The elder son of Estonian/American conductor Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi has achieved much, including appointment as the 12th music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Although a musician of broad interests and a resident of the United States for the greater part of his life, he has continued to champion the music of his native Estonia in live performances and on disc. Blessed with directing gifts that transcend mere talent, Järvi is among the handful of younger conductors regarded as true successors to the great maestros of the past. Born in Tallin, Estonia, Järvi began his studies in conducting and percussion at the Tallin School of Music.

After India’s heat and its vibrant colors, Buddha-Bar takes us to the wild East to discover Russia. Emblematic and mysterious country, Russia offers a wide array of climates, cultures and arts. That last aspect has seduced DJ Ravin and led him to have Buddha-Bar XV focused on this enchanting atmosphere. Take a journey to these unexplored territories; walk through Russia from east to west and from North to South to the sweet sounds of Russian traditional instruments and vocals. The first CD, acoustic and enchanting, will take you through the steppe, listening Bliss, Yasmine Hamdan, Thor… The second CD, more infused with electronic music, will immerse you in Russia’s warm nights with artists such as Dim Vach or Sean Bay.

With unparalleled artistry and enduring vigor, the Juilliard String Quartet continues to inspire audiences around the world. Founded in 1946, the ensemble draws on a deep and vital engagement to the classics, while embracing the mission of championing new works, a vibrant combination of the familiar and the daring. Each performance of the Juilliard String Quartet is a unique experience, bringing together the four members’ profound understanding, total commitment, and unceasing curiosity in sharing the wonders of the string quartet literature.

It was in 1964 – a few years after an early foray into Beethoven with four of the works for RCA Victor’s Red Seal label – that the Juilliard String Quartet embarked on this complete set. They started out with the three “Razumovsky” and “Harp” quartets, which Columbia released the next year on its subsidiary Epic label. The six “Early Quartets”, op. 18, followed in 1968–69; the “Late Quartets” in 1969–70, along with op. 95 to complete the set of “Middle Quartets”. By now all the Juilliard recordings were appearing on Columbia Masterworks, including their Beethoven in three separate volumes. ….

It was in 1964 a few years after an early foray into Beethoven with four of the works for RCA Victors Red Seal label that the Juilliard String Quartet embarked on this complete set. They started out with the three Razumovsky and Harp quartets, which Columbia released the next year on its subsidiary Epic label. The six Early Quartets, op. 18, followed in 196869; the Late Quartets in 196970, along with op. 95 to complete the set of Middle Quartets. By now all the Juilliard recordings were appearing on Columbia Masterworks, including their Beethoven in three separate volumes.

Navona Records exhilarating PRISMA VOL. 3the latest in the PRISMA seriesunveils the diverse faces of contemporary orchestral music. Featuring the works of seven composers, PRISMA VOL. 3 follows up the success of the first two PRISMA installments with symphonic music that is both innovative and deeply alluring. The album opens with Ascension for Solo Clarinet and String Orchestra by Ahmed Alabaca, which pairs tender yet excitable clarinet lines with the cinematic grandeur of a string orchestra.

For this recording, Adélaïde Ferrière sheds light on the marimba. As a remarkable percussionist, and nominated for a Victoire de la Musique award in 2017, she brings out the surprising features of her instrument for an album and a programme that perfectly suits her: radiant, powerful and striking. Whether she chooses Xenakis or Hurel, Adélaïde Ferrière keeps displaying grace and a spectacular virtuosity: her playful performance is a delight, as much as it is an ode to rhythm and verve. Contemporary music is more alive than ever.

“From Beethoven’s extensive oeuvre of variations, I have selected four works ranging from the first to the last composition for solo piano for which Beethoven created variations on an original theme. Thus the wide-ranging Eroica Variations Op. 35 find their place alongside the compressed and downscaled Variations in C minor WoO 80 and the Variations in G major WoO 77 which were created as a piece of occasional music. The recording closes with Sonata Op. 111, whose second movement is one of the longest and most complex variation settings of the Viennese School and represents the homogeneous integration of the variation as a form within multi-movement works in Beethoven’s piano literature. Each of these four works possesses its own semantics and shows a Beethoven sparkling with creativity, wit, deep expressiveness and consummate mastery of forms, confronting the pianist with a multiplicity of technical, but also interpretative challenges.” (Florian Feilmair)

Gaia Onbashira is a musical exploration of respect and how it relates to ancient traditions. Gaia loosely translates to Goddess of the Earth or Mother Earth and Onbashira is a festival that occurs every seven years in Japan. During the Onbashira festival, eight individuals are chosen for spiritually cleansing. The participants ascend a mountain and attempt to spiritually connect with the heavens through the trees. These trees are then allowed to fall down the mountain and eventually become posts and the foundation of a ceremonial shrine. Through these events, these individuals learn to become more in touch with their spirits. This album is a far-reaching journey that brings together influences of the East and West, past and present, history and future. These tracks resonate with earthly sounds and the history embodied in pre-Columbian wind and percussion instruments.

Benedikt Kristjánsson (tenor), Chorus Musicus Köln, Olivia Vermeulen (alto), Tobias Berndt (bass), Das Neue Orchester, Dorothee Mields (soprano), Georg Poplutz (tenor), Daniel Ochoa (bass) Christoph Spering

The most famous works of the greatest living composers for the first time in their entire acoustic wealth and as an epic journey of sound with orchestra and outstanding soloists "Epic Orchestra - New Sound of Classical" is an epic sound journey with orchestra. The NDR Radiophilharmonie has combined some of the most famous works of the greatest living composers in a coherent sound journey. In an extremely elaborate production with outstanding soloists, choir and every conceivable extension of the orchestra, the masterpieces of these composers appear for the first time in their entire acoustic wealth. With over 90 microphones, "Epic Orchestra" explores the possibilities of acoustic orchestral sound - without any midi or synthesizer support whatsoever - and creates a kaleidoscope of sounds, from intimate chamber ensembles, as in "Mishima - Closing", to the gigantic orchestral structure with several organ and piano voices in "Interstellar".

Pour son grand retour au disque après 5 années d’absence, la soprano de renommée internationale, Patricia Petibon dévoile son nouvel album « L’amour, la mort, la mer », accompagnée de la pianiste Susan Manoff, sa complice de longue date.
Pour Patricia, la musique semble tenir à ces figures mythiques que sont l’amour, la mer, la mort. L’amour devient marin, la mer devient éros, et la mort n’est plus morbide. La mort aime et voyage au cœur des représentations que lui donnent l’amour et la mer.

Smoking Joséphine : cinq virtuoses pétillantes pour un nom qui intrigue… Ces solistes accomplies transforment sans complexe le quintette à cordes en un terrain de jeu, s’affranchissant des codes et du cérémonial des concerts classiques.

La flûtiste Nadia Labrie nous revient avec un excellent deuxième album dans sa série Flûte Passion. Ce second opus est dédié à quatre pièces phares de l’œuvre pour flûte de Johann Sebastian Bach, qu’elle interprète avec brio en compagnie de Luc Beauséjour au piano et de Camille Paquette-Roy au violoncelle.Les deux premières sonates de l’album Flûte Passion : Bach, la Sonate en mi mineur, BWV 1034 et la Sonate en trio en sol majeur, BWV 1039 avec leurs quatre mouvements s’alternant selon l’enchaînement lent-vif-lent-vif, correspondent au modèle de la sonata da chiesa (destinée à l’église).

Smokey-voiced chanteuse Madeleine Peyroux's third CD is a lovely collection of after-hours ruminations and should confirm her rise to fame. Credit producer Larry Klein for doing a bang-up job with the album's sound: the elegant, pared-down arrangements are all brushed drums, acoustic guitars, and cool organ licks. But of course it's Peyroux's voice that brings it all home–preferably one where the shades are drawn, embers are smoldering in the fireplace, and the white wine is kept dry. Two-thirds of the songs are well-chosen covers, including a duet with k.d. lang on Joni Mitchell's "River"; a relaxed version of Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'," from Midnight Cowboy; a delicately lilting samba take on Leonard Cohen and Anjani Thomas's title track; Serge Gainsbourg's "La Javanaise," performed in the original French; and Charlie Chaplin's "Smile," from Modern Times. The four originals, all coauthored by Peyroux, easily keep up with such august company, especially "I'm All Right"–written with Klein and Walter Becker, it captures the easy sophistication of Becker's regular band, Steely Dan. Fans of Norah Jones (whose collaborator Jesse Harris cowrote three of the songs) should gobble up this album, but Peyroux is no mere imitator: She's her own, very real thing.