Legendary Bach specialist Karl Richter conducts the definitive St John Passion.

ARTISTS
Alfred Brendel, piano

TRACKLISTING
LISZT: Années de Pèlerinage
Première année: Suisse
Deuxième année: Italie

Alfred Brendel offers evocative rendering of Liszt's Années de Pèlerinage I & II

In this 1986 performance, Alfred Brendel, among the world's foremost pianists and leading experts on Liszt, gracefully melds the technical and poetic aspects of one of the most rewarding of all Romantic piano works.

Produced and directed by Humphrey Burton, this concert was recorded in 1986 in Middletemple Hall, London, one hundred years after the death of Franz Liszt. The DVD includes an introduction by Alfred Brendel and is a production of BBC Television in association with Unitel.

'I know of no better way of convincing sceptics (and some still remain) than listening to Brendel´s seemingly effortless performances of these astonishing pieces.' Music and Musicians

ARTISTS
Münchener Bach-Orchester / Karl Richter

TRACKLISTING
BACH: Brandenburg Concertos BWV 1046 - 1051

Karl Richter and his Münchner Bach Orchester perform Bach's most popular orchestral music.

From the Neuen Schloss Schleissheim, legendary Bach specialist Karl Richter and his Münchener Bach Orchester interpret Bach´s Brandenburg Concertos. From the euphoric first to the solemn sixth, the Brandenburg Concertos feature some of Bach's finest and most popular orchestral music.

Produced in 1970 under the stage direction of Arne Arnbom, Richter's passion-meets-accuracy approach is still garnering praise 35 years later. This DVD, like the other Bach-Richter titles, is released on the occasion of what would have been Richter's 80th birthday in 2006 (1926-1981).

ARTISTS
Gundula Janowitz, soprano
Hertha Töpper, alto
Horst Laubenthal, tenor
Hermann Prey, bass
Münchener Bach Chor
Münchener Bach Orchester / Karl Richter

Karl Richter leads Gundula Janowitz and Hermann Prey in Bach's monumental B minor Mass

From the splendid Baroque abbey of Diessen, Karl Richter leads a star line-up of soloists including Gundula Janowitz and Hermann Prey in Bach's enduring B minor Mass. The B minor mass was the crowning climax of Bach's sacred choral music, a majestic work that showcases Bach's supreme craftsmanship and skill as a choral composer. A remarkable, historic recording appearing for the first time on DVD:

ARTISTS
Renée Fleming · Edita Gruberova · Maria Ewing · Dame Kiri te Kanawa · Yvonne Kenny · Marie McLaughlin, sopranos
Luciano Pavarotti · Francisco Araiza · Rainer Trost, tenors
Bryn Terfel · Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau · Feruccio Furlanetto · Wolfgang Brendel, baritones
Martti Talvela · Kurt Moll, basses
Weiner Philharmoniker
James Levine · Karl Böhm · John Eliot Gardiner · Nikolaus Harnoncourt · Leonard Bernstein · Wilhelm Furtwängler, conductors

TRACKLISTING
Arias and scenes from
MOZART: Don Giovanni · Entführung aus dem Serail · Le Nozze di Figaro · Die Zauberflöte · Cosi fan tutte · Mitridate · Idomeneo · Requiem

AMADEUS - the ultimate Mozart compilation featuring the best of DVDs past, present and future

To kick off your Mozart Forever on DVD campaign, we bring you Amadeus - the ultimate Mozart compilation on DVD, featuring only the best performances of Mozart's most popular arias. Amadeus combines excerpts from seven of Mozart's operas and the Requiem, featuring highlights including Edita Gruberova's 'Der Hölle Rache', Bryn Terfel's 'La ci darem la mano', Renée Fleming's 'Oh sai chi l'onore', Kurt Moll's 'In diesen Heil'gen Hallen', and many more.

With the best performances from existing DVDs as well as from upcoming 2006 releases, Amadeus is a shining example of just how much the DG catalogue has to offer when it comes to Mozart. This DVD is the 'popular Mozart' - nicely packaged and complete with subtitles.

All DVDs to be sold at mid-price level. Ideal for the casual buyer of classical music who just wants to get those famous melodies - Amadeus is the perfect starting point for exploring Mozart on DVD. This compilation is sure to whet the consumer's appetite and entice them to buy additional DG Mozart DVD offerings throughout the Jubilee Year.

Product Microsite: www.deutschegrammophon.com/bernstein-collectorsedition

With the 15th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein's death on October 14 2005, Deutsche Grammophon pays tribute to this master conductor, composer, and teacher with the release of the complete Mahler cycle on DVD

The complete Mahler cycle - plus Das Lied von der Erde - appears on 4 double-DVD sets as well as part of a 9-DVD Collectors Box, which is supplemented with an exclusive bonus DVD of rehearsal footage available only in this 9-DVD box.

These DVDs provide an added visual dimension that illustrates Bernstein's distinctive conducting style and the nature of the interpretive stamp he brought to bear on one of his favourite composers.

With these distinguished DVDs, audiences can remember - in some cases, discover - firsthand why Leonard Bernstein has laid claim to such a unique place in musical history

The purpose behind The Ultimate Collection is to present Billie as she was: how she sounded, looked and lived. No interpretation, filter or framing.

Just music, moving images, and a digital archive filled with photos, documents, interviews and information. Consider The Ultimate Collection a frameless portrait of the lady called Lady Day, filled with all the mystery, mastery and collectively familiar sound of Billie - as if from a dream we all share.

This DVD offers a comprehensive interactive museum in three sections, a veritable treasure trove of Billie Holiday material.

Film And TV Performances is made possible by the simple fact that the first part of Billie's career coincided with the era of Hollywood shorts (what were essentially the music videos of the '30s that preceded the movie house features) while her latter years overlapped with the advent of television. Together they make for a revealing lot: Billie's body and face an accurate gauge of her experience as the years passed by. At certain moments in these clips, a mere raised eyebrow - as she reacts to a Lester Young solo, for instance - and she seems more present than ever. "Saddest Tale," from the Duke Ellington short Symphony In Black: A Rhapsody Of Negro Life , was shot in Astoria, Queens and released in 1935. Billie plays the woman done wrong, a role she would experience repeatedly in real life. The narrative follows the musical progression of Ellington's mini-suite, from "Dance" to "Jealousy" and finally "Blues." Following a plaintive clarinet solo from Barney Bigard, Billie steps into the lyric: "Saddest tale on land or sea /Was when my man walked out on me..." A nice look at the young singer, healthy and just getting her career on track. "The Blues Are Brewin'" and "Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?" are performances from the 1947 film New Orleans , when Billie's stature had passed from cabaret singer to the pop star phase of her career (nonetheless, bowing to the stunted protocol of the time, she played a maid). In renown and in this film, Billie stands equal to Louis Armstrong. "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone," "Billie's Blues" and "My Man (Mon Homme)" are among the rarest gems in this collection: all from a 1956 TV appearance unseen since then. Compare Billie then to her film performance nine years before, and it's easy to see the toll the years have taken; the point is emphasized by the huge blowup of the singer that serves as a backdrop. These performances were filmed in front of a live audience in Los Angeles for the ABC-TV special Stars Of Jazz and hosted by songwriter Bobby Troup.

FILM AND TV PERFORMANCES
1) Saddest tale
2) The Blues are brewin'
3) Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans
4) My man (Mon homme)
5) Please don't talk about me when I'm gone
6) Billie's blues
7) Fine and mellow
8) What a little moonlight can do
9) St. Louis blues - Bessie Smith
10) I cover the waterfront - Louis Armstrong

AUDIO PERFORMANCES
1) Swing! Brother, swing!
2) They can't take that away from me
3) Do nothing till you hear from me
4) I'll get by
5) I wonder where our love has gone

AUDIO INTERVIEWS
1) John Hammond, Shraft's Restaurant, New York, NY, July 17, 1972
2) Jo Jones, Markwell Hotel, New York, NY, July 20, 1971
3) Roy Eldridge, Jimmy Ryan's, New York, NY, July 21, 1971
4) Barney Josephson, The Cookery, New York, NY, December 3, 1971
5) Tiny Grimes, Linda Keuhl's, New York, NY, July 21, 1971
6) Billy Eckstine, Musso & Frank's, Hollywood, CA, September 8, 1971
7) Jimmy Rowles, Monteceito Hotel, Hollywood, NY, August 23, 1971
8) Sylvia Syms, Yonkers Hospital, New York, NY, January 20, 1973
9) Corky Hale, Corky Hale's, New York, NY, November 17, 1971

1955 AUDIO REHEARSAL: BILLIE HOLIDAY AND JIMMY ROWLES
for "Jeepers Creepers" (Johnny Mercer-Harry Warren)
Billie Holiday (vocal), Jimmy Rowles (piano), Artie Shapiro (bass)
At Artie Shapiro's, Los Angeles, CA, August 22, 1955

AUDIO INTERVIEW: BILLIE HOLIDAY WITH MIKE WALLACE
Dumont Television
November 8, 1956, New York, NY

BIOGRAPHY

Our culture easily embraces teenage divas and the latest wave of boy bands, but 19-year-old jazz phenomenons seem to be a divine quirk of musical nature. Pianist and singer Peter Cincotti is a sophomore at Columbia University in New York who just happens to be on the verge of an extraordinary recording career that could bring pure jazz to a whole new audience, beginning with his self-titled Concord Records debut which was produced by the legendary Phil Ramone. Ramone calls Peter "the freshest old soul to come along in ages," and his wise-beyond-his-years vocal and ivory styles are sure to help link his generation to the glorious history of the jazz legends that have inspired him.

In the Spring of 2001, Peter was the youngest performer ever to play the New York's famed Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel. Following his history-making Algonquin performance, Peter piqued the interest of the New York glitterati. Regis Philbin described him on national TV as "phenomenal," and renowned critic Rex Reed declared, "this much talent, polish and virtuosity in a teenager may not even be legal."   With all the critical and public anticipation that is destined to accompany his emergence onto the national music scene, Peter knew that his debut recording had to be not only good, but, just as important, honest. The resulting recording represented a true portrait of this artist as a young man.

Born and raised in Manhattan, Peter started tinkering with a toy piano his grandmother gave to him at age three, then graduated to the real thing a year or so later. He realizes he's probably one of only a few sophomores at Columbia whose Walkman blasts Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington. "I don't remember one specific moment where I said, 'that's it, I'm going to be a jazz musician'," he says. "I went through many different musical stages beginning with boogie woogie piano playing, and I was exposed to all different kinds of music from Blood, Sweat, and Tears to Bill Evans."

At the age of nine, Peter began composing, and in his mid-teens, took up singing. Peter soon became a quadruple threat: pianist, singer, composer, and arranger. Over the next several years, he studied with jazz piano masters such as Ellis Marsalis, James Williams, Cliff Korman, LeeAnn Ledgerwood, and Fred Hersch. While still in high school, Peter played in jazz clubs throughout Manhattan, starred in the off-Broadway hit Our Sinatra , participated in the National Grammy Band, was honored in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest for his fiery composition "Big Bad Daddy", and was invited to perform at the White House. He also won a coveted award at the Montreux 2000 Jazz Festival in Switzerland for his piano rendition of Dizzy Gillespie's "A Night in Tunisia." Despite such critical accolades and worldwide media exposure, Peter humbly sums up his dizzy rise to stardom: "I'm so grateful that I am able to play for people who want to listen. There is so much to learn, and there's so much I want to do, and I can only hope I have the opportunity to do it all."

TRACKLISTING
•  Intro: Joe In A Blues - Surround Sound
•  J'ai Deux Amours (Two Loves Have I) - Surround Sound
•  La Mer (Beyond The Sea) - Surround Sound
•  Ne Me Quitte Pas (If You Go Away) - Surround Sound
•  Mon Homme (My Man) - Surround Sound
•  Et Maintenant (What Now My Love) - Surround Sound
•  Que Reste-t-il De Nos Amours (I Wish You Love) - Surround Sound
•  Dansez Sur Moi (Girl Talk) - Surround Sound
•  La Belle Vie (The Good Life) - Surround Sound
•  Avec Le Temps (With Time) - Surround Sound
•  Les Feuilles Mortes (Autumn Leaves) - Surround Sound
•  La Vie En Rose (You're Too Dangerous, Cherie) - Surround Sound

Live performance of Dee Dee Bridgewater's lush CD of French love songs 'J'ai Deux Amours

All tracks on the record are wonderfully suited to Bridgewater's magnificent vocal

range, intensity of expression and keen wit, and reflect a varied period of time in the history of French music

The concept for J'ai Deux Amours began in the mid-nineties when Bridgewater was

living full-time in Paris.   "My time in France was (and continues to be) a period of healing, growth as a woman and an artist, and a discovery of the rest of the world," says   Bridgewater.   "As I began researching songs and finding the corresponding sheet music, an obvious story began unfolding reflective of both my personal life as well as my love for the country and people of   France."

All of the songs on J'ai Deux Amours are of French origin with the exception of "Girl Talk," and most have been hit songs in their English versions.   "J'ai Deux Amours" and "La Vie en Rose" were obvious choices as they symbolize Paris - the first being associated with legendary chanteuse and Black American female icon Josephine Baker; the second with Edith Piaf whom Bridgewater greatly admires as well.   "La Belle Vie/The Good Life" is a nod to composer Sacha Distel   (who passed away this past July) as well as to Betty Carter, a major influence on Bridgewater who performed the song regularly as part of her set.   "Dansez Sur Moi," the French version of "Girl Talk," was written and performed by French singer/poet/artist Claude Nougaro, whom Bridgewater performed on television with in the 90's and who also passed away in 2004.    "Avec le   Temps," composed by Leo Ferre, has never been recorded in English, although it is a classic in French.

Bridgewater's career has always bridged musical genres and she earned her first professional experience as a member of the legendary Thad Jones/Mel Louis Big Band.   Throughout the 70's, she performed with such jazz notables as Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, and Dizzy Gillespie.   After a foray into the pop world during the 1980's, she relocated to Paris and began to turn her attention back to jazz.   She signed with the Verve label as both a performer and producer, released a series of acclaimed titles beginning with Keeping Tradition in 1993.   All of them-including her wildly successful double Grammy Award-winning tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, Dear Ella, - have received Grammy nominations.

Bridgewater currently splits her time between the U.S. and France.   She is the host of

NPR's JazzSet , now in its second decade on the air, and is also an honorary Ambassador to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization.   Her recordings are available worldwide and she continues to tour globally, performing to sold-out venues both domestically and internationally.  

J'ai Deux Amours is my way of thanking France, a country that opened its arms to me," says Bridgewater.   "Me, a little girl from Flint, Michigan!   Like Josephine Baker, 'J'ai deux amours, mon pays et Paris.'"