Praised by the London Times as “ravishing” the Los Angeles Times as “technically immaculate” the Seattle Times as “fantastic” the Boston Globe as “sensational” the San Francisco Chronicle for his “fierce virtuosity” the Dallas Morning News for his “most spectacular viola playing” and the New York Times as “high class” with an “elegant, velvety tone” violist RICHARD O’NEILL is one of the very few violists ever to receive an Avery Fisher Career Grant as well as a Grammy Award Nomination (Best Soloist with Orchestra).

This programme of Neapolitan music, covering a vast historical span (from the Renaissance to the 20th century) is a 'manifesto' of the musical influences that have nurtured Marco Beasley. Guido Morini's arrangements, written especially for him, make the programme particularly appealing.

Vivaldi’s double concertos resemble jousts: there is bound to be comparison between the two protagonists, but in the end the triumph will be collective. And the least one can say is that Amandine Beyer and her illustrious guest Giuliano Carmignola, in his hm debut, have breathed new life into this dazzling form of musical theatre!

For this second recording as a duo, Lucile Boulanger and Arnaud de Pasquale propose a journey to 18th-century Germany, in the marvelous setting of the Sans Souci palace where Frederick II of Prussia had established his court.

Even at a very advanced age, the great pianist Paul Badura Skoda is always good for a surprise: His new CD recording with Genuin is perhaps one of the most unusual recordings, one of the most daring tonal experiments seen in recent years. Schubert’s final sonata, the wonderful B-flat major, has been recorded by Badura-Skoda, but not just once: It is heard on three different instruments in interpretations which could not be more distinctive from one another: On an 1826 Graf fortepiano (from when the work was composed), a 1923 Bösendorfer and a 2004 Steinway grand. More history and more vibrancy in its presentation could not be packed into a single disc. Superb!

Matthew Barley adds to his reputation as one of the UK's most innovative and creative performers with the new programme and CD Around Britten – celebrating the centenary of Britten's birth with a selection of his works, including the Third Cello Suite and pieces by Sir John Tavener and Gavin Bryars. The release coincides with the start of a tour of 100 events taking Britten's music to a kaleidoscopic variety of venues around the UK, reaching a huge cross section of British society.

Mozart’s sublime Oboe Concerto and Bassoon Concerto (he wrote only one of each) are conjured into thrilling life by Arcangelo under the direction of Jonathan Cohen. In the Haydn Sinfonia concertante—written at the very zenith of the composer’s artistic popularity—four soloists combine with the orchestra in a spiral of theatrical competition.