Will Durant,ariel Durant

The Biblical story of Belshazzar’s hubristic arrogance set against the valour of the young warrrior-leader Cyrus provided the 20-year-old Rossini with a dramatic story with West-Eastern resonances which still speak to us today. For the title role of Cyrus, Rossini wrote what would be his longest-ever contralto role, to which the great Rossini singer Ewa Podles is both naturally attracted and ideally suited. She is partnered by two young American stars of Rossini singing, Jessica Pratt and Michael Spyres, and a conductor-scholar, Will Crutchfield, of immense experience and sympathy.

Aureliano in Palmira celebrated its fi rst première on 26 December 1813 at the Scala In Milan. Soon afterwards the work was played in different theatres all over Europe. Nevertheless Rossini’s piece fell into oblivion more and more compared to the great competitors like “Tancredi” or the “Barber of Seville” for which Rossini recycled musical parts of “Aureliano”. But since a few years there are ambitions to play this work about love, war, jealousy, loyalty and magnanimity more frequently.

"Vespertine" is the musical score that This Will Destroy You composed for Chef Jordan Kahn's 2-Michelin Star restaurant of the same name. The score originally ran exclusively at the physical site of the restaurant in Culver City, California since its grand opening in late 2017. The program consists of seven pieces specifically written for moments within the building itself (and even the space around and on top of it).

Will Todd is one of the UK's most popular and performed modern choral composers. His output includes works for choir, stage works, and orchestral works, and his music has been featured on BBC Radio 2, 3 and 4 and Classic FM, and performed all over the UK, Europe and the USA. On this disc, Nigel Short conducts superlative performances of his works by his BBC Music Magazine Award-winning choir Tenebrae and the English Chamber Orchestra. This compilation of his works includes the premiere recording of a new commission 'The Call of Wisdom', which on June 5th 2012 will be presented on the occasion of a Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral for the Diamond Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II.

“Honestly,” the new collaboration from Will St Peter, Steven Heffner, and Steve Barnes, exudes synergy, sensitivity, and vitality. Featuring compositions by St Peter alongside new arrangements of recognizable standards, “Honestly” puts on display what is possible when three friends gather to create in an environment of trust and vulnerability. In the space between their rendition of Mancini’s “Days of Wine and Roses” and St Peter’s tribute to his local “Windsor” community, the trio expresses themselves in the only way they know how: honestly.

The Biblical story of Belshazzar’s hubristic arrogance set against the valour of the young warrrior-leader Cyrus provided the 20-year-old Rossini with a dramatic story with West-Eastern resonances which still speak to us today. For the title role of Cyrus, Rossini wrote what would be his longest-ever contralto role, to which the great Rossini singer Ewa Podles is both naturally attracted and ideally suited. She is partnered by two young American stars of Rossini singing, Jessica Pratt and Michael Spyres, and a conductor-scholar, Will Crutchfield, of immense experience and sympathy.