Gianandrea Noseda and the National Symphony Orchestra present a gripping new recording of Samuel Barber's Vanessa, the Pulitzer Prize-winning American opera of love, longing, and illusion. In Barber's atmospheric, emotionally charged score, echoes of Verdi, Puccini, and Hitchcock-era Hollywood intertwine with a distinctly modern American voice. This performance brings together an exceptional cast, including Nicole Heaston, J'Nai Bridges, Matthew Polenzani, Susan Graham, and Thomas Hampson, who illuminate Gian Carlo Menotti's haunting tale of desire across generations. Recorded live in concert, this release captures Vanessa's sweeping romanticism and psychological depth with vivid orchestral color and extraordinary vocal artistry. A landmark addition to the contemporary operatic discography, it reveals why Vanessa remains one of the 20th century's most compelling operas.

Embracing the whole world, Mahler's Symphony No. 3 is a vast fresco in which nature, man and the spiritual interact on a cosmic scale. Directing the combined forces of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Chorus and Tiffin Boys' Choir, and with the movingly expressive voice of Hanna Hipp, Vasily Petrenko reveals all the richness of this visionary peak of Post-Romanticism.

Elements explores the distinctive sound world of saxophone and harp in a program that moves between Baroque masterworks and newly commissioned music inspired by the four classical elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Performed by saxophonist Huw Wiggin and harpist Oliver Wass, the album places Bach, Purcell, Vivaldi and Couperin alongside contemporary works written specially for the duo. Each commission reflects a different elemental idea, from the luminous textures of Charlotte Harding's Euphotic to the volatile energy of Laura Bowler's Caesium and the wind-driven virtuosity of David Wallace's blowing A gale. Interwoven throughout are inventive arrangements of Baroque works, drawing subtle connections across centuries. The pairing of saxophone and harp creates a sound palette that is intimate and richly coloured, capable of lyric stillness and brilliant display. Praised for his "liquid gold tones" by The Times, Wiggin joins forces with leading harpist Oliver Wass in a programme that moves between reflection, drama and radiant beauty.

This album aims to highlight one of the instruments that Barrios loved and played most, his Francisco Simplicio guitar, made in 1927. The selected pieces underline the main musical directions that stand out within the vast repertoire linked to Barrios, also making reference to the works of authors that he used to perform and who therefore had a voice on this instrument, like Chopin, Bach or Tarrega.

The Curious Bards immerse us in the 18th-century popular music of Ireland and Scotland, with reels, jigs, songs and dances that circulated in the oral tradition and in print, from the airs of Turlough O'Carolan to the great collections of the period. Impelled by an irresistible energy and underpinned by historical research, this album restores the vitality of this music that lives for the dance, for the preservation of folk memory, and for sharing with others.

Juliette Hurel and Isabelle Moretti present an inspired selection of French music for flute and harp, featuring key masterpieces alongside some rare delights. From the intensely vocal melodic line of Faur� and Debussy's playful exploration of timbres and resonances to the subtly sculpted writing of Jean Cras, this recital highlights the virtuosity and expressive verve of a duo of great stylistic finesse.

Joe Hisaishi - "Joe Hisaishi Conducts The End Of The World; Reich: The Desert Music". Joe Hisaishi's new album blends cinematic sound worlds with the spellbinding power of a live performance experience. Recorded in 2024 at Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Hisaishi's album features the maestro's original piece "The End of the World" and Steve Reich's "Desert Music," performed with the Futures Orchestra Classics and the Philharmonic Chorus of Tokyo. Now in it's seventh volume, the "JOE HISAISHI FUTURE ORCHESTRA CLASSICS" series highlights Joe Hisaishi's signature versatility, precision and passion. 2 LP set, gatefold jacket.

The first artistical cooperation and joined album release of Spanish violinist Francisco Fullana and German pianist Matthias Kirschnereit. They perform masterpieces of the Violin sonata repertoire by Claude Debussy, Ignacy Jan Paderewski (Sonata dedicated to Sarasate) and Leos Janacek. Francisco Fullana, winner of the 2018 Avery Fisher Career Grant, performed with Sir Colin Davis, Gustavo Dudamel, Alondra de la Parra and many more. Matthias Kirschnereit is the grand seigneur of German pianists, who still has recorded more than 50 albums in his 35-year career.

This CD represents pianist Violina Petrychenko's longstanding efforts to promote Ukrainian music in Europe. The program introduces two composers who represent both poles of Ukrainian musical life - Borys Liatoshynsky from central Ukraine and Vasyl Barvinsky from the west of the country. The recording presents two of the most ambitious Ukrainian piano quintets, which open up different perspectives on one of the most important genres of chamber music, each influenced by unique historical and artistic circumstances.

The NFM Choir from Wroclaw juxtaposes Penderecki and French composers, creating a dialogue between Polish and French music of the 20th century, between the singers from Wroclaw, where the choir is based, and Frenchman Lionel Sow, it's conductor since 2021. The program opens with Krzysztof Penderecki's Le Chant des ch�rubins, a piece composed in 1986 based on a text from the Orthodox liturgy. This is followed by a composition by French composer Yves Daniel-Lesur, a twelve-part Cantique des Cantiques composed in 1953. In 1962, Penderecki completed a Stabat Mater of a purely religious nature, a declaration of opposition to the communist system and it's visceral atheism, but also to Western avant-garde circles, which were equally uninterested in the sacred. Fast forward to the 2000s with Nigra sum by composer and mezzo-soprano Caroline Mar�ot, who is very interested in Renaissance music. If there is one thing that Poulenc's Salve Regina, composed in 1941, and Penderecki's Agnus Dei, written forty years later, have in common, it is simplicity and a form of contemplation that can also be found in Olivier Messiaen's O sacrum convivium, composed in 1937.

This album offers an intimate journey into Schumann's world through three emblematic works. At it's heart stands the original 1841 version of the Fourth Symphony, a rarely performed score whose transparency and almost chamber-like clarity reveal a Schumann of striking immediacy, far from the heavier later revision. The Cello Concerto and the Fantasia for violin, the latter performed here in an idiomatic and expressive transcription for cello, both belong to Schumann's final Dusseldorf years and share an atmosphere of shifting moods and luminous shadows. Throughout the album, Alexander Rudin - appearing both as conductor and as solo cellist - joins Musica Viva in shaping a vivid, deeply human portrait of Schumann's imagination and it's fragile, radiant beauty.

Face2Face compares the Beethoven string quartets with string quartets by avant-garde composers, demonstrating how far ahead of his time Beethoven was. The second album of this series contains Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartet op. 18/6, Rudolf Kelterborn's String Quartet no. 6 (2001), and Ludwig van Beethoven's "Harfenquartett" op. 74. The Amaryllis Quartett won 1st prize at the 6th International Chamber Music Competition in Melbourne (2011).

After coming to prominence as resident organist of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Iveta Apkalna has most recently been to the Far East, where in 2018 she inaugurated Asia's largest concert organ in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. She has now recorded her new album on the organ at the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying). It is an impressive instrument: Almost 10,000 pipes in over 120 registers, located in a twin organ. On the right-hand half of the stage is the great symphonic organ, which recreates the aesthetic timbre of the French Romantic style. And on the left there is the smaller "echo organ", oriented on the German Baroque repertoire. On this new album, Iveta Apkalna has compiled a programme that unites the two organs by placing the focus on the French Romantic style and making a brief foray to the father of organ music, J.S. Bach.

At the age of 15, Johann Sebastian Bach attended the Latin school at St. Michael's Monastery in Luneburg for two years. There is also evidence of at least one trip to Hamburg during this time. The young Bach must have been impressed and inspired by the North German music scene with it's large organs and independent pedals, the diverse reed stops, the clear and "sharp" mixtures and, last but not least, his musical experiences in Hamburg's Gansemarkt Opera House. Bach's chorale partitas bear clear traces of the North German environment, for example in the operatic-ariose elaborations with French ornaments or in the very individual virtuoso arrangements of the variations, which suggest the text interpretations of individual song verses. In contrast to this is the Orgelbuchlein, composed in the somewhat later Weimar years, which forms the foundation for Bach's monothematic composition: Here, the sound of a chorale is formed using just one characteristic motif. The roots of this compositional aesthetic can be traced back to Bach's early encounter with Georg Bohm in Luneburg. The history of the large organ in St. Michael's, which can be traced back to the 15th century, is eventful: in 1708 the Schnitger pupil Matthias Dropa built a new organ and extended the existing instrument by Niehoff (1553) - the young Bach may have been able to follow the plans. After numerous alterations, the current specification corresponds to that of 1708, and a precise historical restoration is currently being planned. The tremendous richness of color and the tonal spirit of the Baroque period can be clearly heard despite the equal temperament. The Klapmeyer organ in Altenbruch (1730), on which Dropa also worked from 1697-1700, gives an authentic impression of the sound of this organ landscape in Luneburg thanks to the restoration by Jurgen Ahrend (2004). The specifics of the historical sounds become tangible when comparing the two instruments.

The effervescent creativity of Franco Margola (already featured on the double CD Tactus TC 901390, Chamber Music � Concertos for Soloist and Orchestra) focuses in this recording on music for guitar, both as a solo instrument and in chamber music settings. Margola's approach to the guitar occurred in 1967. In an interview given to Maestro Domenico Lafasciano for the magazine Accademia della chitarra classica, the composer explained that his interest in this instrument matured thanks to his friend and colleague Renzo Cabassi (1908-1988). Initially, Margola was reluctant to compose for the guitar as he barely knew it's tuning, but eventually, the particularities of this fascinating and intimate instrument inspired him more and more, making it one of his favorites. The de Carli catalogue lists over 450 works for guitar, both solo and chamber ensemble, many of which remain unpublished and unknown. Mauro and Luciano Tortorelli - with the assistance of Ludovica del Bagno on violin - perform this first-ever recording of previously unpublished works by the brilliant composer from Brescia.

Kerson Leong, winner of the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition in 2010, and Jonathan Fournel, winner of the Queen Elisabeth International Grand Prix in 2021, have each recorded several albums for Alpha Classics. Long-time collaborators and friends, they have come together around Faure: "His music recalls in me the images of night, of shimmering water, of solace. He's one of the composers I return to most in which to seek comfort.", says Kerson. Jonathan continues: "His writing conveys something deeply human." They chose to record his two sonatas for violin and piano - written at opposite ends of his career - as well as a selection of transcriptions of melodies and short pieces, such as the famous Berceaux, Clair de lune, Apr�s un r�ve, Soir

French organ music from the period of Louis XIV to the Revolution has always held fascination for performers and listeners alike. The kaleidoscope of colours, the rich and varied styles, and the sheer exuberance of the music never fail to captivate. Yet, performance practice of this music has never been fully understood. David Ponsford has spent much of his career studying this repertoire, resulting in his book French Organ Music in the Reign of Louis XIV (Cambridge University Press, 2011). The present series of recordings on the most important historical organs in France is therefore the fruit of many years of research by a seasoned performer whose aim is to combine technical brilliance with intellectual understanding, to bring the music alive with authority and meaning.

At first glance, the choice of composers for this recording seems like an odd match: one cultivated a harsh, expressive musical language, while the other was a proponent of introspective soundscapes. One piece ends in an explosion, while the other offers us meditative contemplation. We also have an apparent clash of nationalities: Prokofiev was Russian, (b. Sontsivka, Ukraine) Silvestrov is Ukrainian, and conductor Dmitry Matvienko is Belarusian. But through art and music, we can always meet in dialogue and mutual understanding. What may first seem like madness has a clear logic. In Dmitry Matvienko's view, there are strong links between the two composers. Quoting Valentin Silvestrov's belief that "only melody makes music eternal," Matvienko explains why he chose Quiet Music for this recording. Despite very different musical languages, both composers were exceptional melodists who regarded melody as the foundation of all music, regardless of genre or 20thcentury avant-garde trends. Matvienko also sees both works as shaped by their historical realities. Prokofiev's symphony reflects the devastation of the post-war era and foreshadows future catastrophe, while Silvestrov's Quiet Music, written in 2002, predates but resonates deeply with later conflicts. Prokofiev could not have imagined the tragedy that would unfold decades after his death, yet history reveals the cyclical nature of evil. His work on Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible exposed a ruler's destructive paranoia - an allusion Stalin recognized. Today, Matvienko argues, history repeats itself in new forms. Against this, Silvestrov's Quiet Music offers consolation: a place of refuge open to anyone, beyond nationality or religion, where sorrow can briefly be set aside. It was very important to Dmitry Matvienko to include this piece in this recording: "Silvestrov said in one of his interviews" - "I am so tired of the noise of this world ",- "I understand that and feel it very deeply. More and more often I walk at night and listen to his music; not in headphones, but inside. And it gives me peace. I want this piece to be therapy and solace for our listeners as well."

In 1975, coinciding with the inauguration of their new headquarters in Madrid, the Fundacion Juan March launched their Young Performers recitals, a series of presenter-led concerts for secondary-school students, performed by leading Spanish artists. In their first season, five outstanding Spanish pianists-all former fellows of the Fundacion-guided young listeners on a journey through the European piano tradition, from Mozart to Debussy. This remastering brings back to life the historical recordings of several performances from that first season. The selection included on the original 1976 LP, released under the title Conciertos para jovenes. Recital de piano romantico, constitutes a valuable documentary record of Spanish pianism, now returned to circulation following a meticulous remastering process.

On 22 November 1963 at Idil Biret's US debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Erich Leinsdorf she played Rachmaninoff's 3rd Concerto. The concert was scheduled for 2.00pm. The tragic death of President Kennedy was announced during the concert. Despite the electrified atmosphere which can be sensed in the recording, the audience, many in tears, then heard a stunning performance of the concerto which was broadcast live to the nation from Boston and rebroadcast the next day from New York - "There was a buoyant quality to Idil Biret's playing, a great warmth of tone was in no way dispelled by her technical skill... she gave us power without a bang, emotion without a sentimental tear. There is no question that Miss Biret is one of the most extraordinary musicians and many of her listeners testified to her artistry by giving her a standing ovation."

Greek-Russian pianist Sasha Stychkina, born in December 2003 in Moscow into a family of musicians and filmmakers, is the youngest finalist and winner in the history of the Marguerite Long International Piano Competition in Paris in November 2019. Today she presents her first recital, recorded at the Teldex studio in Berlin under the artistic direction of her teacher, the charismatic and renowned pianist Kirill Gerstein. A decidedly varied programme-Weber, Bartok, Ravel, Chopin, Liszt-it is by turns virtuosic, dance-like and spiritual. Sasha Stychkina also introduces us to a little-known composer, Alexei Vladimirovich Stanchinsky (1888-1914), a mystical figure, considered mad - he spent a year in a psychiatric hospital - who drowned at the age of twenty-six. A student of Taneyev, encouraged by Scriabin, and introduced to Tolstoy, the composer nevertheless had a bright future ahead of him. The Five Preludes (1907-1912, published posthumously in 1928), chosen by Sasha Stychkina, are particularly evocative and visionary.

Philip Glass, a towering figure in New York's musical life in the latter half of the twentieth century and an essential voice of the minimalist movement, crafted soundscapes that seem made for the screen. In 2002, the director Stephen Daldry commissioned him to compose the score for his new film The Hours, bringing together- in the roles of three women living in three different eras-none other than Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Meryl Streep. For this study on womanhood and the passage of time, the American composer devised a score that then became emblematic of his late style. It is a veritable manifesto of his expressive simplicity, in which layers and motifs are in constant, subtle transformation, giving rise to a richly wrought polyphonic universe that beguiles us with it's expansive sonic textures. The rich score composed for Daldry was later distilled by Michael Riesman-musical director of the Philip Glass Ensemble and a close collaborator of the composer-into a three-movement suite for piano, strings, harp, and celesta, which is performed here by pianist Simone Dinnerstein and her New York ensemble, Baroklyn. Their expansive phrasing (Movement I), their serene assurance, and the intense sonority of the American pianist combine to highlight the music's almost classical elegance, as if it were a newly discovered Mozart concerto. Such a moving interpretation reflects the profound artistic bond that has united Simone Dinnerstein and Philip Glass for many years, an affinity poignantly captured in the photograph at the centre of the album, of their hands tenderly intertwined. During the same recording session in May 2025, Baroklyn's musicians also immersed themselves in Tirol Concerto (2000), the first concerto that the composer wrote for piano, which is framed solely by strings. Two brief, fleeting movements in neo-Baroque vein enclose a broad elegy-music for an imagined film-threaded with numerous reminiscences of Glass's etudes for piano, which he began writing in 1994. Simone Dinnerstein sees a natural affinity between the music of Philip Glass and that of J. S. Bach-one of her most ardent "obsessions" and the main foundation of her work with Baroklyn. In her view, the American composer shares many traits with the Cantor of Leipzig: a deeply polyphonic vision, a quest for the absolute independence of each line, and an abiding concern for the singing quality of musical phrases. Repetitive in essence, Glass's music here 'unfolds' with an extraordinarily generous breadth of spirit, under the capable hands of Simone Dinnerstein and her Baroklyn musicians. 25 FEBRUARY 2026

Quatuor Diotima presents an album of Beethoven's late string quartets, bringing renewed clarity and passion to some of the most profound works in the chamber repertoire. Written in the final years of his life, these late quartets unfold as deeply expressive explorations of form, counterpoint and human emotion. From the solemn majesty of Op.127 to the transcendent variations of Op.132 and the taut and spirited finale of Op.135, Beethoven's vision is at once intimate and vast, weaving intricate textures and soaring lyricism into a continuous, compelling musical narrative. Quatuor Diotima's interpretations illuminate every nuance, revealing the inventive brilliance and emotional depth that make these works enduring masterpieces. One of the most in-demand chamber ensembles in the world today, Quatuor Diotima has worked in close collaboration with several of the greatest composers of the late twentieth century, projecting fresh light onto the masterpieces of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Reflected in the mirror of today's music, the quartet brings new insight and energy to Beethoven's late voice. The ensemble returns to PENTATONE following their acclaimed Metamorphosis Ligeti (2023), Bruckner & Klose: String Quartets (2024) and Boulez: Livre pour Quatuor (2025), and most recently Lachenmann: Works for String Quartet in November 2025.

This landmark triple CD release presents for the first time the complete solo piano works of Denmark's national composer, Carl Nielsen, performed by one of the country's most distinguished and visionary pianists, Rikke Sandberg. She has worked with Nielsen's music since she began playing the piano as a child, and her teachers form an unbroken lineage back to the pianists for whom Nielsen originally wrote his piano works. On this release you will find Nielsen's original piano music as well as his own arrangements of his compositions. All of Nielsen's solo piano music is included. The Danish press has repeatedly celebrated her artistic integrity. Politiken writes: "She gathers torrents of notes into long, breathing arcs with sharply etched detail and colourful nuance... First and foremost she is an artist; display does not interest her." The same paper concludes: "Few Danish pianists make as great a difference in our musical life as she does." Jyllands-Posten praises her "richly nuanced and superbly controlled playing," while international critics highlight interpretations where "nothing sounds overheated or overplayed... full of fire and sparkling esprit... with such restrained dynamics that one's breath is taken away." At the heart of Sandberg's artistry stands the great Romantic tradition, notably her acclaimed interpretations of Johannes Brahms, alongside a profound commitment to twentieth-century and contemporary Danish music. Now, that lifelong dialogue between heritage and renewal culminates in Nielsen's piano oeuvre: music of rhythmic vitality, bold architecture, folk-like simplicity and daring modernity. Spanning nearly forty years, from intimate miniatures to monumental works, this edition reveals Nielsen in his full creative breadth. More than a recording, this is a definitive artistic statement, and the ultimate document of Carl Nielsen's piano world.

With this sixth volume, the Arcadia Quartet completes it's series of recordings of Weinberg's string quartets. The ensemble comments: 'Although from time to time we encounter music that we have never heard before, rarely is that music something we would listen to or play again. In our times, with our technology of information, it is rather difficult to discover something meaningful and valuable that had been overlooked in the past, but when it does happen it is a really special moment. For us it happened when we first encountered the string quartets of Mieczyslaw Weinberg. We felt instantly captivated by the wonderful music, the deeply inspired melodies, and perfectly shaped structures. The joy of playing his music has only proved equalled by the enthusiastic response of the public every time we present these quartets in concert, so the obvious question arises: "How can it be that we never heard about Weinberg earlier?" His music is like a glow of light surrounded by the darkness of the unknown, and it quickly became a goal of ours to attempt to dilute these shadows. With every recording and every live performance of his music, we intend to shine some light on this wide-ranging, profound phenomenon, which has remained overlooked for so long.'