Simon Rattle has been principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra since 2002, and this recording is their 10th anniversary present to one another. It is also timed to coincide with performances of the opera in Salzburg with Rattle and exactly the same cast of singers. At the Easter festival the Berliners joined them in the pit for their final hurrah before they controversially relocate their Easter operatic business to Baden-Baden. For performances of the Salzburg production this summer the Vienna Philharmonic take over.

Georg Friedrich Händel was one of the greatest composers of the Baroque period. Opera dominated Handel’s career, yet he was better known for his oratorios and instrumental works for several centuries. He forged a personal idiom by taking Italian traditions and adding elements of German counterpoint and dance forms from France. The result was a uniquely cosmopolitan style which, when Handel took it to London, would expand to embrace the musical legacy of the English Restoration composer Henry Purcell. Discover a compilation of famous Handel works featuring masterpieces by the great composer and wonderful musicians.

For Simon Rattle, Robert Schumann is "the echt Romantic". And in fact, the exuberance of the period, its passion and its melancholy can be heard with unique intensity in Schumann's music to this day. For the Berliner Philharmoniker, Schumann's symphonies have always been part of their core repertoire. The 1953 Wilhelm Furtwängler recording in particular has attained cult status. And so it only stands to reason that the Berliner Philharmoniker should launch their Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings label with a cycle of the four Schumann symphonies.

Magdalena Kožená is back with another early music adventure on Archiv Production after her highly acclaimed ‘Vivaldi’ and ‘Lettere Amorose’ albums. In this recording, Kozena explores the early Italian Baroque Music of Claudio Monteverdi. She duets with Anna Prohaska on tracks ‘Pur ti miro’ and ‘Zefiro torna’, plus there are guest performances from David Feldman, Jakob Pilgram, Michael Feyfar and Luca Tittoto. Kozena sings with La Cetra Barockorchester Basel and Andrea Marcon.