Autograph

“Played with Tharaud's trademark elegance, and with a keen sense of style, it amounts to a very clever concoction, in which temperature-changes are judiciously controlled and geographical and cultural connections are subtly implied.” --BBC Music Magazine, February 2014 *****

“A special blend of affection and verve, his choice takes us through the familiar and unfamiliar...His way with Chopin's 'Minute' Waltz is scintillating and individual...he captures all of Poulenc's stylised nostalgia...this is a box of delights...Erato's sound is as bright as a button.” --Gramophone Magazine, January 2014

 “Altogether this is a joy. Recorded sound is top-notch, too.” --MusicWeb International, 7th February 2014

“a delightful compilation of lovingly rendered short pieces” --New York Times, 1st January 2014

“Tharaud is an atmospheric, characterful pianist whose individuality seems to communicate best on CD: here he pulls together 23 miniatures into a gorgeous encore collection, at once undemanding yet stimulating...Vivid imagination meets deliciously poised pianism.” --The Observer, 24th November 2013 ****

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Classical Accordion

“Sidorova here demonstrates the remarkable potential of the accordion, not an instrument generally appreciated in classical circles...[The Bach] is fascinating, with Sidorova making the accordion sound like a miniature organ...An attractive and unusual disc.” --Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2011

“Anybody disinclined to take the accordion seriously as a classical instrument should listen to the opening track here...[the Nordheim and Berio] are advertisements for the accordion's expressive potential, mining its virtuosic possibilities...a debut recording full of panache and communicative musicianship.” --BBC Music Magazine, December 2011 ****

The winner of numerous international competitions, the brilliant young accordion player Ksenija Sidorova here presents her debut recording; a recital for solo classical accordion.

A particularly accomplished artist, Ksenija has collaborated with many leading musicians (including the Belcea Quartet, and Valergy Gergiev with the CBSO), and won numerous awards and accolades.

“one of the real finds of this series” The Times

Still an underexploited resource in western classical music, the accordion has had a fast-increasing amount of music written for it since the mid-20th Century. Here, Ksenija Sidrova brings a varied recital featuring some of the best contemporary compositions for the classical accordion, alongside transcriptions of well-known works.

No composer has been transcribed more often than Bach; but the accordion - heard here in Bachʼs Overture in the French Style - brings an advantage that few other instruments can offer; itʼs notes do not die away as soon as they are sounded. This allows an array of colouristic possibilities, denied to other musicians.

Amongst the contemporary works here, Arne Nordheimʼs Flashing, written in 1985 for solo accordion, has become a classic of the accordion repertoire. Nordheimʼs music has a real sense of physicality, of movement and change on a large scale. In contrast, Luciani Berioʼs Sequenza XIII opens with a compressed melody which is gradually developed amid splashes of complex harmony and virtuoso filigree.

Yuji Takahashuʼs Like a Water-Buffalo is preceded on this disc by the poem that inspired it. Well-known in Takahashiʼs native Japan, it is a moving, heartfelt piece, strongly transmitting the sounds of freedom.

This recital CD also features a ʻbonus trackʼ - Astor Piazzollaʼs “Asleep”, the first of the composerʼs Five Tango Sensations, performed by Ksenija Sidorova with the exuberant young Sacconi Quartet.

“an amazingly accomplished artist” Classical Source

Composers featured in this stunning recital include: Nordheim, Berio, Schnittke, Takahashi, Piazzolla, Scarlatti, Bach and Mozart.

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Paris

“Balsom is a long-term Francophile...and affection and empathy radiates from all the material on this disc. Lovers of Balsom’s glorious, malleable sound will need no prompting from me, but even if you’d normally find the prospect of an entire trumpet disc a little indigestible you’ll be won over.” --Presto Classical, 8th September 2014

Alison brings her glamour, poise and dazzling virtuosity to Paris with a selection of music written in and inspired by the most romantic city in the world. “The Parisian concept developed organically the more I looked for music that I loved, that could work in this sound world,” explains Alison.

“I spent a key part of my musical life in Paris at the Conservatoire, and whilst this album is anything but a stereotype of a 'Parisian' sound, every track has a link to the world of Paris. I should admit though, that on the first day of recording even the musicians asked if we were making two separate albums, the pile of music on their stands being so wildly diverse and unexpected...” Accessible yet surprising at every turn, the programme ranges from 20th-century French composers (Satie, Ravel, Messiaen) to jazz (Django Reinhardt) and popular chanson française (Joseph Kosma), all in enchanting arrangements for trumpet.

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Organ Spectacular

From the dramatic sweep of Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, to the majestic pomp of Walton's Crown Imperial and Sigfried Karg-Elert's Nun danket alle Gott, and the brilliant spectacle of toccatas by Théodore Dubois, Charles-Marie Widor and Léon Boëllmann, this outstanding collection, drawn from over two centuries of instrumental showstoppers, celebrates the organ's all-encompassing emotional range.

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Fantasie_fantasme

"The idea of choosing piano works for a solo recording that explores the concept of fantasy may not seem all that original. But on this fascinating album the Israeli pianist David Greilsammer explores the concept in a program of striking diversity, exposing musical resonances among disparate works by composers from Bach and Brahms to Cage to Ligeti. Of course the concept would mean little were the performances not so brilliant and probing. Mr. Greilsammer, born in Jerusalem in 1977, is a formidable pianist." --New York Times [11/9/2008]

“However it may look on paper, in practice it works incredibly well, such is Greilsammer’s magnetic ability to find mutual correspondences and attractions between opposite poles” --Julian Haylock, International Piano

“In this enjoyable piano montage, 16 items have been arranged symmetrically around Mozart’s Fantasy in C minor……it’s as though the alienation effect of piano “preparation” has been applied to a whole disc.” --Sunday Times Contemporary Composers (No. 3) Albums of the Year

“The pianism is superb” --Michael Church, The Independent

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Music for Trumpet and Organ

Alison Balsom is the world’s preeminent female classical trumpeter. She is an unique and independent artist who have broken through to the mainstream whilst retaining her integrity and core musical values. Exceptional talent, a glamorous stage presence and a witty and engaging personality make Alison one of the most exciting and bankable artists in the core classical world today.

“The young British trumpeter Alison Balsom is a real star: resplendent and well-varied tone, crisp attack, absolute ease of production throughout the range.” BBC Music Magazine

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ASM35 The Complete Musician (highlights)

To mark her highly publicised performance at the 2011 Classic Brits, DG are releasing this stunning 2CD set of some of her very best recordings. Arranged chronologically, the compilation’s sequence offers a comprehensive look at Anne Sophie Mutter’s Deutsche Grammophon career — from her Mozart debut in 1978 to her Brahms Sonatas in 2010, with all of her musical partners.

A bonus prelude to the published tracklisting is a special treat: the 11-year-old Anne-Sophie Mutter playing a solo movement by Prokofiev at a music competition in 1974 – a first release ever.

The track-list includes many of Ms. Mutter’s favourite recordings — ranging from Vivaldi and Bach to Lutosławski and Bernstein — including movements from all of the great concertos in between.

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Phénoménal Vengerov!

Maxim Vengerov is recognised as one of the world's most exciting and brilliant violinists. His exceptional talent emerged when he was very young. He gave his first recital at the age of five and went on to win First Prize in the Junior Wieniawski Competition when he was ten years old, confirming his promise as a violinist of rare talent. Still in his mid-thirties he is now acknowledged throughout the world as one of the great musicians of our time. He is also an outstanding teacher and is Professor of Violin at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Perceptive, entertaining and always sensitive to the individual personality and ability of his pupils, he has an extraordinary ability to convey his insights into the music and inspire his students.

This 3CD set offers an incredible value for the price of one mid album, with a great panorama of his art. On CD1, the Beethoven Concerto and two Romances, and Kreisler’s favorite encore ‘Liebesleid’ and ‘Liebesfreud’. The second CD contains the French most famous violin concertos: Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole, a piece of bravura with the 3rd violin concerto by Camille Saint-Saëns, and Ravel’s great ‘Tzigane’. Last but not least the 3rd CD celebrates best loved and virtuoso violin works: Meditation de Thaïs, Ave Maria, Hungarian Dances, Vocalise…

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The Fiddler of the Opera

Transcriptions from Operas of Bizet, Gershwin, Gluck, Mozart, Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rossini & R. Strauss

Gil Shaham is the leading violinist of his generation. He was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1990, and in 2008 he received the coveted Avery Fisher Prize. In 2012, Gil was named 'Instrumentalist of the Year' by Musical America, citing his “special kind of humanism”. Combine this “humanism” with a flawless technique and his generosity of spirit, and the musical results are nothing short of inspired.

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Ecstatic Drumbeat

Works for Percussion and Chinese Orchestra

“Here’s something different: a meeting of Britain’s most famous percussionist and the Taipei Chinese Orchestra. This resourceful Taiwanese ensemble regularly collaborates with Western virtuosi, and the results are unpredictable, uneven, but never dull...Fascinating sounds crossing hemispheres, epochs and cultures.” The Times, 30th June 2012 ***

Appearing with leading orchestras and conductors around the world, Evelyn Glennie has also collaborated with musicians as diverse as Emmanuel Ax, the King’s Singers and Bjork. On the present disc, she appears with the Taipei Chinese Orchestra to perform original compositions and arrangements for percussion and Chinese orchestra.

The programme features works by composers from the Far East, as well as by German-based Nebojša Živković, whose duo Born to Beat Wild for bass drum and trumpet here is performed with a suona, ‘Chinese oboe’, replacing the trumpet.

The final work, Emperor Qin Crushing the Battle Formations, is a reworking by the composer Yiu-Kwong Chung of an ancient score first performed in the year 627 at the court of the second Tang Emperor.

Ecstatic Drumbeat is the last of four discs that present collaborations between the Taipei Chinese Orchestra and soloists from a Western tradition, with Evelyn Glennie following in the footsteps of flutist Sharon Bezaly (BISSACD1759), saxophonist Claude Delangle (BISCD1790) and trombone player Christian Lindberg (BISCD1888).

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The Virtuoso Clarinet

“Virtuosity is at the heart of this appealing, exhilarating disc...Collins first recorded the Weber, Messager and Lovreglio back in 1992...This time round, he lives up to the standards he set then, both in technical ease and in subtlety of phrasing. Piers Lane makes a stalwart contribution.” --BBC Music Magazine, January 2011 ****

“Brilliant playing in every sense: the musical equivalent of a tray of bonbons crafted by Gordon Ramsay and a must for any clarinet fan.” --Classic FM Magazine, Janurary 2011 *****

“[Collins] give the impression of improvising the spectacular virtuoso writing with a freedom of expression that conveys pure joy...In all this Piers Lane also plays a virtuoso part, and the recording is outstandingly vivid...What makes the disc more consistently enjoyable than many such offerings is the pure joy in virtuosity revealed in every item.” --Gramophone Magazine, December 2010

"...I find much to enjoy in Collin’s playing here. His command of the clarinet is superb, his tine is pure and supple ...He is, moreover, a musician of impeccable taste. Pianist Lane is top-notch as always..." --Fanfare, March/April 2011

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The Maiden's Prayer

“This repertoire is as delightful to listen to as it is to play … perfect evening listening” --Classic FM Magazine

“You may wonder when you last heard such beguiling, fine-toned fluency … this is a delectable disc finely recorded” --Gramophone Magazine

'Philip Martin is a pianist of great intelligence and much innate musicality; and the excellence of the recording is the final element in the equation for success' --musicweb.uk.net

CD OF THE WEEK (CLASSIC FM RADIO)
10 DE RÉPERTOIRE

'A repertoire that makes for a welcome family evening around the piano; alas for us all that we cannot offer renderings of such sympathetic finesse and lyrical elegance as are here set down by Philip Martin ‘at home’' --Henry Kelly, Classic FM Radio

'77 minutes de bonheur pur sucre pour nous faire oublier la morosité de la rentrée!' --Répertoire, France

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