The Complete Alkan Organ Works, Volume II continues organist Joseph Nolan's survey of the music of Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888), recorded on the Stahlhuth-Jann organ at Eglise Saint-Martin de Dudelange, Luxembourg. The programme presents the thirteen pieces of the 13 Prieres, Op. 64, the first six of the 12 etudes pour les pieds seulement - works of considerable technical demand written for pedals alone - and the Benedictus, Op. 54. Volume I of the cycle received five-star reviews from The Guardian and The Critic UK, and was named Album of the Week by Slipped Disc

Among Leo Delibes's output of some twenty operas, Jean de Nivelle falls within his mature period, between Le Roi l'a dit and Lakme. The work's premiere at the Opera-Comique on 8 March 1880 was a resounding success. The press praised the charm of the melodies and the quality of the libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille, remarking on the coexistence of two styles in the score: one melodic and light, typical of opera-comique, and another in which the vocal writing seemed more serious, the orchestration richer and the harmonies more complex. It is true that the listener frequently feels a dramatic sweep 'that transports one into the realm of grand-opera', to quote Le Menestrel. Beyond it's intrinsic interest, Jean de Nivelle reveals the growing seriousness that had come to dominate the opera-comique genre. So much so, indeed, that critics regretted the retention of spoken dialogue (however characteristic of the genre) in Delibes's work. But recitatives were soon added to facilitate it's international dissemination. It is this version that the Palazzetto Bru Zane has reconstructed and decided to record.

Basically, I only have two symphonies: the Fourth and the Eighth.' Shostakovich is said to have remarked. Yevgeny Mravinsky, to whom Symphony No. 8 is dedicated, wrote in his diary: 'I spent the whole evening reflecting on and sketching out the form and dramatic arc of Shostakovich's Eighth. It moves me ever more deeply each time. Especially the "Great Terror" section of the first movement!!'. The themes of martyrdom and the transformation of the human being into a manipulable puppet run through this unsettling and monumental work. This recording constitutes the second volume of the complete Shostakovich symphonies by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by it's music director, Alain Altinoglu.

Matthew Martin stands among Britain's leading composers for choir and organ. Performed by The Choir of Canterbury Cathedral under David Newsholme, with Jamie Rogers at the organ recently rebuilt by Harrison & Harrison, this programme reflects Martin's close association with Canterbury. The album spans the jubilant Psalm 150, first heard in Manchester, and the direct, concentrated writing of the Coventry Missa brevis, to the stillness of Ave verum and the dramatic narrative of When David heard. An Evensong sequence reveals Martin's instinct for liturgical form, while the organ work concludes the collection with clarity and purpose. Several pieces are recorded here for the first time, offering a focused survey of a distinctive contemporary voice.

This twentieth volume of the complete Haydn symphonies, conducted by Giovanni Antonini, highlights the popularity of Haydn's music in England during the 1790s. Although Haydn was unable to travel to London himself, he sent his music there instead, as no fewer than eleven of his symphonies were performed during the twelve evenings of the first season of the Grand Concert in 1782 - the year of the death of Johann Christian Bach, the youngest son of Johann Sebastian, who directed this series of concerts in London. This volume pays tribute to him, as alongside Haydn's Symphonies Nos. 76, 77 and 78, the Kammerorchester Basel and Giovanni Antonini have recorded J.C. Bach's Symphony in G minor, Op. 6 No. 6, published in 1769. Also worth reading in the album booklet is Antonini's delightful analysis of Haydn's 'humore inglese' in his symphonies!

Following her first recording of concertos for Channel Classics (CCS47825), the Franco-Hungarian pianist Suzana Bartal pays tribute to her Hungarian roots with a programme that showcases a variety of styles, from Liszt and his Gypsy influences to Bartok, who, through his campaigns to collect folk songs, immersed himself in folk and peasant music. Erno Dohnanyi's Ruralia Hungarica, composed in 1923, is more post-Romantic in style, although the composer himself also occasionally turned to folk music.

« These two concertos by Joseph Haydn are cornerstones of the cello repertoire. For me, they belong to those works that accompany a cellist through the different stages and moments of life. I have always taken immense pleasure in performing them. This music, often described as 'solar,' moves me deeply through it's light, vitality, and energy, but also through a subtle sense of melancholy that occasionally emerges. Recorded both in a single day, the urgency and energy of the session will remain for me an unforgettable and unique memory. » Julie Sevilla-Fraysse

John Adams is a composer whose works are shaped by the full breadth of American music, while being equally grounded in Classical and Romantic traditions that inform his sense of structure, harmony, and expressive line. Both Short Ride in a Fast Machine and Road Movies combine this aesthetic with a distinctive rhythmic drive that has made these some of his most enduring pieces, while Roll Over Beethoven demonstrates how far Adams has been able to move away from traditional minimalism. With the lyrical eloquence of arias from his stage works, and the 'Satie meets Bill Evans' transparency of I Still Play, this program is a vivid reminder of what makes John Adams one of the most versatile and influential composers of our time.

Four chapters across generations: 'Danish Resonances' sets accordion works by Hans Abrahamsen, Niels Rosing-Schow and Per Norgard against four newly commissioned world premieres by Anders Skibsted, Loic Destremau, Matias Vestergard and Gustav Bjerre. Accordionist Jose Valente threads them into a single, unfolding journey that moves by turns lyrical, virtuosic, introspective and expansive, revealing the full expressive range of the classical accordion.

Mezzo-soprano Ester Pavlu has chosen four of the two dozen individual songs and song cycles that the world-famous Czech composer Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) wrote during his lifetime. Ester Pavlu's magnificent voice as well as her and her convincing stage presence make her one of the most promising mezzo-sopranos of the current generation, who wins the admiration of audience and critics both on domestic stages and abroad. Charles Spencer is one of the most sought-after piano accompanists worldwide who regularly collaborates with many of the world's most renowned singers.

The Opera Comique in Paris has a long tradition of giving stylish performances dating back to the 18th century. Five imaginative and critically acclaimed productions are featured in this collection of French operatic masterpieces. Bizet's 'Carmen', which received it's premiere at the Opera Comique in 1875, is performed on period instruments conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Ambroise Thomas's 'Hamlet' features the stellar French baritone Stephane Degout in the title role. Messager exemplifies the spirit of La Belle epoch in 'Fortunio'; Gounod fuses Romanticism with the supernatural in 'La Nonne sanglante'; and the outstanding French soprano Sabine Devieilhe takes the lead role in Delibes's tragic tale of passion and loyalty, 'Lakme' - one of the jewels of the Opera Comique.

The title ("everything flows") reflects a musical exploration of change, impermanence, and transformation. Francesca Guccione combines neoclassical piano with ambient textures and subtle electronic layers. Each composition feels like a flowing river of sound, shifting between intimacy and expansiveness. Inspired by philosophy and nature, the album invites listeners into a meditative, timeless space.

With "Kiss of Fire," Spark present their newest project and once again make a powerful statement of musical boundary-breaking. The ensemble is known for it's distinctive and varied programs that move beyond traditional genre limits and continuously redefine classical music. For Kiss of Fire, Spark has collaborated with the Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn. This encounter gives the characteristic sound a new tonal dimension and expands the ensemble's spectrum with an additional orchestral color. A special highlight of the album is the world premiere recording of the commissioned work by Dutch composer Chiel Meijering.

Luis Berra is a pianist and composer with roots in Nicaragua, Argentina, and Italy, which makes his music bridging cultures. The album A Piano Won't Fix Your Tormented Soul presents a refined mix of neoclassical piano, jazz influences, and cinematic depth, where Berra's compositions embody timeless elegance with improvisational spontaneity.

The violin concertos by Max Bruch and Johannes Brahms are among the most significant works in the violin concerto repertoire. They are regarded as highly virtuosic and place great demands on the soloists. They were composed in the 19th century and remain an integral part of the concert repertoire to this day. They showcase different facets of Romanticism: Bruch's work is melodic and emotive, whereas Brahms' concerto is more monumental and symphonic in scope.

Completed: The first Leipzig cantata cycle. "Hans-Christoph Rademann's interpretation with the Gaechinger Cantorey combines precision with emotional depth, transforming each cantata into it's own little magical world full of sensually charged spirituality. The choir is agile, precise, confident, balanced and has a beautiful sound." FonoForum

The title ("everything flows") reflects a musical exploration of change, impermanence, and transformation. Francesca Guccione combines neoclassical piano with ambient textures and subtle electronic layers. Each composition feels like a flowing river of sound, shifting between intimacy and expansiveness. Inspired by philosophy and nature, the album invites listeners into a meditative, timeless space.

A compelling survey of contemporary Polish choral writing. These sacred works range from inward, contemplative meditations to radiant, exultant hymns, their contemporary musical language finely balanced with the lucid, finely blended sonority of a chamber choir. With ten widely admired recordings to it's name and numerous festival distinctions, the Kielce-based choir Fermata has earned a reputation for interpretative insight, tonal refinement, and exemplary musicianship. For the listener, this is music experienced ex anima-from the soul-inviting a deeply felt and spiritually resonant encounter.

Elevation explores the search for new sonic possibilities. At it's core is the conviction that the diatonic harmonica possesses far more expressive capabilities than are often attributed to it. It is precisely it's direct connection to the player that makes it an instrument capable of navigating a wide variety of musical worlds. A formative companion on this journey of discovery was Howard Levy. Working with him opened up classical music as a new field for the diatonic harmonica. His Concerto for Diatonic Harmonica and Orchestra remains one of the few significant concert works for this instrument and became an important source of inspiration. The long-standing collaboration between Benyamin Nuss and Konstantin Reinfeld arose from the same curiosity. Over many years, the two musicians developed a shared musical language that bridges classical, jazz, improvisation, and crossover. This deepened musical rapport gave rise to the desire to expand the sound of their duo with the colors of an orchestra. With Elevation, this idea became a reality. The new works by Wolf Kerschek and Benyamin Nuss take up the duo's characteristic sound and transport it into a larger orchestral space. In this way, the album combines the familiar with the new and opens up new perspectives for the harmonica. Elevation was recorded in February 2023 with the Detmold Chamber Orchestra at the Kulturstiftung Marienmünster. The title represents a path on which curiosity, openness, and artistic development give rise to new musical horizons.

With A New Beginning In This Cold Season, Belgian vocalist, composer and performer Natashia Kelly presents a poetic and deeply atmospheric album about transition, resilience and renewal. Across seven original compositions, Kelly turns toward landscapes, weather, animals and natural forces to explore inner movement: fear and hope, darkness and clarity, fragility and strength. Rooted in jazz yet open to soul, gospel, spoken word and contemporary groove-based music, the album creates an intimate sound world in which lyricism and improvisation meet. Kelly's warm, expressive voice is supported by Benjamin Sauzereau on electric and acoustic guitar, Yannick Peeters on double bass, and Dre Pallemaerts on drums and kanjira. Together they shape music that feels both delicate and grounded, moving naturally between hushed reflection and subtle rhythmic energy. The album's title track sets the tone with the image of a cold season as both a literal and emotional landscape. Throughout the record, recurring images of wind, wings, clouds, horses, moonlight and storms become symbols of change and endurance. Rather than confronting the turmoil of the world through slogans, Kelly searches for meaning in nature, finding beauty, movement and quiet strength in the face of uncertainty. Concise yet rich in ideas, A New Beginning In This Cold Season offers seven songs in just over half an hour. It is a focused, refined and emotionally resonant statement from an artist whose music balances vulnerability with power, and whose storytelling invites the listener into a shared space of reflection, healing and hope.

Frank and Francesco. It all began with a misunderstanding. In the early 1980s Frank Zappa came across an entry on "Zappa" in the New Grove Dictionary, only to discover it concerned an obscure 18th-century Milanese composer of almost the same name. Convinced he had found an ancestor, Frank investigated Francesco Zappa and in 1984 devoted an entire album to him (his 42nd) - saving him from oblivion and, as he proudly noted, producing his first recording in over 200 years. Some forty years later, that misunderstanding inspired this Il Pomo d'Oro project: a recording adventure bringing together Francesco's galant music, Frank's 'contemporary' works for string quintet, and some original compositions, where all hierarchies are abandoned. Giovanni Sollima, a native of Palermo like Frank's family, brings his own sound world in dialogue with both Zappas. Vanni Moretto, a Milanese like Francesco and a leading expert on 18th-century Milanese music, imagines a posthumous revenge: what if Francesco had rewritten Frank's music? He does precisely that, composing a sinfonia concertante to match Francesco's own. On Wild Love the two friends serve Francesco entirely - Giovanni Sollima as cellist, Vanni Moretto as music director - ensuring that Francesco Zappa is at last rediscovered, restored, and no longer anyone's phantom.

On Daydreaming, Italian saxophonist and composer Carla Marciano transforms memory, grief and love into an intensely personal musical journey. Dedicated to her father Giovanni, the album reflects the profound bond between father and daughter and the lifelong passion for music he inspired in her. Marciano's compositions move between intimate reflection, lyrical beauty and powerful improvisation. Her alto and sopranino saxophones are joined by her long-standing quartet (Alessandro La Corte, Aldo Vigorito and Gaetano Fasano with Dario Deidda appearing on acoustic bass). Several pieces are further enriched by the Philharmonic Orchestra of the 'Giuseppe Verdi' Theater in Salerno, conducted by Antonio Sinagra. Created during a period marked by the loss of both parents and Marciano's recovery from a serious road accident, Daydreaming is also a testimony to resilience and renewal. The music evokes childhood memories, shared songs, imagined embraces and the enduring presence of loved ones. It is an album about absence, but above all about gratitude, courage and a love that continues beyond time.

Beethoven's Seventh Symphony emerged at a biographical crossroads, between his definitive establishment as a leading composer and the onset of increasing isolation caused by his advancing deafness. At the time of it's premiere, it was the second-longest symphony ever written, surpassed in scale only by Beethoven's own Third, the 'Eroica.' Since it's first performance in 1813, there has never been a period in which it was not counted to the composer's most popular works. Since 2025, Francois-Xavier Roth-who had already served as Chief Conductor of the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg from 2011 to 2016-has been Chief Conductor of the SWR Symphony Orchestra. A musical visionary and remarkably versatile conductor, Roth has recorded and released all of Richard Strauss's tone poems, the ballets of Igor Stravinsky, the orchestral works of Ravel and Berlioz, as well as the complete symphonies of Bruckner, Mahler, and Schumann. With the present recording, Roth and the SWR Symphony Orchestra set a highly musical opening marker for a collaboration that promises to continue with great momentum in the years ahead.

Sir Adrian Boult began his long association with the music of Vaughan Williams in 1918 when he conducted A London Symphony, earning praise from the composer. Boult's commitment to the symphony, which he described as very near to his heart, never wavered, and he conducted it over 60 times from the 1918 concerts right through to 1973. The Daily Telegraph described Boult's conducting of this performance from the 1971 Proms as 'quietly authoritative.. which held one's attention throughout'. Martin Cotton, in his booklet note, states that the performance is closer to his 1952 recording when the composer was present with a greater sense of flow than his EMI recording of the same year. The fill-ups of Butterworth's A Shropshire Lad from 1971 and Moeran's Sinfonietta from 1963 are testimony to Boult's deep engagement with British music, which remained strong throughout his career.

Layers The Album For centuries, spiritual singing was an inseparable part of everyday life of mankind. It accompanied the course of day, course of life and course of year and acted as a kind of measure to keep in touch with the flow of time. There were songs to sleep and wake by, pray for God's mercy in all situations possible and maintain a harmonious and modest life. These songs travelled through Europe mostly with the help of protestant pastors and songbooks, but blended into local folk heritage in every parish. Different versions of well-known chorales create a unifying web across Western culture while maintaining a distinct, irreplicable voice of the isolated communities. These songs, either straight from songbooks or transcribed during field trips by scholars of early 20th century, are the core of this album. Layers, so to speak, of spiritual singing reach seamlessly from Estonia, across the Swedish-speaking areas of Estonia to mainland Sweden and Norway, overseas to Iceland, making a stop at good old England where similar cultural processes took place a little earlier. Latin hymns translate into local languages, blend into folk tradition, get picked up again, make their way into art music directly or indirectly and become a source of inspiration once again. We encounter these songs in an environment where boundaries between social classes, styles of music, scenes and venues get blurred over and over, each time according to a whole different logic. We break a few canons, cliches and customs by approaching spiritual hymns with modern equipment, still making the vocals sound natural, timeless and unprocessed, vulnerable and enlightened. In our arrangements, we are aware of the tradition but treat the material with playfulness and a slight sense of irresponsibility. This is the layer we add to the heritage that has shaped our identities as individuals and nations, keeping the very core of human knowledge and spiritual existence alive and relevant.

Philzuid's eighth album is a live recording of Antonin Dvorak's The Wild Dove and Johannes Brahms's Symphony No. 1. Dvorak was deeply fond of the poetry of his compatriot Karel Erben. The Wild Dove is one of four compositions in which Dvorak drew inspiration from Erben's poetry. Brahms spent more than two decades working on his first symphony, ultimately producing what would become his magnum opus. Both works are performed by the orchestra under the direction of chief conductor Duncan Ward.

After an artistic hiatus, Jeff Herr Corporation returns with Five Moons, a bold new chapter for the Luxembourg-based trio. Led by drummer, composer, programmer and sound designer Jeff Herr, the group's renewed line-up features Maxime Bender on tenor and soprano saxophone and Pol Belardi on electric bass and double bass. With Five Moons, the trio moves into a more modern, daring sound world, blending contemporary jazz, improvisation, electronic textures and driving grooves. The acoustic dynamic of the previous formation gives way to a powerful new identity: lyrical saxophone lines, deep bass foundations and organic, energetic drumming come together in music that is both subtle and forceful. The repertoire was written and developed during an artistic residency at the Abbaye de Neumünster between December 2024 and April 2025, as part of the band's search for a new sound integrating electronic elements. Recorded in December 2025 and January 2026 at Holtz Sound in Tuntange, Luxembourg, Five Moons captures a trio in full creative motion, where innovation, spontaneity and intense musical interaction shape every performance.

Two composers, two works devoted to Our Lady, and two ways of expressing sorrow and supplication through music. This recording brings together Domenico Scarlatti and Jose de Nebra around two of the great texts of Marian devotion. Scarlatti's Stabat Mater, one of the pinnacles of the sacred vocal repertoire, dazzles with it's imposing ten-voice writing and refined contrapuntal craft. Nebra's setting-composed within the milieu of the Real Capilla for a reduced ensemble-possesses remarkable expressive power and a pronounced theatrical accent. In his Salve Regina for solo soprano, strings, and continuo, Scarlatti explores a more intimate and virtuosic dimension in what is considered his final work. Nebra, by contrast, chooses an expressive restraint for the same text. La Grande Chapelle thus presents a compelling dialogue between two major figures of eighteenth-century music in the Iberian Peninsula, whose paths converged around the figure of Queen Maria Barbara of Braganza.

A festive classic, including some of Tchaikovsky's - and indeed, the classical ballet canon's - most instantly recognisable tunes, Peter Wright's production of The Nutcracker has been enchanting children and adults alike since it's first performance by The Royal Ballet in 1984. Julia Trevelyan Oman's designs bring the story wonderfully to life, from the 19th-century German home of the Stahlbaums - which features a Christmas tree that transforms beyond one's imagination - to the Kingdom of Sweets, where everything is sugar and sparkle.

In bringing together in the same recording the trios of Alex de Taeye and of Lucie Vellere, we create a dialogue with two contrasting yet profoundly complementary voices of twentieth century Belgian music. They were contemporary, brought up in the same cultural climate, and they embody two faces of the same epoch: one, institutional and influential, a recognised figure of the academic milieu; the other, more intimate, almost clandestine, for whom chamber music was a refuge of liberty and sincerity. Their trios, though exceptional in their respective catalogues, share the same demand for clarity, balance and sensitivity. Each has an individual aesthetic: that of de Taeye, the inheritor of a bountiful, controlled post-romanticism; that of Vellere, imbued with an inner gentleness and a heightened sense of colour. Set side by side, these two works form a mirror portrait of a musical Belgium lying between tradition and modernity, between public illumination and poetic reclusion.