Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, one of his greatest works, was written in the United States after the composer was forced to flee Hungary during World War II. It is not only a brilliant display vehicle for each instrumental section but a work of considerable structural ingenuity that unites classical forms and sonorities with the pungency of folk rhythms and harmonies. Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta explores darker moods through a score of marvellously poised symmetry. This release follows Marin Alsop’s ‘riveting’ (Gramophone) Baltimore Symphony recordings of Dvořák’s symphonies.

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Although often overshadowed by his better-known Italian contemporary Claudio Monteverdi, as well as his successor in Lutheran music J.S. Bach, Heinrich Schutz's contributions to 17th-century sacred music were nevertheless significant. With a career that spanned an era of great musical developments, his sacred compositions reveal a rich array of influences and were to prove inspirational to future generations of composers. This 19-disc box set is the result of four volumes of recordings made by Cappella Augustana and Matteo Messori for Brilliant Classics between 2003 and 2010, collected together for the first time. Featuring Schutz's most important compositions (mostly large-scale works in multiple volumes), Cappella Augustana's selection surveys the German's lengthy career and his changing style. While the early Cantiones sacrae reflect his attempts to push boundaries as a young composer, a subtle shift towards a more simple and considered style can be witnessed in later works - notably the Kleine geistliche Concerte and Geistliche Chor-Music, a set of inventive and carefully crafted German motets. The crowning achievement of Schutz's career was surely his Passion settings, works that are controlled and refined yet retain a sense of drama and beauty.

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To run parallel with his complete Haydn series, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet is now starting a complete chronological cycle of Beethoven’s piano sonatas. This first set covers the sonatas composed in the 1790s. Two further volumes of middle and late sonatas will follow in 2013 and 2014.  In a recent cover feature in International Piano, Michael Church spoke with the pianist about the new project and reported: “For Bavouzet, the particular pleasure of coming to Beethoven after Haydn lies in the fact that although their basic harmonic language is roughly the same, in Beethoven’s scores the dynamics are clearly indicated, especially where they seem completely independent of music’s so-called natural harmonic tensions.” Bavouzet added, “The accents are in exactly the wrong place, and that’s what creates his music’s excitement. I am so happy to have these two streams of my work running side by side for the next few years.”

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Collegium presents a new album, which recollects and celebrates some of the choral music heard on royal occasions during the lifetime of HM Elizabeth II. The music chosen reflects the personal choices and commission by the Royal Family for weddings, funerals, and anniversaries. Featuring John Rutter’s celebratory royal wedding anthem, “This is the Day,” written for the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey in April 2011. Newly orchestrated exclusively for this recording, it reminds us of the event that capticated the attention of the nation last year. Also included is the ethereal ubi Caritas written by Paul Mealor for the Royal Wedding. The recording also features a new arrangement for unaccompanied choir of the Londonderry Air to the text “I would be true” and an orchestration of Schubert’s beautiful “The Lord is My Shepherd” by John Rutter for this recording.

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Born in 1945, Frederica von Stade – who auditioned for the Met on a $50 bet – is considered one of the world’s most accomplished mezzo-sopranos. This 4-CD set celebrates her unique voice and spans the incredibly broad spectrum of styles for which she is known. The compilation includes von Stade’s recording debut, an unusual and eclectic choice of arias and duets with Judith Blegen, such as Mozart’s chamber-scale arrangement of ‘Non so piu.’ With a disc dedicated to Italian opera, in which Monteverdi’s neglected Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria of 1639 is accorded equal status alongside Rossini’s better-known bel canto works, von Stade’s far-reaching French repertoire comes to the fore.

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Russia’s two great ballet companies, the Bolshoi Ballet and the Kirov Ballet (now the Mariinsky), undertook their first major post-war tours in the early 1960s, exposing the West to the bravura and discipline of the Russian dancers for the first time. This DVD brings together performances by members of both companies, providing rare footage of some of the most brilliant dancers of their time.

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This box set contains five splendid, highly acclaimed, fascinating, dazzling productions of Sergiu Celibidache for his 100th anniversary.  He was one of the most charismatic and talented conductors of all time; his profound knowledge of instrumental frequencies and acoustic science made him a genius of sound. The five DVD-titles in this magnificent box-set present him conducting some of the most beloved pieces in the world, in concert and invaluable, rarely seen rehearsal footage. He is joined by Daniel Bareinboim (who dubbed him “one of the greatest musicians I ever encountered”), Hans Kalafusz, the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, and his beloved Munchner Philharmoniker, in an illuminating and moving set of performances.