Aquarium or Akvarium (Russian: Аквариум) is a Russian rock group formed in Leningrad, USSR (now Saint Petersburg, Russia) in 1972. The band had many member changes over its 40-year history, and at the end the only remaining original member was lead singer and founder Boris Grebenshchikov, also colloquially known as BG after his initials. He is often called as 'Grandfather of Russian Rock'. Aquarium were strongly influenced by Western rock music as well as by new wave and reggae artists. This was reflected in the band's often complex compositions and wide-ranging lyric themes, even including references to Celtic and Indian cultures.

We are very pleased to present our first release in a new series from the PaTRAM Institute. The music performed on this recording of Orthodox choral music in the Slavonic language was written by famed Russian composer Pavel Chesnokov (1877-1944). Teach me Thy Statutes is performed by the PaTRAM Institute Male Choir, a highly professional group which is a collaboration of Russian and American singers.

Reference Recordings is very pleased to present the third release in our series from the PaTRAM Institute™, rising stars whose previous two albums on our label, Teach Me Thy Statutes (FR­727SACD) and The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (FR-­731), have been honored with GRAMMY® nominations for Best Choral Performance. The music performed on this new recording of Russian Orthodox choral music comprises works of many great Russian composers, all celebrating the theme of Russian Orthodox hymns dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Following Anna Netrebko's astounding success in Salzburg's Il Trovatore production we are pleased to announce a very exciting opera release for the start of 2015, recorded during her U-Live tour in 2012. Anna Netrebko performs Iolanta, the title role of one of Tchaikovsky’s most passionate, evocative scores and one of opera’s most enigmatic figures making the character her own and dedicating herself to championing this under-appreciated work.

Soprano Olga Peretyatko is in demand for opera roles requiring a voice that’s endlessly flexible and light on its feet. Those are mainly Italian, but there are plenty of them in her native Russian repertoire, too. The all-Russian programme here spans just over a century, from Glinka’s Ruslan and Lyudmila to ’s Moscow, Cheryomushki. Her arias from these are impeccably done, but while there are no downright showstoppers, it’s during the tracks in between that she shines, supported solidly by the Ural Philharmonic under Dmitry Liss. The sinuous lines of the Hymn to the Sun from Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera The Golden Cockerel are cleanly yet sensuously done, with a whiff of spice and incense about them, and the aria for ’s The Nightingale chirrups and cajoles. Volkhova’s Lullaby from Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sadko has both poise and weight, and her Rachmaninov songs combine a gleaming timbre with an idiomatic melancholy.

Anna Netrebko presents a dazzling array of iconic soprano arias by Verdi, Wagner, Strauss, Puccini, Cilea and Purcell in her first solo album in 5 years, a new recording and visual project featuring some of opera’s most powerful and moving arias.

In its history as a concert orchestra, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks has also devoted itself on numerous occasions to opera, under such eminent conductors as Rafael Kubelik and Leonard Bernstein. Chief conductor Mariss Jansons also maintains the tradition, for example with concert performances of Russian operas such as "Eugene Onegin". BR-KLASSIK now presents the 2014 live recording in Munich's Philharmonie im Gasteig of the semi-staged performance of Tchaikovsky's late masterpiece "The Queen of Spades". With great connoisseurship, Mariss Jansons has brought together a group of singers for this performance in original Russian who are all native speakers of the language, and very familiar with the work. They include Misha Didyk as Hermann, Tatiana Serjan as Lisa, and Alexey Markov as Prince Yeletsky.

Alexander Vedernikov leads the orchestra, soloists and chorus of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on this first volume of Highlights From Russian Operas, including works by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Glinka and others.

Alexander Vedernikov and soloists, chorus and orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow follow up their acclaimed first volume of highlights from Russian operas with this second volume, released in 2009. This album from PentaTone Classics is an excellent "highlight reel" of Russian opera hits of the Romantic era. This volume features the works of Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Tchaikovsky. Snippets of Mussorgsky's "Khovanschina" and "Borid Godunov", a portion of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Legend of the invisable city of Kitezh" and the second act of "Sadko", and a part of Tchaikovsky's opera derived from classic Russian literature "Eugene Onegin".

Alexander Vedernikov and a large cast of musicians, soloists and chorus singers from the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow deliver Glinka's masterpiece Ruslan and Lyudmila in the original authorial version. This triple album was recorded live in Moscow over four nights in April 2003, the live performances and now this recording garnering international acclaim.

Russian Roots is the début recording of Trio Gaspard for Chandos Records, for which the group is joined by the soprano Katharina Konradi in a diverse and rewarding programme that explores the Russian influence across almost 200 years of music. A selection of Russian folksongs set by Beethoven, Shostakovich’s First Piano Trio and Seven Romances on Poems by Blok, and Weinberg’s Jewish Songs form the backbone of the recital. These are complemented by vocalises (wordless songs) by Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, Gubaidulina, and Auerbach.

Anton Rubinstein wrote his Persian Songs in 1854, while on tour in Germany. The source was a recent collection of poems by Friedrich von Bodenstedt, who advertised them as translations from the work of the Azeri poet Mirza Shafi Vazeh (Mirzə Şəfi Vazeh, 1805-52), with whom he had studied during his travels to the Caucasus.

Soprano Claire Booth and pianist Christopher Glynn follow their critically acclaimed collaborations Percy Grainger: Folk Music and Edvard Grieg: Lyric Music with Modest Mussorgsky: Unorthodox Music, interspersing a selection of the Russian composer's under-represented songs with solo piano works.

The Russian composer Sergey Akhunov (b. 1967) was educated at the Kiev State Conservatory, before he started his career as an oboe player. He subsequently gained experience in various musical styles and genres such as electronic music and rock. In the mid-2000s, he consistently turned to composing orchestral, chamber and vocal music, but also film music. This recording presents vocal music by Akhunov, including "Songs", which he wrote as a commission for La Voce Strumentale.