Leipzig, 1726. Johann Sebastian Bach had been Cantor at the Thomaskirche for three years, and in February of that year he interrupted his regular production of cantatas to perform eighteen cantatas by his cousin Johann Ludwig Bach in the city's main churches. Johann Ludwig was Kapellmeister at the court of Meiningen at that time. These works have survived solely thanks to the copies that Johann Sebastian made of them, and thus testify to the high esteem in which he held his cousin's compositions. Capella Sollertia now presents the first-ever recording of these works.

This recording by Ciconia Consort, Couleurs de France, offers a rare and evocative journey through four lesser-known works for string orchestra by three prominent 20th-century French composers: Andr� Jolivet, Jacques Cast�r�de, and Daniel-Lesur. Jacques Cast�r�de's connection to his French predecessors is evident in his use of modal, chromatic, and diatonic scales. A student of Olivier Messiaen, Cast�r�de nonetheless forged a highly personal harmonic style within an extended tonal idiom, characterized by melodic clarity and accessibility. His compositions seem to harmoniously blend the various French styles of the 20th century. In his work, we hear the sonic fingerprints of Arthur Honegger, Daniel-Lesur, and his teacher Messiaen - all woven into a coherent, lyrical whole. Throughout his life, Andr� Jolivet aimed to "restore to music it's original, ancient meaning, when it served as a magical, incantatory expression of the religious beliefs of human communities."* His later compositions continued this exploration, seeking music's original function as an emotional, ritualistic, and celebratory form of expression. His Symphonie pour cordes, commissioned by French radio and television, was composed in 1961 and premiered on January 9, 1962. The symphony demands exceptional technical skill from all performers. It is written in a freely atonal idiom and is characterized by intense dissonance. Daniel Jean Yves Lesur (1908-2002) was a French composer, organist, and teacher, closely linked to the group La Jeune France, alongside Olivier Messiaen and Andr� Jolivet. His music often reflects a balance between tradition and modernity, combining rich harmonic language with a sense of spiritual depth. Lesur's output includes choral works, chamber music, and orchestral compositions, yet he remains less widely known than some of his contemporaries. Among his instrumental works is the S�r�nade pour cordes (1949), a luminous piece that highlights his lyrical style and refined craftsmanship. Written for string orchestra, it embraces classical clarity while exploring colorful modal harmonies, characteristic of Lesur's personal voice. This recording is the fifth CD on Brilliant Classics by the Ciconia Consort (The Hague String Orchestra), a Dutch string orchestra conducted by Dick van Gasteren, an internationally active conductor who was Bernard Haitink's assistant during the Mahler Festival Amsterdam in 1995.

New recordings of neglected but compelling piano works from the spring of Giuseppe Martucci's career. Martucci composed all the pieces on this album during the year 1876. As Ilaria Sinicropi observes in her booklet essay, Martucci was 'a composer in the making', in the first flush of his talent. In finding his own voice for instrumental composition, he looked naturally northwards, to the other side of the Alps, and in particular to Schumann and to Brahms, with their strong narrative arcs, their expansion of traditional models such as sonata form and their richly chromatic but disciplined harmony. The more adventurous language of the Capriccio e Serenata Op.57 was yet to come. Yet the first movement of the Piano Sonata - mysteriously neglected by pianists until now, with no other recordings in the current catalogue - already shows Martucci stretching his wings, and adapting the fantasy-style of Schumann to the ends of his own lyrical style. Sinicropi hears within it a powerful evocation of nature in the mould of Grieg's Lyric Pieces, and it prefigures the imposing intensity of expression in the third-movement Andante, with a scintillating Scherzo to serve as intermezzo and a Lisztian finale which synthesizes elements of chorale, fugue and rondo. The suite of Four Pieces Op.31 do not venture into the Sonata's ambitious terrain, cast by and large in a vein of gentle introspection, but they too reward close listening (which again is only now possible with Ilaria Sinicropi's recording). In fact the opening Nocturne is the most developed piece of the quartet, belying it's title with fiery outbursts and unexpected pauses. The following barcarolle and Romance may be heard as songs without words in a stylish emulation of Mendelssohn, before a final 'Dolce Ricardo's (Sweet Memory) returns to the tripartite but eventful form of the Nocturne. Finally, the Mazurka Op.35 makes a graceful encore, 'deeply rooted in the Italian tradition and the expressive style typical of mannerism,' according to Ilaria Sinicropi. Her affinity with this music is abundantly clear from her playing as well as her writing, and with this album she makes an auspicious debut on Piano Classics, which is sure to attract wider attention.

H�kon Austb�'s highly regarded Grieg collection, reissued with a recent recording of the four-hands repertoire to make the most complete available set of the composer's piano music - and, by extension, an open window onto the soul of this most poetic of Scandinavian romantics. Edvard Grieg was a talented child pianist when the violinist Ole Bull heard him play, and straightaway recognised in him a talent deserving of nurture. While he went on to write a symphony and a few other large-scale works, Grieg found his voice most of all through the piano, and through the songs without words which he called Lyric Pieces. In themselves, these are extensions of the Schumann/Mendelssohn lineage of instrumental tone-pictures, as well as translations of the lyric impulse that made him an equally successful song-writer, especially once he had married his cousin, Nina, and found in her the singer who understood both him and his music best. Nina also played the piano well enough to form a duo partnership with her husband. In that context, we may understand the transcriptions of his orchestral Holberg and Peer Gynt suites as not merely financially expedient hackwork, done to exploit the domestic market for enjoying orchestral classics at home, but as an intimate act of devotion. In the gently tripping neobaroque dances of the Holberg Suite, as brought to life by two pianists sitting side by side, we can eavesdrop on a touching communion. Meanwhile, the ten books of Lyric Pieces came to form a kind of diary to which Grieg returned and confided some of his most intimate and experimental thoughts through the course of his entire career. Whether evoking nature, a solitary thought, or a lover's gaze, the Lyric Pieces go straight to the heart of the matter, often with a disarming simplicity of manner which conceals some sophistication of form and technique. Awarding H�kon Austb�'s cycle 10/10 for both performance and engineering, Jed Distler at Classics Today remarked: "Austb�'s performances are consistently direct, idiomatic, and as natural as breathing... his virile and dynamically charged traversal matches Grieg's pianism in spirit... You won't find a better Grieg piano music bargain anywhere on the planet."

Alkan: Nocturnes, Impromptus & Zorcicos, Vol. 8

Anne-Sophie Mutter is launching her own series of recordings on Alpha Classics, ASM Forte Forward, devoted to the music of our time: it will exclusively feature contemporary works written for her. In 2026 and 2027, this exceptional artist is celebrating her jubilee: 50 years on stage, driven by curiosity, passion and commitment to the future of music. The first opus in this new series, East Meets West, includes works by four composers from diverse origins. The programme moves from solo violin, through duo and chamber repertoire, to concerto with orchestra. It opens with Likoo for solo violin by Iranian-Dutch composer Aftab Darvishi, followed by Gran Cadenza for two violins by Unsuk Chin, a South Korean composer living in Berlin, J�rg Widmann's String Quartet No. 6, entitled Studie �ber Beethoven; and concludes with Thomas Ad�s' concerto for violin and orchestra, Air-Homage to Sibelius, premiered in 2022 and recorded here with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the British composer himself.

The Gemshorn is a medieval wind instrument belonging to the ocarina family, traditionally made from the horn of a chamois, goat, or ox. It produces sound through a fipple mouthpiece similar to that of a recorder, with finger holes along the front allowing for a diatonic scale. The Gemshorn's gentle, flute-like tone -mellow and haunting- made it particularly suited for both sacred and domestic music in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. This new recording presents the gemshorn in combination with lute and percussion instruments, in Dances, spanning from the 12th till the 17th century. A highly attractive program, ranging from melancholy musings to visceral, sometimes barbaric dances. Played by Simone Erre (gemshorn), Ugo Nastrucci (lute) and Ensemble Abelardus.

Baroque mastermind J�rg Halubek finishes his journey around the great historic organs of Germany. The final installment of his series Organ Landscapes on vinyl. Halubek plays the Silbermann organ (1710-1714) in the Dom St. Marien Church in Freiberg, the Hildebrandt organ (1746) in St. Wenzel Church in Naumburg, and in the St. Johannis Church in L�neburg.

The Queen of Instruments meets one of the international leading organists, Iveta Apkalna. The repertoire of the new album includes Vasks' "Viatore" and "Te Deum" as well as Part's famous "Spiegel i'm Spiegel", "Pari intervallo", "Trivium" and "Annum per annum". Two of the most important contemporary composers are united on one album, celebrating Part's 90th birthday in 2025 and Vasks' 80th birthday in 2026. Also a milestone in music history is captured on this release: it is the first ever solo organ recording made on the organ of the Ventspils Concert Hall "Latvija" - one of the most remarkable concert instruments in Norther Europe.

For his third solo album for Alpha, keyboard polyglot Anthony Romaniuk returns to the piano, exploring the seven modes: derived from the major scale, the basis of ancient Greek music but nowadays endemic in folk, jazz, and beyond, each one containing a world of character and mood. Starting with John Adams' Phrygian Gates, Romaniuk devised a programme comprising music by P�rt, Ligeti, Radiohead, and Bj�rk, with his own original compositions; arrangements of traditional Catalan and English/Scottish music; and improvisations. Continuing his search for a personal and original sound, Romaniuk uses two pianos, including a Klavins upright grand piano (from the collection of Nils Frahm), which, thanks to it's massive soundboard and four-metre-long bass strings, overwhelms the listener. The addition of various analogue and digital audio effects, together with innovative recording techniques, brings the listener into a unique sonic landscape, approaching that of a sound installation.

Today, it is a beacon in the world of music: a cappella choir culture at the highest technical and musical level. Clytus Gottwald had a decisive influence on this choir culture with his work, arranging solo songs for polyphonic choirs and thus enabling new, breathtaking sound experiences. In 2025, Gottwald would have turned 100 years old. The Stuttgart Chamber Choir, conducted by Frieder Bernius, has taken this anniversary as an opportunity to honor Gottwald's art with a special program. From Franz Schubert's Nacht und Tr�ume (Night and Dreams) to Die K�nige (The Kings) by Peter Cornelius to Solveig's Song by Edvard Grieg, the range of songs that Gottwald transformed into a cappella choral sound experiences through his transcriptions is vast. A vocal delight, not only in the anniversary year!

The dazzling Sardinian guitarist returns to the studios for a breathtaking compendium of variation sets, many of them never recorded before, by many of the most enduring names in guitar composition of the last century. Through the course of his long partnership with Brilliant Classics, Cristiano Porqueddu has attracted superlatives and enthusiasm from all corners of the critical press and listeners everywhere. There's no denying the ability of Cristiano Porqueddu,' wrote David Hurwitz in Classics Today, citing the guitarist's 'rich sound and dexterous handling of his instrument.' His colleague Jed Distler noted that Porqueddu's 'nuanced articulation allows him to sustain and spin out legato lines as if his fingers had bows.' Porqueddu's collection of 20th-century variation sets surveys a kaleidoscopic variety of styles and idioms, demonstrating in the process the guitarist's own breadth of vision as well as his virtuosic technique and insightful musicianship. He begins with a monster of the form: the 45-minute sequence of variations on a theme of Fernando Sor, by the US composer Mark Delpriora. Musician and listener are taken on an astonishing tour de force of invention, as Sor's melancholy tune becomes the raw text for vivid pastiches and parodies in the style of canon composers from Beethoven through to Schoenberg and Busoni. Characteristically, set the challenge to 'follow that', Porqueddu does just that, with a work of his own, which takes it's inspiration from Foucault's Pendulum. On the following discs, the withdrawn, lyrical chromaticism presents a compelling contrast with both the Russian romanticism of Boris Asafiev preceding him, and the implacable shadows of the Raighines by Ermanno Brignolo. This last work was composed for Porqueddu himself, while John Duarte's Variations on a Catalan Folksong were composed in 1956 at the suggestion of John Williams; and it is in this distinguished lineage that Porqueddu belongs. Some of the following works inspire wonder at their intricacy (both executive and compositional), such as the interwoven Variants on Two Themes of Bach by Reginald Smith-Brindle, while others major on charm, such as the first set of Mozartiana composed by Porqueddu's teacher, Angelo Gilardino. There's something for everyone.

A high-grade transfer to LP for Emanuele Delucchi's scintillating survey of Stravinsky's solo piano music, originally released in 2023. Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) became a pivotal figure in musical modernism with the works he wrote for Serge Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, of which Le sacre du Printemps caused a scandal due to it's fierce, brutal, and openly sensual character. The quintessential nature of Le sacre is pianistically conceived - those pounding chords and unpredictable accents that fit under the fingers - and Stravinsky no less than Beethoven is a composer who self-evidently both thinks and writes at the piano. Yet Stravinsky's solo output for the instrument is relatively modest - surveyed here by Emanuele Delucchi within 50 minutes. Even here, Delucchi finds space for a real rarity, an arrangement of a section from the Symphonies for Wind instruments which, in the ineluctable progression of it's heavy and dense chords, once more reveals it's keyboard roots in this transcription. For the rest, the original piano music focuses piece by piece on familiar tropes: neoclassicism in the Sonata and Serenade; popular and vernacular styles in the Piano-Rag Music and Tango. Stravinsky used unconventional harmonies and rhythmic patterns, and often incorporated elements of folk music and jazz into his pieces. The Piano Sonata and Serenade in A can be described as neoclassical, blending traditional forms with a new tonal language. The Piano Rag Music, Tango, and Circus Polka are delightful examples of "light" entertainment music, spiced with syncopated rhythms and "wrong" notes. Emanuele Delucchi is one of the most remarkable pianists of his generation. He has the technique and style to master the most difficult pieces with ease, logic and elegance. He made his name with his Godowsky series for Piano Classics, including the vertiginously difficult Chopin Studies. 'Only top-flight virtuosos need apply,' remarked Jeremy Nicholas in Gramophone: 'Delucchi is one of them.

With her new album Mozartiana, award-winning violinist Clarissa Bevilacqua presents a fascinating musical tribute and, at the same time, opens up new perspectives on a timeless genius. Clarissa Bevilacqua, who studied at the renowned Mozarteum Salzburg and won both first prize and the audience prize at the Mozart International Competition 2020, combines past and present in a captivating musical dialogue on Mozartiana. In addition to masterpieces such as F. X. Mozart's Sonata for Violin and Piano, Beethoven's 12 Variations on "Le nozze di Figaro", and Schnittke's Moz-Art for ensemble, the album features contemporary compositions written especially for this album by Felix Willeitner, Sophia Jani, Jorge Bosso, and Giovanni Sollima-all of which are world premiere recordings. As founder and artistic director of DYNAMIKfest Salzburg, Bevilacqua once again demonstrates her passionate commitment to combining classical and modern music. Mozartiana is not only a tribute to Mozart-it is a living commitment to artistic curiosity, diversity, and musical dialogue across the centuries.

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) was an Italian Baroque composer, virtuoso violinist, and priest, best known for his dynamic instrumental concertos and innovative orchestral writing. Born in Venice, Vivaldi was trained in both music and theology, eventually becoming a violin teacher and composer at the Ospedale della Piet�, an orphanage for girls with an exceptional music program. His tenure there produced many of his finest instrumental works and helped shape the distinctive Venetian Baroque style. Vivaldi's concertos revolutionized instrumental music by exploring the expressive and technical possibilities of each instrument. His violin concertos expanded the concerto form, using clear contrasts between soloist and orchestra and developing the ritornello structure that would influence composers such as J.S. Bach. His flute concertos, composed later in his career, demonstrate his sensitivity to the instrument's lyrical qualities and agility. These concertos were among the earliest significant contributions to the flute repertoire and reflect the growing popularity of the transverse flute in the early 18th century. Vivaldi also wrote around 40 bassoon concertos, an unprecedented number for the time. These works reveal his deep understanding of the instrument's expressive range, from playful and energetic to dark and solemn. They remain central to the bassoon's solo literature today. This new recording presents the first recording of concertos which missed certain movements, and which are completed by reconstructing from existing musical materials, by Alessandro Ciccolini, achieving cohesive and stylistically faithful reconstructions. Ciccolini has already works extensively reconstructing Vivaldi operas, for publication by Barenreiter and Boosey & Hawkes, and performed by Alan Curtis for DG. Played by Tommaso Rossi (flute solo), Alessandro Ciccolini (violin solo & conductor), Giovanni Battista Graziadio (bassoon solo) and the Compagnia de Violini.

The Ensemble Concerto K�ln embark on a journey into the Baroque era and present Violin Concertos by Corelli, Somis, Valentini, Mascitti, and Vivaldi. For the recording, they are accompanied by the excellent Russian violinist Evgeni Sviridov. Arcangelo Corelli, who lived and died in Rome, is considered a typical representative of classical Italian violin music and, as such, had a strong influence on all his younger contemporaries, whose works can be heard on this album.

Zofia Neugebauer, born in Poland in 1994, played at the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic. She was principal flutist in renowned orchestras such as the Lucerne and Basel Symphony Orchestras and performed with renowned conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle and Zubin Mehta. In 2018, the Mozart Society Dortmund accepted Neugebauer into it's scholarship program, where she discovered her love for Mozart. Together with the Folkwang Chamber Orchestra Essen, directed by Johannes Klumpp, she now presents Mozart's Flute Concertos and two newly written cadenzas on her album Il Vento non Scritto.

With Organ Landscapes X (Leipzig), renowned organist and Baroque specialist J�rg Halubek concludes his acclaimed album series Organ Landscapes. The tenth and final chapter of a fascinating journey of discovery to Germany's great historic organs. The crowning finale takes us to what is probably the most important place in organ history: St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, where Johann Sebastian Bach worked and made music history. Here, the magnificent Sauer organ (1889/1908) resounds-an instrument of unique tonal depth, which Halubek brings to life with masterful sensitivity and Baroque expressiveness. This album is not only a musical highlight, but also a worthy conclusion to an ambitious project that celebrates the diversity and beauty of the German organ landscape.

Alongside Smetana, Dvorak, and Janacek, Bohuslav Martinu stands as one of the great pillars of Czech music. Born in Policka in 1890, he revealed his precocious talent early on, composing his first string quartet at just ten years old. His interest in France and it's music, particularly that of Debussy, developed quickly. As a second violinist of the Czech Philharmonic, Martinu also became well acquainted with the works of Ravel and Dukas. In 1923, he moved to Paris, where he studied under Albert Roussel. He would spend the next seventeen years in France, fleeing the German occupation in 1941 to take refuge in the United States. In 1953, he returned to Europe, dividing his time between Nice, Rome, and Switzerland, where he died in 1959. A composer of vast cultural horizons and innate cosmopolitanism, Martinu's music reveals a ceaseless curiosity for diverse styles. Though his early work is steeped in Czech folk traditions, his voice soon broadened to incorporate French clarity, the Renaissance English madrigal, and the baroque concerto grosso. Within his vast output, chamber music holds a central place. In 1946, while composing his Sixth String Quartet, Martinu wrote: "In pure chamber music, I always feel most myself." This new recording presents works written between 1937 and 1945: the famous Flute Sonata, Sonata for Flute, Violin & Piano, the Madrigal Sonata for the same instruments, and the Violin Sonata No.3, music of vibrant vitality and rich emotions. Played with strong commitment by Ambroise Aubrun (violin), Jocelyn Aubrun (flute) and Steven Vanhauwaert (piano).

Luis Berra is a pianist and composer with roots in Nicaragua, Argentina, and Italy, which makes his music bridging cultures. The album A Piano Won't Fix Your Tormented Soul presents a refined mix of neoclassical piano, jazz influences, and cinematic depth, where Berra's compositions embody timeless elegance with improvisational spontaneity.

Fanny inspires and fascinates as a human being. Her personal biography contains quite a considerable portion of tragedy precisely because it is not a story of legendary artistic potential but an example of the strictures of the era in which she lived.

Of his important contemporaries, Hans Pfitzner was certainly the one who devoted himself most strongly to chamber music. Often described as the last Romantic, Pfitzner also represents this epoch in a very personal way in his chamber music works.

The fact that Johann Sebastian Bach was able to take up the post of the cantor of St. Thomas in 1723 is thanks to the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. He refused to release his court Kapellmeister Christoph Graupner to Leipzig. He declared the appointment of the magistrate there to be invalid and increased the salary of his subordinate. In this way, he was able to long admire the diversity of the man who wrote outstanding works in all areas of composition. For example, in orchestral music, he sought out unusual experiments with unique results by combining seemingly disparate instruments and ignoring formal conventions. Would he have been as successful with the honourable councillors on the river Pleisse as he was under the aegis of his aristocratic employer? After hearing a two-and-a-half-hour selection of Graupner's works, we must thank His Excellency for not letting him go three hundred years ago

If you talk about the Viennese School at the beginning of the 20th century, his name will certainly be mentioned alongside Schonberg, Berg and Webern, even though he broke away from the "twelve-tone" school early on and went his own harmonic way: Egon Wellesz, born in Vienna, one of Schonberg's first pupils and a musicology student of Guido Adler: he would need both of these educations in his life. Until the outbreak of the war, he was one of the most frequently performed composers in the German-speaking world, and his five operas were successfully performed at the largest German theaters. At this time, however, he was already a professor of musicology and had specialized in deciphering Byzantine musical notation. Then came the break: in 1938 he was forced to emigrate to England, although he was able to continue his university career at Oxford. The composer Wellesz remained silent until the end of the war, only then did he return to full creative power, writing almost half of his works after the age of 60. The nine symphonies are undoubtedly the main works of this late period. The emigrant deliberately drew on Austrian symphonic music; for him, his symphonic works probably also meant coming to terms with the loss of his homeland.

Anyone who delves into the musical analysis of these 25 gems-into their incredible thematic structure, into their harmonic cosmos-will fall in love with them. Yet, the purely emotional enjoyment of such simply beautiful folk songs is also readily accessible-and, indeed, likely just as Britten intended, as a folk composer of his time. - Daniel Johannsen