The first album from Nathalie Stutzmann as conductor features Dvořák's well known Symphony No. 9" From The New World" and the lesser known American Suite. Nathalie Stutzmann studied conducting with legendary Finnish teacher Jorma Panula, and has benefited from the mentoring of Simon Rattle and the late Seiji Ozawa. She holds two major posts in the USA - Music Director at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra - and has guest engagements with the London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Bayreuth Festival amongst others. Simon Rattle told the NY times: "Nathalie is the real thing. So much love, intensity and sheer technique."

This was something I'd had in mind for a long time..." says pianist Alexandre Tharaud, "to put together an album for the sheer pleasure of it, in collaboration with dear friends and paying tribute to the wonders of the piano duet repertoire." The aptly named 4 Hands offers 18 tracks, each just a few minutes in length, each featuring Tharaud sharing a piano keyboard with a different partner. The repertoire ranges wide - from Bach to Glass by way of such composers as Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Fauré, Satie, Debussy, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, and Piazzolla. 15 of Tharaud's fellow performers are celebrated pianists - among them the late Nicholas Angelich, Mariam Batsashvili, Bertrand Chamayou, David Fray, Víkingur Ólafsson, and Beatrice Rana. The other three, all stars in their musical fields, are shown in a new, pianistic light: cellist Gautier Capuçon, countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and singer-songwriter Juliette. "The piano duet is one of life's miracles," continues Tharaud. "First and foremost, it is the most intimate way of playing chamber music... It was a joy to record this album... If hearing these pieces prompts people to buy some sheet music and enjoy playing duets together - just as we did in the recording studio - then I will have achieved my aim.

Lars Vogt (1970-2022) early recordings collected here provide a document of an artist who always remained authentic, both to himself and to music. Lars Vogt never sought absolute truth, but truthfulness instead meant all the more to him. The man and the artist were always very close, never currying favour and never detached from the world. He was, instead, open and natural. "It's incredibly gratifying when you notice that you can perhaps light a little spark, a little flame for music in people, and when music helps you to find the path to your own soul."

Leif Ove Andsnes is a leading pianist of his time, known for his exceptional musicianship and subtil touch, his considerable technical flair being unfailingly put at the service of his interpretations. He was a pioneer for being the first home-trained superstar pianist to have emerged from Norway. This box is the story of a 20-year partnership that has yielded a rich seam of recorded treasures, first for Virgin and then for EMI. Running through this cornucopia of 34 albums (36 CDs), we find recurring themes: Grieg (Andsnes even recorded some Lyric Pieces on the composer's own piano at Troldhaugen), Nordic music in general, Schumann, Rachmaninov, Schubert.

For five decades Wolfgang Sawallisch (1923-2013) held a central position in the musical world. That centrality was reflected in a series of top orchestral and operatic posts and in his interpretations, free of self-regarding eccentricities. His modest but highly effective conducting technique also made him the ideal recording artist. Sawallisch was a Bavarian born in Munich, city of orchestras and a great opera company, which he headed for 21 years. He started his career as an outstanding pianist and remained a sought-after accompanist to great Lieder singers and instrumentalists. Volume 1 of a complete conspectus of his Warner Classics recordings (made for Electrola and EMI Classics between 1954 to 1997) includes wonderful Lieder and song collaborations, as well as famous concerto accompaniments for eminent soloists and a heartwarming traversal of Schubert's secular vocal and sacred choral music with Bavarian Radio colleagues. But the main focus among the 65 discs is on his symphonic achievements: Beethoven, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Bruckner and Dvor�k - the latter's Eighth Symphony was his first published recording, from 1954. Richard Strauss, an early influence, is strongly represented. This 65CD-box brings together all the non-operatic recordings that the German conductor and pianist Wolfgang Sawallisch (1923-2013) made in the years from 1954 to 1997 for EMI Classics and Electrola (now Warner Classics).

The collaborative efforts, the mutual emulation and inspiration of Sir Antonio Pappano and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome have spanned 18 years, led to one of the world's greatest and most versatile virtuoso ensembles and to acclaimed live and studio recordings showcasing an eclectic selection of symphonic and choral music. Their repertoire features already legendary performances of Verdi's Requiem and Quattro pezzi sacri. In addition, their recording of Bruckner's 8th Symphony features here for the very first time! This box brings together all the recordings that the British conductor Sir Antonio Pappano (b.1959) made with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in the years from 2005 to 2022 for Warner Classics.

The Catalan cellist Pablo Casals (1876-1973) was first to bring to wider notice the works that open this set, J.S. Bach's solo cello suites. Thereafter we hear his celebrated partnership with Horszowski in Beethoven and the groundbreaking piano trio formed with Thibaud and Cortot in Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann and Mendelssohn. From the symphonic repertoire come the concertos by Dvořák (with George Szell) and Elgar (Adrian Boult). Finally, an enchanting disc of encores and - with Casals's own street-band or cobla - seven examples of the sardana, the national dance of the great artist's beloved homeland.

Intense, passionate, and impeccable in its musical disciplines, the Berlin-based Artemis Quartet "consistently finds a balance between projecting musical structure and conveying immediacy." Confirming that verdict from the New York Times is this 23CD collection, encompassing all the recordings the ensemble made between 1996 and 2018.

The Artemis Quartet began life in 1989 and developed a particular reputation in the central Austro-German repertoire. If Beethoven justly asserts a powerful presence, the scope of this collection extends as far as Eastern Europe and South America and well into the 20th century. Over the period of nearly a quarter of a century documented in this box, there were changes in the Artemis Quartet's lineup, but as founding cellist Eckart Runge explains, this "brought new inspiration - an opportunity to broaden horizons and introduce fresh ideas."

The ensemble suffered a tragic loss with the untimely death of violist Friedemann Weigle in 2015. Just days earlier, the Artemis had completed a recording of Dvořák's lyrical and poignant 'American' Quartet; it is now released for the very first time. This landmark box is completed by a comprehensive booklet which includes reminiscences from members of the Artemis Quartet and from sound engineers who collaborated with them.

It was through a chance hearing by Nimbus founder, Numa Labinsky, that William Boughton came to visit Nimbus in 1982. Numa had been checking the quality of LPs going through the manufacturing plant. He liked what he heard on one of them by a new string orchestra called the Vivaldi Ensemble with William Boughton. The meeting happened, discussions went very well and the orchestra - renamed English String Orchestra - made it's first Nimbus recording on 31 May 1983. A potpourri featuring harpist Susan Drake 'Music for Harp and Strings', Sadly this recording, a digital pioneer, has degraded beyond repair. The next recording was an altogether grander affair; popular string orchestra works of Elgar, made in the Great Hall of Birmingham University. The orchestra under William's direction quickly became a regular feature of Nimbus's releases, as did the Great Hall. The relationship was so close and so active that it might have appeared to be a house band - except that the orchestra and it's music director had a rich and busy concert life quite independently of their work in the studio. Neither William nor I recall there being any particular reason why this recital was held back. However, I believe the following chronology of events holds a clue. Just two months after this record we were back in the Great Hall to record an album of Butterworth (A Shropshire Lad, The Banks of Green Willow, Two English Idylls), Parry (Lady Radnor's Suite) and Bridge (Suite for Strings). When it was released, particularly in the USA, it became the orchestra's, and Nimbus's calling-card, instantly racking-up chart successes, a top spot in the Billboard 100 and endless radio play. In those days classical radio in the US stretched from coast-to-coast, so not wanting to miss an opportunity our American agent put William and me on a trans-American PR tour. The obvious question came from all sides - 'what's your follow-up?' the only possible answer being 'more English music'. Finzi, Delius, Holst, Tippett and Britten were the order of the day. Josef Suk, Antonin Dvorak and Leos Janacek have waited a long time for their day in the sun. � Adrian Farmer

It was on American soil that Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) began the composition of his Cello Concerto. Free of all prejudice, he had taken a keen interest in Amerindian and Afro-American cultures during his long stay in the United States of America. Moving himself between classical, jazz, improvisation, and world music as part of his trio or his duo with accordion, Raphael Jouan could not but be receptive to the open-mindedness of the Czech composer. And when, for his recording debut with orchestra, he decided to measure himself against this emblematic work, it was in order to live a collective adventure, under the sign of sharing, with musicians close to his heart.

Mezzo-soprano Ester Pavlu has chosen four of the two dozen individual songs and song cycles that the world-famous Czech composer Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) wrote during his lifetime. Ester Pavlu's magnificent voice as well as her and her convincing stage presence make her one of the most promising mezzo-sopranos of the current generation, who wins the admiration of audience and critics both on domestic stages and abroad. Charles Spencer is one of the most sought-after piano accompanists worldwide who regularly collaborates with many of the world's most renowned singers.

The album Bohemian Legacy by Trio 258 is a heartfelt tribute to three generations of Czech composers - Bedrich Smetana, Antonin Dvorak, and Josef Suk - whose music embodies the soul of Bohemian culture. The program begins with Smetana's Piano Trio in G minor, a deeply personal and tragic work written in the wake of his daughter's death, where raw grief intertwines with Bohemian folk melodies and a sense of resilience. Dvorak's Piano Trio No. 3 in F minor follows, showcasing his synthesis of Bohemian lyricism and Germanic symphonic structure, combining folk-inspired dance rhythms with Brahmsian complexity. The album concludes with Suk's Elegy in D-flat Major, dedicated to poet Julius Zeyer and inspired by his poem Vysehrad, a reflective and nostalgic ode to Prague's cultural and spiritual heritage. Together, these works form a tapestry of national identity, friendship, and artistic lineage - an exploration of emotion, beauty, and belonging through music. In their liner notes, Trio 258 (Lestari Scholtes, Eduardo Paredes Crespo, and Leonard Besseling) emphasize the importance of language, nature, and folk tradition in shaping Czech music. They describe their interpretive process as an "immensely valuable journey," seeking to find their own voice while honoring the composers' intentions. Through this album, the trio not only presents technically accomplished performances but also reflects on the Bohemian spirit - one that fuses melancholy and vitality, individuality and tradition. Their recording is both a musical homage and a personal exploration of how the language of music can bridge generations, resonating with the timeless ideals of freedom, emotion, and national identity

Anyone who has survived the cursed seventh year may hope for a rosy future. The Orelon Trio, founded in Cologne in 2018, has just crossed this significant threshold-though it's members Judith Stapf, Arnau Rovira i Bascompte, and Marco Sanna never had to find their footing together: within a short time, these "meteoric risers" made a name for themselves, quickly guest-performing at renowned venues; high-caliber competition successes followed naturally (ARD, Melbourne, Graz), their first recordings and enthusiastic response from professional circles were not long in coming. How could it be otherwise, when the three musicians' "oreloj" (Esperanto for: ears) are so excellently attuned that they can perceive unheard-of things even in familiar repertoire. This first cpo release by the Orelon Trio leaves no doubt about that.

Dvorak: Violin Concerto & String Serenade

A celebration of Bohemian spirit and rhythmic brilliance, Antonin Dvorak's Slavonic Dances come to life in a vibrant new recording by the Czech Philharmonic, led by the masterful Sir Simon Rattle. These vivid orchestral gems, full of rhythmic vitality, folkloric color, and lyrical charm, are central to Dvorak's legacy and pivotal in defining a Czech national sound. Composed at a turning point in the composer's career, the Slavonic Dances radiate with joy, invention, and national character qualities that captivated audiences across Europe and beyond. As Principal Guest Conductor: Rafael Kubelik Chair, Sir Simon Rattle has already graced the label alongside the orchestra and Magdalena Ko�ena with Czech Songs (2024) and Folk Songs (2023). This release continues the exclusive collaboration between PENTATONE and the Czech Philharmonic (awarded Gramophone's Orchestra of the Year in 2024), committed to bringing Czech music to life on a global stage. It follows the acclaimed recordings of Dvorak's Symphonies Nos. 7, 8 & 9 (2024) and, 2025's winner of the BBC Music Magazine Orchestral Award, Smetana's Ma Vlast with Chief Conductor and Music Director, Semyon Bychkov, as well as Dvorak's Legends and Rhapsodies with Tomas Netopil.

Antonin Dvorak's 'American' chamber music works are the fruits of a happy, carefree time. And this is reflected in the music: colourful, vibrant, imbued with the musical and scenic impressions he gathered in the bustling metropolis of New York and during his summer holidays in rural Iowa. Antonin Dvorak spent a happy time in America in the early 1890s. As director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York, he was generously paid, and concert audiences adored him. Some of his most famous and beloved works were created in the United States, including the 'American' String Quartet, which uniquely combines landscape painting and emotional expression in chamber music. Unjustly overshadowed by this piece is the String Quintet in E flat major, also known as the 'American' Quintet: a colourful, masterfully crafted work in which Dvorak sought to capture the spirit of Native American music. Both works have been among the Mandelring Quartett's favourites for many years. However, the Humoresques, Op. 101 were a new discovery for the ensemble. Presented here in a first recording of an arrangement for string quartet, they include the immortal melody that the Comedian Harmonists made into a hit, titled "Eine kleine Fruhlingsweise".

Dvorak's symphonic poems are fascinating works because they offer a perfect combination of colourful orchestration, lively narrative art and deeply rooted Czech folk music tradition. The poems recorded here, 'The Water Goblin' (1896), 'The Midday Witch' (1896) and 'The Golden Spinning Wheel' (1896), in particular, demonstrate the composer's ability to paint musical pictures and tell stories in a haunting way.

The Simply Quartet is among the most sought-after ensembles of the younger generation. It regularly graces the stages of leading concert venues and receives widespread acclaim. On their new GENUIN album, the young musicians devote themselves to two mature works: the final quartets of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Antonin Dvorak. With interpretations marked by great fidelity to the works, they show how they combine youthful energy with sweeping musical lines, resulting in a genuinely electrifying chamber music recording!

The Dresdner Philharmonie and Marek Janowski present a recording of Antonin Dvorak's Stabat Mater, together with the MDR Leipzig Radio Choir, Hanna-Elisabeth Muller (soprano), Roxana Constantinescu (mezzo-soprano), Christian Elsner (tenor) and Tareq Nazmi (bass). In terms of scope and duration, Dvorak's Stabat Mater is the largest setting of this sacred text to date. Likely inspired by the tragic death of all his three children - in the timespan of just two years - the work is heartrending, yet establishes a gradual path from darkness to light, from despair to peace and hope; ascetic and restrained, yet full of suspense. This recording, made in connection to a live performance commemorating the bombing of Dresden, offers a rendition that never drags, avoids excessive sentimentality, and is all the more moving as a result. Marek Janowski is one of the most celebrated conductors of our time and has a vast PENTATONE discography, chiefly consisting of German operas and symphonic works. From 2019 to 2023 he was Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Dresdner Philharmonie. Dvorak's Stabat Mater is his seventh PENTATONE recording with this orchestra, with whom he recently released Schubert's Unfinished and Great Symphonies (2023), Schumann's complete symphonies (2024), as well as Haydn's Die Schopfung (2024). The MDR Leipzig Radio Choir also appeared on that recording, has frequently featured on other PENTATONE recordings and starred on Bruckner Haydn Motets (2021) and Mendelssohn Choral Works (2023). Hanna-Elisabeth Muller released Reine de coeur (2018) and Sinnbild; Strauss Songs (2022) on PENTATONE. Roxana Constantinescu featured on PENTATONE recordings of Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana and Puccini's Il tabarro (both 2020), as well as Kodaly & Bartok (2023). Christian Elsner also has a longstanding relationship with the label, including his solo recording of Schubert Lieder (2015). Tareq Nazmi appeared on the beforementioned recording of Die Schopfung.

String Serenades by Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) and Josef Suk (1874-1935) have become a stable part of the repertoire of Czech chamber string orchestras, providing them with an opportunity to prove their performing mastery, and are very popular with the listeners. This album is a re-edition of the recordings by the Czech Chamber Orchestra from 1994 (Dvorak) and 2000 (Suk) that were released in 2001 by WALDMANN label. Along with it's re-release on CD by Animal Music it is now being released also on streaming platforms for the first time. "In their pieces, Dvorak and Suk both drew on the older form of classical serenade, a kind of musical diversion in the best sense of the word, a form that reached the peak of it's popularity a century earlier as it was performed for the entertainment of the musicians and their music-loving audiences alike," says the musicologist Vaclav Holecek in the album's liner notes. This recording was made at a time when the Czech Chamber Orchestra performed under the leadership of the conductor, violinist and composer Ondrej Kukal (b. 1964). During his tenure, the orchestra was experiencing it's heyday. Interpretatively and dramaturgically, he followed the principles of the orchestra's founder, Vaclav Talich, who founded the orchestra in 1945 with some of his best students from the Prague Conservatory. Thanks to it's rigorous rehearsal routine and precise as well as enthusiastic approach to performance, the orchestra soon won a renown on the Czechoslovak stages and abroad, and collaborated, under Talich's baton, with foremost international soloists, including Pierre Fournier, Germaine Leroux, and others. The initial phase of the orchestra's promising career came to an end in 1948, when the Czechoslovak Communist regime banned Vaclav Talich from performing in public. In 1958, Josef Vlach (1923-1988), the first violin of the original Czech Chamber Orchestra and Talich's student and collaborator decided to revive his teacher's initiative. Under Vlach's leadership, the ensemble appeared on stages in Czechoslovakia, across Europe, Asia and America, and was a regular guest at prestigious festivals, including the Prague Spring Festival and the Salzburg Festival. Collaborations with soloists included Henry Szeryng, Yehudi Menuhin, Leonid Kogan, Ivan Moravec, and Josef Suk, to name just a few. After Josef Vlach's demise, the Czech Chamber Orchestra performed on irregular basis for some time. Nevertheless, the new first violin, Vlach's daughter, violinist Jana Vlachova took over the artistic leadership of the orchestra and also followed in the steps of her father and Vaclav Talich before him. Vlachova invited artists of her own generation into collaboration, among them the conductor, violinist and composer Ondrej Kukal (b. 1964) who became the orchestra's next leader. Under his leadership between 1993 and 2003, the Czech Chamber Orchestra maintained a regular concert calendar once again. After Ondrej Kukal gradually curtailed his conducting career due to a serious illness (he currently dedicates himself fully to composition), the conductor Andreas Sebastian Weiser collaborated with the orchestra. Today, the Czech Chamber Orchestra performs on special occasions only.

Benedict Kloeckner, one of the most remarkable cellists of his generation and winner of the OPUS Klassik 2021, is set to release a new album featuring the beloved Dvorak Cello Concerto. Recorded in collaboration with the SWR, accompanied by the Romanian Chamber Orchestra, which is led by conductor Cristian Macelaru. This album highlights Kloeckner's exceptional sense of melodic expressiveness and lesser known chamber works for cello and piano by Dvorak. The pieces for cello and piano by Dvorak, some of which are thematically connected to the concerto, showcase the deep musical synergy between Kloeckner and his accompanist, the acclaimed pianist Danae Dorken.

Three live recordings from Lucerne, released for the first time, commemorate Vaclav Neumann, one of the most distinguished podium stars of the so-called Eastern Bloc. As chief conductor of the legendary Czech Philharmonic Orchestra for many years, Neumann was regarded as an accomplished advocate of the music of his homeland in particular, which he shaped without sentimentality, but rather with a sense of form, a love of detail and a singing espressivo. "I am a Czech through and through," Vaclav Neumann once confessed - thus subliminally hinting that even in the politically turbulent times of the Cold War, he could not imagine any other homeland than Prague. Czech identity was also his artistic trademark, especially during his years at the helm of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, which he conducted from 1968 to 1990 and established as a cultural ambassador for his country on countless tours. The impetus for his international career, however, came from the GDR, where Neumann worked at Walter Felsenstein's Komische Oper in Berlin and later as Gewandhaus and opera conductor in Leipzig - a position steeped in tradition, which he resigned in 1968 in protest against the events of the "Prague Spring". In the summer of 1969, the Czech Philharmonic was the first orchestra from beyond the "Iron Curtain" to perform at the Lucerne Festival - under Neumann's baton, of course. Four further guest appearances followed between 1984 and 1990, including thrilling interpretations of Dvorak's Eighth Symphony, his late tone poem The Wood Dove and the prelude to Smetana's opera Libuse. Neumann never lapses into national emphasis, instead seeking a balance between richly nuanced lines - the trained violinist and violist spoke of the "singing orchestra" -, strict form and precise realisation of the musical text. All three live recordings are first releases. The 32-page, trilingual booklet contains a portrait of the conductor by Michael Struck-Schloen and shows previously unpublished photos from the festival archive. In cooperation with audite, Lucerne Festival presents outstanding concert recordings of formative festival artists in the "Historic Performances" series. The aim of the edition is to unearth hitherto largely unpublished treasures from the first six decades of the Festival, which was born in 1938 with a "Concert de Gala" conducted by Arturo Toscanini. The audio documents come from the archives of SRF Swiss Radio and Television, which has regularly broadcast the Lucerne concerts since the beginning. They have been carefully restored and supplemented with material and photos from the Lucerne Festival archive: a festival history in sound.

From an artistic point of view, Dvorak reacted with this work to the Stabat Mater by the German church musician and priest Franz Xaver Witt, the founder of the Cecilia Society, which was performed in Prague in 1875. This work, scored for only choir and organ, was a pontifically approved version of contemporary church music. In the nineteenth century, the Vatican generally supported a return to the sober a cappella style of Palestrina while being critical of orchestral sacred works. Dvorak, at the time organist at the Prague church of St. Adalbert, did not agree with this view. He had a different idea of a Catholic choral work, and his Stabat Mater is more in line with Ludwig van Beethoven's symphonic conception of the Missa solemnis

Dvořák’s chamber music is amongst the most extensive and significant of the 19th century, and the four surviving piano trios embody his command of the form. The first two were written in rapid succession, with No. 1 in B flat major marrying Schubertian lyricism with Slavic inflexions, serenity with joy. No. 2 in G minor is rather more classically conceived, though it shares the same formal structure as No. 1 and exudes a similar quotient of lyric beauty.

As for this new album, neither Glinka nor Dvorak are strangers to Haiou Zhang, since he is considered to be one of the most passionate pianists of his generation as far as piano chamber music is concerned. The Dvorak Piano Quintet and Glinka�s Gran Sestetto have always been at the heart of his chamber music repertoire. Haiou Zhang has performed these masterpieces in numerous concerts with ensembles. "It took me quite some time to feel really ready for a recording. Both pieces are delicate and need careful attention to obtain the perfect balance of sound and harmony".