Mozart Sampson

If your ideal vocal recording places the performer next to your seat and your ideal vocal performance has the performer singing directly into your ear, this disc by mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozená will be just about ideal. No matter what the repertoire – and Kozená performs everything from Bach to Gounod to Shostakovich – and no matter what the context – and Kozená takes on everything from song to opera to oratorio – Kozená is right next to the listener, singing straight into his/her ear. Given her exceedingly warm tone, her extremely rich delivery, and her extraordinarily sibilant pronunciation, Kozená's intimate delivery may be too much for those with heart conditions or those all too easily affected by singers. But for those made of sterner stuff, Kozená's performances here will be the stuff dreams are made of.

This program also makes a perfect introduction to the world of the cantatas in general for anyone who loves Bach's instrumental music or larger vocal works (like the B minor Mass), but who has been hesitating before taking the plunge into the vast sea of his cantata production. Why? Simple: two of these pieces contain music found elsewhere in Bach's output. For example, the first chorus of BWV 120 became the concluding number (Et expecto) of the B minor Mass "Credo". BWV 29 opens with an almost shockingly brilliant arrangement (as an organ concerto) of the opening movement of the E major violin partita, followed by the chorus that appears in the B minor Mass as both the "Gratias" and the "Dona Nobis Pacem" (the German original means exactly the same thing as the Gratias: "We thank thee," making the adaptation entirely apropos). All three cantatas feature brilliant writing for trumpets (four of them in BWV 119) and drums, and were written for civic ceremonies in Leipzig. And if the words are often less than inspiring to us now, no one can argue that Bach didn't rise to the occasion musically.

The Blu-ray Experience II: Opera, Ballet & Theatre: includes opera, ballet and theatre highlights from the Opus Arte catalogue, and gives everyone the opportunity to experience the stunning quality of High Definition picture and sound, at an extremely competitive price. Including world-class artists such Carlos Acosta, Darcy Bussell, Sarah Connolly, Miyako Yoshida, Diana Damrau, Joyce DiDonato, Adetomiwa Edun, Gerald Finley, this is a must-have purchase this autumn. Blu-ray offers an outstanding audio and visual experience, with up to six times the resolution of standard definition DVD, and up to 5.1 channels of High Definition surround sound.

In Gustav Mahler's first four symphonies many of the themes originate in his own settings of folk poems from the collection Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy's Magic Horn). A case in point, Symphony No. 4 is built around a single song, Das himmlische Leben (The Heavenly Life) which Mahler had composed some eight years earlier, in 1892. The song presents a child's vision of Heaven and is hinted at throughout the first three movements. In the fourth, marked ‘Sehr behaglich’ (Very comfortably), the song is heard in full from a solo soprano instructed by Mahler to sing: ‘with serene, childlike expression; completely without parody!’

Rob Tognoni and his guitar have been treading the stages worldwide for the past 35 years. He has opened for the greats - Roy Buchanan, Stevie Ray Vaughan's mentor Lonnie Mack, Joe Walsh from the Eagles, shared stages with Peter Green, Sting, ZZ Top, Bo Diddley. He has represented Australia at the Royal Wedding celebrations of Prince Frederik & Princess Mary of Denmark, performed for FIFA World Cup Football in Kaiserslautern, played from maximum security prisons in Australia to Mozart's House in Vienna plus countless other experiences that have honed his skills. Rob is originally from Tasmania, Australia and goes under the pseudonym of "The Tasmanian Devil". His style is fiery, energetic, inventive and explosive. His roots are from blues, blues rock & classic rock but also adding many other colours to the palate to give him his sound & uniqueness.