Concluding their series of the orchestral music of Johannes Brahms on Profil, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln present the Symphony No. 4 in E minor, the Academic Festival Overture, and the Tragic Overture on this third volume, thus rounding out a standard set of the seven works that are usually packaged together.

Executive produced by Rick Rubin, Imagine Dragons presents the 2 CD deluxe album, Mercury - Acts 1 & 2 - on KIDinaKORNER/Interscope Records. Act 1 includes the hits, "Follow You," "Wrecked," and "Enemy," featuring JID. Act 2 features 18 additional songs including the new single, "Bones."

This Così fan tutte enchanted the Baden-Baden Festspielhaus audience when recorded in concert in 2012, with Nézet-Séguin inspiring his stellar cast to feats of vocal derring-do. An enthusiastic advocate of Mozart s music, Rolando Villazón takes on the lead tenor role. Das Opernglas hailed his debut as Ferrando, calling him ideal for the role we have not heard a more beautiful, better sung and deeper felt Un aura amorosa in a long time. Starring a thrilling cast of both young and experienced Mozart opera stars including accomplished soprano Mojca Erdmann as Despina, acclaimed Mozartian soprano Miah Persson and prize-winning young American mezzo Angela Brower as the emotionally manipulated sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella. Also joining this crème-de-la-crème cast are distinguished Mozart bass-baritone Adam Plachetka as Guglielmo and Italian buffo baritone Alessandro Corbelli as Alfonso.

Mozart wrote some of his most appealing music for the mezzo-soprano voice with the roles of Cherubino and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Dorabella in Così fan tutte and Zerlina in DonGiovanni each boasting at least one memorable aria. Alongside these this disc includes a handful of concert arias including Ch'io mi scordi di te? which was written for the farewell performance of the great mezzo Nancy Storace with Mozart playing the concertante piano role. Here with as innate an interpreter of Mozart's piano writing as András Schiff and a voice so remarkably self-assured as Cecilia Bartoli's the electricity of that first, historic performance seems almost to be recreated.

"[a] starry debut recital, from 1988, introduced Bartoli's Italianate mezzo - her technique and accurate coloratura mingled with earthy, sweet-sour tone." — BBC Music Magazine

Tracks such as beat heavy opener “Radioactive” and the masterfully layered “Demons” could be performed acoustically around the campfire or electrified in concert. “Tiptoe” has elements of classic ‘80s technopop, while “On Top of the World” is a joyous handclap-driven number with big harmony vocals on the chorus and happy drumming. Both the airplay-friendly sound and thoughtful lyrics of “Every Night” are timeless.

Dinah Washington cut a lot of sides in two decades of recording. However, her straight jazz sessions were few and far between because of the mass popular and commercial appeal that she had as a pop singer. Still, the versatile Dinah thrived in just about any setting and the one provided here in 1955 by the gifted Chicago producer Bob Shad showcases her intimate side to perfection.
Since Dinah Washington just about invented gospel-based soulful singing, it's thrilling to hear her at the peak of her powers backed by a small group that includes trumpeter Clark Terry and pianist Wynton Kelly. The session is also graced by Quincy Jones' tidy arrangements…

The Grobschnitt debut from 1972 are a milestone in modern music history. This double CD collects what the band recorded before the debut was released. These early authentical recordings leave in many ways a livelier and fresher impression compared to the perfectly polished studio versions of the LP from Metronome. They show "the" Kapelle Elias Grobschnitt precisely in the fashion as they were to be experienced in those days.

Since Wanderer of Time, released in 2003, Gert Emmens built himself a solid reputation to write very harmonious opuses which bubble in a fauna of sequences with tricky and complexly melodious movements. Futuristic or medieval themes, the Dutch synthesist always succeeds to bring out again a melodious and catchy aspect out of his wonderful musical journeys. The Tale of the Warlock is Gert Emmens' 1st concept album. An imaginary quest of which the music espouses to perfection the romantic imagination of a musician with whom evolution doesn’t stop surprising and charming.

The music recorded here encompasses a period of around a hundred years. The earliest works come from the time around 1600, which is considered one of the most profound watersheds in musical history. The new expressiveness unleashed above all by Monteverdi’s music was at the same time also potent in the increasingly independent instrumental music. This development is directly connected with the emancipation of the violin and its marvelous cantabile and virtuoso possibilities. When the composers started to make the individual sections of the ricercar into independent contrasting movements, and accordingly separated them from each other also in terms of tempo, the transition to a cyclical manner of formation, that is to say, to a stringing together of independent movements, was initiated and a meaningful musical organization adopted as a maxim.

Mimì, the happy-go-lucky young Parisian discovering the torments of love and facing the dread of illness and finitude is an endearing character, easy to identify with. If Maria Callas never had the opportunity to portray it live on stage, she masterfully embodied her on record in 1956. Mimì’s zest for life, simplicity and frailty have rarely been more intensely rendered than in this fiery version featuring a beautiful cast. Callas and Di Stefano’s love duet sends sparks flying!

Renowned pianist Peter Takács and Icelandic violinist Sibbi Bernhardsson present Schubert: Three Sonatas for Piano and Violin, Op. 137, their first record in collaboration with one another and their first record on Leaf Music. Largely unknown at the time of Schubert’s death, the Sonatas for Violin and Piano (Op. posth. 137) were composed during a prolific two-month span in March–April of 1816. In addition to completing his Fourth Symphony (“Tragic”) during this creative outpouring, the nineteen-year-old penned some two dozen songs and a twelve-movement Stabat Mater (D. 383) for choir and orchestra. Schubert himself was a capable violinist (and violist) and had already written a significant body of work for strings, but this was his first foray into the violin sonata proper.

Alvaro Henrique releases the first volume of O Violão de Villa-Lobos, with the participation of the Cláudio Santoro National Theater Symphony Orchestra, conducted by conductor Cláudio Cohen. This very special project presents all of Heitor Villa-Lobos' works for guitar in three volumes, starting with this first album release on April 21, Brasília's birthday. This album features some of Villa-Lobos' most iconic works for guitar, including the “12 Studies for Guitar”, the “Sexteto Místico” and the “Concerto for Guitar and Small Orchestra”. The Cláudio Santoro National Theater Symphony Orchestra (OSTNCS), conducted by conductor Cláudio Cohen, participates in the recording, making this the first album with OSTNCS on streaming platforms.

Recognized worldwide as a virtuosic percussionist Burhan Öçal has made the bridging of musical cultures his central mission. A native of Kirklareli in Thrace region, he grew up in a musical family. From his father, he learned a variety of percussion instruments, while his mother introduced him to religious vocal music. After his first contact with Western music, he became interested in combining other genres and cultural traditions, such as jazz and Western classical music, with his own.

The four Piano Sonatas of Stéphan Elmas are the masterpieces among his compositions, together with the piano concertos. As they were never performed until now, Heghine Rapyan dedicated time and effort to bring them to life. Making the premiere recording of these Sonatas is for her both a privilege and a responsibility. She is creating and sharing with the audience the first impression and image of this music. Therefore, it was for her quite difficult to make the right decisions about the narrative and architecture in the music. It took her almost two years until she was sure of her ideas, interpretation style, timing and intensity. All the sonatas have unbelievably beautiful melodic lines and heartbreaking harmonies. Listening to them and despite the fact that they are totally unknown, one says “somehow, that sounds familiar!”. We are sure that listening to this CD, you will also feel the same.