Bruckner was working on the Ninth Symphony until the day he died. He left a stark and magnificent torso that marks the end of the 19th-century symphony - but he also left fragments and sketches for a magnificent finale that would cap his life's work. In the latest realisation of a completion that has taken over 20 years, Bruckner's finale crowns his musical last will and testament with an intense and visionary splendour. 'Everything that is strange about this finale is 100% Bruckner,' remarks Sir Simon Rattle. 'And one can see the terror and the fear and the passion which he was going through in his life at that time.'

Double vinyl LP pressing. Tchaikovsky's most famous work, The Nutcracker, is presented in this stunning new recording by the world's greatest orchestra, the Berliner Philharmoniker, under the baton of their celebrated conductor Sir Simon Rattle. This musical fairytale follows Clara and her unusual prince and protector, The Nutcracker, through adventures and exotic delights in the magical Kingdom of Sweets. The Nutcracker is the most popular ballet, and it's annual holiday performances have become a treasured tradition the world over. This release features the live recording of Act II from December 2009's Silvesterkonzert, Germany's New Year's celebrations. Act I was recorded in the studio during the same period.

Vilde Frang's Encores is more than a captivating programme of short pieces for violin and piano, it is also a homage to the players of the Golden Age of the Violin, such as Fritz Kreisler, Leopold Auer and Joseph Szigeti. The recital includes music originally conceived not just for the violin, but also for piano, orchestra or voice, and proves once again, as BBC Music Magazine wrote, that "Frang has the knack of breathing life into every note, whether by variations in phrasing, attack, tone or dynamic." Vilde Frang has conceived the album as something of a homage to her illustrious predecessors. Born in 1986, she is clearly very much a violinist of today, and - as a Norwegian trained in Germany - she did not grow up in the Central and Eastern-European tradition of Heifetz, Kreisler, Auer and Szigeti. That being said, she brings her own, distinctively captivating magic to her instrument. As Gramophone wrote of her performance of the Korngold concerto, a work that has it's roots in the composer's glorious late-Romantic scores for Hollywood: "Frang has a winning way with the rubato that makes the melodies yearn and smile, but there's a fragile thread of silver woven through her passagework that bounces off the glinting accompaniment of the Frankfurt RSO as an opalescent gown catches the light in a mirrored ballroom. Fresh thought illuminates each phrase and she has the technique to bring off every idea, from the wild caprice of the first movement's dash to the double-bar, to a coquettish (or demure?) restraint in the finale's big tune."

A recording by one of the leading violinists of the last decades, Anne-Sophie Mutter. She made this album with the legendary Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa during the first years of her stunning career, just before turning 21 years old. Still a classic recording nowadays, full of passion and vitality, and showcasing Mutter's extreme virtuosity.

For much of his life, Otto Klemperer carried a note written by his hero Gustav Mahler, in which the composer praised the young Klemperer as 'an outstanding musician [...] predestined for the career of a conductor.' Klemperer's interpretations of Mahler's work, famous for their 'big outlines' and 'rock-like rhythms' (Musical Times) became world-famous. This collection showcases Klemperer's Mahler, including works such as the Ninth Symphony and Das Lied von der Erde.

Piotr Anderszewski's new album is juxtaposing solo piano works by three composers who asserted and shaped the musical identity of their Central European countries in the earlier 20th century: Jan�cek in Moravia, Szymanowski in Poland, and Bart�k in Hungary. "The works on this album are imbued with a sense of rebellion," says Anderszewski, himself a native of Warsaw. "There is no place here for stylisation or decorum. These works plumb the very roots of music." Piotr Anderszewski's last critical acclaimed album was published in January 2021 and featured J.S. Bach: Well-tempered Clavier, it is now at + 21 K: 38% physical and 55% digital. BBC Music Magazine wrote: "For anyone who loves Bach (or the piano)... this life-enhancing disc is required listening". The Guardian gave the Bach album a * review: "Playing his own selection of pieces from Bach's monumental work may be heresy, but Anderszewki's intelligence, lucidity and joy is undeniable. The influence of folk music is crucial in the programme - the second book of Jan�cek's On an overgrown path (a collection named after a traditional Moravian wedding song), six of Szymanowski's 20 mazurkas, and Bart�k's 14 Bagatelles. Szymanowski's eclectic spirit is evident in the mazurkas, composed during Poland's halcyon inter-war period as an autonomous state. Often chromatically adventurous, sometimes elusive, they fuse the traditional mazurka and the influence of Chopin with elements of the Goral music of Poland's southern highlands. Piotr Anderszewski speaks of the music's "primitive incantations, simultaneously ecstatic and severe in their beauty".

Being someone who is rather awful at dancing, the only way I can explore the medium of dance is through music making! This programme idea came about from two contrasting elements: my love of Rameau's Gavotte & Doubles and Ravel's La Valse.... Seeing as dance is often collaborative I am thrilled to have been joined by the wonderful pianist Alexandre Tharaud in some eclectic, lesser known works by Reynaldo Hahn. I am thrilled to release this project!" -Martin James Bartlett Ravel leads the dance with three works in Martin James Bartlett's enticing programme of French piano music. The perspective of La Danse extends back from the 20th century to the 18th century, also encompassing works by Rameau, Couperin, Debussy and - with the participation of guest artist Alexandre Tharaud - Reynaldo Hahn. "This programme idea came about from two contrasting elements," explains Martin James Bartlett, "my love of Rameau's Gavotte et six doubles and Ravel's La Valse. Both these French masterpieces, from different ends of the musical timeline, led to this programme of music inspired by the dance." Welcoming Martin James Bartlett's previous Warner Classics album, Rhapsody, Gramophone wrote: "This showcases an outstanding keyboard talent at the top of his game," while the Sunday Times enthused that, "Throughout, Bartlett's touch is alternately carefree and rigorous. A delight.

Tchaikovsky stands as the central figure of 19th-century Russian Romanticism, embodying it's widespread and vibrant vitality alongside a profound and sincere depth. This collection seeks to encapsulate the epic and intense qualities inherent in the genius of his compositions.

Vinyl LP pressing. Martin Kohlstedt creates dazzling musical pieces, tapestries of sound that grow organically from the keyboards of his piano and synthesizers. Such is the reputation that he has built in his native Germany that his latest album, 'Str�me' (currents), has been created in collaboration with the chorus of one of the country's most revered musical institutions, Leipzig's Gewandhaus. 70 voices blend and intertwine to mesmerising effect with the sounds created by Kohlstedt himself.

'This is a quite extraordinary achievement. Not the least of it's merits is that it leaves you loving the music as never before. The orchestra gives splendid support and the sound is warm and ingratiating.' - GRAMOPHONE

Sarah Chang is recognised as one of the most captivating and gifted performers of her generation, possessed of astonishing musical insight, technical virtuosity and emotional range. She had recorded exclusively for EMI Classics from the beginning of her career, from 1992 to 2009. This recording of The Four Seasons was released in 2007 and is one of the highlights of her discography. It's made available for the first time on vinyl.

La Divina's voice so genuinely captures popular imagination and exerts such an intense fascination that directors have used her recordings extensively to illustrate iconic movie scenes. This collection gathers the most famous uses of Maria Callas' recordings in movies, from Philadelphia and Fargo to The Bridges of Madison County and Bohemian Rhapsody

COMPLETE WARNER RECORDINGS

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. Beethoven's Symphonies by Klemperer and the Philharmonia Orchestra are one of the most well-known and acclaimed versions of these works, and the "Choral" Symphony with no doubt one of it's highlights.

SHE CAME TO ME - O.S.T.

Both a challenge and an adventure, the recording I made of the �tudes by Debussy lives on as a wonderful memory of friendship. Having encouraged me to record the complete set of twelve works, my friend and respected colleague Catherine Collard, an irreplaceable artist and great admirer of Debussy, did me the honour of acting as artistic director. Her unobtrusive presence and sensitive, insightful feedback gave me wings. [...] Taking the genre beyond the dry term of study", Debussy and Chopin, true geniuses the pair of them, dazzle and move their listeners. Within this music lies life, anything but abstract." - Anne Queff�lec, 2023

LEONARD BERNSTEIN 1918-1990 Wonderful Town Ruth Sherwood Kim Criswell Eileen Sherwood Audra McDonald Bob Baker Thomas Hampson Wreck Brent Barrett Guide/First Editor/Frank Lippencott Rodney Gilfry Second Editor/Chick Clark Carl Daymond Lonigan Timothy Robinson... Birmingham Contemporary Music Group London Voices Sir Simon Rattle conductor STEREO � RECORDED IN 1998 An enormous success at the time, with a Broadway run of 559 performances, Wonderful Town shows off the talents of Bernstein, Comden and Green, who wrote the songs against the clock in just four weeks. Whether it's jazz, cod-Irish, ragtime, ballad or conga, there's the sound of creativity working at full stretch.

Riopy TITLE: Riopy "This album has been my catharsis since the music started coming to me almost ten years ago. It's the world seen through my eyes, or rather, through my piano. It's evolved into a patchwork of emotions, experiences, beliefs - music that put an end to struggle. From On a cloud to Old soul, the pieces here came to life and brought hope when I thought nothing could save me. They each have their place in my development; they became my language. For me, a single chord can evoke a symphony of emotions. With solo piano, everything is exposed and we have to catch what passes through our fingers, which starts as raw emotion and translates as music in it's purest form. I feel that sharing these emotions through music helps us to reconnect; these aren't fingers double tapping to like or swiping away - these are fingers pulsing across the keys of a piano. The world changes and the music will always be tuned with the world; perhaps that is why I never seem to play a piece exactly the same way I did the last time. My insecurities and weaknesses find their way into my music, but also the landscapes and the people that inspire me. I hope the music on this album can reach the soul of listeners the very same way I feel it when I play"- Riopy

THE CHICK COREA SYMPHONY TRIBUTE. RITMO was recorded live back in July 2021 at the ADDA Auditorium in Alicante (Spain) during the FIJAZZ Festival. Conceived and produced by conductor/drummer JOSEP VICENT, ADDA Symphony Orchestra's Music Director, with arrangements by Latin Grammy Award Winner pianist and composer Emilio Solla, RITMO is a celebration of Chick Corea's music and it's tremendous influence in contemporary Jazz and it's fusion with Latin music. Featuring 5 times Grammy Award & 14 times Latin Grammy Award winner saxophonist PAQUITO D'RIVERA and flamenco singer and saxophonist ANTONIO LIZANA, RITMO is created for a full 80 piece Symphony Orchestra and jazz trio to produce "One of the most magnificent musical sounds that has ever existed" in the words of Chick Corea himself about Symphony Orchestras. 12 among the most iconic and remembered pieces of Corea's immense production are revisited, reconceived and exalted through the impressive sonority of The ADDA Symphony Orchestra of Spain and the inspiration of the extraordinary soloists. Paquito de Rivera said about the project: "We all love Chick's music, so the impeccable arranging work of Emilio, the quality and dedication of a very young and talented orchestra and conductor, plus the typical enthusiasm of the Spanish people at a magnificent auditorium, worked all to our advantage."

Claudio Arrau (1903-1991) is a pianist fully deserving of the epithet 'legendary'. His rigorous intellect and sense of the sublime found expression in his transcendent technique and sumptuous, yet lucid sonorities. The recordings in this 24CD collection, a significant portion of Arrau's legacy from the years between 1921 and 1962, are indispensable to his extensive discography. They can now be heard in their full glory, thanks to a process of restoration and HD remastering using the original tapes (for recordings from the LP era) or the best available source (for 78s). Among them are four world premiere releases: Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 30, op. 109, a Chopin �tude, and two pieces by Liszt.

Not only was Rostropovich a towering musician, he became a figure of international humanitarian and political significance: he and his wife, the celebrated soprano Galina Vishnevskaya (1926-2012), were exiled from the Soviet Union in 1974 (and deprived of Soviet citizenship in 1978) for their support of the dissident writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, whom they offered refuge in their home. - In 1970 Rostropovich had written an open letter advocating artistic freedom. It was refused publication by the Soviet newspaper Pravda, but was published in the West. It read: "Every man must have the right fearlessly to think independently and express his opinion about what he knows, what he has personally thought about and experienced, and not merely to express with slightly different variations the opinion which has been inculcated in him." - In November 1989, at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Rostropovich gave an impromptu solo recital at the spot known as Checkpoint Charlie. - Rostropovich and Vishnevskaya did not return to Russia until 1990, the era of glasnost and perestroika, when Mikhail Gorbachev rehabilitated them; Rostropovich played an active role in promoting ideological change at this momentous time. - In 1991, at the time of the August Putsch - when Communist hardliners attempted to wrest control from Gorbachev - Rostropovich armed himself with a gun to defend the Russian Parliament against attack. - He and his wife established the Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation, which focuses on large-scale vaccination programmes. To date, it's programmes have benefited more than 10 million people in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East.

Itzhak Perlman, born in 1945, is the supreme violinist of his time. More than a decade after his first recording of the Mendelssohn and Bruch concertos (with Andr� Previn), Perlman returned to them with Bernard Haitink and the Concertgebouw Orchestra, bringing new insights and a still more acute sense for their Romantic contrasts and drama.

The Christmas Oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach captures the musical essence of the festive season. The most important Christmas setting by Leipzig's famed grandmaster is heard in concerts all across the world every year. This reference recording of all six cantatas is resplendent and features a dream group of Bach specialists as soloists. The festive grandeur of the sections with full orchestra and the intimacy of arias with vocal and instrumental soloists in virtuoso dialogue have been combined by Ton Koopman into a convincing and timeless overall concept. Koopman allows the music to flow and breathe naturally, and constantly demonstrates his keen sense for tantalising the senses with tonal colours. - Rondo

In choosing Movements as the title for this album of piano works, George LI highlights both their structure and their dancing spirit: the 18 movements of Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze (supplemented by his Arabeske in C major) are followed by Ravel's eight Valses nobles et sentimentales and three movements from Stravinsky's score for the ballet Petruskha. "There are intriguing and intoxicating elements in this dance programme that captured me from the outset when crafting it," says the Boston-born pianist. "Broadly speaking, I love the effects of color and harmony in these works, as well as the general feeling of an evolution, or perhaps a continuous battle, between the introverted and extroverted impulses... The Davidsbündlertänze embodies the full spectrum of human emotion - despair, anxiety, sorrow, triumph, bliss, or pure love, to name a few... Another fascinating element in this program is the motivic and harmonic threads which connect the smaller pieces into a cohesive whole. Recently, I've developed a great obsession with learning how to weave musical moments into a single overarching architectural narrative. This program offers a different challenge - giving space for each musical moment to be it's own distinct individual voice, while also still maintaining the narrative arc..."

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