October highlights from EMI and Virgin Classics

Spotlight release

Also new this month

Tragédiennes Vol. 3 Véronique Gens In her third Tragédiennes album, Véronique Gens continues her exploration of French operatic repertoire with Les Talens Lyriques performing works from the late 18th and 19th centuries mainly focused on the deeper, darker-toned female voice.

Beethoven: Complete String Quartets Artemis Quartet (7 CDs) Virgin Classics’ first complete cycle of Beethoven String Quartets includes two previously unreleased items: the Quartet No 10, Op. 74 Harp and Beethoven’s transcription for string quartet of his Piano Sonata No. 9, Op. 14.

Tchaikovsky & Bartók: Violin Concertos Valeriy Sokolov The young Ukrainian violinist Valeriy Sokolov, whose playing “requires every superlative in the dictionary” (Classic FM Magazine), releases his first recording as an exclusive Virgin Classics artist, a pairing of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto and Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2. In December 2011, Sokolov perfoms the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Philharmonia and Vladimir Ashkenazy in Warwick, Stoke-on-Trent and London’s Royal Festival Hall.

“Technically immaculate … [his playing] has passion and is as earthy as that of any folk fiddler.” The Strad

Brahms & Sibelius: Violin Concertos Tasmin Little EMI Classics releases four double CDs by one of the UK’s leading violinists: Brahms, Sibelius, Bruch, Dvorˇák and Lalo concertos, works by Pärt, Ravel, Poulenc, Debussy and Delius, and Violin Showpieces.

Great Cathedral Organs (13 CDs) Complete for the first time on CD, the Great Cathedral Organ Series captures the finest organs, organists and organ music from 1960s Britain. Bonus tracks from Simon Preston, Fernando Germani and Brian Runnett complement the original 19 LPs.

Home of Opera Among the 10 new titles in this mid-price collection are Samson et Dalila, Die Frau ohne Schatten and Andrea Chenier. Each set contains a printed multi-language introduction and a bonus disc with synopsis and libretto with translations.

American Classics This month sees five new titles added to the popular series, covering the selected piano works of Gottschalk, Joplin and Gershwin alongside songs from Rodgers & Hart and an album of Songs of the American Land.

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