Works of Lorenzo Allegri (1573-1648) and Giovanni Battista Buonamente (d. 1642)] intersperse the music of Monteverdi coeval Domenico Belli d. 1627), a mysterious figure with a capricious personality who left behind some rather startling music. Formed in 1998, Le Poème Harmonique, led by their artistic director Vincent Dumestre, center its artistic activity around 17th- early 18th century vocal and instrumental music, being often enriched by interaction with other artistic disciplines in performance.

Sergei Prokofiev, the great 20th century composer of such works as Peter and the Wolf, the ballet music Romeo and Juliet and music for the Sergei Eisenstein’s film Alexander Nevski was also a great pianist: five of his orchestral concertos are dedicated to this instrument. These live performances from 2004 feature noted Franco-Lebanese pianist Abdel Rahman El Bacha (b. 1958). Mr. El Bacha’s first recording, dedicated to Prokofiev’s early work, won the Grand Prize of the Académie Charles Cros.

In this disc wild jigs and melancholic songs lead us both into the atmosphere of court and that of taverns. This shows-to those who still deem it necessarythe extent to which baroque esthetics are made up, in one movement, of both erudite art and popular art. This recording shows the Witches at their British best!

These transcriptions for piano quartet of Gustav Mahler’s 5 Rückert Lieder, Richard Wagner’s Wesendonck cycle and two excerpts from Tristan und Isolde were accomplished by pianist Christian Favre the Quatour Schumann’s pianist, among whose members also includes cellist Tedi Papavrami. The featured singer on this 2007 recording is the much-honored, famed British soprano Dame Felicity Lott, whose operatic, concert and recording career is ample and distinguished.

Virtuoso baroque-era violinist Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762) transcribed for string orchestra Arcangelo Corelli’s celebrated sonatas for violin, op. 5. One of the finest baroque ensembles in the world, the Ensemble 415’s full, dense sonority is ideally suited to this music’s sublime intensity. The ensemble, led by its founder Chiara Banchini, regularly presents some of the great masterworks of Boccherini, Mozart and composers from the Italian Baroque.

Domenico Scarlatti wrote no less than 555 keyboard sonatas, all of them true gems thanks to their melodic and rhythmic inventiveness. They use many of the harpsichord's subtleties and appeal to the whole of the agility and imagination of those who endeavour to play it. Racha Arodaky simultaneously displays her great virtuosity, her artful eloquence and her intimate knowledge of baroque music throughout this disc.

The brilliant Argentine musician Astor Piazzolla, who revolutionised the traditional tango through his use of jazz elements, counterpoint, extended harmonies and dissonance, has constantly appealed to wide audiences, as well as fascinating classical musicians. Here Astoria (string quintet, piano, accordion), led by Christophe Delporte, gives a delightfully lively rendering, capturing the rhythm and all the lyricism and charm of Piazzolla'stango nuevo.

This disc was shaped by the encounter between one of the great composers of our time, Mauricio Kagel, a unique and engaging pianist, Alexandre Tharaud, and some of his close chamber music partners. It reaches out to its audience with a great sense of humour and tenderness.