Maurice Ravel

He was already noted as a recitalist, and “a talent to cherish” as far back as 1989. Since appearing in La Scala in 1998 he has performed recitals all over the world, his repertoire including: Schubert, Schumann, Strauss, Brahms, Fauré, Wolf and Mahler. He has also recorded many English songs. Gramophone describe him as the finest baritone singer of Lieder this country has ever produced.

In Simon's own words “I've probably got around 15 years, and think I can see the end of the tunnel. I've done most of the roles that suit me and some, like Papageno, I'll never want to drop…” “In Wagner I shan't go beyond Wolfram in Tannhauser. I know there's Beckmesser, but I'm afraid it's not a role that excites or fascinates me. I'll never get tired of the stand-and-sing roles like Germont in Traviata and Posa in Don Carlos - parts where you really have to act with your voice and pin the audience to their seats with inflexion, nuance and colour. I probably shan't sing Billy Budd again… and am moving down from Pelleas to Golaud. The two new roles I'm most excited about are Wozzeck and Rigoletto, which are both great theatre and call on a huge palette of colours. Wozzeck in particular, is a mountain any baritone wants to climb…”

Salvatore Sciarrino, the most popular Italian contemporary composer, takes inspiration from Maurice Ravel to compose a series of Notturni, pieces inspired by the night. Sciarrino's inspiration was Gaspard de la nuit, composed in 1908 and inspired by the poetry of Aloysius Bertrand. Ravel's purpose was to create a difficult piece, a parody of romanticism, which even now constitutes a real test of pianists. Sciarrino composed De la Nuit in 1971.

Following their critically acclaimed performances earlier this year at King's Place, these studio recordings capture some truly extraordinary musical creations from two world-class performers and improvisers.

One of the twentieth century's greatest pianists returns to the piano with a disc of rarely recorded French Impressionist duets with his son Vovka Ashkenazy.

Just 10 months ago we released the first volume in the new Martha Argerich Collection (the solo recodings). Over 10,000 boxes of the 8-CD set have been sold since then.

Here now is Volume 2 – the Concerto Recordings, on 7 CDs, comprising all of her concerto recordings with Deutsche Grammophon, from her scintillating début playing Prokofiev and Ravel under Claudio Abbado in 1967 to her most recent collaboration with the same conductor in 2004. In between come classic recordings of Chopin, Liszt, Tchaikovsky and Beethoven with Charles Dutoit, Mstislav Rostropovich and Giuseppe Sinopoli, as well as a memorable collaboration with Gidon Kremer (in Mendelssohn) and dazzling virtuosity in Haydn and Shostakovich.

The cover is still more alluring, the contents equally fascinating, and the packaging just as attractive – with original LP-cover artwork, new liner notes (by Jed Distler again) and rare photos. The recordings have been newly mastered for this release.

This box will be followed up by one more to include Martha Argerich’s complete Chamber Ensemble recordings for Deutsche Grammophon (2010).

The members of this trio are all graduates from the Conservatoire National Supérior de Musique de Paris. Trio Cérès have set themselves the task of cultivating and developing their classical repertoire but also of opening up new paths to more contemporary music.

The renowned Schoenberg Quartet was founded in 1976 and gave their final concert on 16th May 2009. To mark their last performances, Etcetera have released two boxed sets. This one features a wide range of repertoire taken from both exceptional re-releases and new recordings from their 33rd season.