Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s acclaimed series of piano concertos by Mozart reaches its fifth instalment. Concertos Nos 5, 6, 8, and 9 are complemented by the overtures to Il sogno di Scipione, Lucio Silla, La finta giardiniera, Il re pastore, and Zaide. That all of these works were composed by Mozart between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five serves as a vivid reminder of his unique talents as a child prodigy: these are not childhood efforts but mature works. The Fifth Concerto was actually Mozart’s first, as Nos 1 – 4 are arrangements of works by other composers. As in the previous volumes, Bavouzet is partnered by Manchester Camerata and Gábor Takács-Nagy, all recorded in The Stoller Hall in Manchester.

Mozart+ is an exceptional selection of some of the most beautiful concert and opera arias by W.A. Mozart as well as discoveries of largely unknown arias from operas by Tommaso Traetta, Giovanni Paisiello and Vicente Martín y Soler, reflecting the exchange of musical ideas between Mozart and his contemporaries and getting these three composers out of Mozart's shadow.

Mozart's Requiem is one of the truly iconic works in the history of music. A prime reason for this is of course its musical qualities; but even before that, legends had begun to form around the work - that it was written to fulfill an anonymous commission received through 'an unknown, grey stranger' - is the stuff of mystery novels, while the fact that Mozart fell ill and died while composing it has been exploited to great melodramatic effect. One thing that we know for certain is that its first performance took place at a memorial service for Mozart only days after his death. The performers used the composer's incomplete autograph, but very soon attempts to complete the work were set in motion by Mozart's widow. In 1800 the Requiem, in Franz Xaver Süssmayr's completion, appeared in print; it is this version that is still by far the most widely performed. Many have tried to improve on it, however, or make their own versions based on the autograph. For this recording, Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan commissioned a new performing edition.

Hilary Hahn and Natalie Zhu prove they are an excellent duo team in their first recording together, featuring four of Mozart's sonatas for violin and piano. All dating from 1778 and later, Mozart treats the two instruments more equitably in these sonatas than in his earlier ones. Hahn and Zhu are technically flawless together. They match each other as closely as two different instruments can to achieve a true duet sound. Just as Hahn "digs" into her strings for extra friction in the opening of the Sonata in E minor, K. 304, Zhu aims for the same tone quality with her touch. The two use longer note values, enhanced by vibrato and pedal, to give the music a pretty sound. It's probably more than a Classical era purist would like, but this is by no means a Romantic interpretation. Their slow movements, particularly those of K. 376 and K. 526, have beautifully rounded, cantabile phrases. The Allegro con spirito of K. 301 has bright accents and intense diminuendos and crescendos, demonstrating that this music isn't all elegance and delicacy.

Customarily, the booklet notes for recordings containing music transcribed for instruments other than those for which it was written make the argument that such transcriptions were normal, accepted, and so on, in the years when the music was written. The ones for this disc make the same argument, but it's not so relevant in this case – the musicians here join performance style to transcription in an effort to make something new, not just to fill a hole in the cellist's repertory (Mozart never wrote anything for solo cello). The transcriptions from Mozart's sonatas for violin and keyboard were made by cellist Alexander Kniazev, but it is pianist Edouard Oganessian who sets the tone for much of the music.

Among the genre of Strings Quartets, there's no other that reveals the quintessence of the post-romantic atmosphere like this Op. This is without any doubt one of the last masterpieces of Schubert. Written in 1828, it epitomizes and depicts the slight barrier between dream and reality, creating an illusionist atmosphere that leaves behind itself any the previous attempt. It's such its kaleidoscopic conjunction of unsaid feelings and thoughts that may be regarded like a musical canvas which transcends by far the limits of its historical moment.

Curzon record is of high quality, and it is good to have this example of his superlative artistry in the music of Mozart, a composer who was particularly close to his heart. Indeed, Curzon's stylistic perfection in Mozart was formed at a time when this composer was often much less well served than he is now. Curzon and the Amadeus Quartet were old friends, and in these versions there is clearly a close rapport between all four players, though [Norbert] Brainin's distinctive, slowish, wide vibrato was already very noticeable in September 1952, when the recordings were made, and seems out of style in Mozart. In every other respect these are superlative, beautifully poised performances.

The contents of the EMI box are too numerous to list but all the sonatas, variations, and most short pieces are here: absent is the London Sketchbook, which is trite juvenalia.

In the Pierre Boulez Saal Opening Concert, Daniel Barenboim, the Boulez Ensemble and renowned soloists are celebrating the idea of what this new concert hall of the Barenboim Said-Academy in Berlin stands for: to create a space where beloved classics, modern masterworks of the early 20th century, and music of our time can be heard side by side and inspire audiences and performers alike.

Though Serkin isn`t concertizing a great deal these days, he remains a fascinating pianist on disc. Some listeners (this one included) find Serkin`s playing occasionally too pointed and harsh. Yet for those who tire of the delicate, jewel-box Mozart that is fashionable among pianists today, Serkin surely represents a compelling alternative. His performances of the Concertos Nos. 15 (K. 450 in B-flat Major) and 22 (K. 482 in E-flat Major) are expansive, thoughtful and pleasantly unhurried. In slow movements, he`s never less than thoughtful, creating some exquisite pianissimos in the process. Abbado is ever the sensitive accompanist.

One year after the 200th anniversary of Mozart’s death, American musicologist Pamela Poulin was rummaging through the archives of the Latvian Academic Library in Riga and came upon announcements and programs for three concerts given in Riga in 1794 by Mozart’s friend, fellow Freemason, and clarinet virtuoso Anton Stadler. The programs also included an engraving of what Stadler termed an Inventions Klarinette. This led to the discovery of several basset clarinets and basset horns in various European collections. These instruments are fashioned from boxwood with brass keys and are virtually identical to that shown in the engraving on the concert program.

Karl Böhm conducting the Requiem: one of the foremost Mozart conductors of the 20th century in one of Mozart’s most admired works. Singers Gundula Janowitz, Christa Ludwig, Peter Schreier and Walter Berry join forces to form a brilliant cast of soloists. Taped in 1971 at the Piaristenkirche in Vienna, this is a rare document of outstanding artistic quality.

Canadian bassoonist George Zukerman is an artiste , a man whose agile command of this difficult instrument is apparent at his first entry in the Mozart concerto. His technique dazzles and his wonderfully sweet and lyrical tone is a perfect match for the cantabile style of the slow movements. Jörg Faerber and the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra have been around for years, and even though the period-instrument movement has encroached upon much of their turf, the 30-year-old-plus playing isn’t dated and can stand comparison with the best now available.

Anna Netrebko once again triumphed at the 2006 Salzburg Festival with her winning portrayal of Susanna in Claus Guth's new production of Le nozze di Figaro, the highlights of which can be heard on this spectacular CD. Led by conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt with the Vienna Philharmonic, this production of Figaro garnered critical acclaim: "Guth and Harnoncourt have opened up a new perspective on an opera that is normally staged as a lightweight, turbulent farce," wrote the Zeit Online, while Die Welt described Harnoncourt as "a sorcerer able to conjure up magical sounds."

Believed to have been composed between August 1775 and January 1777, the Concerto In E Flat Major for two pianos technically counts as being the tenth of Mozart's twenty-seven concertos, that huge and prodigious body that would set the standards for all piano concertos from Mozart's time forward. Although it is not performed with the same frequency as his later works (especially the final eight concertos, 20-27), this "Double" piano concerto, believed to have been composed by Mozart for performance by him and his sister Maria Anna ("Nannerl"), is nevertheless a fascinating experiment of Mozart's, one that requires a pair of solid keyboard virtuosos to do (and for the composer's Seventh piano concerto, you needed three soloists).