This is the definitive collection of Charles Mackerras's Mozart recordings for Linn, with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Comprising nine symphonies plus the Requiem, this boxed set exemplifies why Mackerras was acclaimed as one of the world's greatest Mozartians and the SCO is internationally recognised as one of the world's finest chamber orchestras. Mackerras's recording of Mozart's four late symphonies (Nos. 38-41) won multiple awards: the 2009 Classical BRITs Critics' Award and the 2009 BBC Music Magazine Disc of the Year and Orchestral Awards, whilst his recording of symphonies Nos. 29, 31 ('Paris'), 32, 35 ('Haffner') & 36 ('Linz') was named Symphonic Recording of the Year at the 2011 ECHO Klassik Awards. Completing the collection is Mackerras's recording of the Mozart Requiem, boasting stellar soloists led by soprano Susan Gritton and mezzo Catherine Wyn-Rogers. The score, prepared by the renowned American academic Robert Levin, aims for a more historically authentic performance of the choral masterpiece. It was named a benchmark recording by BBC Music Magazine amongst other accolades.

Alpha Classics proudly presents "Baroque Stories", a new series of recordings devoted to young talents in early music; it's first recording introduces Louise Acabo, a French harpsichordist and winner of several international competitions who divides her time between Paris and Basel. She has chosen to devote her debut recording to Jacques Champion de Chambonnieres (ca1601-1672), composer of more than 150 harpsichord pieces and the first French musician of the 17th century to publish volumes of works for harpsichord. "Once you have heard the harpsichord played by the Sieur de Chambonnieres, you need hear nothing else", stated the Harmonie universelle of 1636. It was this unique relationship with sound that appealed to Louise Acabo: "his writing, eminently vocal, demands that the player transcend the mechanical aspect of the instrument and approach it's strength and fragility with suppleness". Although Chambonnieres never left France, his work crossed borders and influenced composers abroad, the English in particular. Louise Acabo has constructed her own list of works from available sources, alternating works by Chambonnieres with compositions by Locke, Preston and Bryne.

Passing Fancy: Beauty in a Moment of Chaos, the AVIE debut by leading New York City early music ensemble Sonnambula, traverses music by several Renaissance composers who were forced to conceal their identities for social, religious or ethnic reasons. Yet their music transcended the disorder surrounding them, flourishing in the intersection of beliefs and styles. Disruption and displacement wasn't uncommon in 16th-and 17th-centuries Europe. During the Reformation, creative individuals, including composers, were often forced to conceal their identities - for reasons social, religious, ethnic, racial or otherwise. Yet despite - or perhaps due to - the disorder, musical styles and forms flourished, earning the era it's Renaissance designation and thus creating "Beauty in a Moment of Chaos". Sonnambula, an ensemble of New York City-based early music luminaries, bestow beauty on their AVIE debut, traversing an aural intersection of beliefs with northern and southern European styles. Here is the beauty of William Byrd and Richard Dering, two Catholics composing in Protestant England; of Leonora Duarte, a Portuguese-Jewish woman forced to live as a converso ("New Christian"), in Antwerp, and Parisian Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, whose lost works have re-emerged with a vengeance in our own time; of the Bolognese Alfonso Ferrabosco the elder who emigrated to England, and Salomone Rossi who unusually set Hebrew texts to Western-style polyphony from his relatively tolerant position in the court of Mantua. The release of Passing Fancy: Beauty in a Moment of Chaos coincides with Sonnambula's taking up residency at New York City's newly-renovated premiere museum, The Frick Collection.

For her debut solo album of music by J. S. Bach's contemporary Gottlieb Muffat, Gramophone praised pianist and harpsichordist Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya as "an ideal advocate for the music". Now, for her second solo recording for Linn, she turns to Johann Sebastian Bach in Transformations, revealing him as the supreme reinventor who continually refashioned existing material into striking new creations. The recital includes Bach's brilliant reworkings of concertos by Vivaldi and Marcello, expanded with a colour and vitality well beyond the originals. The other works on the programme are extraordinary arrangements of Bach's own music (Adagio in G major and Sonata in D minor), pieces initially written for a different instrument (Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E-flat major) and a concerto without orchestra (the Italian Concerto).

Sandrine Piau admits that she has always been fascinated not only by Schubert's music but also by the genre of the string quartet. "The endless quest for the pure gesture in which we lose ourselves in order to become one with each other reminds me of the aquatic ballets in old-fashioned musicals, when female swimmers formed images of perfect flowers". Thanks to the Psophos Quartet, her dream has now been realised; together they present a magnificent programme of transcriptions. "Between the hair of the bows and the texture of the voice, our instruments blend and form an imaginary Schubert quintet".

Francois d'Agincour (1684-1758) was a French composer, organist, and harpsichordist. Though overshadowed by contemporaries such as Francois Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau his surviving keyboard works offer a fascinating glimpse into the refined and ornate French classical organ tradition of the early 18th century. D'Agincour served as organist at the Rouen Cathedral for over 40 years and held royal positions as well, which afforded him access to France's finest instruments and a cultured musical environment. His sole surviving organ collection, Premier livre d'orgue (1733), contains a series of pieces organized into suites according to church modes, consistent with the liturgical practices of the time. Each suite contains various movements - including Plein jeux, Fugues, Recits, and Dialogues - that correspond to specific parts of the Catholic mass. His music reflects the elegance and clarity characteristic of the French classical organ school, with it's emphasis on ornamentation, color, and registration. D'Agincour skillfully exploits the tonal possibilities of the French classical organ, composing pieces that call for distinctive solo stops such as the Cromorne, Tierce, and Cornet. While structurally conservative, his music reveals a personal voice marked by harmonic finesse, rhythmic vitality, and melodic inventiveness. Though his output is modest compared to others, d'Agincour's organ works exemplify the culmination of the French classical style just before it began to yield to the more galant and Classical idioms. Modern interest in historical performance practices has led to a renewed appreciation of his music. Recorded by Chikako Nishikawa at the Andrea Zeni tribune organ in the Chiesa Parrocchiale dei SS. Giuseppe e Lucia, Italy After her studies in her Native Japan Chikako Nishikawa went to Europe to study in Zurich, Fribourg and The Hague, meanwhile receiving top prizes at international competitions. Lately she studied organ, with a focus on early music, with Federico Del Sordo at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome (Post-Gradum course).

Winner of the 14th Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2022 and an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2023, the Isidore String Quartet makes it's recording debut on Delos. Formed at The Juilliard School and coached with members of the Juilliard String Quartet past and present-the name Isidore comes from the legendary violinist Isidore Cohen, one of the Juilliard Quartet's early members-the quartet is rapidly making a name for itself on the international concert scene. The album Adorations is a celebration of chamber music at it's essence: a tapestry of joy, human connection, and the enduring resonance of lives intertwined. Each work on the album reflects a unique form of adoration, offering it's own expression of wonder, reverence, and the profound beauty of shared musical experience. Comprising Joseph Haydn's String Quartet in C major, Op. 20, and Felix Mendelssohn's String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 44, the recital also features Samuel Barber's celebrated Molto adagio and Florence Price's Adoration.

Creative collaboration is central to American composer Joel Puckett's career, a spirit that unites the three works on this recording. Each work represents a partnership between Puckett's vibrant creative imagination and a particular musician, or group of musicians. Puckett's new Trumpet Concerto (2024), his second for the instrument, was written for the distinguished jazz trumpeter Sean Jones. It's a homage of sorts to another American classic conceived for a great jazz musician, Aaron Copland's Clarinet Concerto, which was commissioned and premiered by Benny Goodman. The work is a personal response to Jones's artistry, showcasing his dazzling high register and individual articulations and inflections that are unique to his playing. The orchestral song cycle There Was a Child Went Forth was created for Grammy Award winning tenor Nicholas Phan. The music is accessible and inward, much like the verses by Walt Whitman. It's a work of celebration, composed in 2023 for the 225th anniversary of the United States President's Own Marine Band. Inspiration came from Phan's love of Whitman, and synergy from Whitman's written reviews of the Marine Band.' The album's title track Short Stories is a string quartet concerto, which has been widely performed since it's 2013 premiere. Principal players of the London Symphony Orchestra shine as the soloists, at times playing as individuals, at others as a unit with their orchestral colleagues providing a resplendent accompaniment.

Paavo Jarvi and the Estonian Festival Orchestra pay tribute to Arvo Part, who celebrates his 90th birthday in 2025. The Estonian composer has been part of Paavo Jarvi's life since childhood: "Arvo was my sister's and my father's supercool friend. He wore a baseball cap, jeans and a denim jacket". The history of the Jarvi family is intimately linked to Part's work, since it was the now legendary concert in which Neeme Jarvi - Paavo's father - conducted Part's Credo in 1968 that caused the Soviet regime to blacklist the Jarvi family and precipitate their departure from Estonia. Credo is also included in this vast programme that covers 45 years of composing. What lies behind this music's simplicity and depth? One answer possibly lies in a remark that Part made in London during a rehearsal with Paavo: "I have the impression that the orchestra doesn't like this chord enough". The transformation that then occurred was incredible; the same notes, when played "with love", sounded completely different.

Delos is thrilled to announce a new collaboration with GRAMMY� Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer. Famed for it's "accuracy of intonation, purity of blend, of color and swagger of style" (Boston Globe), the group makes it's label debut with Joy to the World. This new Christmas collection blends tradition with innovation, combining Renaissance motets and fresh arrangements of classic carols with contemporary compositions, including two new commissions from Joanna Marsh. Showcasing the ensemble's extraordinary ability to move seamlessly and expertly between styles, Chanticleer's first Delos release conjures a wintertime world of magic, light, and wonder.

Florentine, born Francesco Maria Veracini (1690-1786), was considered one of the greatest violin virtuosos of his day. Periods of residence in London, Dusseldorf, Venice, and Dresden brought the eccentric musician international fame. Amongst his extensive output,� his Sonate Accademiche Op. 2 (London/Florence 1744) for violin and basso continuo are the best known today.�The character of the Sonate Accademiche is defined by a peculiar combination of the intellectual, the virtuosic, and the highly expressive.�Despite the technically demanding writing for the violin, Veracini's masterfully idiomatic approach to his own instrument means the virtuosity flows with a natural ease and playfulness.

This production is dedicated to the works of two American composers, of whom Morten Lauridsen is certainly the better known in Germany. His choral work O magnum mysterium (1994) in particular has become one of the hits of contemporary choral literature in recent years. Lauridsen (born 1943) grew up in Portland, Oregon, the son of Danish immigrants. The songs of Jerome Kern, Cole Porter and Richard Rodgers were very present in his home. He initially studied English and history and worked as a fireman. He then turned his attention entirely to music and moved to the University of Southern California, where, after graduating, he taught music theory and later became a professor of composition. As a creator of primarily vocal music he received many awards, including the National Medal of Arts in 2007. From 1994 to 2001, he was composer in residence with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, one of the leading professional choirs in the USA, which also premiered his Lux aeterna. All five movements of this cycle refer to the "Eternal Light". While Lauridsen was setting the underlying liturgical texts to music, his mother was dying - but the words about light as a universal symbol of all-encompassing enlightenment gave him consolation. Jake Runestad is one of the latest additions to the list of great American composers and is in the process of securing his place in US music history. Born in 1986 in Rockford, Illinois, he grew up in a family that sang a lot. There was also a piano, and during his primary school years he began to play little melodies on it - also teaching himself Scott Joplin's The Entertainer. From 2009 to 2011, he studied at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, after which he quickly gained recognition, especially in the field of choral music. However, his catalogue of works also includes operas, orchestral pieces and chamber music. He has received commissions from the Washington National Opera, the vocal ensemble VOCES8 and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, among others. His first album, The Hope of Loving, was immediately nominated for a Grammy Award. A keen mountaineer and camper, Runestad finds nature a great source of inspiration. In his Earth Symphony, Mother Earth herself is given a voice; the five interrelated sections deal with her destruction, her sorrow, her healing, and also her hope for humanity.

Giovanni Antonini and Sheng-Fang Chiu form a leading recorder duo who enjoy exploring varied and unexpected repertoires. This album is named after a piece composed by Giovanni Sollima in 2024: it pays tribute to William Byrd and combines the tenor recorder with the sopranino recorder, the perfect imitator of birdsong. This programme spans the ages, from the art of diminution and improvisation in the 15th century to Bart�k's duets from the 1930s-originally composed for two violins-via the refined duets of Jacques Hotteterre in the 18th century and a sonata by Telemann from 1727. Don't miss Nuovo ricercare No. 4 (1973) by Amico Dolci, child prodigy of the flute and son of the great sociologist and pacifist Danilo Dolci. The two instrumentalists have mischievously chosen to highlight this quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet: '[playing the recorder] is as easy as lying: control these holes with your fingers and thumb, blow with your mouth, and it will produce the most eloquent music...'

A longtime Delos partner, composer Mark Abel releases his seventh album on the label. Matter-of-factly titled 4.4.2, it features the world premiere recording of four works for two musicians. A combination of vocal and chamber music, the album offers an enticing glimpse into Abel's wide-ranging soundworld, showcasing one of America's most original compositional voices alongside an impressive roster of internationally accomplished artists. The five-star cast includes rising mezzo-soprano Simone McIntosh, flutist Alice K. Dade, violinist Jennifer Choi, cellist Jonah Kim and pianists Michael McMahon, Ieva Jokubaviciute and Keisuke Nakagoshi, and the composer himself on the organ. 4.4.2 is sure to continue to solidify Mark Abel as "a compositional master of intriguing contemporary music."

On December 1, 2024, Ivan Repusic, chief conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra, conducted a concert performance of Frano Parac's opera Judita at Munich's Prinzregententheater. This two-act, seven-scene opera is about the siege of a city by brutal foreign invaders. The biblical story of Judith, who liberates her homeland of Bethulia from it's Assyrian occupiers by killing Holofernes, certainly has parallels with Croatian history, particularly that of the city of Split. From the mid-15th century onwards, the country repeatedly fought against incursions by the Ottoman Empire - and Split in Dalmatia was particularly vulnerable to the attacks of the Turks, who advanced to it's gates. The poet Marko Marulic (1450-1524) alludes to these events in allegorical form in his epic Judita, completed in 1501. One of the earliest poetic works in the Croatian language, it established Marulic's reputation as the father of Croatian literature. To celebrate the 550th anniversary of the author's birth in 2000, and in commemoration of the 1, 700th anniversary of the foundation of Split, Frano Parac, a composer born in Split in 1948, chose the epic Judita as the basis for his first opera. It premiered on July 14, 2000 at the Croatian National Theatre in Split. The live recording made in December 2023 is now being released on CD by BR-KLASSIK, supplemented by Dance of the Baroness (Ples Barunice) from Parac's 1985 dramatic ballet Carmina Krle�iana, based on texts by the expressionist-modernist writer Miroslav Krle�a. First published in 1990 in a piano version, the dance is a rewarding and effective piece for pianists - and it's orchestral version is equally impressive.

GRAMMY� Award-winning American soprano Susan Narucki is one of today's most committed advocates of the music of our time. Her deep and lasting working relationship with Gyo�rgy Kurta�g dates to 1986, the year the Hungarian composer penned his iconoclastic chamber work Kafka Fragments. Susan instinctively imbues the work with the widely varied moods of anguish, longing and rage alongside humour, absurdity and ecstasy that the texts convey. Arranged over four sections, Kurta�g sets 40 extracts from the diaries and letters of the mercurial novelist Franz Kafka. Despite being his largest song-cycle, Kurta�g deploys his signature miniature style: many of the movements last less than a minute long. Joining Susan is one of today's foremost interpreters of contemporary classical music, violinist Curtis Macomber. Together they prove to be the perfect proponents of Kurta�g's idiosyncratic fusion of poetry and music.

Valentin Silvestrov was forced to leave his native Ukraine after the Russian invasion of 2022. His music has a prescient quality that unerringly seems to express the fate of his homeland. The intimate Violin Concerto and the heartfelt, single-span Eighth Symphony are notable for their economy of expression and emphasis on beauty, depth and harmony. This is music that hovers on the edge of silence in an uplifting homage to love and humanity, hope and renewal.

For the 13th volume in the 'Next Generation Mozart Soloists' series, Georgian pianist Giorgi Gigashvili, who has already released a highly acclaimed debut album (Alpha 930), has agreed to tackle the early piano concertos of the very young Mozart: "these works already reveal his brilliance in melody, elegance and charm. Paradoxically, the main difficulty for the performer lies in the transparency of these works: every single note is exposed, which requires absolute clarity and precision". Another interesting feature of this recording is the concertante repertoire for several solo instruments, specifically the Concertone in C major for two violins and orchestra from 1774, performed here by violinists (and sisters) Veriko and Sofiko Tchumburidze, who emphasise the work's chamber music character. Pascal Deuber (the new principal horn of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich) highlights the unceasing lyricism and fluidity of Mozart's third horn concerto, the opening work in this new journey of discovery, conducted by Howard Griffiths.

Musicweb (UK):�The audio sources for these inscriptions have been very well preserved and the resultant sound quality compares favourably with a commercial studio recording of that period. This is a first CD release. I hope that more recordings of this wonderful violinist surface in the future. She deserves to be heard.

Reinhard Goebel, the founder and director of Musica Antiqua K�ln from 1973 to 2005 and a professor of performance practice at the Mozarteum Salzburg from 2010 to 2025, continues to work tirelessly on creating and developing "new" 18th-century repertoire. In May 2025, he once again turned his attention to the masterful arrangement of Mozart's Gran Partita, K. 361, made around 1800 by Munich composer Franz Gleissner. New performances as well as a modern recording were both desired and expected. Goebel performed the works featured on this CD with the M�nchner Rundfunkorchester in May 2025 during their tour of royal residences and castles in Amberg, Ansbach, Dachau, and Oettingen, having recorded them in advance in Studio 1 at Bayerischer Rundfunk. Wolfgang Amad� Mozart composed the Gran Partita, K. 361, one of his most magnificent works, for the former Mannheim orchestra, which had relocated to Munich when the elector was forced to move there for dynastic reasons. This rarely heard work features an unusual instrumentation of twelve wind instruments and a double bass. When it was due for publication in 1800, the Munich composer Gleissner presented the music publisher with a masterful arrangement for a standard orchestra. Reinhard Goebel has repeatedly championed this outstanding arrangement, which was published under the title of "Sinfonia concertante" - and has now done so once again with the M�nchner Rundfunkorchester. He writes: "How barren and empty a world without arrangements would be! Nothing speaks against arrangements, yet the reasons in favour of them can be manifold and complex."