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Vincent Peirani and François Salque, coming from two very different environments and musical traditions, have gradually developed languages and pathways of their own, involving written and improvised music as well as experimentations, from one concert to another. Their first disc, Est, was devoted to the traditional music of central Europe. This time their guiding thread is the music of South America, and more especially the universe of Astor Piazzolla. Their two sonorities, as magnificent as they are different, intertwine and interlace amid the melodic and rhythmic undulations of the pieces, sometimes adapted, sometimes created by Vincent Peirani, Jocelyn Mienniel, and Tomás Gubitsch.

The brilliant Argentine musician Astor Piazzolla, who revolutionised the traditional tango through his use of jazz elements, counterpoint, extended harmonies and dissonance, has constantly appealed to wide audiences, as well as fascinating classical musicians. Here Astoria (string quintet, piano, accordion), led by Christophe Delporte, gives a delightfully lively rendering, capturing the rhythm and all the lyricism and charm of Piazzolla’s tango nuevo.

This disc was shaped by the encounter between one of the great composers of our time, Mauricio Kagel, a unique and engaging pianist, Alexandre Tharaud, and some of his close chamber music partners. It reaches out to its audience with a great sense of humour and tenderness.

A tribute to American music! An opportunity to sample some of the most up-to-date American music, with two masterpieces in the concertante genre: the clarinet concertos of Elliott Carter and John Corigliano.

Presented here by leading interpreters of this music, these two pieces are emblematic of the rich stylistic diversity of the American continent.

John Corigliano’s Clarinet Concerto of 1977 showcases the soloist’s virtuosity. It is a highly sensitive work in which the clarinettist plays the role of a valiant hero weathering the storm, the tumultuous, tempestuous material of the orchestra, glinting like a flash of lightning among the discordant detonations of the horns and the thunderclaps of the percussion. But the tumult soon makes way for dreams, the purely melancholy power of the music of this American master, sometimes recalling the most moving moments of his Violin Concerto, which served as material for François Girard’s film The Red Violin (Oscar for Best Film Score 1999).

A different style and a different way of introducing the narrative is found in Elliott Carter’s Clarinet Concerto, composed twenty years later, in 1997. This piece gives the impression of a veritable musical dramaturgy, in which each instrument is treated individually. The composer also treats the concerto itself in a new way, since he sets up an alternating dialogue between the soloist and each of the instrumental groups, which are independent of each other and laid out in a semicircle. The style of the work is characterised by both virtuosity and precision in the articulations and the accents. Elliott Carter, whose 104th birthday is celebrated this year, is unquestionably one of the most inventive composers of his time.

Two worlds, two visions, given a magnificent performance by the clarinet of Eddy Vanoosthuyse under the baton of Paul Meyer.

Thomas Blondelle, who finished second in the prestigious Concours Reine Elisabeth 2011, was chosen by the competition’s partner BNP Paribas Fortis to record a song recital and give concerts on tour throughout Belgium and elsewhere.

This young tenor has an exceptional vocal range. He is currently a soloist with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, but he also appears at many international venues. Recent engagements include his début as Froh in a new production of Wagner’s Das Rheingold at the Bavarian State Opera (February 2012). With the pianist Daniel Blumenthal – the ideal partner for any young singer – he presents a programme of humorous French and German art songs, some of which nevertheless have an underlying seriousness. This unusual, and witty, recital has been put together very intelligently!

With this new disc, Aeon is playing its part to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of John Cage, born on 5 September 1912 in the United States.

This recording of the Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano, some of the most emblematic works in his catalogue, proposes discovering one of the great classics of 20th century music performed by the young Swiss pianist Cédric Pescia. The interpretation is luminous, featuring unrivalled sensitivity and perceptiveness.

The title and contents of this new disc are full of meaning for the Caliente Quartet.

They attest to their encounter and great history with the music of Astor Piazzolla and Tango Nuevo, their (more recent) encounter with the Argentine composer Gustavo Beytelmann, from whom they commissioned two new works specifically for this recording, and finally their encounters with guitarist Laurent Colombani and vibraphonist Vincent Maillard.

This recording allows French violist Geneviève Strosser to fully display her talents in a programme of singular works that she has nurtured for several years and has particularly appropriated to her qualities as an artist: warm sonorities, heightened sensitivity, great expressiveness… Many of the pieces on this disc, pieces on which she worked with the composers themselves, are world premiere recordings.

Third dive of the excellent Astoria ensemble into the world of Piazzolla, this new Fuga Libera CD gathers different compositions of the tango nuevo master around a masterpiece: Histoire du Tango. This work was especially written for the international Guitar Festival in Liège and performed for the first time by flautist Marc Grauwels. The latter is the special guest on this disc, bringing his solid gold flute sonorities to Christophe Delporte’s ensemble.

Klaus Huber's oeuvre reveals a musician, full of compassion for his fellow man, magnificently attested to by the interpretations that Alexis Descharmes gives us here. Descharmes met the composer 12 years ago, when the decision was made to record his complete works for cello. Booklet note by Brian Ferneyhough.

“Alexis Descharmes is not only a brilliant cellist; he is also someone who probes all the musical dimensions of a score in depth. I would go so far as to say that his interpretations reveal the full transcendence of my music.” Klaus Huber