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.

Heinrich Schiff gives a fine interpretation of both concertos and has suberb orchestral balance with two of the finest European orchestras – the Amsterdam Concergebouw under Colin Davis and the Dresden Statkapelle under Neville Marinner. Both orchestras have gorgeous sound and both conductors are extremely supportive at every turn.

Newcastle-born and -based, Charles Avison issued his string arrangements of harpsichord sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti in 1744. Forty-two of Scarlatti's sonatas had been published by Roseingrave in London five years earlier and it was these which, by and large, provided Avison with his material. 'By and large', since, as Stephen Roe remarks in his note, the sonatas included only two slow movements and Avison, planning 12 concertos in the slow-fast-slow-fast scheme favoured by his teacher, Geminiani, required 24.

Sir Neville Marriner thins out the usual ASMF textures and leads vigorous, stately accounts of both the Water Music Suites and the Music for the Royal Fireworks. The playing is snappy, the feeling of dance-inspired animation just right. This is the ideal compilation, presenting both scores complete; and the sound is open, well balanced, and extremely well defined.

When these recordings first came out, far in advance of the period instrument revolution, they were revelations. Though modern instruments were used, there was an effort to get performance practices right… And there was the incredibly powerful, absolutely heavenly sound of that chorus of men and boys, as well as the lifelike recordings that perfectly captured the vast space of the Chapel of King's College. Since that time there have been other performances that depict the letter of each work to a greater degree than these, but many listeners will argue that there are none that have better encapsulated the spirit of this music… These are star-studded "great singing" recordings in which the artists will be remembered as much as the music itself.

Tear's Serenade and Nocturne are sterling performances, fervent and expressive without falling into preciousness. Harper's passionate Illuminations makes a strong case for a female voice in these fevered poems. Civil, Marriner and Tate provide atmospheric support.

In the early 1950s Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau began what would become a long and distinguished career as one of his generation’s foremost Bach interpreters. By 1981, when he and his wife Julia Varady made this recording for Philips, his declining vocal abilities apparently didn’t prevent him from continuing to deliver the kind of infectious, exuberant performances that established that reputation and endeared him to so many listeners.

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields was founded in 1959 by Sir Neville Marriner and a group of London’s leading orchestral players. Originally formed as a small conductorless string group, it spearheaded the 1950’s Baroque revival.

These three early symphonies join the series of ASMF/Marriner recordings of all the 'named' symphonies of Haydn. They are delightfully lightweight with unusual prominence given to the woodwind, and they receive here wholly enjoyable 'chamber-music' style performances of great style and precision. The recorded balance has ideal spread and depth, the harpsichord being just in evidence. The sum of its many musical and technical virtues makes this CD compulsive listening through every one of its 13 movements.

Les petits riens (French for "The Little Nothings") is a ballet in one act and three tableaux by Jean-Georges Noverre, with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and other unknown composers, first performed at the Academie Royale de Musique in Paris on 11 June 1778.

William Walton first foundsuccess in the early 1920s, when he set to music a cycle of abstract poems by Edith Sitwell, whom he was the protégé in his early career. A very inventive score, quite modernist, written for wind sextet, percussion and cello, in which the poems are recited and not sung. Though the suites are popular and often recorded, the original version is quite rare! Featuring as narrators, two great figures of British acting: Fenella Fielding (known for her distinctive voice and numerous recordings of audio books) and Michael Flanders.

A collection of orchestral showpieces with captivating, sparkling sound conducted by Marriner, who is most familiar with how to make the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields sound brilliant. Flight of the Bumblebee, Dance of Time, William Tell Overture, and more. Recorded between 1982 and 1992.

In addition to his lifelong dedication to the Academy of St Martin in the Fields which he founded himself, Neville Marriner was appointed principal conductor of various orchestras, notably the Minnesota Orchestra where he succeeded to Stanisław Skrowaczewski. During his 7-year long mandate, he recorded two albums for EMI, including this program devoted to the music of Aaron Copland, highlighting the ballet suites excerpted from his most popular works inspired by American culture and folklore, Rodeo and Appalachian Spring.