The life and works of the Danish composer Rued Langgaard (1893-1952) present one of the odder stories in the annals of classical music. He was a child prodigy of enormous talent who grew into a man of breathtaking fecundity. His music was largely ignored by his contemporaries and was left in a state of near-chaos by the composer himself, as he kept returning to his music, revising and recycling it. The music itself varies from the self-indulgently banal at the bottom end of the scale to the blazingly original and powerful at the top.

Nils Landgren Sings Ballads Diana Krall, Jane Monheit, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Natalie Cole - these are the stars that have caused a worldwide furore with their full-blown movement back to the "standards". It comes as no surprise that the interpretation of the well-known ballads that make up a large portion of "The Great American Songbook" has always been considered one of the highest disciplines in jazz.At first glance Nils Landgren might seem a bit out of place in the midst of this illustrious group of women.

There are certain magic moments… The musicians go on stage, count off the first number, and all at once there is that special feeling of excitement in the room that turns a concert evening into an unforgettable experience. Thanks to the intelligence of an experienced producer who had the foresight to turn the tape machine on and then just let it run, this fleeting moment of impulsive, fresh jazz and funk has been captured for our permanent pleasure.

New York-bred and Denmark-based saxophonist, Marc Bernstein, has built a rich recording catalog over the last 20 years, centering projects around inspiring musical voices and friends including Tom Harrell, Billy Hart, and David Kikoski. For the eight originals, along with a version of Windmills of Your Mind, making up Hymn for Life, Bernstein focused on the 'Good People' around him and in particular, the mesmerizing vocalist Sinne Eeg, his former student, now colleague at the The Southern Danish Conservatory and Denmark's most prominent jazz vocalist.

When Deutsche Harmonia Mundi released this disc of lieder by Schumann, Schubert, and Mendelssohn in 1994, it was considered a part of the historically informed performance practice movement because it featured performers closely associated with the movement. Prior to this release, tenor Christoph Prégardien was best known for his work with Gustav Leonhardt and Philippe Herreweghe, while fortepianist Andreas Staier made his mark playing continuo with Musica Antiqua Köln. Listening to the disc a decade later, however, the performances sound less like a memento of their time than like still vital artistic achievements.

With his voice in its heady first bloom, Fischer-Dieskau dramatises rather than merely relates. In the third song, "Ich wandelte unter den Bäumen", he is dulcet at the opening, finds a disembodied colouring for the mysterious birdsong, and then uses a harder, darkened tone to convey the mingled disillusion and defiance of the close. Elsewhere, Fischer-Dieskau combines a yearning legato with an edge of neurosis in "Schöne Wiegen meiner Leiden", hauntingly catches the numbed fear of "Lieb' Liebchen" - where Heine equates his heartbeat with a carpenter hammering his coffin - and sings the final "Mit Myrthen und Rosen" with rueful tenderness.

This collection of all of Schubert's songs for low voice is one of the landmark recordings of the 20th century because it features two of the greatest Schubertians of their era, baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and pianist Gerald Moore. The recordings, made by Deutsche Grammophon between 1966 and 1972, come from Fischer-Dieskau's prime, when he was in his early to mid-thirties, his voice fully mature and its youthful bloom gloriously resplendent.

Faure may still not be the best known composer of chamber music, but this issue with two of his major works tells us yet again what a good one he was. The excellent craftsmanship we may take for granted, but although he did not wear his heart on his sleeve there is a real passion in this writing too, as the surging opening movement of the C minor Piano Quartet (written in his early thirties) reminds us.

The Beaux Arts, late 1980s-style, is recognizably the same creature as it was at the start of the decade, or even two decades ago. The fingers of Menahem Pressler still twinkle away, the violin and cello exchange angst for mischief in volatile and ebullient alternation. The most obvious comparison for their latest release is the identical Dvorak/Mendelssohn coupling of 1980 on Pearl. Then Daniel Guilet was the violinist, and his comparatively small voice and old-style sweetness make their mark: this Dvorak is a small-scale, kid-glove performance, with the gentle acoustic recessing the violin even further and softening the high-spirited Dumka episodes.

Tempered by Rimsky-Korsakov’s orientalism and Tchaikovsky’s eclectic refinement, Anton Arensky’s pristine, elevated style is nowhere more arresting than in his two splendid piano trios. These richly sonorous, predominantly elegiac compositions are magnificently played by the Beaux Arts Trio. Recorded sound is of demonstration quality, and these sensational accounts deserve the strongest conceivable recommendation.

French Canadian singer Chantal Chamberland strikes a perfect balance between the soul of the classic singer/songwriter and the dynamic verve of a jazz chanteuse. She can swing with the best of them, then capture your heart with a soft torch song. Her sixth album, SOIREE, captures both of those components - lively and tender, with a beautiful collection of songs mostly sung in French.

The art of Shakespeare was a recurring fascination for Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. In addition to two operas and numerous settings of songs and sonnets, he wrote 11 Shakespeare Overtures which here receive their first ever complete recording. Deploying all the resources of the symphony orchestra, these are some of the twentieth century's most dramatic and tuneful orchestral works, spectacular evocations of Shakespeare's greatest plays.

Helen Schneider has spread herself out during her career, studying classical piano in her youth; singing blues, rock, and pop; performing in various musicals; and finally turning to standards a few years prior to the making of this CD. There's little doubt that she is a trained singer, as she always hits her notes and enunciates clearly, yet this album leaves little lasting impression, compared to many singers who have covered these well-known works.

Because it is a 1995 release, this "Best of" CD should not be confused with something of broader scope. Its 12 songs are culled from a mere two CDs, "Illusions" (1986) and "Cross Currents" (1987), released on the Denon label. There is no material from the six CDs Eliane put out on Blue Note subsequent to "Cross Currents" and before this CD. She has, of course, released a tremendous amount of material since 1995.

These two CDs were originally recorded and released by naïve in the mid 1990s; recorded out of numerical order, sonatas 5, 6 and 2 are on the first disk, while 1, 3 (in which a violin replaces one of the oboes) and 4 are on the other. Both sets involve a theorbo and deep string bass (contrabbasso on CD1 and violone on CD2), all played by different players. The wind soloists are constant (and what a stellar line-up – Paolo Grazzi and Alfredo Bernardini on oboe and Alberto Grazzi on bassoon); Manfredo Kraemer is the violinist.