DISCUSSION: John Dante Prevedini leads a discussion about Classical Music and Politics, including contributions from Béla Hartmann and James Ross.

New Releases for May 2024 and Later

Browse a selection of new recordings

 

Here is our list of future releases, based on emails received between 13 May and 15 April 2024, ordered by release date.

The list has been prepared quickly. Apologies for any omissions, or if the information is not up to our usual standards, and please let us know if you find any mistakes. To get your new releases into our next list, or to find out how our review process works, look at the information here. Unfortunately we haven't been able to include any albums with a release date earlier than 1 May 2024.

Unless otherwise specified, each item is a single CD.

Extra information about some new releases can also be found here.

 

26 JULY 2024

The Past & I: 100 Years of Thomas Hardy
Lotte Betts-Dean; James Girling; Ligeti Quartet
Delphian DCD34307
Release: 26 July 2024
Conceived during a residency at The Red House, Benjamin Britten's former home, in 2019, this collection of new compositions and arrangements by Arthur Keegan – developed in close collaboration with the performers – shows the profound influence of Thomas Hardy's poetry on composers throughout the twentieth century and into our own era. Hardy's characteristic themes are present throughout: the relentless passing of time; nature and the changing seasons; the effects on both of the modern world, with its machines and timetables. Keegan's Elegies for Emma, for voice and guitar, seeks to restore the voice of Hardy's first wife Emma alongside the regret-filled poems Hardy wrote after her death, while String Quartet No 1 'Elegies for Tom' weaves instrumental meditations on Hardy's poem 'Afterwards' together with interludes setting a later poem by Philip Larkin. Recently named Young Artist of the Year at the prestigious RPS Music Awards, mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts-Dean is joined by guitarist James Girling and the Ligeti Quartet in performances that linger long in the memory.

Hymns from Merton
The Girl Choristers and Lower Voices of Merton College Oxford / Benjamin Nicholas
Delphian DCD34322
Release: 26 July 2024
From their beginnings in 2016 Merton College's Girl Choristers have gone from strength to strength. For their second recording they bring together a collection of much-loved hymns, celebrating a tradition that has enriched Christian worship for hundreds of years.

 

19 JULY 2024

Jane Stanley: Cerulean Orbits
The Hermes Experiment; Red Note Ensemble
Delphian DCD34281
Release: 19 July 2024
This first portrait album dedicated to the music of the Australian-born, Glasgow-based composer Jane Stanley showcases pieces composed between 2013 and 2023 for different chamber combinations. In addition to some of her favourites among her existing works, Stanley took the opportunity to develop two new pieces: one for each of the two ensembles involved, and specially adapted to their particular talents. A song cycle for The Hermes Experiment moves Stanley's music intriguingly towards the tonal, lyrical sound-world of that group's two acclaimed recent Delphian albums, while sharing with the purely instrumental music of the rest of the album – performed by Red Note Ensemble, also acclaimed Delphian regulars – an audible preoccupation with gesture, intricately ornamented melodic patterning, and intertwining woven textures, balancing decoration with energetic directed motion.

 

5 JULY 2024

Irish Roots
Daniel Hope, Air Ensemble, Rea Garvey, TSSO, Lúnasa, James & Jeanne Galway
Deutsche Grammophon
Release: 5 July 2024
Daniel Hope's latest album Irish Roots embodies his deep connection to Ireland, inherited from his paternal great-grandfather who left Waterford for South Africa in the 1890s. Although never residing in Ireland, Hope's fascination with its culture led to the creation of the documentary Celtic Dreams: Daniel Hope's Hidden Irish History.

1 JULY 2024

Bach: A Guitar Collection
Brilliant Classics 97289 (6 CDs)
Release: 1 July 2024

Jean Langlais: Organ Music, Volume 2
Giorgio Benati, Fausto Caporali, Alessandro Perin organ
Brilliant Classics 96361 (5 CDs)
Release: 1 July 2024

John Duarte: Complete Works for Guitar Quartet
Quartetto Santórsola
Brilliant Classics 96443 (2 CDs)
Release: 1 July 2024

Carlo Tessarini: Allettamenti da Camera for Violin Solo and Bass
Cappella Musicale Enrico Stuart; Gabriele Pro, violin
Brilliant Classics 96847
Release: 1 July 2024

Le Bret: Pièces de Clavecin
Simone Pierini, harpsichord
Brilliant Classics 96930
Release: 1 July 2024

Romanza - Music for Strings: Sibelius, Britten, Barber, Pärt
Orchestra Orfeo / Domenico Famà
Brilliant Classics 97057
Release: 1 July 2024

Sylvius Leopold Weiss & Johann Sebastian Bach : Suite SW47 for Guitar and Violin
Alberto La Rocca, guitar; Carlo Lazari, violin
Brilliant Classics 97139
Release: 1 July 2024

Grieg, Prokofiev: Violin Sonatas; Fauré: Fantaisie Op 79, arranged for Saxophone
Duo Laterza – Bandiera: Giuseppe Laterza, saxophone; Francesca Bandieri, piano
Brilliant Classics 97262
Release: 1 July 2024

Mozart: Lodron Night Music, Divertimenti K 247 & K 287
Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice / Vahan Mardirossian
Brilliant Classics 97307
Release: 1 July 2024

Scintilla - Early Italian String Quartets
Butter Quartet: Anna Jane Lester, violin; Chloe Prendergast, violin; Isabel Franenberg, viola; Evan Buttar, cello
Brilliant Classics (Deluxe Edition) 97407
Release: 1 July 2024

 

28 JUNE 2024

From Al-Andalus to the Americas: An Odyssey of Spanish Song
Christine Moore Vassallo, soprano; Jorge Robaina Pons, piano; Pablo Giménez Hecht, guitar; Anthony Robb, flute; Rachel Beckles Willson, oud; Philip Arditti, darbuka
Meridian Records  CDE 84647
Release Date:  28 June 2024
American soprano Christine Moore Vassallo was inspired to make this album by her interest in the connection of Arabic, Middle Eastern and North African music regions to Spanish music as well as her own Middle Eastern Arabic background. It's an intoxicating journey starting from the earliest beginnings of Spanish classical music crafted during Andalusia's artistic golden age of the 'Moorish' period and includes the original voice and piano setting of Antón García Abril's rarely performed 'Canciones del Jardin Secreto', on which Christine was coached by the composer himself. Joining her on the album are Spaniards Jorge Robaina Pons on piano and Pablo Giménez Hecht on guitar, as well as Britons Anthony Robb, Rachel Beckles Willson and Philip Arditti on flute, oud, and darbuka, respectively, bringing a range of colour to the songs. The album opens with the beautiful 'Lamma bada yatathanna' - a poem (mouwashshah) from the Andalus period set to music most likely during the Ottoman era, followed by 'Paseábase el rey moro' - a 16th century elegaic song which foretells the end of Moorish rule in Spain.  A set of popular Sephardic songs, 'Canciones Sefarditas' by Manuel Valls, lead on to 'Canciones Españoles Antiguas' - Andalusian folk songs by the great poet, artist and composer, Federico Garcia Lorca, who viewed Arab-Andalusian culture as central to his identity. Graciana Tarragó arranged many Spanish folk songs, including a large number for the eminent soprano Victoria de los Angeles and this one, 'Jaeneras que yo canto', utilises a classical guitar and vocal arrangement to depict flamenco style and flair.  Enrique Granados is considered one of Spain's greatest composers and his beautiful and stirring mini song cycle 'La maja dolorosa' is one of his finest works. Antón García Abril's tender 'Canciones del Jardin Secreto' are set to Arabic-language texts (including one by a celebrated female poet), all but one translated into Spanish, written during the 800-year Al Andalus period, as well as during what is considered the 'Golden Age of Islam', centered in Baghdad, of the 9th and 10th centuries. Then follows the lyrical and romantic 'Poema en forma de canciones' by Joaquín Turina, and the album ends in Latin America with 'Cinco Canciones Populares Argentinas', five folk songs by Alberto Ginastera. Born in Sacramento, California, Christine is a versatile soprano. Her international career includes opera performances and concerts throughout the US and Europe. Her Middle Eastern background involves a rich history of ancestors on her mother's side in Egypt and Lebanon, and she has performed on several occasions with artists from Egypt, Syria and other countries in the region.

Vaughan Williams: Hugh the Drover - A Centenary Celebration
Albion Records ALBCD060    
Release Date:  28 June 2024
Hugh the Drover, Vaughan Williams's first full-length opera, was completed before the First World War, but not performed until 1924.  A premiere at the Royal College of Music on 4 July 1924 was followed on 14 July by the first professional production at His Majesty's Theatre in London.  This was the beginning of the first of several nationwide tours by the British National Opera Company (BNOC), and the opera quickly became popular. The conductor for BNOC was Malcolm Sargent, then only 29 years old, and this was his first opera. The lead singers, Tudor Davies and Mary Lewis, played Hugh and Mary, while the supporting cast included Constance Willis, Frederick Collier and Peter Dawson. In September and October 1924, Sargent and the BNOC cast and orchestra found themselves in the recording studio, setting down roughly half the opera on ten 78 rpm sides, running to forty-three and a half minutes altogether.  This remained the only recording of the work until more complete recordings appeared in 1978 and 1994.  Despite the limitations of the acoustic recording process, it is arguable that these early recordings have more than stood the test of time.  The passion captured in 1924 has never been bettered. Of course a recording of this importance has been remastered before – just once, by Pearl, in 1975, when it was just over half a century old. Techniques have developed since then, and Pete Reynolds has made a fresh master for Albion Records, direct from 78 rpm discs, resulting in a cleaner sound. Stephen Connock assembled the album, but recreating the libretto become a collaborative effort, since it was difficult to pin every word down following revisions in 1933 and 1956. It was at a late stage – just a few weeks ago – that the British Library, which has made a partial recovery from last year's cyber-attack, was able to retrieve early manuscripts and scores to enable us to clear the final question marks. Remastered recordings of seven songs and folk songs, largely arranged or written by Vaughan Williams and Cecil Sharp, complete the album. Two of these feature John Coates and Maggie Teyte, who Vaughan Williams had considered for the lead parts in Hugh the Drover in 1911, but it was not then to be.  Clive Carey, Marie Howes (singing with her brother Frank Howes) and Harry Plunket Greene were all associated with Vaughan Williams in different ways, while James Johnston took the leading part of Hugh the Drover in a popular revival in 1950.
                        

 

21 JUNE 2024

Franz Schubert: Divertissement à la Hongroise, Fantaisie in F Minor - Desyatnikov: Trompe-l'œil
Pavel Kolesnikov, Samson Tsoy
Harmonia Mundi HMM902716
Release: 21 June 2024
Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy have been living and working together ever since their early student days. For their very first disc with harmonia mundi, Pavel and Samson offer us three closely related works: Schubert's celebrated Fantasy, his Divertissement à la hongroise - full of contrasts between bursts of energy and enigmatic mists - and the world premiere recording of Leonid Desyatnikov's Trompe-l'œil, written specifically 'to echo' the Fantasy.

Go, Lovely Rose: Songs of Roger Quilter
James Gilchrist, tenor; Anna Tilbrook, piano
Chandos Records CHAN20322
Release: 21 June 2024
Roger Quilter is best known for his contribution to English art song, having composed around 150 songs, many of which remain regular recital favourites. On this album, the tenor James Gilchrist and pianist Anna Tilbrook explore his output from early works such as 'Now sleeps the crimson petal' through to late examples such as 'The Ash Grove'.

Johann Sebastian Bach: Jauchzet & Lobet
Ensemble BachWerkVokal, Gordon Safari
MDG Scene MDG 923 2315-6 (SACD)
Release: 21 June 2024

Scott Wollschleger: Between Breath
New Focus Recordings
Release: 21 June 2024
Scott Wollschleger will release his fourth portrait album, Between Breath. Radiating both inventive playfulness and intense emotion, the album features four works commissioned from Wollschleger by four separate artists or duos, each of whom performs their own commissioned work on the recording. Artists featured on the album include violinist Miranda Cuckson; the duo andPlay, comprising violinist Maya Bennardo and violist Hannah Levinson; pianist Anne Rainwater with trombonist William Lang; and mezzo-soprano Lucy Dhegrae with pianist Nathaniel LaNasa. The new album is Wollschleger's first new release since his 2021 album Dark Days with pianist Karl Larson.

Verdi: Inno delle nazioni; Quattro Pezzi Sacri
Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano / Riccardo Chailly, Freddie De Tommaso
Decca Classics
Release: 21 June 2024
Chailly and La Scala maintain the gold standard for Verdi in this new release coupling two great but rarely recorded choral works. The Hymn of the Nations (Inno delle nazioni) features Decca's star tenor Freddie De Tommaso, the first tenor to record this work for Decca since Pavarotti. First performed in London in 1862 the Hymn incorporates God Save the Queen, La Marseillaise and 'l Canto degli Italiani: the national anthems of Great Britain, France and Italy. The Four Scared Pieces were published as a set in 1898, shortly before Verdi died. It portrays themes promising peace and the hope of paradise. This album follows the success of Verdi Choruses.

 

14 JUNE 2024

Urlicht: Songs of Death and Resurrection
Samuel Hasselhorn, Poznań Philharmonic, Łukasz Borowicz
Harmonia Mundi HMM902384
Release: 14 June 2024
At the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the lied increasingly took on orchestral garb. The boundary with opera became almost impalpable. That is what Samuel Hasselhorn and Łukasz Borowicz demonstrate here, in a splendid programme mingling smiles and disillusionment, where some of the most characteristic orchestral lieder and operatic arias of this Austro-German 'fin de siècle' era blend perfectly together.

Kenneth Fuchs: Orchestral Works, Vol 2
James Buckle; Timothy McAllister; Sinfonia of London / John Wilson
Chandos Records CHSA5326 (SACD)
Release: 14 June 2024
The second album of works by Grammy-Award-winning composer Kenneth Fuchs with Sinfonia of London and John Wilson features first recordings of his Bass-Trombone Concerto, Eventide (for alto saxophone and orchestra), Point of Tranquility, and Light Year - an orchestral suite composed especially for Sinfonia of London.

Songs for Peter Pears
Robin Tritschler, Philip Higham, Malcolm Martineau, Sean Shibe
Signum Classics SIGCD774
Release: 14 June 2024
This album celebrates one of the foremost twentieth century tenors, Peter Pears, in recordings of music written for him by the leading composers of the day. It is also a collaboration featuring some of today's leading musicians: tenor Robin Tritschler, cellist Philip Higham, pianist Malcolm Martineau and guitarist Sean Shibe.

 

7 JUNE 2024

George Lloyd: The Piano Concertos
Martin Roscoe, Kathryn Stott, BBC Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra / George Lloyd
Lyrita SRCD.2421
Release: 7 June 2024
Lloyd's four piano concertos come from his time as a small holder at Ryewater in Dorset during the 1960s and 70s. 'Lloyd was already thinking of writing a piano concerto when he heard the playing of John Ogdon, at that time one of Britain's most promising and interesting younger pianists. Lloyd kept Ogdon's playing in mind as he wrote his single movement Piano Concerto No 1 'Scapegoat' in 1962/63 ... it has an improvisatory feel and ... jazz variations ... There are so many colours and shadings in the orchestral part that make it as important as the piano part. Lloyd intended to write a three-movement work, but the initial material worked itself into a single movement concerto. This remarkable work was first performed in October 1964 by John Ogdon with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Charles Groves. This led to a friendship with Ogdon, with Lloyd helping the pianist with the orchestration of some of his own compositions.' © Bruce Reader, The Music of George Lloyd

Steve Elcock: Symphony No 8; Violin concerto
Zoe Beyers, violin; English Symphony Orchestra / Kenneth Woods
Nimbus NI 6446
Release: 7 June 2024
The 21st Century Symphony Project is an English Symphony Orchestra initiative conceived by Kenneth Woods. The initial goal was to commission, premiere and record nine new symphonies by nine different composers. Alongside Steve Elcock's Symphony No 8, other pieces that are part of the 21st Century Symphony Project include; David Matthews' Symphony No 9 (NI 6382), Philip Sawyers' Symphony No 3 (NI 6353), and Adrian Williams Symphony No 1 (NI 6432).

Brahms, Ligeti, Mozart, Schumann: Horn Trios
Martin Owen, horn; Francesca Dego, violin; Alessandro Taverna, piano
Chandos CHAN20280
Release: 7 June 2024
Renowned horn virtuoso Martin Owen is joined by violinist Francesca Dego and pianist Alessandro Taverna in this varied and compelling programme of Horn Trios, featuring works spanning three centuries and chamber-music making of the highest order.

Liszt
Emmanuel Despax, piano
Signum Classics SIGCD798
Release: 7 June 2024
For his eighth album on Signum, French pianist Emmanuel Despax explores some of Liszt's greatest works including his Sonata in B minor. Despax's musical upbringing was part of a lineage of mentors that stretches back to Liszt himself, imbuing the artist's interpretation of this music with deep meaning. Emmanuel Despax is one of the most celebrated pianists today, with an extensive performing calendar and recording catalogue covering the breadth of the piano repertoire.

Gustav Mahler: Lieder aus 'Des Knaben Wunderhorn'
Katharina Kammerloher, mezzo-soprano; Arttu Kataja, baritone; Eric Schneider, piano
MDG Scene MDG 908 2322-6 (SACD)
Release: 7 June 2024

Johann Nepomuk Hummel: Complete Piano Trios
Trio Parnassus
MDG Preziosa MDG 102 2327-2 (2 CDs)
Release: 7 June 2024

Sibelius: Violin Concerto; Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No 1
Janine Jansen, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra / Klaus Mäkelä
Decca Classics
Release: 7 June 2024
Janine Jansen releases her first concerto album in nine years, pairing the iconic Sibelius with Prokofiev's 1st. The absolute dream team of Janine with Klaus Mäkelä and the Oslo Philharmonic. The digital album includes Sibelius' earliest written work Water Droplets for violin and cello, performed by Janine and Klaus (as cellist).

Natalie Tenenbaum: Standard Repertoire, Vol 1
Natalie Tenenbaum, piano; D Smoke, vocals; SUUVI, cello; Bryan Carter, percussion
Platoon PLAT23370
Release: 7 June 2024
A reimagining of standard classical piano repertoire by composers Bach, Stravinsky, Liszt, Piazzolla, Chopin, Rimsky-Korsokov, and Tchaikovksy interlaced with Tenenbaum's own original compositions and joined on select tracks by her collaborators. A post-classical portrait album celebrating the overlap of traditional classical repertoire, electronic sound design and original composition, Standard Repertoire, Vol 1 is inspired by Tenenbaum's work alongside David Byrne on his Broadway show American Utopia in 2022. A frequent collaborator with artists ranging from Lang Lang to Pentatonix, Lea Michele, and Tori Kelly, as well as on Broadway, she co-produced the album alongside Abe Nouri, with whom she worked on American Utopia. Tenenbaum shares, 'My initial idea was to take some of the repertoire I had been regularly performing since my days as a classical piano performance graduate of Juilliard and to infuse it with original composition, sound design and production. Once I sketched out Bach's Chromatic Fantasy in D minor, BWV 903; Liszt's La campanella; and the second movement of Stravinsky's Petrouchka, I started realizing the full structure of the album, which would contain additional standard repertoire (hence the title) linked together with original 'Interludes' and 'Postludes' as connective tissue. This project is very personal as it brings together classical works that are a part of my music DNA alongside electronic sound design, which has been integral to my composition and artistic process in the last few years. Inspired by so many great artists, I seek to continue to liberate ourselves from genre and break the barriers that marginalize who we are and the art we create.'

Peter Seabourne: My Song in October (Steps piano series, volume 8)
Karen Radcliffe, soprano; Michael Bell, piano
Sheva Contemporary SH326
Release: 7 June 2024
A powerful and wide-ranging disc pairing two autumnal works by British composer Peter Seabourne. The composer's widely praised 'Steps' piano cycle series now runs to ten volumes, almost two hundred pieces – surely one of the most significant piano works of our time. Volume 8: 'My Song in October' is described as 'nineteen album leaves caught by the wind', each piece inspired in various ways by poems on autumnal leaves. Written following the death of his wife, the artist Marcelle Seabourne in 2020, the emotional diversity is (perhaps surprisingly) wide. The earlier song cycle, 'September, Just Septembers – 9 settings of Emily Dickinson', is a perfect pairing, following a path from summer to winter. Pianist Michael Bell gives an extraordinarily intense and virtuosic account, joined by his late wife, the soprano Karen Radcliffe, in the songs. The disc acts as an 'in memoriam' for two gifted women, both tragically 'blown away' too young.

Gabriela Ortiz: Revolución diamantina
Maria Dueñas, violin; Los Angeles Master Chorale; Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra / Gustavo Dudamel
Platoon LAPHIL02
Release: 7 June 2024
The first full album of orchestral works by Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz, performed by the LA Phil and Music and Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel. Revolución diamantina is the second release in the collaboration between Platoon and Dudamel with the LA Phil, documenting part of the orchestra's Pan-American Music Initiative, a multi-year project exploring more than thirty new commissions and numerous creative partnerships to emphasise the importance of Latin American heritage. Following last year's album Fandango, Revolución diamantina includes Ortiz's new violin concerto, Altar de cuerda, performed by María Dueñas. The violin concerto was released on all streaming platforms on 10 May to coincide with the LA Phil's European tour, which features Maria Dueñas performing the work in Barcelona, Paris and London. Gabriela Ortiz writes some of the most intense and arresting music of our time. Her music unites disparate worlds and lives by a compelling rhythmic drive, a street-born authenticity and a vivid sense of colour. In this new album, the LA Phil and Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel present three works by Ortiz, all commissioned by the orchestra. In her violin concerto saluting Mayan civilization, Ortiz blends tradition and the modern world in an imaginary architecture of Mayan civilization and art deco. Revolución diamantina is a powerful new ballet score, inspired by Mexico's 2019 'Glitter Revolution', the feminist uprising around the country's epidemic of violence against women. The increase in femicide was a catalyst for this mobilisation, and the name stems from an event during which protesters threw pink glitter at the chief of police, denouncing the lack of response following the rape of a woman by local officers. The work, in its concert version, was first performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel on 16 November 2023. Ortiz's violin concerto Altar de cuerda is part of the composer's Altars series, and was written for Andalusian violinist María Dueñas, a frequent collaborator with the LA Phil, who gave the first performance with Dudamel and the orchestra on 14 May 2022. Also included on the album is Ortiz's Kauyumari:  a celebration of new beginnings, commissioned to reflect the return to the stage following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Telemann: Harmonischer Gottes-Dienst, Volume 8
Marianne Beate Kielland, Bergen Barokk
Toccata Classics TOCC 0266
Release: 7 June 2024
The Baroque German is none other than Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767), in the form of the eighth album in the first complete recording of the 72 cantatas in his collection Harmonischer Gottes-Dienst, published in Hamburg in 1726 – the first complete set of cantatas for the liturgical year to appear in print. Given that the astonishingly prolific Telemann wrote at least 1,700 cantatas, of which some 1,400 survive, it's not surprising that no one has got round to tackling the complete Harmonischer Gottes-Dienst before. These cantatas are designated for voice, an obbligato instrument (recorder, transverse flute, oboe or violin) and basso continuo, and generally take the form of two da capo arias with an intervening recitative. And although intended for worship, both public and private, Telemann's cantatas are a masterly blend of tunefulness with skilled counterpoint and vocal and instrumental virtuosity. This time the core musicians of Bergen Barokk are joined by the glorious voice of Marianne Beate Kielland; you can hear it in joyful pomp in the last track of the first cantata of the album, where Telemann's text quite literally requires the music to have a good laugh! The 36-page booklet of course gives the texts and translations, but it also contains no fewer three essays: on the Harmonischer Gottes-Dienst itself, on Erdmann Neumeister and the new Lutheran church cantata and on the relationship between the cantatas and their scriptural sources.

Carl Gottlieb Reissiger: Complete Piano Trios, Volume One
Trio Anima Mundi
Toccata Classics TOCC 0267
Release: 7 June 2024
In his day the now-forgotten Carl Gottlieb Reissiger (1798–1859) was highly esteemed, both as conductor and composer; indeed, his presence in Dresden from 1826 made it one of the main operatic centres in Germany. He wrote nine operas himself, as well as a huge quantity of vocal music (including at least twelve Masses), and his large output of chamber music boasts no fewer than twenty-seven piano trios. These two early exemplars in this first-ever complete recorded cycle of those trios have a Mendelssohnian elegance and clarity, deepened here and there by a touch of Beethovenian pathos. Schumann was an enthusiast: 'When I think of Reissiger's trios, the words lovely and jewel-like come to mind. These choice and lovely works remind one of a chain of flowers. [...] His music never fatigues the ear, but holds our attention to the very end.'

Matthew Taylor: Orchestral Music, Volume Two
BBC National Orchestra of Wales / Matthew Taylor
Toccata Classics TOCC 0708
Release: 7 June 2024
The music of the English composer Matthew Taylor (born 1964) manages both to honour tradition and pull out some surprises. Clearly in the tradition that leads from Carl Nielsen through Robert Simpson, the works observe Nielsen's fondness for dignity of expression, the occasional hint of power tempered by an almost Mendelssohnian lightness of touch – and, here and there, a note of levity: the Sixth Symphony, after all, is dedicated to the memory of Malcolm Arnold. The three concertante works are performed here by musicians whose playing Taylor particularly admires. The composer himself conducts the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and also contributes the booklet essay.

Gerald Hendrie: Complete Organ Music, Volume Two
Tom Winpenny, organ of St Albans Cathedral Abbey
Toccata Classics TOCC 0731
Release: 7 June 2024
The organ music of Gerald Hendrie – born in England in 1935 but resident in France since 1996 – encompasses a huge range of influences, among them the organist-composers who went before him - not least Franck, Dupré and Messiaen - as well as dodecaphony, mediaeval plainchant, modality and jazz. The resulting works are as varied as the styles that fed into them, from gentle to grandiose, severe to whimsical, lyrical to lively. The mighty, twenty-five-minute Sonata: In Praise of Reconciliation uses musical references to two cities bombed in the Second World War – the 'Coventry Carol' and the 'Dresden Amen' – to make a monumental plea for peace. Tom Winpenny presented Volume One of this survey, and returns to complete it on Volume Two. As before, the composer and the performer contribute the booklet texts, and the organ of that of St Albans Cathedral Abbey.

Music For Violin & Piano - 20th Century and Forward
Bruno Monteiro, vioilin; Joao Paulo Santos, piano
Etcetera Records  KTC1822
Release: 7 June 2024
Contains world premiere recordings of works by Luiz Barbosa and Ivan Moody, alongside works for violin and piano by Ravel, Elgar and Debussy. 'The pianist Joao Paulo Santos and I have given concert performances of the five works which make up this CD numerous times. Four of these works (the Sonatas by Elgar and Debussy, Luiz Barbosa's Romance and Ravel's Tzigane) were written during the first twenty five years of the twentieth century; Ivan Moody's Ascent was composed in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic. All are masterpieces of the literature for these two instruments, and for this reason we have chosen to create an album that would bring them together, creating a bridge from the last century to the current one.' - Bruno Monteiro. One of Portugal's leading classical musicians, Bruno Monteiro is internationally recognized as a 'top violinist' (Opus Klassiek) as well as an 'admirable artist' (Musical Opinion). For more than twenty-five years he has been leading an intense concertizing career as recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician. Joao Paulo Santos is a graduate of the Lisbon National Conservatory. For the past four decades, he has been associated with Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos (the Lisbon Opera House), first as Principal Chorus Conductor, and currently as Director of Musical and Stage Studies.

 

1 JUNE 2024

Louis Glass Piano Works Vol. 2
Jakob Alsgaard Bahr, piano
Danacord Records DACOCD 981
Release: 1 June 2024
Louis Glass was born in 1864. His childhood home was full of music. His father, Christian Henrik Glass, was a prominent and highly recognised music educator whose primary instrument was the piano, though he was also an organist. In 1877, he founded his own music conservatory, which focused on piano playing and soon gained a good reputation. The piano works of Louis Glass make up a significant part of his collected works. Aside from arrangements of orchestral works in different piano editions, the many two-handed piano pieces appear as either single movements or as part of collections. The collections of piano works include no fewer than twelve opus numbers with a total of seventy-five movements from Glass' entire output. This is the second volume in the complete series played by the young Danish pianist Jakob Alsgaard Bahr.

 

31 MAY 2024

Antonio Pappano – The Complete Symphonic, Concertante and Sacred Music Recordings
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia / Antonio Pappano
Warner Classics (27 CDs)
Release: 31 May 2024
Antonio Pappano is one of today's most sought-after conductors, acclaimed for his charismatic leadership and inspirational performances in both symphonic and operatic repertoire. He celebrates his 65th birthday in December this year. To mark the occasion, Warner Classics, with whom Pappano has been an exclusive recording artist since 1995, will release the entirety of his symphonic, concertante and sacred music recordings with the Orchestra e Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, documenting his 18-year tenure as Music Director from 2005-2023. Comprising 27 CDs, highlights of the collection include Pappano's landmark recordings of Rossini's Stabat Mater, Verdi's Requiem, Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony & Carnival of the Animals, Britten's War Requiem and more, featuring world-renowned soloists such as Martha Argerich, Joyce DiDonato, Ian Bostridge, Beatrice Rana, Anna Netrebko, Michael Spyres and Bertrand Chamayou. The collection includes the first release of a new recording of Bruckner's 8th Symphony, available exclusively as part of this collection. The remaining albums will be made available digitally by the end of this year. Pappano said of the collection: 'Santa Cecilia was my first music directorship of a symphony orchestra. I was very excited about the appointment because I felt that I had to take this step to grow and continue my education as a musician [...] I think it's only through a long collaboration that you can make something meaningful – and so through these recordings we have a mirror in which we can look and gauge our progress.' Warner Classics' monumental collection comes as Pappano releases his memoir, My Life in Music, published by Faber and Faber on 6 June. It also coincides with the end of Pappano's 22-year tenure as Music Director of The Royal Opera, with his final production, Giordano's Andrea Chénier, running from 30 May to 11 June. In September 2024, he becomes Chief Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.

Karim Said - Beethoven, Mozart, Schoenberg, Webern
Rubicon RCD1123
Release: 31 May 2024
Pianist Karim Said's next offering on the Rubicon label focuses on the First and Second Viennese Schools with the music on this album spanning over a century, from Mozart & Beethoven to Schoenberg and Webern. An award-winning pianist, conductor, and composer, Karim Said is known for his deeply informed and creative programming. Karim has performed on some of the world's most renowned stages, captivating audiences both as a solo pianist and chamber musician. This was made possible largely through his association with Daniel Barenboim, who first heard Karim perform at the age of ten, saying: 'what you cannot learn, he already knows.' Most recently, he co-founded the Amman Chamber Orchestra and Amman Institute of Performing Arts in Jordan, aiming to create a vibrant hub for musical education and performances in the Middle East. His dedication to music and his native community has earned him international recognition. Karim Said is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.

Laura van der Heijden - Bridge; Frances-Hoad; Walton
Laura van der Heijden; BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Ryan Wigglesworth
Earth, Sea, Air: British Music for Cello and Orchestra
Chandos Records CHSA5341 (SACD)
Release: 31 May 2024
Laura van der Heijden's début concerto recording features Walton's Cello Concerto, the piece with which she won the BBC Young Musician competition in 2012. This is coupled with Frank Bridge's Oration and a captivating new concerto by Cheryl Frances-Hoad: Earth, Sea, Air, written for Laura.

Tarmo Peltokoski - Mozart Symphonies
Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen / Tarmo Peltokoski
Deutsche Grammophon
Release: 31 May 2024
Conducting three Mozart masterpieces, the rapturously acclaimed young Finnish phenomenon Tarmo Peltokoski makes his debut as an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist, about which he says: 'It's a luxury to perform Mozart with The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and to put these three symphonies on record is a dream come true'.

An die Musik
Torleif Thedéen, cello; Marianna Shirinyan, piano
LAWO Classics LWC1334
Release: 31 May 2024
Three large-scale works from the romantic era for cello and piano are interwoven with several smaller works on this new album from cellist Torleif Thedéen and pianist Marianna Shirinyan, many in original transcriptions by Torleif. These works are especially cherished by Torleif and Marianna with Schubert's 'An die Musik' being the inspiration behind this album, in their own words they explain: 'We were truly captivated by this piece, which holds a special place in our hearts. It unexpectedly shaped the album's theme around love – a deep, pure emotion. We focused on the love shared between Robert & Clara, and Clara & Johannes'.

 

24 MAY 2024

Beethoven: Violin Sonatas Nos 1, 5, 6 & 10
Antje Weithaas, Denes Varjon
Antje Weithaas completes her survey of Beethoven's Violin Sonatas
C-AVI AVI8553508
Release: 24 May 2024
Within a very short time of about ten years Beethoven's technique of composing developed rapidly. The artists of this recording wanted to show the comparison between earlier and later pieces.

Mercure d'Orleans - Danses de la Renaissance
Pascal Bournet, guitar
Autre Distribution CX768
Release: 24 May 2024
'In 1977 the French Lutenist Corpus compiled the works of Mercure d'Orleans in a tablature for the CNRS publishing house. It was on the basis of this work that I produced the transpositions and adaptations for the modern guitar that Van de Velde and Oz Productions (Canada) published in their respective catalogues. This is the first recording of these works.' Pascal Bournet. Mercure d'Orleans (1590-1619): Historically, there is no precise information about the composer, so research for this project was based on a study of his works. Two hypotheses seem possible. The first is seen in Mercure d 'Orleans the person of Philippe-Emmanuel de Lorraine, Duke of Mercoeur (1558/1602), also known as Mercure, a loyal servant of the Valois. Highly educated, the Duke was a patron of the arts and a close friend of scholars and artists. The second hypothesis is that the compositions signed Mercure d'Orleans are the work of a young lutenist who was part of the Duke of Mercoeur's entourage and who, according to the practice of the time, adopted the name of his patron.

The Lost Generation: Apostel, Kauder, Busch
The Orchestra Now / Leon Botstein
Avie AV2684
Release: 24 May 2024
If you've seen the Leonard Bernstein biopic 'Maestro', you've seen and heard The Orchestra Now, the exceptional ensemble that appears in the movie's Tanglewood Music Festival scene
The Orchestra Now (TON), a New York-based graduate-level training orchestra comprised of the most vibrant young musicians from around the globe, was founded by conductor, educator and music historian Leon Botstein, whose insatiable curiosity has resulted in rescuing countless musical works from oblivion. Their first recording for AVIE, 'The Lost Generation', brings together three German- speaking composers who were contemporaries of Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg, but whose music became supressed by historical events of the twentieth century. In November 2022, Botstein and TON gave the US premiere of Hugo Kauder's Symphony No 1, a 'splendid' work that 'made a splash' (New York Classical Review). The largely self-taught Moravian-born composer had a distinguished career in Vienna until he was forced to flee the Nazis and arrived in New York in 1938. The first of Kauder's five symphonies was dedicated to Alma Mahler. Whilst his musical language is rooted in the tradition of Johannes Brahms and Gustav Mahler, he forged an individual voice with his ease and flexibility of harmonic and metrical shifts. German-born, Austrian composer Hans Erich Apostel studied with Schoenberg and Berg. His works incorporated his mentors' expressionism and twelve-tone methods in equal measure. The Nazis deemed Apostel's music 'degenerate', but he lived out his life in Vienna until his death in 1972. His Variations on a theme by Haydn, performed frequently in the mid-twentieth century, is an homage to the second movement of Haydn's Symphony No 103, the 'Drum Roll, which itself comprises variations on a theme. Adolf Busch, one of the most celebrated violinists and chamber musicians of the 20th century, was also a prolific composer. A staunch opponent of Nazism, he left his native Germany, arriving first in Switzerland and eventually the United States in 1939. A late Romantic compositional style imbues his Variations on an Original Theme, originally for piano four hands and presented to his wife as a Christmas present in 1944. Busch's longtime chamber music partner and son-in-law, the pianist Rudolf Serkin, frequently performed the work with his son Peter, who made this orchestration of his grandfather's composition, in a familial labor of love.

Ernest Berk: Diversed Tapes
Huddersfield Contemporary Records HCR34
Release: 24 May 2024
Ernest Berk was one of the earliest and most prolific composers of electronic music in England and yet his work is almost completely unknown to the wider public With only a few pieces ever made commercially available in limited circulation, much of his output has since languished in obscurity until now. Huddersfield Contemporary Records is pleased to release this newly restored and remastered 2CD collection of the work of Ernest Berk. Berk was a true polymath, working throughout his life as a composer, percussionist, dancer, choreographer, teacher, actor, and mime artist, often assuming many of these roles in the same project. He composed over 228 works of electronic music between 1957 and 1984, many of considerable length and often used to accompany his own expressionist contemporary dance productions. Diversed Tapes is a compelling overview of Berk's revolutionary catalogue. The collection includes End of the World (1957), his first work for magnetic tape, and one of the first electronic works composed in England, and Diversed Mind (1967), his work for one of the first public concerts of electronic music in England at Queen Elizabeth Hall and performed alongside music by Daphne Oram, Tristram Carey, and Delia Derbyshire. Berk's music is at once radical and yet still accessible, rooted in a deep appreciation for melody and rhythm. Listening to this collection in a contemporary context, one cannot help but be struck by how much his music prefigures more current musical trends. Tracks such as Wings Over the Valley of Death (1961) and Kali Yuga (1962) utilise the sorts of dark ambient droning soundscapes that are ubiquitous in electronic music today. Vibram (1973) is a long form electronic improvisation evocative of contemporary modular synthesis performances. Against 7/4 (1967) and Janet Calls it Blue Ribbon (1972) contain the kinds of sophisticated electronic music gestures that evokes connections to later works of acousmatic music by figures such as Bernard Parmegiani. This is more than just a document of the past - rather, there is much to be enjoyed here by contemporary ears with contemporary musical perspectives. This compilation is still just a small selection of the music Berk wrote during his lifetime, but it is an attempt to illustrate the diversity of his catalogue. Richard Scott and Jos Smolders have worked tirelessly to restore and remaster these, until now, lost recordings to bring out their greatest possible shine, and to allow us to finally throw a light on this important body of work.

Abendrot
Jiska Lambrecht, violin; Marco Sanna, piano
Etcetera KTC1814
Release: 24 May 2024
This programme explores the chamber works of contemporaries, and friends, Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms and Lodewijk Mortelmans and their musical lives in 1850s Dusseldorf.

Francesco Zappa: Six Symphonies
Atalanta Fugiens Orchestra / Vanni Moretto
Urania Records LDV14114
Release: 24 May 2024
In 1984 Frank Zappa released an album titled Francesco Zappa, unknowingly becoming the first contemporary interpreter of the work of this unknown Milanese author, and effectively marking the beginning of his rediscovery. It was an incredible fate that of Francesco Zappa who, after a long life of success and honors in the Dutch and German courts, died in poverty and even experienced a kind of 'damnatio memoriae' due to the contempt shown to him by Leopold Mozart.

Cello Viruosi in France 1730-1790 - Sonatas and Duos for Two Cellos
Claudio Ronco; Emanuela Vozza
Urania Records LDV14115
Release: 24 May 2024
The twelfth title in Urania's series entirely dedicated to the solo cello in the Eighteenth century, combined with the precedents of the sonatas by Lanzetti, Janson, Duport and Spourni. This collection investigates the fascinating path of the Neapolitan cello school in France and, in parallel, the developments of the musical styles towards the birth of new European music in Classicism. From the bewitching, hypnotic atmospheres of the French Arias to the lively theatricality of the Italian musical imagination, throughout the sixty years preceding the Revolution the cello was certainly one of the most authentic protagonists.

Gavin Bryars: The Leeds Bells
GB Records BCGBCD32
Release: 24 May 2024
This album consists of seven original pieces composed for the bells of Leeds Minster and recorded from the live performance as part of Leeds Fuse in April 2009. 'Like many people in England, I grew up with the sound of church bells, whether on Sundays or on practice days. The village where I now live has an active bell- ringing team, though at 8 bells they are fewer in number and smaller in scale than those at Leeds Minster (13 bells). I was aware that if I were to compose new pieces within the tradition of complex mathematical sets, they would be indistinguishable from existing ones, except to specialists. The various systems of change ringing were attractive to several experimental musicians in the early 1970s providing, as they do, a pre- existing source of systemic change and repetition, one of the ingredients of music of that time. But here I used techniques that change ringing seeks to avoid such as sounding more than one bell at once; using clusters including all the bells at once; writing harmonically, or with melodies and accompaniment.' - Gavin Bryars

Borkowski: Complete Works for Solo Piano
Marek Szlezer, piano
Dux Recording Producers DUX2000
Release: 24 May 2024
This album presents recordings of the complete works for solo piano by the composer, pianist and musicologist Marian Borkowski. These works were composed between 1955-1977 and belong to the early period of Borkowski's work. Their chronological arrangement on this album allows us to trace the evolution of the creator's style. From simple miniatures created before starting studies in composition, through Preludes in the spirit of Rachmaninoff's work, arch-Polish Mazurkas, romantic Variations, to avant-garde motor and percussion fragments and an unexpected return to neo-Romanticism in stylized interludes of improvised origin. In a brilliant performance by Marek Szlezer, known for many excellent interpretations of contemporary and romantic music, the complete collection of Borkowski's piano works confirms the composer's original contribution to the pianistic art of the twentieth century.

Penderecki: Concertos Vol 10
Maciej Tworek; Jerzy Semkow; Polish Sinfonia; luventus Orchestra
Dux Recording Producers DUX2026
Release: 24 May 2024
This album presents the final instalment of the series of projects with Krzysztof Penderecki's concerts, recorded with the Sinfonia luventus orchestra under the composer's artistic direction on the DUX label. Penderecki's work is characterized by exceptional susceptibility to transcription and arrangement for other instruments - this is facilitated by both the clarity of texture and universal motifs appearing in many of his compositions. Often, changing the instrument changes the mood of the piece and reveals other qualities of the work to the listener. It is no different in the case of the transcriptions included in this album. What makes it unique is not only the completion of an extensive publishing project, but also the participation of outstanding soloists, including Michael Lethiec, who received the prestigious ICMA award in 2016 for recording a clarinet concerto with Sinfonia Iuventus for the DUX label. Fans of Penderecki's works will certainly find on this album many familiar motifs and harmonies, gentle consonant sounds and a whiff of romanticism so characteristic of the last period of the composer's work.

Jean-Luc Herve: Germination
L'Itineraire, Leo Margue
Kairos Records KAI0022009
Release: 24 May 2024
Inspired by the serene aesthetics of Japanese gardens and the avant-garde sounds of Edgard Varese, Herve's work embodies a profound engagement with the environment, both natural and constructed. Featuring the compositions Germination, an ensemble piece with electronics that transcends traditional performance spaces, and Topos, an immersive soundscape blending music with the sounds of an imagined natural environment. The album concludes with Au Dehors, a composition that evolves like nature itself. This album invites listeners to a unique auditory experience where music and environment intertwine seamlessly.

Toshio Hosokawa: Works for Saxophone
Ilse Eerens, Tomoko Kasai, Mayumi Miyata, Masanori Oishi, Saori Oya, Naoko Yoshino
Kairos Records KAI0022040
Release: 24 May 2024
'The music of Toshio Hosokawa invites us on a poetic journey of knowledge he has made throughout his life by bringing the cultures of East and West into dialogue' - Paco Yanez. From his fascination with the dynamic soundscapes of European orchestras to his immersion in the serene and intricate tapestries of traditional Japanese music, this album reflects Hosokawa's very unique music. Marked by its lyrical beauty and reverence for nature, he transforms the saxophone into a voice that transcends geographical and temporal boundaries, creating a dialogue between light and darkness, silence and sound.

Arne: Organ Concertos
Andrzej Szadejko, Goldberg Baroque Ensemble
MDG MDG90223176 (SACD)
Release: 24 May 2024
Thomas Arne, prolific creator of operas, oratorios, concertos, sinfonias and sonatas unjustly overshadowed by the works of Georg Friedrich Handel, is most famous for 'Rule, Britannia!' outside his native England today. This recording of his virtuosic organ concertos (which surpass Handel's organ concertos in their artistry), will rectify that. Andrzej Szadejko, accompanied by the Goldberg Baroque Ensemble, delivers a brilliant performance on the authentic Rohde organ from 1761 - the first recording since its reconstruction in 2020. The Johann Friedrich Rohde organ in St John's Church in Gdansk is ideal for the wonderful elegance and lightness of the music from the second half of the eighteenth century. The instrument, extensively documented as one of the most modern at the time of its construction, became amodel for many others in Europe. The Second World War saw the Rhode organ's complete destruction save its facade and so it lay silent for seventy-seven years. Using historical examples and traditional craftsmanship, Guido Schumacher (Eupen, Belgium) and Szymon Januszkiewicz (Pruszcz Gdanski, Poland) in close cooperation with Andrzej Szadejko brought this magnificent instrument back to life. The organ's thirty stops offer an incredibly colourful tonal palette, perfect for the differentiated shaping of the middle dynamic range that is so characteristic of the galant style. The minuets especially showcase the elegance and light- heartedness of classical court dance. The festive Baroque pomp of the majestic organo pleno combined with the rich orchestral sound radiate a vibrant energy throughout the Gothic cathedral, captured in MDG's original three dimensional 2+2+2 recording technique.

Fantasies for Bassoon Solo - Bach, C P E Bach, Kuhlau
Celeste-Marie Roy, bassoon
MDG MDG90323236 (SACD)
Release: 24 May 2024
The Swiss-Franco-American virtuoso Celeste-Marie Roy elevates the sonorous splendour of the bassoon to vibrant new heights, dispelling many a preconception about her instrument. Roy's flexible tone, technical finesse and striking interpretation ensure this solo programme in high-resolution 3D reproduction is a dynamic listening experience! The works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Friedrich Kuhlau are ideally suited for the bassoon by their range and style though originally composed for the flute. Roy draws on her experience as an expert baroque bassoonist so that these works resonate sonorously on the modern instrument with a deliciously light playing style. Bach's Partita was rediscovered on the back of another manuscript two hundred years after it was written. It was composed during his creative Cothen years where he had an ensemble of virtuoso musicians at his disposal whose sole task was to perform for the prince's pleasure. The rapid figures and melodic richness call for such astonishing dexterity and breath control that musicologists have speculated the work had originally been composed for a string or keyboard instrument. Roy's great virtuosity surpasses all technical demands. Friedrich Kuhlau was a prolific composer with a legacy of over two hundred works despite all his unpublished manuscripts being destroyed in a house fire. Beethoven, whom he met at a party in Vienna in 1825, held him in high esteem and even composed a jocular canon in his honour, 'Kuhl, nicht lau', WoO 91. Variations on operatic themes were highly prized at the time and popular at Hausmusik concerts. Kuhlau's Fantasies begin with variations on two arias from Mozart's Don Giovanni and conclude with a canzonetta by Francesco Bianchi.

J S Bach: Goldberg Variations
Sarah MacDonald, piano
Regent Records REGCD568
Release: 24 May 2024
Bach's Goldberg Variations are regarded as one of the pinnacles of the solo keyboard repertoire. This first solo piano recording by distinguished choral director, composer, pianist. and organist, Sarah MacDonald is the product of the COVID pandemic motivating her to learn, perform and record this major work. It is accompanied by her written notes on each variation in the form of diarised entries, following her personal journey through the musical, medical, professional, and social challenges that occurred over time, as the lives of us all adapted in response to COVID 19. The entries are personal, self-effacing, and include a healthy dose of humour, illustrated with examples of her talent as a keen amateur photographer. Sarah MacDonald – recording in Ely Cathedral on the Cathedral's own fine recent Steinway – explores the unique character of each variation, showcasing their musical depth, melodic beauty, harmonic originality, and contrapuntal ingenuity. The Cathedral's luminous and radiant acoustic adds another dimension not usually found in recordings on the piano. Sarah MacDonald is a Canadian-born conductor, organist, pianist, and composer, living in the UK, and holds the positions of Fellow and Director of Music at Selwyn College, Cambridge, and Director of Ely Cathedral's Girl Choristers. MacDonald came to the UK from Canada in 1992 as Organ Scholar of Robinson College, Cambridge after studying piano, organ, and conducting at The Royal Conservatory of Music's Glenn Gould School in Toronto with Leon Fleisher, Marek Jablonski, and John Tuttle. At Cambridge she read for a degree in Music, and studied the organ with David Sanger. Sarah has played numerous recitals and conducted choirs throughout the UK, North America, the Middle East, New Zealand, and much of mainland Europe. She has made over thirty-five recordings, variously in the guises of pianist, organist, conductor and producer. She was recently appointed University Organist at Cambridge, and is the first woman to hold that prestigious ceremonial role, which dates back to 1670. She took up the role of President of the Royal College of Organists in 2024.

Clear Voices in the Dark
Skylark Vocal Ensemble
Sono Luminus DSL92278
Release: 24 May 2024
Clear Voices in the Dark [Sono Luminus (DSL92278)], a new recording by the Skylark Vocal Ensemble under the direction of Artistic Director/Conductor Matthew Guard features Figure Humaine, Francis Poulenc's hymn to LIBERTÉ  intriguingly interspersed with songs of the American Civil War. The album will be available May 24 to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora, Deezer, and other leading streaming services and retail outlets. Poulenc's Figure Humaine is considered one of the greatest works ever composed for an unaccompanied choir. Poulenc wrote the cantata in 1943 during the Nazi occupation of France, based on resistance-inspired poems by Paul Éluard including LIBERTÉ. The cantata is a stunning 8-movement exploration of the grim realities of war, culminating in an optimistic and embattled cry for liberty in the face of oppression. Asked why Skylark decided to record Clear Voices in the Dark now, Guard says 'I think art borne out of a time of societal turmoil can be particularly profound; As we live once again in a time of unspeakable horrors in Ukraine, Russia, Israel and Gaza, we believe the music on this album can shed light on nightmares of the past through the art that emerged from them, and most importantly, affirm the incredible power of the human spirit to endure in times of tragedy. Rarely performed or recorded due to its difficulty, this is the first US recording of Figure Humaine.

 

17 MAY 2024

Philip Hammond: Tales of the Glens
Anthony Capparelli, piano; storytelling by Liz Weir and Colin Urwin
Divine Art DDX 21125
Release: 17 May 2024
'Tales of the Glens' is a journey through Ireland's Glens of Antrim, as depicted in Anthony Capparelli's piano album of compositions by Philip Hammond. Inspired by years of immersing himself in Celtic and Scandinavian traditions, Capparelli's collection beautifully captures the essence of this picturesque region. Capparelli aimed to create an album that not only honours the spirit of the Glens but also transcends musical genres. The centrepiece of the album is an innovative multi-movement work for pianist and storyteller titled 'Tales from the Sea of Moyle' - collaboration between Anthony Capparelli, Philip Hammond, and two of Ireland's most renowned bearers of the storytelling tradition, Liz Weir and Colin Urwin.

Greg Caffrey: Environments
Daniel Browell, piano; Craig Ogden, guitar; Ulster Orchestra / Sinead Hayes
Divine Art DDX 21131
Release: 17 May 2024
Greg Caffrey's orchestral portrait album 'Environments' is a poignant journey through landscapes both physical and emotional, featuring four of his orchestral works: Aingeal II, Environments II, A Terrible Beauty and Environments I.  A Terrible Beauty, the centrepiece of the album, unfolds over three movements inspired by the poetry of WB Yeats. The album was recorded in the heart of Belfast at the historic Townsend Street Church, this album captures the essence of a city marked by its tumultuous history and resilient spirit. Caffrey's compositions, brought to life by the renowned Ulster Orchestra, reflect his own personal journey from the streets of West Belfast to international acclaim.

Gods, Ghosts and Monsters
Conceptus; Scott Robert Shaw, tenor
Divine Art DDX 21133
Release: 17 May 2024
This debut album, from Germany based ensemble Conceptus, features music for tenor and ensemble by Butterworth, Warlock, Holst and Bridge, in addition to Timothy Collins' Sea Song. Collins has composed and arranged extensively for the ensemble. Conceptus is an international, multi-faceted and multi-disciplinary ensemble with membership drawn from Germany, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Poland and Australia. Formed in 2021, the ensemble is dedicated to bringing new life to great works of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and beyond, with a particular emphasis on Late Romantic British vocal music and song cycles.

Highways and Byways - Rarities for Recorder
John Turner, recorder; Laura Robinson, recorder; Stephen Bettaney, piano; Catherine Yates, viola; Alex Mitchell, viola
Divine Art DDX 21245
Release: 17 May 2024
This double album of recorder rarities is a valuable resource for connoisseurs of recorder music and an inviting introduction for novices. Highways and Byways features a diverse array of compositions, commemorating the recorder's storied legacy but also fostering an appreciation for its enduring elegance and adaptability. John Turner, one of today's leading recorder players, presents recorder pieces by renowned composers such as Lennox Berkeley, John McCabe and Thomas Pitfield. There are also rare gems by Igor Stravinsky and Alexander Gretchaninov, alongside a remarkable composition for recorder and two violas by the distinguished American composer William Bergsma.

Visions and Journeys
BBC Symphony Orchestra / Martyn Brabbins, Andrew Davis
NMC Recordings NMCD281
Release: 17 May 2024
Days before his sudden death in 2021, composer Anthony Payne spoke with NMC's Founder and Executive Producer Colin Matthews about plans for a future album of his unreleased orchestral works. Thanks to the generous support of individuals including many of Payne's friends and colleagues, NMC is pleased to be able to pay tribute to Payne and his close relationship with the BBC Symphony Orchestra through the release of this new album, Visions and Journeys. Among the remarkable generation of British composers born in the 1930s, Payne is probably best known for his masterful realistion of the sketches Edward Elgar left behind for an unfinished Third Symphony. Recorded by the BBC Symphony Orchestra for release by NMC in 1998, and described by The Times as 'a landmark in the history of British music,' this work quickly became NMC's best-selling album of all time - a title it holds to this day. 'For a time its huge success dominated his life, and he found it unexpectedly difficult to return to his own music,' recalls Colin Matthews. ' Visions and Journeys, completed in 2002, marked his return to large-scale composition'. Here, a BBC Proms recording of the album's title work, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andrew Davis, is paired with exceptional studio recordings of two other works, again played by the BBCSO, this time conducted by Martyn Brabbins. In the programme note for The Seeds Long Hidden (1992-94), Payne details the transcendental feeling he experienced when hearing Brahms' First Symphony for the first time as a child. In this set of Orchestral Variations, he charts this important moment in his musical life, as well as several 'other formative encounters with composers who have helped to shape my view of things.' Payne describes Half-Heard in the Stillness (1987) as a tone poem, which 'somehow draws together the sonorous 'objets trouves' which float into the mind during intense contemplation of a still landscape'. A vital part of NMC's work is to provide a platform for works of the giants of the twentieth century which have not yet been released. We are pleased to be releasing this album during our 35th Anniversary year, and are grateful to all who have made this important project possible.

Orazio Vecchi: Le Veglie Di Siena (Venice, 1604)
La Compagnia del Madrigale
Glossa GCD922812 (2 CDs)
Release: 17 May 2024
La Compagnia del Madrigale releases another imaginative album on Glossa, turning to a late composition by Orazio Vecchi, Le veglie di Siena from 1604. This entertainment comes in two parts: the first embracing pleasant mimicry of the manners of speaking of Italians and foreigners and a high-spirited madrigal group, La caccia d'Amore. Part two is more serious in tone, but with a kaleidoscope of musical styles and emotional expressions representing 'umori' or moods. A vivid sense of theatricality from the vocal sextet is complemented by a modern master of the commedia dell arte, the actor and director Antonio Fava. Nuances, attention to words, compelling humour and ribaldry were all revelled in by Italian patrician society of the time and Vecchi was held in high esteem, including by contemporary composers, achieving a fame which was cut short by his death at fifty-four. 'Le veglie di Siena' is generally regarded as Vecchi's spiritual testament. Marco Bizzarini's compelling essay places this madrigal comedy in the contexts both of its time and of recent scholarship, whilst making plain the rumbustious fun there is to be had in the company of madrigalists as fine as can be heard on this new double-disc set.

Polifemo: Arias by Handel, Bononcini, Alberti
Luigi De Donato; Collegium 1704; Vaclav Luks
Accent ACC24392
Release: 17 May 2024
Polyphemus, a cyclops of ancient Greek legend with one eye and three fingers on each hand, became a central figure in many myths and in their musical settings by Baroque composers. This son of Poseidon, a giant of insurmountable strength, appears in many fables, the best known of which are his encounters with Odysseus during the hero's homeward journey and with Theseus, who kills Polyphemus. The Italian bass Luigi De Donato has the right voice and temperament to represent the ideal embodiment of Polyphemus, and together with Collegium 1704 under the baton of Vaclav Luks he breathes life into ancient Greek legends. This new recording features arias from Handel, Porpora, Alberti and Bononcini. He is a multitalented musician and singer and has distinguished himself as one of the foremost interpreters of the repertoire of the seventeenth and eighteenth century working with leading conductors and Baroque ensembles.

Josef Krips Edition - Volume 1: 1947-1955
Australian Eloquence ELQ4844780 (22 CDs)
Release: 17 May 2024
The apotheosis of Viennese style: Mozart, Strauss and more under the baton of Josef Krips. An Original Covers collection of classic Decca albums recorded between 1947 and 1955, including several recordings new to CD in this new limited edition 22 CD box set. Born and raised in Vienna, Josef Krips trained as a choirboy and studied with Felix Weingartner, who then hired him as a repetiteur at the Volksoper. He made his debut there in 1921, before graduating to the Vienna State Opera in 1933. In the aftermath of the Second World War, it was Krips above all who reformed and re-trained the State Opera as a world-class ensemble, and in the most difficult conditions. His pragmatism and understated authority made him a model recording conductor, and Decca hired him to work with orchestras in several of their centres of activity. Compiled here for the first time, as one of a two-volume Krips edition, are the conductor's complete mono recordings for Decca beginning with Kingsway Hall sessions in October 1947. Mozart symphonies, concertos, overtures and arias appeared on 78s - newly transferred for this set by Andrew Hallifax. Combined with Decca's famous 'ffrr' sound, these Mozartian qualities also illuminate Krips's mono recordings of symphonies by Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms and Schubert, concertos by Schumann and Dvorak, Johann Strauss waltzes and a version of Mendelssohn's Elijah which combines the best of the British oratorio tradition with an operatic momentum and a gently glowing orchestral palette. Distinguished soloists on these recordings include Clifford Curzon and Mischa Elman in Mozart; Zara Nelsova in Dvorak's Cello Concerto; and Hilde Gueden, Maria Reining, Anton Dermota and Richard Lewis singing opera arias (recorded on 78, several receiving their first CD transfer in this box). A companion volume from Eloquence is dedicated to Krips's Decca and Philips recordings from the stereo era (1955-72) and will be released next month. The booklet for each set contains session photos and an essay on Krips's life and legacy by Niek Nelissen.

Sibelius 2 & 5
Yannick Nezet-Seguin; Orchestre Metropolitain de Montreal
ATMA Classique ACD22453
Release: 17 May 2024
ATMA Classique proudly presents Jean Sibelius' Symphonies Nos 2 & 5 with Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducting the Orchestre Metropolitain de Montreal. Recorded at Maison symphonique de Montreal, this new release is part of our complete cycle of Sibelius symphonies launched in 2019 with Symphony No 1. The two symphonies on this recording are among the best-loved works of Jean Sibelius. Symphony No. 2 marks the conclusion of his first stylistic phase. Like many other Finnish patriotic artists around the turn of the century, Sibelius identified as a national Romantic. Symphony No. 5, on the other hand, established the foundations of what would become Sibelius' mature style, in which he pushed concentration and austerity to extreme limits. The popularity of these two works has never faltered since they were premiered in Helsinki more than a century ago. Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Metropolitain since 2000, Yannick Nezet-Seguin signed a 'lifelong' commitment with the Orchestre in September 2019.

Ravel: Violin Sonata No 2 in G; Sonata for Violin and Cello in A minor; Piano Trio in A minor
Klara Flieder, Christophe Pantillon and Massimo Giuseppe Bianchi
First Hand Records FHR158
Release: 17 May 2024
Ravel was very happy with his second Violin Sonata, written between 1923 and 1927, whose second movement adopts the Afro-American blues. This wonderful sonata is characterised throughout by the contrast between the consistently fairly dry piano part and the smooth, melodic violin. The Sonata for Violin and Cello, written between 1920 and 1922, is dedicated to Debussy, who had died in 1918, and the work could be thought of as an elegy for the composer. There are references to Debussy's final chamber works. A complex and emotional work, the magnificent Piano Trio of 1914 contains four movements all full of exoticism and colour.

Flemish Polyphony in Central Europe - Tourot, Isaac & Weerbeke
Cappella Mariana / Vojtech Semerad
Passacaille PAS1133
Release: 17 May 2024
With this recording, Vojtech Semerad and the vocal ensemble Cappella Mariana continue their exploration of the Central European musical culture of the 15th and early 16th centuries. While the first recording (PAS1124) focused exclusively on the previously unknown Flemish composer Johannes Tourout (circa 1430-?), this recording also features works by his contemporaries Gaspar van Weerbeke (circa 1452-post 1517) and Heinrich Isaac (circa 1450-1517). Once again, exciting musical discoveries of Franco-Flemish polyphony are presented.

Berlin Harpsichord Concertos - Michelann, Graun, Schaffrath, Wolf
Phillipe Grisvard, Ensemble Diderot, Johannes Pramsohler
Audax ADX11211
Release: 17 May 2024
Philippe Grisvard has chosen the repertoire of composers from the court of Frederick II, thus continuing Ensemble Diderot's comprehensive exploration of the style of the Berlin School. After early French violin concertos with Johannes Pramsohler and North German cello concertos with Gulrim Choi, it is now the turn of Ensemble Diderot's harpsichordist to distinguish himself in this genre with these world premiere recordings. The decision not to include Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach in this program facilitates the rehabilitation and rediscovery of composers whose contribution to the concerto genre is no less important. The result is a completely new program of virtuoso works in which the spirit of Bach father and son shines through time and again.

Mascitti: Sonate a Tre, Opera Prima
Matteo Cicchitti, Musica Elegentia
Challenge Classics CC72979
Release: 17 May 2024
This new recording by Matteo Cicchitti and his ensemble Musica Elegentia is devoted to Michele Mascitti, a Baroque composer who, already in his time, was particularly esteemed and rightly considered a major testimonial of Italian instrumental music in France in the eighteenth century. In particular, this first recording of his Trio sonatas Op 1, published in Paris in 1704, spotlights the composer's attempt to recall the tradition of the Corellian sonata, while complying with the French 'gout' of the dedicatee, the Duke d'Orleans.

Rossini: L'Italiana in Algeri
Soloists; Eroica Berlin / Jakob Lehmann
Pan Classics PC10455
Release: 17 May 2024
Gioachino Rossini's opera L'Italiana in Algeri is one of the composer's best-known operas and has lost none of its rousing freshness and energy since its premiere in 1813. At the end of 2022, the young conductor Jakob Lehmann and his Eroica Berlin orchestra presented at the Delphi Theatre (Berlin) Rossini's music according to the latest knowledge of historical performance practice.

Clarinet Quintets by Wajnberg, Tansman & Przybylski
Piotr Lato, clarinet; Messages Quartet
DUX Recording Producers DUX2061
Release: 17 May 2024
This new release contains three compositions for clarinet and string quartet written by Polish composers Tansman, Weinberg and Pzybylski. The unique combination of the clarinet's timbre and the sound of string instruments has inspired composers since the classical era. The album features much later works byTansman and Weinberg, which belong to their last opuses, as well as an early composition by Przybylski, who is still considered one of the young generation of artists. Each composition is distinguished by its individual colour and recognizable style - neoclassical simplicity, motor expression and inspirations with motifs from Jewish music. What they have in common is the richness of colours and emotional depth. With this album, Piotr Lato confirms his virtuoso predispositions and musical sensitivity, and the Messages Quartet is his worthy partner, perfectly managing the balance of dynamics and tension levels in the parts of individual instruments.

Ich sehe still voruberziehen - Songs by Strauss, Boulanger, Smyth & Lang
Yvonne Prentki, Benedikt ter Braak
Ars Produktion ARS38656
Release: 17 May 2024
With this recording, the duo Yvonne Prentki and Benedikt ter Braak want to show that the composers Josephine Lang and Ethel Smyth can not only hold their own effortlessly alongside an established and frequently performed song cycle by Richard Strauss, but can also be classified in the great canon of song literature in terms of emotionality, quality and compositional accuracy.

Trockne Blumen - Withered Flowers - Works for Pan Flute & Piano
Hanspeter Oggier; Marina Vasilyeva
Prospero Classical PROSP0089
Release: 17 May 2024
The Variations on 'Trockne Blumen' from the song cycle Die schone Mullerin are the central work on the album. Schubert on the pan flute; is that possible; is it even allowed? Once you have heard the new album by panpipe player Hanspeter Oggier, the answer will be 'Yes!'. In addition to this demanding variation work, the recording also includes other pieces by composers as diverse as Brahms, Debussy and Gluck, and - another highlight - a Romanian Suite, interpreted by Oggier and Marina Vasilyeva on the piano in a rousing performance.

Sergey Tanin: Schumann
Prospero Classical PROSP0092
Release: 17 May 2024
The young Siberian pianist Sergey Tanin is already one of the most promising pianists of his generation. He gained his first international recognition at the Concours Geza Anda in Zurich, and in October 2020 he won first prize at the renowned Kissinger KlavierOlymp. He is now presenting his second album on Prospero Classical, which is dedicated entirely to Schumann's piano works.

Sophia Jani: Six Pieces For Solo Violin
Teresa Allgaier, violin
Squama Records
Release: 17 May 2024
Composer Sophia Jani is based in Munich, but from 2023-2025 is composer-in-residence with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Her music has recently been performed across the U.S. by the New Jersey Symphony, Bang on a Can, pianist Eunbi Kim, and the Goldmund Quartet, among others, at venues including Lincoln Center, Baryshnikov Arts Center, MASS MoCa, and New York Public Radio's The Greene Space. Jani composed Six Pieces for Solo Violin between 2020 and 2023, and through its music, challenges the notion of simplicity as a parameter, weaving a tapestry of gentle consonance that invites contemplation and honors the violin as an instrument. The music was recorded by violinist Teresa Allgaier, who embodies the restrained virtuosity essential to bring this subtle music to life. Allgaier's confident and elegant performance adds an extra layer of sophistication, complementing Jani's vision. Jani and Allgaier are longtime collaborators. Together they are co-founders and artistic directors of Feet Become Ears, a platform that commissions, presents, and celebrates contemporary chamber music.

Manuscripts Don't Burn
Inna Faliks, piano
Sono Luminus DSL-92275
Release: 17 May 2024
While war continues to rage on in Ukraine, the Odesa-born pianist Inna Faliks has chosen her homeland and a seminal novel of art censorship and dictatorship as themes bringing together the eleven works (five of which were written for her) on her forthcoming album. The title Manuscripts Don't Burn is an important line from the classic Russian satire, The Master and Margarita by Mikhal Bulgakov (1967). 'It is my most personal album yet', says Faliks. 'This collection of music speaks to my love of dialogue between music and words. The connections between text and sound here are not just literal but emotional, based on memory, intuition, dreams and hopes.' Ukrainian-born American pianist Inna Faliks has made a name for herself through her commanding performances of standard piano repertoire, as well genre-bending interdisciplinary projects, and inquisitive work with contemporary composers. After her acclaimed teenage debuts at the Gilmore Festival and with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, she has performed on many of the world's great stages in recital and with many major orchestras, performing with conductors Leonard Slatkin, Keith Lockhart and many others.

Sonatas & Myths
Elizabeth Chang, violin; Steven Beck, piano
Bridge Records BRIDGE 9590
Release: 17 May 2024
Sonatas & Myths conveys a blend of technical prowess, historical appreciation, imagination, and unique insights that together create a journey propelled by personal resonance and tangible bonds between past and present –– particularly the profound teacher/student relationships from Elizabeth Chang's artistic heritage and the deep cross-generational connections between these composers. 'I trace my connection to these composers through Carl Flesch, the great violin pedagogue who taught two of my teachers (Max Rostal and Roman Totenberg) and who was saved from deportation to a concentration camp by Dohnányi.' says Chang. Chang says of the music's historical significance, as well as her personal interest in these works: 'I have always had an artistic affinity for the musical language of the early twentieth century and for the composers who were negotiating the end of the Romantic period while seeking to integrate their highly evolved, Germanic-based schooling with the influence of newly uncovered 'local' influences and idioms. The Central European composers of the three works in this album persuasively presented new compositional voices by means of writing that was highly charged emotionally and that, in this regard, provided continuity with the aesthetic expressive preoccupations of their recent past.' Sonatas & Myths includes: Mythes: Trois Poèmes, Op 30 (1915) by Karol Szymanowski; Violin Sonata in C sharp minor, Op 21 (1912) by Ernst von Dohnányi; and Sonata No 1 for Violin and Piano (1921) by Béla Bartók.

Juan J G Escudero: Ice Door
Neuma Records Neuma 201
Release: 17 May 2024
Spanish composer and mathematician Juan J G Escudero writes: 'The works on this album employ raw materials obtained from the musical applications of some mathematical techniques found through my parallel research work in geometry, astronomy and – in the case of some of the acousmatic works – improvisation.' Hinting at the impetus for some of the compositions, he adds: 'For the purpose of modelling the behaviour of the light curve of certain multi-periodic variable stars, word sequences belonging to a formal language, where the letters represent sinusoidal fragments, were proposed ... Harmonic fields related to the stellar behaviour with multiple periods are then obtained from the Fourier analysis of the function formed by concatenation of the sinusoidal fragments according to the sequences of letters appearing in the words.' Hear it for yourself. Perhaps while staring at Escudero's richly-organic visual imagery produced by analogous means. Calculators not required.

The Air-Conditioned Nightmare
Denman Maroney Quintet
Neuma Records Neuma 204
Release: 17 May 2024
After over five decades of making music at, in, and around the piano, Denman Maroney may have left New York for the more rustic climes of a quaint French town, but he has not abandoned his musical ambitions. Choosing March 2020 to travel, and kept in place by the pandemic shutdown, Maroney put down roots that are now flourishing in this double album with fresh local conspirators.

Rick Baitz: River of January
Neuma Records Neuma 194
Release: 17 May 2024
The journey of River of January began in early 1969, when as a freshly arrived fourteen-year-old from Los Angeles, standing by the ocean in Rio de Janeiro (which translates as River of January), Rick Baitz heard a crescendo of rhythmic chanting, followed by a parade of women sashaying down the sidewalk, joyfully singing and swaying to the beat of their own samba. He didn't know at the time that one day he would write a piece honoring the name of that city, but in 1991 he was commissioned by The Juilliard School in association with Lincoln Center Institute (LCI), to compose a work for young audiences. Each of its three movements would be reflective of Rick's formative years in Los Angeles, South Africa and Brazil. The piece would also feature electronic sounds in constant, real-time transformation with moments of polytonality, polyrhythm and polymeter.

Christopher Cerrone: Beaufort Scales
Lorelei Ensemble
Cold Blue Music CB0068
Release: 17 May 2024
Lorelei Ensemble releases the world premiere recording of Christopher Cerrone's Beaufort Scales. This album presents Cerrone's lush, alluring music for treble voices and electronics, a piece that carries with it a cautionary tale for our era of accelerating climate change. The primary text for this album is drawn from the Beaufort Wind Force Scale (a measure of wind speed, originally as it related to observed sea conditions) created by Francis Beaufort in 1805. Interspersed among the 13 sung movements are narrated interludes featuring four texts taken from the writings of Herman Melville, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Anne Carson, and the King James Bible. Each of these comments on the state of weather at a particular point in time, serving as a pause and a moment to reflect upon the surrounding movements.  Featuring evocative descriptions such as 'Calm / smoke rises vertically' and 'The air is filled with foam and spray,' Beaufort Scales traces a trajectory from placidity to calamity. Cerrone treats Beaufort's original text as a canvas to create a kaleidoscopic view of weather, all headed toward an inexorable climax. Cerrone recalls: 'In the summer of 2018, I was composer-in-residence at a festival in southern Oregon. Days before I arrived, terrible wildfires broke out, its smoke blocking out the sun during the day and rendering the air unbreathable without a mask. These conditions lasted for weeks, and forced the festival, which is normally held outdoors, to move into a high school auditorium. Although wildfires are a natural occurrence, they have unfortunately become a frequent, annual occurrence in that area because of climate change. I knew after that experience that I had to find a way to artistically document this experience. Beaufort Scales became that vehicle. I wanted to do what art does best: document the precognitive feeling of something so strange and eerie and new, for which language does not exist yet.' Cerrone cites Scott Huler's book Defining the Wind: The Beaufort Scale, and How a 19th Century Admiral Turned Science into Poetry as inspiration. He says, 'I came to share Scott's obsession and began composing a work for eight female voices and electronics, transforming the steps of the scale into 13 corresponding movements of escalating musical intensity. As the work proceeds and the weather becomes more chaotic, each of the voices is increasingly distorted. This mirrors our technology-saturated world, one in which uncanny and tumultuous weather has a growing presence.'

John Luther Adams: Waves and Particles
Jack Quartet
Cold Blue Music CB0068
Release: 17 May 2024
Adams writes: 'Waves and Particles was inspired by quantum physics, fractal geometry, and noise—which function as elemental metaphors in my music. Quantum physics tells us that the universe is more like music than matter. And the musical material of this piece traverses a continuum from silence articulated by points of sound to rolling waves of pitch, timbre, intensity, and velocity. A simple fractal form shapes each of the six movements, which I hope imparts a quality less like personal
expression than like inevitable force. The noise I had in mind was as an acoustician might define it: complex aperiodic sound.' John Luther Adams's music has been performed by such prominent ensembles as the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Seattle Symphony. Cold Blue has released eleven recordings of his work, most recently Darkness and Scattered Light.

 

10 MAY 2024

Nexus – Pieces for Trumpet & Piano / Clarinet & Piano - Martin Butler, Gary Carpenter, Ashley John Long, David Mitcham, Deborah Pritchard, David John Roche, Mark Anthony Turnage
Oscar Whight, trumpet; Zeynep Özsuca, piano; Michael Whight, clarinet; Martin Butler, piano
Willowhayne Records WHR093
Release: 10 May 2024
The concept of recording this CD was born during the uncertain times of the pandemic in 2020, when musicians were facing a great deal of instability, and personal connections became restricted. As live music came to a halt in the UK and Europe, trumpeter Oscar Whight found himself taking on the role of Principal Trumpet in the Cairo Symphony Orchestra for a period of ten months. This unexpected journey became the backdrop for the first piece commissioned for this recording, Winter Journeys by Martin Butler. On his return to the UK, Oscar collaborated with other renowned British composers and these exciting new works for trumpet and piano are now showcased in this album. This project provided a wonderful opportunity to bring together a diverse programme of fresh and exhilarating music which is uncompromising in its ambition yet can connect immediately with the listener. The programme encompasses a wide range of styles and techniques, highlighting the trumpet's versatility. From technically demanding passages that push the instrument to its limits, to simple melodies that highlight its inherent vocal qualities, each piece requires a unique approach. The title 'Nexus' not only symbolises the desire to present music that connects but is also representative of the various connections that brought this CD to fruition. Artistic working relationships create friendships and Oscar was fortunate to collaborate with the talented pianist Zeynep Özsuca for this recording, who also happens to be a neighbour. Two of the composers featured on this recording are contemporaries of Oscar's father Michael: Martin Butler was a member of the Hampshire County Youth Orchestra with him, and Mark Anthony Turnage studied at the Royal College of Music at the same time as Michael. The artwork for this disc, titled Pathways, was created by Stuart Hartley, a family friend whose work perfectly complements the theme of connections explored in this album.

Home
Miró Quartet
Pentatone
Release: 10 May 2024
Celebrating thirty years as an ensemble in 2025, the Texas-based quartet explores the many meanings of 'home' through works by four American composers, including two new commissions by Kevin Puts and Caroline Shaw paired with works by George Walker and Samuel Barber. Miró Quartet shares, 'This album is the culmination of a long and creative process of discovery, exploring our relationships with living composers as well as exploring and recording the existing core repertoire of American string quartet music. It has been an exciting musical journey that ultimately has brought us home as musicians in a new and special way. To us, Home represents stability and safety, yet human life is a journey of constant change, acquisition and loss. We travel away from our origins, and hopefully onwards towards our goals, our vision of true home. And as much as needing and having a home is a universal experience, leaving a home and starting life's journey out on one's own is also a pivotal moment of growth for every one of us. 'Kevin Puts and Caroline Shaw are friends whom we know well and are both valued parts of our personal and artistic lives, and the string quartets they wrote for us certainly feel like 'home' to us: their sound worlds are a familiar and beloved musical space that we feel comfortable inhabiting, a sonic structure that reflects the concerns and values that we four as people care and worry about, both as we make music together and as we go about our lives in this challenging home world that we all share.' The opening and title work Home (2019), the third work that Kevin Puts (born 1972) has written for Miró Quartet, was inspired by the plight of Syrian refugees fleeing to Europe. Puts uses the structural elements of the piece to depict this experience of displacement. The comfortable key of C major is used by the composer as a pleasant and idyllic representation of home – which is abandoned after the work's first several minutes in search of new and unfamiliar harmonic terrain.

Souvenirs
Carlos Manuel Vargas
Navona Records NV6615
Release: 10 May 2024
Pianist Carlos Vargas gives the public a rare glimpse into the depths of a musician's soul with his intimate new solo album Souvenirs. It is a truly eclectic selection of pianistic gems, expertly collected across several centuries and countries, yet interconnected by profound virtuosity and sweeping romanticism. Souvenirs travels to France, Russia, the United States, and (perhaps most importantly) Latin America; Poulenc makes an appearance, as do Scriabin, Gershwin, and Dominican composer Rafael Bullumba Landestoy, among others. Strikingly, Vargas rotates the kaleidoscope: his interpretation brings Latin flamboyance to Poulenc, Russian drama to Gershwin, and American spontaneity to Scriabin, to name but a few. All the pieces on Souvenirs are highly idiosyncratic; and yet, Vargas effortlessly unites them in their individual brilliance.

Splunge
North Sea String Quartet: George Dumitriu, violin, viola; Pablo Rodríguez, violin, Yanna Pelser, viola;
Thomas van Geelen, cello
7 Mountain Records 7MNTN-052
Release: 10 May 2024
Take a splunge! Dive into undiscovered waters, beneath an enticingly sparkling surface and into the unknown depths of music, where the genre of the string quartet is defined anew and with liberty. Splunge consists entirely of original compositions and freely improvised pieces. jazz/classical/experimental

Inês Vaz: Pétala
Inês Vaz, accordion; featuring Natália Luíza, Jacqueline Fernandez and José Rodrigues Cardoso
Self-released
Release: 10 May 2024
The poem 'Until it reaches me', by Maria Teresa Horta, convenes 'Pétala', the second album from the accordionist Inês Vaz. Inês Vaz, in her first álbum – 'Timeless Suite' – highlighted the accordion as a unique character in the interpretation of, among others, Bach, Scarlatti, Rossini, Beethoven. In this second álbum, Inês Vaz maintains the centrality of the accordion, but adds poetry and voice to it, thourgh the participation of the guests Jacqueline Fernandez, José Rodrigues Cardoso and Natália Luíza in a coating of poetic petals that dictate an organic narrative and adds color, definition and intensity to the narrative. Poems by Francisca Aguirre, José Rodrigues Cardoso and Maria Teresa Horta are interspersed in the instrumental paths of this 'Pétala' with pieces by Astor Piazzolla, Brad Mehldau, Inês Vaz, Maurice Ravel, Modest Mussorgsky, Vladislav Zolotaryov, and, weaving the common thread of a record that tells a story, note after note, word after word. A petal that exalts a cry for the world and the humanity, in times of a certain silence. That excavates the fragility of each layer and strengthens our inner world as an intimate layer of ourselves and this one as unique layer of the universe. A petal that can be a white page for the story each one wants to imagine. In this album, Inês Vaz suggests a narrative and reflective journey around the lightness, tenderness and metaphorical symbolism of a petal. - José Rodrigues Cardoso

Stephan Moccio: Legends, Myths and Lavender
Decca Records
Release: 10 May 2024
Taking solo piano into the cultural spotlight, Stephan Moccio presents his brand new album, Legends, Myths and Lavender. The album arrives following Stephan's recent time spent at Miraval Studios in the South of France, where he recorded the album in twenty-six days, far away from the hustle & bustle of metropolitan chaos. Such stark emotion honesty defines his solo artistry. It's why he has emerged as a global phenomenon with over half-a-billion streams and counting. It's why he's captivated audiences at hundreds of piano concerts across the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia in famed venues and alongside the likes of the Boston Pops and more.

Michele Marco Rossi: Canzoniere
Col Legno WWE 1CD 20462
Release: 10 May 2024
Songs express sensitivities. They tell us about love and pain, about ssuccess or failure, give expression to forms of protest, are folkloric or a pop-cultural phenomenon. In late medieval Italy, the so called 'Canzonieri' (song book) spread. They mostly contain sonnets, canzoni, or ballads and are accompanied by sheet music. Michele Marco Rossi makes use of this literary-musical genre and presents pieces by Georges Aperghis, Noriko Baba, Francesco Filidei, Bernhard Gander, Filippo Perocco and Enno Poppe in his 'Canzoniere' and all of them are approaches to the art form of the song. However, these are songs in which the focus lies not on vocals, but rather on the unique soundscape created by the violoncello and the interaction of the instrumentalist. Michele Marco Rossi is a well-established reference performer of contemporary music. He collaborates closely with many of today's composers, significantly expanding the cello repertoire, moving through the genres from instrumental music over avant-garde theatre to electronic music and digital art. He was the first performer of pieces composed by Fedele, Aperghis, Sciarrino, Gander, de Pablo, and many others. Rossi's main aim is to bring contemporary artistical ways of expressions to different audiences, playing in concert seasons, at experimental festivals or on the radio. In 2022, the Italian association of music critics (Associazione Nazionale dei Critici Musicali) awarded Michele Marco Rossi the Abbiati-Price (Premio Abbiati del Disco) for the recording of the complete cello works composed by Ivan Fedele (Works for Violoncello, Kairos, 2022).

 

9 MAY 2024

Sarah Masterton: Snapshots of Forgotten Adventures - Rediscovering the piano music of Philippa Schuyler
Tyger River Books 9798988188759 (book, 232 pages)
Release: 9 May 2024
 Child prodigy, composer, concert pianist, war correspondent, and humanitarian Philippa Schuyler (1931-1967) spent her brief life searching for identity and belonging through her now-forgotten compositions, written in the midst of world tours and war zones. Her musical inspirations included Haitian Vodou melodies, medieval French folk tunes, Ugandan hunting songs, and even an oratorio about Catholic martyrs in Africa. Combining these varied materials with tales from local history and her own systems of encryption, Schuyler created complex musical mosaics and miniatures - snapshots depicting a forgotten life of adventure. Based on years of research into Schuyler's unpublished manuscripts, sketches, letters, personal audio recordings, and other documents, Snapshots of Forgotten Adventures: Rediscovering the Piano Music of Philippa Schuyler introduces audiences to the music of this accomplished yet overlooked composer.

 

3 MAY 2024

A‎nnibale Padovano: Missa A la dolc' ombra & Missa Domine a lingua dolosa
Cinquecento
Hyperion Records CDA68407
Release: 3 May 2024
Cinquecento's exploration of the thriving musical courts of the sixteenth-century Habsburgs continues with the Missa A la dolc' ombra & Missa Domine a lingua dolosa by Annibale Padovano. This composer, whose productive (and peripatetic) creative life was chiefly divided between Venice and the court of Archduke Karl of Inner Austria in Graz, was widely admired by the luminaries of his time—a reputation which on the evidence of the two Masses recorded here was wholly justified. Praised by the music theorist Vincenzo Galilei—father of Galileo, no less—as one who 'really knew how to compose well', Annibale Padovano's name is likely to be unfamiliar today to all but the early music specialist. Cinquecento's flawless accounts of two of his Masses will do much for our appreciation of a neglected master.

Elgar: Symphony No 1 in A flat; Symphony No 2 in E flat
Hallé Orchestra / Mark Elder
Hallé CDHLD7564
Release: 3 May 2024
Over a century after it gave Elgar's Symphony No 1 its first ever performance, the Hallé Orchestra returns to this most favourite of works, the new recordings here presenting both symphonies plus a lush new orchestral arrangement by Colin Matthews of Elgar's partsong The Prince of Sleep.

Taneyev and Schumann: Piano Quintets
Peter Donohoe, piano; Sacconi Quartet
Signum SIGCD775
Release: 3 May 2024
The piano quintets by Taneyev and Schumann are among the finest ever to have been written and these thrusting performances by long-time collaborators Peter Donohoe and the Sacconi Quartet have been captured in sound every bit as vibrant.

Beethoven: Violin Sonatas Nos, 1, 6 & 8
Viktoria Mullova, violin; Alasdair Beatson, fortepiano
Signum SIGCD794
Release: 3 May 2024
Three of Beethoven's endlessly inventive violin sonatas - No 1, dedicated to Salieri, and Nos 6 and 8 from the Opus 30 set dedicated to Tsar Alexander I - in performances fully alive to every nuance.

Neapology
Genny Basso, piano
ARS Produktion ARS38661
Release: 3 May 2024
O sole mio, Chiove, Funiculi Funiculà – these classics are known to almost everyone. They all share a common origin in Naples. They stand for the pure Italian joie du vivre and for a lifestyle that can only emerge in the land of pizza, dolce vita, and amore. Naples-born pianist Genny Basso has devoted himself to this cultural heritage – in an authentically Italian manner, paired with the exploratory drive of a pianist.

Dinah Bianchi: First Impressions
Navona Records NV6622
Release: 3 May 2024
Award-winning Michigan composer Dinah Bianchi shares an impactful creative vision on her self-titled album, Dinah Bianchi: First Impressions. Performed by ten world-class musicians including members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Detroit Opera House, this collection embodies the composer's belief that music should be sublimely beautiful and communicative. Spanning chamber and larger symphonic works, this Navona Records release is a captivating array of compositions that illustrate the fusion of intricate melodic content with a progressive, harmonically-charged palette, delivering a refreshingly unique yet easily approachable encounter.

Mood Poems - Curt Cacioppo, Maurice Ravel, Jean Sibelius and Francis Poulenc
Bruce Leto Jr, piano
Navona Records NV6626
Release: 3 May 2024
The work of award-winning Italian-American pianist Bruce Leto has often been referred to as 'refined' and 'kaleidoscopic' by review outlets such as Fanfare, Artisan Music Reviews, and Take Effect Reviews. Few words could describe his new Parma release better: Mood Poems is a carefully-curated selection of solo piano works exploring the vivid, colorful spectrum of human emotion.
From mysterious and elusive moods (such as those in Apparition), to the blues (Drehleier), spiritual motifs (Old Swedes), emotional (Julian's Song), pensive (Prelude in A Minor & Consolatio), to waltzes (Valses Nobles et Sentimentales), Leto's latest release is meant to convey poetry; reminiscent of and inspired by his recent wedding, invigorating Costa Rican Honeymoon, and dedicated to the upcoming birth of his son in June 2024. He masterfully draws upon poetic elements throughout, using vivid imagery, deep emotion, and narrative flow to give listeners an introspective, meditative and poignant sonic experience.

Songs for a New Century - Judith Weir, Gabriela Lena Frank, Scott Wheeler, Felix Mendelssohn
Jonathan Miller, cello; Lucia Lin, violin; Randall Hodgkinson, piano; Marc Ryser, piano
Navona Records NV6623
Release: 3 May 2024
The singing quality of string instruments ties together SONGS FOR A NEW CENTURY, a program featuring both world premiere recordings of new music commissioned for the artists and world premiere recordings of masterpieces by Mendelssohn. The program opens with a set of Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words, beginning with the Opus 109 written by the composer for cello and piano. It continues with a set of arrangements for cello and piano, some recorded for the first time, by the nineteenth century cellist Alfredo Piatti, a personal friend of Mendelssohn's upon whose cello Jonathan Miller plays. Gabriela Lena Frank's Operetta for violin and cello, the composer writes, expands upon Mendelssohn's concept of the 'song without words', creating opera without words that evokes scenes and characters through singing music for the duo of violin (Lucia Lin) and cello. Scott Wheeler's second cello sonata, Songs Without Words, was inspired by Miller's singing cello tone. Finally, Judith Weir's Three Chorales for cello and piano meditate on religious poetry, departing from hymn texts - and in the third Chorale, a melody from Hildegard of Bingen - in a triptych that evokes the human condition.
Navona Records NV6623
Release: 3 May 2024

La Morte di Dussek - Philip Antony Corri, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ferdinand Ries
Frahm-Lewis Trio: Nathan Buckner, piano; Ting-Lan Chen, violin; Noah Turner Rogoff, cello
Navona Records NV6631
Release: 3 May 2024
The acclaimed Frahm-Lewis Trio entices with La Morte di Dussek. Contrasting the works of Mozart with the lesser-known Ferdinand Ries and Philip Antony Corri, it is a veritable declaration of love to the Classical era. One would be forgiven to think that the only star of this album would be Mozart, with his befittingly performed sonatas. Or perhaps its Beethoven's student, Ferdinand Ries? After all, he graces this collection with an imposing trio highly reminiscent of his teacher's early chamber works. A veritable trifecta is achieved with the addition of the album's title piece by Philip Antony Corri, whose legacy intertwines with his sister's marriage to the once famous composer Jan Ladislav Dussek. A historical oversight, for this premiere recording of his trio, translated as 'The Death of Dussek', is a clear focal point of this album — lyrical, beautiful, melodically elaborate, and harmonically innovative, almost as much as the works by the composer it commemorates.

Ballades & Other Musings - Frédéric Chopin, Claude Debussy, Sarah Kirkland Snider
Steven Masi, piano
Navona Records NV6619
Release: 3 May 2024
American concert pianist Steven Masi explores the depths of Romantic and Impressionist piano literature on Ballades & Other Musings. Emotive, evocative, and deeply stirring, Masi uncovers previously unheard nuances in both Chopin and Debussy, as well as in their contemporary colleague, Sarah Kirkland Snider, whose musical language seamlessly blends with that of her predecessors. The precision in Masi's performance is breathtaking. It lends an extraordinary clarity to works that are, by their inherent nature, wayward and exalted. Still, generous rubato and creativity in pedaling shine in this program, as does Masi's crystal-clear tone.

Beneath a Pale Moon
Block4 Recorder Quartet
TRPTK TTK0109 (SACD)
Release: 3 May 2024
The debut album of Block4 features a blend of 'old and new tales,' intertwining early music by Palestrina, Praetorius, Guerrero, and Merula with contemporary compositions by Matthew Olyver, Andrew Crossley, Wojtek Blecharz, and Michiel Mensingh. Additionally, the ensemble had the innovative idea of pairing music with a fresh story, which was specifically written for the album by Essa Flet, and is inspired by British folk tales. The Block4 Recorder Quartet is a multi-award-winning and internationally acclaimed ensemble that combines a dynamic approach to contemporary music with fascinating interpretations of medieval, renaissance, and baroque music. The ensemble was founded in the United Kingdom in 2012.

 

1 MAY 2024

Portraits of Cities
Teodor Doré and Ensemble
self-released / Bandcamp
Release: 1 May 2024
A captivating musical journey that transcends borders and celebrates the vibrant diversity of global cultures. With influences from traditional instruments, piano virtuosity and innovative electronic elements, Crimea-raised Teodor Doré's compositions offer a mesmerizing fusion of sounds, evoking the essence of each city with cinematic flair.

 

Posted 14 May 2024 by Keith Bramich

 

 << Home              More news >>

• Latest
  • Sponsored features
  • Book news and reviews
  • Live Performance Reviews
  • CD Reviews
  • Games and Puzzles
  • Classical Music News
  • Resounding Echoes
  • Interviews and Profiles
  • New Releases
  • Previews
  • Obituaries
  • Special series
• Topics
  • orchestral music
  • nineteenth century
  • twentieth century
  • piano music
  • vocal music
  • opera
  • chamber music
  • World War II
  • violin music
  • women composers
  • choral music
  • eighteenth century
• Places
  • Germany
  • Austria
  • United Kingdom
  • Hungary
  • Netherlands
  • Spain
  • Antigua
  • Italy
  • Sierra Leone
  • Poland
  • United States of America
  • France
• Writers
  • Mike Wheeler
  • Gerald Fenech
  • Robert McCarney
  • Jeffrey Neil
  • Allan Rae
  • Geoff Pearce
  • Keith Bramich
  • Roderic Dunnett
  • Amber Lin
  • Ron Bierman
  • John Dante Prevedini
  • All authors
• More
  • Comment
  • Get updates
  • Contact us
  • Sponsor
  • Donate
  • Send material
  • Write for us
  • In depth
  • Newsletters
  • About us
  • Your privacy
  • Home page