Antonio Pappano

Vinyl LP pressing. South African cellist Abel Selaocoe makes his debut on Warner Classics with Where is Home (Hae Ke Kae). It's dual title, in English and Sesotho, reflects the album's diverse program which draws from vibrant European and African influences: pieces inspired by South African and Tanzanian musical tradition share a space with works by J.S. Bach and Giovanni Benedetto Platti, some of which are renewed with instrumental and lyrical improvisations. The title of the album holds multifaceted significance for the Manchester-based musician: "Home is the place that empowers you; it's not only a geographical place but in people as well, where you can live a life of empowerment and not of oppression. I've learned to find my different homes through the cello." Abel Selaocoe represents Africa on the move.

Regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century, Prokofiev was both an innovator who delighted in controversy and a traditionalist seeking out purer melodies and classical forms. His masterpieces across numerous music genres include such widely heard pieces as the exhilarating Romeo and Juliet (ballet), the irresistible Peter and the Wolf (children's tale), the epic Alexander Nevsky (Eisenstein's eponymous film score), and his thrilling third Piano Concerto (now a staple piece of repertoire performed on stages around the world), among so many others. A rich anthology of landmark interpretations, showcasing Prokofiev as a pianist, this edition vividly illustrates the goal he set himself as a composer: to "extol human life and lead mankind to a radiant future".

Otto Klemperer's energy and momentum come not from his tempos but from the way the rhythms are articulated. In the first movement and Scherzo the heroic, teeth-gritted determination are physically gripping, In this Ninth combined urgency with masterly control and spellbinding authority, and a dignity all his own. BBC Music Magazine about the Live recording This SACD release puts into perspective both the studio and live versions of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, recorded in 1957 by Otto Klemperer and the Philharmonia Orchestra. These recordings benefit for the first time of the HD remastering from original tapes made for the Klemperer Remastered Edition and the high performances of the SACD format.

Love and charm are among the many qualities which distinguish this richly enjoyable set of the Tchaikovsky Symphonies, wrote Gramophone of the cycle that forms the heart of this collection. Mstislav Rostropovich, like Tchaikovsky, represents the very soul of Russian music. These 1976-77 recordings are remastered for the very first time in high definition from original master tapes and benefit from the high performances of the SACD format to give a level of details never heard before.

I waited a very long time to record the Beethoven symphonies, said Daniel Barenboim when this cycle was first released in 2000. "I waited for the music to mature in me - or me in it - and to find an orchestra that not only did what I asked it to do, but which really felt every detail in the music exactly as I did at the moment we were playing it. This is the greatest joy that a conductor can have." This is the second set of 3LPs, after the first one released in May (Symphonies 3-5); these recordings are released for the very first time on vinyl.

This boxed set presents for the first time in Hybrid SACD format the Dvorak recordings by Carlo Maria Giulini with Mstislav Rostropovich and the London Philharmonic on Warner Classics, in the new HD remastering made from the original tapes for the Giulini 2025 Remastered Edition, and specially adapted for SACD.

Yundi, one of the most celebrated and influential pianists of today, has returned to Warner Classics with the signature of a long-term agreement between him and the label. His first release under the new agreement is an album of Chopin's Piano Concertos Nos 1 and 2, on which he directs the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra from the keyboard. This constitutes both his first recording as pianist-conductor and his first recording of the Piano Concerto No 2.