Nicola Dinan

First recording of Pericoli’s 6 Cello Sonatas. Little is known about the life of Pasquale Pericoli, who lived and worked in the second half of the 18th century. He is known to have produced operas in Stockholm for some years, he himself claimed to be of Neapolitan origin. His Neapolitan roots certainly are betrayed in his 6 Cello Sonatas, in which the formal structure of the Sonata (albeit in embryonic form, not yet fully developed as in the Classical Period) is imbued with melodic charm and cantabile, the cello seeming to sing instead of play.

At the end of the 17th century, the violin is on the point of achieving artistic supremacy all over Europe. England remains the last stronghold of the viola, the quintessential aristocratic instrument, carrying the values of nobility and emotion which music is supposed to incarnate and taking at the time French style as a model. It was a musician hailing from Naples who was to introduce London to the delights of the violin and the spice of Italian music, for which the British would become passionate.

GRAMMY award-winning Nicola Benedetti’s new album on Decca Classics explores music by Britain’s best loved composer, Edward Elgar. The centrepiece is his vast Violin Concerto in B minor. Op. 61 coupled with three short works for violin and piano: Salut d’Amour, Sospiri and Chanson de Nuit.

Guitarist Nicola Conte's sixth recording as a leader is a vocal tour de force, as five different singers split up duties on select tracks. With a substantial horn section pulled from the jazz ranks, Conte takes on the role of producer more than instrumentalist, while exploring various strains of Latin jazz backings for his words and music that are mostly from his personal book of tunes.

There's little doubt that to have heard Sutherland in 1961 must have been really something. It was the year she found New York, and New York found her. This recording, along with the live recording of her early 1961 New York debut in Beatrice di Tenda are legendary moments. Both are concert performances, conducted by Nicola Rescigno.
This Sonnambula was in Carnegie Hall in December and just after her Met debut. The voice is astonishing. The 'Ah, non guinge' is sung with almost wild abandon, absolutely thrilling, and was described the next day by Harold Schonberg as "flawlessly performed pyrotechnics".