These recordings, made between 1960 and 1987 by Jean Malaurie during many missions to the Far North, are intended to use their music to reveal the heart and spirit of the Inuit people, forged in a demanding environment. The Inuit live in one of the world's most vast areas. From Siberia -their homeland- to Greenland, they occupy some of the most desolate icy deserts on the planet. Inuit civilisation has adapted to it's terrible environment in one of the greatest challenges of courage and wisdom in human history. Through songs and drums (warrior choruses, throat singing, poignant melodies), the Inuit bear witness to their myths and legends, their identity, their hidden being and their strength in the midst of desolate spaces that would have driven the weakest characters to despair.

The programme Schonheit und Staatsversagen (Beauty & State Failure) brings together music and text to explore the contrasts of life in Bavaria around 1800 - between city and countryside, wealth and poverty, education and illiteracy. The vivid reports of civil servant Joseph von Hazzi reveal a little-known, often harsh rural reality, full of struggle but also raw, sometimes comical pleasures. In contrast, songs by Munich composers like Josephine Lang, Franz Lachner and Lindpaintner - alongside Schumann, Leopold Mozart and Haydn - paint an idealised, emotional image of alpine life. Though shaped by different worlds, both perspectives reflect timeless human experience. This album opens up new perspectives on the past - touching, surprising, and full of musical individuality. And always, of course, with Alma!

Peter Friis Johansson is one of Sweden's most brilliant pianists right now. He has not least won recognition for his cycles of Franz Schubert's complete piano sonatas for more than a decade. Now that he has finally started recording them under the title 'Beyond Schubert' it is with an unusual approach. Not only does he perform from original manuscripts, and even completes unfinished sonatas - he also combines some of the sonatas with high quality works by Swedish composers that somehow are connected to Schubert's. On this first volume, the charming A Major Sonata, Op. 3, by Sweden's grand old lady, Elfrida Andree (1841-1929), is placed next to Schubert's equally charming sonata in the same key (D 664). This album starts, however, with Schubert's big A Minor Sonata (D 845). 'Beyond Schubert' is both a series of recordings and an artistic research project, centered around Franz Schubert and his piano sonatas. As a body of work, the recordings aim to portray Schubert in new and sometimes experimental ways. The word 'Beyond' is therefore central to the project and carries different meanings across it's various components. The research project primarily focuses on Schubert's piano sonata fragments, completing them using diverse methods and aesthetic approaches. Some of these completions will be released as recordings, while others will be available only as sheet music. An online tool will also be developed, allowing anyone to create their own completions of the unfinished sonata movements. The recordings will eventually encompass all of Schubert's finished and fragmentary piano sonatas. Some, as in this recording, will be juxtaposed with other works that have a clear connection to Schubert's music. In this sense, 'Beyond' refers to how Schubert has influenced other composers, and how his style resonates beyond his own compositions.

Orjan Hulten

This programme showcases the euphonium's warmth, emotive quality and astonishing agility with a vibrant tapestry of contemporary chamber music that amply demonstrates it's unique character. From the jazz-inflected grooves of Simon Parkin's Skunk to meditative reflections such as Einaudi's renowned evocation of sunsets in Due Tramonti, this collection brings together composers from diverse backgrounds whose works reimagine the sonic potential of this versatile instrument. Whether exploring nostalgia or joy, virtuoso fireworks or serene tranquillity, each piece contributes to a compelling narrative of the euphonium's modern journey.

Composer-pianist Bruce Wolosoff describes the essence of his new album, Blue Mantra, as an engagement in multiple dialogues - between music and visual art, between the blues and chamber music, and between various moments in his creative life. The title track was inspired by a painting of the same name by his artist-wife Margaret Garrett. Similarly, Matisse Fantasies arose from seeing a charcoal drawing by the celebrated French impressionist. Blues for the New Millennium, commissioned by the Smithsonian Institution to commemorate the turn of the century, expresses a "before" and "after", and marked a turning point in Bruce's compositional style as he embraced a more directly lyrical, melodic compositional voice. All three works are scored for clarinet, piano and varied strings, and revel in bluesy lyricism alongside Bruce's formidable pianism and the virtuosity of his collaborators: clarinettist Narek Arutyunian, violinists Deborah Buck and Michelle Ross, and cellist Clarice Jensen.

It took a move from his native Seville to Paris for Joaquin Turina (1882-1949) to discover an authentically Spanish voice for himself, principally encouraged there by his countryman Isaac Albeniz. The Piano Trio in F now numbers among the first works of Turina's maturity, though it was lost for many years and only rediscovered in 1999. The distance of over two decades between this early work and Turina's first numbered Trio is mirrored in stark terms by the contrast in idioms. An essentially outgoing, Romantic temperament has been refined by the passing of time and life into a more angular melodic style, supported by more chromatic and allusive harmony - no less 'Spanish' in it's way, perhaps even more so. This is the piece that for many years was Turina's best-known chamber piece, beyond the Danzas fantasticas which delighted many listeners to Alicia de Larrocha and (in their orchestrated form) Ernest Ansermet. Now the First Piano Trio may be appreciated in a broader context of Turina's writing for a notoriously challenging genre, and we hear how in each work the three instruments gain a greater degree of independence. From 1933, the Trio No.2 continues this process of refinement and distillation, notwithstanding the Brahmsian hemiolas which destabilise it's opening theme. Turina's masterpiece in the piano-trio genre is probably Circulo, a concise three-movement essay which he composed on the eve of the First World War. It charts the passing of a single day, from the slow stirrings of dawn to a dance in the middle of an Andalucian day through to the gradual falling of dusk, which begins in wild exuberance and ends in peace under a starry sky. The Orphelion Ensemble was founded in Vienna by the Spanish violinist Deborah Gonsalves Deborah Gonsalves and the Austro-German cellist Berthold Hamburger. For this new recording of Turina's trios, they are joined by the Spanish pianist An Eva Browning Artist-in-residence Associate Professor of piano at Texas Tech University, Daniel del Pino. Based in Spain, Orphelion gives concerts across the world with a flexible line-up of artists in order to pursue an artistically ambitious programme which sees them work with leading visual artists, writers and actors. - Joaquin Turina was born in Sevilla, Spain, where he received his first music lessons. Later he went to Madrid and subsequently settled in Paris, where he took composition lessons from Vincent d'Indy at his Schola Cantorum de Paris, while studying the piano with Moritz Moszkowski. Inevitably he came into contact with Debussy and Ravel, and his early compositions were clearly influenced by the Impressionists. However he returned to his native Spain and developed his own style in which the rich folklore, folk music and atmosphere of Spain is predominant. Together with Albeniz, Granados and de Falla he established the Spanish Nationalist School. - This new recording presents Turina's complete works for piano trio, clearly showing the development of his compositional style. It is music of great imagination, colouring and instrumental brilliance, in which the sounds and perfumes of Spain are nearly palpable. - Excellent performances by the Orphelion Ensemble, consisting of Daniel del Pino (piano), Deborah Gonsalves (violin) and Berthold Hamburger (cello).

During his time in Italy and later in Leipzig, Charles Gounod was drawn by the balance of sonic beauty and proportion to be found in the music of Palestrina and J.S. Bach. He developed an innate desire for simple directness as can be heard in the excerpt from the Messe solennelle de Sainte Cecile and the Meditation sur le premier Prelude de J.S. Bach, now better known as Ave Maria. Gounod's talents for melody and mood painting are demonstrated in his Romances sans paroles, while his sense of wit can be heard in the famous Marche fune'bre d'une marionnette.

Claude-Benigne Balbastre (1727-1799) published his first book of harpsichord pieces in 1759, nine years after a decisive move from his home city of Dijon to the metropolis of Paris. France had been inundated with Italian music and musicians for more than 50 years, and Balbastre's style is inflected by the latest Italian trends, while remaining unmistakably and deliciously French. The titles of the individual works refer to the surnames of distinguished and influential figures in the Parisian world of the mid- to late18th century. They are not necessarily portraits; the point here is rather the dedication, although this music indubitably represents a wonderful picture of the world surrounding Balbastre. One of the composer's biographers has remarked that 'More than portraits without words supposed to musically evoke a personality, the harpsichord pieces constitute a tribute or a sign of gratitude with regard to said personality. The portrait thus painted is only allusive and mysterious.' For example, one of Balbastre's most famous and spectacular works, the Italian-style gigue La Lugeac (F major), is probably a portrait of Louis XV's close companion, the Marquis Charles-Antoine de Guerin (1720-82), who had been born at the Chateau de Lugeac and was described by his contemporaries as 'Le beau Lugeac'. In his own booklet introduction to Balbastre's life and work, Marek Toporowski extols the First Book as 'a true masterpiece', combining French elegance of Classical style; imagery alluding to the operas of Rameau; virtuosity reminiscent of Scarlatti, Mozart and Rameau; mastery of form and textural richness. Compared to other surviving music by Balbastre, Toporowski finds these pieces 'less simple in the sense of Classical economy of texture, more sophisticated and Baroque.' The Polish harpsichordist, organist, chamber musician, and conductor Marek Toporowski was a pupil of both Bob van Asperen and Daniel Roth, He has made this new recording on a copy of a French harpsichord, completed in 1984 for harpsichordist, pianist and painter Julitta Slendzinska by Zygmunt Kaczmarski. 'It is a fascinating, exceptional instrument,' he says, 'in terms of timbral class, with a full, juicy sound and enchanting dynamic capabilities.' - Claude Balbastre was a prominent French composer, organist, and harpsichordist of the late Baroque and early Classical periods. He studied under Claude Rameau, the brother of Jean-Philippe Rameau, whose influence is evident in his music. - Among his most notable works are his Pieces de clavecin, published in 1759. These pieces exemplify the refined and expressive style of the French harpsichord tradition, combining lyrical melodies with intricate ornamentation and lively rhythms. Like those of Francois Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau, Balbastre's harpsichord works often feature evocative titles, such as La d'Hericourt, La de Caze, and La Lugeac, referring to prominent figures of the time. His Pieces de clavecin display a wide range of textures and moods, from playful and lighthearted dances to deeply expressive movements. He incorporated elements of the galant style, characterized by clarity and grace, alongside more dramatic and virtuosic passages, sometimes even adapting orchestral effects to the harpsichord. - Marek Toporowski is a harpsichordist, organist, pianist and conductor, one of Poland's foremost performers in the Historical Performance movement. He is a scholar and a well-known collector of historical instruments. Also available by Marek Toporowski are the Complete Piano Music by Pinto, keyboard sonatas by Hyacinthe Jadin, and violin sonatas by Ferdinand Ries.

This album is inspired by the fantastic physicality and variety of dance forms in which composers from Granados to Shostakovich excelled. There are some hidden gems as well as pieces that will be familiar to all - and they have the novelty, as transcriptions, of all having been 'stolen' from the original. These arrangements are creative, fun and often virtuosic. -Includes Shostakovich's 'Three Fantastic Dances' released in the composer's 50th death anniversary year -Includes Ravel 'Piece en forme de habanera' released in the composer's 150th birth anniversary year

The piano duos presented here, all drawn from the mid-20th century, have their inspiration in dance or ballet: but thankfully, that red flag for program music - is it a hopeless prisoner of a storyline or visual narrative? - shows no sign of rising. All three works stand majestically on their own: Rachmaninoff's autumnal self-eulogy, The Symphonic Dances, Barber's Souvenirs, a whimsical collage of the Gilded Era ballroom, and Piazzolla's Tango for Two Pianos (arr. P. Ziegler). And, in the case of Piazzolla, we witness the tango, as it moves from the cafe to the concert hall, shedding the strictures of dance itself.

Three major works for piano and orchestra by English composers, all eschewing the traditional nineteenth- century model of a bravura virtuoso soloist pitted against an orchestra, in distinctive ways. Together with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under George Vass, Clare Hammond presents an original programme that provides a unique perspective on how the piano concerto reflected musical currents in mid-twentieth-century Britain. William Walton's Sinfonia Concertante for Orchestra with Piano Obbligato began as a ballet score. After it was rejected by Sergei Diaghilev, Walton arranged his score into a leaner, more direct and more effective work that reveals the influences of Stravinsky, Poulenc, Rimsky- Korsakov, Borodin and, at times, Elgar. Benjamin Britten's Diversions was commissioned by the left-hand pianist Paul Wittgenstein. Enthusiastic about the challenge of writing for the left hand, Britten devised a work in variation form; he did not seek to conceal the soloist's one-handedness, but revelled in it while still retaining emotion and grandeur. Michael Tippett's Piano Concerto completes the programme. Inspired by a performance of Beethoven's Fourth Concerto, Tippett was convinced that a contemporary concerto could be written, 'in which the piano is used once again for it's poetic capabilities'. In his work, the orchestra does not merely accompany; the principal players shine when they get their opportunity for solos or close dialogue with the soloist.

His 17th album with Signum Classics, the Welsh pianist, Llyr Williams, brings a profound musical intelligence to his work as soloist, accompanist and chamber musician. His second album of Robert Schumann works explores a selection of works that span a substantial part of Schumann's life. Llyr Williams' long and successful collaboration with Signum Records includes the 8-disc box-set 'A Schubert Journey' (2020), the 12-volume 'Beethoven Unbound' (2018), a 'Wagner Without Words' double album (2014) and highlights from Liszt's 'Annees de pelerinage' (2012).

This new recording from the Diversions label presents a focused showcase of the vocal music of Chicago-based composer Doug Lofstrom. Featuring baritone Ryan de Ryke, soprano Kim Jones, tenor Ryan Townsend Strand, pianist Daniel Schlosberg, and a fantastic session chamber orchestra, the album includes the world premiere recordings of three song cycles-Three Sandburg Songs, All Must End, and Myths and Accidents-as well as the first recorded excerpts from Lofstrom's opera Two Soldiers. The collaboration began in 2014 when Lofstrom met de Ryke and Schlosberg during a guest lecture. Their artistic rapport led to these deeply expressive song cycles, culminating in the revival of Two Soldiers-originally premiered in 1990 and reimagined in 2020 during the COVID pandemic with updated vocal and orchestral scoring. The opera, a sweeping tale of destiny and survival set in WWII, follows two soldiers-one Russian, one German-through a world in upheaval. Doug Lofstrom has been a creative force in American music since the 1970s. A former composer-in-residence for the Metropolis Symphony Orchestra and musical director of Free Street Theater, his works span symphonic, jazz, theater, and dance genres. He has written for the St. Louis, Atlanta, and Oregon Symphonies, Pittsburgh Ballet, and more. Vocal music has increasingly taken center stage in his work, often written for ensembles he helped form or inspire. Ryan de Ryke, praised for his versatility and rich musicality, has appeared at Aldeburgh, Aix-en-Provence, and Edinburgh festivals, with acclaimed roles in oratorio, opera, and art song. He's an alumnus of prestigious institutions including the Peabody Conservatory and Royal Academy of Music. Daniel Schlosberg, GRAMMY�-nominated pianist and composer, is a prominent voice in both classical and contemporary music. Known for championing new music and art song, he's collaborated with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and led acclaimed projects across the U.S. and Europe. His release 40@40 with soprano Laura Strickling reached #1 on the Billboard classical chart. This compelling release is a bold presentation of new American vocal music, captured by some of today's most insightful interpreters.

This 11th volume completes the juvenile concertos with these three concertos from 1771/2, all re-writes of sonatas by J.C. Bach. Bach had been something of a mentor to Mozart whilst they were living in London (1764-65) and these three concertos not only draw on Bach's thematic material, but are very much in the gallant style of which Bach was a leading proponent. Making these sonatas into concertos presented Mozart with numerous challenges, as both forms had relatively strict conventions that were markedly different. Mozart overcomes these challenges with great imagination and lightness of touch. The Overture to Mitridate was composed for the Duke of Lombardy in 1770 when Mozart was 14, and just a year before the concertos. The opera was a great hit, and consequently Mozart was commissioned by Empress Maria Theresa to write a serenata for the wedding of her son Archduke Ferdinand. Ascanio in Alba was the result. Mozart started the comedy Lo sposo deluso in 1785, but only composed 5 numbers including the Overture heard here. The five pieces written for Thamos, Konig in agypten represent the only set of incidental music that Mozart composed for the theatre.