Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Le Nozze Di Figaro, performed by Chorus of de Nederlandse Oper Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra directed by Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Perhaps no opera is better known by more people than Carmen. It's musical themes are universally recognizable even in isolation. An exceptional cast distinguishes this particular performance: Jennifer Larmore, Angela Gheorgiu, and Sam Ramey give standout performances that bring this alternately soaring and salacious work to it's pinnacle.

Fazil Say, popular young star on the international solo piano circuit, make his much-anticipated debut in this energetic collection of Gershwin tunes, amny - such as the suite from Porgy & Bess, - arranged by Say himself.

The repertoire found on this CD include Mozart-O Isis und Osiris, in Diesen Heil"gen Hallen, Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail: Solche hergelauf'ne, and Ha, wie will inch triumphieren, Don Giovanni - a Cenar teco m'invitasti/Rossini and more!!!

Verdi almost called his Egyptian opera Amneris, and it is this proud, calculating but vulnerable character who often stays in the mind at the end of a performance of Aida; she is the one who travels the greatest emotional distance over the course of the opera and with the right interpreter she can steal the show from the slightly self-obsessed lovers.

Nikolaus Harnoncourt was praised for his chamber music, evolving from the Piano access to "Aida" in 1997 in Zurich. Against both nothing is to say, in principle, only a guarantee for an exciting, rousing opera recording is not self-evident. I must say that I really enjoy the recording until the score in his hand and made music excellent and brilliant the many carefully worked out details that almost meticulous compliance with the dynamic demands of Verdi and transparency in the spotless ensembles especially in the of the Vienna Philharmonic could appreciate orchestral passages (with over four lasting several months, recording sessions, I expect that as well). - Thomas Tillmann, http://www. Omm. De

Music from the original soundtrack 'Swan Lake,' presenting scores by Tchaikovsky. Performed by Oliver Award winning production nominee Matthew Bourne and The New London Orchestra under the direction of David Lloyd-Jones. An original BBC release is now available on the Teldec label.

Beethoven: Fidelio performed by Arnold Schoenberg Chor and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe lead by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. 2 CD Set.

This disc, called Artist Portrait: Maxim Vengerov, shows a deeply expressive, powerfully muscular young violinist at the first peak of his career.

Gioachino Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia performed by Chor de Grand Theatre of Geneve and Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne directed by Jesus Lopez-Cobos.

R. Strauss - Elektra, Chor der Deutschen, Staatsoper Berlin and Saatskapelle Berlin directed by Daniel Barenboim.

The rousing Russian folk ballads on this disc are filled with lusty romance. This recording beautifully captures the brash power of the Red Star Red Army Chorus. - Tim Sheridan

Featuring Celtic Heartbeat's Anuna, this album is a mix of classical, film music, and traditional Celtic folk music including works by Vaughan Williams, Verdi, Bach, Dvorak, Schubert, Copland, and others.

MATINS FOR THE VIRGIN OF GUADA

This recording contains all three of Beethoven's overtures. The liner notes include newly written dialogue by Edward Said, Professor of Comparative Literature at Columbia University.

Daniel Barenboim continues his acclaimed Mozart concerto cycle with the Berlin Philharmonic, widely acknowledged among the greatest orchestras in the world. Barenboim, conducting from the piano, achieves an effortless collaboration with the orchestra, establishing himself once again as a premier Mozart interpreter. Barenboim's intricate playing and sensitive interpretation misses no detail of these works, and draws a warm and vigorous response from the Berliners.

Maxim Vengerov now confronts - and conquers - one of the supreme challenges all great violinists must face: The Brahms violin concerto. This beautiful, virtuosic work has defined careers from Heifetz to Perlman. Vengerov's turn has come, and his rich, burnished tone and impassioned phrasing make this one of the standout concerto CDs of the year. The soulful partnership of Vengerov and Barenboim (one of his most important mentors) is also a strong selling point.

American-born soprano Barbara Bonney provides the sparkle in this ebullient account of Mozart's gem of a cantata, Exsultate jubilate (K. 165). Harnoncourt and his charges do a lovely job with the orchestral pages of the setting, originally written to accompany the singing of the castrato Venanzio Rauzzini. Equally well done is the youthful C Minor Missa solemnis (K. 139), which in many ways looks forward to the great C Minor Mass (K. 427) and to the operas of Mozart's mature years in Vienna. -Ted Libbey

Live Recording of the Virtuoso Trumpet by Rimsky-Korsakov and Vivaldi. Such works as Tsar Saltan: Flight Of The Bumble Bee and Arbucklenia Polka are explored in this 14 track CD.

The sacred cantatas, form Johann Sebastian Bach are preformed by Leonhardt-Consort, Gustav Leonhardt, the Concentus Musicus Wien and conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt in 15 tracks of greatness.