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In November 1949, at the age of eight, Idil Biret entered the studios of ORTF (Radiodiffusion Television Francaise) in Paris and made her first recordings; these were works by Couperin, Bach, Beethoven and Debussy. In the following decades she made...

In Indonesia, in the Sunda country (west of the island of Java), in about the middle of the 19th century, in order to entertain the princesses of the city of Cianjur, it occurred to a group of musicians, led by a prince smitten with poetry, to create a...

In Hungary at the beginning of the 20th century, B?la Bart?k and Zoltn Kody were collecting and making analytical studies of Hungarian folk music, creating a new interest in the native music of their homeland. This album, featuring rarely heard works...

In his treatise on early melodramas by Jacques Rousseau, Anton Schweitzer, Georg Benda, Christian Gottlieb Neefe, Johann Friedrich Reichhardt, Abb? Vogler, Peter von Winter, Johann Rudolph Zumsteeg, Siegmund von Seckendorff and Carl Eberwein, Edgar Istel...

In his new GENUIN album, pianist J?rgen Geiger, who has appeared throughout Europe, explores the distinctions between composition, improvisation, creation, and re-creation. He presents virtuoso piano literature, including his own compositions and...

In his Musick's Monument of 1676, Thomas Mace described in great detail numerous aspects of contemporary musical life in London. This volume evokes all the characteristics of English music, going back to the most glorious years of the Renaissance, with a...

In his latest album Intermissions, pianist Svetozar Ivanov continues his tradition of creating compact discs with thematic unity and artistic cohesiveness. In the year of Beethoven's 250th anniversary, Svetozar Ivanov juxtaposes the composer's last Piano...

In his first album for Challenge Classics, Sergio Foresti, one of leading baroque baritones of our days, sings a subtly thought-out selection of arias written for Giuseppe Maria Boschi, the most famous baritone in London at the time of Handel and...

In Great Britain Christmas carols are an integral part of Christmas just like plum pudding and turkey, paper crowns and mistletoe. They are sung in all big cathedrals and churches at Christmas, first and foremost in the time-honored chapel of King's...

In German-speaking countries, carolers go from door to door every year between Christmas and Epiphany. They collect donations for children in need and, with their songs, carry the blessing of God into every house. Children and young people from choirs...

In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the greatest media event in classical music, Sony Classical released in 2015 a complete edition of all the works ever played at the Wiener Philharmoniker's New Year's Concerts. Performed in the "Golden Hall" of...

In August 2018 Salisbury Cathedral was packed to the rafters as concert goers came to enjoy their first ever Organ Prom, a final 'adieu' before the Cathedral's famous Father Willis organ was decommissioned for restoration in 2019. Following completion of...