The acclaimed Schubert symphonies recordings by B'Rock Orchestra and Rene Jacobs now appear in a complete boxset. Finally recording Schubert offered Jacobs the opportunity to return to his first great musical love. His interpretation is rooted in profound research into early nineteenth-century developments and ideas, as well as a thorough exploration of Schubert's music and persona. Jacobs perceives this cycle as a series of multiple contrasting tandems of symphonies, oscillating between Italianate lightness and darker currents of Romanticism, between elegant forms and expansive endeavours, all in line with Schubert's dynamic, multi-faceted personality. Schubert's symphonies never acquired the paradigmatic status of his contemporary Beethoven, but with these recordings, Jacobs makes a compelling case to value and understand them on their own terms. He performs these works together with B'Rock Orchestra, one of the most adventurous period instrument ensembles of our times, with whom he has built up a congenial working relationship. In addition to his Schubert symphonies, multi-award-winning conductor Rene Jacobs released Haydn's Stabat Mater (2023) on PENTATONE, together with the Kammerorchester Basel and Zurcher Sing-Akademie. B'Rock Orchestra returned to the label with Antwerp Requiem (2022) and Handel: Water & Fire (2023).

The leap that Beethoven makes from his first violin sonata compared to his last is huge. "On a personal level, I've always felt that Beethoven is the composer to whom I feel the closest to; the first sonata I ever played was a Beethoven sonata, and so I immediately became enthusiastic about this project. I decided to ask Michael Schoch if he would be interested, and that's how all of this came about." Annedore Oberborbeck

The pieces chosen and performed by the refined violinist Liliana Bernardi for this third CD, created with the auspices and support of the Associazione Nazionale Italia-Austria of Rome, admirably highlight the contribution given in the seventeenth/eighteenth centuries by Italian musicians to compositions for solo violin, according to the new aesthetic canons based on the sounds of nature and the movements of sentiments. (Vittorio Tedeschi - President of the Associazione Nazionale Italia-Austria)

Storyville Records proudly announces the release of the Danish Radio Big Band - XL-LX on September 20, 2024. A bold and expansive project that captures the essence of the band's sound in the 2020's. This ambitious collection features five commissioned compositions from five diverse composers, showcasing the versatility and modernity of large jazz ensemble music. Spanning nearly two hours of music, XL-LX illustrates the dynamic and distinctive voices within the Danish Radio Big Band. Recorded over the past eight years, the collection emphasizes the band's role as the unifying element amidst diverse compositions. The title, XL-LX, not only signifies the extra-large scope of the project but also commemorates the band's 60th anniversary, with "LX" representing the Roman numeral for 60. 1. Sparkles by Marilyn Mazur - this vibrant suite captures the synergy between Mazur's percussion and the big band, enhanced by the chemistry with young conductor Miho Hazama. Performed in Denmark and at international festivals in Bucharest and South Korea, Sparkles sets the energetic tone for the collection. 2. Roller Coaster by Carla Bley - inspired by Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens, this piece reflects Bley's lifelong fascination with amusement parks. Commissioned for a Scandinavian tour, it was recorded in a chance studio session, adding to the magic of the album. 3. The Mind Behind by Palle Mikkelborg - celebrating Mikkelborg's 75th birthday, this piece features three flugelhorn soloists and contributions from guest artists Marilyn Mazur, Helen Davies, and Mike Sheridan. Premiered at the Danish Radio's Concert House, it is a testament to Mikkelborg's profound influence on jazz. 4. Reflections for Clarinet & Jazz Orchestra by Peter Jensen - a re-imagining of Carl Nielsen's Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, Opus 57, this composition highlights the talents of soloist Peter Fuglsang. It has captivated audiences in Denmark and at the Nordischer Klang Festival in Germany. 5. Suite Electus by Miho Hazama - comprising three movements played attacca, this suite marks Hazama's first composition for the big band. Debuted live alongside the release of XL-LX, it concludes the collection with a fresh and innovative perspective. XL-LX is akin to an art gallery's opening night, where each composition stands as an individual masterpiece while collectively creating a harmonious exhibition. Just as a gallery owner curates diverse artworks to complement each other, the Danish Radio Big Band seamlessly integrates these compositions, allowing each to shine while enhancing the overall listening experience. Each LP in this collection features a blank B-side, symbolizing the ongoing potential for new artistic expressions. Join us in celebrating 60 years of musical excellence with the release of XL-LX. This collection not only honors the Danish Radio Big Band's rich history but also heralds it's vibrant future.

Legnani: Complete Music for Guitar Solo

When the Quatuor Ysaye dares... Twelve concerts LIVE in Paris! Played without a safety net at the Auditorium of the Musee d'Orsay! These were the conditions needed to recreate the uncompromising universe of the Beethoven quartets, a true musical Everest. Here, at the very peak of it's art, the Quatuor Ysaye offers the final dazzling demonstration of the unique rigour and sensibility that for thirty years marked it out as one of the finest in the world.

This boxed set brings together all the recordings that cellist Pieter Wispelwey (a disciple of Dicky Boeke and Anner Bylsma) made for Channel Classics between 1990 and 2009: 35 recordings in 20 years and an impressive diversity of repertoire. The great masterpieces of the solo repertoire, from the Bach Suites, recorded twice - an essential reference! - to those of Britten, not forgetting Reger, Kodaly, Crumb, Hindemith and Gubaidoulina, alongside all the great concertos (Haydn, Dvorak, Schumann, Elgar, Schumann, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Lutoslawski) and also a magnificent anthology of chamber music, including sumptuous Beethoven and Brahms ensembles. This anthology also allows us to appreciate the Dutch cellist's taste for instruments, on the one hand, and to rediscover his collaborations year after year with a few well-chosen partners, such as Paul Komen, Paolo Giacometti, Dejan Lazic, and the conductor Ivan Fischer, on the other.

The five-disc album contains recordings made by the DAFO String Quartet over the past 30 years. Coming from the milieu of the Cracow music academy, the ensemble celebrates a round anniversary by taking the listeners on a time-travel adventure. It is no coincidence that the album's repertoire consists of recordings of Polish contemporary music - the DAFO String Quartet specializes in new music performance, for which it has been repeatedly recognized, including with a Fryderyk. The anniversary album holds not only sentimental value but also provides an interesting comparison of the oeuvre of Polish composers. Despite the differences and clearly recognizable unique styles, an attentive listener will also detect common features - including echoes of Polish melodies and rhythms, harmonies referring to folk music, as well as bold sonoristic solutions. The expressive interpretations of the DAFO String Quartet show the full range of sonic and expressive possibilities of a string quartet, also in combination with the clarinet and the piano, which make guest appearances in selected works.

Italian Violin Sonatas

For his 80th birthday, Ton Koopman has chosen some of his favourite tracks from the many recordings he has made for Challenge Classics / Antoine Marchand since 2002. This is a celebratory collection in four parts: music for organ, for harpsichord, chamber music and recordings with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir. Ton Koopman: "It was, of course, an almost impossible task to draw up a selection from all of the CDs I have recorded for Challenge Records, but I have tried to choose works that are very close to my heart."

Teatro La Fenice has a tradition of opera production that goes back to 1792. This collection brings all of the live atmosphere and drama of six operatic masterpieces from a theatre that has seen more than it's fair share of historic premieres. This set includes the 19th-century romance of Bizet's Les pecheurs de perles, the intense drama of Verdi's Luisa Miller, Britten's hauntingly understated Death In Venice, Massenet's tragic tale of love and redemption in Thaïs, Wagner's final opera Parsifal and Korngold's Die tote Stadt, one of the great operatic successes of the 1920s. An entire century's worth of opera can be seen and heard in these acclaimed productions from Venice's legendary venue.

In celebration of his 80th birthday, this four-disc set spans more than five decades of Michael Tilson Thomas' compositional career. It features 18 works, from premiere recordings to remastered archival recordings available for the first time. The deluxe collection also includes an extensive booklet containing composer's notes, original essays, and a timeline of archival photos chronicling MTT's life as a pianist, conductor, composer, recording artist, and teacher. All proceeds from GRACE: The Music of Michael Tilson Thomas will be donated to brain cancer research at the University of California, San Francisco Brain Tumor Center.

Consistently applied over the last twenty-six years, this unique approach to performance has led to a stupendous degree of recognition and approval on the part of audiences and critics alike. On concert podiums from Tokyo or Seoul to Berlin, from London to New York, from Paris to Shanghai or Taipei as well as in a number of smaller towns - everywhere the Berliner Barock Solisten perform, they have left an indelible musical mark, ensuring that the ranks of their true fans are continually enlarged. Their programs are documented on numerous CD recordings whose exceptional quality has been widely acknowledged by music critics.

BR-KLASSIK is dedicating a second portrait edition to the eminent Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink, containing a total of 9 CDs. Bernard Haitink died in October 2021; he would have turned 95 in March 2024.

These exceptional live recordings document the long-standing and intensive collaboration between Bernard Haitink, the Bavarian Radio Chorus, and the BRSO. Since Haitink conducted a subscription concert for the first time in 1958, he repeatedly led the BRSO for over six decades—sometimes in the Herkulessaal of the Residenz, sometimes in the Philharmonie im Gasteig. The orchestras’ musicians and singers were just as happy to work with him as the Bayerischer Rundfunk’s sound engineers.

The box set includes complete recordings of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (CD 1) from 2019, Bruckner‘s Symphonies No. 4 (CD 2) from 2012, No. 7 (CD 3) from 1981, and No. 8 (CD 4 / CD 5) from 1993, as well as his Te Deum (CD 4) from 2010. Also featured are Dvořák‘s Symphony No. 7 from 1981 and his Scherzo Capriccioso (CD 6) from 1981, Mahler‘s Symphony No. 7 (CD 7) from 2011, and Shostakovich's Symphonies No. 8 (CD 8) from 2006 and No. 15 (CD 9) from 2015.

Masterpieces of Baroque piano literature, in critically acclaimed recordings by pianists with a fine sensibility for the 18th century. Recordings made between 2005 and 2023; new booklet essay; an ideal budget introduction to the world of the Baroque keyboard, full of elegant dances and virtuoso playing. This survey of Baroque composers ranges from the high-point of 18th-century keyboard writing, the Goldberg Variations of Bach, to little known gems such as the sonatas by Espona, Galuppi and Giustini. It places the three great masters of the Baroque - Bach, Handel and Rameau - in the context of their influential predecessor, Sweelinck, and then those composers such as Galuppi and Espona who write in a new, galant style which overlaps with the Classicism of Mozart. Some of the artists on these recordings are still in their 20s, having grown up with a culture of historically informed performance practice which they then bring to their handling of a modern piano. Others, such as Yuan Sheng and Wolfram-Schmitt Leonardy, have been playing these pieces for many decades, and bring to them a career's worth of experience in teasing out the meaning and rhetoric of 18th-century phrasing and harmony on an instrument which none of the composers ever encountered. Handel is represented not by the familiar Eight 'Great' Suites but by an imaginative collection of earlier suites. Scarlatti's fertile invention is generously celebrated with 35 of his sonatas. Bach predominates, naturally, with the Six Partitas and the Italian Concerto as well as the Goldbergs, thus representing the stylistic range of his output. Keyboard styles from all over mainland Europe make an appearance, in the Dutch/Italian nobility of Sweelinck, the Hispanic-Italian flavour of Scarlatti, the French accents of Bach and Handel, and native French of Rameau, and the exuberantly Italian flourishes and proto-operatic gestures of Galuppi and Giustini. There is something here for everyone.

The third installment of Rendez-vous with Martha Argerich brings together captivating recordings from the international Festival Martha Argerich in Hamburg, showcasing an extraordinary lineup of soloists. Among the highlights are several first collaborations on record, notably between Martha Argerich, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Mischa Maisky, but also between Martha Argerich and Maria-João Pires. Many other prestigious guests include Renaud Capucon, Nelson Goerner, Gidon Kremer, Tedi Papavrami, Akiko Suwanai and Michael Volle. Particularly note-worthy is the deeply emotional interpretation of Brahms' second viola sonata, marking the poignant final public performance by the dearly missed pianist Nicholas Angelich, with violist Gerard Causse. All in all, this boxset stands as a jubilant tribute to the unparalleled artistry of Martha Argerich and to the incredible array of musical friendships she has develo-ped through the years.

The Queen Elisabeth Competition 2024 gives us the opportunity of diving back into the performances of 4 prize-winning laureates of the 2009 and 2012 sessions devoted to the violin. In this exclusive box set we shall hear Ray Chen (First Prize and Canvas-Klaraprijs 2009), Lorenzo Gatto (Second Prize and Prix Musiq3 2009), Vineta Sareika (laureate 2009) and Andrey Baranov (First Prize 2012). Ray Chen starts off this box set with the concerto of Tchaikovsky with which he made such an impression in 2009, and also winning the audience's Canvas-Klaraprijs. An indelible moment of the Queen Elisabeth Competition; Ray Chen had won over the public, taking with him the Belgian National Orchestra conducted by Gilbert Varga at the height of it's form. He had previously offered in the final a magnificent Sonata of Franck, full of maturity, and this can be found on disc for the first time. Next comes the Belgian Lorenzo Gatto, revealed to the international audience in this same competition. In the final he had presented a masterly Concerto of Paganini, yet also a very great Sonata No. 3 by George Enescu. His programme is here completed by two extracts of his performances in the semi-final at the Brussels Conservatory: the Sonata for violin solo Op. 27/6 by Eugene Ysaÿe, and, as an encore, the Havanaise Op. 83 of Saint-Saens. Vineta Sareika also left her mark on the 2009 competition. She who is today Konzertmeister of the Berlin Philharmonic had offered the highly majestic Concerto of Elgar, a monument of the repertory. Yet the Queen Elisabeth Competition is also the occasion to hear Mozart's concertos, and here we find Vineta Sareika in the Concerto No. 5 KV 219 of which she gave a splendid rendition in the semi-final, accompanied by the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie conducted by Michael Hofstetter. Finally, this box set concludes with Andrey Baranov, First Prize in the 2012 Competition. Imperial in the Concerto No. 1 by Shostakovich, he shows that he is also a musician full of refinement and sensitivity in Mozart's Concerto No. 3 KV 216 and the two pieces of Tchaikovsky in the semi-final in Flagey - the Meditation (Souvenir d'un lieu cher) and the Valse-Scherzo - complete the portrait of this musician who is also a magnificent chamber player. Four personalities, four sensitivities, four superb violinists to rediscover without delay in some of the great concertos in the repertory and in recordings, for the most part newly released.

The 4CD box set of the 2024 Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition will be available as from Saturday 8 June 2024. The laureates of this year will be heard in their performances of the Mozart Concertos with the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie conducted by Vahan Mardirossian, as well as the major concertos from the repertoire from the finals with the Belgian National Orchestra under the baton of Antony Hermus. Of course, their chamber music performances from the semi-finals will not be overlooked. The programme of the discs will be available as from 2 June 2024.

On the occasion of conductor Georges Prêtre's 100th birthday in August, the label SWRmusic will release an 8CD box-set containing a wonderful collection of representative orchestral works by eleven composers, thus showing the fruitful collaboration between the French conductor and the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (RSO). Most of the recordings are being released for the first time, with the exception of the works by Maurice Ravel and Richard Strauss, which have previously been released by this label.

The Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1945 and has developed into one of Germany’s most important musical ambassadors over the following seven decades. World-renowned conductors, as well as some of the world’s greatest soloists, have been guests of the Stuttgart RSO, including Carlos Kleiber, Ferenc Fricsay, Karl Böhm, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Hans Knappertsbusch, Sir Georg Solti, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Kurt Sanderling, Gary Bertini, and Herbert Blomstedt, as well as Maria Callas, Mstislaw Rostropowitsch, Maurizio Pollini, Yehudi Menuhin, Alfred Brendel, Hélène Grimaud, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Elina Garanca, Rolando Villazon, Hilary Hahn, Sol Gabetta, and Lang Lang, to name just a few.

Amongst the works of Bedřich Smetana, operas are at the forefront alongside the cycle of symphonic poems Má vlast as the linchpins of the composer’s creative legacy. Nine operas in all, the last being unfinished, demonstrate the composer’s dramatic talent and individuality.

The history of the Supraphon label has seen the making of a series of Smetana opera recordings interpreted by generations of Czech singers who performed mainly on the stage of the Prague National Theater. The first and only time Smetana’s operas were published as a complete set on record by Supraphon was within a vast four-part project covering his complete works released in the Year of Czech Music between 1984 and 1985. This representative set contained the recordings dating from the 1960s through the 1980s, but with the exception of The Bartered Bride, they are not currently available on the market as physical products.

To the still unsurpassed recording of The Bartered Bride and The Secret under the baton of Zdenek Košler, we are adding his exceptional 1983 production of Libuše for the reopening of the Prague National Theater. We are also including the only Supraphon recording of The Brandenburgers in Bohemia led by Jan Hus Tichý, Zdenek Chalabala’s still definitive reading of The Devil’s Wall, and Dalibor conducted by Jaroslav Krombholc.

This luxurious 17CD box contains seven separately packaged 2-CD sets plus one 3-CD set with detailed information about the individual operas, a 40-page booklet with a comprehensive study, a wealth of photographic documentation, and a link to the downloadable librettos in the Czech and English languages. This complete edition of Smetana’s operas is for the first time on CD, as we mark the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Smetana’s birth.

CONTENTS:

— The Brandenburgers in Bohemia

— The Bartered Bride

— Dalibor

— Libuše

— The Two Widows

— The Kiss

— The Secret

— Viola

— The Devil's Wall

A substantial survey of a modern landmark in French organ literature, full of colour, mystery and joy. If any organ music anticipates the explosion of lush harmony, unified musico-theological ideas and radical innovation with which Olivier Messiaen renewed the long tradition of French organ music, it is L'orgue mystique by Messiaen's one-time teacher at the Paris Conservatoire, Charles Tournemire. In a Bachian spirit of comprehensiveness, Tournemire wrote 51 suites for nearly every Sunday and select feast days of the church year. Gregorian chant permeates Tournemire's music, with motives drawn from the appointed proper chants for the day. On this 5CD collection, the Dutch organist presents 23 of the suites, in whole or in part, and arranges them according to the church year, with individual discs dedicated to the Sundays around Christmas and Epiphany, Easter, Pentecost and the Assumption. Each suite consists of five movements: a 'Prelude à l'Introït', 'Offertoire', 'elevation', 'Communion' and 'Piece terminale'. This final piece is no spectacular display piece: as one commentator has written, 'Tournemire seemed to have envisioned a period of meditation for the devout at the conclusion of the Mass rather than the usual noisy and hurried movements of the congregation toward the door.' Tournemire had himself been a pupil of Cesar Franck, and wrote, as Franck had done, for the full disposition of Cavaille-Coll organs which became synonymous worldwide with the musical equivalent of the Gothic revival. Tjeerd van der Ploeg made this recording in 1995 on the Mutin organ of the Eglise Saint-Pierre in Douai, France. This reissue makes an attractive sequel to his extensive 4CD collection of Tournemire's organ works outside L'orgue mystique (95983). The technical specifications of the organ is included in the booklet, which also features an essay on Tournemire by van der Ploeg. 'Tjeerd van der Ploeg plays the Mutin organ in the Saint-Pierre in Douai in an extremely imaginative manner and although he does not originate from the "Roman" tradition, he knows how to evoke the mystique of incense and pointed arches' (Luister). 'An excellent interpretation of Tournemire's subtle Impressionism, thanks to the clear recording and the tone-colours: enthusiastically recommended' (Nederlands Dagblad). - Charles Tournemire was born in Bordeaux in 1870. A child prodigy he became organiste-accompagnateur at age 11 at the St. Pierre in Bordeaux. At the Paris Conservatory he had lessons from de Beriot and Cesar Franck, after whose death he continued with Charles-Marie Widor. In 1891 he became organist of the famous Basilika St. Clotilde in Paris, a post he held till his death in 1939. - As a composer Tournemire was influenced by his teachers Franck and Widor. He expanded their harmonic system even more, using Gregorian Chant and even exotic elements from India to create a truly symphonic sound fresco of unprecedented scope and richness, evoking the mystical aspects of the Catholic faith. - This recording presents a wide selection from the liturgical cycle L'Orgue Mystique. This work consists of paraphrases of Gregorian melodies for Sundays and principal feasts of the liturgical year in three cycles: the Christmas Cycle, the Easter Cycle and the Cycle after Pentecost, divided into 51 offices, each having the same structure. It took Tournemire five years to complete this 'magnum opus' (from 1927 to 1932). In this cycle, he merged the symphonic, impressionistic style of organ music with liturgy. - Played by Dutch organist Tjeerd van der Ploeg at the great Mutin organ of the Collegiate Church St. Pierre, Douai, France, an impressive instrument built in 1922, one of the finest symphonic organs of France. - Tjeerd van der Ploeg's previous set of organ works by Tournemire on Brilliant Classics (BC 95983) received enthusiastic reviews in the international press.

The Royal Danish Orchestra's performing history stretches back to 1448, making it the oldest orchestra in the world, with Carl Nielsen counted amongst it's distinguished former members. His 16 years of experience as one of the orchestra's second violinists helped shape him as a composer, and it was this ensemble that introduced his symphonies to the world. From the 'imminent storm of genius' of the First Symphony to the disarming outlandishness of the Sixth, Nielsen's symphonies are recognised as among the greatest in their genre, heard here in recordings made with a league of conductors whose bond with Denmark and Nielsen's music is second to none.

Arnold Schoenberg, one of the most influential musical figures of the 20th century, was born in Vienna in 1874. Sony Classical is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the great composer's birth with the reissue of 20 CDs of recordings from CBS/American Columbia. The company was a pioneer in documenting Schoenberg's achievements and already demonstrated that commitment during his lifetime (he died in 1951). In 1940, with the composer conducting, Columbia Masterworks produced the first recording of one of his most captivating and revolutionary works, Pierrot lunaire; and in the 1950s and 60s, the label undertook a ground-breaking multi-volume series entitled "The Music of Arnold Schoenberg." But arguably no recordings have done more to further the cause of Schoenberg's orchestral and vocal works than those of Pierre Boulez, while none have done more to promote his chamber music than those by the Juilliard Quartet. Sony Classical now presents all of Boulez's Schoenberg for CBS/Columbia in a 13-CD box, and all of the Juilliard's in a 7-disc set.

Arnold Schoenberg, one of the most influential musical figures of the 20th century, was born in Vienna in 1874. Sony Classical is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the great composer’s birth with the reissue of 20 CDs of recordings from CBS/American Columbia. The company was a pioneer in documenting Schoenberg’s achievements and already demonstrated that commitment during his lifetime (he died in 1951). In 1940, with the composer conducting, Columbia Masterworks produced the first recording of one of his most captivating and revolutionary works, Pierrot lunaire; and in the 1950s and 60s, the label undertook a ground-breaking multi-volume series entitled “The Music of Arnold Schoenberg”. But arguably no recordings have done more to further the cause of Schoenberg’s orchestral and vocal works than those of Pierre Boulez, while none have done more to promote his chamber music than those by the Juilliard Quartet. Sony Classical now presents all of Boulez’s Schoenberg for CBS/Columbia in a 13-CD box, and all of the Juilliard’s in a 7-disc set.

This series to mark the 200th birthday of Anton Bruckner in 2024 is dedicated to his symphonic works. Hansjorg Albrecht will perform all of Bruckner's symphonies in many new transcriptions for organ at important locations such as Zurich, Leipzig, Linz, Vienna and London. Bruckner's works are framed by contemporary compositions that deal with Bruckner's work in the "Bruckner Windows". Hansjorg Albrecht concludes the extensive project to commemorate Anton Bruckner with the last recording of the Study Symphony.