This is a very entertaining CD of Rossini operatic overtures. A number of these overtures are performed fairly often on concert stage and one of them, the famous William Tell overture, has actually become part of popular culture. The distinguishing feature of this CD is the effort to produce nonanachronistic versions of the music. These performances use scores either derived from Rossini's original autograph manuscripts or reconstructed by scholars from early performance versions of these works. Scores used commonly in the recent past are thought to have a lot of 19th century accretions different from Rossini's original orchestration. The London Classical Players use period instruments and aim for a performance style typical of the early 19th century.

Joey Alexander is a piano prodigy whose talent suggests he’s been playing music for well beyond his years. The 11 year old pianist is quickly becoming one of the most respected and heralded young musicians in the world, and on May 12th, Joey will release his new album, My Favorite Things, on Harlem, NY based jazz label, Motéma Music LLC. The album offers 11 tracks of the best easy listening jazz music I’ve heard thus far in 2015; showcasing a glimpse of Alexander’s obvious and clear understanding of the genre, captured on one monstrous recording.