For Italian composers of the 18th century, the stage was the primary focus. However, Giovanni Battista Viotti, an exceptional violinist and composer, sought instead a career at the Concert Spirituel in Paris, where his performances seduced and astonished the public. His compositions also established the new standard in violin concertos, laying the foundation for the French violin school. This premiere complete recording of Viotti's 29 concertos reveals the full range of his technical and expressive mastery, showing why he was an influence on Paganini, and was admired by Brahms.

Featuring 4 works receiving their world premiere recording, Signum Classics are proud to annouce the new album 'Dorothy Howell: Orchestral Works' conducted by Rebecca Miller with the BBC Concert Orchestra. Until now these works have rarely been performed, and the majority of works are unpublished and only exist in manuscript form. "I hope this album can help to revive Dorothy’s music, to help her live on, to finally have the recognition she deserved and never received, and to secure this music’s rightful place in the centre of the classical music repertoire" - Rebecca Miller

One of the finest Christmas recordings ever made, this 1994 production by the Baltimore Consort makes a welcome return (complete with a new cover) along with the revival of the Dorian label. Glowing with the high, clear soprano of Custer LaRue and brimming with versatile, virtuoso instrumental work by Mary Anne Ballard (viols, rebec), Mark Cudek (cittern, Baroque guitar, viols, bandora), Larry Lipkis (viol, recorder, gemshorn), Ronn McFarlane (lute), Chris Norman (wooden flutes, pennywhistle), and Webb Wiggins (organ), this program literally lives up to the promise of its title.

Many of these 20 tunes/carols/dances are among the most familiar Christmas standards--Ding dong merrily on high; Greensleeves; Es ist ein' Ros' entsprungen; In dulci jubilo; The Cherry Tree Carol; Tomorrow shall be my dancing day--presented in both vocal/instrumental and strictly instrumental arrangements. But whatever the tune, and however it's presented, the result is invariably engaging, artful, classy, and infinitely repeatable, which means it's perfect for multiple repetitions, whether at Christmas or any other time of year. Chris Norman's flute improvisation on "Es ist ein' Ros' entsprungen" is a classic, and Custer LaRue's rendition of the beautiful "Rorate coeli desuper" is not to be missed. In fact, that last instruction applies to this entire disc. If you're a Christmas music fan (and who isn't?) and you don't already own this CD, you know what you have to do.

-- David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

JoAnn Falletta conducts the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic in works by four extraordinary mid-20th-century American composers who helped shape the country’s musical destiny: Aaron Copland, Walter Piston, Paul Creston and Ulysses Kay. Includes two world premiere recordings – Paul Creston's Saxophone Concerto and Ulysses Kay’s poignant and elegiac Pietà.

After the six Op. 18 quartets, the much-acclaimed Chiaroscuro Quartet now turns to two masterpieces from Beethoven’s middle and late periods. String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major, Op. 74, nicknamed ‘Harp’ because of the abundant pizzicati in its first movement, comes across as a genial and unproblematic work that was very well received immediately upon publication and has remained one of the composer’s best-loved quartets. String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130, is in a very different vein. Belonging to the series of so-called ‘late’ quartets composed between 1824 and 1826, it is a six-movement structure modelled on an eighteenth-century divertimento, adding two movements to the traditional four-movement scheme: an Alla danza tedesca and a Cavatina. Despite its evocation of an archaic dance, the Alla danza tedesca is typically Beethovenian, with its original treatment of dynamics. The Cavatina, which moved the composer to tears during its composition, is a lyrical and moving piece. Beethoven had intended to conclude this imposing work with a large-scale fugue, but its boldness baffled his first listeners and, at the request of his publisher, he resorted instead to a more approachable movement presenting a mixture of laconic dryness and, in places, tender lyricism.

REVIEW:

Though there’s no shortage of recordings of the Beethoven quartets, versions by groups taking an historically informed approach to these works, such as these from the Chiaroscuro Quartet, are still relatively rare. The ensemble's sound world is warmer, more expressively flexible and transparent than we have become so used to in this familiar music. The wonderfully paced opening of the E flat Quartet Op 74, grows steadily in insistence, until it blossoms into melody in a totally unforced way, setting the tone for everything that follows; there seem to be no preconceptions in these performances, everything comes from the music itself.

The challenges of the B flat Quartet Op 130 are on a different level, and not every decision the Chiaroscuro make in that work is convincing – the great slow movement, the Cavatina, is taken just a fraction too fast, for instance, but the finale that follows (the replacement that Beethoven composed in 1826, not the original Grosse Fuge) has a wonderfully clipped character that, like a lot in these performances, seems perfectly appropriate.

-- The Guardian (Andrew Clements)

Perhaps now overshadowed by his earlier ballet Checkmate, Miracle in the Gorbals was a tremendous hit for Bliss and the Sadlers Wells Ballet company. First performed in 1944, it was repeated in every season through to 1950. Based on a scenario by Michael Benthall (inspired by Jerome and Dostoyevsky), the ballet features the appearance of a Christ-like figure amid Glasgow's most infamous slum. This mysterious Stranger performs a miracle, reviving the Girl Suicide, who in despair had earlier thrown herself into the Clyde. The locals rejoice, but an Official (Benthall had in mind a priest) is jealous and, after a failed attempt to cast doubt on the virtue of the Stranger via the local Prostitute, has him slashed to death by a razor gang. Bliss's score employs a wide range of styles and harmonic language, and also exploits Leitmotifs for the principal characters. Originally titled Variations for Orchestra, Bliss' Metamorphic Variations was composed towards the end of his life, during a late surge of creativity. Two of the 16 movements were dropped at the first performance (given by the LSO and Vernon Handley in 1973) and for some reason were not re-instated at any of the work's later performances until that given by Michael Seal and the BBC Philharmonic in February 2025, the day before they made this recording.

Rakhi Singh is a violinist, music director, curator and composer based in the UK. In 2016 she co-founded Manchester Collective, a progressive group that the BBC describes as "transforming all our perceptions of what a classical music group can be."

"Sabkha" is the first single from Singh's full-length debut album Purnima (coming October 27) — a stirring stream-of-consciousness foray into signal processing and multi-tracking for violin, with Singh's own wordless vocals adding to the hypnotic mood. Purnima, which translates literally from the Sanskrit as "she who is the full moon,” is not only Singh's middle name — it's also a source of spiritual inspiration that has guided her own musical journey on her chosen instrument. Interpreting works by composers Alex Groves ("Trace I"), Emily Hall ("Outshifts"), Julia Wolfe ("LAD") and Michael Gordon ("Light Is Calling"), and augmenting them with unearthly electronic and electro-acoustic textures, Singh creates a haunting dreamworld of melody and sound that doesn't quite emit a completely "classical" aura — but instead suggests an altogether new one.

Claudio Santoro's late works are marked by great concision and considerable emotional density. The music on this album was written in the last months of his life. The Viola Concerto and the Concerto for Chamber Orchestra juxtapose restless energy and expansive - if at times desolate - lyricism. The powerful Symphony No. 13 shows Santoro's mastery of orchestration and form at it's peak, and the compact Symphony No. 14 was to be the last in a cycle widely acclaimed as the most significant of it's kind ever composed in Brazil.

Rumon Gamba directs the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra for the third instalment of his exploration of Overtures from the British Isles. As in the case of the previous volumes, the recorded repertoire is rarely played, and the album includes three world premiere recordings. All the works were composed in a period of eleven years, between 1938 and 1949, against the background of the horrific world events of that era. Presenting an eclectic mix of musical styles, the album, like it's predecessors, sheds light on some wonderful discoveries, passionately and enthusiastically performed by orchestra and conductor.

Anna Clyne, described as a 'composer of uncommon gifts and unusual methods' by The New York Times, is one of the most in-demand composers today, working with orchestras, choreographers, filmmakers and visual artists around the world. Clyne's unique voice combines tradition with postmodern techniques, giving her listeners a sense of musical adventure that is grounded in the past. From the beautiful elegy Within Her Arms to the defiant power of Restless Oceans, Anna Clyne's music strikes a positive and resilient tone.

The Miro Quartet, celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, presents an album featuring the complete string quartets of Alberto Ginastera, one of the most influential Latin American composers of the 20th century. A master of vivid contrasts and emotional depth, Ginastera infused his music with the spirit of Argentine folk traditions, bold modernist language, and a profound sense of expression. These three quartets span the entirety of his creative development, tracing a fascinating journey across three distinct stylistic periods. The first two quartets are considered undiscovered masterpieces, often performed live to great reception but rarely recorded in their entirety alongside the third. The vibrant rhythmic energy and folkloric colours of the first quartet, the introspective lyricism of the second, and the haunting intensity of the third each reflect Ginastera's unique fusion of influences, drawing from composers like Bartok and Stravinsky to create a sound full of emotional rawness and storytelling. Together, these quartets form a powerful cycle, showcasing Ginastera's ability to create distinct narratives within each piece, while also weaving them into a larger, cohesive musical story. This is the Miro Quartet's third album on PENTATONE, following the recording of Beethoven's Complete String Quartets (2019) and Home (2024).

This 19th volume of Haydn's complete symphonies coincides with the 40th anniversary of Il Giardino Armonico, the ensemble created and conducted by Giovanni Antonini, artistic director of the Haydn 2032 series. Il Giardino has made it's mark on the baroque world with it's revolutionary approach to Vivaldi, but Haydn has long been part of the Italian group's history, and Symphony No. 44, featured in this volume, was the first work by Haydn performed by the ensemble and Antonini. The title of this symphony, known as the "Funeral Symphony", inspired the inclusion in this programme of Scheidt's Paduana Dolorosa, published in 1621 at the beginning of the bloody Thirty Years' War, and Arvo Part's Da pacem Domine, dedicated to the memory of the victims of the 2004 Madrid train bombings: 'It's contemplative fixity and the sad Paduana dolorosa take on an almost cathartic function which, in my opinion, shows a perfect integration between music that is so stylistically and chronologically distant,' says Antonini, who also conducts Symphonies Nos. 108 (1762) and 52 (1771).

The first in a new cycle of Dvorak symphony recordings, Dvorak: Symphonies 5 & 6 is the second release from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and it's Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor, Jaime Martin, on the MSO's own record label. Recorded in 2023 at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne, these performances-under Concertmasters Dale Barltrop (Symphony No.5) and Tair Khisambeev (Symphony No.6)-were artistic highlights of the MSO's second season under Martin's baton. The artwork approach to the MSO's Dvorak cycle profiles iconic scenes from across Melbourne and the state of Victoria, beginning with the Twelve Apostles of the Great Ocean Road, a day trip from Hamer Hall.

Romanticism had many faces. Mozart's spirit still floated through musical life, and Beethoven's mighty music set the benchmark for every Romantic composer. Mozart's legacy was carried forward by two great pianists: Hummel, a pupil of Mozart, and Ries, a pupil of Beethoven. They each steered Romanticism in a different direction. Newspapers across Europe wrote of the 'wild Romanticism' of the bohemian Ries, now seen as a forerunner of Schumann. Meanwhile, the virtuoso Hummel enchanted and astonished his audiences. Around 1815, at the time of the Congress of Vienna, he was the most famous pianist in the world, and Liszt was crazy about his music. Schubert, by contrast, was the creator and embodiment of personal expressiveness in the Romantic era. He performed only in private circles and had no interest in empty virtuosity, even though he was a superb pianist whose instrument, according to contemporaries, would sing under his hands. This new recording presents the Piano Quartet in G major by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837), the Piano Quartet in F minor by Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838), and the Adagio & Rondo Concertante by Franz Schubert (1797-1828).

When the music of Nikolai Kapustin was discovered by a wider audience in the West, it was positively shocking: Who was this Soviet (!) composer, whose music sounded more like an Oscar Peterson improvisation than anything else - but who wrote detailed scores, black with notes?! As we discover more and more of his music and as we again can hear on the present recording, Kapustin developed his style subtly and steadily. He went with the times. As the music that influenced him changed, so did Kapustin's. The development of Big Band Jazz can be traced in his work. In that sense Kapustin never settled on one style (within the parameters of his unique fusion of jazz and classical, granted) but remained flexible about the musical material and the way he related it to the orchestra.

Grammy Award-winning Chicago-based percussion quartet Third Coast Percussion (Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, David Skidmore) presents Between Breaths, an album of world premieres of works by four contemporary composers, plus a work by the quartet itself.

Known for their captivating performances and innovative approach to modern classical music, TCP has been praised for “commandingly elegant” (New York Times) performances and the “rare power” (Washington Post) of their recordings. Between Breaths, a follow up to TCP’s widely praised album, Perspectives, “continues to push percussion in new directions, blurring musical boundaries and beguiling new listeners” (NPR).

The works on Between Breaths explore aspects of meditation in sound, incorporate unconventional timbres and tones, and invite listeners to lose themselves within a captivating sonic landscape. Missy Mazzoli’s five-movement Millennium Canticles transports listeners into a vivid realm where a group of people strive to recreate the rituals and stories of human life after an apocalypse. Mazzoli skillfully crafts an evocative soundscape using diverse elements such as wooden planks, resonant metal pipes, tone chimes, drums, discordant metallic tones, a resounding lion's roar, and an array of vocal expressions.

In Practice, a collaborative composition by TCP, began as a sound meditation drawing upon the personal rituals of the quartet’s members, from a warm-up routine to using sounds created with everyday objects. This source material laid the foundation for the work, which developed its own sense of direction and purpose, with an atmosphere of meditation and balance.

Tyondai Braxton's Sunny X juxtaposes otherworldly acoustic and electronic timbres against a steady rhythmic drive. Within this sonic tapestry, resonant wooden planks, metallic pipes and plates, and an array of gongs and woodblocks contribute to a distinctive and immersive experience.

Chicagoan Ayanna Woods’ Triple Point refers to the unique state where a substance simultaneously exists as a gas, liquid, and solid due to temperature and pressure conditions, which results in liquids bubbling into gas, rapidly freezing, exploding, and melting into liquid again. Woods’ composition mirrors this phenomenon, as it encapsulates moments of dynamic energy and musical elements that rise to the surface and dissolve again.

Gemma Peacocke’s Death Wish, composed in tribute to Hinewirangi Kohu-Morgan, a Maori artist, poet, and activist, has become a staple of TCP’s repertoire. Performed by four players on two marimbas, the music creates a powerful landscape of melancholy, personal devastation, and hope.

REVIEW:

Third Coast Percussion’s Between Breaths is another fresh and thought-provoking album in what has been a steady stream of recordings from the Grammy-award winning quartet over the past seven years. Released Sept. 8 on Cedille Records, Between Breaths returns to many themes explored on the ensemble’s debut EP, Ritual Music (2006): relationships between individuals, communities, and ritualistic acts. The highly programmatic and hypnotic new album showcases the quartet’s vision for commissioning works by living composers and features world premiere recordings of works by Missy Mazzoli, Tyondai Braxton, Ayanna Woods, and Gemma Peacocke, and by Third Coast Percussion itself.

-- I Care If You Listen (Forrest Howell)

For over 100 years the only opera by a woman to have been performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Der Wald is a taut, brooding drama where the simplicity of village life comes under threat from the uncontrollable desires unleashed by the darkness of the forest. Richly orchestrated, harmonically daring, and demanding a huge expressive range from the cast, the narrative drives relentlessly forward from wedding to tragedy in a single act, observed pitilessly by the eternal spirits of the forest. John Andrews conducts the BBC Singers, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and an international cast in the first ever recording of this work, using Smyth’s English version of the libretto.

An award-winning English composer of international standing, and one of the leading composers of his generation, whose music has been performed, recorded, and broadcast in many countries, Edward Gregson celebrates his eightieth birthday in 2025. He continues to compose and perform as actively as ever. This album presents three major concertos, interspersed with two shorter works for piano and orchestra. A Song for Bram was written in memory of his great friend and advocate, the conductor Bramwell Tovey. A Song for Sue, re-working the central Nocturne from his Concertante for Piano and Brass Band (1966), is a 2024 tribute to his wife. One of the most performed of all his works, the Tuba Concerto was written for John Fletcher, who gave the first performance in 1977. Gregson's Concerto for Viola and String Orchestra 'Three Goddesses' was given it's first performance in 2023 by Rachel Roberts. The goddesses depicted in the three movements are Morrigan (Celtic warrior queen and earth mother), Aphrodite (Greek goddess of love and beauty), and Diana (Roman goddess of the hunt). First performed by these forces in 2020, the Oboe Concerto 'A Vision in a Dream' is inspired by Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem Kubla Khan. In following the narrative, Gregson comes closest in his series of concertos to producing a descriptive symphonic poem.

Francisco Mignone became a leading figure in the Brazilian music scene after his return in 1929 following lengthy studies in Europe. His four Fantasias Brasileiras for piano and orchestra are part of his nationalist phase, with the first in the cycle initiated by soloist Joao de Souza Lima, who asked Mignone for a work with Brazilian flavour. These works share a festive and exuberant style to which the composer would return in his Burlesca e Toccata, which requires acrobatic virtuosity from the soloist in music that surprises by juxtaposing atonality with popular themes.

The fourth volume in this series explores a pivotal decade in Claudio Santoro's compositions, traversing his move from serialism towards nationalism. The release starts with the transitional, reflective Canto de Amor e Paz and continues with Symphony No. 4, one of his most accessible and influential works, and his brief Symphony No. 6 of 1958. The concertante works for saxophone and violin show his command of dance rhythms, colourful lyricism and virtuosity.

This first recording of the Eule Organ of Magdalen College, Oxford (opened in January 2023) features a wide range of music performed by Alexander Pott. From Wagner to Delius, the repertoire showcases the instrument's German Romantic heritage as well as it's suitability for English 20th-Century transcription, thanks to it's distinctive voice, colour, breadth and sensitivity.

The Catalan Roberto Gerhard studied piano with Granados, and was the only Spanish composer to study with Arnold Schoenberg. It was, however, over twenty years before he committed himself to writing twelve-tone music. In the interim, his output brought a new focus and precision (owing more to Stravinsky and Bartok) to the Spanish style. All the works on this album were composed in that period. Dating from the early 1940s, his ballet Alegrias was originally conceived for two pianos, but soon evolved into the four-movement suite heard here. The flamenco-inspired movements are linked in pairs, and show Gerhard's brilliance and humour in equal measure. During this same period Gerhard decided to mark the centenary of his first teacher, Felipe Pedrell (who had also taught Albeniz, Granados, and de Falla), with a three-movement symphony, Homenaje a Pedrell (CHAN 9693). Gerhard failed to secure a performance of the work, but in 1954 was invited to re-work the final movement for a BBC Symphony Orchestra concert, which became Pedrelliana. Gerhard's ballet on episodes from Cervantes's Don Quixote evolved for almost a decade, from a work for chamber orchestra, for a touring company (abandoned because of the war), via a version for radio and an expanded orchestral suite, to the work recorded here, in it's full and final orchestration for performances at the Royal Opera House in 1950, choreographed by Ninette de Valois. Robert Helpmann danced the title role and Margot Fonteyn Dulcinea.

2018 release. Since 1939, the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert has become a tradition and the world's most famous classical music event. The list of names of leading conductors who have led the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concerts reads like a veritable who's who of great maestros: Herbert von Karajan, Lorin Maazel, Claudio Abbado and Gustavo Dudamel to name a few. For the New Year's Concert 2018 world-renowned conductor Riccardo Muti returns to conduct the New Year's Concert for the fifth time. He has conducted the Vienna Philharmonic for over 500 concerts, has a very close connection to the orchestra and is one of the most engaged New Year's Concert conductors. Italian conductor Muti holds two music directorships: the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. A prolific recording artist, Muti has received dozens of honors, titles, awards and prizes throughout his career. The Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert is unique and has often been imitated, but not equaled, with a live broadcast on television in over 90 countries around the world with over 40 million viewers. The repertoire for the New Year's Concert features works by members of the Strauss Family - Johann Strauss, father and son, as well as Eduard and Josef Strauss. Old favorites from their works are played alongside others that have never been recorded or are rarely heard. All of them programmed around two fixed points in the concert, The Blue Danube Waltz and the Radetzky March.

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra and it's Music Director Jader Bignamini present Wynton Marsalis' Blues Symphony. The piece is a triumphant ode to the power of the blues and the scope of America's musical heritage. With a blend of influences from ragtime to habanera, the piece takes listeners on a sonic journey through America's revolutionary era, the early beginnings of jazz in New Orleans, and a big city soundscape that serves as a nod to the Great Migration. Detroit being one of the most vibrant melting pots of musical cultures in the US, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra seems the ideal advocate for this original contribution to the symphonic repertoire. The recording is also the first with Jader Bignamini, giving a new dimension to his music directorship. Wynton Marsalis is a world-renowned trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and a leading advocate of American culture. Jader Bignamini has worked with the world's leading orchestras and opera companies, preferably conducting without a score to guarantee maximum engagement with his players. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, America's fourth-oldest, has a history as varied and exciting as that of it's hometown.

Brooklyn based SydeBoob Duo is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of contemporary performance in repertoire for soprano and flute, bringing their virtuosity to ambitious works that highlight their committment to broad representation alongside the highest aesthetic standards. On this debut full length release, they perform works by Rebecca Saunders, Eric Moe, Anthony Braxton, Ramin Akhavijou, Max Johnson, and Beat Furrer that are both landmark works for the instrumentation and core works that have shaped Sydeboob as an ensemble.

The currently hottest German brass ensemble with great concept albums presents Christmas classics in completely new arrangements for the first time?. All-time classics like "Driving Home for Christmas", "It's beginning to look like Christmas", "Santa Claus is coming to town", "All I want for Christmas", "Let it snow", "White Christmas", "Frosty the Snowman" give this Christmas album a unique sound?

The St. Louis Symphony and their music director Stéphane Denève present a program featuring two of the most accomplished American composers in history: Leonard Bernstein with his Serenade and John Williams with his Violin Concerto, both performed by star James Ehnes, one of the most exceptional North American violinists. John Williams himself was present at the recording of his violin concerto, working together with the St. Louis Symphony, Denève, and Ehnes.

Both works evolve around love: Bernstein’s Serenade was inspired by musings on love from Plato’s Symposium while Williams’s work was arguably inspired and eventually dedicated to his suddenly deceased wife. By combining these two concert pieces, this album puts the symphonic work of Bernstein and Williams at the center, two composers who weren’t afraid of crossing the boundaries between film music and “serious” classical genres at a time when these worlds were generally kept far apart. Especially in Williams' concerto, there are still hints of his work as a film composer; the slow movement brings to mind a scene of emotional gravity.

Widely considered one of the world's finest orchestras, the SLSO maintains its commitment to artistic excellence, educational impact, and community connections. The St. Louis Symphony, Stéphane Denève, and James Ehnes all make their Pentatone debut.

REVIEWS:

Dutch label Pentatone continues to champion American orchestras with the Saint Louis Symphony’s recording of violin concertos by John Williams and Leonard Bernstein. Williams dedicated the 1974 Violin Concerto No. 1 to his late wife, the actress Barbara Ruick. It’s a serious-minded, sometimes bleak affair, and Williams has called it atonal, though it seems harmonically straightforward enough.

With a 30-minute, three-movement sweep, Williams's concerto is expansive too. Canadian violinist James Ehnes is the thoughtful soloist, investing the music with deserved gravitas and fully on top of its technical challenges. Stéphane Denève leads a weighty reading, darkly dramatic in the opening “Moderato,” consoling in the glowing slow movement (which Ehnes plays like an angel), and incisive in the intermittently clangorous finale.

Bernstein’s Serenade has been recorded many times, but this astute interpretation is a welcome reminder of both its wistful profundity and its headstrong vigor. Ehnes and Denève open the debate spaciously with an expressive account of the “Phaedrus” movement. “Aristophanes” seems to channel graceful elements out of Candide, while a weighty “Socrates” gives way to the jazzy joie de vivre of “Alcibiades.” The violin sound is clean and clear, offset against a slightly resonant orchestra.

-- Musical America (Clive Paget)

Violinist James Ehnes’ discography is so extensive that it was only a question of when he’d get around to recording Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade, not if. What’s more striking about his new recording with Stéphane Denève and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is that it pairs Bernstein’s 1954 effort with John Williams’ Violin Concerto No. 1.

The Williams dates from the mid-‘70s and was written right after the untimely death of his first wife, the actress Barbara Ruick. Its brooding, volatile aspect perhaps owes something to that context – the central “Slowly in peaceful concentration” unfolds like an elegiac barcarolle – though this is hardly funereal music.

In fact, the Concerto marked a turning point in Williams’ concert music, allowing him to cultivate what he called the “Romantic [Atonal], but in an American way”-style he’d long been striving for...there’s a motivic rigor here that’s straight out of the Brahms-Schoenberg line and the writing for violin and orchestra is thoroughly idiomatic...[here, it is] exceptionally well played and draws out the tight thematic relationships between each movement. The Canadian violinist makes the most of the introspective spots – the middle movement, the reflective episode in the center of the finale, especially – while also suffusing its bravura passagework with purpose and direction.

Denève and the SLSO are right with him, teasing out the music’s gentle echoes of Hollywood and sometimes mercurial shifts of character with surety and ease.

They make for an impressive combination, too, in the Bernstein. Take or leave the score’s programmatic allusions to Plato’s Symposium: the Serenade is one of the American composer’s freshest and most satisfying concert works.

Here, Ehnes plays with gorgeous tone – the clarity of his bow arm is just marvelous, as is his left hand’s ability to cleanly and purposefully get the music’s knotty double and triple stops to sing. Over the Serenade’s first three movements, too, there’s a strong sense of shape and propulsion: this is well-focused, graceful, spry Bernstein.

-- The Arts Fuse

Sean Shibe returns to the classical guitar on Profesión, bringing together works by Agustín Barrios, Heitor Villa-Lobos and Alberto Ginastera. The album derives its name from Barrios’s “Profesión de Fe” (profession of faith), a poem which he often used as a preface to his concerts. The poem references indigenous mythological deities, and praises the power of the guitar as the ultimate conduit to the secrets of the divine South-American destiny. Barrios’s La Catedral and Julia Florida are combined with Villa Lobos’s 12 Études, while Ginastera’s Sonata completes the program.

These works by South American composers begin with homage and pastiche in reverence of the Old World, but build towards a totally original idiom - musical magical realism. The repertoire is voluminous, indulging in excess, and narcotic, and as such creates a counterweight to the reserved and introspective nature of Shibe’s acclaimed classical predecessor album Camino.

This will be Shibe’s first-ever album focusing on repertoire that was originally written for the classical guitar, and he plays a Hauser copy built for Julian Bream. It was considered one of the best instruments of the 1930s, and fits the sound world of this program like a glove.

REVIEWS:

It’s an extraordinary account [of the Villa-Lobos], bursting with nuance and personality and easily rivaling Julian Bream’s classic, late-1970s version.

— Gramophone

This is a gleaming and brilliant album that doesn’t fail to awaken the senses to the exhilarating world of un-adulterated acoustic sound.

— BBC Music Magazine

The final volume in a new groundbreaking and much-praised complete symphony cycle of Ferdinand Ries' (1784-1838) symphonies by the Tapiola Sinfonietta and conductor Janne Nisonen includes the composer's two final statements in the symphony genre. Like most of his symphonies, also Ries' Symphony No. 6 was premiered in London in 1822. His 7th Symphony, written a decade later, remained in the shadows and was published only in 2004. Both works, however, are full of discoveries.

- "Passionately played by the Tapiola Sinfonietta, under Janne Nisonen's direction, these skillfully-crafted works emerge as noble rediscoveries," wrote the BBC Music Magazine on the second volume in the ongoing Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838) complete symphony cycle by the Tapiola Sinfonietta and conductor Janne Nisonen. This Vol. 3 includes two delightful symphonies written at the height of the composer's creative period when the influence of his composition teacher Beethoven was less evident in the composer's symphonic writing.