A singer of passion, elegance and dynamism, excelling equally in Italian and French opera, Roberto Alagna has numbered among the world's leading tenors for more than 30 years. His idiomatic phrasing and diction have consistently attracted praise. His recorded catalogue is substantial. In the judgement of the authoritative Grove Book of Opera Singers his recordings document "the plangent lyricism of Alagna's tone and the appealing ardor and inner fire of his style". Referring to his interpretation of the title role of Verdi's Don Carlos, in the recording conducted by Antonio Pappano, the New York Times wrote, "His intensely lyrical yet refined singing was a genuine revelation"

This 33CD box contains complete operas - by Bizet, Donizetti, Gounod, Massenet, Offenbach, Puccini, and Verdi - recorded between 1992 and 2017 and originally released by EMI Classics, Virgin Classics, Warner Classics, and Erato. The box notably documents Alagna's productive artistic partnerships with soprano Angela Gheorghiu (his wife from 1996 to 2013) and conductor Antonio Pappano.

The young Dutch violinist Noa Wildschut has been described as "a miracle of musicality", while Anne-Sophie Mutter has singled her out as "undoubtedly one of the musical hopes of her generation". For her debut as a Warner Classics recording artist, Noa has chosen a programme of Mozart that combines concertante and chamber works. As she says: "I'm showing two sides of Mozart - and also two sides of myself." Noa Wildschut, the young Dutch violinist, turned 16 in March 2017, but was just 15 when she signed an exclusive agreement with Warner Classics and recorded her debut album for the label. It is entirely devoted to Mozart: the Violin Concerto No 5 and the Adagio K.261 (with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra under the leadership of Gordan Nikolic), and the Violin Sonata in B flat major, K.454 (with prizewinning pianist and festival director Yoram Ish-Hurwitz - Noa's uncle). "Mozart's music has such a feeling of purity, " Noa says. "and the Fifth Violin Concerto is so gorgeous. Of all his violin concertos, this is the one that contains the most humour. It's almost like a kind of opera, with all those different characters, really, a story is being told." Noa herself composed the cadenzas she plays in the concerto, with some help from Dutch composer Max Knigge. "Max came up with the concept, and I invented some things around it... it really became something by us together. It has been written in a way that does justice to Mozart, including lots of little jokes." The album release coincides with the release date of the documentary 'Zusjes' (Sisters), about Noa and her family, which will run in cinemas in Holland in autumn 2017. Worldwide release of the documentary is planned for early 2018. Noa has been a member of 'Mutter Virtuosi' since 2014, a string ensemble led by Anne-Sophie Mutter, and since May 2015 Noa has held an official scholarship from the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation - their youngest ever member

VERDI: AIDA

Fresh and spontaneously joyful, this is a delightful version of what is probably the most over-duplicated work in the catalogue. Throughout the performances one welcomes the fiery magnetism of Chung. Editor's Choice of Gramophone Magazine when the Four Seasons album was originally released in 2001. Kyung-Wha Chung, an artist of passionate intensity and probing intellect, who communicates a vivid sense of spontaneity in her playing. Is one of the great violinists of the last 50 years.

Klemperer and Brahms had much in common, which may go some way to explaining the empathy with which Klemperer conducts the works of the great composer. As Richard Osborne says in the accompanying liner notes: 'no detail was insignificant, yet none was allowed to subvert the larger whole'. The recordings in this box have all been remastered in HD from original tapes for the Otto Klemperer Complete Edition in 2023.

Gershwin in Hollywood - Live at the Royal Albert Hall JOHN WILSON ORCHESTRA - For this release, Warner Classics is proud to present Gershwin in Hollywood, recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall, at the culmination of this extraordinary orchestra's sell-out UK tour in 2015. It includes well-known Gershwin favorites of the American Songbook, such as How Long Has This Been Going On?, The Man I Love, 'S Wonderful and They Can't Take That Away From Me, as well as rarely recorded gems like Slap That Bass, Treat Me Rough, and the magestic orchestral Overture from the film Rhapsody in Blue. With superb vocals from regular JWO guests Matt Ford and Louise Dearman, and the rich orchestral sound so evocative of Hollywood's Golden Age, all under the direction of John Wilson, this CD captures the thrilling atmosphere of a night to remember.

Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade - Mstislav Rostropovich - "Setting Rostropovich, an impetuously Slavonic musician if ever there was one, in front of such an unmistakably French orchestra as this produces an intriguing and most attractive blend of Russian fire and colour with Gallic elegance and sentiment," wrote Gramophone. The relationship between the great cellist-conductor and the Orchestre de Paris achieves glorious expression in this programme of Russian orchestral showpieces.

A starry but congenial trio, Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma and Daniel Barenboim interact with each other and with the Berlin Philharmonic in Beethoven's extraordinary Triple Concerto. Released for the first time on vinyl.

Maria Callas is credited with changing the history of opera. Known as La Divina, she continues to fascinate as a supreme artist, but also as a woman and an icon of style. Her interpretations were as compelling for their dramatic truth as for their musical integrity. Her voice, with it's extraordinary range, was as distinctive as her infallible sense for a phrase. A magnetic presence, she brought operatic heroines to vivid life, magically shaping and colouring her tone, and making insightful use of the text of the libretto.

The idea behind Carlos Cipa's new album is easy to describe: one room, one piano, one pianist/composer. Taking one's time. Approaching with the greatest possible impartiality. Simply improvising, at first only from, for, and with oneself. But what at first might seem a simple concept becomes more complex at a closer look. With it's quiet, contemplative solo-piano sounds, Ourselves, as we are, is a "deeply vulnerable collection. In the age of fake authenticity, remakes... this approach is perhaps one of the few remaining ways to create art: to reveal our true selves. Radically personal. Radically intimate. Radically honest. Ourselves, as we are.

Otto Klemperer brings his customary nobility of conception to Die Zauberfl�te, with it's symbolic drama, and is joined by an exceptional cast. Gundula Janowitz sings Pamina with sublime beauty and the young Lucia Popp is brilliant as the Queen of the Night, the role that first made her reputation."Not the least extraordinary thing about this wonderful blend of the sublime and the humane is that it draws from all musicians the best of which they are capable... This issue is specially commended to those who are after the mystery and elevation of The Magic Flute." Gramophone

July 16, 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the spectacularly successful concert at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles of three men acclaimed as the world's greatest tenors: Jose Carreras, Pl�cido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti. Their performance, which took place before the 1994 World Cup, featured a star-studded live audience and was broadcast in 100 countries to an estimated 1.3 billion viewers.

In 2002, Dong Hyek Lim arrived on the scene at just 18 years old 'in a blaze of pianistic glory' (Gramophone) with a debut album championed by his mentor Martha Argerich, which was awarded the prestigious Diapason d'Or in France. The South Korean virtuoso went on to take third prize in the 15th International Chopin Piano Competition, and recorded a remarkable Chopin album in 2004 including the 3rd Piano Sonata and some Mazurkas. In 2008 followed an album of Bach's Goldberg Variations coupled with the Bach-Busoni Chaconne. The French magazine Le Monde de la Musique awarded it a 'Choc', while Gramophone wrote that: "There's no question that he's a very impressive pianist... [who gives] the sense of profound pleasure in the music... And he's not afraid to experiment with what he can do in this music... An artist to watch."

Donizetti: Don Pasquale (2CD) Riccardo Muti, proverbial for his precision, brilliance and integrity in Italian opera, here brings incisive wit and gentle sentiment to the farce of Don Pasquale. The title role is taken by Sesto Bruscantini, a master of the buffo style, who is joined by two of the greatest Italian singers of their time, Mirella Freni and Leo Nucci, and the eloquent Swedish tenor G�sta Winbergh

GREAT CANTATAS

Brahms's four symphonies lie at the very core of the Berliner Phiharmoniker's repertoire and reputation. With the combination of Sir Simon Rattle's vision and iconoclastic approach, and the orchestra's remarkable technique and unique sound, these performances mark a milestone in the history of Brahms recordings.

The Nutcracker, first seen in 1892, recounts the magical Christmas Eve of young Clara. Her adventures in the company of an enchanted prince inspired Tchaikovsky to such spellbinding numbers as the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Waltz of the Flowers and a sparkling series of national dances. In describing himself in an interview as "a complete romantic", Andr� Previn suggested just why his recordings of Tchaikovsky's three great ballet scores, made in the 1970s with the London Symphony Orchestra, have become classics of the catalogue. In their sweep, colour and surging emotion, they exemplify the spirit of late Romanticism, the musical aesthetic at the heart of Previn's repertoire. Over his 11 years as Principal Conductor of the LSO (1968-1979) he and his musicians became something of a media phenomenon, notably with their own series on BBC television, which helped to draw full houses for their concerts in London and on tour.

THRIVE was composed over the last couple of years, during a period of uncertainty and fear. I have always been convinced that it is in times of adversity that we remember what is essential to us. THRIVE is the inner strength that pushes us to fight in moments of doubt or sorrow. The impulse deep inside us that incites us to search for the best, to look up, to fight to overcome difficulties and reach a kind of fulfilment. This album is for those who feel, consciously or unconsciously, the need to build something else, to seek out new horizons. For those who wish to turn their backs on the things that oppress us and aggress us, on meaningless demands. This is a personal battle at a time when collective awareness is settling in: the planet is spiralling; a vortex. We must change; we can evolve. Many of us want this, and music can be a catalyst. The piano has always helped me find this momentum, and composing for strings has opened up new horizons for me. By taking inspiration from a theme, a melody, or a few notes by the greatest classical composers, I also wanted to show that there is always a personal path. I hope that this album will accompany you or inspire you to find your own way of life, there is always hope. Within us, we all have this ability; this power to transform a difficulty into an opportunity. The greater the challenge, the greater the reward. THRIVE!

The German-born conductor Otto Klemperer, a towering figure in the musical history of the 20th century, died at the age of 88 on July 8th 1973, so 2023 will mark the 50th anniversary of his death. His complete recordings on Warner Classics catalogue are being made available for the first time in 2 huge separate boxes; the first volume with the Symphonic Works, Concertos & Lieder (95CD) will be released in June 2023. All recordings are remastered in HD 192/24 from original sources. By the mid-1960s, the 80-year-old Otto Klemperer had recorded the nine symphonies, the Violin Concerto, Fidelio and the Missa solemnis, but not the piano concertos, which he had performed with such legendary figures as Schnabel, Claudio Arrau, Edwin Fischer, Wilhelm Backhaus and, in Moscow in 1936, the young Emil Gilels. In 1967, he recorded Mozart's Concerto K503 with the 24-year-old Daniel Barenboim, the prodigiously talented pianist and conductor, whose recordings of the 32 Beethoven piano sonatas were already taking the world by the ears. There was an immediate rapport between the two musicians, out of which came a Beethoven concerto cycle like no other the gramophone had yet given us. Barenboim has said of Klemperer: 'He approached the essence of what he wanted directly and without hesitation. He was not interested in sound as such but in correctness of execution of tempo, dynamics, and orchestral balances, over which he took immense care.' He was, says Barenboim, an uncompromising musician and human being. No orchestra ever doubted the inner strength that emanated from him. At the time the recordings of the piano concertos were made, Backhaus was still alive, as was Arrau, but neither could have challenged, provoked, and delighted the Grand Old Man - or offset his vivid but essentially monumental approach to the concertos - quite as Barenboim did. It was an inspired pairing in which distinct styles of music-making confront one another, yet are movingly and joyously linked in what appears to be (and to some extent was) an improvised act of live music-making.

A pop project featuring orchestral versions of 18 of the biggest sounds in a world-first TikTok album with Warner Classics. Some of the biggest TikTok hits are classically arranged and newly recorded by Germany's internationally renowned Babelsberg Film Orchestra

Hollywood, the new album of German pianist Sebastian Knauer is centred around the music and family story of legendary American film music composer Alfred Newman. He recorded it with the son of Alfred Newman, conductor and composer David Newman and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. Alfred Newman, the founding father of the Hollywood sound, composer of the world's most famous fanfare, the 20th Century Fox logo, winner of nine Academy Awards, nominated for 45, friend of Gershwin, Copland, Bernard Herrmann, mentor of Alex North, Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith and founder of the most successful film music dynasty: his younger brothers Emil and Lionel Newman ("Hello, Dolly!"), his older son David Newman ("Ice Age", "Anastasia"), the younger son Thomas Newman ("American Beauty", "James Bond: Skyfall"), his nephew Randy Newman... and his grandchildren are already starting their careers... George Gershwin or Aaron Copland, Alex North or Elmer Bernstein, Bernard Herrmann or Jerry Goldsmith - all the composers on Sebastian Knauer's new album have three things in common: they come from the USA, they have naturally intertwined classical composition and film music and they are closely associated with Alfred Newman.

BLISS is a state of being where fear does not exist. BLISS is perfect happiness and joy. To record this album, I wanted to place myself in this state, physically and mentally. I meditated daily. Silence, nature, beauty and peace help me to alter my state of consciousness, to escape from daily reality and express myself through music. That is my vision of BLISS.

A forbidding and gothic new score by Christopher Young (Hellraiser, Species, Urban Legend, The Grudge, The Exorcism of Emily Rose) for the F.W. Murnau classic 1922 silent-movie 'Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror', one of the most influential films of all time and one that continues to cast it's long shadow across the horror movie genre even still. The perfect match of composer and movie. The recording of this new score was made with Frank Strobel, conductor, Saya Hashino, organ and Tonhalle-Orchester Z�rich.

Daniel Barenboim will turn 80 on November 15th. We are celebrating the great musician, who has had tremendous success since the 60s both at the piano or conducting, with an album made in the mid-90s that is close to his heart and Argentinian origins, though aside of the classical repertoire. Tangos Among Friends - Mi Buenos Aires Querido (named after a tango by Carlos Gardel) proves again all the talent and swing Daniel Barenboim has, and has been a huge success since released by Teldec on CD in 1996. We have revamped the album on a vinyl release, with updated tracklist (to fit on one LP), new album name and packshot. "I spent the first nine years of my life in Argentina and only in Argentina. The rest of the world was far away. Everything Argentinian was close to my heart. The concepts of cosmopolitan existence or international thinking were not yet awakened. The air that I breathed was Buenos Aires, the language that I spoke was Spanish porte�o and the rhythm to which I danced (figuratively speaking...) was the tango! My idol was Carlos Gardel. Nearly half a century later I came back not only to Argentina, not only to my childhood but especially to my Buenos Aires querido and many other wonderful melodies that make up this sentimental record."

This 3LP set is the reissue of the 1954 box initiated by Walter Legge, EMI's famous producer, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Diaghilev's death. The cover reproduces the original illustration purposely designed at the time by Natalia Goncharova, one of the famous set painters of the Ballets russes. The 32-page booklet, richly illustrated with historical photos, sketches of costumes, and sketches of sets, includes the notes from the 1954 edition by Igor Marketvitch. It is in English and French, and features a short excerpt of 'Le Ballet' by Boris Kochno along with work presentations by the British dance specialist Cyril W. Beaumont.