This 17th volume in the 'Next Generation Mozart Soloists' series marks the conclusion of this collection which, under the inspired and supportive guidance of Howard Griffiths, has enabled dozens of young soloists to record Mozart's concertos with leading orchestras. A series whose reputation has grown with each release and which concludes with three piano concertos grouped under Kochel catalogue number 107 and dated 1772: 'Three Sonatas by Mr Giovanni Bach arranged as concertos by W. A. Mozart' and a concerto for three pianos (KV 242), a work commissioned by Countess Maria Antonia Lodron to be performed with her daughters, Maria Aloisia and Maria Josepha The soloists on this recording were recommended by Andras Schiff, a member of the Orpheum Foundation's artistic board.

For this fourth volume of their complete recording of Mahler's symphonies, Paavo Jarvi and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich present a monumental work: Symphony No. 2, with it's five movements and colossal orchestra, complemented by a choir and soloists: 'Mahler's Symphony No. 2 is a gigantic work - both in substance and in scale', says Paavo Jarvi. Mahler completed the composition in 1894, after more than six years of work, at a time when, whilst he was certainly regarded as a great conductor, his life was difficult: he had lost his father, mother and sister Leopoldine in quick succession - suddenly finding himself responsible for his brothers and sisters - his first symphony had not been well received, and he was the target of an anti-Semitic press campaign in Budapest, where he had been director of the Royal Opera from 1888 to 1891. In a letter dated 1896, Mahler wrote: 'When you wake from this melancholy dream and have to return to life and it's chaos, it can easily happen that this ceaselessly moving, never resting and always incomprehensible bustle of life becomes horrifying to you"

Yvonne Loriod's creative-turned-romantic partnership with Olivier Messiaen is celebrated as one of twentieth-century music's greatest love stories. Yet the full extent of their artistic relationship is only now coming into focus, thanks to documents preserved in the musicians' joint archive. Foremost among these disclosures are Loriod's own compositional manuscripts: some dozen works she composed between 1943 and 1951, rarely performed and never published during her lifetime, a staggeringly original œuvre that sheds light on the earliest years of her and Messiaen's partnership and the intimacy of their collaboration. Roger Muraro - who joined Yvonne Loriod's class at the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 17, met Olivier Messiaen and very early on established himself as one of his leading interpreters - and Florent Boffard present the world premiere recording of three pieces by Loriod, as well as Messiaen's famous Visions de l'Amen, which Muraro had not yet recorded.

For this third volume of their complete recording of Beethoven's piano trios, the Busch Trio presents the famous Trio in D Major, known as the 'Ghost' - a title which, according to Czerny, is likely a reference to Shakespeare and, in the slow movement, to the first appearance of the ghost in Hamlet. For the second trio of Opus 70, Beethoven chose the key of E-Flat Major, which gave rise to the 'Eroica' Symphony and would, in 1809, inspire the no less heroic 'Emperor' Concerto. The Variations in G major, Op. 121a, based on an aria from a comic Singspiel by Wenzel Müller, round off this programme. In these, Beethoven builds up the most grandiloquent introduction in all his chamber music.

For this fourth volume of their complete recording of Mahler's symphonies, Paavo Jarvi and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich present a monumental work: Symphony No. 2, with it's five movements and colossal orchestra, complemented by a choir and soloists: 'Mahler's Symphony No. 2 is a gigantic work - both in substance and in scale', says Paavo Jarvi. Mahler completed the composition in 1894, after more than six years of work, at a time when, whilst he was certainly regarded as a great conductor, his life was difficult: he had lost his father, mother and sister Leopoldine in quick succession - suddenly finding himself responsible for his brothers and sisters - his first symphony had not been well received, and he was the target of an anti-Semitic press campaign in Budapest, where he had been director of the Royal Opera from 1888 to 1891. In a letter dated 1896, Mahler wrote: 'When you wake from this melancholy dream and have to return to life and it's chaos, it can easily happen that this ceaselessly moving, never resting and always incomprehensible bustle of life becomes horrifying to you"

Martin Helmchen continues his complete recording of Schubert's piano sonatas, comprising four double albums to be released between now and 2028, the bicentenary of the composer's death. This volume includes Sonatas D. 568 (1817), D. 845 (1825) and D. 625 (1818), the order of the movements of which 'remains uncertain', as Helmchen points out. He has chosen to complete certain movements, drawing inspiration from the eminent pianist Paul Badura-Skoda. The programme concludes with the intense and sombre Sonata in G major D. 894, composed in 1826 and published in 1827 under the title 'Fantaisie'. Like the rest of the cycle, it was recorded at the Kronberg Academy on a Bosendorfer piano.

A genre of high fantasy, complete with it's host of ghosts, demons, spirits and witches, usurped the place of the magical elements of Baroque opera in France during the 19th century,' writes Alexandre Dratwicki in the introduction to this programme, conceived by the Palazzetto Bru Zane and dedicated to 'le fantastique' in French symphonic music between 1850 and 1914. Gounod's La Nonne sanglante, Guiraud's La Chasse fantastique, Carraud's La Chevauchee de la chimere, and Schmitt's Le Palais hante-all these highly evocative titles set the tone, with the mysterious and strange atmosphere reinforced by the instrumentation and orchestration chosen by the composers for these overtures, ballets, or descriptive preludes, as in Hero et Leandre by Augusta Holmes and Ossiane by Marie Jaell-two unjustly forgotten composers whom the Palazzetto Bru Zane is working to bring to the public's attention. Their pieces are recorded here for the first time anywhere in the world. This repertoire is magnificently performed by the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, conducted by Pierre Dumoussaud, now music director of the Opera Orchestre Normandie Rouen.

Per il Luigi is the 17th volume of the complete Haydn 2032 collection and presents a number of Haydn's earliest symphonies; these had been composed to display the talent of the musicians who had joined the Esterhazy court orchestra during the same period as Haydn himself. The centre of the programme is the Symphony No. 13 in D major from 1763, whose orchestration includes four horns and whose final movement features a prefiguration of the famous theme of Mozart's 'Jupiter' symphony, to be composed twenty-five years later. The Violin Concerto in C major is marked fatto per il Luigi in Haydn's catalogue of works and was dedicated to Luigi Tomasini (1741-1808), a violin virtuoso born in Pesaro and a friend of Haydn. Two centuries later, the young Baroque violin virtuoso Dmitri Smirnov now brilliantly champions this repertoire with the Kammerorchester Basel under Giovanni Antonini.

A recognised specialist in the music of Robert Schumann (he recorded the complete works for solo piano between 2000 and 2010 for Alpha Classics), the French pianist eric Le Sage has devised this programme as a tribute to those who loved Schumann and to the woman he loved: Clara Wieck, of course - who would go on to become Clara Schumann despite her father's opposition to their marriage - but also Johannes Brahms, Gabriel Faure and Camille Saint-Saëns. Alongside their Variations on a Theme by Schumann, we find music by Robert, who also wrote Variations on a Theme by Clara Schumann, as well as two piano transcriptions of his Lieder, including the famous Du bist wie eine Blume, completed the day before their wedding.

This twentieth volume of the complete Haydn symphonies, conducted by Giovanni Antonini, highlights the popularity of Haydn's music in England during the 1790s. Although Haydn was unable to travel to London himself, he sent his music there instead, as no fewer than eleven of his symphonies were performed during the twelve evenings of the first season of the Grand Concert in 1782 - the year of the death of Johann Christian Bach, the youngest son of Johann Sebastian, who directed this series of concerts in London. This volume pays tribute to him, as alongside Haydn's Symphonies Nos. 76, 77 and 78, the Kammerorchester Basel and Giovanni Antonini have recorded J.C. Bach's Symphony in G minor, Op. 6 No. 6, published in 1769. Also worth reading in the album booklet is Antonini's delightful analysis of Haydn's 'humore inglese' in his symphonies!

For this second album on Alpha Classics (following ALPHA885), Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Fazil Say are not only an extraordinary performing duo, but also composers. They have recorded Szymanowski's magnificent Myths and Prokofiev's sonata, written between 1938 and 1946 amid the violence and fear of war and the Soviet regime- 'Every note says something about today' Kopatchinskaja emphasizes but it is Say's sonata Lost Screams-written for Patricia Kopatchinskaja-that opens this program: 'It embodies the struggles, fears, and silent protests of our times,' explains Fazil Say. Patkop's UniSolo closes the album: she sought to create a musical process without knowing it's outcome: ' At the beginning it revolves around the note A - Situations then developed from this that have surprised even me,' explains Kopatchinskaja, who concludes: 'Composing opens up your ears and dispels any sense of awe. I feel freer, and regard my works as living beings whom I've been conversing with for my whole life.'

Herve Niquet possesses two constant character traits: he is an indefatigable excavator of forgotten music, and he loves polyphony and 'large forms'. A few years ago, he caused a sensation by exhuming the monumental music of Striggio. To mark the thirtieth anniversary of his ensemble, Le Concert Spirituel, he now tackles a new peak of polyphony: a mass by Orazio Benevolo (1605-72) performed by eight choirs of four singers, accompanied by fifteen continuo players. In concert, the choirs are spread out around the nave, with the audience in the middle. Benevolo was born to a Burgundian confectioner father who had emigrated to Rome. Educated at the choir school of San Luigi dei Francesi, he became one of the greatest geniuses of polychorality, a prolific composer who represented the splendours of French art in Rome. He ended his career as maestro di cappella at the Vatican. This music has been resurrected thanks to the work of the great musicologist Jean Lionnet, who spent many years copying out by hand the music of numerous Italian composers in the Vatican archives, from which it was impossible to borrow documents. As a result of his labours the Missa Si Deus pro nobis has now been recorded, accompanied by vocal and instrumental pieces by Monteverdi, Frescobaldi and Palestrina.

This recording celebrates the Christmas season and it's music, but above all it offers an opportunity to discover a little-known Catalan composer, Jose de San Juan, one of the most famous of his time in Spain, born in Olot (Girona) in 1687 and who died in Madrid in 1735. The works featured on this album are villancicos, Christmas carols performed in churches, mainly during Christmas Matins (December 24) and Epiphany (January 5). This music is brought back to life by Cantoria, a vocal ensemble specialising in the performance of the Iberian vocal repertoire of the Renaissance and early Baroque periods - their first album, recorded at the Centre culturel d'Ambronay in 2022, won the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik - and by it's founder, the singer Jorge Losana. Born in Murcia and now based in Barcelona, he is deeply committed to promoting the Spanish repertoire and cultural decentralisation through his extensive artistic and educational work.

The only violin concerto written by Richard Strauss, at just 18 years old, is a beautiful, energetic, brilliantly structured work with so many clues and features of his later style., says Alena Baeva. With her long-standing collaborator Paavo Jarvi and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, she has found the ideal partners to record this relatively rarely performed concerto, as well as another early masterpiece, Bartok's First Violin Concerto, which is essentially a love letter to the violinist Stefi Geyer, nine years his junior. The 'Stefi theme' (D - F? - A - C?) forms the basis of the first movement but she never played it, as she broke up with him a few days before he finished his concerto... Bartok's First Rhapsody for Violin and Orchestra rounds completes this programme. Just a few days after it's premiere, the composer travelled to Bremen for his next concert in the Glockensaal, where, 94 years later, this recording was made.

Basically, I only have two symphonies: the Fourth and the Eighth.' Shostakovich is said to have remarked. Yevgeny Mravinsky, to whom Symphony No. 8 is dedicated, wrote in his diary: 'I spent the whole evening reflecting on and sketching out the form and dramatic arc of Shostakovich's Eighth. It moves me ever more deeply each time. Especially the "Great Terror" section of the first movement!!'. The themes of martyrdom and the transformation of the human being into a manipulable puppet run through this unsettling and monumental work. This recording constitutes the second volume of the complete Shostakovich symphonies by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by it's music director, Alain Altinoglu.

The French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, a leading figure in contemporary classical music and an insightful interpreter of the core piano repertoire, has joined Alpha Classics and launches the partnership with an album that has long been close to his heart: Schonberg's piano works. He has waited more than forty years to record them - a journey that began in 1973 when, as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, he performed Schonberg's Opus 11 live on TV after winning the Olivier Messiaen Competition. At a time when the composer's music was often misunderstood, Aimard developed a lasting connection to it's originality and expressive power. In this long-awaited recording, he traces the composer's artistic evolution through five landmark piano works, from the Expressionism of Op. 11 (1909) to Op. 33b (1931), written on the eve of Schonberg's emigration to the United States and reflecting both Brahmsian tradition and a world in transition.

The music of composer and pianist Nicolas Worms (born in 1993 in Paris) is a space where contradictory times and places converge. He develops the concept of 'music-fiction', as in the series FLOT, released by Alpha Classics in 2024. This new album arose from the "simple yet dizzying need to summon the unknown within me. What can I draw from my heritage and my keyboards?' says Worms. With four of them - the grand piano, the CP-70 electric piano, the Prophet-V analogue synthesiser and the modular system - he embarks on a grand investigation and uses his instruments as 'pieces of evidence'. L'Enquete comprises four parts and a coda. Some pieces are written in the style of a toccata or a nocturne. Others are improvised, more melodic, and others still more abstract as in any investigation, it is a matter of changing perspective, retracing one's steps, and allowing oneself to be surprised.

Herve Niquet and Le Concert Spirituel are paying tribute to Michel-Richard de Lalande, who died 300 years ago: 'Louis XIV's master of music, renowned for his sacred music and numerous divertissements, was also a remarkable composer of symphonies,' says Herve Niquet. Niquet imagines 'a rehearsal at Lalande's home as he prepared his latest compositions for the King's supper. And Massialot, his cook and maître d'hôtel, not only brought him food and drink, but also read him numerous letters and newspapers delivered by mail coach." In addition to the suites and caprices, we therefore hear a "delightful" letter from the Princess Palatine, wife of Monsieur, the King's brother, and a drinking song from 1683, entitled Pourquoi boirions-nous de l'eau? This colourful album confirms that in aristocratic France of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, "the most exquisite refinement coexisted quite unashamedly with the most unabashed vulgarity" (Francoise Rubellin).

The music of composer and pianist Nicolas Worms (born in 1993 in Paris) is a space where contradictory times and places converge. He develops the concept of 'music-fiction', as in the series FLOT, released by Alpha Classics in 2024. This new album arose from the "simple yet dizzying need to summon the unknown within me. What can I draw from my heritage and my keyboards?' says Worms. With four of them - the grand piano, the CP-70 electric piano, the Prophet-V analogue synthesiser and the modular system - he embarks on a grand investigation and uses his instruments as 'pieces of evidence'. L'Enquete comprises four parts and a coda. Some pieces are written in the style of a toccata or a nocturne. Others are improvised, more melodic, and others still more abstract as in any investigation, it is a matter of changing perspective, retracing one's steps, and allowing oneself to be surprised.

Pianist Aaron Pilsan had two dreams in life: to record both books of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier and Chopin's Études. These dreams have come true, as the Bach recordings have been released (Alpha 669 & 1034), and he now presents his recording of the Études Op. 10 and Op. 25, as well as the three posthumous Études-thus the complete set of Chopin's Études. According to Pilsan, 'Bach reveals the polyphonic nature of Chopin. By playing Bach, I have sharpened my awareness of the multiple inner voices in Chopin, especially the left hand as a harmonic and rhythmic foundation, transforming Chopin into something architecturally rich.' The Austrian pianist distinguishes between the two cycles: Op. 10 is 'direct, brilliant, and passionate, almost explosive', while Op. 25 is 'more refined and introspective'. He concludes: 'Chopin used them pedagogically, but they are also profound artistic works, combining technical development with a wide emotional range.'

As great lovers of traditional music, Rosemary Standley and François Lazarevitch were bound to meet one day. The founding leader of Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien proposed collaborating on a programme of English ballads with the iconic singer from the legendary rock band Moriarty, who has already recorded two equally iconic albums for Alpha, Love I Obey (Alpha 538) and Schubert in Love (Alpha 418): 'This repertoire suits her musical style and her voice perfectly; she brings her experience of folk music and popular song. The old ballads that Child and Sharp collected in the late 19th century are classics of the genre.' Rosemary continues: 'This repertoire is magnificent. The essence of American folk music lies in these English, Scottish, and Irish ballads-it's a genre that resonates with me very naturally.' With a carefully chosen array of instruments-baroque harp, viola da gamba, pandora, Scottish bodhrán drum and, of course, the flutes and bagpipes so dear to Lazarevitch-plus a superb group of singers and musicians, Rosemary and François set sail for the North in the wake of Alfred Deller, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone, and Simon & Garfunkel, who had also fallen in love with these tales of sailors, fairs, a tailor and his mouse, murder, betrayal, and revenge.

Sandrine Piau and David Kadouch are reuniting for a project that the French soprano conceived as the second part of a diptych begun with Voyage intime (Alpha 911). This time we enter the world of childhood, but even though this album is called Contes, 'these aren't stories for children,' says David Kadouch. Actually, these stories might even present themselves in a way that provokes anxiety-dark and menacing Sandrine Piau continues: 'Folk tales and legends often serve as an initiation, and they also act providentially as pebbles that guide us through the forest of our most secret atavistic fears.' With their well-known and recognised expertise, Piau and Kadouch bring together composers from a variety of linguistic and artistic backgrounds-Hahn, Debussy, Ravel, Wolf, Strauss, Zemlinsky, Poulenc, Shostakovich-and introduce us to fascinating female composers such as Jeanne Bernard (1895-1965), Wally Karnevo (1914-2015), Louise Didier (1872-1955), and Ilse Weber (1903-1944).

Twenty years have passed since the release of The Seasons, The Months & Other Divisions of Time - I (ALPHA1289, also reissued) by the violist Sophie Watillon, who died prematurely a year after the album's release. Lucile Boulanger and the ensemble she named Les Lucioles have decided to record the second half of this programme-the fantasies from July to December and the two remaining seasons-composed by Christopher Simpson (born c. 1602-1606, died 1669), an English violist and leading music theorist. This album pays tribute to Sophie Watillon: 'Her serene and never ostentatious virtuosity, her freshness and her sense of musical warmth made her both one of the most memorable female role models of my childhood and also a profound inspiration to most budding violists,' says Lucile Boulanger. With the expert collaboration of Myriam Rignol, Manon Papasergio, Gabriel Rignol, Elisabeth Geiger, and Josh Cheatham, Lucile Boulanger and Les Lucioles bring Simpson's music back into the spotlight, elevating the viola da gamba to a level of virtuosity that is almost unrivalled.

The sixteenth volume of the 'Next Generation Mozart Soloists' series-the penultimate instalment in this collection dedicated to the younger generation of performers, produced in collaboration with the Orpheum Foundation-is fast becoming iconic. This instalment features a unique and already highly acclaimed soloist: the French pianist Marie-Ange Nguci. Under the baton of Howard Griffiths, she has recorded two of Mozart's major concertos, including the Concerto in D minor KV 466, the first piano concerto Mozart composed in a minor key, dated 10 February 1785 and performed the very next day to great acclaim by Mozart himself on a pedal piano played in a similar way to an organ. The programme also features the Concerto in E-flat major KV 482, composed at the end of that same year, 1785.

The Opus13 Quartet was formed in 2014 and takes it's name from the String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13, by Felix Mendelssohn, a passionate early work and the first piece they ever played together. Comprising two Norwegians (violinists Sonoko Miriam Welde and Edvard Erdal) and two Swedes (Albin Uusijarvi on viola and Daniel Thorell on cello), Opus13 were keen to record Grieg's sublime Quartet No. 1 alongside Mendelssohn for their very first album. For them, it was important to connect with the raw power of this music and the Norwegian identity embodied in Grieg's music. First Prize winners at the Bordeaux International and Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competitions in 2025, Opus13 received the Borletti-Buitoni Prize in 2026 and were selected as BBC New Generation Artists. Marked by pure and fragile emotions, this programme concludes with a transcription of the famous Solveig's Song, taken from the play Peer Gynt, written in 1867 by Henrik Ibsen and set to music by Edvard Grieg.

The soprano (and ukulele player) Agathe Peyrat and the accordionist (and singer) Pierre Cussac form a unique duo, free-spirited and open to blending genres. In this programme, they embrace a classical repertoire, while putting their own spin on it "by turning the pieces into songs, with night and day as the theme." We discover an astonishing version of Mozart's Queen of the Night, melodies and opera arias by Debussy, Bizet, Saint-Saens, Puccini, Delibes and Wagner, as well as songs by Maurice Yvain, Charles Trenet, Andre Minvielle and Brigitte Fontaine, all arranged by the two artists, who play with every nuance between black and white, darkness and light: 'On this recording, light represents the great joy we feel when we play together - a joy we love to share."

Following Wanderer Without Words (Alpha 984), which demonstrated her talents as a transcriber and pianist - 'we applaud both the skill of the composition and the performance, which alternates between subtle gestures and flashes of passion', wrote Diapason - Juliette Journaux now embarks on 'a declaration of love for German post-Romanticism', born at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, which dares to marry "the sublime and the trivial, beauty and ugliness, ecstasy and anguish, the divine and the carnal." Composers are gradually breaking free from classical structures, the boundaries of tonality are being pushed back, and the system of organising sounds around a stable central pole of attraction is being overturned: "Post-Romanticism muddies the clear waters," continues the French pianist. These tensions are embodied in a particularly striking manner in a work whose shockwaves reverberated throughout the late 19th century: Tristan und Isolde, premiered on 10 June 1865. The 'Wagner case' would captivate the musical world for decades, and young Viennese composers would follow in the master's footsteps: Wolf, Zemlinsky, Schoenberg, Schreker, Braunfels and Korngold feature on the programme of this recital, comprising numerous transcriptions by the pianist, which sheds a captivating light on this historic turning point.

Il Caravaggio is an ensemble founded and conducted by Camille Delaforge, bringing together a new generation of musicians playing period instruments; the ensemble will celebrate it's tenth anniversary in 2027. They are joining Alpha Classics for several recording projects, starting with this programme centred on three sacred works by Purcell (The Witch of Endor), Ferrandini (Il Pianto di Maria) and Charpentier (Le Reniement de Saint-Pierre): 'I was 17, I'd just started playing the harpsichord and I discovered the final chorus of Le Reniement de Saint-Pierre. A world of profound humanity opened up before me. I did not yet understand the codes of this music, but I already I sensed that a key was turning, unlocking the door to an intensely emotional space,' says Camille Delaforge. She continues: these works 'all depict a similar spiritual journey; that of a person faced with abandonment: Mary's grief, Peter's remorse and Saul's terror in the face of the invisible in Purcell" With leading singers, Camille Delaforge and Il Caravaggio perform these sacred stories with great passion; stories that have stood the test of time and still move us today. With leading singers, Camille Delaforge and Il Caravaggio perform these sacred stories with great passion; stories that have stood the test of time and still move us today.

This album centres on Ravel: Ravel the composer with Ma Mere l'Oye - originally a suite for piano four hands composed in 1910, orchestrated the following year to become a ballet and Ravel the arranger with Mussorgsky's famous Pictures at an Exhibition, as well as his orchestration of Schumann's Carnival, an embryonic project begun in 1914 for the great Nijinsky, who would ultimately never dance it. Only four excerpts were transcribed, and they were not published until 1975, on the centenary of Ravel's birth. Joseph Swensen, conducting the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, brings them back to life and infuses this colourful programme with his passion and infectious enthusiasm.

This album - the third to be released on Alpha Classics - is entitled Nui (a Korean word meaning 'sister'). The Esme Quartet pays tribute to Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, with Fanny's Quartet in E-Flat major, written during the final year of her life, which finds a poignant echo in Felix's Quartet No. 6 in F minor, written in the aftermath of his sister's sudden death: The Esme Quartet hears in Fanny's Quartet an 'intimate and penetrating voice, reaching outwards with urgency, tenderness and vulnerability.' The programme also features a new work commissioned from the Korean-American composer Juri Seo, inspired by the traditional Korean song Eommaya nunaya ('Mother, Sister'). 'This song evokes a peaceful, distant place where loved ones gather and the heart finds rest, offering a quiet sense of comfort that resonates naturally with the emotional landscape of the Mendelssohns,' concludes the Esme Quartet, which is celebrating it's tenth anniversary with this new recording.