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ACT has always boasted an impressive roster of jazz pianists: Esbjörn Svensson, Jan Lundgren, Ramon Valle, Kevin Hays, Don Friedman, Richie Beirach, Vijay Iyer, Joachim Kühn, Michael Wollny. This exclusive list now also includes one of the best Italian jazz musicians around, one who stands alongside globally renowned names such as Stefano Bollani and Enrico Pieranunzi - the Roman pianist Danilo Rea. Since his 1975 debut in the Trio di Roma group with bass player Enzo Pietropaoli and drummer Roberto Gatto, Rea has established himself internationally. Even though he has only performed in the USA three times, he has played with many US stars in Europe from Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, Steve Grossman and Michael Brecker to Billy Cobham, Gato Barbieri, Joe Lovano, Kenny Wheeler and John Scofield…

It is not certain that all the music on this disc is by Scarlatti; the manuscript that contains the nine Tenebrae Responsories for Holy Saturday and four Lenten motets is unsigned and in places incomplete. Conductor Sergio Balestracci is confident of their authorship, however, on stylistic grounds and because Scarlatti is reported to have composed settings of these Passiontide meditations in ‘the solid style of Palestrina’ for the Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1708.

Mateo Flecha the elder (1481–1553), better known than his son, composed ensaladas from 1543 to 1548, when he was in charge of music for Maria and Juana, the two daughters of Charles V; his service ended when Maria married her cousin, the future Maximilian II. The form, popular in 16th-century Spain, consisted of a narrative interrupted by quotations of other texts, making up a “salad” that could be varied according to the composer’s taste. They were invariably centered on the themes of Advent and Christmas. Six of these works have been available on disc in multiple versions, notably collections by Paul van Nevel La justa tells the story of redemption as a knightly tournament in which Lucifer defeats Adam and in turn is overcome by the newborn Savior.

Nicolo »Nicolini« Grimaldi (1673-1732) war der »primo uomo assoluto«, der unangefochtene »erste Kastrat« auf allen großen Opernbühnen seiner Zeit. Seine Stimme war in ihrem Umfang und Klang so einzigartig, dass große Komponisten wie Händel und Scarlatti Arien extra für ihn komponierten. Schon mit 13 Jahren hatte er in Neapel seine ersten Erfolge gefeiert – u. a. in einer Oper seines »Entdeckers« Scarlatti. Und so erfolgreich ging es für Nicolini weiter: 1699 debütierte er in Rom, 1700 in Venedig und betrat erstmals 1708 auf Geheiß des Earl of Manchester englischen Boden. Hier lernte er Händel kennen, mit dem er dann 1711 bei der Uraufführung der Oper Rinaldo in der gleichnamigen Titelrolle die Zuhörer begeisterte.

Mozart’s Motet Exsultate, Jubilate was originally written in Milan in 1773 for the castrato Venanzio Rauzzini but is now frequently used as a showpiece work for the soprano voice. The motet is considered to be an excellent example of sacred music that is Baroque in structure and mood. Ruth Ziesak’s melting soprano voice sounds impressive throughout this exultant music especially in the brilliant concluding section which is spun elaborately around the single word Alleluia.

Germany's CPO label has presented the efforts of performers who have doggedly unearthed unknown music of various periods, especially the eighteenth century. With the voluminous corpus of concertos by Telemann, many of which exist only in manuscript, they enter a field with a lot of still-uncharted territory. This set of wind concertos is one of the label's most useful releases despite a few quirks.

An outstanding Italian musican, Stefano Demicheli has been René Jacobs' closest assistant for many years and with him has performed on Europe's main opera stages. A distinguished harpsichordist, who studied with Ottavio Dantone, he is now the leader of the Dolce & Tempesta ensemble, consisting of the best soloists from the European period instrument ensembles.This new recording on Fuga Libera gives us the world première of the three Notturni composed c.1740 by Porpora, Handel's strongest rival in London, for the All Souls Day in Naples. Carried by one of the most powerfully expressive texts in the Christian canon, this is an opportunity to hear two stunning soloists: Monica Piccinini and Romina Basso and also the Stagione Armonica of Padova.

Franco Battiato's new collection that traces the history of this artist in 63 tracks was released in 2018 via RCA Records.

A celebration of instrumental Baroque splendour! This set present an anthology of Italian Baroque composers, featuring their instrumental output. Obviously the famous composers have their fair share: Vivaldi, Albinoni, Locatelli, Corelli, but also lesser known composers are featured: Barsanti, Bassani, Veracini, Nardini, Stradella, Vitali, Mancini, Platti, Legrenze and many more, over 30 composers! Performances by leading ensembles specialized in the Historically Informed Performance Practice: L'Arte dell'Arco/Federico Guglielmo, Ensemble Cordia/Stefano Veggetti, Violini Capricciosi/Igor Ruhadze, MusicaAmphion/Pieter Jan Belder and many more. A treasure trove of solo concertos, concerti grossi, sinfonias, overtures, trio sonatas and solo sonatas from the Golden Era of the Italian Baroque, era of joy, passion and brilliance!

This unique anthology of Baroque flute concertos on six CDs contains not only sensational collections featuring virtuoso recorder concertos of the German, Italian, and English Baroque but also the complete solo recorder concertos of Scarlatti, Vivaldi, and Georg Philipp Telemann. Telemanns two very different Concertos in F major and C major, for example, number among the most outstanding Baroque compositions of all for the recorder in a concerto role. Michael Schneider currently has no real rivals worldwide on his instrument. In his hands the recorder loses what so often limits its expressive capacity and gains a voice articulating all the musical facets. The complete eighteenth-century repertoire of recorder concertos or most of it is now available in performances by Schneider.