Violinist Alexandra Tirsu presents her debut album comprising concertos by Dmitri Shostakovich and Paul Hindemith. Shostakovich's music has resonated with her since childhood, it's atmosphere reflecting the war stories she grew up with. Violin Concerto No. 1 unfolds like a psychological journey-from a shadowy opening to a fierce scherzo, an emotionally charged passacaglia, and a wildly ironic finale. Hindemith's rarely performed Violin Concerto, which Alexandra first explored at the ARD Competition in Munich, reveals a different voice: clear, structured, and quietly expressive. Recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Vasily Petrenko, this album captures a moment of depth, identity, and emotional connection through two powerful 20th-century works.

For the second project in it's Meridiane series, Sjaella explores the music of cultures whose languages exist only as mother tongues for minorities. On this new album, spoken, the a cappella vocal ensemble shares it's fascination for cultural diversity and vocal sounds through new interpretations of traditional music. The arrangements of folk songs and dances, as well as new compositions, represent sound worlds that move between tradition and modernity. Sjaella's Meridiane series, which continues on Fuga Libera, is a succession of colourful musical treasures that strengthens the ensemble's connection to it's own cultural roots.

This recording brings together two late masterworks by Brahms: the Op. 120 Clarinet Sonatas and the Op. 117 Intermezzi for piano, written in the tranquil setting of Bad Ischl. The sonatas, full of tenderness and quiet intensity, were composed for clarinetist Richard Muhlfeld, whose warm, lyrical playing reignited Brahms's desire to compose after a period of silence. This is music of dialogue, not declaration. Nicola Boud and Anthony Romaniuk perform on instruments close to those Brahms and Muhlfeld would have known: a replica of Muhlfeld's 19th-century boxwood clarinet and an 1875 Steinway piano. These choices bring a soft, transparent quality to the sound, inviting a more intimate listening experience. Expressive tools of 19th-century performance: rubato, flexibility, arpeggiation, are used not as effects, but as natural extensions of the music's emotional landscape. Brahms once called the Op. 117 Intermezzi "three lullabies of my grief." These restrained yet luminous pieces distil his late style into elegiac monologues, offering quiet spaces where time feels suspended. Together, these warm, reflective and deeply emotional works offer a glimpse into Brahms' final years.

Violinist Sylvia Huang has drawn inspiration from nature since her childhood, marvelling at it's beauty, it's cycles and it's subtle harmony. Her Ode to Mother Nature project is designed to raise awareness of the fragility of all living things. Pianist Boris Kusnezow partners Sylvia on this musical journey, which celebrates the cycle of the seasons with works by Gabriel Dupont, Lili Boulanger, Dora Pejacevic, Edvard Grieg, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Camille Pepin and Eugene Ysaye. Each piece highlights an aspect of one of the seasons, as well as the deep connection between music and nature. Through this music Sylvia invites us to appreciate the deep bond that unites humanity to it's environment, and the urgent need to protect it.

Manfred holds a special place in Tchaikovsky's oeuvre, as it is unique: a symphony composed on an extremely large scale around a wide-ranging literary programme. Manfred is the embodiment of several facets of Tchaikovsky's individuality: it presents both Russian and European features, Tchaikovsky's own talents as a psychologist and a shrewd judge of character, his abilities as a writer for the theatre, and his mastery in creating orchestral colours. The score itself dazzles with it's variety of images and sounds - from airy to grandiose and powerful, from pastoral and peaceful to dense and dark. The dramatic concept of the work as a whole, it's psychological portrayal of the protagonists and the vivid expression in their development all come to reveal the characteristic style of Tchaikovsky's late works. What is more, Manfred remains fascinating thanks to the fact that it emerged at the crossroads of various literary, philosophical and musical trends during 19th century. The album was recorded on the eve of the 185th anniversary of Tchaikovsky's birth.

Everything in the world whether it is life, a piece of art, a scientific discovery, a revolution, or even a simple idea has it's own starting point. For composers, it is the work that marks their first step into the world. Opus 1 is an exploration of those beginnings, where ambition meets uncertainty and raw ideas take shape. In this album, pianist Anna Geniushene, whose career highlights include being a Silver Medalist at the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and being named Young Artist of the Month by Musical America, explores the early creative voices of great Romantic composers such as Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, Berg and Tchaikovsky, uncovering the ambition, curiosity, and individuality that shaped their musical identities. Was an Opus 1 a declaration of will or just a sketch of what was to come? This album delves into that question, offering a glimpse of great composers who were taking their first steps and searching for their true voice when everything was still possible.

In the first of several projects for Fuga Libera, Spanish double bassist Uxia Martinez Botana invites us to hear Mendelssohn as never before. By placing her instrument at the heart of the string quartet and replacing the traditional cello, she opens up a world of unexpected textures and emotional depth. Her brilliant career as a soloist and as principal double bass of Kremerata Baltica (at just 23) and the Weinberger Kammerorchester makes her the natural instigator of this innovative ensemble. Together with three exceptional musicians, she reshapes the balance of the ensemble with subtlety and imagination while remaining faithful to the spirit of the music. From the warmth of Mendelssohn's joyful moments to the raw power of his grief, the double bass becomes both foundation and voice. This is not only a tribute to a great composer, it is also an artistic statement, offering a fresh lens on this beloved repertoire, and a moving exploration of how tradition can evolve without losing it's soul.

Alexander Gadjiev's album Legends takes listeners on a journey through the timeless legends and stories hidden within music, revealing it's power to conjure entire worlds. In Debussy's La cathedrale engloutie, ghostly bells rise from a submerged cathedral, bringing a Breton myth to life. Liszt's Funerailles rages with thunderous chords, evoking a battle against mortality, whilst Musorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition unfolds a vivid tapestry of Slavic folklore and European scenes. Prokofiev's Legende tells an enchanted tale of light and shadow, and Scriabin's Sonata No. 9 (Black Mass) immerses us in an eerie, otherworldly soundscape. Franck's Prelude, Fugue et Variation offers a sublime reflection on the soul's journey, while Bach-Siloti's Prelude in B minor resonates like a timeless, universal hymn. The Italian-Slovenian pianist has designed this programme to offer listeners a profound and mythical experience.

This album pays tribute to the singular world of Valentin Silvestrov, a composer whose music gently reaches out to the past while also resonating with the voices of such contemporaries as Leonid Hrabovsky, Alexander Knaifel, Arvo Part, and Andre Volkonsky. Curated and performed by pianist Alexei Lubimov, the recording unfolds like an intimate uninterrupted journey; a musical dialogue among friends and fellow spirits united by admiration and shared feelings. Silvestrov's�Bagatelles�form the heart of the album, not miniatures in the traditional sense, but fleeting moments of music. Each piece is open-ended, flowing into the next and forming a delicate chain that gradually reveals a shimmering, larger form. A deeply personal listening experience, this album invites the listener into a space where every sound feels like a whisper across time: thoughtful, luminous, and quietly profound.

Cassandra is an opera about knowing what lies ahead yet not being able to do anything to prevent it, about sensing impending disaster, but not being heard. It's an opera about today. Two main characters, prophets in their time, are heralds of the world to come. Cassandra, daughter of King Priam of Troy, warns against the doom facing her people during the Trojan War. Her warnings go unheeded and the world, as it was then known, comes to an end. Sandra, a young modern-day climatologist and PhD candidate, has turned to comedy as a language through which she hopes to communicate her research on climate change and global warming, to no avail. Finally, the two meet: Cassandra from time immemorial, Sandra battling with the complexities of today. Perhaps it will be Cassandra's turn to make Sandra laugh

This recital is a subtle fusion of classical and popular music from different eras and latitudes - a hymn of love to life itself. It reflects the multifaceted personal journey of mezzo-soprano Anne-Lise Polchlopek and transcends the boundaries between repertoires to explore the universality of human existence and it's relationship with time, with nature, and with other human beings. The programme moves from the modesty of a traditional lullaby to the poetic intimacy of a melodie or a Lied, from the lyricism of a simple song to the splendour of an aria from an opera or a zarzuela. The artist's imagination links pairs of composers together on each track of this album and sparks unique journeys for the listener: de Falla converses with Strauss and Messiaen, while Chaminade and Gimenez tease Mozart; Brel responds to Faure, while Parra sublimates Viardot. Gracias a la vida presents new arrangements for voice, guitar and piano and creates a musical odyssey in which all can share and find new connections.

Vincent Segal and Stephane Kerecki, key figures on the Paris music scene for two decades, now present Ponticello, a project born of their impromptu meeting in the summer of 2022 and their desire to combine their instruments. Their duo, which they formed on the spur of the moment, quickly grew into an ambitious venture designed for the stage. Here the two musicians share their passion for the great classics (Bach, Messiaen, Faure), jazz standards (Hampton Hawes, Scott LaFaro) and their own compositions, blending classical, jazz, South American and American folk influences. The potential of this intimate but powerful group became clear from their very first sessions, with a richness of sound worthy of an orchestra. Since they regularly collaborate with Airelle Besson they invited her to enhance their duo. Her magnificent sound fits in perfectly and adds a new depth to the ensemble.

A meeting between violinist David Haroutunian and Karen Khachaturian, son of the legendary composer Aram Khachaturian, inspired this new recording. Following their encounter in Paris at a concert marking the 40th anniversary of Aram Khachaturian's passing, Karen entrusted David with the score of an unpublished sonata for violin and piano, written by his father in the early 1930s. Avant-garde in style and structured in two unique movements, the sonata stands as a remarkable masterpiece, both profound and accessible to a wide audience. "My discovery of this sonata sparked an intense desire to record all of Khachaturian's works for violin, as no such comprehensive recording, to my knowledge, exists," David explains. Together with pianist Xenia Maliarevitch, he set out to capture not only Khachaturian's original compositions for solo violin and violin-piano duo but also selected arrangements of his most iconic works, including excerpts from Gayaneh and the Sabre Dance arranged by Jascha Heifetz. This album also features a previously unrecorded Dance from 1925, adding to the rich legacy of Khachaturian's music.

Musical fireworks flare and dazzle in this New Year's concert! This live recording of the 2024 New Year's concert is Philzuid's seventh album - and it's a very different New Year's concert with Latin rhythms and American dance in the foreground. Chief conductor Duncan Ward takes us from Gershwin's lively Overture from Strike Up the Band to a radiant Adriana Bignagni Lesca in Montsalvage's Cinco canciones negras. The dancing continues with Bernstein's On the Town: Three Dance Episodes and ends with a premiere: the first recording of the swinging Cuban Suite by young composer Jenny Pena Campo.

Music is not a hoax, it is a revelation... It reveals elements of beauty that cannot exist in any other sphere, the contemplation of which reconciles us to life not temporarily, but forever. It enlightens and brings joy." These words of Tchaikovsky can refer to both of the works presented here. Tchaikovsky called his Suite No. 3 the most successful of all his works performed abroad and successfully conducted many performances of it on tours. For Dmitry Liss, the chief conductor of the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra, "this is one of the most unexpected works by Tchaikovsky and my near-favorite. If you look at the final movement from a modern perspective, it's hectic stylistic diversity looks almost postmodernist and has been created with subtle and stylish use of irony. The theme of the Suite's finale is consonant with that of the Rococo Variations, hence our decision to include both works on this album." The world-renowned cellist Boris Andrianov performs the Variations on this recording. He considered it "a sacred duty for a Russian cellist who is also a winner of the Tchaikovsky competition not only to record this work, but also to look at it anew.