A pianist whose exceptional intelligence and sensitivity draws on her effervescent spirit, Anne Queffelec learned her craft in both Paris and Vienna. She had a close relationship with Erato and Virgin Classics, which produced a rich discography. This recording is an absolute best seller, and probably the most famous version of Erik Satie's masterpieces, the Gymnopedies and Gnossiennes. "No pianist understands the atmosphere of Satie's music or can sharpen it's wit more tellingly than Anne Queffelec." Gramophone Magazine

Toward the Sea brings together three works for flute and guitar which explore memory, place and transformation. EMI Ferguson and Michael Poll trace a journey from the dance halls of Buenos Aires in Astor Piazzolla's Histoire du Tango, through the luminous stillness of Elizabeth Ogonek's Altair, to the meditative sound world of Toru Takemitsu's Toward the Sea. Recorded at the Stone Church in rural Massachusetts, the program reflects the duo's artistic partnership, which began through online collaborations during the pandemic before developing into live performances across the United States. Their own arrangement of Ogonek's Altair sits naturally between two landmark works, highlighting the continuing vitality of the flute and guitar repertoire. Ferguson, an Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, and Poll, equally active as a guitarist and conductor, approach this repertoire as equal musical partners, allowing the distinctive voices of flute and guitar to emerge across music that ranges from Piazzolla's rhythmic vitality to Takemitsu's suspended, atmospheric sound world.

The Seasons unites two visionary responses to nature across three centuries, pairing Antonio Vivaldi's iconic Le quattro stagioni with Astor Piazzolla's sultry Las cuatro estaciones portenas in Leonid Desyatnikov's electrifying arrangement for violin and strings. Violinist and director Soojin Han leads the English Chamber Orchestra in a vibrant dialogue between Venetian countryside and Buenos Aires nightlife, where birdsong and storms meet smoky tango rhythms and shifting emotional weather. Playful musical quotations blur the boundaries between the two works, with winter appearing in summer and summer in winter, suggesting that the seasons are shaped as much by memory and imagination as by the natural world. Recorded in Studio Two at Abbey Road Studios, this recording reflects the wide-ranging musical perspective Soojin Han has developed through a career spanning solo performance, chamber music and orchestral leadership. It is an approach that allows these familiar masterpieces to unfold with both the freedom of chamber music and the brilliance of a virtuoso performance.

Fourth release in the Warner Classics series of Herbert von Karajan Hybrid SACDs with a new HD 192/24 remastering from the original tapes. "Karajan is a great master," wrote Jean Sibelius in 1955, while the conductor said that Sibelius "is a composer who cannot really be compared to anyone else". Gramophone added in 1981: "No living conductor has done more for the music of Sibelius than Herbert von Karajan." In the tone poems and the two symphonies in this collection, Karajan explores with the magnificent Berlin Philharmonic the music's mysteries, unfolds it's structures and releases it's exhilarating power.

Aleksander Debicz - pianist, composer, arranger, and musical director - is one of the most versatile and innovative artists on the Polish music scene. He is the creator and performer of an original style he himself describes as 'cinematic classical' - a movement that combines the language of classical music with the narrative nature of film music and the space of improvisation. 'I chose to shape these new compositions as a cycle of piano miniatures, referring to a classical tradition. I therefore treat the dream not only as a theme, but also as a form - an equivalent of the Romantic prelude. 12 Dreams is conceived as a complete cycle, yet I also enjoy performing individual dreams as independent pieces.' - Aleksander Debicz

September 15th 2026 will mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of one of the most influential conductors of the 20th century: Bruno Walter (1876-1962). This comprehensive box set brings together his complete HMV and Columbia Graphophone recordings. Spanning the 78-rpm era from 1924 to 1939, this collection also features the landmark 1949 magnetic tape recording of Mahler's Kindertotenlieder featuring Kathleen Ferrier, offering the first release of two previously unpublished takes. To ensure the highest fidelity, the finest available materials have been sourced, including pristine test pressings on vinyl from original metal work and near-mint superior commercial pressings. After undergoing high-definition digitization, the recordings were meticulously restored. This collection finally sheds a truer and more precise light on the artistry and genius of Bruno Walter.

'Heritage', presented by the Fondation Gautier Capucon, is part of the Foundation's annual recording initiative, which spotlights it's laureates and reinforces it's long-term commitment to developing emerging classical talent. This edition features Mirabelle Kajenjeri (violin) and Elias Moncado (piano), offering them a high-visibility platform as rising artists within a structured mentorship and career development ecosystem. The program combines cornerstone repertoire (sonatas by Maurice Ravel and Johannes Brahms) with shorter works by Claude Debussy and Lili Boulanger.

Jon Batiste - "Monk Meditations" On Monk Meditations (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 3), multi-Grammy® and Oscar® winner Jon Batiste expands introspective short form compositions by Thelonious Monk into longer form piano works imbued with classical structure and quiet grandeur. Verve; Classical Crossover.

The second installment of the Batiste Piano Series sees multi-Grammy and Oscar winner Jon Batiste reinterpret Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's most beloved melodies as Black American classical music, infused with influences from jazz, rags, stride, blues and stomps. The result is a vibrant conversation without words - not about genre, but pure expression.

Vinyl LP pressing. The second installment of the Batiste Piano Series sees multi-Grammy and Oscar winner Jon Batiste reinterpret Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's most beloved melodies as Black American classical music, infused with influences from jazz, rags, stride, blues and stomps. The result is a vibrant conversation without words - not about genre, but pure expression.

Jon Batiste - "Monk Meditations" [LP] On Monk Meditations (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 3), multi-Grammy® and Oscar® winner Jon Batiste expands introspective short form compositions by Thelonious Monk into longer form piano works imbued with classical structure and quiet grandeur. Verve; Classical Crossover.

Friendship Survival Guide brings together the evocative talents of Adam Wiltzie and the late Johann Johannsson in a deeply atmospheric and emotionally resonant collaboration. Combining ambient drones, cinematic textures, and minimalist beauty, the album creates an immersive listening experience that reflects both artists' shared gift for crafting expansive and moving soundscapes.

Lise Davidsen Edward Gardner London Philharmonic Lise Davidsen performs the arias from five of Verdi's greatest operas: MacBeth, Un ballo in Maschera, La forza del destino, Don Carlo, and Aida. Through the chronological sequencing of compositions, Davidsen explores the pinnacle of 19th-century Italian opera, leading us through the journey of Verdi's emotional and dramatic development. From the psychological intensity of MacBeth to the grandeur and tragedy of Aida, Davidsen brings her vocal power and remarkable nuance to five of Verdi's greatest masterpieces, illuminating the composer's unmatched gift for drama, passion, and human conflict. "Her dark soprano is simply outstanding, the attack on the notes so clean, rock solid, seemingly effortless," Mark Pullinger on her role as Elisabetta in Verdi's Don Carlos, 2023. This album will be released a week ahead of her opening of the Met season as Lady MacBeth in Verdi's MacBeth in 2026.

OLIVER COATES / HISTORY SOUND - O.S.T Decca presents the soundtrack to the 2025 film, The History of Sound. Composed and produced by cellist Oliver Coates, the 27-track album features traditional American roots music with vocal and musical contributions from folk artist Sam Amidon and lead actors Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. An undisputed yet underrated architect of what we now know as modern rock and roll, 1956's Gospel Train was an innovative release for Sister Rosetta Tharpe in more ways than one. For starters, her first release on the Mercury Records label was also her first available from any label on the then-new 12" long-playing format, still the industry standard for vinyl albums today. Most importantly, Gospel Train took Sister Tharpe's distinctive blend of primordial electric guitar-driven blues and traditional gospel and harnessed it's power in a polished studio setting, backed by first-call session musicians including the vocal quartet the Harmonizing Four. The Verve Vault series is all-analog, cut from the original master tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound and pressed on 180-gram vinyl.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. The Velvet Fog meets The Great White Way! Mel Torme was at the height of his powers on 1960's Swings Shubert Alley, a collection of Broadway standards backed by the renowned Marty Paich Orchestra. This stunning union of musical theatre and jazz is regarded as one of the jewels of Torme's work for Verve Records, and his unforgettable vocal delivery elevates familiar chestnuts from the songbooks of Lerner and Loewe ("On the Street Where You Live"), Rodgers and Hammerstein ("Hello, Young Lovers," "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top") and Cole Porter ("Too Darn Hot"). The Verve Vault series is all-analog, cut from the original master tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound and pressed on 180-gram vinyl.

Sir Stephen Hough's new solo piano album, Stephen Hough's Piano Postcards, explores the world from the perspective of the itinerant pianist sending home musical messages from his voyages. Music from Asia includes "Spring breeze prelude" by Taiwanese composer Deng Yu-Hsien and a piano version of "Aka tombo," a children's song so beloved in Japan that it features in citywide "5-o'clock chimes" across the country. Folk and popular traditions appear in "Cielito lindo" and "Nature boy," while the final group of pieces turns to nature, with works by MacDowell, Schumann and Sinding. Alongside these musical travel diaries, he intersperses new transcriptions of songs from popular films, including arrangements he created for Lang Lang's 'Disney Book' album. This is the first chance Sir Stephen has had to include piano arrangements of songs from Frozen, Coco and Mary Poppins.

Sir Anthony's first album released on Decca Classics, Life Is A Dream, brings his passion for classical music to the forefront, presenting a deeply personal collection of original compositions that reflect a lifetime of creativity, imagination, and storytelling. Recorded with the internationally renowned Philharmonia Orchestra, under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel, and featuring world-class musicians from Argentinian pianist Sergio Tiempo and Venezuelan cellist Gregorio Nieto to the Bach Choir and the Choristers of Winchester Cathedral. The album showcases Sir Anthony's unique musical voice through a series of cinematic, emotional, and richly orchestrated works, offering audiences an intimate window into a creative life that spans decades and disciplines. Life Is A Dream is the culmination of a lifelong artistic journey and a landmark project for Decca Classics, introducing Sir Anthony's music to audiences worldwide and celebrating an extraordinary new chapter in his creative legacy.

Verve Records: The Sound of America As an independent record producer going back to the early 1940s, Norman Granz started building a personal network of record companies - disc by disc, artist by artist, innovation by innovation - that grew into a tsunami by the time he sold Verve Records at the end of 1960. It remains a feat unmatched to this day. This 2-CD set celebrates the fascinating spectrum of recordings made during the Norman Granz era of Verve Records. It includes vocal tracks by Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday; Charlie Parker with strings; a raucous live jam session; Beatnik poetry by Jack Kerouac and stand-up comedy. Verve Label Group; Verve; Jazz; Catalog

VERVE RECORDS: THE SOUND OF AMERICA / VARIOUS As an independent record producer going back to the early 1940s, Norman Granz started building a personal network of record companies - disc by disc, artist by artist, innovation by innovation - that grew into a tsunami by the time he sold Verve Records at the end of 1960. It remains a feat unmatched to this day. This 4-LP box set celebrates the fascinating spectrum of recordings made during the Norman Granz era of Verve Records. It includes vocal tracks by Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday; Charlie Parker with strings; a raucous live jam session; Beatnik poetry by Jack Kerouac and stand-up comedy.

Luigi Nono was a leading figure in post-war serialism, emerging in the 1950s alongside Karlheinz Stockhausen & Pierre Boulez as one of the era's defining avant-garde composers. Composed for 2-channel magnetic tape in 1968, Contrappunto reflects Nono's engagement with international student movements and opposition to the Vietnam War. Drawing on Adriano Banchieri's early 17th-century madrigal-comedy, Nono reimagined it's vocal focus, period materials, and parodic spirit through a contemporary lens. Roland Kayn's Cybernetics III foresaw major developments in synthesis, computing, sampling & sequencing, anticipating profound changes in electronic music. The Avantgarde Series is mastered & cut from the original analog 1/4 inch, 2-track master tapes by Rainer Maillard & Sidney Claire Meyer at Emil Berliner Studios. Limited and numbered, featuring original artwork and a newly designed, beautifully crafted collector's sleeve with new liner notes by Bradford Bailey, and pressed on 180g vinyl.

Giblet Gravy, released in 1968 on Verve Records, documents guitarist George Benson during his early period with the label. Produced by Esmond Edwards and featuring arrangements by Tom McIntosh, the sessions draw on a range of jazz and studio musicians, including pianist Herbie Hancock, bassists Ron Carter and Bob Cranshaw, drummer Billy Cobham, percussionist Johnny Pacheco, and baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams, alongside a brass and rhythm section assembled for selected tracks. Across these varied settings, Benson's fluid articulation, blues-inflected phrasing, and rhythmic dexterity remain the music's central focus. The repertoire blends contemporary popular material, standards, and original compositions, illustrating the stylistic breadth that would inform his later crossover success while remaining grounded in the late-1960s jazz ensemble format. The Verve Vault series is always mastered from analog tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Meditations, released in 1966 on Impulse! Records, captures John Coltrane's late-period quartet in transition, expanding into new sonic territory while retaining the core intensity of his classic lineup. Recorded in 1965 at Rudy Van Gelder's Englewood Cliffs studio with producer Bob Thiele, the session features pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, drummer Elvin Jones, tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, and drummer Rashied Ali. Across the suite-like program, the music flows as a continuous meditation on transcendence and collective expression, pushing Coltrane's spiritual jazz into heightened realms of energy and abstraction. It marks one of the final appearances of his "classic quartet" members Tyner and Jones before they departed, leaving Coltrane to pursue new directions with Sanders and Ali. The Verve Vault series is always mastered from analog tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

SYMPHONY NO.3, METAPHYSICA; HARP CONCERTO Internationally acclaimed Japanese composer and conductor Joe Hisaishi leads the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, with celebrated harpist Emmanuel Ceysson, in a major world premiere recording that pairs his Symphony No. 3 'Metaphysica' with his new harp concerto - a virtuosic, genre-defying work. 2-LP set.

Jon Batiste - "Monk Movements" [LP] On the fourth volume of the Batiste Piano Series, multi-Grammy® and Oscar® winner Jon Batiste returns to some of the music that first shaped his voice at the piano, expanding upon the majestic, contemplative beauty at the heart of some of Thelonious Monk's most iconic works. Verve; Jazz

John Williams Legacy is a landmark collection featuring the maestro conducting his most iconic film scores, including beloved classics from Star Wars, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, E.T., and more. Performed by world-renowned orchestras, including Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, and the Recording Arts Orchestra of Los Angeles, these definitive high-fidelity recordings capture the composer's vision with unparalleled authenticity. Featuring liner notes by acclaimed journalist and author John Burlingame, this collection is a powerful celebration of one of film music's greatest careers and an essential addition for fans old and new. CD Digipak.

Limited five 180gm vinyl LP set. Herbert von Karajan's recording of Wagner's 'Die Walkure' features an outstanding cast, including Austrian star soprano Gundula Janowitz (Sieglinde), legendary bass-baritone Thomas Stewart (Wotan), Jon Vickers (Siegmund), and the dazzling Regine Crespin (Brunnhilde). It captivates with it's expressive range and lyrical accents. Karajan skillfully allows his orchestra, the Berliner Philharmoniker, to take a back seat to showcase the great singers. As classical music magazine Gramophone aptly puts it, even half a century after it's release, his recording, "still has surprises in store." For the first time, the ORIGINAL SOURCE SERIES uses the original stereo master tape, a two-track audio tape, as it's source. Remastered by the Emil Berliner Studios on 180g virgin vinyl by Optimal and housed in a 5-LP lift-lid box set. Limited and numbered.

Bruce Liu / LUNARIS - Lunaris / Bruce Liu - With LUNARIS, Bruce Liu delivers his most distinctive album to date: A concept-driven journey through night, imagination and transcendence, built around some of the most iconic piano repertoire ever written. Bruce Liu invites listeners into a nocturnal sound world where sound, silence and imagination converge. The album follows a clear narrative arc - from Chopin's Nocturne to Cage's Dream - guiding the listener through a sequence of inner landscapes, from intimacy to illumination. Anchored by cornerstone works such as Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and Waldstein Sonata, the program expands into a carefully curated constellation including Debussy, Bach/Siloti, Mompou, Ligeti and Agnes Obel.

Jon Batiste - "Monk Movements" On the fourth volume of the Batiste Piano Series, multi-Grammy® and Oscar® winner Jon Batiste returns to some of the music that first shaped his voice at the piano, expanding upon the majestic, contemplative beauty at the heart of some of Thelonious Monk's most iconic works. Verve; Jazz.