Within 24 hours of hearing the violinist Joseph Szigeti playing Bach, Ysaÿe had made sketches for his own six solo Violin Sonatas, which constitute his single most substantial and remarkable work, drawing together influences as diverse as Gregorian chant, Spanish and Walloon folk music, French impressionism and, of course, Bach himself. These are virtuoso showpieces, but, as Philippe Graffin demonstrates, there is much in them that is yielding and gentle, such as the stately Sarabandes fromthe Second and Fourth Sonatas (the latter is dedicated to Fritz Kreisler) and the radiant evocation of dawn in the Fifth Sonata. Graffin adroitly negotiates these technical and expressive demands, and if there is an occasional lapse in clarity, it is compensated for by a compelling vitality.

In the notes for this release, pianist Krystian Zimerman has distinctly unkind things to say about his 1983 recording of Brahms' First Concerto, complaining first about the weak piano and then about the muffled recording. About the eccentric conductor the incredibly slow Leonard Bernstein the idiomatic orchestra the unbelievably beautiful Vienna Philharmonic or his own sub par playing uncharacteristically heavy and unbearably ponderous Zimerman is understandably silent. The great speaks for itself and the less said of the less than great, the better.

The 1970 film version of Richard Wagner’s opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is based on a staging by the director Leopold Lindtberg, for which Herbert Kirchhoff designed the set and Rudolf Heinrich the costumes. Leopold Ludwig conducts the Chorus of the Hamburg State Opera and the Philharmonic Hamburg State Orchestra. A quick glance at the cast list of this film production of Die Meistersinger reveals the surprising fact that the vocal protagonists – all stars of international reputation – were almost all associated with the Hamburg State Opera ensemble. This production fascinates by its appealing classical staging, the brilliance of the whole cast and the great camera shots, which are only could be realised in a studio production like this and with the result, that the audience finds itself placed amidst the scene.

The Claudio Abbado recording of the Dvorak New World Symphony has managed to secure itself a place among the top digital versions of this much-recorded work, alongside the Dresden performance of James Levine, also on DG. Taken from live performances in 1997, it shows every sign of spontaniety without any loss of dramatic bite or xxcitement. Abbado makes full use of his theatrical background to bring about this effect both in the symphony and in the welcome, perfectly-chosen fill-up, and elicits peerless and attentively-detailed playing from the Berliners.

Eugene Istomin (1925–2003), one of America’s most respected pianists, was highly esteemed by audiences and colleagues alike for his mindful virtuosity and unusually wide-ranging repertoire. 2015 marks Istomin’s 90th birthday year, a milestone that Sony Classical celebrates with the first-ever release of his complete Columbia Masterworks concerto and solo recordings in a limited original-jacket collection including 10 previously unreleased studio recordings. Many of these performances appear in their first authorized CD editions, including the 19-year-old pianist’s recorded debut in Bach’s D minor Concerto led by Adolf Busch; his youthful concerto collaborations with Pablo Casals; Chopin’s complete Nocturnes; Brahms’s Handel Variations; Schubert’s D major D 850 Sonata, plus the long-out-of-print Rachmaninoff 2nd, Tchaikovsky 1st, Brahms 2nd, and Beethoven 4th and 5th (“Emperor”) Concertos with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Newly remastered from the original analogue tapes, the discs are presented in facsimile sleeves and labels corresponding to the original LP releases. An enclosed booklet offers full discographical information, an essay by Jed Distler, and a photographic retrospective.

Rising star Aleksandra Kurzak is a Polish coloratura soprano who tackles a diverse repertoire of arias on her 2011 Decca debut. Beginning with Rossini, Kurzak's "Una voce poco fa" demonstrates her power, solid technique, and unique dark vocal color. Her sound is clean, and she is clearly a wonderful musician, as she gives careful attention to each phrase and score marking: she is not simply a singer with a good, big sound.

This is a relatively new venture for the outstandingly imaginative recording outfit that is Opera Rara. The label's fifty-fourth recording sees them venturing on an uncompleted work by Donizetti, the composer they love the most. The composer had decamped from Naples to Paris when the censors, on the king’s personal instructions, banned his opera Poliuto.

In this tribute to the great nineteenth century mezzo-soprano, Maria Malibran, Cecilia Bartoli sings selections from the repertoire for which Malibran was known. Malibran also ventured into soprano roles, and Bartoli bravely and entirely successfully follows her into that territory. In fact, the primary impression the CD creates is astonishment and awe at the extraordinary range of these selections, and Bartoli's ease, absolute security, and seamless delivery, from above the treble staff to the middle of the bass staff.

If you thought violinist Gidon Kremer and pianist Martha Argerich's 1986 DG recording of Schumann's two published violin sonatas was the last word in overwhelming passion in the German Romantic composer's late chamber music, try this 2008 ECM disc of the two published sonatas plus the unpublished sonata by violinist Carolin Widmann and pianist Dénes Várjon.

Performed for the first time in its original uncut version, this production of Guillaume Tell was the jewel in the crown of the 25-year history of the ‘Rossini in Wildbad’ opera festival. Rossini’s final, great, operatic masterpiece is a story of liberation, the oppressed Swiss attaining their ideal of emancipation by hounding the tyrannical Habsburgs out of their country. Although it was composed for the complex demands of the Paris Opéra, numerous dances, choruses and arias were dropped for reasons of practicality. These are restored in the present recording which also includes the stunning finale of the shorter 1831 version of the opera .

St. Thomas, dating back to the twelfth century, is a musical landmark for the city of Leipzig, in which renowned composers like Gustav Mahler, Richard Wagner and Felix Mendelsson Bartholdy worked. Johann Sebastian Bach was the Thomaskantor here from 1723 to 1750, the world-famous Thomanerchor sings motets here every Saturday, and here resounds the wonderful music played on the instrument Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart once declared the "Queen of Instruments" and about which the poet Honore de Balzac said, "The organ is without a doubt the greatest, boldest and most magnificent of all instruments. It is an entire orchestra form which a skilled hand can demand everything." St. Thomas houses not one but two organs wtihin its walls. In 1889 Wilhelm Sauer built the organ, named after him, in the west choir loft. On the north gallery, the Bach Organ has stoody since 2000. The Sauer Organ has over 88 stops, and the Bach Organ, whose facade is adorned with the seal of the famous Thomakantor, has 61 stops. "Soli Deo Gloria" - Glory to God alone - is the motto by which Bach wrote his music.

Callas first appeared at London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1952, as Norma. It became the scene for her last-ever operatic appearance: in June 1965, in a Zeffirelli production of Tosca that had been mounted for her the previous year. This Blu-ray disc includes Act 2 of that production, recorded in February 1964. Callas is joined by that Scarpia of Scarpias, Tito Gobbi, and as Cavaradossi, the dynamic tenor Renato Cioni. The conductor is Carlo Felice Cillario. This disc also contains extracts from a gala concert given two years earlier at Covent Garden. Callas performs Elisabeth’s magnificent Act 5 aria from Don Carlo (recalling a role she sang at La Scala in 1955) and the Habanera and Séguedille from Carmen, evoking one of the great might-have-beens of operatic history, since she never sang the entire role of Carmen on stage.

Donizetti began writing his Requiem Mass after the death of fellow composer and friend Bellini. Ironically it was not performed until after Donizetti's death in 1848. Lacking a 'Sanctus', 'Benedictus' and 'Agnus Dei', the work is nevertheless a large-scale, powerful and compelling work which is one of Donizetti's most important non-operatic compositions.

"From its foreboding prelude to its melodramatic conclusion, 'Parisina' is one tuneful delight after ano- ther….Pendatchanska is a youthful protagonist. She has a warm voice of almost mezzo-soprano coloring….Hers is a major vocal talent…"

–American Record Guide

Revived after 171 years in oblivion, the staging of Rosmonda d’Inghilterra at Bergamo’s Teatro Donizetti proved fascinating for the Italian public. From the excellent cast of singers, Jessica Pratt and Eva Mei gave standout performances. The opera revolves around a tale of love and intrigue surrounding the main protagonists- the famous Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, her husband Henry II of England, and the fair Rosamund de Clifford. Rosmonda is the quintessential innocent, unaware that the man she loves is the King of England and that she has unwittingly become a rival to the much-feared Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor, having already had her first marriage annulled for reasons of consanguinity, is unwilling to se her second marriage also fail. Only the faithful page Arturo, secretly in love with Rosmonda, knows that the Queen is aware of her husband’s betrayal; but he too is embroiled in this game of deceit hoping that he will end up winning the girl. The emotional and dramatic development is very effective. There is not a page in this score without some example of brilliant writing, a captivating theme, a moving passage. It all goes to prove how deeply original Donizetti was and how much there is still to be discovered about this underappreciated composer.