Debussy: Préludes - Book 1: No. 8, La fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair)

In this CD in which we can find recordings of some of Segovia’s favourite composers from Albeniz and Granados to the beloved Bach, with the transcription of the Suite BWV 1009 never recorded by Segovia before. The result is superb, wonderful as usual, and is demonstration of a poetry in Segovia’s music that maturity made only more elegant.

Heifetz’s series of arrangements and transcriptions for violin and piano reveal just how tasteful and refined a musician he was. Crafted with precision, and played with passion, they are alive with his stylistic awareness. Whether in his Rachmaninov transcriptions or in Robert Russell Bennett’s A Song Sonata, Heifetz lavished equal care on these gems and they enriched his concert programmes. They also proved hugely popular on disc – thirteen pieces come from a 1960 LP famously called ‘Heifetz’ – and their variety, virtuosity and sheer beauty remain imperishable examples of the art of the violin.

Mark Obert-Thorn, reissue producer and audio restoration engineer

Albrecht Mayer, principal oboe of the Berlin Philharmonic, celebrates a lifelong passion for France with this album of popular melodies, including favourites by Debussy, Fauré, and Ravel — plus the world-premiere recording of the impressionistic Été.

Recorded live at The Granary, Beccles U.K., this recital captures Pascal Rogé in the repertoire that has earned him the reputation as one of the world’s greatest interpreters of Chopin and the French repertoire.

Pascal Rogé is today’s greatest ambassador and stylist in French piano music. Winner of two Gramophone Awards, his name is synonymous over many years with the finest in French piano playing, both in concert and on disc for Decca, and now in Debussy for ONYX

"Son should have no trouble building a career. She's got the fingers and the personality." DALLAS MORNING NEWS

Debussy's twenty-four Preludes, like Chopin's, are surprisingly self-sufficient. Divided into two books, published in 1910 and 1913, the Preludes are an intimate record of Debussy's inner and imaginative life. Their titles were after-thoughts rather than direct inspirations, largely because Debussy's delicate and complex response to natural phenomena or human idiosyncrasy could hardly be contained or expressed by a simple caption or heading.

The Cuban-American pianist Jorge Bolet isn't readily associated with the music of Debussy, but his selection of sixteen of the composer's Preludes yield performances of refinement and fluidity. Lines are clearly delineated and the myriad of impressions within a single piece are nothing short of kaleidoscopic.

Jorge Bolet was an avowed Romantic, happy to relax once the serious business of his recital is over. Like Moiseiwitsch, he could be mischievously enterprising, challenging his audience to guess the composer of this or that rare poetic jewel or confection - or, like Rubinstein, he could affectionately confirm and recreate their favourites.

With delightful old world charm, fleet of finger, yet ever conscious of the singing line, Bolet weaves pure magic in this collection of encores. After a long absence from the catalogue, this disc returns, now at budget price.

The calibre of this ensemble is shown by the fact that it has been allowed to use the word “Gewandhaus” in its name. This is a virtuoso and wonderfully engaging potpourri from the brass ensemble repertoire.