ARTISTS
Nicholas Parnell, percussion

TRACKLISTING
KEIKO ABE: Wind across the mountains
KEIKO ABE: Tambourin Paraphrase
KEIKO ABE: Wind in the Bamboo Grove
ISAAC ALBENIZ: Asturias
MATTHIAS SCHMITT: Ghanaia
NEBOSJA JOVAN ZIVKOVIC: Generally spoken it's nothing but rhythm
NEY ROSAURO: Rhapsody

Young Adelaide percussionist Nicholas Parnell delivers a tour-de-force of percussion skill and technique, exploding with infectious rhythms and kaleidoscopic colours in this, his debut CD.

A program of percussion music which impresses with its musicality and tunefulness is refreshing. We are accustomed to associating percussion with qualities of explosiveness and rhythmic force, and indeed these are the qualities for which percussion has mostly been utilised in western music, the splash of cymbals and the thwack of the bass drum adding grunt to orchestral textures.

This album features works by a range of composers, most notably, three works by leading Japanese percussionist Keiko Abe. This is a colourful and exciting array of music.

Marketing Plans:
* Extensive reviews and airplay
* Print advertising in Limelight magazine
* National radio promotion on ABC Classic FM

ARTISTS
Mirella Freni, soprano

TRACKLISTING
PUCCINI: Sì. Mi chiamano Mimì (La Boheme)
PUCCINI: Mario! Mario! Mario! Son qui ... Ah! quegli occhi Qual occhio
Vissi d'arte (Tosca)
PUCCINI: Viene la sera ... Vogliatemi bene
Un bel dì, vedremo
'Con onor muore' ... Tu? tu? Piccolo Iddio! (Madama Butterfly)
PUCCINI: In quelle trine morbide
Sola, perduta, abbandonata (Manon Lescaut)
PUCCINI: Tu che di gel sei cinta (Turandot)
CATALANI: Ebben? Ne andrò lontana (La Wally)
CILEA: Poveri fiori (Adriana Lecouvreur)
ROSSINI: S'allontanano alfine ... Selva opaca (Guglielmo Tell)
LEONCAVALLO: Qual fiamma avea nel guardo ... Stridono lassù (Pagliacci)
VERDI: Ritorna vincitor! (Aida)
VERDI: Ecco l'orrido campo (Un ballo in maschera)
VERDI: Tu che le vanità (Don Carlos)
VERDI: Mia madre aveva una povera ancella ... Piangea cantando nell'erma landa (Willow Song)
VERDI: Ave Maria (Otello)
VERDI: Come in quest'ora bruna (Simon Boccanegra)
VERDI: Sul fil d'un soffio etesio (Falstaff)
BOITO: L'altra notte in fondo al mare (Mefistofele)
TCHAIKOVSKY: Puskai pogibnu ya, no pryezhde (Letter Scene) (Eugene Onegin)

The great Italian soprano Mirella Freni celebrated her 70th birthday on 27 February 27 2005. This year also marks 50 years since Freni's debut in Modena as Michaëla ( Carmen ) This 2CD set (at two-for-one price) includes some of the greatest performances every recorded by both Decca and Deutsche Grammophon

Included are favourite soprano arias from Madama Butterfly, La Bohème, Tosca, Aida, Otello, Eugene Onegin and from many more best-loved operas are included.

A much-loved and very popular artist, Freni has recorded a substantial discography for a variety of companies and among her most important recordings are those on Decca and Deutsche Grammophon. The selection of scenes and arias included in this 2-CD program showcase her in many of her finest recordings which range from her portrayal of Nannetta ( Falstaff ) recorded with Sir Georg Solti in 1963 and the role with which she made her Covent Garden debut (in 1961), through to the Catalani and Cilea arias recorded with Roberto Abbado in December 1990. Also included are her classic portrayals as Mimì (La Bohème) with Herbert von Karajan (the role with which she made her La Scala debut in 1963 in Zeffirelli's production (with Von Karajan conducting) and New York MET debut in 1965), and Amelia (Simon Boccanegra) with Claudio Abbado in an excerpt from the legendary recording made with La Scala forces.

As her career developed Mirella Freni continued to add other roles to her repertory and these included Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly) - she is heard here in excerpts from Decca's 1974 recording with Von Karajan. Other Puccini roles include Tosca and Manon Lescaut, while Verdi is further represented in a selection of arias made in the late 1980s with Giuseppe Sinopoli. During the 1980s she also added roles such as Tatiana ( Eugene Onegin ) - heard here in the famous 'Letter scene' - to her repertory, while other verismo additions include Adriana Lecouvreur and Fedora.

This collection is a wonderful conspectus of a superlative artist, caught at the peak of her considerable powers. It deserves a place in the collection of every lover of fine singing.

ARTISTS
Jian Wang, cello

TRACKLISTING
J.S. BACH
Suites for Unaccompanied Cello Nos. 1-6

Bach's Cello Suites are one of the acknowledged masterpieces, not only of Baroque music, but of the whole cello repertoire. Most great cellists have fallen under the spell of this wonderful music and recordings of the pieces abound as each generation's star players seek to interpret this magnificent work for their instrument. Jian Wang is now joining illustrious predecessors on Deutsche Grammophon like Mischa Maisky and Pierre Fournier by giving us his interpretation of Bach's suites.

Jian says of the suites 'This is the music I play for myself. After I play a lot of concertos, when I'm tired of practising, when I am tired of music, I play Bach for myself. Then everything is cleansed and my sensitivity comes back.

'In the beginning I tried to play the suites like songs, to make them pretty. But by my mid-20s, they became about more than just being beautiful - also about what we hope to be in this world but can't. At least for me, it was a view into another spiritual world. After that, I started liking the way I played them better, and then I noticed that other people did too. Of course, I get blown away by big things like Mahler symphonies, but music didn't start that way. Music started from the heart, as something we play for ourselves. It's like life, growing from a single cell.

ARTISTS
Mischa Maisky, cello
Martha Argerich, piano

TRACKLISTING
STRAVINSKY : Suite Italienne (from 'Pulcinella') for Cello and Piano
PROKOFIEV : Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op.119
SHOSTAKOVICH : Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op.40
PROKOFIEV : The Tale of the Stone Flower, Ballet in 4 Acts, Op.118

Martha Argerich and Mischa Maisky play Russian music from Shostakovich, Stravinsky and Prokofiev in this latest collaboration between these much-loved artists.

This thrilling live recording reflects a celebrated charity concert held in the legendary Studio 4 of the Flagey building in Brussels in April 2003.

This program of rarely heard Russian repertoire was developed over about 10 years before it emerged in its final form, played here for the first time. Fortunately DG was there to record the moment and now we can all enjoy the fruits of this magical, intuitive partnership as it takes wing in before an audience.

All the pieces presented are personally linked with Maisky's most important teachers Rostropovich and Piatigorsky and therefore have a strong personal meaning for him. Both artists play with the brio and élan for which they are famous, but also with tremendous heart.

Not surprisingly, Mischa Maisky and Martha Argerich know each other inside out. Their musical partnership dates back to their first recital in 1978, and is documented in a great discography on Deutsche Grammophon. Indeed, they are both two of the leading artists for the company and have singly and jointly made legendary recordings for the yellow label. This performance is sure to please not only their established fans, but to win Maisky and Argerich many more admirers.

ARTISTS
Anu Komsi and Pia Komsi, sopranos *
Finnish Radio Orchestra
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor

TRACKLISTING
SALONEN
Foreign Bodies
Wing on Wing*
Insomnia

'Wing on Wing includes the most unabashedly beautiful and introspective music that Salonen has written.' Los Angeles Times, 2004

This is the prestigious debut CD on DG of one of the leading artists of the 21st century whose name has become a brand in the music world, conducting his own compositions: Esa-Pekka Salonen. Salonen has, despite his relatively young age, been acclaimed one of the greatest conductors of our time and has made many esteemed recordings with his Los Angeles orchestra.

Salonen composed and conducted all three orchestral works on this CD: Wing on Wing, Foreign Bodies and Insomnia. All the pieces are world premiere recordings.

Wing on Wing was written for the opening of the new concert hall in Los Angeles in June 2004. The Disney Concert Hall (designed by Frank O. Gehry and constructed in similar aesthetics to the Guggenheim in Bilbao) is known for its sophisticated acoustics and grand architecture that inspired Salonen. The work's title Wing on Wing refers to the wing-like sculptural form of the Disney Hall.

Salonen's music amalgamates instrument and body, nature and machine to a streaming universe of sounds and his acclaimed premiere performances of Foreign bodies, Wing on Wing and Insomnia testify that Esa-Pekka Salonen hits the nerve of his time. He is a composer of our time, modern, sportive, dynamic, standing for innovative programming and electrifying performances.

ARTISTS
Andrés Segovia, guitar
With various artists

TRACKLISTING
RODRIGO: Fantasía para un gentilhombre for Guitar and Small Orchestra
PONCE: Concierto del Sur
BOCCHERINI: Cello Concerto in E major (Arr. Gaspar Cassadó)

After releasing the very successful Segovia Collection 4 CD set, there were many requests to make the CDs available singly. So here by popular demand from Deutsche Grammophon are the single releases. These discs will allow any collector and guitar fan to update his/her collection selectively.

Andrés Segovia (1893-1987) was an extraordinary musician. He was among the first classical artists to have a really international career and did a lot to popularise his instrument. His name is still today synonymous with the guitar. Many guitarists, including pop and jazz musicians, see him as an exemplary artist. Segovia was also a great arranger as you can discover for example in the virtuoso transcription of Bach's famous Chaconne for Solo Violin.

The recordings date from the 1950s and 1960s and the majority were made in stereo. They include many of the masterpieces of the guitar repertoire in performances of the highest pedigree. All recordings have been newly remastered at 96 kHz / 24 bit.

ARTISTS
Andrés Segovia, guitar

TRACKLISTING
TORROBA: Castillos de España
TORROBA: Pièces caractéristiques
MOMPOU: Suite Compostelana
CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO: Sonate 'Hommage à Boccherini'*
PONCE: Allegro in A major*
ESPLÁ: Antaño*
RODRIGO: Fandango (from Tres piezas españolas)*

ARTISTS
Andrés Segovia, guitar

TRACKLISTING
DE MURCIA: Praeludium & Allegro*
RONCALLI: Passacaglia, Gigue, Gavotte (from Capricci armonici sopra la chitarra Spagnola)
MILÁN: Seis Pavanas
SANZ: Gailarda & Epañoleta
AGUADO: 8 Lessons for the Guitar
SOR: 2 Minuets (from op. 24 & Op.5)*
SOR: 9 Etudes (from op.6, 35, 31, 29)*(partly)
ALBÉNIZ: Granada. Serenata (from Suite española, Op. 47)
GRANADOS: 2 Spanish Dances, from Op. 37
GRANADOS: La maja de Goya (from Tonadillas, arr. Llobet)

ARTISTS
Andrés Segovia, guitar

TRACKLISTING
BACH - Arrangements made by Segovia
Suite for Lute in E minor, BWV 996 - 2. Allemande
Suite for Lute in C minor, BWV 997 - 3. Sarabande & 4. Gigue
Partita for Violin Solo No.1 in B minor, BWV 1002 - 5. Sarabande, 7. Bourrée & 8. Double
Suite for Cello Solo No.3 in C, BWV 1009 (arr.John Duarte)
Suite for Cello Solo No.1 in G, BWV 1007 - 1. Prélude*
Suite for Cello Solo No.6 in D, BWV 1012 - 5. Gavotte 1 & 2*
Partita for Violin Solo No.2 in D minor, BWV 1004 - 5. Chaconne*
Prelude for Lute in C minor, BWV 999*
Partita for Violin Solo No.3 in E, BWV 1006 - 3. Gavotte en Rondeau*
Fugue in G minor, BWV 1000*
Sonata for Violin Solo No.1 in G minor, BWV 1001 - 3. Siciliano