Johann Sebastian Bach wrote his Partita in D minor for solo violin, BWV 1004, from the year 1717 to 1723. It has been suggested that this partita, and especially its last movement, was conceived as a tombeau in memory of Bach's first wife Maria Barbara Bach (who died in 1720). The partita contains five movements, given in Italian as: Allemanda, Corrente, Sarabanda, Giga and Caccona.

Meditation, mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca's 2014 release on Deutsche Grammophon, is an album of serene vocal and choral works that express religious feelings with an operatic touch and showcase the Latvian singer's warm and radiant voice. Choosing pieces from the early Baroque era to contemporary works, Garanca presents a soothing program that is consistent in its comforting tone and gentle treatment, though as a purely musical consideration, it tends to flow a bit too evenly and predictably. Insofar as the selections represent the Christian tradition, including settings of the Ave Maria, the Salve Regina, the Sanctus, the Agnus Dei, and the Regina Coeli, the character of the collection admits little variety, except for the general alternation between penitential and quietly ecstatic moods.

"A Night at the Opera" is the fourth studio album by the British rock band Queen. The album takes its name from the Marx Brothers film of the same name, which the band watched one night at the studio complex when recording. Queen employed a complex production that extensively used multitrack recording, and the songs incorporated a wide range of styles, such as ballads, music hall, dixieland, hard rock and progressive rock influences. Aside from their usual equipment, Queen also utilised a diverse range of instruments such as a double bass, harp, ukulele and more.

​Although Maurice Ravel, in his string quartet, explicitly refers to the quartet written ten years earlier by his colleague, Claude Debussy, he opts to follows his own, new path and arrives at a distinctive Ravelian tone: colourful, refined and saturated with that flair of the artificial which also characterises his beloved porcelain and glass artworks, ornamental shrubs and bonsai trees.

The Soul of Things – a fusion of solo piano, harp, cello and electronics – draws inspiration from the mundane. The album can itself be heard as an ode to the ordinary things – a particularly good fountain pen, an old radio receiver – that somehow, in their very familiarity become extraordinary to us.

Starting in the 19 th century, transcription became a way of life for composers, pianists and performers, often playing a role in spreading music as middle-class families invited pianists into their drawing rooms to play a reduction of the latest symphony or opera for their relatives and friends. Franz Liszt is the inescapable reference point for the art of transcription, and his creations have become concert works in their own right.

After the milchbar Seaside Season 12 reached number 1 in the German charts last year, Blank & Jones is more important than ever this year to present a soundtrack for the perfect moments at sunset.

"Beginning with his expansive concerto for recorders and large orchestra, Territorial Songs (2008-09), Rasmussen sought to expand the instrument's persona and possibilities, freeing it from its historic associations with the music of the Renaissance and Baroque, pushing it into new territories. In this mission, the composer has been exceptionally fortunate to have as muse and musical partner one of the greatest recorder players ever, Michala Petri.

The thirteen sonatas on this première recording represent the complete music for solo piano by the Parisian keyboardist and composer ANNE-LOUISE BRILLON DE JOUY, a musician much celebrated in her day and greatly admired by Boccherini. Introducing technical innovations more usually associated with Czerny and Liszt, these sonatas reflect a gloriously rich musical environment, incorporating and transforming elements from music of the time with great imagination and wit, and showing us that Madame Brillon's glittering salon, though private, was by no means isolated.

"Czech-born Paul Wranitzky, a contemporary of Mozart, was the most important symphonist in Vienna at the turn of the 18th century. To mark the ascension to the throne of Franz II in 1792, Wranitzky wrote the grand Symphony in C major, a work of regal quality and festive exuberance. Wranitzky's mature symphonic style is on display in the Symphony in B flat major, with its expanded orchestral forces, contrasting textures and broad musical invention. Overtures from two operas offer a sampling of Wranitzky's dramatic writing for the stage."

"Georges Onslow is best known for a body of chamber music that follows the musical lineage of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. A master of the quintet medium, Onslow offered variations of ensemble to players, the two presented here being cast for string quartet and double bass. The tempestuous Quintet No. 23 in A minor is charged with almost ceaseless nervous energy and Schubertian lyricism; the mature Quintet No. 31 in A major is both subtle and elegant, with a brilliant assemblage of details such as walking bass and violin-cello duets."

The final instalment in the ‘Beethoven & Barry’ recording series which, over three volumes, has traced all nine of Beethoven’s Symphonies coupled with music by the celebrated Irish composer Gerald Barry.

Recorded at the prestigious Studio Piccolo in the heart of Montreal, Quebec, Canadian duo Stick&Bow bring life and energy to ‘Studio Piccolo Sessions’. This audio release accompanies a series of five videos presenting works by: Sting, Pau Casals, Luis Naon, Jason Noble and Carlos Puebla. The dynamic duo highlight the technical finesse and energetic performance between cello and marimba.

Born in Italy in 2001, Elia Cecino began his studies at 9 with prof. Maddalena De Facci and at 17 graduated 'Summa cum Laude' at Cesena Conservatory as a private student. In 2020 he achieved the Specialization Diploma of the Accademia del Ridotto di Stradella with Andrzej Jasinski and he is now studying with Eliso Virsaladze at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole.

LA Sports Arena, California 1988 is a live album by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band with The Horns of Love, released in July 2015 and the sixth official release through the Bruce Springsteen Archives.