Domenico Giuseppe Scarlatti (1685-1757) devoted himself to a single form like no other composer before him. The more than 550 mostly single-movement sonatas for the harpsichord influenced numerous composers throughout the ages, from his contemporary Johann Sebastian Bach and Frederic Chopin to 21st-century artists such as Georg Katzer. The four selected sonatas K 27, K 213, K 247 and K 268 represent only a small selection of his immensely varied oeuvre and yet they illuminate all the different aspects of his extraordinarily creative composing. Scarlatti himself modestly described many of his sonatas as "Essercizi per gravicembalo". His sonata works contain every conceivable technical challenge, as he himself was one of the most sought-after and virtuoso harpsichordists of his time. Georg Katzer (1935-2019) composed the Five Miniatures in 1971. They are primarily to be understood as gestural music. Although the playing technique is traditional with a few exceptions (the use of the elbows or rolling hands), the miniatures reveal a wealth of ideas in musical forms of expression that evoke the most diverse sensations in a short space of time and space. The work Due to my admiration for D.S. was composed by Georg Katzer in 2001. The close relationship between Fanny Hensel (1805-1847) and her brother Felix Mendelssohn encouraged both siblings throughout their musical careers. And yet, throughout her life, Fanny Hensel fought for even remotely similar recognition of her extraordinary talent as a pianist, conductor and composer. The Four Songs for Pianoforte, Opus 2, are among the few works published by Bote & Bock in 1846 during Fanny Hensel's lifetime.

Bridge Records is pleased to present this previously unissued performance by the Stuyvesant Quartet. The recording is the only known "in concert" recording by this stellar quartet of players associated with Toscanini's legendary NBC Symphony Orchestra, and was made at the Library of Congress's Coolidge Auditorium in 1946. This release is part of Bridge's ongoing series devoted to the Stuyvesant Quartet's historic recordings.

REVIEW:

It is fitting that Prokofiev’s First Quartet is performed here, as this work was first performed at the LoC itself. The inclusion of Dohnányi’s Second Quartet is certainly cause for celebration. Their Dvořák cuts deep emotionally. This disc of historic performances is a little miracle and recommended without hesitation.

— Fanfare

Baritone Randall Scarlata has been praised by MusicWeb International for his "extraordinary vocal range and colour palette" and for his "masterful authority and secure technique" (Die Presse, Vienna). Gilbert Kalish's 30-year partnership with the mezzo-soprano Jan DeGaetani was widely recognized as one of the most remarkable artistic collaborations of recent years. Kalish maintains long standing duos with cellists Timothy Eddy, Joel Krosnick, and with soprano Dawn Upshaw.

When young Japanese geisha Cio-Cio-San marries American naval officer Pinkerton, she believes she is entering a marriage for life. Forsaking her religion and community, she dreams of a future with her new husband, only to learn that for Pinkerton, their marriage is merely an illusion - one with tragic consequences. With it's exquisite score, Giacomo Puccini's poignant 1904 opera is as beautiful as it is shattering. Drawing inspiration from 19th-century European images of Japan, Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier's production stars Asmik Grigorian with Kevin John Edusei conducting.

The clarinet sonatas mark the end of Brahms’s output of chamber music and perhaps its peak. Their gentleness and tenderness combine gracefully with the twilight glow that emanates from these pieces, showing a disarming simplicity close to Mozart. The Horn Trio, on the other hand, expresses the ardor and energy of a composer in his early thirties and at the height of his artistic powers. Geoffroy Couteau moves with sovereign ease from one mood to another in these works, bringing out their vividly contrasting colors and emotions in perfect unison with his attentive partners.

Nine years after it's initial release, Arabella Steinbacher's acclaimed interpretation of two of the greatest concertos ever written for the violin is presented in an attractively priced Stereo re-issue. Steinbacher joins forces with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under the baton of Charles Dutoit, one of the most eminent conductors of our age. Both the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Arabella Steinbacher, a multiple award-winner, have an extensive Pentatone discography spanning more than a decade.

The CD spans an arc from Italy to Central Germany and includes concerti by Vivaldi and Johann Ernst von Sachsen-Weimar, which Bach arranged for organ. The arrangements are thus an encounter between different composers, who here converse with each other and exchange ideas. Johannes Krahl presents them on the historic Silbermann organ of the Katholische Hofkirche Dresden.

The third volume in the series Elgar from the Archives from SOMM Recordings includes two historic recordings conducted by Sir Adrian Boult: the oratorio The Kingdom, Op. 51 and the ever-popular Variations on an Original Theme 'Enigma,' Op. 36. These variations form an interesting comparison to the two acoustic versions from the well-received Vol 1 in this series [ARIADNE 5046], one conducted by the composer in 1920, the other by Sir Henry Wood in 1924. Again, these recordings are remastered by audio engineer Lani Spahr, whose work on Elgar from the Archives Vol 1 James Jolly, Editor in Chief of Gramophone Magazine, described as "astounding," adding that "thanks to Siva Oke's SOMM label, Spahr has an outlet for his truly revelatory work." Inspired by the remarks of one of his school teachers that the Apostles were poor men, young men, perhaps "no cleverer than some of you here," Elgar conceived the idea of a work depicting the Apostles as ordinary men reacting to extraordinary events. He envisioned a trilogy of oratorios consisting of The Apostles, Op. 49, The Kingdom, and an unrealized work, The Last Judgement. He made initial sketches for The Kingdom as early as 1882, when he was still serving as organist at St George's Church in Worcester. Following an orchestral Prelude, which introduces the main musical themes and sets the mood of the work, the oratorio is in five parts, each played without a break: I.�In the Upper Room; II.�At the Beautiful Gate; III.�Pentecost; IV.�The Sign of Healing; and V.�The Upper Room. The Kingdom is written for four soloists, choir, and large orchestra-featuring, in this recording, Heather Harper, soprano (The Blessed Virgin); Helen Watts, contralto (Mary Magdalene); William Herbert, tenor (St. John); and Gordon Clinton, baritone (St. Peter), with the Croydon Philharmonic Society and BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Adrian Boult. This programme on 29 May, 1957 at the Royal Festival Hall was part of the centenary celebrations for Elgar's birth. Boult admired The Kingdom above all the other major choral works of Elgar, and his complete understanding of and identification with the work is shown in his expert pacing and observation of dynamics. On 29th February, 1940, about ten weeks before Nazi forces invaded The Netherlands, Boult conducted the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra in a concert broadcast from Hilversum by the Dutch public broadcasting association. The program concluded with Elgar's Enigma Variations, the work that helped to establish Elgar's growing reputation internationally. In a programme note, Elgar wrote, "This work, commenced in a spirit of humour & continued in deep seriousness, contains sketches of the composer's friends."�This Dutch performance is one of Boult's finest interpretations of the work, and it has more than stood the test of it's 86 years.

Clarinettist Peter Cigleris is adding another gem to the SOMM catalogue less than a year after the release of his Clarinet Concertos (with symphonic band) [SOMMCD 0705, October 2025], which featured two world-premiere recordings and was roundly praised by Gramophone's Guy Rickards: "Cigleris is possessed of a beautifully mellifluous tone. A hugely varied, enjoyable programme, then, superbly played and recorded; enjoy!" For this release, Cigleris again offers concertante works, and again two first-ever recordings, but here the tutti forces, rather than winds, are the luminous strings of the London Mozart Players led by John Andrews. The trio of composers is British, and along with Gerald Finzi, whose Clarinet Concerto is justly beloved, come two others keenly deserving of the light this recording sheds on their music. The three works, all composed in the late 40s, are bound together by the common thread of the eminent English clarinettist Frederick Thurston (1901-1953). Denis ApIvor (1916-2004), born in Ireland to Welsh parents, was a chorister at Christ Church, Oxford and then at Hereford Cathedral, where he also studied clarinet, piano and organ. As a teenaged medical student he heard the English premiere of Wozzeck under Sir Adrian Boult and his musical inspiration was renewed, leading to private composition lessons with Patrick Hadley and Alan Rawsthorne. While there is a later version of his Concertante for clarinet orchestrated for an ensemble featuring full strings, harp and celesta, Peter Cigleris opens this album with ApIvor's original chamber version for piano and two percussionists (one on timpani). This early work was conceived during the composer's wartime posting to India, and the premiere (with Frederick Thurston) was given in London after two years of peace, a repeat performance going out live on the BBC Third Programme on 27 January 1948. This recording, the work's first, shows an already impressive thread of musical argument and masterly writing from a 30-year old ApIvor, who would reach the peak of his success some eight years later with his score for the Royal Ballet's Lorca-inspired Blood Wedding. Many who know the name Freda Swain (1902-1985) will think of pedagogical piano solos and be surprised to learn of the Portsmouth native's catalogue of 450 or so serious works including large-scale operatic, orchestral and concertante music as well as varied chamber pieces, all regrettably neglected for too long. Presented here in it's premiere recording, Swain's "Lumine naturi" Concertino for Clarinet is an expressive work in language that draws on tonality yet is highly individual and sweepingly melodic. The genre-title's Italian diminutive belies concerto-worthy length (24 mins) and thematic substance. Each movement bears an epigraph by Algernon Blackwood evoking an ultra-vivid natural scene, hence the Latin epithet: "By the Light of Nature". Though Swain never published the work, it is likely that the tutti of string orchestra anchored by a lone horn accompanies a clarinet part intended for Frederick Thurston, a frequent collaborator and the dedicatee of her Rhapsody for clarinet and piano. Thurston did play the premiere of Gerald Finzi's (1901-1956) Concerto for Clarinet and Strings at the Hereford Three Choirs Festival on 9�September 1949, and the masterpiece has deservedly become the composer's most frequently heard concert work.

The distinguished Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt, long associated with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra as a regular guest, conducted Johannes Brahms' Variations in B-flat major on a Theme by Joseph Haydn, Op. 56a, in concerts on February 13 and 14, 2014 in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz. This new BR-KLASSIK CD presents not only the live recording of this compelling interpretation but also a live orchestral rehearsal recording from February 10, 2014. The latter forms part of BR-KLASSIK's acclaimed series Conductors at Rehearsal, offering a glimpse into their artistic work with the orchestra. Brahms composed the Variations on a Theme by Haydn in Tutzing during the summer of 1873. The work was premiered on November 2, 1873 in Vienna, conducted by the composer himself. A short while later, Brahms introduced an alternative version for two pianos (Op. 56b), which premiered in 1874, also in Vienna. The Variations are based on the melody of the so-called "Chorale St. Antoni, " taken from the second movement of a Divertimento in B flat major (Hob. II:46) that was most likely mistakenly attributed to Joseph Haydn. The chorale may not even have been written by the composer of the Divertimento and could originally have been a pilgrimage song honouring St. Anthony of Padua in western Hungary (present-day Burgenland). Regardless of their origins, Brahms' Variations (theme with nine variations and finale) stand as one of the composer's most important and most celebrated orchestral works, and remain a cornerstone of the Romantic repertoire. The detailed rehearsal recordings on the CD provide a deeper insight into this magnificent work. Listeners can experience first-hand how the conductor's wishes, ideas and instructions are implemented, how his explanations and his temperament change the resulting sound, and what thoughts lie behind the interpretation of the work. Thanks to this series, which is now also available on CD, the unique artistic partnership between Herbert Blomstedt and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra can be documented. Blomstedt's seemingly inexhaustible source of energy - music itself - is palpable in every word and every bar. ? Herbert Blomstedt conducts the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in concerts on February 13 and 14, 2014 ? Live recording of Johannes Brahms' famous Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a ? Includes "Conductors at Rehearsal": live recording of the orchestra rehearsal on February 10, 2014 for the Munich concerts ? Electrifying live atmosphere from the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz

Steve Elcock - UK-born (in 1957) but long since based in France - was recently hailed by a fellow composer in the American magazine Fanfare as 'the greatest living symphonist'. All eleven of those he has composed to date are, in various ways, concerned with the large-scale accumulation and dissipation of tension, rather in the manner of the later Nielsen symphonies - the half-hour span of his Fourth Symphony also reconciling tonality and atonality in it's wild and energetic arch. Elcock is fond of bringing popular elements into his music, and elements of folk-dance duly animate his Viola Concerto. These major works are book-ended here by two big-hearted orchestral showpieces that could become audience favourites in the fullness of time

Following the example of his distant 'great uncle' Felix, Arnold Mendelssohn (1853-1933) was a highly regarded composer, particularly in the field of Protestant sacred music, in which his famous relative had already distinguished himself. In contrast, his serious interest in the classical-romantic instrumental genres only began during the First World War, as if the composer wanted to reassure himself of tradition before all of the old structures collapsed. He was already approaching seventy when he wrote his violin concerto and, immediately afterwards, the second of his three symphonies-two witty masquerades whose broad spectrum between expressive meditation and a cheerful finale offers plenty of room for reminiscence, but not imitation. Mendelssohn juggles with symbols of the past but is never at their mercy. He masters them with ease.

The German composer Johanna Senfter was a student of Max Reger, who recognized her musical talent and encouraged her to pursue advanced studies in his composition class in Leipzig, which she completed with distinction in 1909. In 1910, she was awarded the Arthur Nikisch Prize for the best student composition of the year. Born into a well-to-do industrial family, she was financially independent and able to devote herself entirely to her creative work throughout her life. In addition to numerous chamber music pieces, she left behind nine symphonies. From the youthful Sturm und Drang of her first symphony (1914) to the thoughtfully moving ninth (1949), composed after two world wars, the development of her musical language can be discovered here with this world premiere recording.

Hillborg: Orchestral and Concertante Works, Vol. 1

Finland has it's Sibelius, Denmark it's Nielsen-but who was the most important composer in Sweden at the beginning of the twentieth century, a figure who entered music history with a voice entirely his own? Ture Rangstr�m (1884-1947). He was a natural talent, a musical force of nature. And so is his music: monumental, hymn-like, and elemental. With a keen sense for new ideas, he created al fresco musical tableaux in a block-like technique, in which elegiac passages are at times colored by glaring orchestral effects. This music is overwhelming in the truest sense of the word.

Alongside Einojuhani Rautavaara, Aulis Sallinen is undoubtedly one of the most important classical figures in contemporary Finnish music. In addition to his symphonic works, it was above all his operas The Horseman and The Red Line that brought him international acclaim. His music is free of modern dogma and speaks directly to the listener through it's honest intensity. A firm grounding in tonality, simple thematic ideas, and clarity of formal design, combined with powerful inner tension, are the keys to his enduring popularity.

18.99

This Signum Classics release presents four orchestral works by leading Chinese composer Xiaogang Ye, performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Dane Lam. Recorded in February 2024 at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, the album features The Backyard of the Village alongside two concertante works: The Memories of Mount Jing Gang with violist Diyang Mei, and My Faraway Nanjing with cellist Guy Johnston, plus the overture The Loquat in Five Colors. Ye's music blends contemporary orchestral writing with Chinese history, landscape, and cultural memory, reflecting his distinctive international voice.

Double vinyl LP pressing. Includes book. A truly historic concert, filmed and recorded in Llangollen, North Wales and released on audio for the very first time. The concert marked 40 years since Pavarotti and his fellow choir members from Modena won first prize in the Choral Competition at the International Eisteddfod in 1955. Featuring 75-minutes of remastered musical glory, a program overflowing with operatic arias from Cavalleria Rusticana, Il trovatore, MacBeth, Manon Lescaut and La traviata, and popular Neapolitan song. Also featured, 2 tracks recorded in 1955 and thought to be the earliest Pavarotti recordings - plus, a special interview with Luciano recalling his choir's competition win. Recorded with the BBC Philharmonic (conducted by Leone Magiera), the Corale Rossini and soprano Atzuko Kawahara. The 2 LP set includes a 100-page, LP-sized book detailing the history of the concert, interviews, rare photos, a new biography of Pavarotti and more.

Luciano Pavarotti - "Novanta". Decca presents NOVANTA - the ultimate greatest hits package of the world's favorite tenor. This release includes his most popular, signature arias and songs, iconic live moments from some of the biggest concerts ever to take place, alongside rarities, new discoveries, and previously unreleased tracks. This 4 CD set includes 3 CDs of hits, presented in chronological order, and charting 45 years of recordings - across opera, Italian song, and sacred music, plus duets with some of the biggest names in pop and rock. An hour-long bonus CD contains 14 tracks, featuring rarities and new discoveries, and including previously unreleased tracks.

Luciano Pavarotti - "Novanta". Decca presents NOVANTA - the ultimate greatest hits package of the world's favorite tenor. This release includes his most popular, signature arias and songs, iconic live moments from some of the biggest concerts ever to take place, alongside rarities, new discoveries, and previously unreleased tracks. 80 minutes of music: 20 tracks, spanning opera, Italian song, and sacred music, plus duets with Tracy Chapman and Andrea Bocelli, and 2 previously unreleased arias from Llangollen (1995). Also, available for the first time on Decca, "Adeste Fidelis" from the 1978 concert at the Notre-Dame Basilica, Montreal.

GEORGIJS OSOKINS / FOR ARVO - Georgijs Osokins, the first Baltic (Latvian) pianist to establish himself at the highest level on the international music scene, brings a deeply personal and eloquent perspective to the stage. He takes on an extraordinary project: an ultimate 19-track collection of Arvo P?rt's music for solo piano in celebration of the Estonian composer's 90th birthday in 2025. 2 LP set.

Experience the magic of Luciano Pavarotti in 'The Lost Concert: Live At Llangollen 1995'. This special 2 SACD set captures the legendary tenor's unforgettable performance, showcasing his powerful voice and emotional depth. Accompanied by a beautifully crafted book, this release is a must-have for classical music enthusiasts. Featuring Luciano Pavarotti's iconic live performance. Includes a beautifully illustrated book.

Luciano Pavarotti - "Novanta". Decca presents NOVANTA - the ultimate greatest hits package of the world's favorite tenor. This release includes his most popular, signature arias and songs, iconic live moments from some of the biggest concerts ever to take place, alongside rarities, new discoveries, and previously unreleased tracks. Almost 100 minutes of music: 25 tracks, spanning opera, Italian song, and sacred music, plus duets with Tracy Chapman and Andrea Bocelli and 2 previously unreleased arias from Llangollen (1995). Also, available for the first time on Decca, "Adeste Fidelis" from the 1978 concert at the Notre-Dame Basilica, Montreal and the first known solo recording of Luciano Pavarotti, "Che gelida manina," recorded in 1961 at the Reggio Emilia Theatre, on LP for the first time. 2 LP set on 180g vinyl.

John Rutter/Steven Osborne/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - "Reflections". This new recording is the first orchestral album from one of Britain's most beloved composers, Sir John Rutter. Released just ahead of Rutter's 80th birthday in September 2025. Known around the world for his choral music, the album includes the first recording of Rutter's rarely heard piano concerto, Reflections, performed by pianist Steven Osborne and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the composer himself. In addition to the piano concerto, the album includes the orchestral works Celebration Overture, Four Miniatures for Orchestra, Cityscapes, and Elegy. Rutter's music is performed across the globe, and he has received many honors, including a CBE in 2007 and a knighthood in 2024 for services to music. Being knighted by King Charles III, a strong supporter of the arts, was a particularly special moment for Rutter. CD Digisleeve.