A violinist in a class of his own, Renaud Capuçon shows why he is 'Le Violon Roi'; (The Violin King) in this 3-CD collection. As the leading French violinist of his generation, Capucon records exclusively for Virgin Classics and has a rich discography. The set brings together not only some of his best and most popular performances as a soloist but as a collaborator.

Masters of Classical Music is an informative and captivating guide to twenty of the most important works in music history. Outtakes from the original scores within the documentaries, assist the viewer by making it easier to follow the music and to overall comprehend the structure of the works. The viewer will travel back in time to experience the birth places of these compositions and will thereby gain insight into the lives of the composers whilst receiving a thorough introduction to the works.

Since his first release for Virgin Classics, Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations in 2000, Polish pianist Piotr Anderszewski’s has produced a catalogue which ranges from Bach and Mozart, through more Beethoven to Chopin, Szymanowski and Webern, and which includes several prizewinning recordings.

Peter Davison has composed music scores for Indie Features, the History Channel, A+E, Biography, PBS, Warner Bros., Disney, Universal, Discovery, Gaiam (Yoga/Relaxation music) and others. Over 30 CDs of his music are on Universal/Higher Octave, Gaiam, Davisounds and TSR/Baja. His CDs “Meditate” and “Exhale” were both in the Billboard Top 10 New Age Albums.

This is a very fine sampler of Horowitz's Schumann - surely one of the great interpretative acts of the last century? It is at least one of the greatest - probably the greatest - performance(s) of Kinderszenen around; Horowitz's almost frightening ability to give life to these pieces is inimitable, and the poetic depths and shadows of various nuances he brings to the more reflective pieces is peerless. It is, quite simply, an almost perfect performance. He is no less impressive in the other works either; the Fantasie is beautifully shaped and wonderfully played.

Firma Melodiya continues the series of compact discs dedicated to December Evenings Festival that takes place at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. This album, like the previous one, is dedicated to the 1985 festival World of Romanticism and includes recordings featuring Sviatoslav Richter. The atmosphere of December Evenings, an event initiated by the great pianist, differed from usual philharmonic concerts. The spirit of music as an inseparable part of "fusion of arts" the romanticists dreamt of was invisibly felt in each number; a sensitive listener can catch it in these, perhaps technically imperfect, concert recordings from thirty years ago. The works by Schubert, Schumann and Chopin were performed by Sviatoslav Richter in ensemble with his outstanding contemporaries, violinist and David Oistrakh's student Oleg Kogan who passed away prematurely, violist Yuri Bashmet, cellist Natalia Gutman and clarinettist Anatoly Kamyshov.

Schumann's piano trios are large-scale works, the D minor trio in particular. Its lengthy first movement, which the composer marks "With Energy and Passion", really needs to be played that way, consisting as it does of those long, episodic, non-developing sequences that Schumann for some reason called "sonata form". Don't get me wrong: the music works just fine, but only if it's played with enough sweep and spontaneity that its emotional urgency obliterates its somewhat clunky form. The same holds true for the finale, marked "With Fire". The Vienna Brahms Trio does a good job of conveying the impulsiveness of Schumann's inspiration, and their sense of poetry in the slow movement has just the right "inner" quality.

This recording is really good. Firstly, about the sound quality. Although this recording was made in 1984, the Deutsche-Grammophon sound is clear, full, and crisp. Now about the performance. This is the most extraordinary Kreisleriana I have ever heard. It's beautiful, tender, raw, wise - but none of these adjectives do it justice. It's best to just get it & listen. When this recording is on, I and everybody I'm with, even if we were busy doing something before, inevitably find ourselves just listening later on.

This new release features Schumann violin sonatas played with period instruments, including an Anselmo Bellosio violin, ca. 1770 with Gut strings and an Erard piano, serial number 32602, built in 1862. Maalismaa and Holmström have worked as a duo since 2011. They are co-directors of both the Ristiveto Festival, which specializes in performing late 19th-century music on period instruments, and the Classical Hietsu concert series in Helsinki. Finnish violinist Eriikka Maalismaa plays in a variety of ensembles and collectives and visits frequently as leader of orchestras. She is fascinated by saying Yes to things that scare her. Performing music of our time as well as collaborating with composers is one of her biggest interests.

Karajan’s artistic grip on the Salzburg Festival unofficially spanned three decades and woe betide anyone who upset him. Whether Kempff did or did not must be a matter of conjecture. What is sure is that this was his one and only appearance at the event. He was 63 years old at the time and lived to the ripe old age of 96, outliving Karajan himself. He was also a major recording artist for DG and their influence on the Festival was almost as pervasive as the conductor’s. Nevertheless this disc manages to fill a gap in Kempff’s discography with the Beethoven and Brahms works, two of the composers (Schubert and Schumann the others) with whose music this great pianist is readily associated.

Counting the album of violin sonatas he made with violinist Daniel Sepec, this is the third Schumann release from historical-instrument specialist Andreas Staier. Staier's recordings of earlier keyboard music had some really surprising sounds, but with Schumann, playing an 1837 Erard, it's a realm not too far removed from the modern piano: better able to capture the intimate shadings of the Fantasiestücke, Op. 12, perhaps. But, even more so than in previous releases, Staier has come up with a really arresting program this time, and done it full justice.

This is the best recording of both Schumann's and Schubert's fantasies. Perahia plays Schubert Fantasy with such clarity, delicacy and sophistication that Pollini's Wanderer Fantasy sounds flat and bland. (well, all the recordings by early Pollini are super flat without any depth anyways). Richter's Schubert Fantasy is one of the best around, yet Perahia does it with extra flair and depth. Perahia sounds even better with Schumann as his Schumann always sounds impeccable. Perahia gives so much air to the fantasy and the music flows just so naturally. Richter's Schumann sounds a bit too self-indulgent to me.

This box of Schumann's chamber works makes a superb package, and is often available at bargain price. It is a bit like one of Martha Argerich's box sets from Lugano, except that here she is present in a large number of the formations. All of the works where she features, including the Piano Quintet, the 2nd Violin Sonata and the Marchenbilder, are unmissable and full of passion and excitement, conveying a continuous sense of transport. Where she is not the pianist Alexandre Rabinovitch takes over at the keyboard and also gives us some superlative versions.

Richter was always a fan of Schubert's Piano music. He recorded over half of the Sonatas, the Wanderer Fantasie, some of the Impromptus and the Trout Piano Quintet to name a few works. Early in his career he would tear through impromptus, and play the Wander Fantasie with force and power. Fast forward much later at this point when these Sonatas were performed, and Richter was still playing some of the most difficult works in piano repertoire, such as Prokofiev Sonatas, Chopin Etudes and Liszt. In the case of these of composers its hard not to be inclined to be enjoy his earlier recordings more, but that is not the case here with Schubert.

…interesting, neglected material performed to perfection with texts and translations provided. Although Schumann’s duets were primarily intended for home performance around the piano, they benefit enormously from readings by such fine artists as the three taking part in this recital – recorded in 1977, but sounding as if committed to disc yesterday, so excellent is the sound, so spontaneous the singing.