On his debut album, the Chinese ARD prizewinner Diyang Mei presents truly transcendental works for viola solo: The passacaglias and chaconne by Bach, Britten, Ligeti, Biber and Hindemith - a program of great intrinsic luminosity! It is indicative of the mastery and artistic maturity of the multiple competition winner that he has so completely transformed some of the greatest, most profound works of literature. In so doing, he extends far beyond his instrument. A great production! Diyang Mei was born in China in 1994 and began playing the violin at the age of five. From 2005 to 2014 he studied the viola with Shaowu Wang in the Central Conservatory of Music Beijing's Middle School and has since participated in masterclasses given by well-known virtuosi such as Pinchas Zukerman, Nobuko Imai, Roberto Diaz, Paul Coletti, Thomas Riebl, Valentin Erben and G�nther Pichler. As a soloist he has performed with many orchestras including Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Philharmonic Orchestra Bad Reichenhall, Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra, Churs�chsiche Philharmonie Bad Elster and Busan Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, among others.

Latin American music is rarely heard in classical music. And wrongly so, as Duo Lontano prove on their new GENUIN album. Babette Hierholzer and Jürgen Appell present arrangements for piano four hands, introducing us to the world of tangos, waltzes, and capriccios of the diverse continent. Among them are compositions by Louis Moreau Gottschalk, whom Chopin once predicted to become the "king of pianists." This is indeed the case, at least in Latin America, where he laid the groundwork and inspired many other wonderful works by Teresa Carreño and José White Lafitte. Duo Lontano also interpret "Latin" tango classics by Carlos Gardel and Astor Piazzolla as well as well-known melodies such as "Bésame mucho" or "Malagueña" with plenty of temperament and elegance.

The exceptional violinist Judith Ingolfsson has brought genuine rarities to the market with her new GENUIN release. Only a handful of violinists around the world perform the highly demanding sonatas for solo violin by Artur Schnabel and Eduard Erdmann, and there is currently no commercial recording of Erdmann's work at all! The sonatas of these two great pianists and composers represent autonomous musical universes that are peppered with technical difficulties and are full of depth and character. A musical message in a bottle from a forgotten time that is absolutely worth recovering!

Classical Music

Productions by the Munich Piano Trio delight us time and again: one time they'll discover unknown works and draw an "Ah!" of astonishment, while the next time they'll focus on the great works of the repertoire and "Wow!" us with their marvelous interpretation. The eighth recording by the ensemble, now celebrating it's 33rd year, is inspired by Robert Schumann's guiding principle: the artist's mission is to cast light into the depths of the human heart. And if speakers could not only emit sound, but were capable of shining, there is no doubt they would be doing so during what is perhaps Schumann's most well-known Piano Trio (No. 2) and his equally wonderful Piano Quartet... Bravo to the persistence of great artists!

"The 14th release in the award-winning (including the Diapason d'Or) GENUIN series ""Un!erhört"", for which the two indefatigable musical gold-diggers, Ilona Then-Bergh (violin) and Michael Schäfer (piano) set out on a journey, expecting to strike it rich. This release showcases their latest discoveries, violin sonatas by Florent Schmitt, Jan Ingenhoven and László Lajtha,and we at GENUIN are astonished, enchanted and intoxicated. Excepting Florent Schmitt, these are world premiere recordings!"

Making and listening to music as an act of resistance against the relentless 24/7 rhythm of our era: with his beautifully clear new recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations, released by GENUIN, Milosz Sroczynski offers a deliberate counterbalance to the accelerating pace of modern life. In an accompanying essay, he reflects on music as a response to the late-capitalist demand for constant productivity and endless wakefulness. His interpretation - with which he made a highly acclaimed debut at the Davos Festival 2024 - is shaped by filigree lightness and long, seamlessly flowing musical arcs: transparent, weightless, and deeply focused. A reflective artist at the piano, Sroczynski gives us time to listen - inviting us to immerse ourselves, variation by variation, in this music.

The Confringo Piano Quartet, winners of the Hans G�l Prize and fellows of the 2024 German Music Competition, present a fascinating dialogue between the familiar and the rediscovered. This compelling program pairs Johannes Brahms' Third Piano Quartet, a cornerstone of the repertoire, with a rarely heard work by Hans G�l-a composer whose life was deeply shaped by National Socialism and exile. G�l's composition from the 1920s reflects the openness and vitality of it's era, it's vivid colors and expressive power unjustly neglected in concert halls today. Together, these works illuminate a powerful conversation between Late Romantic tradition and twentieth-century rediscovery, offering listeners a deeply engaging musical experience.

Do you love Brahms? Then you will also want to discover the works of Amanda Maier and Robert Fuchs: three violin sonatas, all composed or published in 1878, are now presented by Duo Codax on GENUIN. The album combines Brahms' G-major Sonata with two rarely performed works in a similar style for the same instrumentation-an engaging look at the musical environment of the time. With great sensitivity for tonal balance and phrasing, Verena Louis (piano) and Adam Markowski (violin) shape the long, sweeping lines, warm colors, and passionate accents of this music: a beautifully recorded, outstanding release for chamber-music lovers!

In this fifth GENUIN release devoted to his music, composer Christian Ridil adds another milestone to his extensive discography. In collaboration with the Vocal Consort of the Berliner M�dchenchor and the S�dwestpf�lzer Kinderchor, Ridil presents a richly varied program spanning six decades of his creative work. All the pieces-world premiere recordings-include works for women's and children's choir alongside solo songs, performed by ensembles and soloists whose artistry brings Ridil's music vividly to life. From folk-inspired melodies to sophisticated contemporary idioms, this album offers a rewarding journey of discovery through Ridil's stylistic spectrum-a voyage as captivating as it is illuminating.

When is a man a man?-the question posed by the German pop singer Herbert Gr�nemeyer resonates at the heart of this remarkable debut album by the lied duo Lars Conrad and Daniel Prinz. Their program offers a deep and personal exploration of male identity as mirrored in the music and lyric poetry of the German art song, from Franz Schubert to Hanns Eisler. Conrad and Prinz see the album as a catalyst for self-exploration, engaging directly with the crisis of masculinity and evolving concepts of manhood in the modern world. With refined tone and nuanced interpretation, the duo reveals treasures of the lied repertoire-each song a reflection of it's time and a mirror of today's multifaceted society.

The Suddeutsche Zeitung calls soprano Henrike Legner a "promise" - and now she presents her debut album on the GENUIN label. In doing so, she offers us an extraordinary, Romantic lied repertoire whose small treasures never fail to astonish: selected lieder by Felix Mendelssohn, including the finest from his estate, are brought together on this album. Brilliantly accompanied by pianist Gerold Huber, Henrike Legner's clear and expressive voice sings us two dozen beautiful discoveries straight into the heart, with magical power!

This new GENUIN release brings a forgotten chapter of music history back into focus: songs by Jewish composers born between 1890 and 1924, whose lives were profoundly altered by persecution and exile. Mezzo-soprano Pia Viola Buchert and pianist Tatjana Dravenau perform works by Walter Arlen, Ursula Mamlok, Hans G�l, Ruth Schonthal, Felix Wolfes, and Viktor Ullmann - six musical voices whose creativity continued to resonate despite oppression and loss. The recording unites deep emotional intensity with refined expression and remarkable stylistic variety. It spans a broad arc-from cultural vitality and inquisitive modernity to pain, silencing, and remembrance-allowing this music to sound at once newly rediscovered and timeless.

With four superb albums already setting new artistic benchmarks, the Folkwang Kammerorchester Essen continues it's exploration of the complete symphonic oeuvre of Mozart under the baton of celebrated Mozart specialist Johannes Klumpp. Now this fifth stage of the ensemble's sonic journey brings us Symphonies Nos. 8, 22, 23, and-as a brilliant highlight-the grand Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major. International critics praise these recordings for their "exceptional technical mastery" and hail conductor and orchestra alike as "ideal Mozart interpreters." This release is a testament to the radiant diversity and expressive power of Mozart's symphonic writing.

Echoes of birds, water, and wind: on her refreshingly unconventional debut album with GENUIN, the young musician Sophia Schambeck presents flute compositions spanning nine centuries. New works stand alongside ancient ones, solo pieces are interwoven with ensemble music, Irish melodies contrast with Japanese ones, and original works are placed beside arrangements. Listeners are drawn into fascinating sonic worlds ranging from Hildegard von Bingen to the present day - performed on no fewer than thirteen different recorders. This acoustic universe, shaped by a musician devoted to connecting styles and cultures, fills us with wonder and deep emotion.

Compositional shadow play, philosophical unfolding: the piano etudes by Pascal Dusapin are far more than technical studies for aspiring pianists. Pianist Wataru Hisasue now releases a GENUIN album with works by Dusapin. Hisasue was not only successful at the 2025 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels but also received a special award at the ARD Music Competition for his interpretation of Dusapin's "Did it again", which he now presents here as a world premiere recording. The young pianist devotes himself to the oscillating, almost magical sonic ramifications of the French composer at the highest technical and tonal level. A must-hear!

A new album on GENUIN from the internationally performing pianist Sophia Weidemann! A prizewinner at numerous international competitions, she thrilled both critics and audiences with her album of works by Fanny Hensel. Now she follows up with a recording devoted to Bach: the program features the world-famous Goldberg Variations, which show off the phrasing and tonal artistry of this young pianist from Swabia to brilliant effect. She takes her listeners on an exciting and moving journey through the 30 variations - a work in which, for Bach, an entire world is contained. To quote the composer himself: "A most joyful delight for the soul!"

One of Saxony-Anhalt's oldest and most tradition-rich orchestras presents a compelling combination of two major orchestral works on GENUIN, marking the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus's relocation from Weimar to Dessau: the Anhaltische Philharmonie of the Bauhaus city Dessau, under it's general music director Markus L. Frank, pairs Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (in Ravel's orchestration) with Feininger Fractals by Eisenach-born composer Thomas Buchholz (b. 1961) - two orchestral works closely connected to visual art. The finely spun textures of Buchholz, who in this work engages with Bauhaus master Lyonel Feininger, and the endless colors of Mussorgsky/Ravel are in the best hands with this Dessau ensemble. Magnificent but not pompous, virtuosic yet full of meaning, the orchestra plays with intelligence and nuance under it's chief conductor.

The renowned chamber choir Ensemble Horizons presents it's debut album with GENUIN - an "unheard-of" production in every sense of the word. Many of the featured works are the first recordings of neglected masterpieces by women composers from the 19th through 21st centuries. From the enchanting early Romantic settings of Tubingen's own Josephine Lang to works by Clara Schumann, Luise Adolpha Le Beaus, Ethel Smyth, and contemporary a cappella pieces by Iris Szeghy, Cecilia McDowall, and Galina Grigorjeva - this moving and pristinely performed choral music expands the repertoire in a way that truly makes one sit up and listen!

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dmitri Shostakovich's death, the Asasello Quartet completes it's full recording of the most significant string quartet cycle of the twentieth century for GENUIN. The great Russian composer left behind fifteen quartets - works by a complex, despairing, tender, distant, and enigmatic figure whose music continues to move and compel with it's timeless power, even half a century after his passing. This is especially the case in these masterful interpretations by the Asasello Quartet, which are technically flawless and infused with the shared experience of 25 years, as well as with an extraordinarily profound engagement with the composer's life and oeuvre.

Red is the color of love and of roses, but also of blood, anger, and shame. Soprano Eva Resch delves into the multifaceted meanings of this color in her new concept album for GENUIN. Together with her piano partner Eric Schneider, she interprets songs spanning from the Classical era to the present - from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to Wolfgang Rihm. With her versatile voice, she traces the subtlest shades of human emotion and creates expressive character portraits that range from jubilant ecstasy to the depths of sorrow.

The Amelio Trio, which won the German Music Competition in 2024 and is currently taking the world's stages by storm, has been chosen as one of the ECHO Rising Stars of the season 2026/27. In collaboration with Deutschlandfunk, the German Music Council, and GENUIN, the young piano trio now presents a seamlessly crafted album: The trios by Charles Ives, Ludwig van Beethoven, Ursula Mamlok, and Johannes Brahms flow into one another, forming a musical bridge that spans centuries and continents. Birke Bertelsmeier's "vertrautes angezogensein" (familiar attire), composed especially for this album, recapitulates all the previous works and brings the journey full circle - chamber music at it's highest level!

Catalina Bertucci, Georg Poplutz, and Tatjana Dravenau don't just say it "between the flowers" on their new GENUIN album - they gather lieder from the 19th and 20th centuries that revolve around the theme of flowers and trees. Music and poetry speak directly and clearly of the associations between the language of love and the plant world - associations that were clear and unmistakable to people of the Romantic era, but which must be decoded anew for us today. These three remarkable artists uncover that hidden language in the most beautiful and sensuous way: through dreamlike interpretations of lieder from Schubert to Schonthal, Loewe to Faltis, and Kralik to Schumann.

Pianist Naoko Christ-Kato is dedicated to bringing to light the works of forgotten and persecuted Jewish composers. On her new GENUIN album, she now presents music by the Dutchwoman Rosy Wertheim - a rediscovery of delicate, multi-layered sounds that have been forgotten for far too long. The musical arc extends from the charming Sonatina, through imaginative character pieces, to the large-scale Variations on a Theme by C�sar Franck. With refined and committed playing, Naoko Christ-Kato compellingly brings this music - so deserving of being heard - to the public's awareness.

For the internationally acclaimed soloist Jennifer Lim, it has been a long, cherished wish to record the complete Mozart pianos sonatas. She has finished just that with GENUIN, where her last, critically acclaimed recordings were also released. She invites her audience to Mozart's piano universe, from the first, youthful and stormy works of the teenager to the glowing and infinitely complex sonatas of his final years. She groups the works according to musical aspects rather than chronological order. This offers a special listening pleasure and reveals unexpected and connective relationships between the works.