The Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio is a first-rate group of soloists and its performances as an ensemble are tight but flexible, strong but sensitive, and colorful yet cogent. All of the usual suspects are on this recording – Ravel's Trio for violin, cello, and piano; the Sonata from violin and cello, and the Sonata for violin and piano – as well as a fair number of less well-known works.

Before embarking on the Constantinople journey, Christos Hatzis and the members of the Gryphon Trio envisioned a work that would take chamber music in new directions and bring it to audiences far beyond its traditional realm. The Trio was intrigued by the composer’s ability to utilize the musical sounds and textures of diverse world cultures in his own music. The composer and members of the Gryphon Trio also shared an interest in exploring the connection between music, movement and visual imagery with collaborators from other artistic disciplines.

You say your favorite Vivaldi passage is the Four Seasons summer storm? Well, here's a disc for you. Fabio Biondi and the Europa Galante (known to many for their bestselling Seasons disc) focus on concerti con titoli, the titled concertos the Red Priest wrote that are full of inventive drama and expression. Writing for his student orchestra, the composer employed plenty of creativity in his instrumentation, and, as evidenced on a few tracks here, he wasn't beyond recycling motifs from his older works.