Der Windsbacher Knabenchor wurde unter der langjährigen Leitung von Karl-Friedrich Beringer zu einem der besten Knabenchöre der Welt. Als letzte Veröffentlichung unter Beringer präsentiert der Chor nun eines der bedeutendsten Werke der Musikgeschichte: Bach's Weihnachtsoratorium. Die viel gepriesene Präzision der Sängerknaben, der beeindruckend klare Chorklang und die einfühlsame Gestaltung Beringers kommen in dem beliebten Werk besonders gut zur Geltung.

Not to be confused with the earthy barrelhouse pianist of the same name, Robert Shaw made his name through his dual mastery of the art of choral and orchestral conducting. Although featured on record with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performing standard classical repertory, Shaw's own recordings often document his interest in old-time song.

If albums can be judged by their covers then this intriguing release from the Zurich-based Galatea Quartet could be Record of the Year. And with typical creativity they don’t pair the venerable Debussy Quartet with its usual Ravel bedfellow, but instead throw in Milhaud’s First Quartet. And what a pleasant surprise it is, a work of real lyrical beauty and elegiac sensibility, until the vibrant finale whose darting rhythms and jack-in-the-box mood-swings so suits the playing style of this seriously engaging and altogether contemporary-sounding ensemble.

Tchaikovsky’s incidental music to the play “The Snow Maiden” by Alexander Ostrovsky is undoubtedly his principal contribution to this genre. The composer and the poet were jointly commissioned to write the piece by the famous Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, which led to a close and very productive cooperation. In fact, Tchaikovsky completed the lavishly scored work within a matter of only three weeks.

Very few ensembles specializing in early music can display a level of artistic mastery akin to that of the Berliner Barock Solisten. Founded in 1995 by Rainer Kussmaul and other prominent members of the prestigious Berliner Philharmoniker, the musicians and their director (as first among equals) have created a unique approach to performing works of the 17th and 18th centuries. The “Berlin Baroque Soloists” not only do justice to their name (each musician is a master soloist), they also play on historic, though modernized, instruments, using bows from various periods, depending on the work being performed.

Lena Belkina ist mit ihren jungen Jahren schon eine weltweit gefragte Mezzosopranistin und steht am Anfang einer glänzenden Karriere. Beim renommierten Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro begeisterte sie zuletzt Kritik und Publikum mit phänomenaler Präsenz und ihrer warmen, nuancierten und unverwechselbar farbenreichen Stimme: 'fulminant, strahlend, klangschön' schrieb 'Das Opernglas'. Ins internationale Rampenlicht sang sie sich mit der Live-Verfilmung von Rossinis 'La Cenerentola', die in über 150 Ländern ausgestrahlt wurde. 'Rossini wäre von Lena begeistert gewesen.' (La Stampa)

In 1817, two years after the restoration of the monarchy by Louis XVIII, the French court attended a performance of Cherubini’s Requiem in memory of Louis XVI; a few years later, in 1823, the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Marie-Antoinette provided the occasion for giving Charles-Henri Plantade’s Messe des morts in her memory. Berlioz had just arrived in Paris, and Napoleon had recently died in exile on the island of Saint Helena. In 2015, the two works were presented in a single concert at Versailles Palace.