“Unquestionably one of the greatest pianists of all time” is how Gramophone magazine has described Martha Argerich. Her relationship with the label goes back to 1965 and her victory at the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Over several decades it has produced a rich catalogue of live and studio recordings, embracing a repertoire that spans three centuries, a diversity of genres, and collaborations with such figures as Charles Dutoit, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Gidon Kremer, Mischa Maisky and Itzhak Perlman. The complete recordings for EMI Classics, Teldec, Erato and Warner Classics are featured in this box.

Harmonia mundi is proud to welcome the exceptional countertenor Carlo Vistoli as a new exclusive artist. Here he joins the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin to explore some of Vivaldi’s finest sacred music. Alongside the famous Nisi Dominus and Stabat Mater, the quasi-operatic motet In furore shows the extravert, theatrical side of Vivaldi’s genius, for the purposes of edification, to be sure, but also for our greater delight.

Vivaldi's work is extraordinarily profuse, and from his “extraordinary fury of composition” resulted a collection of 12 concertos, preserved in Paris since then, genuine jewels of Vivaldian music! However, for whom were they composed? The French Ambassador in Venice, Jacques-Vincent Languet, who made numerous commissions to Vivaldi in the 1720s? Perhaps as a magnificent gift to a visiting French music lover… Or perhaps François-Etienne, Duke of Lorraine and Bar? A fine music lover and musician, who in 1745 became Emperor Francis I of Austria, gave early protection to Vivaldi, who introduced himself in 1731 as “maestro di cappella di S.A.R. il Serenissimo Sig. Duca di Lorena”.

Throughout their career, it's always been clear that Muse aren't satisfied to just do the same thing over and over again, as they have evolved from their early days when they were (perhaps unfairly) pigeonholed as a Radiohead imitator into purveyors of some of the most epic symphonic rock since Queen graced the stage. On their sixth album, The 2nd Law, they continue to shake things up, diving deeper into the electronic rabbit hole as they experiment with a sound that's less reliant on Matthew Bellamy's guitar heroics, resulting in an album that's a bit of a mixed bag. Incorporating some of the slickest production the band has ever had with a more synth-heavy sound, the album certainly succeeds in feeling different from Muse's previous work…

The Platinum Collection is a beefed-up, triple-disc version of Tina!, a far-reaching if haphazardly assembled Tina Turner compilation released in the run-up to her 2008 world tour. Whereas Tina! was released in North America, The Platinum Collection was released in Europe a few months later in anticipation of the European leg of her tour. The Platinum Collection is almost definitive at 48 tracks in length. It includes all of Turner's major hits, including six Ike & Tina Turner-era recordings ("Nutbush City Limits," "River Deep, Mountain High," "I Want to Take You Higher," "Get Back," "Come Together," "Proud Mary"), and goes all the way up to the latter-day hits "When the Heartache Is Over" and "Whatever You Need" from her most recent studio album, Twenty Four Seven (1999), and "Open Arms," the one-off single from her best-of compilation All the Best (2004).

Many years ago there was a thriving Queen market for silver discs with labels such as Gypsy Eye, Queen Digital Archives and Wardour pumping out many interesting titles each month. These days Wardour produce a couple of titles per year (and not very good ones at that) and both Gypsy Eye and QDA are gone leaving on Tarantura, trolling the vast Mr. Peach tape archive, as the sole provider of great Queen silver titles. Rare Cuts Vol. 1-6 is the releases of a new Queen-dedicated label Master Stroke. Like QDA a decade ago, their initial efforts focus upon collecting upgrades of very common material and mixing up with much more rare tracks…