Modern: Designating the most innovative forms of art in a given period, particularly those of the 20th century. This definition from the French Larousse Dictionary explains the performers' choice of title 'Moderniste' for this new anthology of music for wind instruments: what draws the attention in these works - in different ways at different times and in different fields - are their innovative, progressive and adventurous qualities. Four of the composers featured on this album can legitimately be associated with what is very broadly known as Modernism, referring to the general proliferation of new ideas and new musical aesthetics at the turn of the 20th century and beyond. As for the two works by Philippe Hersant and Thierry Escaich, they call on us to reflect on what modernity means to us today. And, while it is easy to set Modernism in opposition to traditionalism, it is also interesting to distinguish between a composer's personality and his or her approach to composing.

I couldn't have imagined a better constellation for my first album! says Cristina G�mez Godoy about her first recording. She has chosen this repertoire because these pieces made her fall in love with the instrument and music. As a musician in Daniel Barenboim's Berlin-based orchestra, she feels very privileged to have recorded her first album with him, accompanied by the West Eastern Divan Orchestra, with whom she has played for many years.

Classical Music

The abundant legacy of Gustav Leonhardt's recordings for Telefunken's Das Alte Werk series invites us to follow his trajectory as a performer from the early 1960's onwards, a time when the new codes of early music had yet to be invented, when their success depended above all on the strength of conviction of the performer. Leonhardt's was strengthened by dialogue: with a range of partners whose variety defies all preconceived ideas, with ancient instruments or modern copies of all types, with repertoires as diverse as Byrd, Purcell, Rameau, Johann Sebastian but also Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Not forgetting the 1970 Monteverdi LP, which has never been reissued since. The image of a pope of early music isolated in his tower and frozen in a school style does not last long after listening to this historical sum, extended here by the later series of recordings under the Virgin Veritas flag.

Classical Music

2014 Maria Callas re-mastered series reissue. With this Abbey Road 24-bit 96kHz re-master, engineers returned to the original master tapes, bringing new clarity & brilliance to her legendary studio recordings. A famous backstage photo was taken in Chicago after one of just three performances that Callas gave of Madama Butterfly; it shows the soprano in her Japanese costume, snarling furiously at a bailiff who had served a writ on her - the very image of the tempestuous diva. By contrast, in her recording of the role, 'it is, miraculously,' as the critic John Osborne observed, 'the 15-year old girl and not the great Callas who stands before us.' Her genius for vocal characterization finds an apt complement in Herbert von Karajan's conducting: 'a wholly sympathetic rendering [that]brings out more of the detail of the score than I have ever heard before', wrote Gramophone.

We tend not to think of the 19th century as a golden age for wind instruments. While the individual instruments themselves enjoyed varying fortunes, their standing was much less significant than that of string instruments or the piano. However, the situation improved for all of them with the onset of Romanticism and a remarkable new repertoire for ensembles of differing types. One such type grew out of the Classical tradition of the divertissement or serenade, bringing together winds and strings in sizeable ensembles ranging from the sextet to the nonet. Another also hailed back to the end of the 18th century and combined winds with piano. And then there was the wind quintet per se, a recent innovation brilliantly exemplified by Anton Reicha and Franz Danzi up until the mid-1820s, which had established itself as a separate genre, characterised by skillful and sophisticated writing. Despite not having widely used them in the guise of true soloists, Romantic composers nevertheless turned to wind instruments more frequently than we might think, delighting in their expressive colours which were found to be ideal for depicting a whole range of emotions in some of the most refined works of chamber music. This recording presents a striking sample from this repertoire.

Beethoven's influence over the string quartet was profound; in his hands, the genre acquired a new significance, becoming a powerful vehicle for the expression and exploration of an inner world. Featured in this box set is the Alban Berg Quartett's acclaimed recording of the complete cycle, a showcase of the group's accomplished artistry and seamless ensemble playing.

The Christmas concerts of Chanticleer are an institution in the USA, and international tours and recordings have made the brilliant male-voice ensemble, based in San Francisco, familiar to audiences all over the world. As Gramophone has written, "Chanticleer, it seems, can sing just about anything," and Chanticleer sings Christmas bears that out, embracing traditional carols and gospel numbers, plainsong, European and Mexican music of the 16th and 17th centuries, and composers and arrangers of the present day.

Classical Music

The Complete Warner Recordings - Sir John Barbirolli - Limited 109 CD box set. The wide-ranging contents of this landmark 109-disc set, which comprises all the recordings Barbirolli made for HMV and PYE, include previously unpublished items and documentary material. Everything has been remastered in high definition, LP-era recordings from the original tapes, and 78-era recordings from the best available sources. - 29th July 2020 marks the 50th anniversary Sir John Barbirolli's passing. He died at the age of 70, having been born in 1899 in London to parents of Italian and French origin. Sir John Barbirolli The Complete Warner Recordings (CD109) (2020) Limited 109 CD box set.

Classical Music

Alban Berg Quartet - The Complete Recordings Limited 70 CD box set.

'Mozart - it's always been Mozart. There are endless composers whom I admire, but I couldn't get along without Mozart.' If Andr� Previn's name is often identified with large-scale works of the 19th and 20th centuries, Mozart remained close to his heart. Partnered by the London Symphony Orchestra, of which he was principal conductor from 1968-1979, he is soloist in the moody 'Piano Concerto 20, K466', a work much admired by the young Beethoven. In the more consistently sunny 'Concerto for Two Pianos, K365', Previn and the LSO are joined by Radu Lupu - an interpreter of proverbial refinement.

His third album 'Retronyms' sees Carlos Cipa bring together his background as a classically trained pianist and composer with his interest for experimental forms and pop music. After numerous live performances throughout the years, a slew of collaborations and, amongst others, works for film and theatre performances, he invited different musicians to his Munich studio to record the eight pieces. On 'Retronyms', improvisation goes hand in hand with the high art of composition while acoustic (and partly unusual) instruments like the celesta meet with electronic production methods or analogue synthesizers. Between the avant-garde aesthetics of the opener 'Fanfare' to the orchestral 'Senna's joy' and the closing improvisational piece 'Paon', Cipa proves to have radically expanded his approach as a composer. Each note on this album is meticulously thought through and yet 'Retronyms' radiates with visceral liveliness.