Long acknowledged as one of the great pianists of our time, Elisabeth Leonskaja shares her wealth of experience of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 5, the 'Emperor', with the players of the Orchestre Fran�ais des Jeunes, aged between 16 and 25. She describes it as "the supreme piano concerto... "Nothing transcends the connection it creates between the soloist, conductor and orchestra." Belgium's Crescendo magazine, reviewing a live performance of the concerto, admired "the perfectly disciplined orchestra and the sureness of Michael Sch�nwandt gestures," writing: "The young instrumentalists... showed flexibility in following the marvellous Elisabeth Leonskaja, who... with the absolute 'rightness' of her playing, immersed everyone present in a moment of true grace."

Georgian pianist Mariam Batsashvili's Influences features works by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven-the three giants of the sonata form. Mariam has selected her favourite sonatas, leading to the final piece on the album: Liszt's Fantasia quasi sonata. The album includes Liszt's famous Liebestraum No. 1 & 3 and Campanella, along with other beautiful solo works.

Perlman already had a recording of the Brahms Double Concerto to his name - on that occasion sharing the bill with Mstislav Rostropovich, conducted by Bernard Haitink (1979). He creates an equally sumptuous dialogue here with Yo-Yo Ma. The two performers match one another for brio and lyricism, their playing informed by the same sense of joyfulness, as their enthusiasm and generosity of spirit combine. Indeed, the coherence of sound, vibrato and intonation of these two soloists, each at the peak of his powers, reveals a fellowship both instrumental and spiritual. The vigour of the attacks and power of the phrasings, sustained by dazzling playing from the orchestra, add a rarely achieved Romantic dimension to this performance, transforming it into a veritable feast for the ears.

Max Richter - "SLEEP CIRCLE". SLEEP CIRCLE is released as part of the 10th anniversary of Max Richter's SLEEP. A 90-minute concert suite edition of the original 8-hour piece, SLEEP CIRCLE reflects the typical REM cycle, with ever-shifting variations inviting transformation, clarity and rest. 2 CD Digipak, 6-panel, 24-page booklet.

WAGNER: TRISTAN UND ISOLDE

Joe Hisaishi - "Joe Hisaishi Conducts The End Of The World; Reich: The Desert Music". Joe Hisaishi's new album blends cinematic sound worlds with the spellbinding power of a live performance experience. Recorded in 2024 at Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Hisaishi's album features the maestro's original piece "The End of the World" and Steve Reich's "Desert Music," performed with the Futures Orchestra Classics and the Philharmonic Chorus of Tokyo. Now in it's seventh volume, the "JOE HISAISHI FUTURE ORCHESTRA CLASSICS" series highlights Joe Hisaishi's signature versatility, precision and passion. CD Digipak.

One of the great modern versions of Puccini's most celebrated opera. Angela Gheorghiu embodies an incandescent Tosca of rarely seen dramatic power and vocal flawlessness, and Roberto Alagna is an ideal Mario Cavaradossi, also at the peak of his art. Supported by a great artistic complicity, the warm and ample voices of these two star singers can flourish without restraint and unleash all the fires of passion. Ruggero Raimondi, masterful, portrays the infamous Scarpia as a model of perversity and darkness. Antonio Pappano, leading the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, once again proves himself one of the greatest operatic conductors of our time, preserving the slightest nuances of this multi-coloured score.

Alice Sara Ott - "Johann Johannsson: Piano Works" Johann Johannsson: Piano Works, recorded by pianist Alice Sara Ott, is a selection of the late Icelandic composer's most famous works - reimagined for solo piano. These premiere recordings of the piano scores published recently by Faber Music are hauntingly beautiful interpretations, capturing the essence of Johann Johannsson's music. The album includes some of his most iconic works from films such as The Theory of Everything, Personal Effects, and Copenhagen Dreams, as well as from his studio albums including Orph�e and Englaborn. CD Mintpack.

In May 2002, in a series of live concerts in the Golden Hall of Vienna's Musikverein, a journey unique in the Wiener Philharmoniker's long and distinguished history reached it's conclusion. This thrilling set of symphonies is the fruit of that journey. The recordings were made 'live', Sir Simon Rattle believing that a live performance has it's own rhythm. "A superbly played account... Rattle's must now be the strongest recommendation amongst modern Beethoven cycles." BBC Music Magazine

Born at the intersection of music, visual arts, and the world of cinema, this vibrant new program by producer Robert Townson brings together ten internationally renowned composers in world-premiere compositions. Pictures at an Exhibition: The Paintings of Bob Peak is modelled after the timeless concept of one of Mussorgsky's greatest works and brought to life by the Los Angeles Film Orchestra, under the baton of the legendary conductor Leonard Slatkin. Each one of the ten new movements is inspired by a unique piece from the oeuvre of the American illustrator Bob Peak (1927-1992), known for his posters for films including West Side Story, Superman, Apocalypse Now, and the original Star Trek movies, but also a prolific artist of commissions for Time magazine, the Olympics, and countless others. Composers include Mychael Danna, Harry Gregson-Williams, Marc Shaiman and Bill Conti.

US a cappella sextet Lyyra's debut album "Rising" is a captivating project showcasing stunning repertoire arranged for upper voices. "Rising" is not bound by genre or style, but revolves around themes of love, identity, and togetherness. The six women of Lyyra come from different musical and personal backgrounds, each bringing with them their unique style. When joined together, they create lush, chill-inducing harmonies, and a long-lasting impression. Including pop hits, Americana, jazz, traditional choral, and new compositions, highlights include a cover of Billie Eilish's iconic "What Was I Made For"; Simon & Garfunkel's "America"; and jazz standard "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square".

Composer-pianist Riopy returns with his fifth album "Be Love" - his first key music release since 2023's "Thrive". The 12 track album is comprised of 6 cinematic piano-instrumental tracks - a return to his roots of cinematic solo piano - and 6 more expansive tracks where Riopy experiments with his voice: from meditative whispers to raw and emotive lyricism. The composer-instrumentalist has utilised numerous ways to produce sound, just never his own voice. "I had this compulsion, this need to use my voice, because I think it's one of the biggest fears I've had through my life. It felt right. I needed to do this. "Be Love" was recorded on Riopy's dream instrument, the Steinway Spirio. It was mixed by GRAMMY-winning producer Oli Jacobs (Peter Gabriel, Lana Del Rey, Van Morrison) who has masterfully entwined Riopy's evocative vocals with his delicate piano tracks.

Two of the world's leading string quartets, the Eb�ne and the Belcea, come together to perform octets written 75 years apart by two phenomenally gifted teenage composers, Felix Mendelssohn and George Enescu. The two ensembles, the Eb�ne based in Paris and the Belcea in London, first joined forces almost a decade ago and have developed their collaboration since then. When they played the Mendelssohn and Enescu octets in Philadelphia in November 2024, The Strad - an authoritative voice in the world of string music - wrote: "The phrase 'luxury casting' gets tossed around a lot, but seemed entirely appropriate here, as these two distinguished groups effortlessly fused their expertise - and had a blast doing it. The gutsy results had many people in the audience standing before the interval..."

Produced during the astonishingly fruitful year before the composer's death aged 31, the Impromptus are short, lyrical miniatures of contrasting mood and character which create a musical narrative whose imaginative reach transports the listener far beyond the 19th-century drawing room. They have been core components of Eric Lu's repertoire for several years, but the pianist decided to wait before recording them. "I have a real sense of a journey with these works, in particular with Op.90, having lived with them intensely in preparation, on stage and, finally, in the recording studio," he says. "For me, the Impromptus are some of the greatest jewels in the piano literature. They are magnificent, deep pieces of music, and the very essence of Schubert."

The spectacular score for Daphnis et Chlo� is Ravel's most ambitiously scaled work. First performed in 1912 and designated a 'symphonie chor�graphique', it runs for about an hour and calls for a large orchestra (including miniature bronze cymbals, castanets and a wind machine) and a wordless chorus as it portrays the adventures of a pair of young pastoral lovers in ancient Greece. When the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, conducted by Aziz Shokakhimov, performed Daphnis et Chlo� in concert in 2024, R�sonances Lyriques admired "a euphoric soundscape", citing the "opalescent timbres... captivating unity and legato in the upper strings; controlled, noble amplitude in the lower strings; impeccable, often seemingly weightless woodwind; brass that was not so much keen-edged as embracing; multicoloured percussion... and harps that were both intense and aristocratic."

MIKHAIL PLETNEV / CHOPIN & SCRIABIN: PRELUDES - The legendary pianist, Mikhail Pletnev, proudly presents his first Deutsche Grammophon recording in decades: Chopin & Scriabin: Preludes. The renditions captured reflect a master's perspective on two masterpieces of the piano repertoire. In a historic milestone for DG, the engineering team captured the performances on a pure analog vinyl format (AAA), the first time since the 1980s that this has been done for a frontline release. The analog version was recorded on a Studer tape machine with two custom-made Sennheiser microphones, while at the same time an 11-channel microphone setup was used for the digital CD version. The tape was cut and pasted with the virtuosity of earlier sound engineering, so to speak "by ear" at the Emil Berliner Studios, while the same cuts had to be made visually on the computer.

Pianists Bertrand Chamayou and Leif Ove Andsnes join forces to record Schubert's magnificent Fantasia in F minor, presenting a landmark Schubert 4 Hands album. This release arrives 40 years after Radu Lupu and Murray Perahia's legendary CBS recording and 60 years after Benjamin Britten and Sviatoslav Richter's historic Aldeburgh Festival performance. The duo delivers breathtaking interpretations that could establish this recording as the new reference for Schubert's Fantasia. The album pairs the Fantasia with other Schubert four-hand works composed in 1828, the year of the composer's death, offering a deeply intimate and historically informed program.

CANTUS is a carefully selected bundle of 6 tracks, each based on a choral or aria-melody. The first single is a stunningly beautiful arrangement by Elizabeth Joy Roe and Greg Anderson of 'Aus Liebe will mein Heiland sterben,' an aria from Bach's St. Matthew Passion.

With over one billion streams worldwide, Vikingur Olafsson is one of the most listened-to classical artists of our time. Following the global success of his Grammy-winning recording of the Goldberg Variations, the Icelandic pianist now presents his latest album: Opus 109. At it's heart is Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109, a masterpiece of the composer's late period, which Vikingur Olafsson places in an illuminating and musically thrilling temporal dialogue, tracing the lineages that converge on this beloved beacon of the piano literature. CD Mintpack.

Hildur Guonadottir - "Where to From". Following her worldwide success and award rally for soundtracks of "Joker" and the HBO mini-series "Chernobyl," Hildur Guonadottir presents her DG debut solo album. "As is common with musicians, I have a fairly constant stream of music playing in my head. Sometimes I record this stream on my phone, for no other purpose than taking a snapshot of my feeling tone at that moment. You can capture a sense of timing with audio which you cannot with a pen. So, these recordings became a sort of diary of tonality and timings." - Hildur Guonadottir. Available in CD Mintpack with 16-page booklet.