Giovanni Battista Sammartini (1700 or 1701 – 15 January 1775) was an Italian composer, organist, choirmaster and teacher. He counted Gluck among his students, and was highly regarded by younger composers including Johann Christian Bach. It has also been noted that many stylizations in Joseph Haydn's compositions are similar to those of Sammartini, although Haydn denied any such influence. Sammartini is especially associated with the formation of the concert symphony through both the shift from a brief opera-overture style and the introduction of a new seriousness and use of thematic development that prefigure Haydn and Mozart. Some of his works are described as galant, a style associated with Enlightenment ideals, while "the prevailing impression left by Sammartini's work… [is that] he contributed greatly to the development of a Classical style that achieved its moment of greatest clarity precisely when his long, active life was approaching its end"

The 15-song collection includes the timeless opener “Never Meant to Hurt You,” a well distanced reflection on his one-time love. The song was recently featured in the film Powder Blue starring Forest Whitaker and Jessica Biel. The album also features the upbeat pop of “Beautiful Uncertainty,” about taking risks and living life again; the soul destined classic “Piece De Resistance,” a ballad about fighting the state of the world with love and truth; the unique reggae-based soul song “Comin’ Undone;” and the velvet mix of the acoustic “This Heaven,” written to honour late great snowboarder Craig Kelly in the film Let It Ride, which won best film and best soundtrack at 2007’s Utah’s X-Dance Film Festival. Kuba has won the Radiostar National Songwriter Competition and recently placed in the top 5 in British Columbia’s prestigious PEAK Performance Project.

In 2010, Maestro Riccardo Chailly records Johann Sebastian Bach for Decca for the very first time with 3 releases. Having conducted the illustrious Gewandhaus Orchestra since 1986, this esteemed conductor's association with Leipzig is but one year less than Bach's. Chailly's profound musicality illuminates three of Bach's large-scale masterpieces: The St. Matthew Passion, the Brandenburg Concertos and the Christmas Oratorio. The 2nd release from this triology, the St. Matthew Passion is both riveting and dynamic. Played on modern instruments, Chailly's Bach beautifully demonstrates that a vivid, stylistically aware performance is not the exclusive preserve of period instrument ensembles. Distinguished German vocal soloists, including acclaimed bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff, rise gloriously to the challenges of Bach's exalted score.