Reference Recordings proudly presents the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performing Manfred Honeck's masterly interpretation of Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 in E minor, (Op. 95) "From the New World." This album also features the first commercial release of Carlos Simon's "Four Black American Dances." The album was recorded live in February 2025 in beautiful and historic Heinz Hall, home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, in superb audiophile sound.

In 1927, at the time of the first Beethoven centenary, the celebrated French musicologist Saint-Foix drew attention to an anonymous manuscript collection of six quartets that once belonged to the publisher Domenico (III) Artaria and is today preserved at the Berlin State Library. He conjectured that these pieces could be the very first experiments of a young Beethoven, then still an adolescent, in a genre that he would properly inaugurate when he published his op. 18 set in his early thirties. On the strength of this theory, the collection was included in the Beethoven catalogue, though listed among the works of doubtful attribution, where it has remained awaiting further musicological research. With the world premiere recording of the Six Quartets Anh. 2, the Alla Maniera Italiana Quartet brings back to light a precious collection of chamber music that is still enveloped in mystery, in a historically informed performance based on a close study of the Berlin parts, thereby offering an original contribution to the forthcoming Beethoven bicentenary.

In July 1990, Johnny Griffin, the legendary tenor saxophonist known as The Little Giant, electrified Långvinkeln Jazz Club in Helsingborg, Sweden. Accompanied by Danish musicians Thomas Clausen, Mads Vinding, and Svend-Erik Nørregård, Griffin delivered a joyful night of jazz as only he could do it. This previously unreleased 6-track live recording will be released on Storyville Records on June 5, 2026, as Johnny Griffin & Thomas Clausen's Trio - Live in Helsingborg 1990. Griffin, who rose to prominence in the 1950s through his work with Art Blakey, Thelonious Monk, and his own explosive small groups, was widely regarded as one of the fastest and most inventive tenor saxophonists in jazz. Playing a lot at Jazzhus Montmartre in the 60's, he settled in France but continued to be in high demand in Scandinavia and all over Europe. This release continues Storyville Records' longstanding tradition of documenting major American jazz artists during their European years. Bassist Mads Vinding, a longtime collaborator, recalls the experience: "Johnny Griffin - no one sounded like him. The sound, the ideas, the power, the timing, the energy, the sensitivity, the stamina... He made the whole band sound like one unit. (...) It was very intense and such a joy playing with him, as you can hear on this live recording from 1990. No safety net, no restrictions - just the pure pleasure of playing together, inventing things on the fly." Jazz historian Jan Olsson adds: "Johnny Griffin, or The Little Giant as he was called, was a great and highly individual soloist. And I still remember from this extraordinary evening that we could hardly stop him from playing when it was time to close and say goodbye. The main reason was that he had been playing with one of the finest trios you could find in Europe at that time." The album features expansive performances that stretch familiar standards and Griffin originals into thrilling, unpredictable territory. On Just Friends, Griffin's tenor soars over the trio's accompaniment, moving seamlessly from lyrical passages to blistering runs. Blue Monk finds him exploring Thelonious Monk's iconic blues theme with playful inventiveness and rhythmic drive, while All The Things You Are showcases his ability to reshape familiar melodies with elegance and swing. On the original Call It What You Wanna, you just hear the pure Johnny Griffin sound. Johnny Griffin & Thomas Clausen's Trio - Live in Helsingborg 1990 is a rare opportunity to experience Johnny Griffin at his peak backed by Thomas Clausen's trio. You can hear why Johnny Griffin loved to play in Scandinavia, how he loved to play with Thomas Clausen and why he was such a popular figure in Denmark and Sweden for 40 years.

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra and it's Music Director Jader Bignamini present Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, one of the most electrifying works of the twentieth century. Drawing on thirteenth-century manuscripts from Benediktbeuern Abbey, Orff transformed the exuberant, irreverent texts of wandering scholars and rebellious clerics into a monumental scenic cantata. From the iconic opening of "O Fortuna" to the exuberant outdoor dances, tavern scenes, and courtly love interludes, the work pulses with elemental rhythms and striking orchestration, with chorus, percussion, two pianos, and celesta playing central roles. Motifs from "O Fortuna" recur throughout, linking the contrasting worlds of humour, erotic longing, and the inexorable wheel of fate. Orff balances diatonic simplicity with rhythmic ostinati, while movements such as the flute-timpani duet, castanets solo, and piano-percussion passages evoke primal energy and recall Stravinsky's Les noces. From the introspective soprano arias in "In trutina" to the sardonic baritone tavern numbers, the score alternates between joy, melancholy, and satire, culminating in the final return of "O Fortuna" to close the cycle. Following their acclaimed release of Marsalis' Blues Symphony in March 2025, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Jader Bignamini return to PENTATONE, reaffirming their mastery of landmark repertoire.

Alongside their respective solo careers, Hélène Mercier and Louis Lortie regularly meet to perform as a highly sought-after piano duo. Both born and raised in Montreal, they have formed a musical partnership that goes back to the 1980s, developing a musical intimacy present throughout their wide-ranging repertoire. Their complicity has been strengthened over decades of playing concerts and recording together. This, their ninth album for Chandos, continues their exploration of works by Debussy. The programme features transcriptions by Ravel, Dutilleux, Woollett, Durand, Roques, and the composer of some of his best-known orchestral works (Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, Nocturnes) and solo piano pieces (Clair de lune, La Soirée dans Grenade, La plus que lente, Rêverie). These sit alongside Lindaraja and en blanc et noir, original compositions for two pianos. Mercier and Lortie alternate the first- and second-player responsibilities in this mixture of works for two pianos and piano duet.

Peter Heise (1830-1879) is Denmark's peerless master of song, yet his string quartets lived for decades in the shadows. This complete 3-CD set brings together the Nordic String Quartet's entire survey, including world-premiere recordings of Nos. 1-6. Alongside the previously released first volume, these works reveal Heise's musical imagination in all it's brilliance, performed with a spacious, lyrical sensibility attuned to the composer's distinctive poetic touch.

In 2002, anticipating the 205th anniversary year of "The President's Own" Marine Band, the then-Directors of this beloved ensemble invited John Williams to conduct a gala concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The legendary American composer graciously accepted, noting that his own father, a percussionist, had taught his son to love and respect the Marine Band from a young age. Williams first appeared with the band on July 12, 2003, one day after the band's official 205th birthday, thus inaugurating a long collaboration sustained by mutual respect and admiration. Williams would return to the Kennedy Center for another concert, this time in celebration of the band's 210th anniversary, in 2008. Several of his most enduring works were prepared especially for the Marine Band for these concerts, from film soundtrack highlights to original concert works. These full-length gala concerts from 2003 and 2008 are, taken together, a tour de force of some of Williams' most popular and creative scores, and serve as the primary source for this unique new recording collection. "Performing with 'The President's Own, '" writes Williams, "has been one of the highest honors of my working life in music. My great hope is that listeners of this special recording will experience some of the exhilaration and fun that I enjoyed conducting these two memorable performances... this ensemble truly is a national treasure of which all Americans should be justly proud."

Mel (Melanie Helène) Bonis was born in Paris in 1858, and showed a prodigious talent for music from an early age, attending the Paris Conservatoire from the age of sixteen, studying alongside Debussy and Pierne under Cesar Franck. Her passionate relationship with the singer Amedee-Louis Hettich was frowned upon by her parents, who pressured her to marry edouard Domange, a twice-widowed industrialist with five children. Bonis threw herself into her role as wife and stepmother, until a reunion with Hettich in the 1890s reignited her serious interest in composition. She composed more than 300 works, including pieces for solo piano, chamber music, and over forty melodies for voice and piano. As Bonis was too modest for self-promotion, and a victim of gender-bias, her music fell into obscurity after the First World War, and she became bedridden from arthritis. She continued to compose until her death, in 1937. Her orchestral output dates from two decades, between 1891 and 1912, and is well represented on this album.

Two Trios by Darin Tysdal These works were written because I was playing in the said ensembles. That was a way that I could hear what I had written and go back and revise them. They have never been performed in their entirety live, so these are the first complete performances of both pieces.

Famous for his role as keyboard player in rock band Genesis and as a solo artist, Tony Banks was always fascinated by the idea of writing orchestral music. His Success in composing for films led to the acclaimed Seven - A Suite for Orchestra. The intense orchestral sound pictures in Seven, Six and Five rank among some of Banks's most accomplished recordings marrying experimentation with form and structure, and a trademark melodic character that powerfully conveys both melancholy and joy.

Richard Strauss summed up his two-act opera Intermezzo as a 'bourgeois comedy with symphonic interludes'. The soprano role of Christine with it's shimmering cantilenas represents Strauss's wife Pauline, while the successful Kapellmeister Robert Storch serves as Richard Strauss himself in a domestic drama that was avant-garde for it's time but now resonates with the accessibility of today's reality shows. This production from the Deutsche Oper Berlin was acclaimed for it's lush orchestral sound and superbly characterful cast led by a formidable central performance from Maria Bengtsson.

The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Netherlands Radio Choir, under Chief Conductor Karina Canellakis, present Rachmaninoff: The Bells & Symphonic Dances, a powerful and deeply expressive interpretation of these late masterpieces by Sergei Rachmaninoff. In The Bells, radiant choral textures and richly coloured orchestration trace a journey from youthful shimmer and lyrical warmth to ominous tolling, overwhelming drama and a final vision of serene transcendence. The outstanding soloists - Dmytro Popov, Kristina Mkhitaryan and Alexander Vinogradov - bring vocal brilliance and emotional depth, while the choir illuminates the text with clarity and a glowing, golden sound. In Symphonic Dances, rhythmic vitality and earthy drive give way to moments of nostalgia and introspection, culminating in a bold and exhilarating finale that captures the composer's unmistakable voice in his final orchestral work. Internationally acclaimed for her emotionally charged performances, technical command and interpretative depth, Canellakis has become one of the most in-demand conductors of her generation. She returns to PENTATONE as Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, further expanding a recording partnership that began with GRAMMY-nominated Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra (2023) and continued with Bartok: Duke Bluebeard's Castle (2025).

This landmark triple CD release presents for the first time the complete solo piano works of Denmark's national composer, Carl Nielsen, performed by one of the country's most distinguished and visionary pianists, Rikke Sandberg. She has worked with Nielsen's music since she began playing the piano as a child, and her teachers form an unbroken lineage back to the pianists for whom Nielsen originally wrote his piano works. On this release you will find Nielsen's original piano music as well as his own arrangements of his compositions. All of Nielsen's solo piano music is included. The Danish press has repeatedly celebrated her artistic integrity. Politiken writes: "She gathers torrents of notes into long, breathing arcs with sharply etched detail and colourful nuance... First and foremost she is an artist; display does not interest her." The same paper concludes: "Few Danish pianists make as great a difference in our musical life as she does." Jyllands-Posten praises her "richly nuanced and superbly controlled playing," while international critics highlight interpretations where "nothing sounds overheated or overplayed... full of fire and sparkling esprit... with such restrained dynamics that one's breath is taken away." At the heart of Sandberg's artistry stands the great Romantic tradition, notably her acclaimed interpretations of Johannes Brahms, alongside a profound commitment to twentieth-century and contemporary Danish music. Now, that lifelong dialogue between heritage and renewal culminates in Nielsen's piano oeuvre: music of rhythmic vitality, bold architecture, folk-like simplicity and daring modernity. Spanning nearly forty years, from intimate miniatures to monumental works, this edition reveals Nielsen in his full creative breadth. More than a recording, this is a definitive artistic statement, and the ultimate document of Carl Nielsen's piano world.

Andrew Wan, Concertmaster of the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal, and Charles Richard-Hamelin, internationally acclaimed pianist and silver medalist at the Chopin Competition, unite their artistic chemistry in a pinnacle of the Romantic repertoire. Through Brahms' three violin sonatas, they unfold a sweeping expressive arc: the intimate lyricism of Op. 78, the radiant warmth of Op. 100, and the dramatic intensity of Op. 108. Their interpretation combines depth, architectural balance, and controlled intensity, supported by a rich and resonant recorded sound. A landmark recording, at once noble, incandescent, and profoundly compelling.

Eternal Child, Avishai Cohen's new album, will be released in May and showcases the full depth of his artistry as a bassist and composer. Years later, he reunites with drummer Jeff Ballard on selected tracks, recalling their strong musical connection forged alongside Chick Corea. Recorded at the renowned Studio de Meudon in Paris, Eternal Child stands as a major new chapter in Cohen's work.

Eternal Child, Avishai Cohen's new album, will be released in May and showcases the full depth of his artistry as a bassist and composer. Years later, he reunites with drummer Jeff Ballard on selected tracks, recalling their strong musical connection forged alongside Chick Corea. Recorded at the renowned Studio de Meudon in Paris, Eternal Child stands as a major new chapter in Cohen's work.

Behzod Abduraimov's performances combine great musical depth with phenomenal technique: 'He has a magical touch,' wrote The Times. This recital is yet another illustration of his many talents: it begins with variations by Carl Czerny, a pupil of Beethoven and a teacher of Liszt. Next, the famous Après une lecture de Dante (whose title is borrowed from a poem by Victor Hugo) represents Liszt's Année de pèlerinage en Italie (1846-1849). The title is borrowed from a poem by Victor Hugo... Another era, another poetic inspiration (Verlaine), with the Suite Bergamasque, an allusion to the festivals of the Lombard commedia dell'arte, which Debussy composed between 1890 and 1905... Still celebrating, this time in Saint Petersburg, with 'it's crowds, it's shacks and it's small traditional theatre, the character of the magician and conjurer... and the animation of the dolls, Petrushka, his rival, and the ballerina', notes Stravinsky, who in 1921 wrote a piano transcription of his ballet Petrushka, composed ten years earlier. Brahms and a peaceful Intermezzo from his Klavierstücke Op. 119 conclude this infernal programme.