It is a rather widespread opinion that the genesis of musical compositions intended to positively impress the listener's soul is often connected to an initial illumination that expands within a creative process that is per se rather ordinary. It is that creative spark constituting the generating principle which, as it unfolds, gives form and narrative cohesion to the sound archetype. This is the premise underlying the album by the duo Cardinali-Redorici, the realisation of a project that presents itself as a refined exploration of soundscapes delineated by the poietic encounter between viola and piano, through a dialogue aimed at capturing the most varied emotional nuances. In the panorama of string instruments, the viola is characterised by a highly suggestive timbral eloquence stemming from the range of frequencies within which it moves - an extension that makes it possible to perceive, at opposite extremes, sensations of both a lyrical luminosity typical of the violin and dark tones attributable to the gravitas of the cello. This contributes to making this medium ideal for translating into sound an expressiveness of musical thought drawing it's quintessence from a persistent search for intimacy, oscillating between lightness and depth. In this sense, the listener of InCanto Notturno is projected into an intense and exciting sound journey - ranging from the exploration of affections ascribable to a certain romantic lyricism to the stylistic refinement typical of Impressionism -, also reaching suggestive incursions into less beaten territories of the repertoire with the proposal of rarely performed compositions.

Ferruccio Busoni's most significant musical role models include Bach, Mozart, and Liszt. These three muses informed his mature compositional style, which melded Bachian counterpoint, Mozartian clarity, and Lisztian virtuosity alongside Busoni's penchant for experimentation. The music on Jiayan Sun's new album reveals the diverse ways Busoni responded to these muses, ranging from transcription and arrangement to original composition. Pianist Jiayan Sun, was praised by the New York Times for his "revelatory" performances, and by the Toronto Star for his "technically flawless, poetically inspired and immensely assured playing".

The award-winning performances of Dutch pianist Nikola Meeuwsen, who claimed First Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2025, are captured on this live recording. His artistic maturity is revealed in Mendelssohn's deeply felt Variations sérieuses, Liszt's visionary and impassioned Dante Sonata, and the imaginative Etudes of Ana Sokolovic. The programme is completed by Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 9 "Jenamy" with the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie under Vahan Mardirossian. These recordings capture the clarity, imagination, and expressive freedom that mark Meeuwsen as one of the most compelling voices of his generation.

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.

A musician as loved as he was admired, the pianist Nicholas Angelich died in Paris in April 2022 at the age of 51. Angelich was a modest, thoughtful man who brought tremendous integrity, depth and insight to the most demanding repertoire. His association with Warner Classics lasted some 20 years, and the label pays tribute to him with this 7CD collection of previously unreleased recordings of solo, chamber and concerto repertoire. Made either in the concert hall or for radio broadcast between 1999 and 2016, they range wide, including works by Bach, Bartok, Beethoven Berg, Brahms, Franck, Haydn, Liszt, Mussorgsky, Ravel, Rachmaninov and Zemlinsky. Appearing with Angelich are Martha Argerich, Quatuor Ebene, Myung-Whun Chung and the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, and Tugan Sokhiev and the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse.

SOMM Recordings continues it's long collaboration with pianist Leon McCawley, named "one of today's most impeccably musical pianists" by International Piano. His past recordings for SOMM include much-admired releases of piano music by Chopin; Barber (Critics' Choice in Gramophone); Brahms (Classic FM CD of the Week); Schumann; Rachmaninoff Complete Preludes; Haydn Sonatas and Variations (awarded a Diapason d'Or); Schubert; three further volumes of Haydn Sonatas; and the 2024 release Natural Connection, about which Gramophone wrote: "This scintillatingly varied recital combines sensuous virtuosity, compelling charm and musical probity. Highly recommended." In this recital McCawley presents some of his old favourites by composer-pianists Liszt, Beethoven, Chopin, and Franck. While the recital focuses on 19th century composers, the programme begins and ends with a nod to J.S. Bach. Among Bach's works that Franz Liszt revered were his six organ preludes and fugues. In transcribing them for piano, Liszt became a major influence on later arrangers. Heard here is the first in the set, Prelude and Fugue in A minor. The Piano Sonata in C major, Op. 53, "The Waldstein," by Beethoven-dedicated to his friend and patron, Count Ferdinand von Waldstein-comes from his aptly named "Heroic" period. It was written in 1804, two years after the watershed moment of his Heiligenstadt Testament, when he had contemplated suicide because of his encroaching deafness, but instead made the profound choice to channel his despair into a bold new musical style. The "Waldstein" Sonata is a vivid expression of this newfound path and of Beethoven's ability to transcend personal adversity to create ground-breaking works of deep complexity. One of the renowned "out-takes" of musical history is Beethoven's Andante favori. He originally intended it as the slow movement of his "Waldstein" Sonata, but he substituted it with a shorter adagio labelled "Introduzione." He had formed an attachment to the piece, though, and he published it as a stand-alone work, including it frequently in subsequent recitals. In an engaging piece of programming, Leon McCawley pairs it here with the "Waldstein" Sonata. Two introspective works by Chopin follow. The Berceuse is a series of continuous contemplations on a simple, nocturne-like theme. In the Barcarolle, Chopin's affinity to the bel canto operatic style is strongly apparent, especially in the beautiful, florid figurations in the right hand. Leon McCawley closes his beautifully curated recital with the Prélude, Choral et Fugue for solo piano by César Franck. Franck was trained as a pianist, but he served as an organist at Paris's Sainte-Clotilde Church from 1858 until his death in 1890. Inspired by the rich, orchestral sound of the Cavaillé-Coll organ there, he developed a grandiose, improvisatory style of keyboard writing that was harmonically influenced by Bach but thoroughly romantic in expression.

Benjamin Grosvenor - "Liszt" Hot on the heels of his 2020 Diapason d'Or and Gramophone Award triumphs, British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor presents his next album with Decca Classics. The album, Liszt, signifies Grosvenor's most substantial solo recording to date, centered around the works of the Romantic piano virtuoso and composer, Franz Liszt. The release marks Benjamin's sixth album on Decca Classics, following the award-winning Chopin Piano Concertos in 2020.

Alim Beisembayev, winner of the 2021 Leeds International Piano Competition, makes his album debut on Warner Classics with solo works by Liszt, including seven of the ambitious Etudes d'execution transcendante. Born in Kazakhstan and trained primarily in the UK, Beisembayev has been praised by leading critics for the spellbinding Polish and maturity of his playing. "The Transcendental Etudes of Liszt are amongst the most challenging piano works ever written by any composer," he says. "Frequently described as tone poems, these inspirational works take the etude to a new level... Since early childhood, I had been inspired by performances of these works by legendary pianists such as Cziffra, Richter and Kissin, never dreaming that I would one day be performing them myself... However, like most young pianists, the challenge, for me, was the attraction, and I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to record these pieces." This debut album follows the digital release in Autumn 2021 of a programme marking Beisembayev's victory at Leeds and comprising works by Scarlatti, Ligeti and Ravel.

Volume 6 of Naxos' Complete Piano Music of Liszt continues the exploration of Liszt's transcriptions of lieder begun in the previous Volume 5. Compared to the commercial greats of pianism, Joseph Banowetz is not well known, and yet he one of the most versatile pianists alive. His repertory is variegated and often incongruent: he has left many recordings of Bach, Anton Rubinstein, Balakirev and Ronald Stevenson. I am an ardent supporter of Banowetz because of his amazing recordings of Anton's Rubinstein's works on the Marco Polo label.