The Swedish composer Ingvar Lidholm has a very strong CV, taking in periods of study in France, Switzerland and Italy, courses in Darmstadt, professor of composition at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and membership of the ISCM Presidium. He does not seem to have been a prolific composer and this CD is the first of a proposed series by BIS featuring Lidholm's orchestral works. He is evidently fond of single movements works and all the pieces on this record are in this form. The pieces span 35 years of Lidholm's working life and form a good introduction to his music.

Multi-reedist John Surman returns to his chorister roots and lays bare his compositional prowess with this oratorio commissioned by the Salisbury Festival and premiered in June of 1996. The Salisbury Festival Chorus, founded in 1987 by Howard Moody (of whose compositions the Hilliard Ensemble and Trio Mediaeval have been strong proponents) approaches its Old Testament sources as the composer sets them: that is, with panache, a flair for syncopation, and raw intensity. Add to this pianist John Taylor in an unexpected turn on cathedral organ, and you’ve got a recipe for one of Surman’s most intriguing catalogue entries to date.

This fifth installment of the Michel Gielen Edition contains works by Bela Bartok and Igor Stravinsky. Gielen greatly admired these composers, whose works he frequently performed. We thus continue the editorial play for the Michael Gielen Edition. Volume 5 includes many first releases or recordings of Gielen from the 1960s and 1970s. Gielen is celebrating his 90th birthday in July, 2017. The album also contains a spoken section from Michael Gielen's last concert with his SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg in 2014.

The Bruckner recordings on this second volume of the Michael Gielen EDITION were made principally with the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg. This enables the listener to follow the orchestra's development over the years, culminating in their outstanding 2013 performance of Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony.

The artistry of Rita Streich presented in this multi-disc set represents an art that in all likelihood would not return: the Viennese school of coloratura and lyrical singing.

When flamenco guitarist Gerardo Nunez puts pen to paper, he usually has only one thing in mind: music. However, when he started working on his newest album “Travesia” (“Crossing”), the long-awaited follow-up to 2004’s “Andando El Tiempo“, he wanted to tell a particular story that had moved him; the story of his friends Ahmed and Khaleb.

Ten CDs bring together the works of one of the most prominent Danish composers, as performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and a variety of vocal and instrumental soloists. Includes the entirety of six symphonies, plus concertos for clarinet, violin, and flute; a wind quintet; piano works; and more.

Between 1994 and 2011, Pierre Boulez recorded the symphonies and songs of Gustav Mahler for Deutsche Grammophon, and for many listeners these recordings are high points in his catalog, while others regard them as idiosyncratic recordings for specialists. The basis of both views stems from Boulez's meticulous conducting and exacting performance standards, which produce music of extreme lucidity and precision, yet which can also seem overly cerebral and dispassionate. Boulez's approach to Mahler may seem clinical, and this is a reasonable assessment of the way he treats details, textures, timbres, dynamics, and rhythms as indicated in the score, clearly and cleanly, without adding personal touches or interpreting the music through Mahler's biography or his own mythology.

Freddie at his finest, tenderest, searing, blistering. If this album doesn't bring tears to your eyes, you're not human. King Curtis guides Freddie through an hour of his great and thunderous voice and smoking guitar…

This 1979 Norma features Renata Scotto in one of her very best recordings. She is in gorgeous vocal estate, with much exquisite pianissimo singing above the stave. Surprisingly, Scotto is one of the few native Italians to essay this most difficult bel canto role, and she brings an innate understanding of the text and music .