Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Anyone who loves twentieth century music, who loves English music, or who just plain loves music will love this collection of the music of Michael Tippett. Culled from previously issued but long out-of-print Philips, London, Argo, and l'Oiseau-Lyre LPs, most of these recordings were world premieres made in close consultation with the composer and in the hands of conductors Colin Davis, Georg Solti, Neville Marriner, pianist Paul Crossley, and the Lindsay String Quartet, they receive what can fairly be described as definitive performances. From the ecstatic lyricism of the Suite for Double String Orchestra of 1939 through the luminous vitality of the First Symphony of 1945, the radiant sensuality of the Ritual Dances of 1955, the blues-based modernism of the Third Symphony of 1972, to the glistening transcendentalism of the Fourth Symphony of 1977, Tippett's unique fusion of line, drive, color, and form is performed throughout with passionate dedication and absolute faith in the music's greatness.

The greatest of Mozart's wind serenades and the toughest of Alban Berg's major works might seem an unlikely pairing, but in an interview included with the sleeve notes for this release, Pierre Boulez points up their similarities. Both works are scored for an ensemble of 13 wind instruments (with solo violin and piano as well in the Berg) and both include large-scale variations as one of their movements - and Boulez makes the comparisons plausible enough in these lucid performances. It's rare to hear him conducting Mozart, too, and if the performance is a little brisker and more strait-laced than ideal, the EIC's phrasing is a model of clarity and good taste. It's the performance of the Berg, though, that makes this such an important issue; both soloists, Mitsuko Uchida and Christian Tetzlaff, are perfectly attuned to Boulez's approach - they have given a number of performances of the Chamber Concerto before - and the combination of accuracy and textural clarity with the highly wrought expressiveness that is the essence of Berg's music is perfectly caught.

The title of this album refers to the Yiddish word Mensch: literally a human being, but in everyday use someone who acts with integrity, awareness and responsibility. For Rzewski, the term carried exactly this meaning. A Mensch is not a perfect person, but someone who remains fully human - capable of doubt, contradiction and critical thought, and resistant to becoming passive within larger societal systems. This idea runs quietly but consistently through his work.

L'Arte dell'Arco is thorough in its exploration of the Italian Baroque, recording Tartini's complete concertos and all of Vivaldi's published works.

“These performances, by Heinz Holliger and Marie-Lise Schüpbach, are simply astonishing in their fluency,” wrote UK magazine Gramophone of Holliger’s album Zwiegespräche, and the description applies with equal pertinence to con slancio, with its inspired and inspiring play of energies. The title piece, which opens the programme here, was written by the Swiss composer and nonpareil oboist as a tribute to musical partner Schüpbach: “Since I began playing in duo with Marie-Lise, I’ve been fascinated by the way our two instruments expand each other’s range and palette of tone colours. New sound paths have opened up for me.”

Nel corso degli ultimi anni Stefano Veggetti si è distinto nel panorama concertistico e discografico europeo per il suo virtuosismo strumentale, per la raffinata musicalità e comprensione dello stile del periodo, e per una presenza scenica viva ma non da protagonista. Ha conseguito il diploma di violoncello presso il conservatorio dell’Aquila con David Cole. In seguito ha ricevuto una borsa per un periodo di studi con Orlando Cole a Philadelphia (USA).Affascinato dalle sonorità degli strumenti ad arco antichi ha frequentato corsi con Anner Bijlsma ed ha suonato come solista edin complessi cameristici con musicisti che si sono specializzati sul repertorio della musica barocca e classica (tra i quali Anner Bijlsma, L’Archibudelli, Stanley Ritchie, Alfredo Bernardini, Ottavio Dantone, L’Astrée, Erich Höbarth, Rachel Podger, Jos van Immersel, Anima Eterna Brugge) in Europa, Mexico, USA. Come direttore dell’Ensemble Cordia propone programmi di musica da camera ed orchestrale scelti dal patrimonio di musiche del periodo barocco e classico meno frequentato ed ha realizzato diverse registrazioni per l’etichetta Brilliant, accolte con entusiasmo dalla critica specializzata. Come solista e direttore si è esibito per prestigiose istituzioni e festivals italiani ed europei quali Stresa Festival, Konzerthaus di Vienna, Bachfest di Lipsia, Concerti del Quirinale. Utrecht Early Music Festival, Magdeburger TelemannFesttage.

Toyohiko Satoh, born 佐藤豊彦 on November 4, 1943 in Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan, is a Japanese lutenist. He studied music history and guitar at Rikkyo University in Tokyo, giving his first guitar recital in 1965. In 1968, Satoh moved to Europe to study lute with Eugen Müller-Dombois at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland. His career took off when he recorded the first LP devoted entirely to the solo Baroque lute in 1970. He collaborated with notable artists such as Gustav Leonhardt and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. In 1973, he became a professor at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, Netherlands, holding this position until 2004.

The Lyric Opera of Chicago is an American opera company based in Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma. Fox re-organized the company in 1956 under its present name. Lyric is housed in a theater and related spaces in the Civic Opera Building. These spaces are now owned by Lyric.

Recording of the Month, Gramophone Magazine, September 2016. Award-winning violinist Christian Tetzlaff, together with pianist Lars Vogt, offers an exciting program of Violin Sonatas by Johannes Brahms (1833–1897). This new release continues a successful series of recordings of violin chamber works by the duo. Johannes Brahms’s Violin Sonatas are among the greatest masterpieces in 19th-century chamber music. Brahms wrote these sonatas between 1878 and 1888,at the height of his creative powers. With these powerful works Brahms brought the genre of violin sonatas into a new dimension. Included is also Scherzo movement from the F. A. E. Sonata which Brahms contributed to a composite sonata with Robert Schumann and Albert Dietrich in 1853.

Film Fest Gent proudly presents Philip Glass: Music for Film, featuring comprehensive highlights from the renowned composer’s career in cinema, performed by the Brussels Philharmonic conducted by Dirk Brossé. While there have been countless performances, recordings and releases of Glass’s works, this is the first time that an entire album is devoted to new studio recordings of his original film scores, including several scores that have never been recorded before.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788) was a German musician and composer; and the second of five sons of Johann Sebastian Bach and his frist wife, Maria Barbara Bach. He is considered to be one of the founders of the Classical style, composing in the Rococo and Classical periods.

It all starts on Christmas Eve, when Clara’s mysterious uncle presents her with a nutcracker. Later that night, it comes to life as a prince …

Café del Mundo is a German musical group formed in 2007 by guitarists Jan Pascal and Alexander Kilian. The duo met during a Flamenco guitar workshop at the Buchener Gitarrentage. Café del Mundo released their album La Perla in 2014, followed by Dance of Joy (2015). They signed with GLM Music and performed as an opening act for Lang Lang at Jazz Open Stuttgart in 2013. Their subsequent albums include …In Passion Live at Theaterhaus Stuttgart (2015) and Famous Tracks (2019), recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London. In 2023, they collaborated with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the album Symphonic, also recorded at Abbey Road Studios. Their cover of "Una Mattina" went viral on Instagram and TikTok in 2023.

Handel’s flautist. The first port of call for every aristocrat who wished to master the German flute. A founding father of the Royal Society of Musicians. Charles Weidemann was everywhere in Georgian London — and almost nowhere in the history books. These twelve flute sonatas, composed at the height of a blooming career, reveal why he deserves better. Graceful, inventive, and reflecting his virtuosity, they are the rediscovery of the season.

Laura Lootens' deeply sensitive tribute to music of Romantic essence ranges from Frederic Chopin, in transcriptions by guitarists Jerzy Koenig and Tariq Harb, to La Chanson des vieux amants as sung by Jacques Brel and the sumptuous lyricism of Agustin Barrios Mangore.(complete blurb)As a teenager, Laura Lootens discovered a song by Sting that deeply moved her. From the 1993 album Ten Summoner's Tales, Shape of My Heart has remained her favourite song, to this day. She includes it as an epilogue on her second album for Naive, which she conceived as a heartfelt tribute to music of Romantic essence.