This is the first volume in what will be a three disc series profiling the best Overtures and Symphonies in Italian Opera. This release tackles the 18th century, and features favorites from Vivaldi, Salieri, and the great Neapolitan School. Specialists in the repertoire conduct these masterpieces, including Antonio Florio, and Giuliano Carella.

The Poulenc Trio is an impressive chamber ensemble made up of respected oboe, bassoon, and piano virtuosi. This release is the ensemble’s debut album for Delos. For the programme, the ensemble presents a fascinating mixture of old and new from Beethoven, Octavio Vasquez, and the centerpiece of the album, Alfred Schnittke. “From the first notes, we knew that this was a group of first-rate chamber musicians, who took as much delight in the joys of intimate playing as they gave.” (Ken Keaton, Palm Beach Daily News)

This delightful new release from Stradivarius features keyboard works from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the most virtuosic composers for keyboard that has ever lived. In many of Mozart’s first editions, the titles bear the French indication Sonatas pour le Clavecin ou Forte-piani. That is, the works were to be performed on either the harpsichord or the fortepiano. For this release, the rarer option has been chosen: the harpsichord. Basilio Timpanaro and Rossella Policardo make up The Harpsichord Duo. The duo has been engaged in the Italian concert scene for many years, earning public and critical notoriety.

With Capriccio Encore we re-release the most famous recordings from the back catalogue in a remastered version, new design and for a special price. Legendary recordings of artists like Sandor Vegh, Ton koopman, Sir Nevill Marriner or the Vienna boys’ Choir are also included as special repertoire highlights from the baroque to the contemporary era. This release features Concerto Koln performing music by the songs of the most famous Baroque composer, Johann Sebastian Bach. These songs come from his children Johann Christian, Carl Philipp Emanuel, Wilhelm Friedemann, and Johann Christoph Friedrich. While the master father’s influence can be clearly heard in all of these works, one can also hear the subtle shift to the Classical era in these pieces. Celebrated harpsichordist Gerald Hambitzer is the featured soloist for CPE Bach’s Harpsichord Concerto in G minor.

Brilliant young Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Martinez has been taking the classical world by storm ever since her student days at Julliard. She has won consistent acclaim at top domestic and international venues for her brilliant technique, aesthetic sensitivity, interpretive acumen, and emotional impact. Here, in her first recording for Delos, she offers a wide-ranging program of classics by Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Szymanowski. She also pays homage to acclaimed contemporary composers Mason Bates and Dan Visconti whose title selection, Amplified Soul, was written for her and is heard here in its world premiere recording. Piano fans who want to keep up with the brightest new talents in the field owe it to themselves to get to know this phenomenal keyboard virtuoso.

The spectacular sound of trumpet and organ playing in a generous acoustic is captured in this concert. The “infamous” is represented by the wickedly difficult Jericho: Battle Music, by William Albright, written as a virtuoso piece for both players. More famous tunes include the timeless Prince of Denmark’s March by Jeremiah Clarke and Trumpet Tune by Henry Purcell, Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, and Cesar Franck’s Chorale in E Major. The concert ends with the encore Rondeau by Mouret, more famously known as the theme of Masterpiece Theatre. A soloist with an international career including Principal Trumpet positions with several major orchestras, Fred Sautter’s performance on this recording is both authentic and engaging. Roger Sherman is Associate Organist Emeritus of Saint Mark’s Cathedral, Seattle, and host of the popular radio program, The Organ Loft. He is also the president of The Gothic Catalog.

Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th Symphony and the musical city of Leipzig are closely intertwined with each other: Felix Mendelssohn, Kapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester, made the work an indispensable part of the concert hall repertoire and Arthur Nikisch, one of his successors, established in 1918 the worldwide tradition of performing this groundbreaking and pioneering work at the end of the year. The phenomenal Herbert Blomstedt, Gewandhaus-kapellmeister from 1998 to 2005, once again conducted Beethoven's Ninth in Leipzig for the 2016 New Year celebrations. With his former orchestra, of which he has been Conductor Laureate since 2005 and with whom he enjoys a close friendship, he achieves a gripping interpretation of this monumental work. Under the direction of Blomstedt, together with his excellent musicians, the choirs, and an outstanding quartet of soloists led by the magnificent voice of Christian Gerhaher, the utopia of global freedom and humanity in Friedrich Schiller's "Ode to Joy," penned in Leipzig in 1785, grows to overwhelming dimensions.

Martin Funda, leader of the Arminda Quartet, states, “Opus 59 is extremely challenging. One needs time to grasp these pieces. As performers, we are surprised again and again to note how quickly Beethoven starts leading us into unfamiliar waters. The F Major Quartet is an ‘extrovert’ piece; at the same time; it contains a series of incredibly profound moments and a variety of different moods which we have to learn to interpret.” In comparison, Shostakovich’s Opus 118, also featured on this recording, is surprisingly carefree at first glance. He wrote this work at his retreat center in the Armenian spa town of Dilijan, and the relaxed atmosphere can be heard in the writing. Armida Quartet was founded in Berlin in 2006, and took their name from an opera by Haydn who was the “father of the string quartet.” Since their inception, the group has won numerous awards, most notably First Prize, Audience Prize, and six other awards at the ARD International Competition in 2012.

This release offers one potential answer to a particular question: what happens to a musical performance when it is directed towards the bringing-to-life of a story? In this case, that story is the iconic one of Orpheus and Eurydice, realized in eight different ways by eight different composers of the past. Multiple prizewinning harpsichordist Mark Edwards—whose interpretations challenge the usual boundaries between musical text and act—performs works that, if they don’t explicitly refer to the Orphic narrative allying music, death, and rebirth, surely cast some light on it and are in turn illuminated by it. Mark Edwards reveals himself a lucid and inspired performer, following the hero as he descends, like him accomplishing wonders along the way through his art. First prize winner in the 2012 Musica Antiqua Bruges International Harpsichord Competition, Canadian harpsichordist and organist Mark Edwards (b. 1986) is recognized for his captivating performances, bringing the listener “to new and unpredictable regions, using all of the resources of his instrument, [...] of his virtuosity, and of his imagination” (La Libre Belgique).