Haydn 2032, the ambitious project of recording the complete symphonies of Haydn, has been placed from the start under the artistic direction of Giovanni Antonini, with two ensembles, Il Giardino Armonico, which made the first four volumes, and the Kammerochester Basel, to which this fifth volume and the next two are assigned.

If there's one period to which we feel specially attracted, it's the time when Ravel and Bartók wrote their sonatas and rhapsodies. Music styles from all corners of the world were blowing across the European continent, taking root as folk dances, blues rhythms and exotic melodies in the hearts of classically trained musicians. How very similar to our own situation.

It began with a piece which I fell in love with: Eugène Ysaÿe’s Poème élégiaque. You have to tune the bottom violin string a tone lower. That explains the dark character, which you hear particularly in the middle, which is a funeral march. Ysaÿe dedicated it to Gabriël Fauré. And so the idea for this CD was born: violin music by composers who honoured and inspired one another.

The old-school hip-hop hip-hop groove called Chlorine Free's Quest features lyrics from Free Speech, their third opus, between anthem and call to take charge of their destiny. Before that, there was a first album that gave a touch of electro fee to this jazz funk; then a second LP that earned the band official recognition as a worthy heir to Herbie Hancock's Headhunters. Free Speech takes the paths of hip hop.

The connection between Michael Jackson and jazz seems tentative to non-existent until it's factored in he reached his greatest heights as an artist when collaborating with producer/arranger extraordinaire Quincy Jones. The unlikely pairing of Jackson and Jones brought out a degree of professionalism, maturity and poise in the late King of Pop that did not fully emerge when he was the precocious young boy performing with his brothers in the Jackson Five. Had the Jackson Five worked with Jones, Jackson might never have gone mushy with ballads such as "Ben," where he lovingly crooned to a rat.

Merle Haggard's October 1985 show had him picking a decent mix of signature hits with other equally well-crafted material. And while he's basically mute between songs, it's the music that Haggard shone on time after time. Throughout it all, Haggard seems to be right at home delivering what could be called a country kind of soul, particularly on the tender, heartbreaking and honest "What Am I Gonna Do (With the Rest of My Life)". Starting slow and then picking things up just a hair in terms of the tempo, Haggard's electric guitar polishes off some nice licks, not playing up a storm but saying a lot with a little.

Sony Classical is delighted to bring you the world premiere recording of Baroque concertos by anonymous composers associated with the legendary Dresdner Hofkapelle. The concertos are part of the infamous "Schrank II" (Cabinet II) archive in the Dresdner Court Church destroyed in World War II. This collection includes instrumental works that have survived in manuscript form and that belonged for the most part to the Court Orchestra’s leader, Johann Georg Pisendel (1687–1755). Robin Peter Müller has singled out six of the finest violin concertos from Schrank II’s collection, some of which he has reconstructed for the purposes of the present recording with his period-instrument ensemble.

Although Claude Debussy, born near Paris in 1862 and the thirteen years younger Basque Maurice Ravel had very different personalities, they were united through their music in the extension and even intermittent suspension of the borders of traditional tonality and the deviation of their rythmic structures from their customary course – Volodymyr Lavrynenko and argovia philharmonic present the two chief protagonists of French Impressionism.

This music may seem easy to grasp at first glance: so much seems clear and straightforward. However, once you take a closer look and spend more time playing and listening to Haydn’s music, it develops an endless, multifaceted life of its own. It becomes more concrete and at the same time more mysterious. Unexpected turns of phrase, sudden occurrences, humorous juxtapositions and startling asymmetries are just as much a part of this music as its extended melodic arcs that make the piano sing. Haydn’s music forms an intimate bond between song and speech. In each movement of the ca. 60 piano sonatas he wrote, we meet a personality, an unmistakeable character, evoked in detail.

Leading performers of 17th-century music Fretwork, His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts and the Magdalena Consort (directed by Peter Harvey) combine forces under the artistic direction of William Hunt for this rst complete recording of the consort anthems of Orlando Gibbons.

Seminal contemporary jazz super group Special EFX mark their 35th year of recording and touring in 2017 with the release of Deep As The Night their 21st studio recording and first celebrating their recent partnership with the Trippin ‘N’ Rhythm record label. Formed in 1982 the as the brainchild of the duo of Chieli Minucci and George Jinda, the combination of Chieli’s edgy driving style and George’s sense for temperament and melody struck a perfect balance and the rise of a distinctive new and original sound that incorporated heavy percussive world elements fused with smart, energetic, playful and memorable guitar lines.

Singer-songwriter Matisyahu has been on a journey inward for more than a decade. The journey has been private and public. Now, nearly thirteen years after the release of his first studio record, Matisyahu and his band have done something unmatched in his past repertoire; they have crafted that journey into a musically thematic eight-song-movement. The band features longtime guitarist Aaron Dugan, Dub Trio's bassist and drummer Stu Brooks and Joe Tomino, and keyboard virtuoso BigYuki – and the journey starts with them.