Luigi Zenobi, a virtuoso cornetist known as Luigi del cornetto, was born in Ancona in the mid-sixteenth century. He later moved to Vienna, where he entered the service of the Emperor Maximilian II. His reputation grew and he subsequently worked for the Este family in Ferrara, where he was the most respected and best-paid musician at court up to that time, so sought-after were his talents. Luigi was also a painter, poet, miniaturist and music scholar. An eyewitness recalled the delicacy of his playing: softer than the harpsichord when its lid is closed. Giovanni Sansoni, a composer and cornetist probably originally from Venice, was born around 1593. He was engaged by Archduke Ferdinand of Austria in Graz in 1613 and followed him to Vienna when he became Emperor in 1619.

Nikolay Myaskovsky was one of the most prolific and influential composers in 20th-Century Russian musical life. These two works come from the beginning and end of his distinguished career: the warmly expressive First Cello Sonata recalling the style of Rachmaninov, and the equally romantic Second Cello Sonata revealing the subtle influence of folk music typical of Myaskovsky's later years. Alexander Glazunov both absorbed and continued the great Romantic lineage with his poignant Chant du Ménestrel and the Iberian evocations for the Sérénade espagnole from Two Pieces.

In Gustav Mahler's first four symphonies many of the themes originate in his own settings of folk poems from the collection Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy's Magic Horn). A case in point, Symphony No. 4 is built around a single song, Das himmlische Leben (The Heavenly Life) which Mahler had composed some eight years earlier, in 1892. The song presents a child's vision of Heaven and is hinted at throughout the first three movements. In the fourth, marked ‘Sehr behaglich’ (Very comfortably), the song is heard in full from a solo soprano instructed by Mahler to sing: ‘with serene, childlike expression; completely without parody!’

Anyone who thinks that there is no longer anything to say on the subject of Sviatoslav Richter’s discography is wrong. For sixty years these recordings, which were made by Deutsche Grammophon at the Tours and Lucerne Festivals in 1965, have slumbered in the Yellow Label’s archives. Carefully restored by Emil Berliner Studios, they are being released now for the very first time. Like many other artists, Richter felt that he could play more freely and give better performances in the concert hall rather than in the studio.

Vivaldi's first opera, Ottone in Villa (loosely, Ottone's Vacation), is something of an anomaly in the composer's output of largely tragic, heroic works: a pastoral comedy. Written in 1713 when the composer was 35, Ottone demonstrates Vivaldi's instinctive grasp of the operatic form and his gifts for characterization and dramatic development. Naïve continues its admirable series, The Vivaldi Edition, with this outstanding recording of the opera, a real gem. Giovanni Antonini leads Il Giardino Armonico, which plays with gleaming transparency. The performance is wonderfully lively and the opera's dancing energy is conveyed with high spirits and humor. Vivaldi is not a composer usually associated with comedy, so Ottone surprises with its wealth of delightful, sly wit.

Alessandro Scarlatti's oratorio Il Martirio di Santa Teodosia is an exciting drama of life, love and death, set in the fourth-century Roman Empire. St. Theodosia of Tyre died at the age of eighteen, in the year 308. Preferring to devote her life to God, Teodosia rejects the love of Arsenio, the son of the Roman governor, and welcomes death. The dramatic strength and vocal beauty of this work flourishes in the hands Emmanuelle de Negri, Emiliano Gonzalez Toro, Anthea Pichanick, Renato Dolcini and the orchestra Les Accents led by Thibault Noally.

Behzod Abduraimov joins Alpha for several recordings, starting with this kaleidoscope of miniatures miniatures that are in fact fairly gigantic, and showcase the Uzbek pianists extreme virtuosity and sensitivity. Each movement is in itself a miniature, and taken together they form a kaleidoscope of human emotions and images of all kinds, says Behzod Abduraimov. In his view, the pieces in Debussys Childrens Corner are not intended for young piano students, but for adults, so that they can immerse themselves in the world of children with a little nostalgia and a lot of humor. When it comes to Chopin, each prelude has a different musical essence, creates its own atmosphere.

For the first time with naïve, the counter-tenor Andreas Scholl joins the Accademia Bizantina and Alessandro Tampieri to present a Neapolitan programme, centred on the Virgin Mary.

The Spanish violinist María Dueñas releases her second DG album, on which she plays Nicolò Paganini’s iconic 24 Caprices. She couples the pieces, which are known as some of the hardest works that have ever been written for violin, with a selection of later works inspired by Paganini, presenting music by composers ranging from Berlioz and Kreisler to Gabriela Ortiz.

In her new album, Maria Lettberg takes a musical journey through the countries of the European Union. She has curated a selection of piano works, one from each of the respective countries, regardless of period or style. All the major styles of classical music are represented in this collection, from the Renaissance, Baroque and Viennese classical periods to Romanticism, Late Romanticism, Impressionism, 20th-century music, minimalism and neoclassicism. Each piece from the 27 countries has its own fascinating characteristics, and together they paint a multi-layered picture of the European Union.

Sonya Yoncheva has long been fascinated by George Sand. Writer, dramaturg and literary critic, a journalist and an intellectual, the lover of Alfred de Musset and then of Frédéric Chopin as well as being a friend of Franz Liszt, Pauline Viardotand Marie Dorval, and beyond her remarkable destiny as a woman blessed with the ‘glorious and complete independence’ which in her age was reserved solely for men, Sand embodies the entire spirit, the essence even, of the 19th century.

Elephant House Quartet invites the listener for a stroll through the colourful oeuvre of Telemann — himself a gardening enthusiast — presenting a bouquet of chamber-musical jewels. Telemann’s Garden ranges from excerpts of solo fantasias for violin, flute and harpsichord to a sonata for viola da gamba and basso continuo, a trio sonata for violin, recorder and basso continuo, a suite for violin, flute and basso continuo, as well as one of the quartets Telemann wrote during his Paris sojourns. These pieces together constitute a fascinating portrait of one of the most prolific and successful composers of the Baroque era.

The Trio Peltomaa Fraanje Perkola combines the sounds of the human voice, piano and viola da gamba with electronic effects and medieval harp. The players have diverse backgrounds in early music, jazz, Finnish folk music and contemporary music, although it was medieval music that was the inspiration for their highly personal and recognisable sound. The group continues to explore the chants of Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179), Pérotin (1160-1230) and 14th-century pilgrimage songs.

L'un des reprsentants du piano classique les plus reconnus dans le monde entier, Lang Lang est l'une des rares superstars de la musique classique dpassant largement les frontires du genre. A l'occasion du 250me anniversaire de Beethoven, ce nouveau disque du pianiste chinois compile les Sonates No.2 et No. 23 du compositeur allemand, interprtes en live Vienne par Lang Lang qui avait alors subjug le public avec son interprtation intense et pointue, tout en maestria et profondeur. La No. 23, la fameuse Appassionata, reste en effet ce jour l'une des pices de Beethoven les plus rpute pour sa difficult technique. Le disque se clt avec un titre bonus, enregistrement studio du 3me mouvement de la Sonate 'Tempte' (No. 17), tire de la bande originale du jeu-vido Gran Turismo 5.

This disc contains a selection of beautiful and individual music for violin and harpsichord by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, performed by two of the most distinguished musicians of Baroque music historical informed practice.