Schubert: "Wanderer" Fantasy (2019 edition, 1989 edition), Impromptu Op. 90, Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 11, No. 18, Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition, Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 3, Others recorded from 1988-2021.

One of the greatest string quartets of the 20th-century, the - 100% Austrian - Alban Berg Quartett remains famous for their unsurpassable renditions of the great Viennese masters. The ensemble notably put on record the supreme Beethoven cycle twice, once in studio, once in the Wiener Konzerthaus. Enjoy large excerpts of these milestone recordings, coupled with late masterpieces of Schubert.

During his travels, Mozart often needed new pieces: in Mannheim, for example, he composed the Sonata in C major for the thirteen-year-old Rosa Cannabich, and later, in Linz, the Sonata in B flat, presumably as a concert piece for himself. These two brilliant sonatas are plaved here on an original fortepiano of the late eighteenth century, similar to those by Stein that Mozart loved so much, and accompanied by the three wonderful rondos for piano of 1786/87. ‘Clarity, tranquillity, grace: the hallmark of the works of art of Antiquity is also that of the Mozartian school’, wrote Schumann.

Released between 1991 and 2005, the selections in The Warner Recordings encapsulate the period when Pierre-Laurent Aimard was signed to Erato and Teldec, performing mostly 20th-century fare and some music from the 19th century. Aimard is famous for his contributions to the modernist catalog, and his performances of works by Pierre Boulez, Elliott Carter, György Ligeti, and Olivier Messiaen are regarded as scrupulously executed and authoritatively interpreted. Aimard also recorded early 20th century pieces by Charles Ives, Alban Berg, Maurice Ravel, and Claude Debussy, as well as Romantic masterpieces of Beethoven and Liszt. A pianist's pianist, Aimard is well-rounded in his repertoire and a true master of keyboard technique, yet he has received considerably less fanfare than many of his flashier colleagues. Yet connoisseurs of piano recordings know that Aimard is indispensible, especially for his special feeling for French music, and his recordings are important documents that serious students and newcomers should appreciate.

The Singapore Symphony and its music director Hans Graf present a recording of Józef Kozłowski’s Requiem, together with the Singapore Symphony Chorus & Youth Choir, as well as a quartet of outstanding soloists: Olga Peretyatko (soprano), Olesya Petrova (mezzo-soprano), Boris Stepanov (tenor) and Christoph Seidl (bass). The Requiem (1798) was commissioned to Kozłowski by the abdicated King Stanisław of Poland, and can be perceived as a requiem not just for the monarch, but for the entire Polish nation, absorbed by the Russian state during the 1780s.

On May 14, 1763, Bologna’s Teatro Comunale opened with the world premiere of Il trionfo di Clelia. Completed a year after Orfeo ed Euridice, Gluck’s setting of Metastasio’s story of romantic fidelity put to the test against the background of the Siege of Rome, was tailored both to display the new theatre’s capacity for spectacle (Act II calls for the collapse of a bridge and a heroic swim across the rising waters of the Tiber) and a cast hand-picked for their fioritura (embellishment of a melodic line). Thus while musicologists may cherish Il trionfo di Clelia for its pivotal role in the composer’s progress from the gilded cage of opera seria to the grand austerity of his reform operas, the rest of us can enjoy an inventive score.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Serenades and Divertimenti for orchestra epitomize his genius in crafting delightful and charming works, musical entertainment at the highest level. Composed during the late 18th century, these pieces showcase Mozart's unique ability to blend sophistication with accessibility. The Serenades, such as the renowned Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Haffner Serenade and Posthorn Serenade, enchant listeners with their graceful melodies and elegant structure. Divertimenti like the "Salzburg Symphonies" radiate exuberance through their lively rhythms and playful themes.

Beethoven’s monumental contribution to Western classical music is celebrated here in this definitive collection marking the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth. Surveying the totality of his career and achievement, the Complete Edition spans orchestral, concerto, keyboard, chamber, music for the stage, choral and vocal works, encompassing his most familiar and iconic masterpieces, alongside rarities and recently reconstructed fragments and sketches in world premiere recordings. The roster of artists and ensembles includes some of Beethoven’s greatest contemporary exponents, in performances that have won critical acclaim worldwide.

The duo 'À deux fleustes esgales' is here expanded. The two treble voices are joined by a basso continuo made up of harpsichord and cello, for a programme of famous trio sonatas by 'the Bachs'. From the father Johann Sebastian to the sons Carl Phillip and Wilhelm Friedemann, the stylistic evolution from Baroque to Classical can be traced here through the many facets of that crucial period in music, the eighteenth century: · Counterpoint and flowing polyphony raised to their zenith by Johann Sebastian in such a way that instrumentation becomes almost immaterial · Wilhelm Friedemann retains a certain contrapuntal denseness, placed at the service of an instrumental style sometimes reminiscent of Italian concertante writing · Carl Phillip Emanuel concentrates on the melodic line, with the continuo assuming more of a harmonic function, in a style that makes room for fantasy and sensibility or Empfindsamkeit. This CD takes us through this development - a guided tour that is sheer delight.

Just in time for his 80th birthday, Daniel Barenboim was honoured with the Gramophone Award 2022 for his life's work. The career of the famous Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor began early, Wilhelm Furtwängler already said about him: "The eleven-year-old Daniel Barenboim is a phenomenon". Later, as chief conductor, Barenboim led world-class orchestras such as the Orchestre de Paris, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and, since 1992, the Staatskapelle Berlin. With the founding of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, the UN peace ambassador united musicians from Israel, Palestine and the Arab states. As a soloist, the pianist has worked with renowned conductors; with Sir John Barbirolli, for example, he recorded Brahms’ piano concertos. Barenboim's discography is impressive; with his first wife, the cellist Jacqueline Du Pré, he formed a musical dream team. Other legendary recordings of works by Mozart, Beethoven, Bruckner and Wagner were made with the Staatskapelle Berlin and the Berlin Philharmonic, among others.

For the first time it is possible to present the orchestra music os Beethoven to the listening public of today in a form which he would recognise. For the Hanover Band is an orchestra of 29 specialist performers on late 18th-century instruments, a classical orchestra modelled in size and type on the Burgtheater orchestra in theVienna of 1800.

Alexei Lubimov’s 2010 disc of Impromptus by Schubert was praised in the press. During the same recording session in Haarlem in July 2009, Alexei Lubimov continued with the last three sonatas of Beethoven, Beethoven’s musical testimony which he plays with all the mastery of a great russian pianist, "a kind of russian Pollini" (Alain Lompech, Diapason).

In 1779 he was elected maestro di cappella at the cathedral of Milan, where he remained until 1784. Here he exercised his true vocation of composer, in addition to at least twenty of his most successful operas, a vast amount of sacred music for the cathedral, and educating a number of clever pupils, the most distinguished of whom was Cherubini.

‘Mozart, You Drive Me Crazy!’ This is the title that the South African soprano Golda Schultz has decided to give to her new album, devoted to the female heroines of Don Giovanni , Così fan tutte and Le nozze di Figaro , roles that have marked her career from Berlin to The Metropolitan Opera: ‘Why does Mozart drive me crazy? First of all, because his music, which sounds so easy when you listen to it, is extremely difficult to perform… And when I immerse myself in the world of Da Ponte and Mozart, I realise that there’s a deep complexity to their female characters: they endure the toughest trials, but they also display great strength. In fact, these operas explore humanity from the feminine perspective: every single one of these women is constantly evolving. They show how human beings transcend trauma and how grief and pain can be overcome.’ The programme is conducted by another eminent Mozartian, Antonello Manacorda, with the Kammerakademie Potsdam.