Rachmaninov, considered by academics to be a late romantic, often draws on Baroque models: an eclecticism of languages. He experiences music as a memory of affection, and in few places, as here, his insatiable Faustian aspiration to 'stop the moment' reaches a similar intensity. Op. 19 breathes a sense of a return to life and the otherworldly cello calls shatter according to a principle of hallucinatory suspension which is already the Rachmaninov of the Symphonic Dances op. 45. Piano Sonata No. 2 in E-flat minor, Op. 36 had a complex gestation, culminating in a 1931 revision in which the Maestro reduced a certain 'pleasant storytelling' in the style of Liszt, moving closer to the neoclassical matrix, but 'Russian-style', of his later works. As an ideal encore, the programme also features the Danse orientale Op. 2, No. 2, the adolescent Sergei's homage to that narrative of exotic landscapes, musical scales infused with chromatic enchantments.

Brother of the more known, Giovanni Battista, oboe and flute virtuoso, He was judged to be an ingenious composer on a par with Corelli and Geminiani. The success of these Sonatas, was largely due to their particular instrumental use, at a time when the 'flauto traversiere' was becoming increasingly fashionable; the flute performance of this CD fully adheres to the canons of articulatory practice (bisyllabic phonetics) of the first half of 18th century Europe.

Despite being a work of great importance for the history of Italian opera, Nerone has almost no discography, except for the late Hungaroton edition (with Hungarian interpreters). Fortunately, in 1975, the Italian Rai of Torino produced this precious live edition under the Gavazzeni conduction, without any noise from the audience and with a perfect stereophonic recording. This is the best available performance of an opera that deserves the utmost attention, and which for years has not been available until today, thanks to the restoration by Urania Records.

The music that celebrates the agony of Romanticism, lives on a mysticism whose traces our materialism has rendered legendary. Around the artists of Art Nouveau (Liberty), is a proliferation of esoteric movements, in search of that link between soul and cosmic forces, which, in music, becomes sound.

Now that more than 40 years have passed since Mario del Monaco's death, and the venomous criticism of recent decades has dissipated, given his extensive and detailed discography, it can be established that the Italian tenor's voice was undoubtedly the most beautiful, powerful, and important of the last century, surpassing even that of Caruso or Pavarotti. These two CDs, which collect his most spectacular performances from his golden years, and meticulously recorded by Decca of London, are presented here in their entirety and in chronological order.

Renata Tebaldi's discography is one of the most complete and perfect ever recorded by a singer. A whole series of roles that the great soprano never staged or released in disco, were recorded in studio on different occasions. This double CD collects the unusual repertoire that Renata Tebaldi did not record in the complete operas. These are rarities that, although well-known, are now hard to find on the market.

This publication completes the entire oeuvre of cello sonatas composed and published in London by Emanuel Siprutini between 1756 and 1774 as Op.I, III, V, VI and VII. Born in Holland or Portugal into the Jewish family of Shiprut, he came to England following the "Jewish naturalization act" established in 1753 by King George II of England, settling in London as a wine merchant, virtuoso cellist and cello teacher. Little information about him comes from the letters of Leopold Mozart, who met him in London in 1764 during his stay in England with his prodigious son, still a child. John Crosdill, the most famous English cellist of the eighteenth century, was Siprutini's student until his debut as a concert performer.

The name of Father Vallotti, a Conventual Franciscan, esteemed musician and valuable teacher, is still known nowadays particularly for his speculative works. He was considered by Bonifazio Asioli, "the greatest of the Italian harmonists", and his appointment at the Berlin court confirms he was appreciated not only in his homeland. His harmonic knowledge and uncommon compositional virtue have given us pages of rare elegance where the liturgical and sacred aspect is distilled in every chord.

In the official Fricsay studio discography the Samson does not appear. For this reason the present recording is so rare. Originally from a 1955 radio source and restored by Urania Records, it is a real rarity.

The manuscript Ms XIV 8751 H.1 came to the Library of the Civico Istituto Musicale Gaetano Donizetti in 1916. It consists of 92 pages entirely in the hand of William Babell, who was Handel's principal copyist from c.1711 until his death in 1723. While none of the movements in this volume is attributed to any composer, internal evidence indicates that most, if not all of the music, was composed by or adapted from George Frideric Handel. If so, this volume represents the most important addition to the corpus of Handel's keyboard works since the publication of the Aylesford manuscripts in 1928.

Giordani's activity was indeed fashionable, having success both with operas and with instrumental music. The composition of these flute concertos dates back to an unspecified period of the 18th century, but their structure is unquestionably within the golden classical principles of the sonata form, allowing us to place them temporally between 1765 and 1775. The concertos offer the listener a realistic glimpse of the flute technique of the time that would soon see the Romantic Era blossom. In this recording, the instrument used is a copy of a mid-eighteenth-century C. Palanca, with a diapason of about 420 hz.

La Battaglia di Legnano is among the least recorded operas of the Verdi repertoire. Currently the only studio edition available is the Philips' conducted by Lamberto Gardelli in the Seventies. However, prior to that famous edition is this recording made at La Scala in 1961 which enjoyed great fame and diffusion especially in the Eighties and Nineties. Currently this famous live version has been unavailable for a long time. For this reason, and for the excellent quality of the sound recording, we have decided to make this important document available again. Naturally, a new equalization of the sound source has been carried out, making the original recording as natural as possible. The vocal cast remains one of the greatest possible in the entire history of recording.

What should we say in addition to the evidence? This has been considered one of the recordings of reference of Mozart masterpiece. The stellar cast fits perfectly with the characters conceived by the Italian libretist and the Austrian composer. Everything, here, is perfect and supported by a great recording technique.

Mjaskovsky and Shostakovich: two giants of the music of the XX Century, two survivors from the stalinism. In their own works they both use technique to triumph over the heaviness of evil: the art of continuous modification, to annihilate the eternal present of violence. These two superb Sonatas are songs of captivity and, together, anthems of resurgence.

Those who have been following the discography of the Milan Symphony Archive for years will know that Atalanta Fugiens has already released three discs dedicated to the music of Brioschi. That will be the subject of a future re-release by Urania; this album, on the other hand, contains previously unrecorded pieces and is the natural continuation of a work of rediscovery undertaken years ago.