Kavafian plays violin on O'Conner's own String Quartet No. 3, on the fiddler's latest release. O'Connor selected top talent to join him on this recording, including violinist Ida Kavafian, violist Paul Neubauer, and cellist Matt Haimovitz.

Chorus America awarded Cantus the 2009 Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence. The award is given annually to an ensemble that demonstrates artistic excellence, a strong organizational structure, and a commitment to educational outreach.

Ana Maria discusses her title role as Rusalka with the Glyndebourne Festival in one of their engaging podcast interviews.

BEST runs June 28th to July 26

Jerusalem Quartet wins ECHO Classic Award 2009 in the category "Best chamber music recording of the year (19th century, strings)"

Three of our young actresses are now starring in a pilot based on the biblical parables. Ciara Bravo, Kyla Bass and Abby Richter shot on this project a few months ago.

The Duke Ellington Center for The Arts Presents A Tribute To The Legacy of Bobby Short

Harlem Quartet & Carter Brey performing at the Library of Congress, on their collection of Stradivarius instruments, December 19, 2008

Recorded at the Chan Centre 2004 with former cellist, Joel Stobbe (C) JB Production

Photographers Chris Makos and Paul Solberg interviewed on TVE in Madrid about the DOG photos

What started out as a Visit, turned into a Lifestyle. Not only is Vietnam the new Hot spot, its a place where the past collides with the future, and meet somewhere between. But if your a Surfer, or a connoisseur there is something in Nam for everyone.

The New "Nam": There's an optimistic can-do spirit in Vietnam, one of the most unforgettable of places. It's naturally beautiful, with a sweet hysteria running threw the streets, contrasted with serene beaches, and warm, elegant people, who are connected to the earth unlike any other place visited.

What started out as a Visit, turned into a Lifestyle. Not only is Vietnam the new Hot spot, its a place where the past collides with the future, and meet somewhere between. But if your a Surfer, or a connoisseur there is something in Nam for everyone.

Naxos's recording of Ginastera's Complete Music for Cello and Piano (8.570569) was hailed for ‘the music's percussive rhythms as well as its reflective and mysterious melodic invention' by The Strad. Similarly, each of his highly individual and engaging string quartets abound in kinetic energy, glowingly evocative writing and the ever-present rhythms and sounds of his native Argentinean music. In his expressive Third String Quartet a solo soprano, fully integrated into the quartet texture, sings texts by Alberti, Jiménez and Lorca to create an intensely coloured spectrum of words and music.

The world-renowned and unparalleled Emerson String Quartet, which has already produced over thirty award-winning albums, applies its unmistakable intensity and energy to its latest release, Intimate Letters, an exploration of the personally expressive works of two great Czech composers: Leoš Janácek's String Quartet No. 1 "after Leo Tolstoy: The Kreutzer Sonata"; String Quartet No. 2 "Intimate Letters"; and Bohuslav Martinu's Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola. Released by Deutsche Grammophon, Intimate Letters is now available for purchase and download-along with a special bonus track.

William Wolfram performs the etudes of Liszt as part of Naxos' complete colection of the composer's piano music.

'It has been a long time since I have been so taken with any readings of Haydn Quartets. All three of these appear on the Emerson's recent "The Haydn Project" DG set, and the Jerusalem wins two out of three. This disc strikes me as the ideal gift... I certainly cannot resist its charm; at first hearing, it brightened a gray day, and its smile has not faded.' Fanfare "these are magnificent performances...these players don't put a foot wrong interpretively, uphold the highest standards technically, and enjoy splendid engineering...There's no need to say more: why read on when you could be listening?"] 10/10 CLASSICSTODAY.COM Diapason d'Or Arte

Gordon Back was born in Wales, and studied piano and viola in Manchester . In 1972 he continued his postgraduate study in Italy with Guido Agosti. His brilliance as an accompanist and chamber musician was early recognized when he was invited to accompany the world's greatest international violin competitions such as Tchaikowsky , Moscow; Queen Elizabeth, Brussels; Indianapolis; Carl Flesch, London. Subsequently, Gordon Back performed and recorded with many great artists including Yehudi Menuhin, Nathan Milstein, Joseph Suk, Sarah Chang, and Maxim Vengerov. He has performed in virtually all of the major concert halls in the world. Since 2002, he has been the Director of the Menuhin International Violin Competition. Under his artistic leadership, it has become the leading competition in the world for young violinists. It will be hosted in Oslo in April, 2010. He was the youngest ever appointed Professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he resides. Engagements in 2009 include performances as well as master classes in the USA, Swizerland, Czech Republic, France and UK.