Final 24

‘From a musical point of view, but especially with regard to the stageworthiness of the work, these cuts represent an absolute improvement’ Bartok wrote to his publisher when he had finished his definitive revision of his Wooden Prince – cutting out much of the music relating to specific stage action, but also generally tightening the symphonic structure, making its large-scale mirror form appear clearer. Normally performed and recorded in its non-revised full-length version, it has been a joy now to follow Bartok’s inspired last wish revision of this mystic, vital, otherworldly, and grotesque fantasy music. (Thomas Dausgaard)

Children of Bodom was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993 as Inearthed, the final line-up of the group upon their split in 2019 consisted of Alexi Laiho (lead guitar, lead vocals), Jaska Raatikainen (drums), Henkka Seppälä (bass), Janne Wirman (keyboard), and Daniel Freyberg (rhythm guitar). The band released ten studio albums, two live albums, two EPs, two compilation albums and one DVD.

Presented as full length, beautifully orchestrated suites, one for each of the games included, Final Symphony II features the music of Final Fantasy V, VIII, IX and XIII, as performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and recorded inside the stunning Stockholm Konserthuset.

The compositions on this CD mark the final forays of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco into expansive works crafted for concert guitarists, bound together by a cohesive concept and a consistent unity of inspiration. Most importantly, they stand as the ultimate pieces for solo guitar that the Italian composer managed to fully complete. “Appunti” op. 210, his final composition for solo guitar, commissioned by Ruggero Chiesa, remain unfinished, albeit of notable merit: Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s death precluded their completion, with just the initial two notebooks fulfilled. Moreover, these notebooks were expressly designed for a student audience, since they are characterised by their approachability and mechanical simplicity.

The compositions on this CD mark the final forays of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco into expansive works crafted for concert guitarists, bound together by a cohesive concept and a consistent unity of inspiration. Most importantly, they stand as the ultimate pieces for solo guitar that the Italian composer managed to fully complete. “Appunti” op. 210, his final composition for solo guitar, commissioned by Ruggero Chiesa, remain unfinished, albeit of notable merit: Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s death precluded their completion, with just the initial two notebooks fulfilled. Moreover, these notebooks were expressly designed for a student audience, since they are characterised by their approachability and mechanical simplicity.

The Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra gave its inaugural concert on February 14, 1991. It was then born as Orquesta Ciudad de Málaga, a consortium between the Malaga City Council and the Junta de Andalucía, and which responded to the conviction that a city like Malaga should have a great symphony orchestra.

The second edition of the Queen Elisabeth Competition dedicated to the cello gives us an opportunity to re-immerse ourselves in the performances of four laureates during the very first session dedicated to this instrument, in 2017.

In 1731, at the height of his London fame, Handel created his 28th opera seria: a vocal pyrotechnic about the rivalry, in love and war, between Alexander the Great and the Indian King Porus.