Along with the Etudes and En blanc et noir of 1915, Claude Debussy‘s three sonatas constitute the last will and testament of the composer, who died in Paris on March 25, 1918. It’s not due to there being the final works in Debussy‘s chronology that confer this privilege open them so much as the fact that they perfectly manifest the composer’s ideal of French music distinguished by « clarity, elegance, simple and natural declamation (in which) seeks, above all, to please. How could one better describe these three masterpieces ?

Following several acclaimed albums of Handel’s operatic and choral masterpieces (including a triumphant Giulio Cesare with Natalie Dessay as Cleopatra and the oratorio La Resurrezione with British soprano Kate Royal), French harpsichordist and conductor Emmanuelle Haïm at last brings her fresh, expressive approach to Messiah.

Co-chief conductors Riccardo Minasi and Maxim Emelyanychev take turns on the podium leading this period-instrument band in a rousing collection of concertos by Haydn. Il Pomo d'Oro has been hailed 'a wonderful ensemble, and Minasi an outstanding musician' capable of 'bringing the house down with his virtuosity' (The Guardian). Emelyaychev's award-winning harpsichord joins Minasi's violin in the soloists' spotlight, along with the distinguished natural horn of Johannes Hinterholzer. The concertos are complemented by Haydn's Symphony No 83 (known as The Hen, because of the ‘clucking’ figures on the strings in its second movement) and his Keyboard Fantasia Hob.XVII:4.

On Stella di Napoli (Star of Naples), the American mezzo-soprano’s creamy tone and dramatic prowess breathe new life into little-known arias by Mercadante, Michele Carafa (a student of Cherubini and close friend of Rossini), Carlo Valentini and the prolific opera composer Giovanni Pacini, whose Stella di Napoli (1845) gives the album its title. Joyce worked closely with Italian conductor Riccardo Minasi (whose previous projects include Bellini’s Norma with Cecilia Bartoli) to bring three unjustly neglected arias to light in new editions and world premiere recordings.

It was living legend Martha Argerich, Renaud Capuçon’s frequent duo partner and Khatia Buniatishvili’s mentor, who played musical matchmaker and brought these two brilliant performers together. Their concerts at Lugano Festival in 2012 were such a resounding success that the friendship stuck. Capuçon has been praised for his “intensely lyrical” tone and “gloriously rich sound” (BBC Music Magazine).

Philippe Jaroussky turns once again to the poignant meditation on grief that is the Stabat Mater — this time in Vivaldi’s searingly beautiful 1712 setting — along with a selection of the Red Priest’s solo motets and sacred works. But it’s not all solemn fare: Clarae stellae scintillate is an uplifting, light-filled motet in praise of Mary, and the sweet-toned ‘Domine Deus’ from the Gloria RV589 has an almost pastoral lilt. There are, of course, the vocal pyrotechnics characteristic in which Jaroussky excels, as in the blazing Alleluia of Longe mala, umbrae, terrores RV629.

German-Japanese pianist Alice Sara Ott is a performer who appears to care more about the score and the composer than about her image and interpretations. After promoting Lang-Lang, a pianist of maximal technique but debatable taste, DG has given Ott an exclusive recording contract, and her first release, the complete waltzes of Chopin, shows her to be a pianist of taste and restraint. That is not to say that her performances here are ever less than dazzling, because she plays with supreme ease, or any less than affecting, because she brings out everything in the scores, from sparkling wit to darkest melancholy.

The Grateful Dead forged its legend on the road, traveling countless miles between 1965 and 1995 to perform a world record 2,318 shows for millions of devoted fans. The band's refusal to ever play a song the same way twice has endeared generations of fans, many of whom prefer certain live versions of songs over their studio counterparts, and garnered the popular phrase among Dead Heads: "There is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert."

Jóhann Jóhannsson, the Epos String Quartt and percussionist Matthias M.D. Hemstock perform compositional music written by Jóhann Jóhannsson. Deutsche Grammophon will release Jóhann Jóhannsson’s critically-acclaimed debut album in a newly-remastered version - now with much fuller and improved sound, and combined with a complete album of brand-new reworks!

Renaud Capuçon expands his wide-ranging concerto discography with Bartók's two violin concertos. Composed almost three decades apart, they are highly contrasted, inhabiting very different emotional and musical worlds. Partnering Capuçon is the London Symphony Orchestra under its Principal Guest Conductor, François-Xavier Roth.