Modern: Designating the most innovative forms of art in a given period, particularly those of the 20th century. This definition from the French Larousse Dictionary explains the performers' choice of title 'Moderniste' for this new anthology of music for wind instruments: what draws the attention in these works - in different ways at different times and in different fields - are their innovative, progressive and adventurous qualities. Four of the composers featured on this album can legitimately be associated with what is very broadly known as Modernism, referring to the general proliferation of new ideas and new musical aesthetics at the turn of the 20th century and beyond. As for the two works by Philippe Hersant and Thierry Escaich, they call on us to reflect on what modernity means to us today. And, while it is easy to set Modernism in opposition to traditionalism, it is also interesting to distinguish between a composer's personality and his or her approach to composing.

I couldn't have imagined a better constellation for my first album! says Cristina G�mez Godoy about her first recording. She has chosen this repertoire because these pieces made her fall in love with the instrument and music. As a musician in Daniel Barenboim's Berlin-based orchestra, she feels very privileged to have recorded her first album with him, accompanied by the West Eastern Divan Orchestra, with whom she has played for many years.

Classical Music

The abundant legacy of Gustav Leonhardt's recordings for Telefunken's Das Alte Werk series invites us to follow his trajectory as a performer from the early 1960's onwards, a time when the new codes of early music had yet to be invented, when their success depended above all on the strength of conviction of the performer. Leonhardt's was strengthened by dialogue: with a range of partners whose variety defies all preconceived ideas, with ancient instruments or modern copies of all types, with repertoires as diverse as Byrd, Purcell, Rameau, Johann Sebastian but also Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Not forgetting the 1970 Monteverdi LP, which has never been reissued since. The image of a pope of early music isolated in his tower and frozen in a school style does not last long after listening to this historical sum, extended here by the later series of recordings under the Virgin Veritas flag.

We tend not to think of the 19th century as a golden age for wind instruments. While the individual instruments themselves enjoyed varying fortunes, their standing was much less significant than that of string instruments or the piano. However, the situation improved for all of them with the onset of Romanticism and a remarkable new repertoire for ensembles of differing types. One such type grew out of the Classical tradition of the divertissement or serenade, bringing together winds and strings in sizeable ensembles ranging from the sextet to the nonet. Another also hailed back to the end of the 18th century and combined winds with piano. And then there was the wind quintet per se, a recent innovation brilliantly exemplified by Anton Reicha and Franz Danzi up until the mid-1820s, which had established itself as a separate genre, characterised by skillful and sophisticated writing. Despite not having widely used them in the guise of true soloists, Romantic composers nevertheless turned to wind instruments more frequently than we might think, delighting in their expressive colours which were found to be ideal for depicting a whole range of emotions in some of the most refined works of chamber music. This recording presents a striking sample from this repertoire.

Alban Berg Quartet - The Complete Recordings Limited 70 CD box set.

'Mozart - it's always been Mozart. There are endless composers whom I admire, but I couldn't get along without Mozart.' If Andr� Previn's name is often identified with large-scale works of the 19th and 20th centuries, Mozart remained close to his heart. Partnered by the London Symphony Orchestra, of which he was principal conductor from 1968-1979, he is soloist in the moody 'Piano Concerto 20, K466', a work much admired by the young Beethoven. In the more consistently sunny 'Concerto for Two Pianos, K365', Previn and the LSO are joined by Radu Lupu - an interpreter of proverbial refinement.

His third album 'Retronyms' sees Carlos Cipa bring together his background as a classically trained pianist and composer with his interest for experimental forms and pop music. After numerous live performances throughout the years, a slew of collaborations and, amongst others, works for film and theatre performances, he invited different musicians to his Munich studio to record the eight pieces. On 'Retronyms', improvisation goes hand in hand with the high art of composition while acoustic (and partly unusual) instruments like the celesta meet with electronic production methods or analogue synthesizers. Between the avant-garde aesthetics of the opener 'Fanfare' to the orchestral 'Senna's joy' and the closing improvisational piece 'Paon', Cipa proves to have radically expanded his approach as a composer. Each note on this album is meticulously thought through and yet 'Retronyms' radiates with visceral liveliness.

Compilation of 50 of the best Ludwig Van Beethoven works to celebrate 250 years since the composer's birth.

As Anneleen Lenaerts proves, Nino Rota brought the same gifts to his music for harp as he did to such unforgettable film scores as 'The Godfather', 'La Dolce Vita' and 'Romeo and Juliet'.

Best known for it's poignant tenor aria, Federico's Lament -E la solita storia del pastore' - L'Arlesiana is a tragic story of love, frustration and obsession. The young Enrico Caruso sang the role of the provencial farmer Federico at the opera's premiere in Milan in 1867. The Alphonse Daudet play that forms it's source, the titular girl from Arles', never appears. It is Federico's fixation with her, and his relationship with his forceful mother, that lie at the heart of the drama.

Aurora, a new album dedicated to Maxence Cyrin's own compositions, brings together a series of 16 pieces performed on the piano (two grand pianos, a Steinway and a Fazioli), which are joined by a string trio as well as various more understated devices, sounds and electronic effects. Four of the pieces, however, are performed using an upright piano, whose tones, created using the mute pedal, take on a deliberately intimate dimension, using cinematic, mysterious colours. Composed over a period of more than two years - a time he describes as "years of solitude" - Aurora, as it's title suggests, marks a new departure for Maxence Cyrin. "I wanted to go beyond the solo piano of my early work and draw once again on minimalism, film music and new wave. So each of the pieces on this album is as short as a pop song. I have a 'pop brain' when I compose, even if my inspirations are still Beethoven and Debussy on the classical side and, closer to home, Philip Glass, Arvo P�rt and Ryuichi Sakamoto."

Classical Music

Classical Music

The exploration of Beethoven's piano works still continues to astonish me," wrote the Viennese pianist Rudolf Buchbinder in 2014, introducing his book Mein Beethoven: Leben mit dem Meister. "Even pieces that I have performed hundreds of times never lose their freshness to me." Buchbinder recorded this collection of Beethoven's complete works for solo piano - which includes a number of rarities - between 1973 and 1981. At it's heart, of course, are the sonatas. As Buchbinder has said: "There are, I believe, no more personal statements of a human being than those we find in these 32 piano sonatas, which are also the crowning glory of Beethoven's oeuvre.

Mr Hadelich increasingly seems to be one of the outstanding violinists of his generation, wrote the New York Times after Augustin Hadelich played Dvor�k's Violin Concerto under Czech-born Jakub Hru�a's baton in 2017. Hadelich and Hru�a have now recorded the concerto with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. Bohemian Tales pairs the concerto with works for violin and piano by Dvor�k and two other major Czech composers of the late 19th/early 20th centuries, Leos Jan�cek and Josef Suk. The pianist is Charles Owen.

More great Melodiya recordings (never issued) from Petersburg studios

Perfectly cast, magnificently performed and superbly recorded, this is one of Karajan's most stylish performances. Under his direction everyone is inspired to give of their best.

Classical Music

Written over a some two decades, Beethoven's five piano concertos exemplify the constantly astonishing scope of his creativity. In Andr�s Schiff's words, 'Beethoven's music is cosmic and metaphysical. Each of the concertos has a unique character. Every note has to be played with responsibility and spiritual gravity.' Schiff and Haitink here perform with the Staatskapelle Dresden, an orchestra whose great tradition extends over more than four centuries.

Compilation of the 50 best Giuseppe Verdi compositions including arias from 'La Traviata', 'Don Carlo' and 'Otello'.

Trumpeter Lucienne Renaudin Vary makes a musical transatlantic crossing with her second album for Warner Classics. 'Mademoiselle in New York' majors on American and French composers and songwriters - Bernstein, Gershwin, Ravel and Aznavour among them - featuring music from 'West Side Story', 'An American in Paris' and 'Candide'. Lucienne is joined by the BBC Concert Orchestra and Tony Award-winning music director Bill Elliott, and, in Bobby Hebb's song 'Sunny', by her brothers Phil�mon (on double bass) and Bartholom� (on guitar).

I send up a loud 'Ole'. This is a kind of gramophonic miracle which one never ought to take for granted. What a shock of pleasure it is when recognised'

Since his 2014 victory in BBC Young Musician of the Year competition, Martin James Bartlett has built a considerable international reputation. "Love and Death", with it's imaginatively conceived programme, gives proof of his artistic range. In creating the programme, Bartlett's starting point was Liszt's transcription of Schumann's passionate song 'Widmung' ('Dedication'), set to a poem by Friedrich R�ckert. "It is a love song that also speaks of death," he explains, "and it concludes with a quote from Schubert's 'Ave Maria', introducing the idea of heavenly love." These themes are explored throughout the album.

Classical Music