In 1819, music publisher and composer Anton Diabelli sent a waltz of his own creation to all the important composers of the Austrian Empire, asking each of them to write a variation on it. His plan was to publish the variations in a patriotic volume called Vaterlandischer Kunstlerverein and to use the profits to benefit orphans and widows of the Napoleonic Wars. Beethoven chose to write not just a single variation, but a set of thirty-three. His audacious submission, the Diabelli Variations, has since become one of the most revered examples of the genre.

Philippe Pierlot and the Ricercar Consort's 2006 recording of Bach's Magnificat brings back the glory days of historically informed performances, those halcyon days in the 1980s when musicians, empowered by scholarship and energized by virtuosity, were recording the Baroque repertoire with the zeal of the newly converted. Though Pierlot and his musicians are of a younger generation, they bring a missionary fervor to the music, a program of Bach's Magnificat, BWV 243, and Missa Brevis, BWV 235, interspersed with two well-chosen organ works, the Fuga sopra il Magnificat, BWV 733, and the Präludium und Fuga, BWV 541.

The cello was Frederic Chopin s other favorite instrument. He loved for its closeness to the human voice. Chopin took an interest in opera from an early age, becoming what today we would call an opera buff. He was familiar with the voices of all the singers of his time, flirted with the German soprano Henriette Sontag and fell in love with singer Constantia Gladkowska, from whom he penned several superb pieces. When Chopin composed for cello, he heard the voice in its music. Ophelie Gaillard has thus chosen to pay tribute to the poet of the piano through the voice of the cello.

Matthew Halls is one of the brightest sparks of the UK early music scene, who, as director of Retrospect Ensemble, has rapidly established himself as one of Britain's most exciting young conductors as well as a leading harpsichordist. J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations', features Bach's popular masterpiece for keyboard, plus Sarabanda con Partite and Aria Variata.

On this double album, Pavlo Beznosiuk gives a splendid performance of Bach's renowned Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin. Beznosiuk handles these demanding virtuosic compositions with surprising ease and agility. This seemingly effortless performance can possibly be attributed to how attuned Beznosiuk is with Bach through the music, an enchanting connection that is captured by this recording. The performances are full of passion and vigor. Beznosiuk's interpretation and development of the musical lines of these compositions is extremely compelling and bring out the compositional strength of one of the greatest composers to ever live.