The multiple award-winning bass-baritone Sebastian Naglatzki and the versatile pianist Ana Miceva bring together on their new GENUIN album the last song compositions of Franz Schubert, Hugo Wolf, Johannes Brahms, and Maurice Ravel. These works reflect themes such as farewell, transience, and the search for ultimate truths - captured in music with poignancy and deep feeling. The imaginatively conceived album of the exceptional singer and his expressive piano partner is both a musical retrospective and an audible legacy from four great masters of music history.

Pianist Nicolas Stavy, who has already made recordings devoted to works by Boris Tishchenko (BIS-2189) and Dmitri Shostakovich (BIS-2550), now presents the first instalment of a complete survey of Alfred Schnittke's compositions for solo piano. This recording presents works from various periods of the Russian-German composer's career - from the 1950s, which the composer described as the 'years of obscurity', to the 1990s, a time shaped both by world fame and serious illness. While Schnittke wrote relatively little music for the piano, each work reflects - or sometimes anticipates - the phases of the composer's creative development. The Five Preludes and Fugue and the Prelude and Fugue belong to Schnittke's first creative phase, when he was still under the influence of Shostakovich. The Little Piano Pieces, composed for the composer's six-year-old son, are an example of his 'polystylism', juxtaposing and combining music of various styles from the past and present. The Sonata No. 2 and the Five Aphorisms, both from 1990, return to a more ascetic and abstract language, with a bleaker tone, no doubt echoing his serious health problems.

This Ondine debut album by the award-winning Lithuanian mezzo-soprano Justina Gringyte, one of the foremost rising stars of the opera world, and pianist Malcolm Martineau is her first solo album and the complete recording of Georges Bizet's (1838-1875) long-forgotten masterpiece, Vingt Melodies (20 Songs), Op. 21. Year 2025 marks the 150th anniversary of the death of Bizet, one of the greatest French composers of all time. During his short career of little more than twenty years Bizet composed a substantial quantity of music, including 15 operas. Bizet has been compared with Mozart in his sensitivity to the human voice and understanding of it's expressive potential. Several of Bizet's operas predate his twenty songs Opus 21, written between 1854 and 1872. Anyone new to these songs, a collection including many masterpieces, may wonder how music of such consistent quality could be so neglected! Clearly, they must be ranked among Bizet's most representative works.

When 23-year-old Hector Berlioz saw Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" on stage for the first time in 1827, he was deeply moved by the experience, probably not least because of the Irish actress Harriet Smithson, who played Juliet. She became Berlioz's wife in 1833, and another six years later he completed his chorus-symphony "Romeo et Juliette", Op. 17. "Romeo et Juliette" is by no means intended as an attempt to transpose Shakespeare's drama as faithfully as possible; not a single verse of Shakespeare's text was included in the libretto, which was written by the poet emile Deschamps based on Berlioz's drafts. When the Prologue refers to Shakespeare as the only person who knew the highest secret of poetry, it is clear that the listener is deliberately placed in Berlioz's perspective, whose imagination is ignited by Shakespeare's genius. As in the case of the "Harold" symphony based on Byron, Berlioz adapts the original very freely. In both cases, he develops entire movements from episodes that are of only minor importance in the poem and adds scenes that do not appear there at all. The present live recording from 1982 showcases Gary Bertini at the peak of his career, conducting the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra of the SWR. An exquisite cast of singers - Alfreda Hodgson, Philip Langridge and John Shirley-Quirk - as well as internationally renowned choirs like the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks and the SWR Vokalensemble (known until 1998 as Sudfunk-Chor) accompany him in the performance of one of the most complex symphonic works of the Romantic era.

The Flemish Music Heritage series is a journey of discovery, reviving remarkable pieces of musical heritage. Forgotten scores are brought to light, and familiar compositions are given a fresh perspective. In close collaboration with the Study Centre for Flemish Music, the recordings are founded on intensive research in libraries and archives and meticulously prepared score editions.? The works, expertly selected by connoisseurs, are performed by valued musicians and ensembles who passionately restore neglected and forgotten composers to the recognition they deserve. With these vibrant composer monographs, Antarctica Records aims to broaden horizons and enrich the repertoire with rediscovered treasures from the past. This third volume of the Flemish Music Heritage series focuses on piano works by Joseph Ryelandt (1870-1965). Spanning nearly five decades of his creative output, the recording features five piano works-including two early sonatas, the expressive Six Preludes, and two later works that highlight Ryelandt's evolution toward a more transparent, neoclassical style. Performed by Jozef de Beenhouwer, who has championed Ryelandt's music for decades, the album sheds light on a versatile and refined voice in Belgian musical history.

In London in 1736, the Baroque genius Handel celebrated the power of music with his oratorio about Alexander the Great, one of the greatest successes of his life. Covent Garden was never so full as on the evening of the premiere. For this original English version, Alfredo Bernardini unites the fantastic voices of the Arnold Schoenberg Choir with his lively Zefiro Baroque Orchestra. The three soloists Miriam Kutrowatz, Daniel Johannsen and Damien Gastl tell the ancient story of how the singer Timotheus was once able to change the mood of the great Alexander, evoking a whirlwind of diverse emotions, highlighting the power of music over politics and war.

This release is the world premiere recording of Estonia's first major work in art music in it's original score and sung in Estonian. Rudolf Tobias (1873-1918) is widely celebrated in Estonia as the 'father of Estonian music' and considered as the first Estonian composer to have obtained a degree in composing after completing his studies at the St Petersburg Conservatoire. In this recording the composer's magnum opus, Joonas (Jonah Oratorio) is performed by a first-class Estonian line up led by the award-winning ensembles Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and conductor Tonu Kaljuste.

Florence Price had worked for some years as a silent film organist before she won admiration in 1932 for her Symphony No. 1 in E minor. Works for organ form one of the largest parts of her output; the Sonata attests to her virtuosic command, as does the Passacaglia and Fugue which, while clearly indebted to Bach, reveals personal ideas of her own. Price's gift for writing miniatures is also obvious - Adoration has heartfelt melodic beauty, and the dainty Caprice exemplifies light music at it's best. Variations on a Folksong is a tour-de-force and her only organ work to be based on a pre-existing melody, a spiritual. A digital EP featuring four additional miniatures for organ is also available for streaming and download (9.70389).

The three works on this recording bear witness to the changes that took place at the dawn of musical modernism. The reappraisal and reinterpretation of traditional musical genres and innovations led to new ways of organising and addressing the harmonic, melodic, timbral and rhythmic elements of music. Polish composer Karol Szymanowski developed a highly personal musical language that prioritises tone colour, an approach that is perfectly suited to the triptych Mythes, inspired by legends from ancient Greece. Here he developed a new mode of expression, a fusion of the violin and the piano into a single entity with the use of extended violin techniques. The Hungarian Bela Bartok assimilated Szymanowski's contribution and composed his two sonatas for violin and piano in quick succession at the beginning of the 1920s. These two works, as daring as they are demanding, skilfully blend the influence of contemporary composers such as Debussy and Schoenberg with elements of Central European folklore. Frank Peter Zimmermann, whose recent recording dedicated to Bartok's two Rhapsodies and Stravinsky's Violin Concerto (BIS-2657) has received international critical acclaim, performs these landmark works with pianist Dmytro Choni, his regular partner since 2023.

Spain and the guitar - an inseparable combination. Serenades of Spain goes beyond cliches, unveiling the rich musical heritage of both the country and the guitar, and takes the listener on a journey through three guitars: baroque, romantic, and classical - both solo and in duo with voice or cello. Featuring works by Spanish composers and those inspired by Spain, this album blends Flemish Renaissance court music, Baroque dances, expressive romanticism, neocasticismo, impressionistic colors, and folklore - a vibrant mosaic of Spain's musical history and the guitar.

An exciting listening adventure: The "Ten Preludes" by Sofia Gubaidulina from 1974 merge with the Allemandes from Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suites into a fascinating dialogue between past and present.

What distinguishes Faur�'s Requiem from numerous other settings of the requiem text is it's rather intimate, restrained, almost chamber-music nature, a "lullaby of death", as it has also been called, initially more as a criticism of a work that for most of the time avoids depicting the dread of death and the Last Judgement. Faur�'s reply "But this is how I feel about death: as a happy liberation, as a striving for happiness in the hereafter rather than as a painful transition", not only perfectly describes essential characteristics of his Requiem, but also reveals it to be a very personal expression of the composer's very own artistic nature. Two generations after Faur� (and Faur�'s grand-disciple through his teacher Koechlin), Francis Poulenc's (1899-1963) displayed a significantly different approach to religion. Poulenc, who like Faur� was from the southern part of France, had been shaped by his homeland in the sense of a 'rural', intense but joyous Catholicism. He regarded his Gloria as a more joyful counterpart to some of his other sacred works, and it is in this spirit that the first movement, begins in a festive mood with a striking, fanfare-like motif in the full orchestra. If Poulenc cited Gozzoli frescoes with monks sticking out their tongues and Benedictine monks playing football as the source of inspiration for his Gloria, then nowhere is this more immediately comprehensible than in the second movement, with it's rhythmically pointed Laudamus te, of the choir. In both the opera house, and concert hall, Pr�tre's interpretations were notable for their full-blooded and highly romantic character; in style, they were often different from those of French conductors of the previous generation. He was an effective conductor not only of the French repertoire, but also of the music of Italy, and Germany, a fact reflected by the admiration in which he was held in both countries. A highly experienced and polished recording artist, Pr�tre had many years' experience of working in the studio. His discography was large. Especially important were his recordings of the music of Poulenc.

This second volume of the Flemish Musical Heritage series focuses on art songs by�Gustave Huberti (1843-1910). Songs are performed by two leading Belgian singers (soprano and baritone). Texts are in German, Dutch and French. The result is a pleasant portrait of a gifted composer in his different life periods.

RossoPorpora made it's Arcana debut with an album dedicated to Luca Marenzio, which received widespread critical acclaim, including the German Record Critics' Award, Classic Voice's Disc of the Month, a Diapason rating of 5, and five-star reviews from Musica and Amadeus. It was described as "magnificent" by Early Music Review and hailed as "a desert island disc" by Forum Opera. Now, with it's second album, the ensemble turns to one of the cornerstones of 17th-century music: Claudio Monteverdi's Sixth Book of Madrigals. In a deeply immersive exploration of the composer's inner world during his final years in Mantua, RossoPorpora delivers a profoundly moving interpretation of the many masterpieces contained in the collection-Lamento d'Arianna, Lagrime d'Amante sul sepolcro dell'Amata, Zefiro torna, Oime 'l bel viso, Qui rise o Tirsi-which together mark one of the highest achievements in the history of the madrigal.

Musical individuality rather than symbiotic fusion: on historical instruments, but with the greatest expressive freedom, the musical details of Beethoven, Schubert, and Vorisek's works from early-nineteenth-century Vienna speak directly to the listener.

Enrique Granados was one of the leading figures of the late-19th-century Spanish nationalist and impressionist school of musicians. The much-loved Danzas espanolas is a collection of piano pieces that represents Granados's refined blend of Romantic lyricism and Spanish folk imagery. This charming and charismatic journey through Spain is presented here in a colourful transcription for two guitars. Fabio Rizza's 2024 arrangement of the evocative Capricho espanol completes the programme.

CORO: inspired by Luciano Berio's 31-song composition of the same name, George de Decker painted a cycle of 31 canvases. The key sentence Berio took as his starting point comes from a poem by Pablo Neruda: 'Venid a ver la sangre por las calles' (Come and see the blood in the streets) - a caustic reference to General Pinochet's seizure of power in Chile in 1973. For the exhibition of this cycle of paintings, de Decker wrote a composition for female voices. On the soundtrack, he incorporated vocal recordings of Els Van Laethem, Anne Marie Honggokoesoemo and Herlinde Ghekiere. At the request of pianist Geert Callaert, he added a piano part, so that CORO ultimately became a composition for solo piano, with a soundtrack with female voices. CORO is preceded by two new scores in the same sound idiom.

Dive into the mesmerizing soundscape of Alex Stolze's latest album, "Raash ve Ruach." This groundbreaking work weaves together the powerful contrasts of contemporary classical music and electronica, where the violin takes center stage, singing in place of words during a time that often feelsspeechless. "Raash ve Ruach," meaning "Noise and Spirit," is more than just an album-it's a call for spiritual reflection. Inspired by ancient Hebrew traditions and the unsettling events of our time, Stolze's music resonates with both the turmoil of the present and the longing for renewal. Crafted in the tranquility of the Uckermark and polished in Berlin's vibrant Neukolln, this album is a unique blend of rhythmic beats and introspective melodies. Perfect for those who crave music that moves both the body and the soul, "Raash ve Ruach" is a danceable yet deeply reflective experience. Let the wind of Stolze's violin carry you through the noise and into a place of solace.

Antonin Dvorak's 'American' chamber music works are the fruits of a happy, carefree time. And this is reflected in the music: colourful, vibrant, imbued with the musical and scenic impressions he gathered in the bustling metropolis of New York and during his summer holidays in rural Iowa. Antonin Dvorak spent a happy time in America in the early 1890s. As director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York, he was generously paid, and concert audiences adored him. Some of his most famous and beloved works were created in the United States, including the 'American' String Quartet, which uniquely combines landscape painting and emotional expression in chamber music. Unjustly overshadowed by this piece is the String Quintet in E flat major, also known as the 'American' Quintet: a colourful, masterfully crafted work in which Dvorak sought to capture the spirit of Native American music. Both works have been among the Mandelring Quartett's favourites for many years. However, the Humoresques, Op. 101 were a new discovery for the ensemble. Presented here in a first recording of an arrangement for string quartet, they include the immortal melody that the Comedian Harmonists made into a hit, titled "Eine kleine Fruhlingsweise".

Where can we find beauty, truth and goodness - even in the face of death? That's the question Gudrun Sidonie Otto, soprano, and Andreas Liebig, cathedral organist in Basel, are facing on their second CD. Dvorak's Biblical Songs and Brahms' chorale preludes are works of longing: for home, for a loved one and for redemption. An eloquent testimony to an extraordinary musical friendship!