"The symphony performance under Eivind Aadland has everything you would hope for: lots of energy and excitement, with a very fine, well-prepared orchestra." (American Record Guide) The complete edition of Edvard Grieg's symphonic works with the WDR Symphony Orchestra under Eivind Aadland is now available as a set. This edition is especially convincing thanks to the authentic approach of the Norwegian Eivind Aadland. Vol. 1 and 2 are dedicated to the original orchestral works, whilst Vol. 3 contains a portion of the transcriptions of works that Grieg had originally composed for the piano.

Sette Voce was founded in 2001 and its members are from a number of European countries. They are directed by the renowned Dutch baritone Peter Kooij and the ensemble has been invited to appear at several important national and international festivals.

With 17 symphonies and 32 concertos to date, Kalevi Aho is one of today’s most prolific composers of large-scale orchestral scores. The present disc brings together two works separated by 35 years, but also by the reception they have enjoyed: whereas Sieidi, the percussion concerto Aho composed in 2010, has become one of his most performed works, Symphony No. 5 from the mid-70s is a rarely heard score. Sieidi was written for Colin Currie, who has recorded it here and who performs the concerto with orchestras across the world.

Boris Yoffee was born in Russia in 1968. There, he studied violin and composition and before the breakup of the Soviet Union he immigrated to Israel, where he studied at Tel Aviv University. In 1997, he moved to Germany to study composition with Wolfgang Rihm. By 2009, he had amassed an enormous number of short works. Thus, the performers who had been asked to record his Song of Songs looked through approximately 800 of them in order to select the pieces they wanted to perform. The Rosamunde Quartet is a German string quartet that was formed in 1992; since the group disbanded in 2010, this is its last recording. The Hilliard Ensemble is a British male vocal quartet that is well known for its performance of Renaissance, medieval, and contemporary music. It has often performed the works of Arvo Pärt, whose music is somewhat similar to that of Yoffe.

Famous as its title has become through Carl Orff's work of the same name, the original Carmina burana—a German manuscript collection of mostly secular songs, probably compiled in the early thirteenth century—is all but unknown to modern listeners. That it should be so is hardly surprising, since many of the pieces in the manuscript pose formidable editorial problems (inasmuch as they can be deciphered at all), and since virtually nothing is known about the manner in which they would have been performed and accompanied, nor about the circumstances under which they would have been heard.

This 1960 recording of the Great C Minor Mass is here released under the Deutsche Grammophon Originals umbrella, and is thoroughly deserving of the accolade. This is an account of the work which is completely uninfluenced by authentic practice–if you're already curling your lip, then please stop here–but which establishes its own terms of performance with such assurance that it's almost impossible to resist. The forces (both orchestral and choral) are large but by no means unwieldy, and directed with infectious and spirited enthusiasm by Fricsay. The effect is one of solidity and grandeur, but without any hint of pomposity: indeed, the jubilant choruses of the Gloria have an almost childlike glee about them.

These distinguished, if not perfect, recordings made in 1984. They should be amongst everyone’s preferred renditions. They are brisk but not tense, dramatic and even playful when need be. Occasionally, but only at rare moments, such as the beginning of the “Prague” Symphony, I would like something a little fiercer. Mostly Marriner is right on, as in the transition between the darkish introduction to the first movement of the Symphony No. 39 and its exuberant main theme.

Volume 2 of Discovering the Classical String Trio is a continuation of The Vivaldi Project's exploration of the 18th-century string trio, of its relationship to the earlier Baroque trio sonata (as exemplified by Vivaldi and contemporaries) and of its role as an important genre in its own right, side-by-side with the emerging string quartet. The string trio, although largely overlooked during the past century, was manifestly popular in its day at its compositional peak (c. 1760-1770) out-publishing the string quartet by a ratio of more than five to one! These forgotten works, some 2000 string trios by more than 200 composers, reveal not only a wonderful amalgam of instrumental techniques and styles, but also a significant, untold part of chamber music history.

This formidable release features Inbal Segev performing Elgars emotive Cello Concerto coupled with DANCE, an inspiring new work by Grammy-nominated English composer Anna Clyne that was commissioned by Inbal. On this powerful recording, Marin Alsop conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Marin introduced Inbal to Anna, sparking a special synergy between the three women. While Anna was composing DANCE, a five-movement concerto inspired by the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi, further connections ensued.

Rameau’s career was nearing its end when the rehearsals of his last composition, Les Boréades, began at the Académie Royale de Musique, in spring 1764. The death of the composer in September interrupted the production of his lyric tragedy, which was only saw the light of day two centuries later! This magnificent opera is certainly the most accomplished of Rameau’s works, composed as he was aged eighty and in full possession of his creative means: the composition for orchestra and choir is highly virtuoso, the melodic invention exceptional, the drama powerful: a true musical testament.