Classical Music

Arturo Toscanini was one of the most fabulous conductors of the twentieth century. To experience Toscanini conducting Aida makes this one of the most monumental recordings of Verdi’s discography. The Toscanini recordings of Aida were only done for NBC Broadcasting and with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. For this reason, Urania has remastered the sound quality to release this version. The original recording used for this release comes from New York, 1949.

Classical Music

Classical Music

The ensemble is composed by one or two recorders (or flutes), continuo, and other additional instruments with the common aim to focus on the repertoire of the flute (both soloist and in chamber formation) during the XVII and the XVIII Centuries. The musical philology and the original performing practice are essential for a real comprehension of the early and baroque music and it is the basis to put in touch this repertoire with the sensibility of nowadays, in a sort of ideal reconciliation between the spirit of “Les Anciens” and of “Les Modernes”. On this new release they present Couperin’s Les Concerts Royaux. The focus on the recorder in this interpretation sets this album aside from other recordings of this work.

Thirty years after the first world recording, Claudio Ronco concludes his research on Lanzetti's Sonatas. This Album collects the complete recording of Opus No. 1, performed in duo-form together with Emanuela Vozza. Claudio Ronco is undoubtedly among the best artists in Baroque music repertoire, as a skilled Basso Continuo player and a Soloist of virtuoso repertoire. His twenty years experience with the greatest groups and directors specialised in XVI to XVIIIth Century music, assure him a great stylistical flexibility, together with an extraordinary instrumental virtuosity, so as to distinguish his performances for the freshness of his inventions, spontaneity and elegance. Emanuela Vozza, graduated in cello in Bologna, and after years of study and apprenticeship of the baroque instrument began an intense artistic collaboration as a performer of basso continuo, both in chamber and orchestral repertoire. Since 2005 she has performed frequently in Europe with mainly unpublished music programs by virtuoso cellists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Among the most active composers of the past century, Jean-Michele Damase undoubtedly occupies a prominent place. Student of the ecole francaise, he has always been linked to the great musical institutions, and he dedicated his activity to the musical theater, ballet, instrumental music and he gives particular attention to the flute and harp, for which he composed works in honor of Jean-Pierre Rampal and his mother Micheline Kahn, great harpist and direct interpreter of the works of Faure. His music ''refined and sincere'' is correctly interpreted in this album by the duo Luise-Parrino after 4 years from the composer's death.

The Mass in C minor for 5 voices by Francesco Maria Zuccari is included in this priceless collection and is heard here in it's absolute world premiere recording. The piece was first drafted in Assisi in 1723, when Zuccari was Kapellmeister, with a second version with instruments being drafted in 1745, when the musician was first organist at the Santo. The work has, however, presumably not been performed again since that year. The Magnificat in F major also hails from Assisi. It was composed in 1725 and revised later in Padova in 1748. In this recording, the ensemble uses Vallotti's typical tuning, which favors the use of flats and limits the interval of the fifth, showing a greater precision in the interval of third. The Orchestra Barocca di Cremona, conducted by Giovanni Battista Columbro, performs here on original instruments.

Classical Music

Featuring two Russian composers, this album presents two very rare recordings under the direction of one of the most impressive Russian conductors, Evgeny Svetlanov. Evgeny Svetlanov was born in Moscow into a family of musicians and artists. His parents were both members of the Bolshoi Theatre company, and from early childhood, Evgeny was captivated by the theater. He studied at the Gnessin school and at the Moscow Conservatory. His conducting mentor was Alexander Gauk, the founder of the USSR State Symphony Orchestra, which is heard on this recording. He gave his first performances as a conductor on the radio in 1953, while he was still a student. Two years later, he returned to the Bolshoi as principal assistant, and in 1962 was appointed principal conductor. He went on to hold prestigious posts with numerous other ensembles, and he completed more than three thousand recordings throughout his career. The present release features a recording from 1968.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

The present release presents one of the twentieth century's most virtuosic performers in a programme of works by Chopin. The noted Hungarian-born French pianist, Georges Cziffra, was a son of Hungarian Romas. He became noted at the age of 5, improvising on popular tunes in bars and circuses. His teachers at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest included Erno Dohn�nyi. His education was interrupted by World War II, when he served in the Hungarian army. After the war he continued his studies at the Franz Liszt Academy with Ferenczi, but was once more distracted from music when he was arrested in 1950 for his rebellious political views, and was held under forced labor. He was released from jail in 1953, but was again endangered by the abortive Hungarian revolt in 1956. He went on to escape with his wife and son to Vienna, where his career skyrocketed. He became best known for his interpretations of works of the Romantic repertoire, most notably those of Liszt, Chopin, and Schumann.

Classical Music