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Barriere & De Bury: Sonates et suites pour le clavecin / Quintavalle
Brilliant Classics · Apr 2017CD$17.99 -
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Eberl - Dussek: Concertos For Two Pianos / Duo Tal & Groethuysen, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Reinhard Goebel
Sony Masterworks · Oct 2020CD$11.98 -
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Grieg, Franck, Shor-Pletnev, & Shostakovich / Lozakovich, Pletnev
WARNER CLASSICS · Oct 2024CD$17.28 -
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Vladimir Horowitz At Carnegie Hall - The Private Collection - Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Balakirev
Sony Masterworks · Sep 2009CD$11.98 -
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Jean-Marie Leclair: Violin Concertos, Vol. 1 - Op. 7, Nos. 1
SOMM Recordings
CD
$20.99
Oct 17, 2025
SOMM Recordings is delighted to build upon it's critically acclaimed discography with violinist, Adrian Butterfield, and the London Handel Players in a new collaboration featuring the Op. 7 set of six Violin Concertos by the French violinist-composer, Jean-Marie Leclair. The London Handel Players, praised by the New York Times for their "soulful depth" and "consummate skill and musicianship," have previously released five Handel discs with SOMM, along with recordings that celebrate Geminiani, J.S. Bach, and Telemann. The group's co-founder and director, period-instrument violinist Adrian Butterfield, has been described as "a marvel" by Gramophone for his recordings of Leclair's first three books of violin sonatas. The solo concerto emerged in Italy in the early 18th century through composers like Torelli, Albinoni and, particularly, Vivaldi. J.S. Bach acquired a copy of Vivaldi's popular set of twelve concertos, L'Estro Armonico, to transcribe and study, and he put his own stamp on concerto writing with works that are larger in scale, making use of more detailed contrapuntal development and a greater degree of harmonic variety. When Jean-Marie Leclair met an untimely death on 23 October, 1764 in a still-unsolved murder in Paris, he left behind a stellar reputation as the founder of the French violin school, along with a collection of works for violin that includes four volumes of solo violin sonatas and two volumes of violin concertos; his Op. 7, heard here, and Op. 10, to follow in the near future. These virtuosic and elegant violin concertos are something of an amalgam of the Italian concerto style and of Bach's formalistic innovations. Leclair was born in Lyon in 1697, and his dream was to become a solo violinist in his own country. But, at this time in France, violin playing was the province of country fiddlers and orchestral players, while the viol was the chosen instrument for the French upper classes. When the Italian violinist-composer, Arcangelo Corelli, published his iconic set of Op. 5 sonatas in 1700, no French violinist was equipped with the technique to perform them. Having spent a year studying dance and composition in the Italian city of Turin, Leclair moved to Paris, where he soon published his first set of twelve violin sonatas. For a couple of years, he commuted between Paris and Turin in order to study with a former student of Corelli's, and, over the course of two decades, published three more sets of sonatas, along with the two sets of violin concertos. The concertos are justly celebrated for their blend of French elegance and Italian virtuosity, reflecting not only Leclair's skill as a renowned violinist, but also his background, which drew on a variety of Europe's national styles. In the early 1910s, Holst became interested in astrology, and he conceived the idea of a suite for orchestra based on the solar system's individual planets. Originally, he composed The Planets on the piano, using the instrument in his newly-built, sound-proofed room in the music wing at St Paul's Girls School as well as the piano at his home in Thaxted. This version for four hands, two pianos was scored by two of his colleagues at St Paul's, Vally Lasker and Nora Day, who acted as amanuenses, because Holst suffered intermittently from painful neuritis in his right hand. Following the resounding success of the orchestrated version of The Planets, the original piano duet score was overlooked, though it was eventually published separately in 1949-51. In 1979, Holst's daughter, Imogen, reissued the complete two-piano arrangement in one volume, and Tessa Uys and Ben Schoeman perform this version here. Elgar's renown was such that, at the height of his fame, several established musicians were commissioned by publishers to make piano transcriptions of his orchestral music. This was no mean feat, given that Elgar's scores are scrupulously marked as to how he wanted every phrase-sometimes even every bar or note within that phrase-to be played. It was the composer, arranger, and conductor, Otto Singer II, who made the transcription for piano four-hands of Elgar's 1905 Introduction and Allegro, scored originally for solo string quartet and string orchestra. Singer's insight and skill are evident in techniques like transferring string double-stopping to spread keyboard chords, and his piano four-hands version is admirably true to Elgar's evolving contrapuntal and harmonic ideas. In Victorian England, the marriage of a tradesman's son to the daughter of a Major-General in the British Army, who was eight years his senior, might not have appeared a perfect match. Yet, the marriage of Edward Elgar and Caroline Alice Roberts turned out to be a love-match. In 1888, as a wedding present, Edward presented to Carice, as he called her, Salut d'Amour. This enduring melody has inspired numerous arrangements for widely varying instrumental combinations, including this one for piano duet.
Hidden Legacies
Delos
CD
$20.99
Apr 10, 2026
In the shadows of history, the works of Mieczyslaw Weinberg and Erich Korngold emerge as profound testaments to the resilience of the human spirit. Both composers, deeply affected by the tumultuous tides of the twentieth century, faced the harrowing realities of persecution. Their music, rich in emotion and complexity, serves not only as a reflection of their personal trials but as an enduring legacy of hope and beauty amid despair. Driven by a passion for meaningful projects, cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper gave the New York premiere of Weinberg's Fantasia for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 52 and Korngold's Cello Concerto in C major in 2025. She is rejoined by her concert partner, conductor Constantine Orbelian, and the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra to record these works, together with Weinberg's Concerto for Cello and Orchestra. Three extraordinary works for solo cello and orchestra by two leading composers of the twentieth century.
BAROQUE ENCORES
ERATO
CD
$17.49
Jan 16, 2026
David Fray stands out as one of today's most distinctive French pianists, widely acclaimed for his profound interpretations of Bach. Each of his recordings is considered a major event, making this new release all the more anticipated, as it marks his return after several years of silence. This new album features masterpieces from Rameau to Scarlatti, including lesser-known composers like Royer, with a strong focus on Bach. The repertoire includes original keyboard works as well as piano transcriptions by legendary pianists such as Siloti, Kempff, Busoni, and Stradal. Additionally, the album also includes the world premiere recording of Monsaingeon's arrangement for piano of Bach's Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 1003: Andante.
Barriere & De Bury: Sonates et suites pour le clavecin / Quintavalle
Brilliant Classics
CD
$17.99
Apr 28, 2017
A MusicWeb International Recording of the Month
This set of discs is quite interesting: it brings together two French composers from the first half of the 18th century who are little known. That is to say: Jean-Baptiste Barrière is fairly well known, but almost exclusively as a pioneer of the cello in France. It is remarkable that the two collections which Luca Quintavalle has recorded were published at about the same time, but are stylistically very different.
Barrière was from Bordeaux and worked in Paris in 1730 as Musicien ordinaire de notre Académie Royale de Musique. In 1733 he was granted a privilege to publish sonatas and other instrumental works. He studied for some time in Italy, but there are different opinions on exactly when he was there. It is not that relevant from a musical point of view, because right from the start the Italian influence in his compositions is clearly discernible. His first two books with six sonatas each were printed in Paris in 1733 and 1735 respectively; these were followed in 1739 and 1740 by the third and fourth book. These collections show an increase in technical complexity and the last two books attest to Barrière's full embracing of the Italian style.
In 1739 he also published a book - as Livre V - for the pardessus de viole, the descant viol. It comprises six sonatas, the first five of which were also included in the book of harpsichord music which was published in the same year. These are not merely transcriptions but reworkings for a completely different instrument, including additional ornamentation, elaboration and idiomatic runs. These sonatas follow the Corellian trio sonata model: they comprise four movements in the order slow - fast - slow - fast. Barrière added a sixth sonata in three movements: andante - largetto (sic) - aria amoroso.
Their Italian character not only comes to the fore in the use of the form of the sonata. In fact, Barrière was the first French composer to write sonatas for keyboard. A further Italian trait is that the movements have exclusively Italian titles: adagio, allegro, andante, grave, largo, aria. The only dance included here is a sarabanda in the Sonata No. 2 in D. However, the most important token of Italian influence is the music itself. There are Neapolitan influences, but also references to the music of Vivaldi and Domenico Scarlatti. Some movements are quite dramatic; one of the most notable examples is the adagio which opens the Sonata No. 4 in G.
Barrière's harpsichord sonatas have little to do with tradition. Only one part of the Sonates et pièces can be connected to the French harpsichord school. The six pièces are character pieces as we know them from the oeuvre of, for instance, François Couperin. However, stylistically they are much closer to such pieces by the likes of Forqueray and especially his contemporary Joseph Nicolas Pancrace Royer (1705 - 1755). In the preface to his Premier Livre de pièces pour clavecin of 1746 Royer stated that "[the] pieces are open to great variety, passing from the tender to the lively, from the simple to the tumultuous, often successively within the same piece". That is the case with Barrière's character pieces as well; some indeed can be counted among the 'tumultuous', such as La Casamajor.
It is remarkable that the harpsichord pieces of the younger Bernard de Bury are more conservative than Barrière's. Much more than in the pieces by the latter we notice François Couperin's influence. His Premier livre de pièces de clavecin which dates from around 1736 includes several pieces whose titles are identical or almost identical with titles in the four harpsichord books of Couperin.
Bury came from a musical family; his father was ordinaire de la musique du roi. He spent his entire life and career in Versailles. He took several positions at the court; as maître de chapelle he succeeded his teacher Colin de Blamont, to whom he dedicated his harpsichord book. In 1785 he was ennobled by Louis XVI, five months before his death. In addition to his harpsichord works he composed music for the stage which found a positive reception.
Despite some Italian traits in his harpsichord music - just like in Couperin's ordres - his keyboard music is very French. The book comprises four suites of different lengths which include almost exclusively character pieces. The only exception is the loure in the 3e Suite in G. The chaconne which closes the 4e Suite in E and the entire collection, is one of the most telling tokens of this book's being part of the French tradition: hardly an opera was written without a chaconne and virtually every suite for keyboard or for an instrumental ensemble included a chaconne. There is no watershed between dances and character pieces: several of the latter were written in the form of a dance, or perhaps we should say that dances were given titles to indicate an extra-musical meaning. In the 1e Suite in A, for instance, we find a sarabande with the title Les Regrets. A form which Bury frequently uses is the rondeau, which was becoming increasingly popular in France around the mid-18th century.
Bury's harpsichord works have been recorded before, but are hardly known; they also seldom appear on programmes of recitals. As far as I know only a couple of pieces from Barrière's collection are available on disc; this is probably the first complete recording. I find that rather surprising, considering their quality and their historical importance. That makes this set a significant addition to the discography. This repertoire is served very well by Luca Quintavalle who delivers energetic and stylish performances. The brilliance of Barrières pieces and the different features of Bury's harpsichord works is convincingly conveyed. He plays a splendid instrument: a copy of a harpsichord by Pierre Donzelague of 1711. The miking is just right: it reveals enough details without losing the overall picture.
There is just one issue I need to mention. There is too little space between the pieces: the first movement of a sonata or a suite follows the last movement of the previous work almost attacca. That is an unlucky negligence on the side of the production team.
Considering the importance of the repertoire and the quality of music and interpretation this production deserves the label of Recording of the Month.
– MusicWeb International (Johan van Veen)
This set of discs is quite interesting: it brings together two French composers from the first half of the 18th century who are little known. That is to say: Jean-Baptiste Barrière is fairly well known, but almost exclusively as a pioneer of the cello in France. It is remarkable that the two collections which Luca Quintavalle has recorded were published at about the same time, but are stylistically very different.
Barrière was from Bordeaux and worked in Paris in 1730 as Musicien ordinaire de notre Académie Royale de Musique. In 1733 he was granted a privilege to publish sonatas and other instrumental works. He studied for some time in Italy, but there are different opinions on exactly when he was there. It is not that relevant from a musical point of view, because right from the start the Italian influence in his compositions is clearly discernible. His first two books with six sonatas each were printed in Paris in 1733 and 1735 respectively; these were followed in 1739 and 1740 by the third and fourth book. These collections show an increase in technical complexity and the last two books attest to Barrière's full embracing of the Italian style.
In 1739 he also published a book - as Livre V - for the pardessus de viole, the descant viol. It comprises six sonatas, the first five of which were also included in the book of harpsichord music which was published in the same year. These are not merely transcriptions but reworkings for a completely different instrument, including additional ornamentation, elaboration and idiomatic runs. These sonatas follow the Corellian trio sonata model: they comprise four movements in the order slow - fast - slow - fast. Barrière added a sixth sonata in three movements: andante - largetto (sic) - aria amoroso.
Their Italian character not only comes to the fore in the use of the form of the sonata. In fact, Barrière was the first French composer to write sonatas for keyboard. A further Italian trait is that the movements have exclusively Italian titles: adagio, allegro, andante, grave, largo, aria. The only dance included here is a sarabanda in the Sonata No. 2 in D. However, the most important token of Italian influence is the music itself. There are Neapolitan influences, but also references to the music of Vivaldi and Domenico Scarlatti. Some movements are quite dramatic; one of the most notable examples is the adagio which opens the Sonata No. 4 in G.
Barrière's harpsichord sonatas have little to do with tradition. Only one part of the Sonates et pièces can be connected to the French harpsichord school. The six pièces are character pieces as we know them from the oeuvre of, for instance, François Couperin. However, stylistically they are much closer to such pieces by the likes of Forqueray and especially his contemporary Joseph Nicolas Pancrace Royer (1705 - 1755). In the preface to his Premier Livre de pièces pour clavecin of 1746 Royer stated that "[the] pieces are open to great variety, passing from the tender to the lively, from the simple to the tumultuous, often successively within the same piece". That is the case with Barrière's character pieces as well; some indeed can be counted among the 'tumultuous', such as La Casamajor.
It is remarkable that the harpsichord pieces of the younger Bernard de Bury are more conservative than Barrière's. Much more than in the pieces by the latter we notice François Couperin's influence. His Premier livre de pièces de clavecin which dates from around 1736 includes several pieces whose titles are identical or almost identical with titles in the four harpsichord books of Couperin.
Bury came from a musical family; his father was ordinaire de la musique du roi. He spent his entire life and career in Versailles. He took several positions at the court; as maître de chapelle he succeeded his teacher Colin de Blamont, to whom he dedicated his harpsichord book. In 1785 he was ennobled by Louis XVI, five months before his death. In addition to his harpsichord works he composed music for the stage which found a positive reception.
Despite some Italian traits in his harpsichord music - just like in Couperin's ordres - his keyboard music is very French. The book comprises four suites of different lengths which include almost exclusively character pieces. The only exception is the loure in the 3e Suite in G. The chaconne which closes the 4e Suite in E and the entire collection, is one of the most telling tokens of this book's being part of the French tradition: hardly an opera was written without a chaconne and virtually every suite for keyboard or for an instrumental ensemble included a chaconne. There is no watershed between dances and character pieces: several of the latter were written in the form of a dance, or perhaps we should say that dances were given titles to indicate an extra-musical meaning. In the 1e Suite in A, for instance, we find a sarabande with the title Les Regrets. A form which Bury frequently uses is the rondeau, which was becoming increasingly popular in France around the mid-18th century.
Bury's harpsichord works have been recorded before, but are hardly known; they also seldom appear on programmes of recitals. As far as I know only a couple of pieces from Barrière's collection are available on disc; this is probably the first complete recording. I find that rather surprising, considering their quality and their historical importance. That makes this set a significant addition to the discography. This repertoire is served very well by Luca Quintavalle who delivers energetic and stylish performances. The brilliance of Barrières pieces and the different features of Bury's harpsichord works is convincingly conveyed. He plays a splendid instrument: a copy of a harpsichord by Pierre Donzelague of 1711. The miking is just right: it reveals enough details without losing the overall picture.
There is just one issue I need to mention. There is too little space between the pieces: the first movement of a sonata or a suite follows the last movement of the previous work almost attacca. That is an unlucky negligence on the side of the production team.
Considering the importance of the repertoire and the quality of music and interpretation this production deserves the label of Recording of the Month.
– MusicWeb International (Johan van Veen)
JERUSALEM QUARTET
HARMONIA MUNDI
CD
$22.65
Aug 14, 2015
Only now have I learnt how to write quartets properly." So wrote Beethoven in 1801, having just finished his first set of string quartets at the surprisingly advanced age of 30. The competition of Haydn and Mozart must have been intimidating for the young composer. Performed here by the Jerusalem Quartet, these six String Quartets Op.18 already display much boldness and originality, from the dramatic echoes of Romeo & Juliet in No.1, to the astonishing programmatic finale of No.6, "La Malinconia.
Eberl - Dussek: Concertos For Two Pianos / Duo Tal & Groethuysen, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Reinhard Goebel
Sony Masterworks
CD
$11.98
Oct 16, 2020
All of the recordings of Reinhard Goebel's project "Beethoven's World" have received great attention and excellent reviews worldwide. For the first album with violin concertos by Franz Clement, the Welt am Sonntag wrote: "If the discovery of Beethoven contemporaries, which Goebel has just signed up for the Beethoven Year, continues in this way, it will be a fine year". For the second album with double cello concertos by Reicha and Romberg, Deutschlandfunk wrote: "This recording (...) sets new standards." Great reviews for the third album with works by Salieri, Hummel and Vorisek followed: "An outstanding contribution to the Beethoven Year: With his alternative Beethoven Project, Reinhard Goebel once again impressively proves that there was even more to hear in Vienna at the time than Mozart piano concertos and Beethoven symphonies."
The fourth album of this celebrated series continues the musical foray into the Vienna of the early 19th century with extraordinary rarities from Beethoven's contemporaries. Recorded with the excellent piano duo Tal & Groethuysen and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the album features the Concerto for Two Pianos by Anton Eberl (1765-1807) and the Concerto for Two Pianos by Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812). The album also presents the world premiere recording of Joseph von Eybler's (1765-1846) “La Follia di Spagna” with all Instruments after the Violin Sonata, op. 5 no. 12 “La Follia” by Arcangelo Corelli. Goebel also includes a rarity by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) to the program: Gratulations-Menuett for Orchestra in E-flat Major, WoO 3. The recording proves once again that there was far more to hear for Vienna music lovers than piano concertos by Mozart or symphonies by Beethoven.
The fourth album of this celebrated series continues the musical foray into the Vienna of the early 19th century with extraordinary rarities from Beethoven's contemporaries. Recorded with the excellent piano duo Tal & Groethuysen and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the album features the Concerto for Two Pianos by Anton Eberl (1765-1807) and the Concerto for Two Pianos by Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812). The album also presents the world premiere recording of Joseph von Eybler's (1765-1846) “La Follia di Spagna” with all Instruments after the Violin Sonata, op. 5 no. 12 “La Follia” by Arcangelo Corelli. Goebel also includes a rarity by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) to the program: Gratulations-Menuett for Orchestra in E-flat Major, WoO 3. The recording proves once again that there was far more to hear for Vienna music lovers than piano concertos by Mozart or symphonies by Beethoven.
PROKOFIEV
WARNER CLASSICS
CD
$18.36
May 08, 2026
There is something wondrous in the music of Sergei Prokofiev, says Nemanja Radulovic, "as if it constantly moves between light and shadow, searching for truth through contrast, sarcasm, magic, love, irony, and beauty." Now the violinist - praised by The Times for both his "lyric delicacy" and "super-virtuosity" - has recorded an entire album devoted to Prokofiev. It embraces a variety of musical genres: the Violin Concerto No 2 (with the Philharmonia Orchestra under it's principal conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali); the Sonata for Solo Violin; the Sonata for Two Violins (with Johan Dalene), and (with pianist Laure Favre-Kahn), the Five Melodies Op.35bis and arrangements of excerpts from the ballets Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella, the opera The Love for Three Oranges, and the 'Classical' Symphony.
Within the Waves - Sanna Vaarni
Stradivarius
CD
$16.99
Mar 20, 2026
A programme that brings together two compositions very far from each other in time, both entitled Sonata, promises much for the imagination. The two Sonatas, for opposing reasons, were the last sonatas to be published during the lifetime of the two composers. Between them, like a bridge, is a piece permeated by the memory of water: how, then, can one give form to this intertwining? A profound ambiguity, between smiling and melancholy, inhabits the poetic world of the Sonata in G major, Op. 78, D. 894. Schubert had very clear ideas about the formal structure of the piece, thinking of a unified structure in four movements. Schubert had already seen that framework dissolve in the hands of his beloved Beethoven, who, in the two Sonatas of Op. 27, blurred the lines with regard to his scores, constructing complex, sometimes cyclical structures in which all traditional patterns disintegrate, creating a genre that is increasingly difficult to appreciate; on the other hand, with the Sonata in A minor, D. 845, Schubert had already been designated by music critics as the possible successor to such experimentation. Luciano Berio, who dedicated memorable tributes to Schubert such as Rendering (1989/90), also experimented, in the last years of his life, with the form that so obsessed Schubert: Sonata (2001) is a wonderful piece that brings both his career and his piano repertoire to a close. To explain how to approach it, we would like to pass the word to Marco Uvietta, who was able to study it's structure closely, consulting with the composer himself: Berio speaks of the Sonata as a structure made up of different blocks, which are held together by elements that act as continuous transitions. In the words of the composer: just as when traveling by train, the landscapes change, but the pylons continue to pass before our eyes, and we always look out of the same window.
Shostakovich and Pupils, Vol. 2 - Weinberg, Sviridov, Bunin
Piano Classics
CD
$23.99
Feb 20, 2026
While the solo piano output of Dmitri Shostakovich is smaller than one might anticipate from a composer who was himself a gifted (albeit erratic) pianist, there is more to it than the monumental sequence of 24 preludes and fugues which he composed shortly after the Second World War for the pianist Tatiana Nikolaeva, and in emulation of The Well-Tempered Clavier by Bach. Indeed some of the composer's earliest surviving music is a set of Eight Preludes, Op.2, several of which were long presumed lost. Composed between 1919 and 1921, they demonstrate the teenage composer's grasp of pianistic idioms from Chopin to Scriabin as well as the melodic facility which, it would seem, was his native gift. Towards the other end of his career, another rarity: the contributions he made in 1957 for a portmanteau set of variations on a theme of Glinka commissioned from eight different composers. In complement to Shostakovich's Preludes, Fernanda Damiano presents a gentle Berceuse from the pen of the 16-year-old Mieczyslaw Weinberg. Conceived on a much more epic scale is the Second Piano Sonata which Weinberg wrote in 1942, the year before he first met Shostakovich and became in time one of his closest confidants. Dating from two years later, and thus still very much marked by conflict, is the sonata by Gyorgy Sviridov: a ferocious and too-rarely known work in one movement (but several sections) breathing the same combative air as the 'War' Sonatas by Prokofiev. By the side of these two sonatas, the Sonatina of Revol Bunin is relatively slight, but as the work of a fluent 15-year-old, it already shows signs of the talent which caught the ear of Shostakovich before long, when he took Bunin on as his only composition pupil at the time (between 1943 and 1945). Thus, although only Sviridov's Sonata was composed under the influence of the older composer, Damiano's recital presents a compelling sketch of mid-war and mid-century Soviet culture, through the prism of both the piano and of four gifted composers, each with their own distinctive voice. 'Fernanda Damiano plays. With intelligence, conviction and. #appreciation of the music's flavour.' (Fanfare review of Volume 1)
RACHMANINOV: PIANO TRIOS NOS.1 & 2
ONYX CLASSICS
CD
$27.51
Oct 28, 2022
Rachmaninov's ten chamber works, two left incomplete, all date from his twenties. The most widely performed and best known is the Cello Sonata. The two trios feature daunting piano parts - the composer was still finding his unique style and the influence of Tchaikovsky can be heard in No.1. The 2nd Trio is a massive work (as is Tchaikovsky's own Trio), composed just days after Rachmaninov learned of the death of his mentor. It is dedicated "To the memory of a great artist". The Cello Sonata is mature Rachmaninov, with hints of the 2nd Piano Concerto and 2nd Symphony.
OPERETTE - WIEN BERLIN PARIS
ERATO
CD
$17.49
Jul 05, 2024
A true living legend - inheritor of the great Soviet/Russian tradition, mentored by Sviatoslav Richter. A classic coupling echoing the legendary 1975 Richter album with Matacic. A musician who belongs among the most celebrated pianists of our time, who follows in the footsteps of the great Russian musicians of the Soviet era, such as David Oistrakh, Sviatoslav Richter, and Emil Gilels. She has won the prestigious Enescu, Marguerite Long, and Queen Elizabeth international piano competitions and been awarded prizes such OPUS KLASSIK Instrumentalist of the Year in 2020, the Caecilia Prize, and the Diapason d'Or. Her third Warner release (after critically acclaimed albums of the complete Schubert sonatas and Beethoven piano concerti) features Grieg's and Schumann's piano concerti. Her interpretation of Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No.2 in E Flat Major is a constant #1 in Warner Classics UK's top-streamed tracks - now at almost 70M streams worldwide.
Leonard Bernstein - A Total Embrace - The Composer
Sony Masterworks
CD
$21.98
Sep 09, 2003
Track listings include: "Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36 IV. Finale: Allegro con fuoco " "Stravinsky: Suite from "The Firebird" (1919 version) Finale Disc 2: "Mozart: Symphony No. 39 in E- flat Major, KV 543 "Copland: El salon Mexico" Disc 3: "Haydn: Missa in tempore belli in c major (Mass in Time of War) Hob. XXII: 9" "Sousa: Semper fidelis" "Barber: Adagio for Strings."
Grieg, Franck, Shor-Pletnev, & Shostakovich / Lozakovich, Pletnev
WARNER CLASSICS
CD
$17.28
Oct 18, 2024
Debut album for Daniel Lozakovich on Warner Classics, a recital with pianist Mikhail Pletnev.
Repertoire features Edvard Grieg: Solveig's song, César Franck: Sonata for violin and piano in A Major FWV 8, Dimitri Shostakovitch, Romance, from "The Gadfly", Alexey Shor/Mikhail Pletnev: Violin Sonata in B minor, Edvard Grieg: Violin sonata No. 3, Op. 45.
Enescu: Complete Works for Solo Piano / Solaun
Grand Piano
CD
$35.99
Sep 14, 2018
This set of George Enescu’s solo piano music traces a fascinating musical arc from his precocious years in Vienna and Paris, where he absorbed Brahmsian and French late-Romantic influences, notably in the Impromptus, to the brilliantly mercurial Piano Sonata No. 3. Whether in the Pieces impromptus, eloquent character pieces, or in the oceanic Piano Sonata No. 1, Enescu remains, in Pablo Casals’ words, “the greatest musical phenomenon since Mozart,” his unique musical language embracing Bach as well as the abiding vitality, and melancholy, of his native Romanian folk music. As a First Prize winner of the XIII George Enescu International Piano Competition in Bucharest, the XV José Iturbi International Piano Competition and the First European Union Piano Competition, Spanish pianist Josu De Solaun has been invited to perform in distinguished concert series throughout the world, having made notable appearances in Bucharest, Venice, Saint Petersburg, Washington, DC, New York, London, Paris, Leipzig, and all major cities of Spain. He is the only pianist from Spain to win the Enescu and Iturbi competitions in their respective histories, and was recently invited to a private reception with the King and Queen of Spain at the Royal Palace after winning the coveted Bucharest prize.
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Excerpts of reviews for the previously released volumes in thi set:
Enescu: Complete Works for Solo Piano, Vol. 1
His technique is excellent here. The concluding Sonata 1 is shot through with harmonic twists and driving rhythms, handled expertly.
– AMG
Enescu: Complete Works for Solo Piano, Vol. 2
De Solaun is a wonderful pianist, especially in the colorful worlds of the Second Piano Suite.
– AMG
Enescu: Complete Works for Solo Piano, Vol. 3
De Solaun never makes heavy weather of Enescu’s demanding writing, but lets expression lead at all times, no matter how intense the virtuosity.
– BBC Music Magazine
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Excerpts of reviews for the previously released volumes in thi set:
Enescu: Complete Works for Solo Piano, Vol. 1
His technique is excellent here. The concluding Sonata 1 is shot through with harmonic twists and driving rhythms, handled expertly.
– AMG
Enescu: Complete Works for Solo Piano, Vol. 2
De Solaun is a wonderful pianist, especially in the colorful worlds of the Second Piano Suite.
– AMG
Enescu: Complete Works for Solo Piano, Vol. 3
De Solaun never makes heavy weather of Enescu’s demanding writing, but lets expression lead at all times, no matter how intense the virtuosity.
– BBC Music Magazine
Salieri: Piano Concertos
Brilliant Classics
CD
$12.99
Mar 21, 2025
Until 20 years ago, the figure of Antonio Salieri seemed destined to remain under a cloud of widespread disrepute, in the shadow of his complex relationship with Mozart and unsubstantiated criminal allegations that have come down to us through a thread that runs from Aleksandr Pushkin's poetic drama Mozart and Salieri (1830), later set to music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1897), to Milos Forman's famous film Amadeus (1984). In reality, Salieri, in late 18th-century Vienna, enjoyed a stature that Wolfgang could only dream of: court composer, conductor of the Italian opera and, above all, maestro di cappella of the imperial court - in other words organiser and manager of the Hapsburgs' entire musical life. An esteemed teacher and founder of the Vienna Conservatory, he had among his pupils Beethoven, Hummel, Schubert, Liszt, Meyerbeer and Czerny, and in the course of a long compositional career he created more than 40 works for musical theatre, numerous sacred and vocal compositions, as well as a smaller number of symphonic and chamber works. The best-known section of Salieri's instrumental production consists of the six concertos for one or more soloists, among them the two for keyboard included here; these are works that the composer did not see fit to print, and the manuscripts are preserved in the Austrian National Library. The Concertos in C and B flat were written by the 23-year-old composer in 1773 for solo 'cembalo' and an orchestra consisting of two oboes, two horns, strings and basso continuo. As Danilo Prefumo, author of valuable writings on Salieri's instrumental works, warns, 'for Italian musicians, the term cembalo could at the time indifferently indicate harpsichord and fortepiano'. Listening to and analysing these two works reveals a balance pursued and achieved between a typically Viennese sense of measure and attention to structure, and bursts of whimsy, ornamentality and gallantry akin to the expressivity of the London (Johann Christian) Bach. The solo writing never makes truly virtuosic demands, although it does require agility and a crisp, pronounced timbre. The Sonata in C for harpsichord is the only composition of it's kind, as far as we know, in Salieri's legacy, and it is given here in it's first recording. It is unusually subdivided into six concise movements, all set in the same key and characterized by an elementary harmonic progression. The linearity of the language, the transparency of the melodic line and the ease of execution indicate a score that might have been a keyboard sketch of the embryo of a Serenata or Cassazione, two genres that are often attested in the composer's catalogue. Other information: - Recorded September 2024 in Sacile (Italy) - The Sonata in C appears in it's first-ever recording - Catena plays a Fazioli F278 piano - Booklet in English contains liner notes by Umberto Berti and profiles of the soloist, ensemble and conductor - Italian liner notes available at brilliantclassics. Com - Antonio Salieri (1750-1825) was an Italian composer and conductor, famous in his time for his operas and sacred music, but less known today for his instrumental works. His reputation has been clouded by rumors of rivalry with Mozart, which modern scholarship largely discredits. Salieri was a highly respected court composer in Vienna, and while he was primarily recognized for his vocal music, he also composed several instrumental pieces, including piano concertos. - Salieri's piano concertos, though not as numerous or as widely celebrated as those by contemporaries like Mozart, offer insight into the classical style of the late 18th century. His Piano Concerto in B-flat major, composed in the 1770s, is one of his few surviving works for keyboard and orchestra. It reflects the elegance and balance typical of the Classical era, with clear melodic lines and a restrained yet expressive use of harmony. - Unlike Mozart's more virtuosic concertos, Salieri's piano concertos focus on lyrical expression rather than technical display. His concertos often feature a dialogue between the soloist and orchestra, emphasizing melodic beauty over complexity. - Played by Italian pianist Costantino Catena with the Accademia D'Archi Arrigoni, conducted by Giulio Arnolfi. In Luca Ciammarughi's book on pianists Catena is credited with 'combining virtuoso chiselling with a cantabile of absolute sonorous beauty. "
Vladimir Horowitz At Carnegie Hall - The Private Collection - Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Balakirev
Sony Masterworks
CD
$11.98
Sep 01, 2009
VLADIMIR HOROWITZ AT CARNEGIE HALL—THE PRIVATE COLLECTION • Vladimir Horowitz (pn) • RCA 754604, mono (50:10) Live: New York 1945–1950
SCHUMANN Phantasie in C. BALAKIREV Oriental Fantasy, “ Islamey.” CHOPIN Barcarolle. LISZT (arr. Horowitz) Légendes: St. Francis de Paul Walks on Water
This latest treasure trove from the recorded legacy of Vladimir Horowitz, all previously unreleased recordings, is of performances recorded live in concert at Carnegie Hall between 1945 and 1950. (A similar collection of recorded performances, with different repertoire, was released by RCA in the mid 1990s.) The present discs were donated to the Yale Music Library by Horowitz and his wife, along with a wide variety of other valuable archival materials such as concert programs, scores, correspondence, and the like. The interesting background to this CD is that Horowitz hired a private company to record his Carnegie Hall concerts during those five years, apparently for his own use, and would listen to them on occasion. Eventually, they were forgotten, and given to Yale by Horowitz as part of the archive. The restoration of most of the originals has been remarkably successful.
The music world is a great deal richer for having access now to this collection. While some of the works on this disc were favorites of Horowitz, and performed and recorded on other occasions, there are two indisputably important and unique additions here: arrangements by Horowitz of Liszt’s “St. Francis de Paul Walks on Water” from Légendes , and Balakirev’s fabled “Islamey.” Although he performed them in concert, they were never recorded for commercial release. (Actually Horowitz performed “Islamey” during only one concert season, 1950, and the present performance dates from that time.) As most pianists are well aware, “Islamey” is considered one of the most technically demanding works in the keyboard repertoire—in other words, a perfect vehicle for Horowitz. Both the Liszt and Balakirev are absolutely stunning; the sheer technique involved—the tricky fast repeated notes, the cascades of runs and other fast passages, the accuracy of leaps, the control of dynamics—reveal Horowitz at the very peak of his career, demonstrating his absolute supremacy over the keyboard. The same must be said for his beautiful performance of Chopin’s Barcarolle, in which the pianist’s legendary singing right hand and judicious use of rubato create a haunting landscape.
The Schumann Phantasie was one of Horowitz’s favorite works; it was on the program at his 1965 Carnegie Hall “comeback” concert following a 12-year absence from the concert stage, and was issued by Columbia shortly after. The Phantasie heard here was recorded in April 1946, unfortunately accompanied by a good bit of noise from the original lacquer surfaces. Horowitz’s treatment of the first movement is truly like a fantasy, sounding dreamlike and spontaneous. It is a beautiful performance, even though in the treacherous coda of the second movement Horowitz seems to succumb to an attack of nerves, begins to rush, and actually loses it briefly before the final measures, with a memory slip and some wrong notes. But magically, the worst over, he plays the last movement with transfixing tenderness and beauty of sound.
This CD may constitute the final hidden treasures from Horowitz’s recorded legacy; but even if some new treasures are discovered, this one is a must for serious collectors.
FANFARE: Susan Kagan
This is prime Horowitz on staggering, fearless form..."
The second of three releases culled from Vladimir Horowitz's mid-1940s/early-1950s Carnegie Hall recitals offers alternative views of two works long familiar from his commercial discography, along with two showpieces otherwise unavailable in the Horowitz canon. The Schumann Fantasy is a classic example of Horowitz's genius for transforming the composer's busy, often thick textures into lean, translucent, and provocatively contoured sonorities. However, an unsettled quality emerges from the pianist's small yet persistent speed-ups and slow-downs within phrases that he would shape more simply in his 1965 comeback recital. Listeners following the score also will notice booming added octaves, plus a deletion of 19 measures from the second movement that's clearly intentional--not a memory lapse. Horowitz's similarly affetuoso approach to the Chopin Barcarolle flows better here than in his 1957 studio recording, notwithstanding the overly aggressive and tight-fisted coda.
Listeners familiar with Liszt's St. François de Paule marchant sur les flots will notice quite a few textual emendations that ultimately draw more attention to the pianist than the composer. That said, this is prime Horowitz on staggering, fearless form, as he also is throughout Balakirev's Islamey. Simon Barere may be unmatched for sheer speed, yet Horowitz's virtuosity is more expressive in its focused articulation, motoric momentum, and shrewd pedaling. He also omits a few bars here and there. Although words cannot adequately mirror the Horowitz experience, David Dubal's vibrant, refreshingly frank booklet notes come pretty darn close.
--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com
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Also Available: Volume 1 - Vladimir Horowitz At Carnegie Hall - The Private Collection - Music of Mussorgsky & Liszt.
This second release from the Yale archive recordings captures Vladimir Horowitz in his golden prime, playing his signature repertoire in concert at Carnegie Hall, where he celebrated the milestones in his career. Horowitz employed an engineer to make 78-rpm recordings of his Carnegie Hall concerts in this period, and he used them to review and judge his performances. Most of these mono recordings were originally contained on 12 and 16-inch acetate discs. They have been impeccably mastered, with the sound restored, from new transfers made in the Yale archives. Significant press accompanied the original announcement of the donation of these recordings to Yale, where Horowitz performed often through the years and was assistant fellow of Silliman College.
The second Private Collection release includes four works that take the listener deep into the heart of the Romantic age – Schumann’s Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17; Chopin’s lilting Barcarolle, Op. 60; Liszt’s evocative musical meditation Legende No. 2 – St. Francis de Paule Walking on the Waves; and one of the most demanding pieces ever written for solo piano, Russian composer Mily Balakirev’s breathtaking steeplechase Islamey.
- Carnegie Hall Presents Series from Sony Masterworks
Lifelines
Wergo
CD
$20.99
Jan 30, 2026
Heinz Holliger, an exceptional oboist, pianist, and composer, did not compose anything for piano for almost 40 years after his 1961 work "Elis - Three Nocturnes". A whole series of musical tributes and birthday greetings composed since the beginning of the 21st century was then published in 2019 under the Schumannesque title "Albumblatter" (Album Leaves) and has now been recorded in it's entirety for the first time by Kirill Zvegintsov. These are typically Holligerian, highly intricate showpieces with many references, which are expertly explained in the album essay. These works are combined with early and late piano works by the Swiss composer and pianist Jurg Wyttenbach, who died in 2021 and had a close musical relationship with Holliger. In the last years of his life, this expert in New Music took on the daring task of completing Beethoven's sketches for an alternative third movement for his Piano Sonata Op. 109 - an undertaking that only such a skilled pianist and composer could attempt. In the last days of his life, Wyttenbach was able to listen to the premiere of this reconstruction by Zvegintsov. The Ukrainian pianist combines and contrasts this experiment with the original modern works in a very stimulating way.
Holloway: Violin Concerto & Solo Sonata
Resonus Classics
CD
$16.99
Jan 16, 2026
Violinist Alda Dizdari presents two major works by Robin Holloway in this focused and thoughtful recording. The Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, completed in 1990, is shaped around a sequence of 'Windows' inspired by poets Rainer Maria Rilke and John Ashbery. Dizdari and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Alexander Walker, bring clarity to it's layered form and shifting character. The Sonata for Solo Violin, Op. 47, written in 1981, is a four-movement work full of contrast-from a bold opening to a playful scherzo and a final movement that asks and answers in equal measure. Dizdari, who has performed the sonata for over a decade, brings a deep understanding to it's structure and expressive detail. This album offers a clear view into Holloway's musical language and the strong collaboration behind it's performance.
Adorations
Delos
CD
$20.99
Apr 03, 2026
Winner of the 14th Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2022 and an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2023, the Isidore String Quartet makes it's recording debut on Delos. Formed at The Juilliard School and coached with members of the Juilliard String Quartet past and present-the name Isidore comes from the legendary violinist Isidore Cohen, one of the Juilliard Quartet's early members-the quartet is rapidly making a name for itself on the international concert scene. The album Adorations is a celebration of chamber music at it's essence: a tapestry of joy, human connection, and the enduring resonance of lives intertwined. Each work on the album reflects a unique form of adoration, offering it's own expression of wonder, reverence, and the profound beauty of shared musical experience. Comprising Joseph Haydn's String Quartet in C major, Op. 20, and Felix Mendelssohn's String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 44, the recital also features Samuel Barber's celebrated Molto adagio and Florence Price's Adoration.
Romances / Pahud, Le Sage
WARNER CLASSICS
CD
$17.49
Sep 29, 2023
Flautist Emmanuel Pahud and pianist Eric Le Sage play arrangements of short pieces and songs by four German composers of the mid-19th century: Robert Schumann and his wife Clara (born Clara Wieck), and Felix Mendelssohn and his sister Fanny.
Major composers of the earlier Romantic period somewhat neglected the flute as a solo instrument, even though there were a number of virtuoso players and the flute was popular with amateurs. The fact is that the instrument presented technical difficulties in terms of consistency of timbre and intonation; these were not satisfactorily resolved until 1847, when Theobald Boehm, a German manufacturer of wind instruments, produced the revolutionary prototype of the modern flute. The album comprises: Robert Schumann's three Romances op 94 - originally written for oboe and transcribed for flute in the 1950s by Jean-Pierre Rampal - and his three Fantasiestücke op 73, originally conceived for clarinet; Clara Schumann's three Romances op 22, which she dedicated to the great violinist Joseph Joachim; arrangements of six lieder by Fanny Mendelssohn, and the sonata in F that Felix Mendelssohn composed as a violin work in 1838.
A Violin's Life, Vol. 3
Avie Records
CD
$19.99
Jun 02, 2023
Frank Almond’s life is intertwined with that of his violin, the “Lipin´ski” Strad, an exceptional instrument named for the famed 19th-century Polish violinist Karol Lipin´ski and first owned by legendary 18th-century Italian composer-violinist Giuseppe Tartini, represented on A Violin’s Life, Volume 3 by his Sonata Prima in D, Op. 2, a trio sonata in all but name. The masterful Piano Trio in E flat by 19th-century Swedish virtuosa Amanda Meier connects with the instrument that had passed on to her future father-in-law Engelbert Ro¨ntgen. Another great Nordic composer, Edvard Grieg, opens the album with his great Sonata No. 3 in C minor.
The legend of the Lipin´ski Strad went viral in 2014 when, following a concert, walking towards his car, Frank Almond was tasered by an assailant and the prized instrument was stolen. An FBI pursuit resulted in the recovery of the instrument within weeks. International media ensued on the BBC, NPR, and a feature in Vanity Fair. An award-winning documentary film “Plucked” premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival. Frank Almond’s critically acclaimed and chart-topping recordings of A Violin’s Life are now a trilogy. The “Lipin´ski” Strad lives on.
