Legendary composer for stage and screen John Williams has admired the United States Marine Band, the "President's Own," since childhood - and in recent decades, the maestro and ensemble's mutual admiration has deepened amidst a series of collaborations marking the group's major anniversaries. The culmination of this twenty-year relationship was Williams' return to conduct the band's 225th anniversary gala concert in July 2023, along with the release of this 2026 album, John Williams and 'The President's Own,' Vol. 3. Completing a trilogy of albums issued by Naxos of America, this live recording brings the outstanding virtuosity, good cheer, and moving musicianship of that 2023 Kennedy Center concert to the world.

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra and it's Music Director Jader Bignamini present Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, one of the most electrifying works of the twentieth century. Drawing on thirteenth-century manuscripts from Benediktbeuern Abbey, Orff transformed the exuberant, irreverent texts of wandering scholars and rebellious clerics into a monumental scenic cantata. From the iconic opening of "O Fortuna" to the exuberant outdoor dances, tavern scenes, and courtly love interludes, the work pulses with elemental rhythms and striking orchestration, with chorus, percussion, two pianos, and celesta playing central roles. Motifs from "O Fortuna" recur throughout, linking the contrasting worlds of humour, erotic longing, and the inexorable wheel of fate. Orff balances diatonic simplicity with rhythmic ostinati, while movements such as the flute-timpani duet, castanets solo, and piano-percussion passages evoke primal energy and recall Stravinsky's Les noces. From the introspective soprano arias in "In trutina" to the sardonic baritone tavern numbers, the score alternates between joy, melancholy, and satire, culminating in the final return of "O Fortuna" to close the cycle. Following their acclaimed release of Marsalis' Blues Symphony in March 2025, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Jader Bignamini return to PENTATONE, reaffirming their mastery of landmark repertoire.

Face2Face compares the Beethoven string quartets with string quartets by avant-garde composers, demonstrating how far ahead of his time Beethoven was. The second album of this series contains Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartet op. 18/6, Rudolf Kelterborn's String Quartet no. 6 (2001), and Ludwig van Beethoven's "Harfenquartett" op. 74. The Amaryllis Quartett won 1st prize at the 6th International Chamber Music Competition in Melbourne (2011).

The fact that Johann Sebastian Bach was able to take up the post of the cantor of St. Thomas in 1723 is thanks to the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. He refused to release his court Kapellmeister Christoph Graupner to Leipzig. He declared the appointment of the magistrate there to be invalid and increased the salary of his subordinate. In this way, he was able to long admire the diversity of the man who wrote outstanding works in all areas of composition. For example, in orchestral music, he sought out unusual experiments with unique results by combining seemingly disparate instruments and ignoring formal conventions. Would he have been as successful with the honourable councillors on the river Pleisse as he was under the aegis of his aristocratic employer? After hearing a two-and-a-half-hour selection of Graupner's works, we must thank His Excellency for not letting him go three hundred years ago

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.

Anyone who delves into the musical analysis of these 25 gems-into their incredible thematic structure, into their harmonic cosmos-will fall in love with them. Yet, the purely emotional enjoyment of such simply beautiful folk songs is also readily accessible-and, indeed, likely just as Britten intended, as a folk composer of his time. - Daniel Johannsen