Established in Moscow in 1945, and still performing today, the Borodin Quartet sustains a distinctive tradition in the interpretation of Russian chamber music. Over the decades its members – all trained at the Moscow Conservatory – have inevitably changed, but the ensemble’s identity has remained cohesive, its philosophy and aesthetic embodying an entire musical culture. The quartet’s close association with Dmitri Shostakovich has gone down in history, and his chamber works are central to this 8CD collection which, offering music by a succession of Russian composers from Borodin himself to Schnittke, spans the 19th and 20th centuries.

Orange Mountain Music is proud to present the new album ESCAPE from guitarist Gerard Cousins featuring arrangements for solo guitar of Philip Glass's best known music. Appropriately, Cousins starts with a flowing account of Opening, the first track from Glass's iconic 1983 album Glassworks, designed to introduce people to the public to the composer’s music. Cousins follows the mood with four tracks from Glass's piano pieces Metamorphosis, the second of which, Metamorphosis No.2, became the basis for the piece Escape! from the Oscar Nominated score to The Hours. The album concludes with Knee Play 2 from Glass's 1976 opera Einstein on the Beach, a landmark of 20th century theater, and finally Truman Sleeps from Glass's Golden Globewinning score to The Truman Show.

Simone Dinnerstein's first recording for Sony Classical, BACH: A STRANGE BEAUTY, has the critically-acclaimed pianist returning to Bach,this time combining three transcriptions of his Chorale Preludes, with one of his English Suites and two of his Keyboard Concerti, again revealing her intense and expressive playing style, as well as her individual approach to Bach's music.