Directly after Johann Strauss the Younger, Franz von Suppé is one of the most famous Austrian composers of the 19th century to have paid special tribute to the so-called light muse. His oeuvre includes nearly three dozen operettas and light operas as well as countless farces and comedies, which he loosened up by framing them with musical numbers.

For collectors of Tchaikovsky Symphonies these recordings of Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3, taken from the Complete Tchaikovsky Symphonies box set are available as a separate release for the first time on the LPO label and along with this re-release of the Manfred Symphony join previous releases of the numbered symphonies as a complete set. Principal Conductor Vladimir Jurowski is a renowned conductor of Tchaikovsky. The previous release of Symphonies Nos. 4 and 5 was a Gramophone recording of the month, number 19 in the Sunday Times 100 best records of the year, a Classic FM album of the week, and one of the Arts Desk’s Top Classical albums of 2012. Jurowski’s Tchaikovsky has been praised for its nuance, musical empathy and intelligent phrasing.

Matilda Lloyd is a fast-rising star of the trumpet world, having won the BBC Young Musician of the year Brass Final as well as the Eric Aubier International Trumpet Competition, and having made an impressive solo debut at the BBC Proms. Matilda's debut album reflects her desire to broaden the trumpet repertoire, with no fewer than three works recorded for the first time, by composers Giles Swayne, Deborah Pritchard and Alex Woolf. Also included on the recording are forgotten works of the 20th and 21st centuries by Jacques Castérède and Raymond Gallois Montbrun alongside staples of the trumpet repertoire, such as Enescu's Légende and Peter Maxwell Davies's impressive showpiece, Sonata for Trumpet and Piano Op.1.

The Genius of Film Music: Hollywood Blockbusters 1980s to 2000s is the second compilation of film music on the LPO label. It joins LPO0086, which took music from films of the 1960s to 1980s. The two releases form a great set of some of the best film scores of the last 60 years, including well loved classics such as The Godfather, Lawrence of Arabia, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Psycho but also an opportunity to discover some less well known scores.

Founded in 1973 by Trevor Pinnock, the English Concert has been a leading light in the performance of Baroque and Classical music for for over 40 years. Under their present Artistic Director Harry Bicket and with distinguished guest artists they continue to perform with the passion, sophistication and technical mastery established at their creation. Such is the commitment and passion that their players bring to every performance.

Composed against a cataclysmic backdrop of Stalinist oppression and the Second World War, Shostakovich’s Eighth Symphony is a deeply affecting poem of suffering. The composer described it as “an attempt to reflect the terrible tragedy of war” and it contains some of the most terrifying music he ever wrote.

Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony, also referred to as the "Resurrection Symphony", is a complete expression of Mahler’s existential struggle; both its form and its overpowering sound make this utterly clear. This live recording from 20011 is performed by the Chor and Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under its chief conductor Mariss Jansons with the two singers Anja Harteros and Bernarda Fink.

In their liner notes for this string of estrellitas (‘small stars’), Elena Urioste and Tom Poster admit to a shared love for ‘an old-world, golden sound and for melodies that tug at the heartstrings’. This has resulted in a deeply personal collection of miniatures full of winks, sighs and tears aimed at transporting the listener to bygone eras of fireside salon concerts.

Jazz’n More magazine’s Reiner Kobe calls the Berlin guitarist German guitarist Ronny Graupe “one of the most promising talents in German jazz” who is “on the right path with his ideal lineup”. That lineup call themselves also Spoom, a group name Graupe conjured from the combined sounds and ideas of a creative “big bang” and ocean spray. Musical partners since 2004, Graupe, bassist Jonas Westergaard and drummer Christian Lillinger have already made their mark on the jazz scene. On The White Belt, Spoom’s second album for PIROUET, Graupe and co masterfully approach their music as a new beginning.

Frank Kimbrough counts among a handful of New York-based pianists who have been re ning and expanding the language of ensemble playing over the last few decades (this November he marks 35 years in New York and his sixtieth birthday).

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) gilt als eines der größten Universalgenies der Menschheitsgeschichte. Der Schöpfer der Mona Lisa war nicht nur Maler, sondern auch Bildhauer, Architekt, Anatom, Mechaniker, Ingenieur und Naturphilosoph. Da Vinci beschäftigte sich auch mit Musik, entwickelte Musikinstrumente und komponierte.

Virtuosic Venetian Renaissance music for soprano, recorder and strings, recorded on newly reconstructed early Italian viols, unlocking a novel and unfamiliar soundworld.