Early on in his career, Wagner composed two symphonies, both of which are included on this disc. The Symphony in C, which he wrote when he was just nineteen years old, is heavily influenced by Beethoven in its character, mood, and instrumentation. Written two years later, in 1834, the Symphony in E was left unfinished, Wagner completing only the first movement and thirty bars of the second. The completed version recorded here was prepared by the conductor Felix Mottl more than fifty years later at the request of Wagners widow, Cosima. The two marches on this disc are the composers most obvious contributions to the genre of pomp and circumstance.

The oeuvre of Johannes Ockeghem influenced a considerable number of musicians who were contemporaries with, or came immediately after, the Master of Tours. Many of these talented composers took one of his works as a model, thus bearing eloquent testimony to their admiration for him. All of them visited him and helped popularize his image as a benevolent father figure to this amazing caste of singers and composers. Ockeghem s death at a ripe old age in 1497 greatly affected the brilliant generation that was in the process of making the transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and naturally led to the creation of some deeply moving music.

Carl Philipp Emanuel was the most famous and successful son of the great Johann Sebastian. He was a protagonist of the Empfindsame Stil, intended to express true and natural feelings, featuring sudden contrasts of mood en emotions. This is especially applicable to the sets of variations for keyboard, in which the composer lets his imagination free reign, varying from purely ornamental variations of an instrumental/technical nature, to the complete change of character.

In 1956, Bernard Haitink conducted the Concertgebouworkest for the first time and together they would play more than 1,500 concerts across the globe. Besides his modesty, his humanity, his musical taste, and his honesty to the music, three words come to mind when one thinks of Haitink and his orchestra: Sound, Trust and Magic. Jörgen van Rijen, Principal trombone of the Concertgebouworkest, said at a memorial concert in February this year, “Every time with him [Haitink] the orchestra sounded warmer, deeper and richer, from the first moment he started to rehearse. How he did that is difficult to tell … he always gave us musicians the feeling he trusted you, that he was there to help, not to interfere.”

Quatuor Ebène welcomes a favourite colleague, viola player Antoine Tamestit, for two of Mozart's six string quintets - No 3 in C major, K 515 and No 4 in G minor, K 516. Their last joint album, 'Round Midnight, won a 2022 Gramophone Award for it's thrilling exploration of diverse strands of 20th century music. .When a fifth member joins the ensemble it is always cause for celebration," explains Pierre Colombet, first violinist of Quatuor Ebène,.especially if it's an additional viola to bring further roundness and warmth to the middle voices: the sound grows in substance and vibrancy - the quartet gains a marvellous complement.

Before becoming a solo act, Linda Ronstadt was the lead singer of the Stone Poneys, an L.A.-based trio with an acoustic folkish sound and strong original material. The band's focal point and greatest asset was Ronstadt's clear, powerful singing. Originally recording in a coffeehouse folk style not far removed from Peter, Paul and Mary, the group rocked up its sound slightly and scored a Top 20 hit with "Different Drum," written by Mike Nesmith of the Monkees, in 1967.

Martha Argerich is an Argentine classical concert pianist. She is widely considered to be one of the greatest pianists of all time. Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argerich gave her debut concert at the age of eight before receiving further piano training in Europe. At an early age, she won several competitions, including the VII International Chopin Piano Competition and the Ferruccio Busoni Competition and has since recorded numerous albums and performed with leading orchestras worldwide.

Elisabeth Leonskaja is a Soviet and Austrian pianist. She was trained in the Russian school of piano. She made an international career after she won the Enesco International Piano Competition in Bucharest in 1964, and has lived in Vienna since 1978.

Hate For Sale, produced by the revered Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur), is the latest studio album by The Pretenders via BMG. The album features 10 new songs written collaboratively by Chrissie Hynde and the electrifyingly dynamic guitarist James Walbourne, in what is the first Hynde/Walbourne song writing collaboration to date.

The Essentials II is the second compilation featuring YouTube phenomenon Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox's greatest hits. The tracks on this album have over 110 million views and counting on YouTube. Guest stars featured on the album include Haley Reinhart, Casey Abrams, Dave Koz, Robyn Adele Anderson, Puddles Pity Party, Morgan James and many more!