Chamber Music & Recitals

The first monographic recording entirely dedicated to Francesco Rasi is released for the 400th anniversary of his death (30 November 1621). The first interpreter of Monteverdi's Orfeo, an astonishing tenor and poet with a life studded with triumphs,...

The first major commercial recording by Pierre Boulez, made in 1966 with London's New Philharmonia Orchestra, was of music by a composer he particularly revered, Claude DeBussy. Praised for it's "clarity and cool" (New York Times), Boulez's radical...

The first instrumental collection by Giovanni Legrenzi, Sonate a due e tre Op. 2, was published during the composer's last years as organist at the Santa Maria Maggiore Church in Bergamo, along with three other collections, including 'Sonate da chiesa,...

The first in a series of recordings celebrating 50 years of the famed Flentrop organ at Saint Mark's Cathedral in Seattle, Washington. In this recital from 2001, Roger Sherman undertakes a twin mission, exploring both selected repertory of composers who...

The first half of the XVIII century witnessed the triumph of the harpsichord. The 1685 generation gave a solid contribution to the development of the proceeding: this was the year when Bach, H?ndel and Scarlatti were born. A remarkable generation, along...

The first half of the 18th century was a period of intense evolution for instruments belonging to the flute family, as materials (wood to metal), sizes and ranges all developed prior to the key-system devised in the 19th century. The recorder (or pair...

The first half of the 18th century can be described as the last revival of the traverso flute before it fell into a slumber, from which it awakened again decades later named as "Bohmflote" (transverse flute). In this time a variety of magnificent,...

The first German artist to win the international Naumburg Violin Award in New York, Axel Strauss was acclaimed for his recording of Mendelssohn' Songs Without Words as 'an excellent violinist who plays these with wit and verve'.1. No. 1 in C Major 2. No...

The first female Professor at the Paris Conservatoire, the first female player in the Queen's Hall Orchestra and the first female American Symphonist to be published. The Neave Trio celebrate these three outstanding pioneers on this captivating album...

The first ever collection of Fou Ts'Ongs complete Chopin Recordings for CBS Masterworks on 10 CDs. Includes full sets Ballades, Nocturnes, ?tudes, Pr?ludes, and Mazurkas. 3 out of the 10 CDs have been remastered from the original master tapes, and this...

The first digitally recorded Bart?k quartet cycle, long unavailable: ferociously intelligent readings in superb sound that have stood the test of time against other classic interpretations in the storied discography of these works. The Lindsays' Bart?k...

The first decade of the 17th c. saw many collections of sacred pieces in the new "second practice" style printed in Northern Italy, probably to fulfill the wishes of churches that wanted to showcase their awareness of the new fashion. Among the two most...