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Following his triumphant visit to Vienna in 1822, when several of his operas were extremely well received, international success beckoned for Rossini. First performed at La Fenice, Venice in 1823, Semiramide was Rossini’s last Italian opera, written at the height of his creative powers. Its subject is Greek tragedy for which librettist Gaetano Rossi drew on an adaptation by Voltaire. Instrumentally sophisticated and classically structured, the opera remains one of the most remarkable examples of Rossini’s cultivation of bel canto.

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Following its award-winning Christmas album, Sleep, Holy Babe (Naxos 8.572868), Blossom Street explores a wide-ranging sequence of British folk song settings for choir, with a particular focus on the nautical. The repertoire embraces pioneers in the rediscovery and arrangement of folk songs such as Vaughan Williams, Grainger and Warlock, adds little-known gems by Holst and Bairstow, and also introduces vibrant new additions to the repertoire from contemporary composers, including James MacMillan and Judith Bingham and the conductor herself.

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Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ Strathclyde Concertos, all premièred by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, are among his most significant contributions to the concerto genre. Concerto No. 3 for Horn and Trumpet marks a turning point in the cycle of ten concertos by employing multiple soloists, and stands in the lineage of works by Haydn, Mozart and Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. Concerto No. 4 explores the clarinet’s lyrical Mozartian heritage, alongside subtle percussive effects and agile virtuosity.

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It was not until 1840 that, after a courtship strewn with difficulties, Robert Schumann was able to marry his beloved Clara Wieck. This was his ‘Year of Song’, and Joseph von Eichendorff’s melancholy poems of fearful wanderings, images of nature and lonely nights were the perfect vehicle for Schumann’s Liederkreis, Op. 39, which he described as his most romantic cycle. From the same year, Schumann’s Drei Gedichte, Op. 30 conjure memories of medieval times. The narrative ballad Die Löwenbraut tells of a disturbingly violent love triangle, while the Sechs Gedichte, Op. 36 evoke an idealised, fairy-tale image of Germany.

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“When I started arranging and recording national anthems some 17 years ago, nobody expected the project would become so big and popular. In the meantime, it has been an important part of two Summer Olympics and numerous other sporting, cultural and social events. Any other existing anthem collection does not come close, in completeness, quality of the research or the size of the orchestral forces used. Every time this album is updated and released, the reactions are always overwhelming. I hope this latest version, with its unprecedented number of anthems, will be no less appreciated.” – Peter Breiner