Markus Poschner’s acclaimed recordings of Bruckner’s symphonies bring together the versions identified as having significant revisions and changes in the authoritative New Anton Bruckner Complete Edition. It reflects the latest research and the most up-to-date editorial criteria, making this 18-CD set the definitive Bruckner symphonies cycle.

‘Passion and fragility combine to form the essence of Vogt’s art, especially in the context of this wonderful music.’ – Gramophone

‘In the pieces scored for chamber orchestra, a greater sense of airiness and transparency is achieved.’ – Pizzicato

Famous for his role as the keyboard player in rock band Genesis and as a solo artist, Tony Banks was always fascinated by the idea of writing orchestral music. His success in composing for films led to the acclaimed Seven – A Suite for Orchestra. The intense orchestral sound pictures in Seven, Six and Five rank among some of Banks’s most accomplished recordings, marrying experimentation with form and structure, and a trademark melodic character which powerfully conveys both melancholy and joy.

‘These are committed performances of some interesting music… I’m glad that I was able to hear them and hope that Ivakhiv has luck presenting more works of this quality.’ – American Record Guide

‘The singing and the conducting are clearly top-notch…’ – The Art Music Lounge

‘Power’s delight in the generously proportioned starring role provided for him by the composer is never in doubt, and the skill with which conductor Nicholas Collon ensures that the orchestra never becomes a mere also-ran…is the more vivid for the sonorous detailing of the recorded sound, a strong feature in all three compositions.’ – Gramophone

‘Those who want the Triple Concerto cannot go wrong with this Orfeo album, Andrew Manze securing a fearless response from the NDR Radiophilharmonie to make one hope he will tackle other contemporary scores in the future.’ – Gramophone

‘Two orchestral pieces with striking horn passages from the musical comedy Mercury the Matchmaker lead to the Symphony in C major… It is a very good and beautifully orchestrated work, whose expressive music comes across very well in this lively and elegant interpretation, which is very energetic in the final rondo. Special praise is due to the wind players of the Pardubice Orchestra.’ – Pizzicato ★★★★★

‘…for the duration of all four works, I was totally engrossed by the duo’s warm, keenly articulated playing style, in the two sets of variations as much as in the sonatas. Take the first movement of Op 5 No 1, the total unanimity of the opening, the lyrical thrust of the Allegro (the fullness of Gabriel Schwabe’s tone is a joy in itself) and the evident spontaneity as communicated by both players.’ – Gramophone

‘It has become time to credit Comissiona’s potent battery of timpani, brass, and cymbals, all providing an irrepressible impact that well defines his idiomatic sense of style.’ – Audiophile Audition ★★★★★

‘Matthias Bein as the clever and cunning servant Beppino contributes a great deal to this ultimately entertaining discovery with his presence and wit, which is also evident in his singing. The Orchestra of Europe also impresses with its light, delicate sound, based on the style of Italian buffa.’ – Pizzicato

Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Romancero Gitano for mixed choir and guitar sets some of Federico García Lorca’s most evocative and intimate Andalusian poetry. Marked by dramatic contrasts the music fuses colouristic ideas with rich polyphonic writing – performed here in an accurate critical edition. Corrado Margutti’s Rivers, designed to accompany Romancero Gitano, is a kaleidoscope of forms, styles and images that pays homage to Castelnuovo-Tedesco as well as encoding hidden references to other musical luminaries, forming a musical journey through time and space.

‘Each disc [in this series] has proved to be valuable and enjoyable but somehow the overall quality of this ongoing series is even more remarkable.’ – MusicWeb International

Giovanni Sollima is an internationally renowned cellist and one of the most frequently performed Italian composers in the world today. His original BaRock Cello project gave new readings to Rock pieces in the intimate setting of a solo performance, matching these to little-known 17th- and 18th-century Italian composers. These improbable contrasts and surprising connections are now extended further back to their musical roots in Folk & Ba-Rock Cello. In this Sollima takes up the tonal colours and rhythmic grooves of archaic songs from a diversity of countries and blends the common features shared by all music, whether it is globally iconic, nationally popular, or long lost amidst the dusty manuscripts of time.

‘Led by Metzmacher, the SWR musicians incisively render the score’s Petrushka-like scampering, pratfalls, and unexpected shifts in tone colour. Winds and brass imbue their parts with an air of opera buffa that contrasts with the lustrousness of their string colleagues, who convey the music’s webbing of polyphony with enviable translucence.’ – MusicWeb International

The two wonderful works that bookend Idil Biret’s Schubert disc, composed just three years apart, might almost be said to represent two different Schuberts. Within tautly compressed formal lines, the “Wanderer” Fantasy achieves a monumentality that has rarely been surpassed or even approached in the solo piano medium. The A-major Sonata is written on a relatively modest scale, yet it must be said that in its own way it is just as masterly a creation as the larger Schubert works that were to follow.

‘Bollon’s ensemble, Lily’s Project, brings out the charm and original colours of this chamber opera. The soloists convince with consistently good performances.’ – Pizzicato

… a compilation of Biret’s past performances of Waltzes and Dances from many composers including Bartók, Berlioz, Chopin, Debussy, Liszt, Ravel, Stravinsky and, of course, Leopold Godowsky – his piano transcription of the Strauss waltz Künstlerleben “Metamorphosis on Themes from Artist’s Life”.

The piano pieces Franz Liszt composed in his final decade are both secular and sacred with a startling originality that is far removed from the virtuoso character of his earlier works. Weihnachtsbaum is an all-embracing impression of Christmas that includes traditional carols alongside childhood and adult views of the season. The dark chromaticism of Die Trauergondel II is a tribute to Wagner, contrasting with the brighter range and yearning lyrical lines of the Wiegenlied. Many of these works remained unpublished in Liszt’s lifetime, and are genuine rarities even today.

‘Fischer constantly challenges preconceptions. …his empathy for Haydn shines out in every bar.’ – Gramophone

‘…vocally, Sierra is in luscious form, culminating in the delectable ‘Quanto amore’ duet with Dr Dulcamara… More expressive contours come from Sesto Quatrini’s sensitive, spry conducting, another house debutant and one sure to receive a repeat invitation.’ – Gramophone

‘The best singer and actor is Patrick Kabongo as Ravenswood. He has a pleasing tenor with good high notes and he can act. …The chorus, the Coro dell’Accademia Teatro alla Scala, sings well and looks good… The Orchestra Gli Originali is right at home in this music and Pierre Dumoussaud conducts perfectly adequately.’ – operaramblings

‘Tcherniakov’s staging is required viewing and listening, and Garifullina confirms herself as a major star. Garifullina is superb here, her voice clean, clear and expressive. She herself is the very embodiment of youth, of the promise of Spring.’ – Classical Explorer

‘All of the soloists in this production are first-rate. Indeed, it would be difficult to single out any one in particular over another. The orchestra is also wonderful and recorded more closely than in the Boulez account, allowing one to savour the wonderful instrumental parts, especially the horns.’ – MusicWeb International

‘A new production of the Tales of Hoffmann at Geneva’s Grand Theater creates a mix of art, sex and death in an unusually nightmarish and nihilistic reading of Jacques Offenbach’s opera.’ – Reuters

For the past fifteen years, the destiny of Christian Zacharias has been linked to that of the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, of which he is currently Principal Conductor and Artistic Director from 2000 to 2013. This has resulted in invitations to the most prestigious Venues and numerous recordings.

Christian Zacharias’s career has been crowned with numerous distinctions: he was named Artist of the Year at the Cannes MIDEM in 2007 and received the rank of Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters in 2010.

In this 2-DVD edition a wonderful version of the 5 piano concertos by Beethoven with Lausanne Chamber Orchestra filmed in salle Métropole in Lausanne.

‘The ballet La source, jointly composed by Minkus and Delibes, is hardly ever staged, so this well filmed Paris Opera Ballet performance is a very welcome release on both Blu-ray and DVD. …the choreography is winning and its execution by the Paris dancers is first-rate. It’s unlikely that we will see the piece staged elsewhere any time soon, so this will be a necessary purchase for fans of classical ballet.’ – MusicWeb International

‘…a fascinating production well supported by the singers and orchestra.’ – American Record Guide

Written a year after the death of Lully, this lyric tragedy allows Charpentier to develop beyond the religious dimension, a story of a male friendship and forbidden love between David and Jonathas.

‘Each of the casts has at least one sterling headliner: the authoritative Sergei Leiferkus as the miserly, aging knight; resonant, charismatic Lithuanian bass-baritone Kostas Smoriginas as Aleko (recalling Hvorostovsky in the famous cavatina); and, in intense, focused portrayals in both Aleko and Francesca, soprano Anna Nechaeva.’ – Opera News