John Lewis is famous for his interest in classical music and baroque forms led him to compose fugues for the MJQ. Alexander's Fugue is a great example of these compositions included in "Modern Jazz Quartet". Under Lewis's direction, the quartet…

Thelonious Monk is famous for his unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Ruby, My Dear", which is part of the "Thelonious Monk Quartet" recording. He is also the second-most-recorded…

This concert recording from 1961 is one of the last recordings with two outstanding musicians from Basie’s band, Joe Williams and Joe Newman, who both departed from the band in 1961 to pursue solo careers. Joe Williams, known for having a deeper and…

The trained pianist and occasional organist, Sarah Vaughan ranks among the Big Four of female jazz singers, alongside Bessie Smith , Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald . Her early formal education on the piano has influenced her vocal technique…

There was probably no other artist, who was involved creatively in so many stages of the development of Jazz music as Duke Ellington . His sonic individuality originated in his peculiar style of composing and arranging, in which he was interweaving…

Alfred Brendel is arguably the most outstanding modern exponent of Schubert's piano music currently before the public. He is capable of bringing not only the verve of this music but also its poetic intensity and intellectual depth to life with a…

Antonio Pappano together with the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden are presenting a symphonic work with particular relevance for Dresden: Rachmaninoff‘s Symphony No. 2, which was written during the composer‘s years at the Saxon residency.

The Belcea Quartet is one of the world’s leading chamber music ensembles, having won many international accolades. Now, with the string quartets, the musicians have rediscovered a gem of twentieth century chamber music. “Here is a composer moving…

Celebrating Strauss brings into focus the greatest interpreters of Richard Strauss’s compositions. These jewels of music broadcasting have been salvaged from various archives and been made accessible for home viewing audiences uniting appealing and…

The Classic Archive collection presents two unreleased performances filmed by BBC television in 1977: celebrated pianist Martha Argerich plays Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. and the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1. Both pieces are technically…