Mozart died barely 11 months after completing his final piano concerto, No. 27, in January 1791. It’s one of the composer’s most serene concertos, full of wit and beauty, with a piano part that eschews technical difficulty for songlike elegance. Whether, as has been suggested over the years, the piece contains hints of a man resigned to his fate, doesn’t matter. Mozart was at the height of his inventive powers, and the piece is treated here to a performance of lightness and grace by a team of musicians determined never to overstate and risk romanticizing Mozart’s sublime utterings. Even when Mozart veers into minor-key territory, the storm clouds dissipate almost as soon as they gather.

RossoPorpora made its Arcana debut with an album dedicated to Luca Marenzio, which received widespread critical acclaim, including the German Record Critics' Award, Classic Voice’s Disc of the Month, a Diapason rating of 5, and five-star reviews from Musica and Amadeus. It was described as “magnificent” by Early Music Review and hailed as “a desert island disc” by Forum Opéra. Now, with its second album, the ensemble turns to one of the cornerstones of 17th-century music: Claudio Monteverdi’s Sixth Book of Madrigals. In a deeply immersive exploration of the composer’s inner world during his final years in Mantua, RossoPorpora delivers a profoundly moving interpretation of the many masterpieces contained in the collection—Lamento d’Arianna, Lagrime d’Amante sul sepolcro dell’Amata, Zefiro torna, Oimè ’l bel viso, Qui rise o Tirsi—which together mark one of the highest achievements in the history of the madrigal.

25-year-old rising American violinist Karisa Chiu, noted for her “easy virtuosity … humor, nuance… [and] playful[ness]” (Cleveland Classical), and renowned Chinese pianist Zhu Wang (“a thoughtful, sensitive performer” —New York Times) unite for Chiu’s debut album, HOME. Influenced by her Chicago upbringing, pandemic discoveries, and Korean and Chinese family roots, the recording reflects on the various interpretations of “home” in Chiu’s life, with works by Jean Sibelius, Claude Debussy, Augusta Read Thomas, Cyril Scott, and Gabriel Fauré.

Following her internationally acclaimed and multi-award-winning 2023 debut, Rising Sun, pianist Shuteen Erdenebaatar returns with Under the Same Stars—an exquisite duo album with the rising ACT Music artist Nils Kugelmann on contra-alto clarinet and upright bass. Meditative, romantic, and daring, this duo paints poetic miniatures with strokes of jazz, classical, and cinematic music. Alto Recorder and Mongolian horsehead fiddle features add soulful mystery.

Since the creation of their ensemble La Néréide in 2019, the three sopranos Camille Allérat, Julie Roset and Ana Vieira Leite have wanted to tell stories about women, women who are courageous, vulnerable, passionate, powerful, secretive — and sometimes all of these at once. Le Cœur et la Raison imagines the fate of a young noblewoman sent to the Demoiselles de Saint-Cyr, where she received a meticulous education, particularly in music; she took part in services and sang works by its organist Louis-Nicolas Clérambault (1676-1749) — including his magnificent Miserere — and by Jean-François Lalouette (1651-1728), a pupil of Lully.

The deliciously erotic aspects of the text of the Song of Solomon inspired a great many composers during the 17th century, although it remains curious that even the strictest Lutheran composers could not resist setting it to music. The majority of Hammerschmidt's pieces on this text are written for soprano or tenor voices; these obviously represent the two protagonists, the beloved and the lover. This programme is built around these works, creating an entertainment — a small sacred opera —in which evocations of love or sensual dialogues are framed by dances and instrumental pieces. Works by Andreas Hammerschmidt, Johann Vierdanck, Dieterich Buxtehude, Thomas Strutz and others.

Joseph Swensen conducts Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with an inner fire that grips all those who have attended one of his concerts; for him it is Beethoven’s ultimate achievement, a celebration of humanity —not the romantic hero, but the truly ordinary individual, musically represented by the chorus. Beethoven begins his epic symphony in the darkness of primordial chaos. The first and second movements are visions of the universe before humanity. The third movement is a celestial dream. The beginning of the finale is our awakening. Beethoven wanted Ode to Joy to be a melody that all can sing. This chorus, a realisation in sound of the ideals of the 18th-century Enlightenment, is neither transcendent, divine, perfect nor impeccable. It is humanity singing of its joy!

Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians.

There is no album by Thelonious Monk titled "Rhythms in Disguise".

Ronnie Scott OBE (born Ronald Schatt; 28 January 1927 – 23 December 1996) was a British jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner.

There is no album or song titled "Reflections in Blue" by the Modern Jazz Quartet.

Audio critic Masamitsu Fukuda has carefully selected 10 tracks from the Venus Records catalogue and compiled them into a single album.

Audio critic Masamitsu Fukuda has carefully selected 10 tracks from the Venus Records catalogue and compiled them into a single album.

Numbered, Limited-Edition Hybrid SACD from Mobile Fidelity! Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time - Rated 133/500! Joni Mitchell is the only artist who could've made Hejira. The legendary singer-songwriter said as much when discussing the album decades after its release. Yet that fact seemed obvious from the moment the gold-certified effort streeted in fall 1976. An adventurous travelogue, probing narrative, and offbeat homage to freedom, Hejira remains an inimitable entry in the catalog of recorded music — a spare, gorgeous, meditative series of sonic vignettes comprised of floating harmonic pop, cool jazz, soft rock, and sensitive vocal elements that beckon feelings of motion, discovery, and self-examination.

"Out in the Dark" is their most GENESIS sounding release with the Banks-like keyboard playing and the Gabriel sounding vocals. The first side of the Lp is called "Sun Side" while the second side is called "Dark Side". "Full Moon" opens with a funky 1 minute instrumental (not a fan) as vocals come in.There is some tasteful guitar as well as a sax melody. "Nocturnal Flight" is a really good mellow song with mellotron, vocals and keys standing out. Then 2 1/2 minutes in the song gets powered up with drums and guitar. Nice. It ends with a soaring guitar solo. "Out In The Dark" is a laid back song with the focus on the vocals. The flute before the 4 minute mark is a nice touch and is followed with mellotron.There is a tempo shift 5 minutes in as it all speeds up to an almost jazzy sound with lots of flute, piano and light drums.