Bruno Segre

If you can get past the 1940s monaural sound (and if you are not already familiar with this performance, you will get a shock). This is the gentlest, most right sounding rendition I have ever heard. The tempi are uncommonly brisk, though they never sound that way. The third movement has never sounded more beautiful. Halban is perfect in the finale. Walter passed away before he could record this work in stereo. His later performances were very different and I'm still not sure whether or not his later slower tempos and even greater expression were an improvement.

These four flute concertos, here recorded for the first time, span the fascinating half century that saw the emergence of Romanticism from the Classical style of the preceding decades. Each requires different forces, reflecting the growth of the orchestra during this time, while giving a prominence to the solo instrument which would decline as the 19th Century progressed. They are, therefore, rare treasures to enjoy for their diversity and unique position in musical history.

This production of Rossinis Il Barbiere di Siviglia, staged by Coline Serreau, was presented at the Opera Bastille for the first time in 2002. It was the successful film directors second opera project. The international cast features one of the leading lyric mezzos working in the Rossini repertoire American Joyce DiDonato sings Rosina. German-Italian star tenor Roberto Saccà takes the role of her seducer, Count Almaviva and Czech baritone Dalibor Jenis, currently one of the best Figaros available, completes the leading trio. Delicate Spanish bass baritone Carlos Chausson playing Bartolo, Rosinas guardian, and Icelandic bass Kristinn Sigmundsson as the curious music teacher Basilio provide suitable buffo material for the operas various comic scenes.

The five orchestral works in this comprehensive anthology have a common nucleus pointing to the core interests which Bruno Maderna pursued from 1954 to 1966: experiments with a post-serial harmonic vocabulary, and a search for dramatic structures. This CD includes Composition in Three Tempi, Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, Aria, Dimension III and Stele per Diotima.

Franz Anton Hoffmeister was a formative figure in the musical life of his time and highly regarded as a publisher of famous contemporaries such as Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. The variety and appeal of his own works also made him a popular and renowned composer. As with volume 1 of this series (8572738), flautist Bruno Meier has created new editions of these previously unknown works. With elegant and catchy themes, substantial proportions, intriguing major/minor contrasts of key and virtuoso solo writing, Hoffmeister satisfied the tastes of his time finding a perfect balance between grace and artistry.

Acclaimed for their interpretation of Vivaldi and Barriere's sonatas, Bruno Cocset's Les Basses Reunies return to Italian 18th century music in this fantastic new recording. The programmed, comprising sonatas by Francesco Geminiani, calls upon a distinguished guest: theorist and lutist Luca Pianca. Also featured under Cocset is Bertrand Cuiller (harpsichord), Mathurin Martharel (cello), and Richard Myron (double bass).