Jennifer Pike writes: ‘This recording project of Polish music is one that is particularly close to my heart. The idea for the series arose from an awareness of the sound world associated with Polish music, of the country’s long-held fascination with the violin, and of my own Polish heritage on my mother’s side.' ...
Composer: Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937), Poldowski (alias Regine Wieniawska) (1879-1932), Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Chamber Music
"Houses", which will be released by Masterworks/Sony Music on 1 October, is Norwegian singer Silje Nergaard’s latest album, a release as personal as it is varied and richly resonant. Among her guests are Kurt Elling, Vince Mendoza, Bugge Wesseltoft, Toninho Horta and Adam Baldych. For more than twenty-five years Silje Nergaard has not just been a star in her native Norway, ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Vocal
Roger Taylor has had plenty of free time recently to reflect on his long, rich, extraordinary journey through life and music. With Queen + Adam Lambert's blockbuster Rhapsody European tour postponed until 2022 by the Covid-19 pandemic, Roger has made good use of his lengthy lay-off. Fired up with creative inspiration, ...
Genre: Rock
Subgenre: Modern Rock
Schubert: Rosamunde & Der Tod und das Mädchen
At the gates of night and deliverance: By turns symphonic in dimensions and intimately lyrical, grippingly dark and gently enveloping, these two monuments of chamber music reveal the two faces of Schubert. At the end of 1822, Schubert learnt that he had contracted a venereal disease. ...
Composer: Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Chamber Music
Beethoven: Violin Sonatas, Op. 30 Nos. 1-3
The award-winning duo ensemble formed by Christian Tetzlaff and Lars Vogt are returning to the masterworks of European chamber music with this new album that includes Ludwig van Beethoven’s (1770–1827) three violin sonatas from Op. 30. The expressive and intimate chamber music recordings ...
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Chamber Music
The long-awaited album "Pulse" by Thomas Lemmer & Andreas Bach is finally here. After their successful debut album "Night Travellers" from 2019, the two artists have now followed up and kept their promise for a worthy successor. ...
Genre: Electronic
Subgenre: Downtempo
Johann Sebastian Bach left us three sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord. He made various transcriptions of the gamba sonata in G major, one of which was of the last movement as a trio sonata for organ. Several movements of the six organ trio sonatas themselves are also reworkings of previously ...
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Chamber Music
With their latest recording, Frieder Bernius and the Kammerchor Stuttgart reach a new pinnacle in the art of interpretation: The Cinq Rechants for 12 mixed voices by Olivier Messiaen, with their rhythmically striking onomatopoeias, pose an enormous challenge for the performers. ...
Composer: Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992), Claude Debussy (1862-1918), Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), Gustav Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Choral
Venezia 1631 - La Festa della Salute
In the early summer of 1630, Venice was struck by the plague in a devastating way: It raged for 18 months and killed almost 50,000 people, more than a third of the population at the time! Doge Nicolò Cantarini vowed to build a large church for the deliverance from the plague, and even though he was unable to experience it himself, ...
Composer: Bartolomeo Barbarino (1568-1617), Giuseppe Scarini (1600-1674), Tarquinio Merula (1595-1665), Giovanni Battista Fontana (1589-1630), Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), Giovanni Battista Riccio (1570-1630), Antonio Bertali (1605-1669), Dario Castello (1602-1631), Bartolomeo de Selma y Selaverde (1595-1638), Pier Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676), Giovanni Rovetta (1596-1668), Alessandro Grandi (1586-1630), Giovanni Paolo Cima (1575-1630), Bartolomeo Barbarino (1568-1617)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Chamber Music
One of Germany’s most prominent pianists, Alexander Krichel from Hamburg, has brought together a couple of heavyweights for his first album with Berlin Classics. He combines the “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Modest Mussorgsky, a central work of the piano literature, with a rarely heard gem by the Romanian ...
Composer: George Enescu (1881-1955), Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881), Alexander Borodin (1833-1887)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Instrumental
The Sixteen contrasts traditional with contemporary in this choral feast of festive music. Bob Chilcott's sumptuous Advent Antiphons based on plainsong melodies anticipate the coming of Christmas and feature alongside Mykola Leontovich's much-loved Carol of the Bells, Richard Rodney Bennett’s stunning Susanni and Eric Whitacre’s shimmering Lux aurumque. ...
Composer: Gustav Holst (1874-1934), Jonathan Dove (1959), Eric Whitacre (1970), Alan Bullard (1947), Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (1936-2012), Kim Porter (1965), Cecilia McDowall (1951), Mykola Leontovich (1877-1921), Matthew Martin (1976)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Choral
The Specials who enjoyed a triumphant 2019 with the release of the critically acclaimed “Encore”, their first ever number 1 album, coming 40 years after they exploded onto the music scene and launched the 2 Tone movement, make a very timely return with the release of their brand new album “Protest Songs ...
Genre: Rock
Subgenre: Adult Alternative
It was when Delphine Constantin-Reznik took up the post as harpist in the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra that she first came across the name Anton Pratté, well-known in his lifetime as a harpist and composer. Her research into the music and activities of this forgotten master has now resulted in the very first recording ...
Composer: Anton Edvard Pratté (1796-1875)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Concertos
Schubert: Octet in F Major, Op. Posth. 166, D. 803
Formed in 2020, Wigmore Soloists is a chamber ensemble made up of a roster of outstanding musicians, led by Isabelle van Keulen and Michael Collins. An associate ensemble of the iconic London concert venue Wigmore Hall, it is the first one to be given the honour of using the name. ...
Composer: Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Chamber Music
Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto, Bacchanale & Symphony No. 1
The year 2021 marks the centenary of the death of Camille Saint-Saëns, the French pianist, organist, critic and great Romantic composer. The cellist Astrig Siranossian, whose tribute album to Nadia Boulanger (Dear Mademoiselle, ALPHA635) recently attracted considerable attention, plays the first ...
Composer: Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Concertos
The velvety voice of one of Canada's most versatile vocalists, Steve Maddock shows a new side belting out the blues on 10 blues-drenched tunes! The project began in 2018, when Cory Weeds pitched an idea to Steve for a Joe Williams tribute show at Frankie's Jazz Club in Vancouver. Williams is arguably one of the greatest jazz & blues ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Jazz Blues
Four-time GRAMMY Award winners and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, The Doobie Brothers, have announced the release of their 15th full-length album, titled LIBERTÉ. Produced and co-written by John Shanks (Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, Miley Cyrus), the body of work contains twelve brand new tracks by Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons and John McFee. ...
Genre: Rock
Subgenre: Modern Rock
Messiaen: Orchestral Works (Live)
Few performers are more familiar with the musical language of the French composer Olivier Messiaen than the American conductor Kent Nagano. Nagano has had Messiaen's orchestral works and oratorios in his program for several decades now, and he also participated in the world premiere of “Saint François d'Assise”, ...
Composer: Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
After appearing on more than 400 albums as a sideman and session player, multifaceted guitarist and instrument collector Geir Sundstøl gave us a trilogy of his, long awaited, own compositions. Now he is back, with a follow-up to Norwegian Grammy-/Spellemannpris- winning album Brødløs. ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Crossover Jazz
18th century music inspired and informed by period mechanical musical instruments. This recording is the culmination of 10 years of research by Dr Emily Baines, and it brings to dazzling life the fascinating and effervescent performance style found in eighteenth-century mechanical musical instruments. ...
Composer: George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), Jacques-Martin Hotteterre (1674-1763), Samuel Arnold (1740-1802), Thomas Arne (1710-1778), Francesco Barsanti (1690–1776), Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762), John Baston (1708-1739)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Chamber Music
