Sebastian Weigle conducts this acclaimed Oper Frankfurt production of Rimsky-Korsakov’s operatic rarity Christmas Eve. This CD version is taken from the same live performances as the DVD/Blu-ray, released in November 2022 (2.110738 and NBD0154V). Rimsky-Korsakov blends Christian and pagan elements, Ukrainian folk songs and carols, and atmospheric orchestral interludes in this vivacious and fantastical village romance.

A veteran Bach specialist continues his Bach odyssey on Brilliant Classics with a new recording of the English Suites. Previous volumes in this series have met with wide critical acclaim. Of the French Suites, Jed Distler wrote in Classics Today: 'a splendid new recording... these lovely performances memorably showcase Rubsam's sensitive and poetic side.' While Rubsam has been playing and recording Bach's music for over half a century, he brings a fresh perspective, both to the works themselves and his approach to them, by performing on a lute-harpsichord, known in German as a lautenwerk. Of the complete Well-Tempered Clavier, the Gramophone reviewer remarked: 'Like his other Bach recordings using the Lautenwerk, including the French Suites, the so-called Lute Suites and beautiful arrangements of the Cello Suites and Violin Sonatas and Partitas, these are revelatory... one thing's for certain: you'll never listen to any of Bach's music in the same way again.' Bach himself owned a pair of Lautenwerk, and so Rubsam is returning this music to the scale on which it was conceived: more intimate than nearly all the competition on record, perfectly suited to close studio recording and domestic listening. The Suites themselves are hardly English in character (Bach probably wrote them for an English patron) but rather French, more developed in scale and expression than the earlier French Suites, especially in the Third and Sixth of the set. Movements such as the Overture to No.2 and the Sarabande of No.3 have inspired some of the greatest keyboard musicians - on various instruments - to sound the depths of their artistry. Wolfgang Rubsam does so here, yet with a humility that draws the ear back to Bach himself, to the wondrous intricacy of his polyphony, and his particular genius for embodying the character of a dance through the natural shape of his melodies. - The complete 6 English Suites by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), played on the lute-harpsichord by Wolfgang Rubsam. - There is little "English" about these suites. Their name might have been given as a tribute to Charles Diepart, whose 6 English Suites were very popular at the time. Bach's English Suites follow the traditional sequence of dance movements of the Suite. The writing is mature and technically demanding. The English Suites, along with the French Suites and Partitas, are part of the standard keyboard repertoire. - Wolfgang Rubsam is internationally known as an authoritative Bach interpreter, from recordings of the organ and harpsichord on several different labels. This new recording is played on a lute-harpsichord, an instrument that Bach would have had at home for both music-making in the family and for teaching. The touch required and the sonority produced is delicate, subtly shaded and closely related in it's effect to the music of Bach's French contemporaries, whose music he knew well, such as Francois Couperin, Jean-Philippe Rameau and Louis Marchand. The sound is warmer, as it has gut strings and no dampers.

For his 80th birthday, Ton Koopman has chosen some of his favourite tracks from the many recordings he has made for Challenge Classics / Antoine Marchand since 2002. This is a celebratory collection in four parts: music for organ, for harpsichord, chamber music and recordings with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir. Ton Koopman: "It was, of course, an almost impossible task to draw up a selection from all of the CDs I have recorded for Challenge Records, but I have tried to choose works that are very close to my heart."

Klara Wurtz Celebration

Le Secret, Music for Cello & Harp

Baroque giants La Serenissima return with VIVALDI 8 - VOLUME 2, following their previous instalment in February 2025 of Vivaldi 8 Volume 1. Recognised for 'whipping up a storm with Vivaldi', La Serenissima is 'one of Britain's best-loved chamber orchestras' (The Telegraph) known for their outstanding performances, championing a host of neglected Italian baroque composers. Uniquely, the group's entire repertoire is edited from source material by founder and violinist, Adrian Chandler OSI. Praise for Vivaldi recordings by La Serenissima: 5 stars "After being obsessed by the composer and his music world for more than 30 years, Chandler by now is Vivaldi incarnate" - The Times

Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonaten und Partiten Vol. 1 (BWV 1003, 1004) Denis Goldfeld, violin Johann Sebastian Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin are among the most important works in the violin literature. Probably composed in Kothen around 1720, they combine profound musical expressiveness with technical brilliance. The collection consists of three sonatas in the traditional church form (four movements: slow-fast-slow-fast) and three partitas, which vary the dance movements. The Chaconne from Partita No. 2 in D minor is particularly well-known, a monumental work that is considered the pinnacle of Baroque solo violin art. In these compositions, Bach demonstrates a masterful combination of polyphony, structure and emotional depth - on an instrument that seems barely capable of polyphony.

Klaus Mertens had long been wanting to record the ‘Geistliche Lieder’ by Johann Sebastian Bach from Schemelli’s Musicalisches Gesangbuch (1736). Ton Koopman had been looking for the right program to showcase the beautiful Teschemacher chamber organ in Oosterland and realised it would actually be an ideal match with the program his friend Klaus Mertens had in mind. So in early 2023 Mertens and Koopman spent some (rather cold but) inspired days in Oosterland to record this selection of 24 songs, interspersed with six organ works.

At the Festival Hall, on 24 April, 1960, an 80-year-old Sir Thomas Beecham gave what would turn out to be the final concert he conducted with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. SOMM Recordings is releasing the last work on that historic programme as part of it's continuing Beecham Collection of live recordings-the Bacchanale from the opera Samson et Dalila by Camille Saint-Saens. Unbeknownst to them, the audience's tumultuous reception of this performance proved to be a farewell to Beecham on the London concert platform. In June 1960, he suffered a cerebral thrombosis and never conducted again; he died on 8 March 1961. Jon Tolansky, a former musician at the Royal Opera House who has since specialised in making documentary features on composers and performers, recalls hearing this programme as an 11-year-old. "I had never heard anything remotely like it," he says, "as Sir Thomas, now standing fully upright on the podium, became a generator of electric lightning and as the Royal Festival Hall seemed to be shaking, most especially in the last two minutes or so, in a catastrophic earthquake." This historic release also includes live recordings of Saint-Saens's First Cello Concerto and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. Once again, audio restoration is by the renowned audio recording engineer Lani Spahr, whose work has recently been honoured with four Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice Awards-for Bruckner from the Archives Vols I and IV and, more recently, Bliss, the Composer Conducts and E.J. Moeran's music conducted by Sir Adrian Boult. Beecham was always what The Times called "a quietly persistent advocate for Saint-Saens," and he offers attentive support to the 1958 reading of Saint-Saens's First Cello Concerto by Ukrainian-born soloist Mischel Cherniavsky. The concerto is in one continuous movement with three tightly structured sections sharing interrelated ideas. Cherniavsky came from a family of nine musically gifted children, and he played in the Cherniavsky Trio with two of his brothers from 1901 until 1934, after which he was mostly based in London and France. The live performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade on this release was given at the Royal Festival Hall on 21 March, 1957. This fell right in the middle of recording sessions when the orchestra was immersed in the piece for three days, which goes some way to explaining the glorious quality of the playing in the concert. What Rimsky-Korsakov described as the "various fairy-tale wonders" he had in mind when composing the work come across in Beecham's live performance with a freshness and brilliance that make for an unforgettable experience. A 24-year-old Steven Staryk became leader of the RPO shortly before these recordings, earning the title "king of concertmasters" from The Strad magazine. About his performance on this concert The Times wrote "the solo playing of the new leader, Mr Steven Staryk, must have due acknowledgment."

Niklas Jahn, winner of the 9th International Organ Competition Musashino-Tokyo in 2023, was appointed organist at the Frauenkirche in Dresden in December 2024, the site of an acclaimed concert by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1736. This album features two works by Bach, including the monumental Toccata and Fugue in F major, as well as Toshio Hosokawa's celestial Cloudscape, and the ultravirtuosic Feuertaufe by Zsigmond Szathmary. French repertoire by Messiaen and Vierne can also be heard alongside Brahms whose Chorale Preludes are among the last pieces he composed.

Baroque giants La Serenissima return with their new recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, among other concerti for ensemble by Antonio Vivaldi. Recognized for 'whipping up a storm with Vivaldi,' La Serenissima is 'one of Britain's best-loved chamber orchestras' (The Telegraph) known for championing a host of neglected Italian baroque composers and its outstanding performances. Uniquely, the group's entire repertoire is edited from source material by founder and violinist Adrian Chandler. Praise for Vivaldi recordings by La Serenissima on Signum Classics: "After being obsessed by the composer and his music world for more than 30 years, Chandler by now is Vivaldi incarnate" - The Times

William Grant Still (1895-1978) from Little Rock was a pioneer in many ways. He was the first African American to successfully depart from the generally acceptable genres of jazz and pop. He lived to see a symphonic work and an opera of his performed, he conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic and directed an important Southern orchestra. The respect that he acquired is reflected in two Guggenheim fellowships and five honorary doctorates, as well as a growing number of top-quality recordings of his works. This album is dedicated to the composer's impressive art songs. Two dozen works, including simple spirituals, expansive, declamatory and captivating scenes, touching miniatures and provocative challenges paint a portrait of a self-assured man asserting his musical authority.

A veritable musical fresco inspired by the cyclical course of the sun, Circa Diem - "almost a day" - invites the listener on a sonic journey following the rhythm of light. From the peaceful darkness of the deep night to the gentle dawn, from the intense brightness of the zenith to the enveloping warmth of the golden hour, to the shifting shadows of dusk, each stage of the day finds it's musical resonance here. The trio Les Heures Bleues weaves it's common thread around Tomaso Albinoni's Opus 1. A first opus for a first project: the idea of a beginning, where all the musical trajectories to come are already hinted at. The cycle of a day thus mirrors the great cycles of life: gestation, birth, maturity, tranquillity, then evanescence. Four sonatas by Albinoni have been chosen and set in dialogue with different moments in the solar cycle, revealing the expressive richness of this Baroque music in the light of passing time. To anchor this one-day journey in our present, contemporary composers were invited to create works based on the light/sonata correspondence that inspired them most: Virginie Tasset, Max Charue, Patrick Leterme, Jimmy Bonesso, and Muhiddin Dürrüoglu. Their contemporary perspectives extend and renew Albinoni's legacy, inscribing this timeless cycle in a resolutely modern sensibility.

Their fifth release on Signum Classics, the "engaging" (New Yorker) men's vocal en- semble Cantus present a collection of songs cycles by contemporary and living com- posers, exploring different kinds of journeys through song. "These contrasting song cycles share an embrace of change, growth, acceptance and renewal, and through the collective experience of their journeys - great and small, painful and magical - we gain a clearer picture of life and of ourselves" - Cantus

Alfred Brendel's least known recordings are the four LPs he made for the US label SPA Records in the early 1950s. Until now, none has been given a full commercial release in the digital era but among them is a recording which is surely one of the most important in Brendel's discography - that of Busoni's 'Fantasia Contrappuntistica', the composer's monumental response to Bach's 'Art of Fugue'. We are delighted to reissue it here with Mr Brendel's blessing, along with his first solo LP, the complete recording of Liszt's 'Weihnachtsbaum'. Both these works were recorded premieres at the time and the pianist was not to return to them again in the studio, so this marks an important addition to his available discography. The booklet contains a note by the pianist himself, written specially for this release, with his reflections on Busoni and the Fantasia Contrappunctistica.

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Their third release on Signum Classics, David Temple and Hertfordshire Chorus present Karl Jenkin’s The Armed Man. This is the first recording of the ensemble version of The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace. It was conceived by the composer as an alternative where performances of the full symphonic version are not possible. The work loses none of its impact, retaining the same big sound with driving rhythms, thundering climaxes, fearful moments and tender, memorable melodies. This recording features celebrated mezzo soprano Kathryn Rudge as well as muezzin Osama Kiwan and cellist Jamal Aliyev.

In Puccini’s anniversary year, Chief Conductor of Welsh National Opera Carlo Rizzi has created new, purely orchestral versions of some of his most well-known and beloved works. Staying pure and faithful to Puccini’s original orchestration without anything added to ‘cover’ any perceivable lack of vocal line the brilliance of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Tosca and other works shine through in this album of world premiere recordings.

REVIEW:

This fabulous album of world premiere recordings is just exhilarating from start to finish. I do hope that by the end of the year Maestro Rizzi will give us other orchestral suites, say, from La bohème or Turandot. I am sure they will be welcomed most enthusiastically.

This is an irresistible programme full of shimmering melodies that help us to really discover Puccini’s orchestral mastery which is often overshadowed by the singing and heartwrenching drama of the stories. This exceptionally innovative music that strongly enhances the total mastery of Puccini’s art is not to be missed.

-- Classical Music Daily

Following on from the critically acclaimed Anthems, Hymns and Gloria (8.574130) released in 2020, Nicholas Childs and the Black Dyke Band return to the music of John Rutter with this album of Christmas carols arranged for brass. The Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus is also featured on O Clap Your Hands, Nativity Carol and Te Deum. Includes twelve world premiere recordings.

Organist Lukas Hasler presents Gold, a radiant debut album featuring his own transcriptions and arrangements for organ. What began five years ago with a fascination for Mozart's G major Sonata in Edvard Grieg's two-piano version grew into an artistic journey into the transformative world of transcription. Hasler discovered in the organ an instrument capable not only of recreating orchestral and pianistic textures, but of reshaping them into something entirely new. To capture this vision, he turned to the iconic Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, whose expressive possibilities and glowing acoustics inspired both the selection of repertoire and the album's title. Gold offers a rich spectrum of colours and styles, from the jubilant brilliance of Bach's Sinfonia (in Dupré's vibrant transcription) to the tender intimacy of Schumann's Romance, recorded here for the first time on organ. Hasler brings theatrical flair to Lemare's arrangement of Carmen Fantasy, profound stillness to Beethoven's "Moonlight" Adagio, and symphonic vitality to Bruckner's Nullte Scherzo, while Mozart's G major Sonata - filtered through Grieg's imagination and Hasler's own artistry - bridges Classical clarity and Romantic warmth. Rachmaninoff's stormy Prelude, Lefébure-Wély's sparkling Boléro, and the playful, genre-bending Vienna Calling complete a programme that celebrates invention, personality, and the golden richness of the Viennese organ sound.

Miriam Prandi's deeply personal interpretation of Bach's suites for solo cello reveals a musical personality shaped by freedom and reverence for the work; her phrasing recalls not only the elegance of line in Bach's arias and recitatives but also the intricate figuration of his keyboard works. She naturally embraces certain elements of historically informed performance practice, although she refuses to be confined by it's prescriptions. She allows the music to speak in a way that all today can understand: a way that transcends stylistic labels and so-called modernity and speaks with clarity, conviction, and from the heart.

Three years after their album of works by J.S. Bach (FUG 792), flautist Toshiyuki Shibata and keyboard player Anthony Romaniuk now record works not only by Bach but also by his sons Carl Philipp Emanuel and Wilhelm Friedemann, "the most original and innovative" of the lineage, according to Shibata. Both musicians were trained in historically informed interpretation in Belgium and admit their fascination for Art Nouveau, stating that it harmoniously combines tradition and innovation; they have also been influenced by other musical traditions, including jazz and contemporary music: "Preludes and improvisation were essential elements of music-making in the 18th century - for us it's natural to add preludes and postludes to our performances," says Shibata, who plays three traversos, copies of instruments by after Buffardin, Eigentopf and Quantz; Romaniuk plays a Flemish harpsichord and a Silbermann fortepiano. Their programme includes improvised preludes, a bold ending to BWV 1032/I and an original extra movement - a Gigue from BWV 997 with influences from several genres woven into it's bass line, honouring both tradition and invention.

Franz Hauk has spearheaded the rediscovery of Johann Simon Mayr work’s during the last two decades. This latest premiere recording presents the substantial Messa solenne in D minor which sets the full ordinary. The Simon Mayr Chorus and Concerto de Bassus are joined by a team of stellar soloists.

Bach's Goldberg Variations stands among the most profound works in the Western canon-an inexhaustible exploration of harmony, structure, and human expression. Originally written for harpsichord, this timeless masterpiece has inspired countless interpretations across instruments and generations. In this remarkable new arrangement by Caitlin Broms-Jacobs for oboe, English horn, and bassoon, the Tacamis Trio reimagines Bach's contrapuntal writing through the warm and expressive voices of the double reed family. Formed within the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, the Tacamis Trio [Caitlin Broms-Jacobs (oboe/arranger), Tracy Wright (English horn), and Allen Harrington (bassoon)] brings over a decade of shared artistry and ensemble unity to this recording. Their performance unites warmth and transparency, allowing each voice to emerge naturally within Bach's intricate counterpoint. This project, conceived during the stillness of the pandemic, grew from a period of isolation into a celebration of collaboration and renewal. Through the process of arranging and performing the work, the trio uncovered fresh dimensions of colour and dialogue in Bach's music, affirming it's boundless adaptability and emotional reach. Goldberg Variations for double reeds is at once a homage and a discovery-a return home through sound, guided by friendship, resilience, and Bach's enduring genius. About the Artists Caitlin Broms-Jacobs is principal oboist of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, praised for her "gorgeous singing tone" and "sensitive musicality" (Winnipeg Free Press). She performs widely across Canada as a soloist and chamber musician and is one half of the oboe-piano duo Fierbois. Tracy Wright is the English hornist of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and a longtime member of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Known for her expressive sound and collaborative artistry, she appears regularly in chamber, orchestral, and new-music performances across the Prairies. Allen Harrington is professor of woodwinds at the University of Manitoba's Desautels Faculty of Music, where he teaches bassoon and saxophone. A versatile performer, he appears frequently as a soloist and chamber musician and serves as principal bassoonist with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra.

Les Arts Florissants, one of the world's most renowned Baroque ensembles, joins forces with legendary founder and artistic director William Christie for a landmark release: the first complete recording of Andre Campra's Requiem, paired with his profoundly moving Miserere. These works, filled with clarity, grace, and emotional power, offer a deeply personal and spiritual listening experience. Campra's music speaks straight to the soul, with harmonies that are subtle, expressive, and timeless. Performed on period instruments at original French pitch and shaped by authentic ensemble forces, this recording is a masterclass in historically informed performance, true to Campra's era, and brought vividly to life by musicians at the top of their craft. With it's unmistakably rich and nuanced sound, Les Arts Florissants infuses every phrase with the elegance of French musical heritage, even in Latin texts shaped by the unique French pronunciation of the time. This is more than a recording, it's a rediscovery of one of sacred music's most refined voices. Though Campra's genius has long been underappreciated, this release brings his spiritual artistry to the forefront for a new generation. A powerful listening experience and a milestone debut for Les Arts Florissants and William Christie on PENTATONE, this album is an essential addition to any collection of great sacred choral works.

The Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart is performing all these cantatas in chronological order exactly 300 years later. The 23 concerts in all are taking place in and around Stuttgart; the refined live recordings are being released in this CD series on the Hänssler Classic label. The performances follow the latest state of Bach research documented in the new 2022 catalogue of Bach’s works BWV 3.

The ensemble of the Bachakademie, the Gaechinger Cantorey, plays under the direction of Hans-Christoph Rademann. For this purpose it comprises the instrumentalists and up to four vocalists per voice, including the soloists (details on the performers via QRCode), all specialists in their field, as Bach himself wished it. This is a vision that only now can be fulfilled in its ideal form. To this day the music will inspire its audience to devotion, challenge them to reflect and make them glad. It addresses questions of faith and comes to terms with particular situations of human life.

There are moments in music when time seems to pause, and with Arcangelo Corelli's music, I have experienced that enchanted stillness-where each note is not just heard but felt deeply. His music, elegant and radiant, is the gentle whisper of a bygone era, yet it breathes timeless warmth and light. Corelli's art is a delicate conversation between violin and continuo, a living breath of harmony and counterpoint that dances with noble grace. Each phrase unfolds like a tender story, where voices seek, answer, and embrace one another-like cherished friends sharing secrets across the ages. It was through my mentor, Ryo Terakado, and his luminous recording of the Violin Sonatas, Op. 5 that I first stepped into this radiant world. Since then, Corelli's melodies have been a constant companion-like a soft glow in the twilight, a source of inspiration and solace. Corelli's influence extends far beyond my own story. His style shaped the musical language of generations-admired openly by Francois Couperin, absorbed deeply into the work of Jean-Marie Leclair, and echoed, even centuries later, by virtuosi such as Pablo Sarasate and Niccolo Paganini. His music is both spiritual and earthly-a beacon of simplicity and profound beauty. I am deeply grateful to Ryo Terakado for guiding me to this wellspring of grace, to Kaori Uemura and Francois Guerrier for their artistry, and to our magical producer Guido Tichelman and the Byucksan Corporation for nurturing this project. - Eun-Shik Kim

EVERYTHING CHANGED ON JANUARY 7, 2025 I never imagined we would evacuate our home in the Palisades-a place alive with laughter, music, and the joyful chaos of my husband, our two young daughters, and crazy rescue dog-never to return. So many dear friends lost everything: cherished family heirlooms, photographs, instruments, and music libraries that had taken a lifetime to build-all vanished in moments. That evening, from our hotel window, I watched the fires rage through the beautiful Santa Monica Mountains and sobbed, completely helpless. Yet from the ash and destruction, something profoundly beautiful emerged-much like the glowing fairy at the end of Fantasia, rising from Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. I commissioned Eric Whitacre to write a new work for violin and orchestra, and as the world changed, so did his composition. Little did I know that The Pacific Has No Memory would be born from these epic tragedies. This music has become salve for the soul-a warm, healing embrace for my broken heart. Tender and profound, it radiates love, hope, and renewal. I am eternally grateful to Eric Whitacre for creating this musical prayer and to the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for breathing life into it together. This recording is dedicated to all who were affected by the Los Angeles fires, and to the brave first responders who risked everything to save lives. - Anne Akiko Meyers

The latest innovative release from The Orchestra Now and their founder-conductor Leon Botstein evokes the age-old practice of transcribing music from one set of instruments or voices to another. Transcription as Translation brings together two symphonic transcriptions by two major 20th-century conductors who were eager to perform from the podium some of their favourite non-orchestral works and present them to a wider audience. Turn of the 20th century Austrian composer and conductor Felix Weingartner had an illustrious international career that included the directorship of the Vienna Philharmonic and regular guest conducting of the Boston Symphony. He was at the vanguard of the era of acoustic recording and was the first conductor to make commercial recordings of all nine Beethoven symphonies. Weingartner's Beethoven credentials informed his orchestral transcription of Beethoven's "Hammerklavier" Piano Sonata. The name of Hungarian-born conductor George Szell remains synonymous with the Cleveland Orchestra, where he was Music Director from 1946 - 1970, to this day. He had previously worked for many years in Prague where he developed a special affinity for Czech music which is attested to his orchestration of Smetana's String Quartet No. 1 ("From My Life").

This thoughtfully conceived, beautifully executed, and boldly multi-idiomatic new album is a state-of-the-art insight into the unique soundworld of the contemporary marimba. It is also a portrait of the imaginative virtuosity of one of the instrument's finest practitioners engaging in the worlds of both contemporary classical music and jazz with equal devotion and insight. Her choices on this project display the creative boldness that has defi ned her entire career.