The discographic project Concert pour Debussy is the result of several years of collaboration between Trio Antara (Emmanuelle Ophèle – flute, Odile Auboin – viola, Ghislaine Petit-Volta – harp) and composer and artistic director Benoît Sitzia.

Anton Bruckner had to wait an age before bagging his first and greatest success. The Austrian composer’s Seventh Symphony, first performed in Leipzig in 1884 shortly after his sixtieth birthday, proved an immediate hit. Vladimir Jurowski’s visionary interpretation of the work with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, recorded live at the Berlin Philharmonie, stands as the utterly compelling outcome of the conductor’s profound study and long experience of performing Bruckner’s music. He’s backed to the hilt by superlative playing, remarkable for its intense focus, lyrical warmth, and jaw-dropping beauty.

The 5th CD of Nuremberg's finest (and one of Germany's greatest) contents their early singles, soundtracks to films and TV productions including a lot of previously unreleased tracks to satisfy their numerous fans. Wonderful songs influenced by the beat era and the psychedelic music of the late 60's. Funny and competent lyrics combined with fresh and well played music show the great talent of the band playing on a very high standard. Excellent sound quality, informative booklet.

There s nothing to compare to the sound of an amplified Hohner Marine Band harmonica in the hands (and mouth) of a master like Little Walter, Walter Horton, Snooky Pryor or Sonny Boy Williamson. All of them were just as adept with the unamplified specimen but the addition of electricity takes this miniscule instrument into a different realm. Many musicians heard here were disciples in one way or another of John Lee Williamson (the original Sonny Boy), who played his harp through a microphone in clubs but never recorded that way. The list of these men is a long one, including Billy Boy Arnold, Walter Mitchell, Doctor Ross, Forrest City Joe and Robert Richard, while Little Walter influenced younger men like Junior Wells, Jerry McCain, James Cotton and George Smith…

The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin continues its PENTATONE Mozart series with the composer’s 29th and 33rd symphonies. These works are coupled with his ravishingly beautiful Clarinet Concerto, performed by Ernst Schlader in the original edition for basset clarinet. Schlader, a specialist in historical instruments, has written an essay on the basset clarinet for the album booklet that includes a rare historical image showing the original shape of the instrument used in the years after the concerto’s premiere. The first release of this series was longlisted for the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik.

Ksenia Dubrovskaya is an exceptionally talented and charismatic violinist of the new generation. Ksenia's passion for chamber music takes her across many continents, gracing renowned stages alongside many luminaries such as, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Liana Isakadze, Bruno Canino, Konstantin Lifschitz, Alexander Knyzev, Philippe Graffin, Dariusz Mikulski and Derek Han. This album is a collection of the many encores that Ksenia has performed. In this album, esteemed pianist, Sona Barseghyan, accompanies Ksenia. Their performances showcase enchanting artistry and profound musicality, captivating audiences across continents. Ksenia performs on a violin crafted in Florence by Giovanni Battista Gabrielli in 1770 – the instrument leased by Reinhold Würth Musical Fund (Germany).

Following the success of her "head-turning debut" with Orchid Classics in 2022, dynamic young violinist Coco Tomita returns with her new album "Echoes", reuniting with pianist Simon Callaghan in a reflective and intimate exploration of late 19th and 20th century repertoire. Coco first gained widespread recognition as winner of the 2020 BBC Young Musician Strings Category, an event which led to the recording of her debut album, "Origins", which garnered huge critical acclaim and was selected as one of Apple Music's Albums of the Month. She was named as 'One to watch' by Gramophone Magazine and 'Young Classical Star' by Classic FM, while elsewhere her rendition of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" rapidly amassed over 2 million streams as part of Apple Music's Classical Christmas campaign in December 2022.

Richard Strauss is considered to be both the last ‘Classical’ composer and a champion of modernity. His wide-ranging output stands as a monument to one of the most successful and influential composers of the 20th century. His spirited and compact First Horn Concerto was the product of his teenage years, while the Second Horn Concerto came six decades later, echoing the expressively lyrical and dynamic character of its youthful predecessor. Both of these concertos share the chamber orchestra character of the Four Last Songs in its arrangement by Eberhard Kloke. The Andante in C major and Alphorn in E flat major, originally composed with piano accompaniment, are heard here in arrangements for chamber orchestra by Lars Opfermann.

An unusual little record - a set that's a bit "fake" in its pedigree, but which still comes across with some wonderfully vivid results! Fred Kaz is a Chicago pianist, but he works here on a set of original compositions based on his readings on Near Eastern cultures - dubbed by Fred as "Turkish experiments" in the liner notes - and a compelling blend of Eastern modes and modern jazz piano - maybe not as all-out as later experiments of the type on MPS/Saba, but still pretty darn great! The group's a trio - with Victor Sproles on bass and Roger Wanderscheid on drums.

It is indeed an oddity that, for all the considerable ambition of his albums, this collection of singles and unreleased outtakes may be Ayers' most satisfying LP. Why? Perhaps because when he's constrained within the 45 format, he taps his strongest and most endearing qualities: easygoing, singalong melodies, droll, nonchalant (even non sequitur) lyrics, good-natured sotto voce vocals, even female backup harmonies. There's little trace of the inaccessible, difficult (usually instrumental) passages that occupy much of the space on his early albums. Spanning 1969 to 1973, this includes eight tracks that wound up on flop singles, as well as six outtakes from the albums he recorded during this period, though there were no obvious reasons for their exclusion (too pop oriented, perhaps?)…

Tangerine Dream had debuted on record the same year of the original Moon launch, and 30 years down the road, Edgar Froese and co. decided to dedicate a recording to the next step, the eventual landing of a man on Mars. The result, Mars Polaris, is what sounds like a surprisingly accurate rendering of the unmanned Mars Polar Lander's visit to the Red Planet (destined to arrive late in 1999), though the evocative atmospheres and gaseous effects are helped along by the equally descriptive titles "Mars Mission Counter," "Tharsis Maneuver," "The Silent Rock" and "Spiral Star Date."