2018 release. November 11th brings the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. Marking this momentous occasion, Ian Bostridge and Antonio Pappano, well-established as a masterly tenor-piano duo on Warner Classics, have assembled Requiem. This program of 19 songs spans almost 50 years, from the final decade of the 19th century to the height of World War II. Gustav Mahler and Kurt Weill are joined by two composers of both promise and achievement whose lives were cut short by the Great War, the Englishman George Butterworth (1885-1916) and the German Rudi Stephan (1887-1915). Ian Bostridge points out that the songs in Requiem were not directly inspired by the First World War. Some of them deal with the subject of war, while others take up such poetic themes as erotic love and the passing of time.

Limited 80 CD box set. Doing full justice to Beethoven's awe-inspiring, but profoundly humane genius, this is Warner Classics' first-ever complete edition of his works. It draws discerningly on the riches of the label's catalogue, assuring integrity by assigning entire cycles to the same artist, ensemble or team of performers. Classics from the age of the LP are complemented by the best of the CD era and by a wealth of new recordings of rarely heard works that are ripe for discovery. This is a comprehensive and deeply satisfying tribute to Beethoven, a transformative force who has enhanced the lives of music-lovers for more than two centuries.

�It is about evolution. Our evolution as human beings, going towards a shift of life and of light. Tree of light / a call to arms, the first track of the album, is a call to humanity about what we have become and what we can become, on high alert for our survival as a specie as described by climate change towards the quest of happiness, wisdom and peace. The title, tree of light as a concept of moving towards the 5th density, the density of light or wisdom, through the 4th density, which is the density of love and understanding. These densities are like the keys of a piano, from 1st to 7th and the 8th density is the next octave, and so son - The tree of light is powered by the music and act as a catalyst for evolution� - Riopy

Limited 27 CD set. Lilting melodies and exhilarating dance rhythms; gentle pathos, brooding drama and robust high spirits; the spirit of rural Bohemia and the sophistication of Prague, Vienna, New York and London in the late 19th century: Antonin Dvor�k's music is unfailingly distinctive and captivating. In all his works - from the epic 'New World' Symphony and Cello Concerto to the irresistible Slavonic Dances, haunting 'American' String Quartet, quirky violin Humoresque and yearning Song to the Moon - he is a composer whose heart is open and generous, and whose love for his homeland always shines through. This box provides an illuminating and enriching survey of his works, including his complete symphonies. A number of the celebrated performers have Slavonic roots themselves; all their interpretations draw on a deep affinity with Dvor�k's inspiration and humanity.

Quiet City - Alison Balsom, Scott Stroman, Britten Sinfonia - "This album has been an utter joy to make [...] The concept of this project began decades ago, when I decided that Copland's Quiet City was a work that everyone needed to hear - especially so as Copland reveals the scene so brilliantly via the solo trumpet and cor. There is a true melancholy in this work that only a certain type of trumpet playing can achieve, and across the collection on the album I've tried to show that through the unique lens of the trumpet, the wonderful bridge and mutual respect between the classical composers and arrangers, and the jazz greats can be seen. For many of us, the sentiment behind Quiet City is pertinent at the moment, as we emerge from the loneliness of the pandemic and into another chapter of darkness in today's turbulent world." Warner Classics

Limited 91 CD box set. Passion, precision and fidelity to the score have always been hallmarks of Riccardo Muti's interpretations. After studies in Naples, where he was born in 1941, and in Milan he rapidly built a major international reputation. His 1967 victory in the Guido Cantelli Conducting Competition soon led to an appointment as Music Director of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. In 1971, at Herbert von Karajan's invitation, he made his debut with the Wiener Philharmoniker at the Salzburg Festival, and 1973 ushered in his decade as Principal Conductor and Music Director of London's Philharmonia Orchestra (known as the New Philharmonia Orchestra when he assumed the post). Lengthy tenures as Music Director followed with The Philadelphia Orchestra (1980-1992) and the Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Milano (1986-2005). This collection bears witness to all these notable musical relationships, and to Muti's status as an honoured guest with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. His illustrious career has encompassed both concert hall and opera house, but this landmark 91CD set focuses on his recordings of orchestral, choral and vocal works. Spanning the years from 1973 to 2007 and encompassing a rich and varied repertoire, it also features an audio documentary, made in 2020, celebrating his outstandingly productive period with the Philharmonia.

2021 release. Does any other composer of the 20th century offer such varied riches? If The 'Firebird', glowing with the iridescence of his teacher Rimsky-Korsakov, brought him his international breakthrough in 1910, The 'Rite of Spring' sealed his fame and set him on the long path towards the terse archaism of 'Ago'n in 1957. Chameleon-like and with tireless creativity, Stravinsky kept pace with the aesthetic evolutions, convolutions and dislocations of his times. In his evocation of the Russia of history and prehistory, in the insolently virtuosic elegance of his pastiches, in his adaptations of Classical myths, in his rediscovery of his faith, and in his late conversion to serialism, he transformed every challenge into an opportunity.

Limited 30 CD set. A violinist of outstanding accomplishment and integrity, Frank Peter Zimmermann has for decades sustained achievement at the highest level as a concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. As the New York Times has written, "Mr. Zimmermann's style is based on an absolutely clean technique and a true ability to let music unfold and develop at a natural pace." Before recording any work in his repertoire, from essential masterpieces to intriguing rarities, Zimmermann has taken time to understand and define the meaning of every note in the context of his interpretation. As a consequence, each of these 30 albums - originally the fruit of his long collaboration with EMI Classics (and Teldec) - bears witness to the grace, insight and authority of his playing.

Vaughan Williams: New Collector Edition (150th Anniversary. Of Birth Oct 12) - WARNER CLASSICS - Celebrated as the musical poet of the English landscape, Vaughan Williams was also a visionary composer of enormous range: from the pastoral lyricism of The Lark Ascending and the still melancholy of Silent Noon to the violence of the Fourth Symphony and the grand ceremonial of All people that on earth do dwell, he assumed the mantle of Elgar as our national composer. This edition presents all the major orchestral, chamber, vocal and stage works, as well as many lesser pieces and rarities, in the finest interpretations. All your favourite Vaughan Williams is here, in over 34 hours of music on 30 CDs.

Classical Music

Winner of the Leeds Piano Competition at the age of just twenty, Rafael Orozco exemplified a new generation of virtuoso pianists who favoured musical expression over spectacular display. His Chopin interpretations were truly revelatory, finding poetry not only in the Pr�ludes but also in the �tudes. Remastered from the original tapes in 24-bit/192kHz, this double album captures the rare occurrence of a Spanish pianist tackling two all-encompassing collections in which the essence of Romanticism is distilled - a precious souvenir of the impeccable artistry of a star of late twentieth-century pianism.

ABEL SELAOCOE / WHERE IS HOME? - WARNER CLASSICS - South African cellist Abel Selaocoe makes his debut on Warner Classics with Where is Home (Hae Ke Kae). It's dual title, in English and Sesotho, reflects the album's diverse program which draws from vibrant European and African influences: pieces inspired by South African and Tanzanian musical tradition share a space with works by J.S. Bach and Giovanni Benedetto Platti, some of which are renewed with instrumental and lyrical improvisations. The title of the album holds multifaceted significance for the Manchester-based musician: "Home is the place that empowers you; it's not only a geographical place but in people as well, where you can live a life of empowerment and not of oppression. I've learned to find my different homes through the cello." Abel Selaocoe represents Africa on the move.

Alain Lef�vre is a story-teller. A story-teller who uses the piano to play a multitude of roles. These characters perform the chapters of an imaginary novel set to music in which the author let's us discover for ourselves how the story ends.

Piazzolla - what a journey! His music has so many sides to it. Throughout his life he was exposed to such a rich and varied stream of influences. This homage to Piazzolla, while of course including compositions by him, also references those influences (here I'm thinking of Nadia Boulanger and Alberto Ginastera, with whom he studied). Piazzolla's output is rich not only in terms of the styles he explored but also the different instrumental ensembles he played with. I was keen to reflect this eclecticism by way of a number of different line-ups: trumpet solo, with orchestra, with string quartet, and as duet partner." (...) I would also like to thank my two guest artists: Thibaut Garcia, for his wonderful guitar playing and his friendship and the great Richard Galliano for being with us. It was very moving to perform his Tango pour Claude alongside him.

This recording of the BBC's broadcast of the coronation service from Westminster Abbey was taken by means of a direct line to Abbey Road Studios in St John's Wood, London. The splendid ritual of the coronation rite has offered to composers of succeeding generations an opportunity to provide music of fitting beauty and to the choirs taking part an incentive to excel in presenting music in which Britain has a rich and unique tradition. Some of this music had been heard in earlier coronations, some was composed especially for this occasion. Old and new were woven into the fabric of the ceremony with great skill, and the recording provides a sound-picture representing some five centuries of the finest of English church music. The Coronation Choir was a large one of over four hundred singers, the voices, with the exception of a few sopranos and contraltos from the Commonwealth, being those of men and boys. Certain famous choirs were present in full force, having a prescriptive right to sing at the coronation. Among these were the choirs of Westminster Abbey, HM Chapel Royal, St George's Chapel, Windsor, and St Paul's Cathedral; the remaining singers were drawn from choirs throughout England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland with a considerable number of 'additional' altos, tenors, and basses who were well known soloists or who at some time had been members of famous choirs. As each member of these choirs was thoroughly at home with church music of every degree of difficulty, the resultant tone was of singular beauty: rich, majestic and of great flexibility. The accompaniments were shared by the fine organ of the abbey and a full orchestra made up of eminent soloists and of players nominated from leading orchestras. The special fanfares, composed by Sir Ernest Bullock, were played by massed trumpeters from the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall, under their conductor Lt-Col Meredith Roberts MBE MVO. The choral music was conducted by Dr William McKie, organist and choirmaster of Westminster Abbey, assisted by Dr John Dykes Bower and Dr W.H. Harris, and the organ was played by Dr Osborne. H. Peasgood.