Good things always come in threes. There was once the Concerto in Italian style, BWV 971, reconfigured according to the by then modern disposition advocated in Italy at the beginning of the 18th century (anthology "Concerti italiani", 2004, OP30301). More recently, the Goldberg Variations, reimagined for a small string ensemble, crowned a fabulous apotheosis in the land of the variation ("Variations on Variations", OP30575). Here are now three completely original orchestral suites by Bach, a new fool's game organised by a tongue in the cheek Rinaldo Alessandrini, once again surrounded by his dear friends from the Concerto Italiano.

Souvenir è il settimo album in studio della cantante italiana Emma, pubblicato il 13 ottobre 2023 dalla Capitol Records. Il progetto discografico ha esordito alla prima posizione della classifica FIMI Album, diventando il quinto album della cantante a ottenere tale risultato. Nel 2024 è stata pubblicata una riedizione dell'album con l'inserimento del brano Apnea, presentato in gara al 74º Festival di Sanremo, seguita da una riedizione streaming con l'aggiunta di Femme Fatale, presentato come singolo inedito per l'estate 2024. Entrambi i brani sono stati poi inseriti nella Extended Edition dell'album, pubblicata il 4 ottobre 2024.

The ‘Hammerklavier’ sonata is by far Beethoven’s longest piano sonata, and in his view it was also his finest. It was begun in or just before December 1817, after a fallow period of over a year in which he had composed next to nothing, hindered by the after-effects of an infection in October the previous year, according to his own account. He seems to have intended from the outset to dedicate the sonata to Archduke Rudolph of Austria (1788-1831), who had been his pupil, friend, patron and chief supporter for nearly ten years. Its nickname derives from Beethoven’s search for a German word for the piano. The word used today, ‘Klavier’, could in those days mean either piano or harpsichord, and so after asking for advice he decided on ‘Hammerklavier’ for the instrument. He then used this term in his preceding sonata (Op 101 in A major), the present one, and the one after (Op 109 in E major). These other two sonatas, however, begin gently, whereas the hammer-like blows at the start of Op 106 suggest ‘Hammerklavier’ as an appropriate nickname. It was issued as a ‘grand sonata’, a term reserved by Beethoven for large-scale sonatas written and published separately.

Ennio Morricone is considered one of the greatest composers in film history and has composed theme songs for cult films such as Once Upon a Time in the West, For a Few Dollars More, Cinema Paradiso, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Untouchables, Kill Bill and most recently Django Unchained. The Essential Ennio Morricone is the ultimate double album with the greatest hits of this icon of film music. Morricone is a legend and the only composer to receive an Oscar for his lifetime achievement. He was also nominated for five other Oscars and received two Grammy Awards and two Golden Globes. Morricone's extraordinary music mixes influences from classical, jazz, pop, rock, electronic and Italian music to create epic and emotional soundscapes of incomparable intensity. The Essential Ennio Morricone contains over 2 1/2 hours of music and all of Morricone's classics and hits. Not just for fans of film music: The Essential Ennio Morricone is the essential Morricone collection.

'The repertoire we have chosen for this album consists mainly of pieces that have been with me since my childhood.' With this recital, Johan Dalene, accompanied by Peter Friis Johansson, offers us a selection of popular violin pieces that have accompanied him since his early years. After hearing them in the family car on long journeys, he went on to learn them and then play them in competitions and in concerts. He Johan Dalene now gives us (and himself) a treat and continues the tradition of great violinists such as Heifetz, Perlman and Vengerov, who have all made recordings of favourite encores and recital pieces. Finally to record them himself proved to be an 'extremely inspiring and challenging project', says Dalene.

The soprano Ania Vegry, the recipient of many prizes, was nominated by Opernwelt as the Young Artist of the Year in 2009 and has been an ensemble member at the State Opera of Lower Saxony in Hanover since 2007. The Online Musik Magazin certifies that »her soprano voice, most highly fluent in the coloraturas, possesses warmth and substance, expressive power, and flawless intonation« – which makes her the ideal choice for the rich affections of the arias of Florian Leopold Gassmann, an Austrian composer on the cusp between the Baroque and Early Classicism. After two years of study with Giovanni Battista Martini, Gassmann became an organist in Venice. In 1757 he composed his first opera, and through 1762 he composed an opera every year for the Carnival season In Venice.

The Classical Opera Company was founded in 1997 by conductor Ian Page. It specialises in the music of Mozart and his contemporaries, performing with its own period-instrument orchestra, and is emerging as one of Britains most exciting and highly regarded young arts organisations. It has attracted considerable critical and public acclaim, not only for the high quality of its performances but also for its imaginative programming and, in particular, its ability to discover and nurture outstanding young singers.

Antonio Salieri’s Falstaff is not Verdi’s and never will be. That out of the way, it’s a charming evening’s entertainment, occasionally quite funny, with nicely characterized roles, swell, brief melodies, excellent, spicy wind writing (vividly played here on period instruments and recorded in such a way that the sonics favor them), and nice forward propulsion. The action moves quickly and pointedly, the dry recitatives are frequent but never too long, and when they do go on, the cast here is clever and involved enough to make them dramatically viable.

Christopher Purves is renowned for both the powerful sense of dramatic conviction he brings to everything he undertakes, and for a vocal technique which must be heard to be believed. From Handel’s early cantata to selections from Italian opera and English oratorio, this is a recital from a very special singer indeed.

This excellent recording is largely considered to be Le Orme's magnum opus. The trio, comprised of Aldo Tagliapietra (vocals, bass, guitar), Toni Pagliuca (organ/Mellotron, piano), and Michi Dei Rossi (drums), produced some of the best Italian progressive rock ever recorded. Influenced by Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Genesis, the band forged their own unique blend of sophisticated symphonic prog rock. Tagliapietra's vocals give the music an ethereal quality, and he actually sounds quite a bit like Sting (or the other way around). Their high level of musicianship is evident on "Sospesi Nell 'Incredibile," but the focus is more on mood, song structure, and texture. The original recording contains Italian lyrics, while Van Der Graaf Generator vocalist Peter Hammill penned English lyrics for a subsequent release. Stick with the Italian version for the full effect of this prog rock classic.

This is a fascinating collaboration between lyrical Italian jazz improvisers Paolo Fresu and Daniele di Bonaventura and the transfixing voices of A Filetta from Corsica. A Filetta, prize-winning vocal ensemble, internationally renowned as the standard-bearers of Corsican polyphony, make their ECM debut here. The appealing combination of sound-colours and idioms adds up to `Sketches of Corsica'. As the improvisers approach this regional music of universal appeal, Fresu's pensive, romantic trumpet inevitably brings Milesian associations to mind, and the ingenious bandoneon of di Bonaventura implies `chamber music' and `folk music' in every breath of the bellows.

One of the most successful and admired opera singers of all time, Luciano Pavarotti was king among tenors from the late 1960s through the 1990s. His voice was noted for its exciting upper register, and tailor-made for the operas of Verdi, Bellini, Donizetti, and Puccini, and as it darkened slightly over the years, for the verismo composers as well. His vocal longevity, which kept him singing youthfully well into his sixties, and still beautifully after that, was a credit to his commanding technique and artistry, and remarkable considering his nearly 40 years of performing. Pavarotti's father was a baker, and his mother worked in a cigar factory.

A l'occasion de ses 30 ans de carrière marqués par lincontournable "La Solitudine", qui lui a valu le prix de Best New Artist au Festival de musique de Sanremo en 1993, la diva italienne Laura Pausini dévoile son nouvel album Anime Parallele. Il célèbre le droit à l'individualité en tant que citoyen qui vit et parcourt le monde avec tous les autres individus, sur les mêmes routes, mais avec des âmes, des rêves et des désirs différents. La terre est leur lieu commun, et savoir se respecter, même s'ils ne se croisent pas, est l'objectif principal à atteindre selon l'artiste.

The Summer Night Concert will be performed this year on June 7. It is an annual open-air event, which has been held since 2004 in the magical setting of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna/Austria. The illustrious conductors who have previously led the orchestra at this event are Georges Prêtre, Daniel Barenboim, Franz Welser-Möst, Lorin Maazel, Christoph Eschenbach, Zubin Mehta, Semyon Bychkov, Gustavo Dudamel, Daniel Harding, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Andris Nelsons.

The French countertenor leads Artaserse in a kaleidoscopic survey of the many and varied operas by the seventeenth-century Italian composer, shot through with the spirit of Venetian carnival.
New album of opera arias and symphonies by Francesco Cavalli, the prolific 17th century Venetian composer with 41 operas to his name, who was Handel’s predecessor in Hannover. Featuring Erato label mates Emőke Baráth and Marie-Nicole Lemieux , this is the first time Philippe has recorded Cavalli since his guest appearances on Christina Pluhar’s album dedicated to Cavalli, L’Amore innamorato.