Domingo Hindoyan’s exciting programme of French repertoire includes early and late orchestral masterpieces by Debussy, Roussel’s sumptuous and brilliantly scored 2nd ballet suite from Bacchus et Ariadne, and the rarely heard and spectacular La Péri, subtitled Poèm Dansé by the highly self-critical but brilliant Dukas. ‘Of all the recent conductor signings at UK orchestras, this is the one that intrigues me the most’ The Spectator on Domingo Hindoyan’s appointment as Chief conductor of the RLPO.

French Nationality, born in Salon de Provence resides in Italy since 1974. Composer and director, plays the guitar, the piano and electronic keyboard. Author of numerous classical music, score film and pop music. Since 1966 he recorded 28 records.

Following his critically acclaimed interpretation of Bruckner's 7th Symphony, Iván Fischer leads his Budapest Festival Orchestration to the summit of 19th century symphonic music, with this new recording of the monumental, enigmatic, unfinished and deeply religious 9th Symphony of Anton Bruckner.

It is a meaningful sign of the times that Astor Piazzolla is arguably one of the most frequently performed composers on the contemporary musical stage, even though he probably never aimed at writing “classical” music. True, one of the fundamental encounters of his life was with composer and teacher Nadia Boulanger, who mentored many of the most important avant-garde musicians of the second half of the twentieth century. And, under her guidance, Piazzolla did attempt to express his personality through the language of Western contemporary music. The results, of course, were very good, since nobody could question Piazzolla’s talent. Yet, when Piazzolla performed one of the tangos he had already written to his professor, she exclaimed: “Astor, all your classical pieces are well written, but the true Piazzolla sound is here, never leave it behind!”. And if the language of Piazzolla’s music does not correspond to that of the coeval European avantgardes, neither does it conform to the standards of the Argentinian tango tradition. It is precisely for his utter originality that Astor Piazzolla rightfully claimed and obtained a place in the pantheon of twentieth-century classical music. But it is also this originality that may puzzle those attempting to classify him within one of the established musical categories.

Navona Records and trombonist Andy Malloy present BEST OF FRIENDS, a collection of personalized pieces for trombone and piano. Featuring works that Malloy commissioned from his colleagues over the years, the album is truly an ode to the relationships formed through musical collaboration. Each piece on the album pushes the musical boundaries to which the trombone is often held through creative uses of tonality and soaring melodies. Rhythmically energetic passages, jazz harmonies, and more speak throughout the album, highlighting the musicianship of Malloy and the compositional dexterity of his colleagues, a musical testament to the power of collaboration.

Vicente Lusitano’s earliest biographer, writing two centuries after his death around 1561, omitted to mention that the composer’s mother was most likely a Black African enslaved by Portuguese colonialists. Choral ensemble The Marian Consort and its unflappable director, Rory McCleery, dive deep into the sacred motets of Lusitano’s Liber primus epigramatum, the first-ever publication of works by a Black composer. Their choice of 10 pieces reveals the striking breadth of invention, subtle textures and harmonies, and sheer beauty of his music, with each of those qualities present in full measure in the sublime Emendemus in melius (Track 7) and Sancta mater, istud agas (Track 9). There’s room, too, for the meandering melodies of Heu me, Domine (Track 6), with its startling chromatic lines, and Inviolata, integra et casta es (Track 10) for eight voices, a consummate magnum opus of Renaissance polyphony.

What an intriguing idea to want to transcribe one of Berlioz’s work for four accordions! What an even more curious idea to want to transcribe the Symphonie Fantastique and bring into their squeeze boxes this astounding and radical masterpiece, true breakthrough in the history of orchestra thanks to the introduction of rarely used, despised, or even forgotten instruments, in a celebration of sounds, and a magical demonstration of Berlioz’s Treatise of Modern Instrumentation and Orchestration.

Out of the drawers! Pia Davila and Linda Leine give new perspectives on "ostracised music".

Myrna Herzog is a well-known figure in the Early Music world, internationally praised as a viola da gamba performer, conductor and researcher in the field of viols. Her ground-braking articles on the Quinton, the English Division Viol, Stradivari's viols and viols in general have appeared in important journals (such as Early Music and the Galpin Society Journal) and books (The Italian Viola da Gamba; Across Centuries and Cultures); she is a contributor to the New Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians. She studied cello with Iberê Gomes Grosso, viola da gamba with Judith Davidoff and Wieland Kuijken, and was mentored in conducting by Doron Salomon.

In 1743, two years before Rameau's Platee, Boismortier created an extraordinarily modern and madcap "comic ballet", Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse. As the exuberant plot unfurls, Cervantes' hero encounters monsters, enchanters, princesses and people from Japan, making for plenty of offbeat and audacious dances and choruses. Musical beauty rubs shoulders with satirical and irreverent comedy. A choice work for Herve Niquet, who leads his Concert Spirituel with unparalleled energy!