On December 13, 1951, a now legendary performance of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde was given at La Scala in Milan, whose consistently outstanding cast continues to inspire to this day. At the time, Max Lorenz was considered the epitome of the Wagner tenor, while Gertrude Grob-Prandl's voice was like a natural phenomenon and Victor de Sabata confirmed his reputation as one of the best Wagner conductors ever. The originally very poor sound quality was carefully remastered by the Myto label in 2009. This edition makes the previously out-of-print recording available again on CD.

Combining Debussy's music with works by Ernest Chausson and Maurice Emmanuel on one CD is by no means an arbitrary choice, but proof of the diversity and vitality of French music at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. Especially as both are composers he admired and valued as colleagues who are unjustly neglected today.

In his Echoes of Edinburgh, transverse flutist Brian Berryman takes us back to 18th century Scotland: in the Scottish music scene of the time, there was still no clear boundary between 'folk' and 'art' music. With his ensemble Concert des Amis, Berryman dares the balancing act and juxtaposes traditional Scottish folk music with works by classical composers from Edinburgh that make reference to traditional melodies. The guitar and the bodrhan, a Celtic frame drum, provide the special authentic 'drive' to the strings and harpsichord.

Even if the name Vicente Lusitano is hardly known today, he is probably the most important composer in Portuguese history. And he is probably also the first black composer whose works appeared in print: Born around 1520 in Olivenca, Portugal, he is described in sources as a 'pardo' (Portuguese for 'half-breed'), his mother was probably of African descent. Lusitano was a Catholic priest for a time and came to Rome in the entourage of the Portuguese papal ambassador. In Italy, he soon made a name for himself as a music theorist and his theoretical writings appeared in various publications. In 1561 he converted to the Protestant faith and went to France and Germany, where his traces are lost. Only a few of Lusitano's works have survived, including his "Liber primus epigramatum" printed in Rome in 1551 a collection of a total of 23 magnificent sacred motets for 5 to 8 voices with direct references to Josquin Desprez. The Ensemble Arte Minima has recorded this collection, which will be released as world premiere recordings. The first part is now available and contains seven motets for 6 and 8 voices.

Of course, Gunar Letzbor and his musicians from Ars Antiqua Austria are completely peace-loving in nature, and certainly the composers of the musical battle paintings presented here, whether they are of a general nature or actually depictions of historical battles, were not musical warmongers either. Rather, we should understand Letzbor and his ensemble here as musical war correspondents, then listening to these equally charming and masterful battaglia offers unadulterated listening pleasure, in which there can really only be winners.

The mandora is a lute instrument that gradually disappeared with the advent of the guitar and has been completely forgotten since around 1820 - until today. The lutenist Jakub Mitrik has set himself the goal of reviving this instrument and it's repertoire with this CD. The development of the mandora was a reaction to the baroque lute, which became increasingly complicated to play and had up to 14 courses of strings. It is tuned in a similar way to the later guitar and has six strings, the lower five of which are double-stringed. The mandora was particularly popular in monasteries, especially among the Benedictines. There, the mandora was valued as a solo and chamber music instrument due to it's handiness and versatility. The archives of these monasteries also contain a very varied repertoire specially tailored to the mandora, which Jakub Mitrik and his Biber Consort present here for the first time. This is chamber music in a wide variety of formations, in which the mandora takes on the role of a fully-fledged partner that goes far beyond mere basso continuo accompaniment. With his selection, Mitrik presents a multi-coloured and sensitively performed CD programme that reflects the lightness of the late Baroque and early Classical periods and allows musical life in the monasteries outside the liturgy to shine in an unusual light.

The Italian soprano Anita Cerquetti (3.4.1931-11.10.2014) was a phenomenon. Her operatic career began in 1951 in Spoleto, debuting as Aida (!), and took her to the world's great opera houses before ending in Holland in 1960. After just nine seasons, the then 29-year-old singer retired from the stage. There are only two commercial records of her (on Decca), the record companies at the time filled the major soprano roles with Callas or Tebaldi. But thanks to numerous live recordings which circulated on the black market from the very beginning, Anita Cerquetti is still held in honour today. Why? Because here is a voice that exudes pure sensuality with the most opulent femininity. Because her voice is one of the most beautiful that opera has ever heard: never aggressive, sharp or shrill, but round, soft, lyrical and emphatic. Her voice was practically made for Giuseppe Verdi's romantic heroines - perfectly suited to the softly swinging, melancholy melodic arches of Ernani and Vespri siciliani-Elvira, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera, Don Carlo's Elisabetta, and Leonora in La Forza del destino, even for the formidable octave leaps of the imperious Nabucco-Abigaille. This box set, which honours Anita Cerquetti as the leading Verdi interpreter of her time, is now being released on the 10th anniversary of her death.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music