Available for the first time in the United States, this set from the Sony Classical Masters Series features Alicia de Larrocha playing the works of Mozart, including the Complete Piano Sonatas, Rondos K 485 and 511 and Fantasias K 397 and 475. The Sony Classical Masters is a new series offering a huge wealth of recordings at a very attractive price. Combining the greatest recordings from the RCA, BMG, and Sony Classical labels in one series for the first time, the series houses the performances of the best-loved repertoire by preeminent artists such as James Galway, John Williams, Julian Bream, Lorin Maazel, Yo Yo Ma, Evgeny Kissin, Isaac Stern, James Levine and Glenn Gould, to name but a few. With 42 single-disc releases and 28 box sets, this is a truly all-encompassing range and a complete classical collection in itself, and includes many titles which have not been available for some time.

Alight Upon the Lake: Live at the Jazz Showcase is a previously unissued recording of woodwind multi-instrumentalist icon Yusef Lateef featuring pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Bob Cunningham and drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath captured live at Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase in Chicago, IL in June of 1975. The 3-CD set was mastered from the original tapes by engineer Matthew Lutthans.

Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra Sinfonia, together with percussionist Aiyun Huang, soprano Deantha Edmunds, and violinist and conductor Mark Fewer present a new album titled Alikeness. An album inspired by the human capacity to learn, adapt and collaborate. This album encourages listeners to find their own "alikenesses" within the music while fostering a deeper connection with one another. Violinist and conductor, Mark Fewer has been interpreting music in virtually every genre and setting for over three decades, premiering over 200 works, including more than 50 written for him. His unique discography features multiple JUNO and Grammy-winning recordings and an Opus Prize for a Serge Arcuri tribute. He has served as Concertmaster of the Vancouver Symphony, Artist-in-Residence at Stanford, William Dawson Scholar at McGill, and is currently Head of Strings at the University of Toronto. After 16 years as the founding artistic director of the SweetWater Music Festival, he is now in his sixth season and the Artistic Director of Stratford Summer Music.? Deantha Edmunds, Canada's first Inuk professional classical singer, was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in December 2023 for her work empowering Indigenous people and sharing their stories. Her performances, writing, and compositions have earned national and international acclaim. Born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Aiyun Huang holds a DMA from UC San Diego and is the Head of Percussion at the University of Toronto, directing it's Percussion Ensemble. She gained international recognition by winning First Prize and Audience Prize at the 2002 Geneva International Music Competition. The NSO Sinfonia, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, was founded by Peter Gardner. It features core string players from the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra. The album opens with the world premiere of Deantha Edmunds' Angmalukisaa ("round" in Inuktut), a personal composition about human connections. Next is episodes by Serge Arcuri, written for the Montreal Baroque Orchestra in 1998, blending the baroque "concerto grosso" form with modern elements. Followed by Matt Brubeck's The Simple Life, newly arranged for strings. The third movement "C" from B-A-C-H by Robert Carli, after J.S. Bach's surname, was composed in 2013 for the Sweetwater Music Festival. The album concludes with Alikeness, Yoshiaki Onishi's arrangement of an eight-movement suite by Jaroslaw Kapuscinski. The suite was originally composed in 2015 for the St. Lawrence String Quartet and Aiyun Huang.

Though born in the USA, Aline van Barentzen (1897-1981) became the youngest student to be accepted by the Paris Conservatoire, aged nine, and went on to win a premier prix aged just twelve. She was to base herself in Paris for the rest of her life, later teaching at her alma mater where her pupils included Jean-Philippe Collard and Cyprien Katsaris. A supreme virtuoso, as can be heard in her Brahms Paganini variations, she worked with many contemporary composers, making this premiere recording of Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain and also recording the complete Prole do bebê of Villa-Lobos, the second book, which she premiered, was dedicated to her.

Alirio Díaz, Vol. 1: Lauro Guitar Concerto

For his fourth Criss Cross leader date, alto saxophonist-composer David Binney convenes his primary New York working quartet of the 2000's (pianist Jacob Sacks, bassist Eivind Opsvik, and drummer Dan Weiss), adds to the mix guitar hero Wayne Krantz, with whom he works frequently in an electronica-oriented group, and augments the proceedings with several appearances by British pianist-composer John Escreet, a frequent partner in recent years. The leader plays with deep emotion and the concision of an old master; it's as strong a date as any in Binney's now sizable discography.

ALIVE

In response to many requests, David has gathered together his most popular Lent and Easter music into one convenient collection—most available for the first time on compact disc and in convenient choral octavos. Drawn from his popular Who Calls You By Name series, this fine collection includes many selections for Triduum, complimented by titles appropriate for funerals and reconciliation. And of course, all of this music reflects David's remarkable sense of melody!

ALIVE IN PHILADELPHIA 1

Vinyl LP pressing. NYC bass wizard Alexander Claffy brings his favorite musicians back to hallowed Philly ground on this live album recorded at Chris' Jazz where he has played since he was 14. A full circle moment captured on tape, across two nights. This is the first of two volumes of live experimentation featuring the stellar lineup of Seamus Blake, Kevin Hays, Bill Stewart, Jaleel Shaw and Sean Jones.

Listening, eight years after it was created, to this primary chapter in the recorded legacy of Myra Melford's first trio evokes a rush of feelings. There are warm memories of in-person encounters with Melford, Lindsey Horner and Reggie Nicholson; and satisfaction regarding how the ideas Melford articulated here as both pianist and composer have metamorphosed into the triumphs of her subsequent music. What is absent is the uncertainty one often feels when contemplating the recent past, that feeling of needing more time to take the full measure of a musical statement. Melford has made it easy for us, through the clarity of both these now-historic performances and her subsequent efforts, to hear the present works as both glorious ends in themselves and the foundations of her ongoing creations. Melford formed the trio in 1990, and immediately began the touring and recording that made her and it among the most positive signs of musical health in the early 1990s. What set the trio immediately apart was its ability to merge a strong blues feeling with notions of rhythmic and structural complexity associated with the exploratory end of the jazz-trio spectrum. The music conveyed a strength and unguarded emotionalism that burst forth in dynamic arcs, with a sense of shape and completeness that made the trio’s collective creations anything but random. Even as the band broke new ground, it was clearly a product of the jazz tradition. However odd the meter or angular the thematic material, the music always had a propulsion that all sides of current debates on jazz aesthetics could identify and celebrate as swing.

Myra Melford is a polystylist, who draws on and creates multiple playing styles. In Alive In The House Of Saints these include stomping classic jazz piano with a funky attack of Horace Silver, gospel plangency, Keith Jarrett's country and blues lyricism, and Don Pullen-style free jazz episodes. Though from quite early in her career, Alive In The House Of Saints, Parts 1 and 2 is one of her finest recordings - high on the musical power spectrum, and one of the most exciting albums of piano jazz. The members of the trio respond organically to one another - their creative empathy is clear throughout. Reggie Nicholson is a great, rather neglected drummer who, on this session, is on dazzling form. The result is a consummate live performance, full of feeling, in which no one is wrong-footed. Melford is alive to everything she hears, responding in the moment to her musical partners.

This third instalment in Brilliant Classics' French Cello Sonatas series features the phenomenal composer Louise Farrenc (1804-1875), who is enjoying a much deserved revival amid contemporary focus on women composers, and the enigmatic and formidable Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888), renowned for his complex compositional language and extreme piano virtuosity. Farrenc was a French composer, virtuoso pianist and a teacher of the Romantic period. Her compositions include three symphonies, a few choral works, numerous chamber pieces and a wide variety of piano music. Her Cello Sonata in B-flat, Op.46, in three movements, was one of her last compositions (1859). The treatment of the two instruments, especially the piano, with it's extensive use of tremolo, broken octaves and scale passages, indicates inspiration taken from Beethoven's cello sonatas as a model. The opening movement, Allegro moderato, glides along effortlessly. A lovely Andante sostenuto, full of ornamentation serves as the middle movement. The finale is a lively Allegro. The work of French composer and virtuoso pianist Charles-Valentin Alkan possesses a unique blend of complexity, innovation and emotional depth, positioning him as one of the most distinctive Romantic composers. Known for his formidable technique and reclusive nature, Alkan's compositions were marked by their technical demands and unorthodox structures, attracting both admiration and mystique. His Cello Sonata in E, Op.47 stands out as an example of his flair for blending instrumental colour and thematic development. Composed in 1856 (three years before Farrenc's), this piece is an intriguing exploration of the cello's expressive range, juxtaposed with the piano's virtuosic potential. It is structured in four movements, each showcasing the composer's penchant for unexpected turns and rich harmonies. The first movement introduces a lyrical yet intricate dialogue between cello and piano, establishing an interplay that continues throughout the sonata. The third movement, marked Adagio, highlights Alkan's capacity for profound, almost spiritual expressiveness, contrasting the vigorous and playful nature of the final Allegretto. This combination of heartfelt emotion and formidable technical demands makes the work a true test for performers. Though not as frequently performed as mainstream Romantic sonatas, Alkan's Cello Sonata has been rediscovered for it's inventive composition and serves as a testament to his ingenuity and the depth of his often-overlooked musical legacy. Other information: - Recorded 2024 in Moscow - Booklet in English contains liner notes and profiles of the artists - This third CD in a unique series of "French Cello Sonatas" presents two works from the Romantic period, the cello sonatas by Louise Farrenc and Charles-Valentin Alkan. - The sonata by Alkan is a bold, substantial work in rich romantic idiom. Alkan's superhuman pianism is reflected in the challenging piano part. The works of female composer Louise Farrenc receive more and more recognition nowadays. Her Cello Sonata is a full blooded romantic work, a gem in the genre. - Marina Tarasova is one of the most renowned cellists of today: 'Her playing is generous in tone, full-blooded in expression, passionate and confident, evidently fired by love for and commitment to the music.' Gramophone. She is winner of international competitions in Prague, Florence, Paris, and a laureate of the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow. She began playing the cello at the age of six and studied at the Gnessin School with Alexander Fedorchenko and at the Moscow Conservatoire with Natalia Shakhovskaya. Her vast repertoire spans the 17th century to the present day. She has worked with many renowned musicians, such as Mikhail Pletnev, Mariss Jansons, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Kurt Masur, Eduard Grach and Yuri Bashmet. - Marina Tarasova's piano partner is the excellent Ivan Sokolov. - The first volume of French Cello Sonatas (BC96566) presented works by Gabriel Piernei (1863-1937), Eidouard Lalo (1823-1892) and Charles Koechlin (1867-1959); the second volume... Vincent D'Indy (1851-1931), Leon Boellmann (1862-1897) and Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937) (BC 96821).

First published in 1847, these preludes form a highly original set of pieces, effectively Alkan’s first foray into the genre of cyclic shorter pieces. The set stands aside from so many in its consistently reflective and introspective approach to a genre recently redefined by Chopin. The key sequence guides us through all the major and minor keys, but instead of settling for all 24 major and minor tonalities, Alkan comes full circle for a twenty-fifth and final C major prelude to complete the set. Alkan had in mind that the Preludes might equally effectively be played on piano or organ – that they might even serve liturgical functions as chorale preludes or instrumental antiphons. However, they have always been regarded as piano music first and foremost, albeit possessed of an often tranquil and reflective temperament, anticipating the mystical works of Liszt such as the Harmonies poétiques et réligieuses (it will be remembered that Liszt regarded Alkan alone as a serious rival to his pianistic prowess). Mark Viner has made his name playing Alkan’s music, and he is widely regarded as among the composer’s most persuasive advocates on record. ‘His playing is never showy,’ remarked the Guardian when reviewing a previous Piano Classics album of the Op.35 Etudes: ‘he emphasises that these are profound explorations of early romantic sensibility first and extreme technical challenges second, and that is a totally convincing way of dealing with some of the most remarkable piano music of its time.’ Viner was praised by The Sunday Times for ‘turning Alkan’s forbidding torrents of notes into real music’. This much-anticipated new album is enhanced by Viner’s own, authoritative booklet essay giving full context both to the Preludes and their reception.

Mark Viner’s survey of the complete solo piano music of Alkan continues to turn up discoveries and reveal previously little-known or misunderstood sides of a protean figure in late French romanticism. Viner himself regards Alkan as ‘the most enigmatic figure in the history of music as a whole’.

The sixth volume of his survey focuses not on the grand cycles which have won this series such uniformly glowing reviews, but on sketches and miniatures which demonstrate Alkan’s capacity to charm as well as astound and dazzle his listeners. All these pieces are further illuminated, as before, by his own comprehensive booklet notes. Several of them will be unfamiliar to all except the most dedicated of Alkan connoisseurs.

One of the better known pieces included here, the Toccatina Op. 75, can be counted among Alkan’s finest shorter pieces for the piano, demanding phenomenal dexterity and lightness of touch. At the other end of the expressive scale, Désir is a little fantasy, one of Alkan’s most homely-sounding miniatures, yet still colored by his characteristic use of the ninth.

Described by International Piano as ‘one of the most gifted pianists of his generation’, Mark Viner is steadily gaining a reputation as one of Britain’s leading concert pianists; his unique blend of individual artistry combined with his bold exploration of the byways of the piano literature garnering international renown. Having set down dazzling accounts of the knuckle-breaking studies and solo Concerto, Mark Viner here shows his ability to distil the spirit of Alkan’s more intimate and spiritual works.

Alkan was a serious scholar of Jewish learning and ancient biblical texts, a preoccupation, not a pastime, that took precedence for him over music and the piano. The atmosphere and design of this Op.72 cycle (completed in 1867) harkens back to the grave passion instilled in the earlier 25 Préludes Op.31 (1847 - PCL10189). Several of the pieces venture beyond evocations of devotion to present psychologically probing dialogues of conflict and reconciliation. From the Revivalist sturdiness of the cycle’s opening number through the inward contemplation of No.2 to the austere fugue of No.3 and beyond, Alkan continues to spring surprises on the listener, including sudden harmonic clashes which abruptly break the tonal fabric and anticipate 20th-century trends of modernism. To the Op.72 cycle, Mark Viner adds a rarely heard Etude which Alkan originally composed for a pianistic encyclopedia compiled by his former professor. He concludes with the Etude Alla-Barbaro which was rediscovered as recently as 1996.

This is the second volume of a two-CD series presenting the first recording of the complete Chants in over 20 years; it also contains the world premiere recording of of Alkan's Chapeau bas! Playing a repertoire from the 18th to the 21st century, Stephanie McCallum is especially noted for her performances of virtuosic music of the 19th century, particularly the music of Liszt and Alkan, and also for her advocacy of demanding contemporary solo and ensemble scores.

Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, 1/93; Gramophone nomination as best recording of the year in its class, 1993. '...monumental (and genuinely virtuoso) reading of Alkan's Concerto for Solo Piano. This truly phenomenal recording will surely remain a yardstick in Alkan performances for many years to come...' -Michael Stewart in Gramophone '...the outstanding pianistic event of the year...Marc-André Hamelin [is] a superman of the piano and a titanic presence in concert.' -Adrian Corleonis in Fanfare '...blazing conviction and superhuman virtuosity. One of the great piano recordings of the century...' -Donald Manildi in American Record Guide

Alkan: Early Works & Juvenilia

Vincenzo Maltempo's previous Alkan CD (PCL0038) received the highest praise from international critics. On his new recording Maltempo plays the famous Le Festin d'Esope, the seldom played Trois Morceaux dans le genre pathetique, the Overture in grand quasi-orchestral style, and the fiendishly difficult Sonatine. An exciting release for all lovers of transcendent pianism!

Alkan: Nocturnes, Impromptus & Zorcicos, Vol. 8

ALKAN: 12 Etudes, Op. 35 / Le Festin d'Esope / Scherzo Diabo

Classical Music

Charles-Valentin Alkan made his name as pianist in nineteenth-century Paris and seemed poised for a glittering career. But following a series of setbacks he withdrew into a life of relative seclusion, and as he receded from the public eye, so too did his music. It was never entirely forgotten, but it was not until the 1960s and 1970s that Alkan’s works began to emerge from obscurity. To quote the liner notes by Paul Wee, ‘Alkan’s music exhibits a formidable grasp of form and structure, a strong command of melody, a high sense of drama and an unprecedented exploitation of the capabilities of the piano.’ Combined here on one disc – possibly for the first time – are the Symphony and the Concerto for Solo Piano, two pinnacles of Alkan’s legacy. Unusually, the four movements of the Symphony and the three movements of the Concerto are included as seven etudes within Alkan’s Douze etudes dans tous les tons mineurs (Twelve studies in all the minor keys), in 1857 as his Op.?39. As to why Alkan composed these epic works and then hid them away in a set of etudes, Wee suggests that they are to be seen as ‘a celebration of the piano and its capabilities.’ Paul Wee is a barrister specialising in commercial law and appears regularly before courts and tribunals on behalf of clients including governments, corporations, financial institutions and individuals. Born in Australia, he began his piano studies at the age of four, continuing them in New York City at the Manhattan School of Music. Going on to study law at the University of Oxford, he attempts to balance his love for the piano alongside the demands of a busy international career in law.

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REVIEWS:

The fourth through the seventh of Alkan’s Twelve Etudes in the Minor Keys Op. 39 comprise his Symphony for Solo Piano, while Etudes 8 through 10 represent the more daunting Concerto for Solo Piano. They require a pianist who possesses transcendental technical prowess, the stamina of a marathon runner, a sure command of large-scale structure, rhythmic élan, and a large portfolio of nuance and color. Paul Wee is precisely this pianist and more.

He creates the impression of tonal mass, yet his shaping of individual lines within thick textures imparts a welcome horizontal vantage point to the piano writing. In the Symphony’s second movement, for example, listen to Wee’s thoughtfully contoured interaction between the legato cantabile detached chords. His Presto finale zooms from the gate like a bat out of hell, yet the pianist’s staggeringly accurate fingers never even hint at potential derailment.

Likewise, Wee brings a playful audacity and airborne lilt to the Concerto’s aggressive quasi-bolero third movement that contrasts to the relatively suaver reserve of Marc-André Hamelin’s equally astonishing pianism. And Wee’s timbral contrasts in the long first movement bring out the music’s solo/tutti perspectives in true orchestral fashion with no more than ten fingers, although one could swear that an extra pair of hands sneaks in to help out every now and then.

Wee’s achievement is all the more unbelievable when you consider that he is not a professional pianist, but a highly successful international commercial London-based lawyer! One should mention, too, Wee’s superb booklet notes and BIS’ world-class production values. To call this disc an auspicious solo recording debut is an understatement. Better to describe it with a single word: WOW!

– ClassicsToday (Jed Distler)

What is almost incredible is that the soloist Paul Wee is not a professional pianist but a highly successful international commercial London lawyer. The precision of his attack, the clarity of the part-playing, the linear focus and structural grasp of each movement of the Symphony are quite thrilling to experience...The spontaneity and drive of his playing smash the sterile confines of the studio.

– Gramophone

Classical Music

(2-CD set) John Handy and His New Orleans Stompers with Kid Thomas on trumpet, Jim Robinson on trombone, Sammy Rimington on clarinet, Bill Sinclair on piano, Dick Griffith-banjo, Dick McCarthy on bass, Sammy Penn on drums. (Previously deleted:4/1/09. Original release date:7/1/94)

MUSICAL - CHARLES STROUSE AND LEE ADAMS Performed by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams. ALL AMERICAN - Live Backers Audition.

A collection for worship by one of our time's most accomplished liturgical composers. Arranged simply, All Are Welcome is intended to be performed with either grand or limited resources.

ALL BEFORE YESTERDAY

ALL BLUES 40TH EDITION