Pierre Boulez's early ambitions to become a concert pianist provided the impetus to write piano music as a composition student at the Paris Conservatoire. The Theme et variations pour la main gauche and Trois Psalmodies reveal his extraordinary talent in their compelling mix of energy, drama and playfulness. Presenting these works alongside two later compositions provides a unique glimpse into the full arc of Boulez's musical journey. These pieces are powerful, their emotions raw and unfiltered, offering listeners a chance to experience the early foundations and mature reflections of a master composer.

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.

Cohaere Ensemble brings back to life the instrumental works of an unfairly forgotten composer. The music of Pierre Gaultier de Marseille has accompanied the ensemble since it's earliest days. The precise, luminous performance of the Symphonies divisees par suites de tons, in the 1707 edition, gives this rare work a fresh and modern feel.

The 'American dream' is the thread that connects these three works. Amy Beach was born in New Hampshire in 1867 and composed more than three hundred works, including a monumental suite for two pianos inspired by the Romantic tradition and based on ancient Irish melodies. Nadine Dana Suesse nicknamed the "Gershwin Girl" was born in Kansas City in 1909. She played her own compositions on the radio from the age of thirteen and composed hit songs, notably for Bing Crosby. She refused the attractions of Hollywood and studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Her works disappeared from the repertory after her death, although the Berlinskaya Ancelle duo are keen to revive her music with this 1943 concerto, described as "romantic, but mixed with modern harmonies and chords straight from jazz". Victor Babin was born in Moscow in 1908 and emigrated to the United States with his wife Viktoria Vronskaya in 1937. Their piano duo was very successful there: they gave the first performance of Babin's virtuosic Second Concerto under the direction of George SzelI in Cleveland in 1957.

Julian Walder (*2000 in Vienna) is first prize winner of numerous international competitions, including the NYIAA - New York International Artists Association Violin Competition. He is the Grand Prix winner in all categories at the Grumiaux Competition in Belgium and was awarded, among other distinctions, the 3rd prize at the 2023 International Henri Marteau Violin Competition in Germany. The Chaconne by BACH, a source of inspiration for countless composers over centuries, forms the heart of this CD. Around this fundamental Baroque masterpiece, many currents, influences, admirations, and tributes have emerged. The title of the CD, "(R)-EVOLUTION", encompasses the word "evolution," signifying how, through the adoption and application of Bach's compositional techniques, his structures continue to live on in many works across the ages. The "revolution" refers to the deliberate transformation of his defining style by other composers over time.

The accomplished and versatile piano sextet Sestetto Classico are renowned for their superb performances of both well-known and rare works of chamber literature. These masterpieces by Bertini and Hummel are like miniature piano concertos in terms of their form, scope and virtuosity. "The Sestetto Classico players are absolutely first-rate, bringing off both pieces with fire and affection. Strongly recommended." (Fanfare)

Ever mindful of the accessibility of his works for amateur musicians, Mozart wrote, in a letter to his father, that his Piano Concertos Nos. 11-14 could be performed 'a quattro', with the accompaniment of string quartet rather than with full orchestra. Ignaz Lachner, a contemporary and associate of Schubert, saw great potential in chamber music arrangements and produced performing versions for piano, string quartet and double bass of many of the Mozart piano concertos. His considerable skill as a composer enabled these concertos, among them Nos. 18 and 22, to flourish in a more intimate setting.

From the early 17th century onwards, the polyphonic motet that had dominated sacred music in previous centuries found itself complemented in both liturgical and devotional contexts by a new, more stream- lined form: the solo motet. This allowed prayer and meditation to be accompanied by music even in places where maintaining a stable polyphonic choir was impractical or economically unfeasible. At the same time, composers were afforded greater freedom to align with the emerging 'modern taste' of the time, which valued the expressive power of a single voice supported by organ or other continuo instruments over the contrapuntal interplay of multiple voices. This modern aesthetic increasingly prioritized the transmission of 'affetti,' seen as essential for the true expression of a text. The compositions presented on this CD by the Ensemble Amphion Novus, a premiere recording on an edition prepared specifically for this occasion, exemplify precisely this direction.

This powerful live recording from the Philharmonie Luxembourg brings together the choir of the renowned Gaechinger Cantorey and the Luxembourg Philharmonic under the musical direction of Hans-Christoph Rademann for an emotionally charged interpretation of Johannes Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem. Featuring acclaimed soloists Katharina Konradi (soprano) and Konstantin Krimmel (baritone), this performance offers a deeply human and musically refined experience of one of the most important choral works of the 19th century. Unlike the traditional Latin Requiem, Brahms' German Requiem focuses not on the dead but on the living - on comfort, compassion, and hope. Drawing on texts from the Lutheran Bible, Brahms crafts a spiritual and emotional journey that speaks directly to the human condition, transcending religious boundaries and remaining timeless in it's message. Rademann, a master of choral conducting, shapes the work with clarity, warmth, and expressive nuance. Under his direction, the Gaechinger Cantorey delivers a performance marked by rich tone, articulate phrasing, and emotional intensity. The Luxembourg Philharmonic adds glowing orchestral color and transparency, perfectly complementing the vocal forces. The synergy between choir, orchestra, conductor, and soloists is palpable throughout, offering a fresh yet profoundly respectful interpretation of this beloved masterpiece.

Please, enjoy one of the most appealing and thought-provoking Baroque discs of the year. It contains a selection of the sonatas drawn from Pisendel's library, the best of Italian and German violin schools. This is the debut album of an outstanding baroque violinist coming from the renowned Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. The recording is the fruit of an in-depth scholar work, of a virtuoso violinist accompanied by a raising star of the harpsichord - to which the expertise of a top sound engineer and producer is added.

Advena: liturgies for a broken world, featuring world premieres of choral music from composer Mark Buller performed by GRAMMY® Award-winning choir Conspirare and Artistic Director Craig Hella Johnson. Releasing digitally on August 29, 2025 and on CD on September 5, 2025 on Divine Art Records. Born of personal reckonings with inherited faith and culture, Mass in Exile and Requiem for the Light are liturgies in forms reimagined through the lens of our present moment. Composed by Mark Buller with librettist Leah Lax, these works reimagine ancient forms through the lens of our present moment. Buller's vibrant musical language combines with mystical choral textures to create an emotional intensity that feels both intimate and urgent. These works are presented between two companion works - Introit: Fruit of Your Heart and Communion: A Questioning - with texts by British poet and librettist Euan Tait which offer chant-like settings that extend the project's core themes, anchoring the whole in a wider human arc. Artistic Director and conductor Craig Hella Johnson is passionate about the power of Buller's music in this moment, saying: "We find ourselves in a pivotal cultural moment-one that calls for expressions of beauty and truth, offered both for inspiration but also as acts of resistance. This collaborative art-Mark Buller's music and the words of Leah Lax and Euan Tait-creates a space of welcome where we are reminded of our shared humanity, our urgent need for bold truth-telling, and our capacity to heal and grow." Conspirare is at their finest in this music and singers Simon Barrad, Emily Yocum Black, and Michael Hawes can be heard in solo roles. Conspirare is joined by dynamic instrumental collaborators Patrice Calixte, Mariama Alcântara, Bruce Williams, Douglas Harvey, Jessica Valls, Marc Garvin, and Thomas Burritt.

The Austrian composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957) was one of the greatest composing child prodigies in history. His keyboard style was highly personal and fully formed from the start, yet he seems to have had hardly any instruction on the instrument. Apart from a few lessons when he was five years old (not from an eminent teacher, but a needy relative), he seems to have been entirely self-taught. Celebrated British pianist Martin Jones released NI 5705 The Complete Piano Music of Erich Korngold on 4 CDs which is still available. This compilation includes many of the prodigious works written even before Korngold entered his teenage years.

Wilhelm Taubert was a significant composer and teacher in Berlin during a period when the city began to rival Vienna and Paris as a European musical powerhouse. Though it was also a time when the piano had reached it's zenith in size and tonal depth, Taubert's graceful, conservative style was perfectly suited to the instrument. His sonatas fuse Beethovenian elements with those of Weber, and feature slow movements that draw on rich operatic lyricism reminiscent of Rossini or Cherubini.

Pianist Peter Friis Johansson has brought together renowned musicians, including violinist Johan Dalene and soprano Sofie Asplund, for a programme that juxtaposes three generations of Swedish composers. The vocal and chamber works performed here testify to the special place these genres occupy in Swedish art music and to the vitality of musical societies in the early twentieth century, which sparked an interest that went far beyond easily digestible music. Andreas Hallen is the oldest of the composers featured here. His Piano Quartet shows great confidence despite being an early work. Like many composers of his generation, Hallen readily incorporates folk elements. Wilhelm Stenhammar produced an important and varied body of work. His Violin Sonata is a work that reflects the ideals of his German education: it is absolute music without any explicit extra-musical narrative content, a 'synthesis of classicism and sensitive poetry', as his first biographer put it. Sara Wennerberg-Reuter is the least-known of the three, and many of her scores remain unpublished. Stockholm's only female organist with a permanent position, she left behind a varied body of work spanning a wide range of styles. She distanced herself from her contemporaries with a musical style that focused on melody, a commodity she felt had by then become scarce.

On one side, Francesco Corti, one of the most internationally acclaimed harpsichordists and protagonist of five acclaimed albums released by the Arcana label. On the other, Ilya Gringolts, making his debut for the same label: a violinist of extraordinary versatility, committed to contemporary music but also animated by a deep passion for the Baroque repertoire and historically informed performance. Proof of this is his recording of Locatelli's Il labirinto armonico (2021), which was awarded the Diapason d'Or and selected as Editor's Choice by Gramophone. Two artistically different but complementary personalities, united for years in a successful partnership, tackle a milestone of chamber music: the first great example of concertante sonatas for keyboard and melodic instrument. Completing the programme is Tertia deficiens, a piece by contemporary composer and Baroque violinist Andrew McIntosh (Grammy nominee), commissioned specifically for this project with the aim of creating an evocative bridge between past and present.

This recording is the first of a collaboration between Rene Jacobs, the Kammerorchester Basel, the Zurcher Sing-Akademie and Alpha Classics and will involve the release of four albums between 2025 and 2028; the first of these is the Missa Cellensis, then three albums devoted to Haydn's last six masses. Haydn was commissioned in 1766 to write a Missa Solemnis, the Latin term for a fully scored mass with trumpets and timpani; it is the third and largest of Haydn's fourteen masses. It was under this erroneous name that the 1766 Missa Cellensis remained known until 1975, when a fragment of the autograph score containing the title page, Kyrie I and Christe was found in Bucharest and revealed that Haydn had in fact composed two Missæ Cellenses. It is the first of these (1766) that is recorded here. Rene Jacobs puts all his expertise and enthusiasm at the service of this music that he loves so much, in collaboration with soloists with whom he works regularly, an orchestra that is also a longstanding partner, and the remarkable choir of the Sing-Akademie of Zurich.

Of the few pupils of Clara Schumann to make recordings, Fanny Davies (1861 - 1934) was by far the most important. She studied for two years with the great pianist and very much saw herself as a disciple. She went on to have a significant career and was praised for her noble and unsentimental approach to the music of Robert Schumann in interpretations that were said to resemble Clara's very closely. The three recorded works she left us are thus some of the most important documents of 19th-century pianism we have, and we are delighted to return them to the catalogue in new transfers. Adela Verne (1877-1952) is less well-known today, perhaps because she left only two recordings, made in 1917, but in her day, she was a major figure, starting life as a prodigy and giving the first performance of Brahms' 2nd Concerto at the Proms in 1905. Her principal teacher was her elder sister Mathilde Verne, another Clara Schumann pupil. This is the first time her discs have been reissued.

Martin Helmchen embarks on a complete recording of Schubert's piano sonatas, with four double albums to be released between now and 2028, the bicentenary of the composer's death. He has waited until he was in his forties to embark on this adventure because, in his view, an artist needs maturity to meet the challenges posed by the radical contrasts in Schubert's sonatas: "constant virtuosity that is never needlessly complex, set against sober interiority, the exuberant joy of the Landler, and bouts of dramatic madness". Recording a complete body of work also meant studying the scores carefully and tackling the question of the movements left unfinished by the composer, should we stop at the precise point where Schubert stopped composing simply because Schubert either ran out of time or did not have enough money to buy music manuscript paper? Helmchen has chosen to complete these movements, inspired by the recordings and above all the analyses of the eminent pianist Paul Badura-Skoda. This first volume presents sonatas composed between 1815 (Schubert was 18) and 1825. The entire cycle has been recorded on a Bosendorfer piano at the Kronberg Academy.

This is the new recording we have been waiting for. Three years after Brahms (ALPHA792), the Belcea Quartet returns in a new formation: Suyeon Kang, their new second violin, joined the quartet in 2023. Today the Belcea Quartet presents a new recording of the Debussy Quartet - which they had previously recorded on their very first album 25 years ago - and two quartets by Karol Szymanowski, a composer they are particularly fond of and who possesses a unique and immediately identifiable musical language. The first quartet was composed in 1917 but the Russian Revolution intervened; it's premiere finally took place in 1924. Szymanowski - then a world-renowned composer and a leading figure in the reconstruction of musical life in the young Polish Republic - wrote his second quartet ten years after the first in 1927; it was premiered in Warsaw two years later.

The first album of Postcards from Ukraine gave a potted history of Ukrainian music in the form of a series of miniatures for piano and violin. In this second instalment four representative chamber works demonstrate how quickly Ukrainian music developed a proud and independent tradition - although all four composers here were bullied by the authoritarian regime to the north. One of them, Vasil Barvinsky, even spent ten years in the Gulag, during which time the Soviets destroyed his manuscripts. Upon his release, unbowed, he set about reconstructing those lost scores, though he died before he could complete the task. His glorious A minor Piano Trio gives an indication of what was nearly lost - and how much remains to be discovered.

From Haydn in the early 1770s to Ligeti in the late 1960s and beyond, the string quartet has been recognised by composers, performers and audiences alike as the bedrock of the chamber music genre. The format had it's origins in private settings for amateur players who revelled in it's intimate, conversational and witty aesthetic. It progressed into a medium of public concerts for Beethoven's essays in expressive profundity and further contemporary approaches have seen it adapted into almost infinite possibilities. These two works by Lawrence Rose take inspiration from some past musical traditions which he has adapted into new and different guises.

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco's 36-year collaboration with the legendary guitarist Andres Segovia resulted in 35 works featuring the guitar, including three concertos, several large cycles and numerous shorter pieces. Castelnuovo-Tedesco first met Segovia at a festival in Venice in 1932 and composed a new work for the legendary guitarist almost every year afterwards. Among the towering masterpieces in guitar literature is Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Platero y Yo (Platero and I), a cycle of consisting of 28 settings, arranged into four groups of seven-movement suites with a total playing time of 1 hour and 49 minutes. Originally conceived as an accompaniment for a recitation of selections from the Nobel Prize-winning Catalan poet Juan Ramon Jimenez's collection of poetic sketches of the same name, the composer gave his permission for the work to be performed without spoken text, which is how it is performed here. You can read Jimenez's texts in English translation while listening to the music and enjoying the wonderful illustrations for each movement by the award-winning artist Halfdan Pisket, especially commissioned for this recording. In preparation for bringing this masterwork to life, internationally acclaimed, multi prize-winning Danish guitarist Niklas Johansen not only studies the Spanish language to appreciate Jimenez'sprose-poems in their native language, but travelled to Spain, not far from Jimenez's hometown of Moguer. The close relationship with the language and culture has lent Johansen's interpretations a personal resonance. This album was recorded in Fredensborg Palace Chapel by the Danish masters of sound, Preben Iwan and Mette Due who beautifully captured the exceptional acoustics. We wish to express our sincere thanks to His Majesty King Frederik X, who personally granted us permission to record in Fredensborg Palace Chapel.

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.

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.

In September 2025 Fretwork return with an album of works for Viol by John Jenkins. Jenkins was a highly active and productive composer who lived through a period of significant transformation in English music, with his lifetime spanning from the era of William Byrd to that of Henry Purcell. He is particularly known for his contributions to the viol consort fantasia, drawing inspiration in the 1630s from a previous generation of English composers such as Alfonso Ferrabosco the Younger, Thomas Lupo, and Orlando Gibbons. His work is distinguished by it's rich lyricism, exceptional craftsmanship, and a unique approach to tonality and counter- point. In 2025 Fretwork commemorate the sudden and untimely death of Orlando Gibbons (My Days, SIGCD897), and celebrate the 90th year of Arvo Part with concerts and recordings. In these last decades, they have explored the core repertory of great English consort music from Taverner to Purcell, made classic recordings against which others are judged, and commissioned an entirely new repertory of music for viols. They will celebrate their 40th anniversary in 2026.