The EMI Classics recordings of Cécile Ousset (b. 1936), spanning the years between 1982 and 1991, would mark her third and most prestigious recording collaboration, launching her, at age forty-six, into the international limelight. Indeed, recognition did not come easily to this grand dame of the piano, who, at the age of fourteen, obtained her prize at the Paris Conservatoire under the tutelage of Marcel Ciampi and began the gruelling rounds at major competitions shortly after: Geneva, Long-Thibaud, Queen Elisabeth and Busoni, as well as the inaugural edition of the Van Cliburn. As a young female pianist, doors remained firmly shut, even with the support of the great Arthur Rubinstein, who personally invested in Ousset’s early career after witnessing her performance at the Long-Thibaud competition.

In 1956, Bernard Haitink conducted the Concertgebouworkest for the first time and together they would play more than 1,500 concerts across the globe. Besides his modesty, his humanity, his musical taste, and his honesty to the music, three words come to mind when one thinks of Haitink and his orchestra: Sound, Trust and Magic. Jörgen van Rijen, Principal trombone of the Concertgebouworkest, said at a memorial concert in February this year, “Every time with him [Haitink] the orchestra sounded warmer, deeper and richer, from the first moment he started to rehearse. How he did that is difficult to tell … he always gave us musicians the feeling he trusted you, that he was there to help, not to interfere.”

Emmanuel Chabrier's piano music has everything going for it: charm, wit, imagination, unexpected harmonic twists, and more than a few technical challenges. So why do pianists habitually ignore it? Hopefully Angela Hewitt's freshly minted, sharply honed interpretations will inspire recitalists to dust off these unsung treasures. Her keen ear for detail always arises from the music's character and never draws attention to itself. The Schumann-esque Ronde champêtre boasts remarkable rhythmic spring, while Bourrée fantasque's busy contrapuntal lines resonate with the clarity of Hewitt's best Bach playing, yet without sacrificing one iota of scintillation. There have been lighter, crisper renditions of the (relatively) well-known Scherzo-valse, but Hewitt's telling left-hand inflections keep things airborne. In fact, the nine other Pièces pittoresques benefit from Hewitt's ability to give each one its own timbral voice. On paper, for example, Mauresque's steady accompanimental chords don't look like anything special. However, in Hewitt's hands they come to animated life.

Those of us who rejoice in the crystalline beauty of Carolyn Sampson’s interpretations of Bach, Handel and Purcell will welcome this bouquet of songs on a floral theme, her debut recital disc. It’s been a long wait, but our patience is repaid handsomely. With pianist Joseph Middleton she savours some choice blooms from, among others, Britten, Chabrier, Schubert, Schumann, Gounod and Strauss, her glorious soprano particularly affecting in Fauré’s Le papillon et la fleur and the wonderfully perfumed Les roses d’Ispahan. Middleton plays with dextrous delicacy throughout and brings real virtuosity to Strauss’s Mädchenblumen. Highly recommended.

1814 hatte Heinrich Stölzel ein erstes Mal dem preußischen König seine Erfindung der Ventile für das Horn vorgestellt, die diesem sämtliche Töne seines Umfangs in gleicher Reinheit, Schönheit und Stärke zur Verfügung stellen sollte. Die Zeiten des mangelhaften Waldhorns mit der Ungleichheit seiner Töne seien damit beendet, und er versprach, "durch diese Instrumente eine Musik herzustellen, worüber die Welt erstaunen soll".

It is one of the highlights in the calendar of every classical music fan in Berlin - and beyond: On New Year‘s Eve, the Berliner Philharmoniker invite an exceptional soloist for a festive gala. Together the musicians bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new. In 2015, the orchestra has invited German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. Together, they performed works by Saint-Saëns, Massenet, Ravel, Poulenc and Chabrier.