Bach performed by Violinists Kolja Blacher, Christine Pichlmeier and Lisa Stewart with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra and Conductor Helmut Muller-Bruhl

Vivaldi performed by violinist Bela Banfalvi with the Budapest Strings and conductor Oliver Dohnanyi

Vivaldi and Bach are the undisputed masters of the Baroque violin concerto, whose works complement each other perfectly. While Bach's prevailing mood can be poignant and meditative, Vivaldi's concertos frequently unleash a fiery brilliance

Bach Cello Suites - 2CD Recording

Performed by Maria Kliegel

Bach's six unaccompanied Cello suites, written around 1720 while he was in the service of the young prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cothen, are the first truly virtuosic works written for the instrument.  Each of the Suites consists of a series of dance forms, although this simple description belies the astonishing variety and complexity of the music.  Nearly three centuries after their composition, the Suites remain the supreme test of a cellist's technical and musical capability.

Bach Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin BWV1001-1006 - 2CD recording

Performed by Ilya Kaler

Profound in spirit and monumental in scope Bach's Six Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin are arguably the most difficult original solo works ever written for the violin.  Their formidable technical challenges, especially the persistent use of multiple stops, are not just virtuoso features but are the natural result of the complexity of Bach's musical ideas and his understanding of the instrument.  The crowning glory of the set is the immense Chaconne from the Partita in Dminor, a set of variations on a theme which makes unprecedented demands on the performer's expressive and technical abilities.

Baroque Bliss - CD Recording

Various Performers and Conductors

Boccherini Famous Cello Concertos - CD Recording

Performed by Tim Hugh with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Anthony Halstead

Boccherini's nickname wasn't 'Giovanni del Violoncello' for nothing.  He was by far the most celebrated cellist of his time.  At the Prussian court, his perfectly balanced concertos even outshone those of contemporaneous composers such as Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.

Brahms performed by Violinist Takako Nishizaki with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Stephen Gunzenhauser

Bruch performed by Violinist Maxim Fedotov with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Dmitry Yablonsky

Brahms was at the height of his fame when he composed his Violin Concerto. Following Romantic ideals, he gave equal weight to soloist and orchestra, delivering a majestic work whose lyrical expansiveness and symphonic power equal those of Beethoven's great example

Brahms Hungarian Dances - CD recording

Budapest Symphony Orchestra conducted by Istvan Bogar

Born in Hamburg, a world away from Hungary, Brahms nevertheless had early experience of Hungarian music through the emigre Hungarian violinist Remenyi, with whom he embarked on a concert tour in 1853.  His Hungarian Dances, for piano duet, were published in 1869, with further sets in 1880.  Gypsy rather than Magyar, the dances won immediate popularity and Brahms orchestraded three of them, with the last five orchestrated by Dvorak and the rest subsequently arranged by others.  The dances, in whatever form, retain their popularity, assuming a more Brahmsian tone in the later sets.

Brahms Double Concerto for Violin & Cello, Opus 102 and Schumann Cello Concerto in Aminor Opus 129 - CD recording

Cellist Maria Kliegel and Violinist Ilya Kaler with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, conducted by Andrew Constantine

The association of Brahms with Schumann and for so many years with his widow and champion, Clara Schumann, had an overwhelming effect on his career as a composer. It was Schumann who had publicly expressed his prophetic expectations of the younger composer and his wife whose approval was constantly sought. In 1887, staying for the summer by Lake Thun in Switzerland, Brahms wrote to Clara Schumann about the new concerto he was writing for violin and cello, an unusual combination. In his letter he expressed regret that he did not have a more intimate knowledge of the two solo instruments, as he had of the piano, but found the prospect of handling the two instruments amusing.

Children's Classics: Music to Make Children Brighter - 2CD Recording

Various performers and conductors

Not just for children, this is a compilation that can be enjoyed by the whole family - at home, in the car or anywhere else.  Children will want to listen to it again and again, as each track becomes a familiar friend.

Classics for Lovers - 2CD Recording

Various performers and conductors

Meticulously chosen to flame desire, this collection of classical masterpieces is the perfect accompaniment to a romantic encounter.

Classical Bliss - CD Recording

Various performers and conductors

Debussy La Mer, Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune, Jeux: Poeme danse & Children's Corner - CD Recording

Performed by Orchestre National de Lyon, conducted by Jun Markl

Deubussy was one of the most important and influential composers of the early twentieth century.  This recording features two of Debussy's most harmonically innovative and imaginatively orchestrated works.  Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune evokes a pagan world, as the faun of the title takes his ease in the afternoon shade on a summer day.  The three symphonic sketches that constitute La mer, inspired partly by Katsushika Hokusai's famous colour woodcut The Great Wave of Kanagawa, offer subtly nuanced evocations of the sea from dawn to midday, of the waves and of the dialogue of wind and sea.

Dvorak String Quartets Volume 8, No.3 in DMajor B18 - CD recording

Vlach Quartet Prague - Violin I played by Jana Vlachova, Violin II played by Karel Stadtherr, Violist Petr Vemer and Cellist Mikael Ericsson

This volume from the Vlach Quartet Prague's acclaimed Dvorak String Quartet series presents the symphonically-conceived Third String Quartet of 1869-70, a richly rewarding work.  Despite the lingering influence of Liszt and Wagner, the inclusion of a topical Czech patriotic song in the quartet's third movement suggests the strenghthening of Dvorak's nationalist consciousness and the emergence of his own distinctive voice as a Czech composer.

Elgar Violin Concerto in Bminor Opus 61 & Overture: Cockaigne (In London Town) Opus 40 - CD Recording

Violinist Dong-Suk Kang with Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Adrian Leaper

Elgar Enigma Variations, Pomp and Circumstance Marches, Salut d'amour & Serenade for Strings - CD Recording

Performed by the Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Capella Istropolitana, both conducted by Adrian Leaper

The Enigma Variations was the turning point in Elgar's life, but by that time he was already 42 and had been struggling to make his mark as a composer, earning a living as a teacher and writer. The very name of the work prompted so much speculation as to cause in itself an interest in the music. In a modest way it also proved to be the first music that England had 'exported' for over two centuries, with performances taking place in many parts of Europe, particularly Germany

Over 2 hours of the world's most exciting classical music.

Glazunov Violin concerto in Aminor Opus 82 & Dvorak Violin Concerto in Aminor Opus 53 & Romance for Violin and Orchestra - CD Recording

Violinist Ilya Kaler with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (Katowice), conducted by Camilla Kolchinsky

Glazunov wrote his Violin Concerto in A minor in 1904 during the summer months after the death of Belyayev. It was first performed in St. Petersburg on 4th March 1905 by Leopold Auer, to whom it was dedicated.

Dvořak wrote the first version of his Violin Concerto in the summer of 1879 and at the end of November sent the completed work to the violinist Josef Joachim, to whom the concerto is dedicated.

The Golden Age of Salon Music - 2CD Recording

Various performers and conductors

Relive the golden age of palm court salon music with over 2 hours of tangos, waltzes and charming opera and operetta melodies, played in the style that was the height of fashion in the grand European cafes of the early twentieth century.

Grieg Peer Gynt Suites, Holberg Suite, Sigurd Jorsalfar & Wedding Day at Troldhaugen - CD Recording

Performed by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jerzy Maksymiuk and Bournemouth Sinfonietta conducted by Richard Studt

Among the best known music that Grieg wrote was his incidental music for Ibsen's remarkable play Peer Gynt, first performed in Christiania in 1876. Suite No. 1 opens with the famous Morning, music that seems based on the Norwegian fiddle, the hardanger, with its characteristic tuning. In the drama the piece serves as an introduction to Act IV, set on the south-western coast of Morocco. The scene immediately follows the death of Peer's mother, Aase, with which Act III had ended. Anitra's Dance, in the fourth act, welcomes Peer Gynt, hailing him as prophet and master, in his Arab robes. The final excerpt in the first suite is from Act II, set in the mountains of Norway, the land of Trolls and of the Old Man of the Dovre, whose daughter Peer Gynt courts and whose kingdom he covets.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and other Epic Movie Themes - 2CD recording

Various performers and conductors

Spiderman - Gladiator - Lord of the Rings - Star Wars - Batman - Titanic - James Bond - and many more...

Cello concertos performed by Cellist Maria Kliegel with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra and conductor Helmut Muller-Bruhl

Sinfonia Concertante performed by Christian Hommel - Oboe, Martin Kevenhorster - Bassoon, Winifried Rademacher - Violin, Oren Shevlin - Cello with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra and conductory Helmut Muller-Bruhl

Over the centuries, only a few cello concertos have established themselves as part of the standard repertoire. Despite the achievements in this form of the Romantic composers Schumann and Dvorak, Haydn's concertos have retained their special place in the repertoire

Holst The Planets (including Colin Matthews' Pluto) and The Mystic Trumpeter Opus 18 - CD Recording

Soprano Claire Rutter with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, conducted by David Lloyd-Jones

Holst's The Planets received its first public performance in 1919, and with it Holst achieved the first real success of his career.  It is a remarkably effective work, very varied and brilliantly scored for the orchestra, with the character of each of the seven movements suggested by the astrological properties given to the various planets of the solar system.  The new eight movement, Pluto, was commissioned from Colin Matthews, as an 'appendix' to the Suite, the planet Pluto having been discovered only a few years before Holst's death.

Jack in the Box - 2CD Recording

Various performers and conductors

Classical music can be fun!  Explore a world of frivolity and humour with this outrageously entertaining collection!

Khachaturian Violin Concerto and Concerto-Rhapsody - CD recording

Violinist Nicolas Koeckert with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Jose Serebrier

Armenia's greatest composer Aram Khachaturian received both acclaim and criticism from the Soviet regime, including the USSR State Prize for his three Concerto-Rhapsodies.  "A concerto is music with chandeliers burning bright; a rhapsody is music with chandeliers dimmed, and the Concerto-Rhapsodies are both", he explained.  The Violin Concerto's passionately heroic first movement and poignant Andante sostenuto lead to a virtusoic, dancing finale. 

Colourful and sometimes graphic musical depictions of the supernatural featuring ghosts, witches, goblins, trolls and even Old Nick himself!

Performed by Violinist Takako Nishizaki with the Capella Istropolitana

Concertos conducted by Stephen Gunzenhauser

Rondo conducted by Johannes Wildner

Mozart's five violin concertos date from 1775: within this single year he achieved absolute mastery over the form. While the earlier examples still show signs of the beginner, the later works heard on this disc are undisputed masterpieces of considerable charm.

Mozart Clarinet Quintet K581, Clarinet Quartet K374f and Quintet for Clarinet, Basset-Horn and String Trio - CD Recording

Clarinet Quartet and Clarinet Quintet Clarinet part performed by Jozsef Balogh with the Danubius Quartet and Basset-Horn played by Bela Kovacs

Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition & Night on the Bare Mountain with Borodin In the Steppes of Central Asia & Polovtsian Dances - CD Recording

Performed by the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Nazareth

Mussorgsky's 1874 suite Pictures at an Exhibition, a tribute to his friend the artist Victor Hartman, has remained a favourite both in its original version for piano and in colourful orchestral versions, of which Maurice Ravel's has proved the most popular.  Night on the Bare Mountain describes a Witches' Sabbath and Borodin's In the Steppes of Central Asia evokes a native caravan passing by in the desert.  Borodin's music was liberally employed in the musical 'Kismet', and part of the Polovtsian Dances, taken from Act 2 of his opera Prince Igor, will be instantly familiar to anyone who knows the song 'Stranger in Paradise'.

Music for Mothers - CD Recording

A perfect gift for a mother.

This album is for the mother in repose, the mother with five minutes to relax, the mother with fond memories of happy times.  The musical program has been created to provide music which was written with children and childlike thoughts in mind, but there is also plenty of music here which is purely adult in concept, and which has been programmed into this album for its soothing and healing qualities for the end, or the middle, of a tiring day. 

My First Lullaby Album - CD Recording

For centuries, babies and children all over the world have been rocked to sleep with a song to calm them. Whether parents sing or play, or press play, they know that music so often soothes with success. Composers have written lullabies for different reasons—sometimes as standalone songs or pieces and sometimes as part of a larger work. Here is a variety of restful tracks to foster the sweet dreams of all!

My First Tchaikvosky Album - CD Recording

Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky: a great Russian name for a great Russian composer! Tchaikovsky was not always a happy man. He didn’t laugh a lot. But he wrote music that is full of good melodies. He often felt sad, but sometimes this made him write music that was even more special. This CD is all about Tchaikovsky. Imagine the ballet dancers twirling around to his tunes: you can twirl around too, if you like!

My First Ballet Album - CD Recording

A bird dancing, an ox on a roof, flowers doing a waltz, a swan twirling about…what world is this? This is the magical world of ballet. The stage is full of people in colourful costumes, but nobody speaks. All the stories are told by music and dancing. Composers have written such exciting pieces for ballet: listen to this collection and see which ones you like best!

My First Violin Album - CD Recording

From folk music to film music, the violin is the star of instruments. Millions of children all over the world learn how to play it and the top performers make it sound beautiful. They can also do clever things on it, with their fingers whizzing up and down, and the bow moving so fast you can hardly see it. Take the music of Mr Paganini on track 1—hereally knew how to show off. Here is the violin in the spotlight: listen to it sing!

Mystic Classics - 2CD Recording

Various performers and conductors

Visionary choral and orchestral masterpieces

Fairytales have often inspired classical composers and this collection brings together many of the most famous of those works alongside some delightful and memorable rarities

Concerto No.1 performed by violinist Ilya Kaler with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Stephen Gunzenhauser

Concerto No.4 performed by violinist Erno Rozsa with the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Michael Dittrich

Paganini's violin concertos are the epitome of breathtaking, even demonic virtuoso brilliance. Reputedly the 'Devil's violinist' himself, his music challenged other players to display their skills while providing many tender melodies of dazzling beauty in his slow movements.

Paganini 24 Caprices Opus 1 - CD Recording

Performed by Violinist Ilya Kaler

Paganini published relatively little of his music, most of which was kept for his own exclusive use during his career as a travelling virtuoso. The Twenty-Four Caprices for solo violin, however, were published in Milan in 1820 as the composer's Opus 1. They were written very much earlier, probably in 1805, the year of Paganini's first employment under the newly installed Princess Elisa Baciocchi at Lucca. The Caprices are a remarkable compendium of Paganini's technique as a performer, while avoiding the excesses that he found necessary in front of audiences that expected vulgar tricks better suited to the Music Hall.

Popper High School of Cello Playing (Forty Etudes) Opus 73 - CD Recording

Performed by Cellist Dmitry Yablonsky

An admired contemporary of Liszt and Brahms, the widely-travelled Bohemian-born virtuoso cellist and influential pedagogue David Popper composed prolifically for his instrument.  His High School of Cello Playing comprises forty etudes which have remained essential for both aspiring and advanced players for more than a century.  His intimate knowledge of the cello's capabilities raises these studies above the level of mere exercises in technique, no lesser light than Pablo Casals declaring that "no other composer wrote better for the instrument".

Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, Poulenc's Story of Babar the Little Elephant and Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra - CD Recording

Performed by the melbourne Symphony Orchestra, conducted by John Lanchbery.  Peter and the Wolf and the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra narrated by Dame Edna Everage, with The Story of Babar narrated by Barry Humphries.

For more details from Dame Edna Everage, see: http://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.554170&catNum=554170&filetype=About%20this%20Recording&language=English#

World Christmas Party - CD recording

Putumayo presents World Christmas Party, a festive collection of Christmas favorites recorded by artists from around the globe. Whether listeners are seeking a fresh spin on perennial Christmas classics or want to know what rhythms get yuletide celebrations started from Jamaica to Cape Verde, World Christmas Party is sure to put people into the holiday mood. The CD unites reggae, Latin, African and other global rhythms into an upbeat album perfect for Christmas festivities.

Christmas Around the World - CD recording

Putumayo gives the holiday season an international flavor with Christmas Around the World, a collection of familiar Christmas songs performed by artists from all over the globe. From a Cuban rendition of “Joy to the World” to a flamenco version of “White Christmas,” Christmas Around the World adds a unique twist to the classic carols that enliven the holidays.

New Orleans Christmas - CD recording

No matter where you are, the Christmas season has its own unique sound. The voices of carolers going from door to door, congregations singing at midnight mass, or the song about grandma’s unfortunate incident with a reindeer are all part of what Christmastime sounds like. In New Orleans, the music reflects the city’s deep love for making age-old holiday traditions new again. Well-known songs are sung with a different feeling, while newly composed songs fondly recall favorite holiday memories. On New Orleans Christmas, Putumayo has captured the unique and vibrant voice of this city with a collection of holiday favorites decked in the blues, jazz and swing flavors for which the Crescent City is famous.

A Family Christmas - CD recording

Few things evoke more holiday spirit than festive Christmas songs. On A Family Christmas, Putumayo offers a collection of yuletide favorites by a fascinating array of artists that every family is sure to enjoy while trimming the tree or sharing a holiday dinner.

Rimsky-Korsakov Sheherazade Opus 35 & The Tale of Tsar Saltan Opus 57 - CD Recording

Performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra, London, with violin soloist David Nolan, conducted by Enrique Batiz 

The symphonic suite Sheherazade was composed by Rimsky-Korsakov in the winter of 1887- 1888, taking as its literary inspiration excerpts from Tales of the Arabian Nights, the fascinating series of stories told by the beautiful Sheherazade in an effort to postpone her execution at the orders of her royal master.

Rimsky-Korsakov wrote his opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan largely during the summer of 1899, the libretto based by Vladimir Ivanovich Byelsky on the poem by Pushkin, the centenary of whose birth it celebrates.

Rode Violin Concertos Nox 7, 10 & 13 - CD recording

Violinist Friedemann Eichhorn with the South West German Radio Orchestra, Kaiserslautern, conducted by Nicolas Pasquet

A student of Viotti, Pierre Rode was an eminent violinist active in the early 19th century Paris who helped found the influential French violin school.  Respected by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Spohr, among others, Rode is mostly known for his 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, yet his 13 Violin Concertos are rarely ever played. 

Romantic Bliss - CD Recording

Various performers and conductors

Saint-Saens Carnival of the Animals, Ravel Mother Goose & Dukas The Sorcerer's Apprentice - CD Recording

Performed by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ondrej Lenard and Kenneth Jean, narrated by Johnny Morris

The French composer Camille Saint-Sa뮳 was prolific and lived a long time, although by the time of his death in 1921 music had changed beyond anything he could have conceived. He was a gifted pianist and, in common with many other well known French composers, found employment and distinction as organist at one of the principal churches in Paris. The popular Carnival of the Animals, described as A Zoological Fantasy, was written in 1886, originally for two pianos and a small chamber orchestra to celebrate that year's carnival. The composer forbade further performances of this occasional music, except for The Swan, which enjoyed immediate and irresistible popularity.

Schubert Piano Quintet in AMajor D667 'Trout' & Adagio and Rondo concertante in FMajor D487 - CD Recording

Performed by the Kodaly Quartet with Pianist Jeno Jando and Double Bass player Istvan Toth

Schubert's famous Trout Quintet of 1819 holds a special place in chamber music, loved above all for the variations of its forth movement based on the composer's song The Trout.  It is coupled here with the less well known Adagio and Rondo concertante for piano quartet, written in 1816, when the composer was nineteen, at the request of Heinrich Grob, brother of Therese Grob, whom it seemed that Schubert might have hoped to marry.

Sea Pictures: British Musical Masterpieces inspired by the Ocean - 2CD Recording

Various performers and conductors

British composers have written many beautiful sea songs and also many concert works that evoke the ever-changing moods of the sea, wind and sky.  This maritime collection presents several sublime late-Romantic masterpieces, taking you on an emotional journey towards new horizons.

Smetana Ma Vlast (My Country) Symphonic Poems, CD recording

Performed by the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Antoni Wit.

Smetana is a figure of the greatest importance in the development of Czech music, creating and inspiring a synthesis of native tradition and the classical forms of music in which he had been trained.

Má Vlast (My Country) is among the best known of all Smetana's music, a cycle of six symphonic poems that conjure up the spirit of Bohemia, its history and traditions, reflected in its landscape.