Violin and piano duo Tamsin Waley-Cohen and Huw Watkins explore a violin and piano programme spanning four generations of musical imagination. Prokofiev's F minor Sonata captivates with it's dramatic intensity and baroque-inspired clarity. Stravinsky's Duo Concertant enchants through five lyrical musical poems, blending wit, elegance, and classical poise. Knussen's 'Reflection', written for Waley-Cohen and Watkins, immerses listeners in a jewel-like world of colour and introspection, where every note is deliberately placed. Watkins's Violin Sonata fuses modern lyricism with bursts of earthy vitality, creating a dialogue of subtle contrasts.

Elisabeth Kuyper (1877-1953) was a Dutch composer, pianist, and conductor whose career unfolded during a time when women struggled for recognition in the professional music world. Born in Amsterdam, she studied composition at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik under Max Bruch, who became both a mentor and advocate. Kuyper soon established herself as an accomplished composer of chamber music, orchestral works, and songs, and in 1908 she became the first woman to receive the Mendelssohn Prize for composition. Beyond her creative output, she was also a trailblazer in performance: she founded and conducted the Berlin Women's Orchestra, and later the London Women's Orchestra, ensembles that provided essential opportunities for female musicians. Kuyper's chamber works stand out for their lyrical warmth and structural clarity, particularly her Piano Trio in D minor, Op.17. The piano trio, composed around 1911, demonstrates her ability to balance Romantic expressiveness with classical form. It's sweeping themes, rhythmic vitality, and rich interplay between instruments reveal a composer deeply attuned to both instrumental color and ensemble dialogue. The slow movement, marked by a poignant melodic line, highlights Kuyper's gift for shaping long, singing phrases, while the finale captures a sense of momentum and optimism. The Violin Sonata, an earlier work, reflects the influence of her teacher Bruch, yet bears Kuyper's distinctive voice. The sonata combines broad, songful melodies with finely wrought harmonic progressions, offering the violin ample lyrical freedom while keeping the piano as an equal partner. Although long overshadowed, Kuyper's works are now being rediscovered, offering modern audiences insight into a composer who defied convention and left a legacy of eloquent, expressive chamber music. Played with warmth and commitment by Maristella Patuzzi (violin), Alessandra Doninelli (cello) and Mario Patuzzi (piano). Patuzzi successfully recorded for Brilliant Classics works by Ernest Bloch and Othmar Schoeck.

The composer and pianist Livia Teodorescu-Ciocanea, born in Galati, eastern Romania, in 1959, brings together ancient and modern in her music: echoes of the modal sounds of Romanian folk music blend with an openness to timbre to generate a palette of colours that is both contemporary and ageless. All three works here use the voice - solo and in chorus - to touch on aspects of the human condition, suggesting both drama and ritual.

Ronald Smith approached Nimbus at a turbulent time in the industry. His long-time recording partnership was in transition, and he would make six visits to the Nimbus studio, a peaceful space in the ballroom of the Victorian mansion at Wyastone Leys just outside Monmouth. His initial visits in February and August 1980 were concerned with core repertoire: Chopin's Etudes Op. 10 and Op. 25, his Sonata Op. 58, and the Liszt Sonata. He returned in 1983 to record Liszt's transcription of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony and Busoni's transcription of Bach's Chaconne. In 1985 there were two visits: in May to record an album of popular Beethoven Sonatas, then in September to deliver Balakirev's B-flat minor Sonata and Scriabin's 'Black Mass' Sonata No. 9. A final visit in June 1986 was devoted to Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. The sessions in 1980 were both 'analogue', being made on reel-to-reel tape machines. We had little idea how quickly such industry-wide state-of-the-art technology would be brutally swept aside by the arrival of digital recording, and it's market counterpart, the Compact Disc. Ronald's Chopin Etudes were released on LP the following year. The LP sleeve went as far as announcing the catalogue number of the upcoming Chopin/Liszt Sonata pairing. The master was approved and ready to go. But all things 'digital' upended all sense: the record world, it's media, and followers clamoured for digital recordings of standard works. Labels rushed to satisfy the demand (Nimbus was no exception), and unreleased 'analogue' masters fell into a dark hole. Ronald Smith's later digital recordings enjoyed immediate release, but not so the Chopin/Liszt Sonatas-until now, 45 years on. © Adrian Farmer

The Estonian composer Mihkel Kerem - born in Tallinn in 1981 and Joint Assistant Leader in the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra since 2015 - used the Covid lockdown to produce no fewer than four symphonies, two of them, his Seventh and Eighth, conceived as a contrasting pair. Kerem's dark and ominous Seventh Symphony, like that of Sibelius, plots a huge sonata-form arch, growing from and back into it's opening material. It's soundworld sits somewhere between Sibelius and Schnittke, combining a sense of natural symphonic growth with dramatic twists of kaleidoscopic textural variety. No. 8, which also nods to Sibelius' Seventh by quoting it's celebrated trombone theme, is a vast, unhurried accelerando, it's three linked movements tapping into the Nordic-Baltic tradition of using the controlled power of the orchestra to suggest the vastness of nature.

Singer Sheila Dhar, a disciple of Ustad Fayyaz Ahmed Khan (a leading figure in Hindustani classical singing), through the ragas Bhairav and Kaushi Kanhra, traces the many facets of the Kirana gharana musical lineage with sobriety, fidelity, and depth. "Raga, the central concept in all Indian music, is a Sanskrit term which means passion, colour, and attachment, something which has the effect of colouring the hearts of people. The music is never 'prepared', but rather a live communication in which the listener contributes to the reality of each moment. The ideal of the singer is to share with the listener all phases of the creative process, much like an idea developed in extemporaneous speech. (.) In raga development the musician envisions a heightened state of being through the portraiture in the lines of the raga. The lines, colours, and feelings offered by the raga create a field of awareness in which the listener can share in the intended evocation. This live chemistry of participation is a vital factor in traditional performances." - Sheila Dhar

Michelangelo Rossi (1602-1656) was an Italian composer, violinist, and organist of the early Baroque period, known for his highly expressive and often daring keyboard music. Born in Genoa, Rossi was a pupil of Girolamo Frescobaldi, one of the greatest keyboard composers of the time, whose influence is evident in Rossi's intricate counterpoint and rich harmonic language. Rossi later served as a musician in Rome, including at the court of Cardinal Maurizio of Savoy and at St. Peter's Basilica. There he earned recognition both as a virtuoso performer and as a composer. Rossi's surviving keyboard works include a collection of Toccatas and Correntes, which are remarkable examples of early 17th-century Italian keyboard style. His Toccatas follow the model established by Frescobaldi but push it's expressive boundaries even further. They are characterized by rapid contrasts of tempo, rhythm, and affect, alternating between improvisatory, rhapsodic passages and tightly structured contrapuntal sections. Rossi's harmonic language is unusually bold for it's time, often featuring unexpected chromaticism and dissonant progressions that create moments of intense emotional tension. These daring harmonic experiments make his music stand out even among the avant-garde tendencies of early Baroque Italy. The Correntes, by contrast, are more rhythmically regular and dance-like, reflecting the growing importance of stylized dance forms in instrumental music. Yet even within these seemingly simple pieces, Rossi introduces subtle variations and expressive harmonic turns that elevate them beyond mere functional dance music. Played on organ and harpsichord: Organ G.B. Gavinelli (17th century at the S. Anna Church in Bellinzago Novarese, harpsichord from G.B. Giusti 1681 by Andrea di Maio (2006). Manuel Tomadin is one of the foremost Italian organists of today, a scholar and passionate musician, with an impressive discography to his name: Husumer Organ Book, Alberti's Complete Keyboard Works, Van Noordt, Krebs, Lübeck, Hassler, Martini, Erbach and other North German organ masters.

The Barbican Quartet is a highly acclaimed and exciting young string quartet based in London. As 1st prize winner of the 2022 ARD Music Competition, the Barbican Quartet is one of the most sought-after young string quartet formations. The album "Lux Intus." combines works from W.A. Mozart's, Rebecca Clarke, and Edward Elgar with a world premiere recording and commissioned work for string quartet by Sophia Jani.

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 Mädchenchor and the Südwestpfälzer 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.

Baroque Beyond invites you on a sonic journey between Baroque tradition and modern expressiveness. Shorena Tsintsabadze combines historical piano works and arrangements with a contemporary perspective characterized by profound reflection and artistic virtuosity. In an era of great social and technological upheaval, reminiscent of the transition from the late Renaissance to the Baroque period, this album demonstrates how music can serve as a human anchor and an expression of inner strength. A captivating listening experience that connects past and present and raises questions about our humanity in the digital age.

In his finely curated program Serenade, Swiss pianist Benjamin Engeli dedicates himself to the chamber music treasures of the extraordinary composers Agathe Backer-Grøndahl, Amy Beach, and Rebecca Clarke, bringing their lyrical miniatures, poetic soundscapes, and expressive character pieces to life. Engeli, one of the most distinguished pianists of his generation in Switzerland, impressively demonstrates the musical depth and emotional diversity of the work of these often underrated artists.

In his new CD recording, Swiss pianist Christian Chamorel focuses on four key works for solo piano by W.A. Mozart: the sonatas in C minor, K. 457; B-flat major, K. 333; and D major, K. 576; as well as the expressive Fantasy in C minor, K. 475, which originate from very different creative phases. Chamorel succeeds in creating a subtle interpretation that brings Mozart's music to life from within. Every phrase, every change in dynamics, articulation, and tempo seems like the result of a well-considered artistic decision and, at the same time, like a spontaneous impulse born directly from the moment.

Ménestrel-the Canadian early music ensemble of soprano-violinist Janelle Lucyk and tenor-lutenist Kerry Bursey-mix ancient repertoire with Canadian oral folk traditions. In an age defined by acceleration and artifice, their debut album, Ménestrel, reaches backward, not to escape the modern world, but to examine it's emotional roots. They gather songs drawn from several centuries and traditions, from the luminous melancholy of John Dowland to the ardent intimacy of Barbara Strozzi, from the refined contours of French Renaissance chanson to the rugged sincerity of Celtic and English folk ballads. The name ménestrel refers to the medieval minstrel, a musician who moved between written and oral traditions and carried songs across regions and generations. Janelle and Kerry draw on that lineage as they bring early music and folk repertoire into close conversation. Their approach highlights the continuity between these traditions, focusing on clarity, text, and the shared expressiveness that links courtly song with vernacular melody. Formed in 2019, Ménestrel bridges historical performance and Canadian oral folk traditions, and the ensemble has given performances and collaborated with singers and choirs in all of Canada's 13 provinces and territories. Janelle Lucyk is a singer and producer among an emerging generation of Canadian artists specializing in early music and historically informed performance, taking ideas from conception to the stage. Kerry Bursey is a tenor and plucked string instrumentalist whose voice is appreciated for it's luminous quality, and as a sought-after lutenist, he is also invested in the rare practice of self-accompaniment in early and folk music of northwestern traditions. Their concerts aim to demystify early music, juxtaposing it next to folk songs, which are songs of the people.

In Dmitry Sitkovetsky's transcription, Bach's Goldberg Variations are revealed in a new light: a refined dialogue between violin, viola and cello, where each voice breathes and listens to the others. TrioFenix delivers a strikingly clear interpretation, combining architectural rigour, expressive freedom, and sonic poetry. Backed by nearly twenty years of musical complicity, these three chamber musicians breathe new life into one of the masterpieces of the Baroque repertoire, in a version that is as vibrant as it is intimate.

A deep dive into the vibrant heart of the "nueva canción" movement, paying tribute to the artists-like Violeta Parra, Víctor Jara, and Mercedes Sosa-who shaped Latin American history. Vidala brilliantly conveys the symbolic and liberating power of these songs, which blend popular folklore with protest music.

Ensemble Dal Niente's newest release, portrait RE / Flux / Pacific Time, chronicles their immersive collaborations with composers, featuring three works by George Lewis, Carola Bauckholt, and Igor Santos that represent the culmination of long-standing working relationships with the critically acclaimed Chicago-based ensemble.

SOMM RECORDINGS celebrates the 400th anniversary of two Renaissance masters of the First Golden Age of English Song: John Dowland (1563-1626) and John Danyel (1564-1626). This recital for tenor and lute takes it's name from Dowland's song, Time Stands Still. The recording features British tenor Kieran White, who was a chorister at Wells Cathedral and held a Kohn Foundation Scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music. The Guardian has praised White's "pure, luminous tenor" and Opera Magazine his "extraordinary emotional clarity." He performs with long-time collaborator and friend, the Swiss-French lutenist Cédric Meyer, who holds two Master of Arts degrees and a postgraduate certificate with a specialisation in early music. Meyer plays here on his personally handcrafted eight-course Renaissance lute, based on an extant Italian lute from 1592. Lute songs, or "ayres," combine music and poetry to create songs that are filled with love, melancholy, and despair. John Dowland is acknowledged as the premier secular lute song composer of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, with a special affinity for melancholy. It was a distinction he relished, even punning on his own name in the lute solo Semper Dowland, semper dolens - Always Dowland, always doleful. Dowland's status as a god of early music enthusiasts is matched by his astute business sense. To prevent unscrupulous printers from distributing his work in pirated editions, Dowland preserved his music by publishing it himself. The lute songs on this recording come from The First Booke of Songes or Ayres, published in 1597; The Second Booke, 1600; The Third and Last Booke, 1603; and A Musicall Banquet, published by Dowland's son Robert in 1610. The texts are predominantly by anonymous authors. Unlike his enterprising publication of lute songs, Dowland never printed a definitive collection of his solo lute music. The four lute solos recorded here come from varying sources, with the result that not all can be definitively attributed. Nevertheless, the solo instrumental pieces offer a taste of the highly refined art of lute playing at the turn of the 17th century. Dowland's superstar reputation is diametrically opposed to that of his exact contemporary, John Danyel, whose vocal music survives in a single, slender volume, First Booke of Songes or Ayres-twenty-one songs for the lute, viol, and voice-published in 1606. Danyel seems to have come from a wealthy family. He graduated from Oxford, served as a tutor and court musician, and his privacy could well have been by choice. Yet these few pieces that have survived illustrate the uniquely sensitive mind of a skilful composer. Despite being less prolific and remaining comparatively obscure, noted early music specialists consider every one of Danyel's extant works a masterpiece.

LIM Cosmic Pop Rhapsody is a concept album created by the global collective LIM, led by Dr. Susan Lim and Christina Teenz Tan, and executive produced by Deepak Sharma. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, it blends science fiction, music, and storytelling in a 17-track cosmic journey where humans and AI-enabled inanimates seek harmony across the universe. With compositions by Joi Barua, Manu Martin, Matthieu Eymard, and Ron J. Danziger, and performances by international artists including Killian Donnelly, Lucy St. Louis, and Cassie Simone, this vibrant, multi-genre soundtrack unites orchestral grandeur, pop energy, and narrative imagination in a celebration of creativity and companionship.

The Leonkoro Quartet, founded in 2019 and winner of multiple prestigious awards in 2022 - nine prizes at the Wigmore Hall International Competition, including first prize, BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists, Jurgen Ponto Foundation Music Prize, first prize at the Bordeaux Competition - joins Alpha Classics for several recordings. First stop: Vienna and it's influence on the musical landscape of the early 20th century. Berg completed his Suite lyrique on 5 October 1926: combining theatricality and rigorous architecture, free atonality and dodecaphonism, this suite expresses the composer's passionate love for Hanna Fuchs at that time. Erwin Schulhoff, born in Prague in 1894, was discovered by Dvorak and studied in Vienna from the age of 12; he dedicated his Five Pieces to Darius Milhaud, as he also studied in Paris with Debussy around 1913, ultimately dying in a prison camp in Bavaria in 1942. In his Opus 5, described by Glenn Gould as 'sensual' expressionism, Webern mourns the death of his mother on 7 September 1906.

SOMM Recordings' new series, "Elgar from the Archives," explores Edward Elgar's music with rare archival recordings, not only from well-known British interpreters but also from lesser-known, yet equally laudable, international conductors and soloists. Volume 2 in the series features historic live performances of Sir Edward Elgar's Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61, with Tibor Varga, and the Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, with André Navarra. Lani Spahr-whose work as a master recording engineer of historic reissues has been honoured by Gramophone Magazine-has once again expertly realised the audio restoration of these performances. The Royal Philharmonic Society of London commissioned the Violin Concerto from Elgar in 1909. Composed within a year of his First Symphony, it is one of his longest orchestral compositions and has the reputation of being one of the most difficult in the violin repertoire. He dedicated it to the noted violin master of his day, Fritz Kreisler, who gave the premiere performance in 1910 with Elgar conducting. The Hungarian violinist Tibor Varga (1921-2003) was six years old when he made his first public appearance, becoming one of the most prominent soloists of his generation. The Franz Liszt Academy appointed him an honorary professor-a rare distinction also awarded to Elgar, Emil Gilels, Richard Strauss, and Arturo Toscanini, amongst others. Varga moved to London in 1947, became a citizen, and lived in Britain for nine years. That experience is reflected in his fine, committed performance of Elgar's concerto. This recording, from 1957, is with the Dutch composer and conductor Jan Koetsier and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. Following the Great War, Lady Elgar noted that her husband's compositions were different in style and character. His four-movement Cello Concerto, completed in 1919, is barely longer than the first movement of his Violin Concerto, and it is a contemplative, elegiac work with a heartfelt third-movement adagio that is a masterful example of controlled emotion. Yet the concerto ends on a positive note, as the declamatory opening returns in a valedictory form at the end of the finale. The renowned cellist André Navarra (1911-1988) graduated from the Paris Conservatoire at the age of fifteen, and he was later mentored by Pablo Casals. He toured extensively in the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Soviet Union, playing with the great conductors of the era, and he was one of a number of distinguished French cellists who embraced the Elgar concerto. He chose it for his first public performance in Britain at the 1950 Cheltenham Festival with John Barbirolli-with whom he recorded the concerto in 1957. His recording here with German conductor Fritz Rieger and the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra comes from 1956.

When is a man a man?-the question posed by the German pop singer Herbert Grönemeyer 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.

Our debut album tells of creative connections spanning centuries and of the curiosity and passion that keep music relevant and alive today. We move playfully between rarely heard and well-known masterworks of the Baroque, presenting both ensemble and solo works to create a richly textured soundscape. Many of the composers featured on this album were linked through personal or artistic exchange. Telemann, Handel, Corelli, and the mysterious Mrs. Philarmonica were not only connected stylistically, but also crossed paths in the musical centers of Europe such as London, Hamburg, and Rome.

This recording, made at Noirlac Abbey in January 2025, is dedicated to Denis Raisin Dadre, who passed away suddenly on September 29 of the same year. With Doulce Mémoire, the ensemble he founded in 1989 and with which he brought Renaissance music to the world, Denis directed the production of this album from start to finish. In the booklet, he writes: "The Lagrime di San Pietro and Lagrime del peccatore both deal with a subject rarely encountered in musical settings: Peter's denial of Jesus. Furthermore, each is the swan song of it's composer. Munich, 1594. In the last year of his life, Orlando di Lasso composed his masterpiece, the apogee of Renaissance counterpoint and musical eloquence. Ferrara, 1586. Lodovico Agostini published his final work, whose language sought above all to move and overwhelm the listener by using all the already baroque devices of chromaticism and dissonance."

Erik Palmberg - Trumpet Joona Toivanen - Piano Martin Sundström - Bass Paul Svanberg - Drums & Percussion

Erik Palmberg - Trumpet Joona Toivanen - Piano Martin Sundström - Bass Paul Svanberg - Drums & Percussion