Under Italian skies, the young Handel chiselled the human soul into music, providing Roman palaces with secular cantatas of incandescent virtuosity. This theatre of passions explores the thousand faces of love: from the torments of the dizzying Il delirio amoroso, to the lightness of Sans y penser, through to the chains of Un'alma innamorata and the lamentations of Crudel tiranno amor. Soprano Marie Lys lends her exquisite voice to the heroines of the "dear Saxon". Under the baton of Ga�tan Jarry, the Orchestre de l'Op�ra Royal revives this baroque ardour with supreme elegance.

In 2002, anticipating the 205th anniversary year of "The President's Own" Marine Band, the then-Directors of this beloved ensemble invited John Williams to conduct a gala concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The legendary American composer graciously accepted, noting that his own father, a percussionist, had taught his son to love and respect the Marine Band from a young age. Williams first appeared with the band on July 12, 2003, one day after the band's official 205th birthday, thus inaugurating a long collaboration sustained by mutual respect and admiration. Williams would return to the Kennedy Center for another concert, this time in celebration of the band's 210th anniversary, in 2008. Several of his most enduring works were prepared especially for the Marine Band for these concerts, from film soundtrack highlights to original concert works. These full-length gala concerts from 2003 and 2008 are, taken together, a tour de force of some of Williams' most popular and creative scores, and serve as the primary source for this unique new recording collection. "Performing with 'The President's Own, '" writes Williams, "has been one of the highest honors of my working life in music. My great hope is that listeners of this special recording will experience some of the exhilaration and fun that I enjoyed conducting these two memorable performances... this ensemble truly is a national treasure of which all Americans should be justly proud."

Now recognised as one of the pioneers of microtonal music and performed throughout the world, Ivan Wyschnegradsky nevertheless composed pieces for solo piano, an instrument he particularly loved, throughout his life. This recording is unique: it brings together the composer's complete works for solo piano, known as 'normal' piano. Most of these pieces, previously unpublished, are being released for the first time. The programme offers a journey backwards in time, from his mature years to his early compositions: from the etude sur le carre magique sonore, Op. 40, to the preludes of his youth written in Petrograd (Saint Petersburg) in 1916, shortly before he left Russia for good to settle in Paris, where he lived until 1979. The pianist Martine Joste, who knew the composer well, premiered many of his works in his presence. Ivan Wyschnegradsky particularly appreciated her dynamic and sensitive playing. In 1983, she founded the Ivan Wyschnegradsky Association with Claude Ballif to raise awareness of this major figure of the 20th century. This disc sheds light on a lesser-known aspect of the composer's personality and highlights his creative journey. The disc, co-produced with the Ivan Wyschnegradsky Association, with the support of the Francis and Mica Salabert Foundation, is released on the Shiiin label, accompanied by a 33-page booklet published in French and English.

This new volume in the 'Next Generation Mozart Soloists' series features Mozart's very first piano concerto (K. 37), composed when he was just 11 years old, and his very last, the Concerto K. 595, finished on 5 January 1791, exactly 11 months before his death. "The combination of the naive and youthful first concerto with the mature last concerto and it's reflection of how much Bach's music had affected him shows just how extraordinarily his brilliant mind had developed", says pianist Mishka Rushdie Momen, who performs them under the baton of Howard Griffiths. She studied with Joan Havill, Imogen Cooper, Richard Goode and Andras Schiff at the Kronberg Academy. Bla� sparovec, principal clarinettist of the Gurzenich Orchestra in Cologne, takes on one of Mozart's very last works, the famous Clarinet Concerto K. 622, "a concerto that can only be compared to an opera in which the basset clarinet plays all the roles", says sparovec.

After two centuries, Reicha's trios are brought to life with irresistible energy Anton Reicha was probably right when - unlike his colleagues - he avoided promoting his own works, being aware that his genius would not be fully appreciated until long after his death. His spirit of experimentation anticipated some of the phenomena of 20th-century music (minimalism, microintervals etc.). It is only now, in the 21st century, that his name is becoming more widely known, without constantly having to bring up his inspirational friendship with Beethoven or make reference to his more famous Parisian pupils like Berlioz, Gounod, or Franck. Following the premiere recording of his complete Piano Concerto (Bartos, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Popelka 2025), Reicha's Six Piano Trios, Op. 101, finally make their debut in a reference recording. It took all of 202 years since the first printed edition (1824) for one of his last opuses to find it's way onto a recording of the interpretive and technical quality that the music deserves. Here, the composer's constant surprises keep his listeners alert, and the technical demands on the musicians clearly show that the trios were written for elite performers. In this music, the composer's visionary imagination anticipates the full-blooded Romanticism of Robert Schumann and his contemporaries. The marvellous Trio Bohemo has received deserved acclaim for it's Supraphon debut (Smetana, Schubert, 2024). For this recording in Vienna, they invited the proven recording team of producer Andrew Keener and sound engineer Oscar Torres. Up in the musical heavens, Reicha is surely smiling at the invigorating result, made even more vivid in Dolby Atmos sound.

For more than twenty years, Haruki Murakami's novels have captivated him time and again: for pianist and composer Tim Allhoff, works such as Kafka on the Shore, 1Q84, and Naoko's Smile are more than mere literature-they are inspiration, guidance, and an enigmatic mirror of his own emotional world. With his new solo album Between Here and Nowhere, which will be released on May 15, 2026, by Neue Meister and is now the eleventh album in his discography, Allhoff has created a musical homage to the cult Japanese author, whose books have long since become a soundscape in their own right.

The organ works of Axel Ruoff, born in Stuttgart in 1957, constitute one of the most important contributions to the literature for the instrument by any composer since Messiaen. Stylistically, his music unites the French cathedral tradition of composers like Langlais, Dupre and Guillou with the concern with counterpoint and logic heard in Reger and later German figures. Ruoff uses the unparalleled resources of the modern symphonic organ not produce music of freewheeling energy and uncompromising power. (Volumes 1-5, TOCC 0567, 0596, 0610, 0672, 0709)

Pieces for Lutha" Anders Ericson plays this unique instrument from the Gustavian era, and presents an unknown part of the late 18th century Swedish musical landscape to the modern audience. Lute player Anders Ericson plays recently restored instruments by Swedish 18th century master luthier Johan Jerner, that take us back to an intriguing and intimate sonority from another time. Swedish composers Cloos, Ankar and Wikmanson clearly display the high musical and technical level of early Swedish "Luthenists". Each work on "Solo Pieces for Lutha" is a world premiere recording, which makes this disc truly exciting. An unknown musical treasure and an unheard instrument resounds!

For more than twenty years, Haruki Murakami's novels have captivated him time and again: for pianist and composer Tim Allhoff, works such as Kafka on the Shore, 1Q84, and Naoko's Smile are more than mere literature-they are inspiration, guidance, and an enigmatic mirror of his own emotional world. With his new solo album Between Here and Nowhere, which will be released on May 15, 2026, by Neue Meister and is now the eleventh album in his discography, Allhoff has created a musical homage to the cult Japanese author, whose books have long since become a soundscape in their own right.

On his new double vinyl album, Jakob Buchanan masterfully blends the ultra-local folk music and the unique character of the landscape, with some of the world's leading names in modern jazz, and one of Denmark's many great string quartets Artos Quartet A few years ago, jazz composer and trumpeter Jakob Buchanan moved to Mols. Here, he sits and plays in an old circus wagon on Thorup Mark, gazing over the rolling hills and becoming absorbed in an old booklet of folk tunes by the local legend, fiddler Peter Madsen (1865-1900). One autumn day, he tries out the old dance tunes on his trumpet while looking out across the landscape. The tunes turn into hymns, and it feels as if an old soul is reborn floating across the warm, hilly land, a landscape that writes it's own silent music on the horizon every day. Composer and trumpeter Jakob Buchanan was recently honored as Jazz Composer of the Year 2024 at the Danish Music Awards for the album Song & Wind, featuring the Aarhus Jazz Orchestra, Copenhagen Boys' Choir, late percussionist Marilyn Mazur, and conductor Carsten Seyer-Hansen (OUR Recordings). https://www. Buchanan. dk/ Swedish bassist Anders Jormin is one of the world's most distinguished jazz bassists. He has received numerous awards and honors, including the rare Jan Johansson Prize, the Swedish Radio Guldkatten Award, and The Royal Swedish Academy of Music's Grand Prize. His solo album Alone became a cult classic and was named Record of the Year in all categories worldwide in 1991. #https://ecmrecords. #com/artists/anders-jormin/ New York legend Chris Speed is a tenor saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. His work spans widely rooted in jazz, yet extending into various forms of folk, classical, and rock music. Speed is associated with a wide range of ensembles and has been a prominent and influential voice in jazz and improvised music for over three decades. #https://www. #chrisspeed. com/ Pianist and composer Simon Toldam is one of Scandinavia's most exciting and acclaimed musicians. He has released 17 albums, five of which have won Danish Music Awards, including Orchestra of the Year 2021 and Best Album 2019. He is a member of the Danish record label ILK Music. #http://www. #simontoldam. com The Artos Quartet was founded in the summer of 2018 and has quickly established itself on the Danish music scene. It's vision is to perform string quartet music at the highest level and to promote awareness of the vast repertoire of quartet works written by the most beloved composers. The Artos Quartet serves as the artistic leadership and resident ensemble of the Artos Festival in Aarhus. The quartet consists of Tue Lautrup, Sarah Lucy Foldager, Sanna Ripatti , and Brian Friisholm. #https://artosquartet. #dk/

A first-ever complete recording for collections of Baroque chamber music which capture the elegance, formality, and lively culture of London in the 1710s. London in the early 18th century was a city animated by music: Italian opera dominated the newly built theatres, French-style dances brought refinement to the salons, and the English cathedral tradition had fully adapted to a native style of text setting. It was from within this vibrant soundscape that William Babell (c. 1690-1723) emerged-an English musician of remarkable versatility, whose keyboard brilliance and expressive chamber works captured the spirit of his place and time. Babell's first teacher was his father, a bassoonist in the orchestra of the Drury Lane Theatre. He rapidly followed in his father's footsteps, playing in the private band of King George I, and was appointed organist of All Hallows, Bread Street, a position he held until his untimely death. His reputation as a keyboard virtuoso was widespread; Johann Mattheson extolled his organ playing as even superior to Handel's. As for his own music, it's principal surviving remnants are these two collections of sonatas dating from 1716 and 1720. They were conceived for oboe or violin with continuo; the musicians of Cappella Musicale Enrico Stuart have taken a fairly liberal approach, by sharing the melody part in the different sonatas between violin, flute, and oboe, which are supported by a rich continuo group of bassoon, cello, and harpsichord or organ. Not the least attractive aspect of this solution is it's variety across the sequence of 24 sonatas. The influence of Arcangelo Corelli-the Roman violinist-composer whose Op. 5 sonatas (published in 1700) shaped much of 18th-century chamber style across Europe-is evident in Babell's approach. Babell's sonata structure-especially the slow-fast alternation, proportions of movements, and rhythmic gesture-bears the stamp of this Corellian model, though with English lightness and a flair for ornamentation. This arrangement not only showcases the instrumental diversity at the heart of the two volumes of sonatas, but also evokes the experience of an 18th-century London salon, where violin, oboe, and flute might seamlessly succeed one another in an evening of chamber music.

One of the world's leading experts on Marcel Dupr�, Tobias Frank, joins forces with his ensemble Vox ad hoc to reveal a previously undiscovered facet of the French composer: vocal works for soloist or choir, with piano or organ accompaniment or purely a cappella. Until recently, these outstanding pieces had remained quietly overlooked in the archives of the Biblioth�que nationale de France.

Pianist Mathieu Gaudet presents the final instalment of his Complete Schubert Sonatas and Major Piano Works recording series. This final volume, The Testament, showcases the very last Sonata by Schubert in B flat major D. 960, a work with a unique sound environment, at once lush but modest, passionate but patient, opening a door to a world of extreme sensitivity. Also on this album is the Sonata in E minor D. 566, written by a romantic 20 year-old man, full of fun ideas and strokes of genius.

Joly Braga Santos (1924-88) was one of the most important composers in twentieth-century Portugal. In his early works his fondness for modal harmony, absorbed from the Portuguese masters of the Renaissance, and his busy counterpoint combine to make him sound surprisingly close to such particularly English composers as Vaughan Williams and Moeran. Although his harmonic language became more astringent with time, it retained a burly sense of humour and a powerful charge of energy, often infused with the spirit of Portuguese folk-dance. [Volumes 1-3: TOCC 0207, 0428, 0588]

In this album Bach's famous Goldberg Variations are newly arranged for Saxophone, Cello and Accordion. With Asya Fateyeva and Eckart Runge two renowned Berlin Classics artists get together, joined by accordionist Andreas Borregaard. Asya Fateyeva has brought the saxophone into the spotlight through her excellent recordings, new arrangements and concerts for her instrument as well as impressive media attention (including her own TV documentary on ARTE). Eckart Runge was founding member of the Artemis Quartet; he is also an acclaimed soloist and has already released several solo albums on Berlin Classics.

Zygmunt Noskowski, the influential Polish conductor and composer, is perhaps better remembered for his role as a teacher and mentor to later luminaries such as Karol Szymanowski and Mieczyslaw Karlowicz - and for his connection to Stanislaw Moniuszko - than for his own compositions. Yet for much of the 19th century, he was Poland's leading exponent of modern music and his works are central to the Polish tradition. After the Capriccio recordings of his Symphonies (CD C5509 and C5547) this album presents some of his string quartets and shows us again a veritable picture book of Polish romanticism.

IBS Classical presents a new monographic release dedicated to Roberto Sierra, the Grammy-nominated and Latin Grammy-winning Puerto Rican composer whose music is regularly performed by leading orchestras and ensembles worldwide. This album features Piano Sonatas Nos. 13 and 14 alongside the Transcendental Etudes (after a reading of Liszt), performed by American pianist Matthew Bengtson, a long-standing artistic collaborator of Sierra and one of today's most compelling interpreters of his piano works. Sonata No. 13 offers a bold "fragmented sonata," a mosaic-like structure that reimagines Beethoven's legacy through a distinctly contemporary lens. Sonata No. 14, inspired by the Moonlight Sonata, explores musical memory as a sonic specter, where fragments appear, dissolve, and transform. The Transcendental Etudes pay homage to Liszt while remaining unmistakably Sierra: virtuosic, rhythmically vibrant, infused with Afro-Caribbean energy, and rich in harmonic color and pedal resonance. Critically acclaimed as a "musician's pianist," Matthew Bengtson enjoys an international career as soloist, chamber musician, scholar, and educator. Widely recognized for his interpretations of Scriabin and Szymanowski, he has performed throughout Europe and the United States, including appearances at Carnegie Hall. A dedicated advocate of contemporary music, he has premiered numerous works and maintains a particularly close artistic partnership with Roberto Sierra. Bengtson is Associate Professor of Piano Literature at the University of Michigan and a Steinway Artist.

The Welshman John Thomas (1826-1913), harpist to Queen Victoria, wrote prolifically for his own instrument, both for solo harp and for duos of two harps or harp and piano - a combination where the different sounds of the two instruments enhance the clarity of the texture. Thomas' original works use the elegant Romantic style of his own day, but he often drew on Welsh folksong for his inspiration and left a generous legacy of transcriptions, especially of operatic favourites. Although some of his music was intended for the Victorian drawing room, other pieces require a virtuoso technique - and all of it has a thoroughly engaging melodic appeal.�[Volumes 1-5: TOCC 0561, 0566, 0578, 0582, 0711]

This recording brings together recent choral works by British-Swiss composer Jessica Ulusoy-Horsley exploring sound, silence, and the spaces between them, performed by Tenebrae under Nigel Short. The programme includes the work Engelsmusik, inspired by writings on angelic music which draw on texts by Rumi, Greek liturgy, and spiritual philosophy. At it's centre is the large-scale work The 99 Names, setting Arabic and Aramaic texts from Islamic and Christian traditions, and finishing with Cycle of Peace, responding to contemporary conflict. Together, the works examine listening, stillness, and shared spiritual experience across cultures.

Anyone familiar with Apollo's Fire will recognise the exceptional baroque orchestra's engaging and entertaining principal cellist Rene Schiffer. Featured on dozens of the Apollo's Fire recordings, Rene steps into the spotlight for his solo debut recording with a meticulous rendering of that pillar of the baroque repertoire, J. S. Bach's Six Suites for Solo Cello. Deploying different instruments - a 1768 Benoit Fleury cello for the first four suites, an anonymous late 18th century violoncello piccolo with an added string for the fifth (in his own arrangement) and sixth - and multiple tunings, Rene's distinctive interpretations are in harmony with his comprehensive and probing liner notes which abound with theories and intellectual insights.

Sergei Prokofiev's nine piano sonatas, composed between 1909 and 1951, are a monumental body of work that showcases the composer's stylistic evolution through a turbulent period of history. Renowned for their virtuosic technical demands and psychological depth, the sonatas are considered a cornerstone of the 20th-century piano repertoire. The famous "War Sonatas" (Nos. 6, 7, and 8) are among his most significant and powerful works. Acclaimed pianist Carlo Grante is celebrated for his vast repertoire, commanding technique, and scholarly interpretations. A prolific recording artist, he is particularly renowned for making the first-ever complete recording of Domenico Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas performed by a single pianist. In addition to Scarlatti, his recordings cover a vast spectrum of composers, from established masters like Mozart, Chopin, Liszt, and Brahms to lesser known composers and contemporary figures like Busoni and Godowsky. Many contemporary composers have dedicated works to Grante, including Bruce Adolphe (Chopin Dreams), Roman Vlad (Opus Triplex), and Michael Finnissy. Praised for his technical mastery and profound musicianship, Fabio Luisi, the former Principal Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera, described Carlo Grante as "one of the most astonishing artists I have ever known and worked with." Vienna's Die Presse dubbed him "a knight of the piano, without blemish and without fear."

The new album of saxophonist Asya Fateyeva, with the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, presents a brand-new version of the hit Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky, arranged by composer Wolf Kerschek. The recording is complemented by Christmas music arranged for saxophone and the vocal ensemble Niniwe Vocal Art.

The Swiss-Franco-American virtuoso, C�leste-Marie Roy, elevates the sonorous splendour of the bassoon to vibrant new heights with her flexible tone, technical finesse, and striking interpretation of melodious and highly virtuosic works from the 20th and 21st centuries.

For their Preziosa series, MDG revives one of the most remarkable organ composers of the late Romantic period, Carl Sattler. The uniqueness of his works and the absolute richness of his musical ideas are expertly captured by Reinhard Kluth on the Klais organ at Himmerod Abbey. Still residing at the abbey was a former student of Sattler's, the elderly Father Raimund, whose contributions add a greater degree of authenticity to the interpretation.

In their second Boccherini release, the Karski Quartet and cellist Rapha�l Feye again present four string quintets, including two world premiere recordings. Composed for the unusual combination of two cellos, these pieces showcase Boccherini's versatility, moving from Mediterranean warmth to the elegance of Viennese classicism. The album successfully combines historical awareness with contemporary depth, providing a refined and compelling portrayal of the composer.