With The Length Between Dusk and Dawn in Minutes, Swedish pianist and composer Matti Bye presents a deeply atmospheric album between ambient piano, modern classical music and cinematic minimalism. Across twelve intimate movements, Bye explores the fragile space between night and morning, where silence, memory and emotion slowly unfold. Delicate piano motifs, subtle harmonies and organic textures create a poetic sound world that feels both timeless and immediate. Melancholic, tender and quietly immersive, the album invites listeners into a suspended moment of reflection - a musical twilight shaped by sensitivity, restraint and emotional depth.
How can music by Mozart still feel undiscovered? For this ensemble, the answer lies in the piano trios: works that, despite their composer's fame, remain surprisingly absent from the concert hall. Bringing together K. 254, K. 496 and K. 548, this first volume follows Mozart's style across twelve formative years, representing three distinct periods in his writing for piano trio, from the lingering influence of the accompanied sonata to a richly conversational chamber style.
A new recording of Beethoven masterpieces by a Hungarian pianist acclaimed for her 'intelligence, technical finesse, and innate musicality' (Classics Today). As issued by Brilliant Classics in 2025, a 34CD box of music from Bach to Bartok demonstrated the impressive range of Klara Wurtz's musical affinities, in recordings which span over two decades. According to Rob Cowan in Gramophone, the box testified to a career of consistent excellence in the studio, 'her performances attentive to detail, sprightly and invariably at one with her chosen repertoire'. Such praise amplified the enthusiastic reception accorded to her long-pondered recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations, made for Piano Classics, and which was given an Editor's Choice by Gramophone for it's 'selfless commitment and personality, bringing delicacy, drama and architectural splendour to this great music.' In her latest recording, Klara Wurtz turns to equally canonic repertoire by Beethoven: the Third Piano Concerto, the 'Pathetique' and 'Moonlight' Sonatas. This illuminating combination allows the listener to trace Beethoven's development in a concentrated span of three years on the cusp of the 19th century, and specifically through his special feeling for the tragic-heroic key of C minor, which reached it's most celebrated expression in the Fifth Symphony. The slow movement of the 'Pathetique' Sonata has achieved hardly less iconic status in the popular imagination. It's mood of inward contemplation transports the listener to a space inside the mind of the 28-year-old Beethoven, which the outer panels of the sonata further heighten with their high and noble drama. From three years later, the C sharp minor of the 'Moonlight' Sonata further intensifies those contrasts of serenity and struggle with it's sublime opening movement followed by a pair of intricate and fiendishly demanding movements. In 1800 - the year before the 'Moonlight' - Beethoven addressed the legacy of Mozart head-on in the Third Piano Concerto, which takes both it's key and the shape of it's opening motif from the earlier composer's Concerto K491. Klara Wurtz is given attentive and lively support by the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice under their experienced Armenian music director, Vahan Mardirossian.
It is impossible to imagine the modern bassoon without him: almost 200 years ago, Carl Almenrader, together with Johann Adam Heckel, founded the instrument-making workshop that continues to dominate the global bassoon market unchallenged to this day. Almenrader's skill on the instrument, his refined sense of tone, and Heckel's precision craftsmanship laid the foundations for the success that Almenrader carried out into the world as a travelling virtuoso with his own compositions. Michael Kaulartz and Carl Sonje Montag present Almenrader's duets in an impressively agile, virtuosic and yet surprisingly rich and varied manner.
At a time in which even highly regarded English musicians went hungry because their employers withheld their salaries, John Hingeston was fortunate. The pastor's son from York caught people's attention as a youth with his organ playing and soon was in the service in the Earl of Cumberland. He was sent to London to receive further education and became a loyal servant. When Oliver Cromwell came to power, he made him his master of music. After the restoration of the monarchy, he played viol and was the keeper of wind instruments at the court. The young Henry Purcell was his apprentice and successor. He was a staunch advocate for his less privileged colleagues, enjoyed a distinguished reputation as a teacher, and left behind a considerable body of melodious chamber music for string instruments (and organ). Some of these features highly original instrumentation, reflecting half a century of British musical history - a 'missing link' comes to light between Orlando Gibbons on the one hand, and John Blow and Henry Purcell on the other.
This UNIQUE album encompasses selections from six centuries of Hungarian keyboard music, originating from the territory of old Hungary, and occasionally from abroad. The programme opens with the first known suite composition by a Hungarian composer. Mihaly Bulyovszky (ca 1640?1712). The program continues with Hungarian Dances from Hungarian and international collections as old as the 16th and 17th century, followed by a Toccata & Fuga by Daniel Brassai Croner (1656-1740). From the 18th century we hear a Sonata by Maria Kohary (1769-1824) and Jozsef Bengraf (1745?1791). Skipping the 19th century we freshly arrive in the 20th century, which is represented by a Divertissement by Pal Hermann (1902-1943). The 21rst century presents Lajos Huszar b.1984 in his Sonata for Harpsichord Op.11, the program ending with Cemballata by Mate Hollos (b. 1954) and a Suite by Szilvia Elek. The guide through this fascinating journey is Hungarian harpsichordist Szilvia Elek. She was born in Budapest and graduated from the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music. In Hungary she studied with Jozsef Soproni (composition), Rita Wagner, Ferenc Rados, Gyorgy Kurtag (piano, chamber music) and Janos Sebestyen, then with Malcolm Bilson in the United States and Jos van Immerseel in Belgium. She defended her doctoral dissertation - summa cum laude - in 2019 at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music.
This unprecedented recording - released precisely in the year of the celebrations commemorating one of the most significant figures in human history - explores the musical output of Padre Giambattista Martini dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi. A Franciscan friar and ecclesiastical musician, as well as a learned teacher and tireless researcher, Martini composed a Mass (incomplete) and various motets in honour of the Saint. From these, the Ensemble San Pietro - directed by Marcello Rossi and Giacomo Contro - has reconstructed a complete "Franciscan" Mass. The essay accompanying the CD also features a curious analogy between the composer and his saintly dedicatee, supported by a careful analysis of historical documents.
On Mozart Horn Concertos, Ben Goldscheider joins the Munchener Kammerorchester in performances of all four concertos by Mozart, combining clarity, energy, and a strong sense of musical direction. Written for Mozart's friend, the horn player Joseph Leutgeb, these works remain central to the horn repertoire, balancing virtuosity, lyricism, with a uniquely conversational relationship between soloist and orchestra. For Goldscheider, these concertos have been a constant presence throughout his musical development, accompanying him from his early years as a horn player to major international solo appearances. This long familiarity informs an interpretation shaped by both experience and curiosity. Presented in reverse order, from the Fourth Concerto to the First, the album offers a fresh perspective on their overall arc. Ben Goldscheider makes his PENTATONE debut with this release, while the Munchener Kammerorchester appeared on the acclaimed recording of Four Seasons with Arabella Steinbacher in 2020.
Good things come in fives, said conductor Douglas Bostock as he set out to prepare a truly unrivalled selection of British works for string orchestra for this cpo recording. Over the past few years, he has created a stunning kaleidoscope in which international luminaries (Elgar, Parry, Bantock, Ethel Smyth) and more national figures join together in these recordings in an enlightening and uplifting way. The release of this fifth volume marks not only the conclusion of the series, but also the end of an era. After seven years in the role, Douglas Bostock is stepping down as principal conductor of the Sudwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim, an orchestra that has provided him with outstanding support in this homage to his homeland. And once again, the sons and daughters of Albion rise up and soar over their unique musical landscapes - Imogen Holst draws inspiration from an old picaresque novel, Gordon Jacob delivers brilliant variations on a theme by Purcell, the conductor Eugene Goossens demonstrates his creative imagination, and finally, despite his "progressive" tone, the Welshman William Mathias leaves no doubt as to where he was born. A thoroughly successful finale!
In this third volume of his acclaimed Beethoven fortepiano cycle, Roberto Prosseda explores four early piano sonatas composed between 1796 and 1799, including the iconic Pathetique Sonata, the expansive Op. 7, and the intimate Op. 49 sonatas. Performing on an original 1820 Conrad Graf fortepiano, Prosseda reveals a Beethoven who is bold, unpredictable, and deeply theatrical - an improviser whose music breathes with rhetorical power, expressive contrasts, and remarkable spontaneity. Rather than seeking historical reconstruction, this recording offers a fresh rediscovery of Beethoven's creative imagination through the distinctive colours and responsiveness of one of the finest surviving instruments of it's kind. Recorded at the renowned Musicafelix Studio in Prato, Italy, this album benefits from an exceptional acoustic environment that beautifully captures the fortepiano's unique palette of transparent bass, eloquent middle register, and crystalline treble. Together, Prosseda's insightful interpretation and the studio's natural sound create an immersive listening experience that brings Beethoven's early masterpieces vividly to life, balancing architectural grandeur with poetic intimacy. 'I continue to perceive a remarkably living presence: a Beethoven who improvises, experiments, and takes risks.' - Roberto Prosseda
Granville Bantock was born into a wealthy family (his father was a highly respected gynaecologist) in central London in 1868. Poor health scuppered his parents plans for a career in the Indian Civil service, and eventually Bantock gravitated to music, studying at both Trinity College and at the Royal Academy of Music. Early conducting engagements took him around the world with a musical comedy troupe, before he was appointed as conductor of the New Brighton Tower concerts in Cheshire. He very quickly expanded the scope of the orchestra, and stage concerts featuring works by Joseph Holbrooke, Frederic Hymen Cowen, Charles Steggall, Edward German, Hubert Parry, Charles Villiers Stanford, Corder and others, frequently devoting whole concerts to a single composer. Edward Elgar commented that Bantock had 'the most fertile musical brain of our time', On Elgar's recommendation, he became the first Principal of the new Midland Institute School of Music, in Birmingham, and within seven years had succeeded Elgar as Peyton Professor of Music at the University of Birmingham, a post he held until 1934. His unique musical style combines the romanticism of Wagner with influences of English and Scottish Folk Music, as well as the exoticism of eastern music. He had many champions of his work, including Sibelius, who became the first president of the Bantock society formed after the composer's death in 1946.
Bebop Riddle V is by turns sprightly, spry, energetic, and spirited. In this work, Thomas crafted animated, travelling, flexible, versatile, changing, fluid, and buoyant sonic adventures, a bit like two hummingbirds darting around a field of wildflowers. Iridescent, bold, and scintillating, the carefully sculpted and fashioned musical materials of Bebop Riddle V are agile and vivacious, and their flexibility allows pathways to braid harmonic, rhythmic, and contrapuntal elements that are constantly transformed - variously whimsical, jazzy and bebop-like, layered, and reverberating, with lyrical resonance, pirouettes, fulcrum points, and vitality. The two equally virtuosic parts - requiring highly characterized dynamics and articulations, as well as fast fingering changes - sparkle forth for 8 minutes, unfolding fourteen continuously developing phrases, each lasting between 15 and 50 seconds. The music is organic and concerned with transformations and connections at every level. Poetically speaking, this composition has a kind of fractal quality to it - each part has a similar flair, twirl, whirl, pivot, and character as the whole. There are seven additional alternative instrumentation versions for Bebop Riddle V which can be purchased separately.
As an endless source of inspiration, Ovid's Metamorphoses have left a lasting mark on our culture for over two thousand years. Combining some of it's episodes with music by Antonio Vivaldi, Stage Director Barrie Kosky creates a pasticcio for our times, a fascinating new work of rich imagination and breathless narratives. With a leading cast of singers assembled by Cecilia Bartoli, and with the participation of actor Angela Winkler, Hotel Metamorphosis stands out as 'a panopticon of human emotions'. Vivaldi expert Gianluca Capuano conducts Les Musiciens du Prince - Monaco, presenting a unique variety of Vivaldi's arias, ensembles and choruses, music with a particularly powerful emotional charge. 'What a brilliant evening of theatre.' (BR Klassik) / 'Checking into this hotel guarantees a luxury stay.' (Kurier) / 'the musical Champions League.' (Deutschlandfunk Kultur)
What music do angels play in a Baroque manor house? At Gut Hohen Luckow, Renaissance trombonist and composer Ercole Nisini set out to answer precisely that question. Inspired by the musical putti of the Ulmer Salon, the emblems of the Knights' Hall, and the allegories of the seasons, he created a cycle of new works: contemporary music for a place dating from 1709. GENUIN now presents the world premiere recordings of these compositions, performed by an ensemble of internationally acclaimed early-music specialists. Through the distinctive combination of tenor, Renaissance trombone, theorbo, harp, organ, and historical percussion, love emblems, images of the seasons, and angelic dances spring to life in sound-a musical fantasia inspired by a place, it's images, and it's stories.
Henry Purcell Reimagined: Baroque Songs of Fate and Freedom In this recording, the Vox Orchestra, conductor Lorenzo Ghirlanda and soprano Marie-Sophie Pollak explore some of Henry Purcell's most captivating songs from King Arthur, The Fairy Queen, and Dido and Aeneas. At the heart of the programme lies a theme that remains strikingly relevant today: the confrontation with the inevitable-war, love, duty, and loss. Rather than presenting these works solely as excerpts from Baroque stage music, the performers highlight their original character as songs. Purcell's memorable melodies emerge with remarkable directness and emotional immediacy, while instrumental interludes function like modern introductions and codas. Bold string playing, expressive continuo, and vivid contrasts of tempo create a sound world that feels both historically informed and surprisingly contemporary. Marie-Sophie Pollak brings the diverse characters to life with exceptional expressive clarity, favouring direct communication over excessive ornamentation. The result is a fresh and compelling interpretation that reveals Purcell's theatre music as a timeless collection of songs, bridging the distance between the seventeenth century and today's listener.
A proliferation of programmatic music infuses Winter Night, composer Elena Ruehr's seventh release on AVIE, the result of a particularly close collaboration with the international members of the Boston Trio - violinist Irina Muresanu and cellist Mihai Marica, both Romanians, and Korean pianist Heng-Jin Park -who are joined by native New Yorker violist Marcus Thompson in Elena's piano quartet. Emotions, energy and the natural world abound in the world premiere recordings of the album's four works. The title track, Elena's Piano Trio No. 3, is a four-movement narrative that is by turns lyrical, graceful and melodic. The joyful Piano Trio No. 4, subtitled 'Ski, Kayak, Bike', recalls childhood sports enjoyed with her father, the work's dedicatee. The three movements of Piano Trio No. 5, 'Troubled Times', confront emotional responses to challenging personal circumstances, yet also seem especially appropriate now given the state of the world's current events. Piano Quartet No. 2, 'Maple', is an homage to an ancient tree that has stood the tests of time, much like the Stradivarius instruments that were made using the beautiful, dense wood. Elena's music appropriately references composers working at the same time as the famed luthier, Bach, Pachelbel and Vivaldi.
The strong visual power of the music is captivating, one commentator reported after he heard the first of two albums devoted to the four surviving symphonies of the "Rhineland music pope" Ferdinand Hiller (1811-1885). With the conclusion of this cycle - small in scale but remarkable in quality - Howard Griffiths and the Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt (Oder) now present us with the earliest and the latest works in the series. Once again, it is not only the enthusiastic reviewer who will find much to enjoy. The Symphony in E minor is the passionately effervescent creation of an artist who has just turned twenty and wants to show the world all he has. The "Final Word", written four and a half decades later, exudes the self-confidence of a man who has long since "made it". He can look back nostalgically on the days of Mendelssohn and Schumann and still allow himself to write harmonic oddities without asking permission. Astonishing!
Images is the debut solo album from Spanish pianist Elena Font, featuring music by Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Manuel de Falla. Recorded in Paris, the programme is centred around beauty and atmosphere, and is inspired by journeys across Europe, Asia and the Americas, transforming memories of place into performances rich in colour, emotion and imagination.
As an endless source of inspiration, Ovid's Metamorphoses have left a lasting mark on our culture for over two thousand years. Combining some of it's episodes with music by Antonio Vivaldi, Stage Director Barrie Kosky creates a pasticcio for our times, a fascinating new work of rich imagination and breathless narratives. With a leading cast of singers assembled by Cecilia Bartoli, and with the participation of actor Angela Winkler, Hotel Metamorphosis stands out as 'a panopticon of human emotions'. Vivaldi expert Gianluca Capuano conducts Les Musiciens du Prince - Monaco, presenting a unique variety of Vivaldi's arias, ensembles and choruses, music with a particularly powerful emotional charge. 'What a brilliant evening of theatre.' (BR Klassik) / 'Checking into this hotel guarantees a luxury stay.' (Kurier) / 'the musical Champions League.' (Deutschlandfunk Kultur)
In 1785, Antonin Reicha went to Bonn with his unchle Joseph to play flute in the court orchestra there. There he met Ludwig van Beethoven, ten months his junior. Soon they started a friendship that survived despite the long distance. Whilst Beethoven established himself in Vienna, Reicha achieved the highest acclaim in Paris as a composer and above all as a teacher. Cesar Franck, Hector Berlioz, Louise Farrenc and Friedrich von Flotow are only a few of his illustrious pupils who learned their trade with the help of Reicha's astute technical prowess. It is not easy to sum up what he achieved. He wrote dozens of wind quintets, string quartets, other works of chamber music, highly original piano works as well as four symphonies and several overtures. His experimentation most likely evoked "Homeric laughter" from his famous Viennese friend. And how could it be otherwise, when pieces such as the overture - which can be heard on the first CD of our complete symphonic recording - throw even modern sensibilities off balance with their constant disruptions of metre without one being able to say why one keeps losing count... Only repeated listening helps!
