MOZART: Requiem

Mozartís Requiem has become widely-known and popular since the 1984 movie Amadeus. Left incomplete at his death, his student and assistant Franz Xaver Sussmayr (1766-1803) completed the work from Mozartís notes.

VERDI: La Traviata

Could La Traviata be the opera with the most versions available on DVD? The appetite for the doomed heroine never wavers.

Wagnerian Songs

If Richard Wagnerís music may be seen to pervade the late nineteenth century, an area that is rarely discussed is his influence on song.

Karajan Performs Strauss Waltzes and Polkas

Everyone is familiar with the waltzes and polkas of the ìWaltz King,î Johan Strauss II, along with his father Johann I and his brother Josef.

VERDI: Ernani

Verdiís smash hit of 1844 is a relative rarity these days. As Stefano Olcese notes in his booklet essay for a new Dynamic recording, the opera calls for daunting vocal display from tenor, soprano, baritone, and bass.

HILLIARD ENSEMBLE: Thy Kiss of a Divine Nature ó The Contemporary Perotin

The richness of the Ars Antiqua flourishing in Paris in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries marks the time as one of high cultural achievement, drawing nurture from the contemporaneous rise of the Cathedral of Notre Dame and the University of Paris.

MOZART: The Magic Flute

It would be presumptuous of me to go through the entire plot of The Magic Flute, given its historical and popular significance with all classical music devotees.

BACH: Works for Trumpet

This recording is a grouping of various compositions by J.S. Bach, which are not solely dedicated to the trumpet, but provide some of the most demanding repertoire for the instrument prior to the nineteenth century.

VIVALDI: Concerti con molti strumenti, vol. 2

Vivaldi was very impressed with the sound and performances of the Dresden court orchestra when they visited Venice in 1716.

SCH‹TZ: Symphoniae Sacrae III

The tragic ravages of the Thirty Yearsí War explicitly shaped the musical output of Heinrich Sch¸tz.