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Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909), along with de Falla and Granados, is considered to be not only one of Spain’s leading composers, but one of the founding fathers of modern Spanish music. He began his musical career as a virtuoso pianist, producing a concerto that shows the influence of Liszt, and many short brilliant display pieces.

He studied at the Leipzig Conservatory, and looked set to become a pianist composer in the central European tradition – until he met and studied with Felipe Pedrell (1841 -1922) who awakened in him an interest in traditional Spanish music.

Albeniz combined his mastery of classical form gained from his studies in Germany with the colour and honest simplicity of folk music to create his unique form of what can be considered very high quality salon music for guitar.

The two works on this CD consist in their original form of eight and five movements respectively of characteristic, picturesque miniatures of high skill and great charm. It has become the norm for guitarists to create their own ‘favourite’ selection from such suites to form their own arrangement, which is what Giuseppe Feola has done.

The reissue of this unique collection of chamber music masterpieces, ranging from Baroque to 20-century, played by the legendary David Oistrakh, with his luminous, sonorous and deeply moving tone.

Partners include Sviatoslav Richter, Lev Oborin, Alexander Goldenweiser and Vladimir Yampolski. With his supreme technique, enormous precision in rhythm as well as extensive variety in sound, David Oistrakh is one of the most celebrated violinists of the 20th century.

This 10-CD release details some of his best chamber music recordings and is filled to the brim with first-rate performances. The compilation effectively documents the development of violin music, simultaneously revealing Oistrakh’s mastering of an extensive repertoire.

Beginning with J.S. Bach, who was one of the first composers to write for the instrument independently and whose works are given an overtly romantic appraisal by the Russian maestro, it also traverses a series of Classical compositions – including Mozart’s Sonata No.3 K306 and Beethoven’s ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata Op.47. Most of the collection’s space, however, is taken up by a large assortment of 19th- and 20th-century music; this is undoubtedly where Oistrakh’s heart lies, and the violinist shows a strong commitment to pieces from his native country.

What is particularly evident from this release is that no matter how big or small, famous or little-known, each work is treated as a masterpiece. With largely forgotten names such as Catoire and Vladigerov sitting alongside some of the greatest composers in musical history, the compilation represents a musical feast that is not to be passed up.

Piano sonatas (by Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven and Schumann) are featured extensively but this set also contains some rather original choices: music by Satie, Albéniz and Liszt for example.

A true discovery for many western ears: Valentina Levko, star contralto of the Bolshoi!

“In a career of 50 years, I have rarely encountered such a voice, rounded, youthful, with an uncommon timbre and astonishing warmth” , thus said the legendary Sol Hurok, one of the most famous American Impresarios, who introduced Valentina Levko in the New York Met.

Although she frequently toured the world, her real home was Russia, where she reigned for more than 40 years, and 25 years as the star contralto of the Bolshoi Theatre.

This set features Levko in a wide variety of repertoire, ranging from moving Baroque arias by Bach and Handel, through the art songs of Schubert and Brahms, towards great opera scenes from Prince Igor, Ruslan & Ludmilla, Ivan Susanin, Queen of Spades, Rossini, Verdi, the songs of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, and a superb collection of Russian folk songs.

An unrivalled breadth of recordings.

Valentina Levko was another in the glorious line of Russian 20th‐century contraltos who in some ways defined the sound of Russian opera for ears, both Eastern and Western, which were often discovering the rich tradition of Russian opera for the first time through recordings. Levko's name, however, unlike compatriots such as Elena Obratzova, never travelled as far or as well. Committed to her contract at the Bolshoi, she spurned several opportunities to make a name for herself in the West, with the lucrative recording contracts that would surely have followed.

And yet hers was, as this important set reveals, a voice and dramatic presence firmly in the mould of greats of the past such as Zara Dolukhanova. The set is carefully curated by themes, thereby revealing Levko's remarkable versatility. Arias from Bolshoi classics by Glinka, Rimsky‐Korsakov and Tchaikovsky sit alongside Western operas by Ponchielli, Verdi and others; her ability to scale her voice to an intimate environment results in warmly idiomatic recordings of art song by Schubert, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov. The pleasure she took in the popular song of her own country also resulted in many recordings with the Ossipov Folk Orchestra, but her facility extended to folk songs of many languages, as the last CD reveals. Perhaps most remarkably of all, the first CD reveals a natural interpreter of Bach and Handel. An extensive booklet note discusses her life and career; for anyone interested in Russian voices, this set will be essential.