Finnish harpsichordist Aapo Hakkinen plays Book I of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier on the Christian Vater harpsichord preserved in Nuremberg and on an equally historic clavichord. Two of the 24 pairs of Preludes and Fugues are even presented in an alternative instrumentation on the historic North German organ of Backemoor. Aapo Hakkinen, not least through his acclaimed AEOLUS recordings of Bach's harpsichord concertos. UPC: 4026798102142Label: AeolusRelease Date: 4.17.26Format: CD
At first glance, the choice of composers for this recording seems like an odd match: one cultivated a harsh,expressive musical language, while the other was a proponent of introspective soundscapes. One piece ends inan explosion, while the other offers us meditative contemplation.We also have an apparent clash of nationalities: Prokofiev was Russian, (b. Sontsivka, Ukraine) Silvestrov isUkrainian, and conductor Dmitry Matvienko is Belarusian. But through art and music, we can always meet indialogue and mutual understanding.What may first seem like madness has a clear logic. In Dmitry Matvienko's view, there are strong links betweenthe two composers. Quoting Valentin Silvestrov's belief that "only melody makes music eternal," Matvienkoexplains why he chose Quiet Music for this recording. Despite very different musical languages, both composerswere exceptional melodists who regarded melody as the foundation of all music, regardless of genre or 20thcenturyavant-garde trends.Matvienko also sees both works as shaped by their historical realities. Prokofiev's symphony reflects thedevastation of the post-war era and foreshadows future catastrophe, while Silvestrov's Quiet Music, written in2002, predates but resonates deeply with later conflicts. Prokofiev could not have imagined the tragedy thatwould unfold decades after his death, yet history reveals the cyclical nature of evil. His work on Eisenstein'sIvan the Terrible exposed a ruler's destructive paranoia - an allusion Stalin recognized. Today, Matvienko argues,history repeats itself in new forms. Against this, Silvestrov's Quiet Music offers consolation: a place of refugeopen to anyone, beyond nationality or religion, where sorrow can briefly be set aside.It was very important to Dmitry Matvienko to include this piece in this recording: "Silvestrov said in one of hisinterviews" - "I am so tired of the noise of this world ",- "I understand that and feel it very deeply. More andmore often I walk at night and listen to his music; not in headphones, but inside. And it gives me peace. I wantthis piece to be therapy and solace for our listeners as well." UPC: 0636943693629Label: Our RecordingsRelease Date: 6.5.26Format: CD
Pianist Aaron Pilsan had two dreams in life: to record both books of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier and Chopin's Études. These dreams have come true, as the Bach recordings have been released (Alpha 669 & 1034), and he now presents his recording of the Études Op. 10 and Op. 25, as well as the three posthumous Études-thus the complete set of Chopin's Études. According to Pilsan, 'Bach reveals the polyphonic nature of Chopin. By playing Bach, I have sharpened my awareness of the multiple inner voices in Chopin, especially the left hand as a harmonic and rhythmic foundation, transforming Chopin into something architecturally rich.' The Austrian pianist distinguishes between the two cycles: Op. 10 is 'direct, brilliant, and passionate, almost explosive', while Op. 25 is 'more refined and introspective'. He concludes: 'Chopin used them pedagogically, but they are also profound artistic works, combining technical development with a wide emotional range.' UPC: 3701624512708Label: AlphaRelease Date: 9.25.26Format: CD
Musicweb (UK): These lovingly restored aural documents reveal a performer at the top of his game. These are tremendously vibrant examples of Rosand's art. No lover of his art can pass by this classy set. UPC: 4713106280295Label: Rhine ClassicsRelease Date: 4.17.26Format: CD
Live recording of a concert from St. Georgen am Längsee Abbey in Carinthia on June 28, 2003: La Festa presents virtuoso Italian Baroque music with works by Monteverdi and Caccini, combined with traditional tarantellas. Passionate and extraordinarily lively, the Accordone ensemble, led by singer Marco Beasley and harpsichordist Guido Morini, conjures up the spirit of a 17th-century festival. A rousing recording full of improvisational flashes of genius! UPC: 4260307432935Label: Fra BernardoRelease Date: 7.17.26Format: CD
On 14 August 2026, Divine Art is delighted to present The Complete Piano Music of Anthony Hedges (1931-2019) Vol 1, the first of three albums from British pianist Adam Davies presenting the entirety of this prolific composer's concert music for piano. This first volume documents a thirty-year maturation showcasing the full breadth and diversity of Hedges' creative output, starting with the earliest of the published piano pieces, the Five Preludes of 1959, fresh with youthful energy and verve, and ending with the bright and evocative Five Aphorisms of 1990. Between these sit two weighty centrepieces marking important stylistic departures: Four Short Pieces, his gritty foray into serialism, and the bold intensity of the First Sonata. Interspersed with these are delightful miniatures written for budding pianists, reflecting the composer's pianistic skill and facility in writing for younger musicians. This music is colourful, rich in it's allusions, and expertly crafted. Many of these works are being recorded for the first time. Adam Davies first encountered the music of Anthony Hedges in his youth and saw the composer himself in performance, as he grew up in Beverley, East Yorkshire, also by then Hedges' home. He rediscovered the composer during COVID after finding his own long-neglected score of Ten Bagatelles Op.156, gifted from his boyhood singing teacher, and was reminded of the quality and accessibility of the writing. Such was his enjoyment of these pieces, and his surprise at the relative lack of recordings of Hedges' music, that he resolved to record the complete piano music. Anthony Hedges' daughter Fiona provided the scores and private recordings of many of these works by the composer himself: 'Listening to these works proved to be a liberating experience he played like a composer: perhaps not with note-perfect Polish, but with crystal-clear imagination, purpose, character, and expression permeating every note and phrase.I have tried to convey something of his essence in these recordings, which I hope will serve to bring wider attention to this richly deserving repertoire.' The album is financially supported by the Ida Carroll Trust.Composer, pianist, conductor, teacher and critic Anthony Hedges was born in the town of Bicester and educated at Oxford, where his broad musical activity included singing in the Oxford Bach Choir under the batons of such luminaries as Vaughan Williams and Constant Lambert. During his National Service (1955-57), he worked as pianist and arranger for the Royal Signals Band. He taught at the Royal Scottish Conservatoire in Glasgow and later at Hull University, where he became a Reader and earned his Honorary Doctorate, also during that time meeting poet Philip Larkin and setting his words to music. As well as a weekly column for the Glasgow Herald, he contributed reviews and interviews for the Guardian, the Scotsman, and other publications. His expansive output covers all genres, including popular and frequently broadcasted lighter works for brass band and orchestra.Pianist Adam Davies was born in Manchester and raised in Beverley, East Yorkshire, where he had the opportunity to hear Anthony Hedges at the piano several times. Davies was educated at the Royal Northern College of Music, where his teachers were John Gough and Dr. Murray McLachlan. Adam performs throughout the UK as a recital and concerto soloist and teaches at Chetham's School of Music, Manchester. In 2019, he commissioned and gave the world premiere of Tom Harrold's Crux, and he has performed as duo partner with Kathryn Stott. UPC: 809730113925Label: Divine ArtRelease Date: 8.14.26Format: CD
Chopin sans Chopin is Adam Golka's highly personal tribute to Frederic Chopin, featuring works inspired by Chopin instead of music by the master himself. The album includes a plethora of international composers of the 19th and 20th centuries, including choices inspired by Golka's Polish-American background and unique family history. The album includes a world premiere recording of the 1894 Mazurka in E minor by Natalia Janotha (1856-1932). This is Golka's fourth solo album on FHR. UPC: 5060216343068Label: First HandRelease Date: 5.15.26Format: CD
Tracklist:
September Nineteen Sixty Nine
Dazed and Reflective Glory, Pt. 1
Dazed and Reflective Glory, Pt. 2
Mourners Will Be Outcast
Exceptional Proportions
Give Into Gravity
White Gloves and Turtlenecks
Soft Favourites
In Ever Decreasing Circles
Where You Are Now Voyager
UPC: 028948687039Label: Deutsche GrammophonRelease Date: 9.18.26Format: CD
The soprano (and ukulele player) Agathe Peyrat and the accordionist (and singer) Pierre Cussac form a unique duo, free-spirited and open to blending genres. In this programme, they embrace a classical repertoire, while putting their own spin on it "by turning the pieces into songs, with night and day as the theme." We discover an astonishing version of Mozart's Queen of the Night, melodies and opera arias by Debussy, Bizet, Saint-Saens, Puccini, Delibes and Wagner, as well as songs by Maurice Yvain, Charles Trenet, Andre Minvielle and Brigitte Fontaine, all arranged by the two artists, who play with every nuance between black and white, darkness and light: 'On this recording, light represents the great joy we feel when we play together - a joy we love to share." UPC: 3701624512340Label: AlphaRelease Date: 9.11.26Format: CD
Portraits for Guitar brings together bold contemporary voices and rich cultural traditions from the Afro-Cuban, Caribbean and European sound worlds. Performed by Ahmed Dickinson Cardenas and Helen Sanderson, this unique album weaves together rhythm, vivid colour, contrast and a deep sense of travel and place into an irresistibly compelling and engaging narrative. UPC: 726436300230Label: Convivium RecordsRelease Date: 9.4.26Format: CD
SOMM Recordings adds to it's already extensive catalogue of music by the British composer and BBC Radio 3 broadcaster Stephen Dodgson (1924 - 2013) with a third volume of his songs titled Turn Ye to Me. SOMM's previous Dodgson song releases include The Peasant Poet [SOMMCD 0659], hailed by Opera Today as "an incredibly interesting and engaging disc... done excellent service by all the performers;" and The Distances Between [SOMMCD 0673], about which the British Music Society said "the performances (by some prestigious names) and the warm, lifelike recording are impeccable." The performers on this third volume of Dodgson songs include prior SOMM artists also featured in Volumes I and II: Irish soprano Ailish Tynan and British mezzo-soprano Katie Bray, both past winners of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition; doctor-turned-tenor James Gilchrist, who is noted for his forthright and passionate style; Roderick Williams, one of the most sought-after baritones of his generation; guitarist and Dodgson specialist, Mark Eden; and GRAMMYr Award-winning pianist, Christopher Glynn. The recital opens with a first release of Three Songs to words of Thomas Lovell Beddoes, who died by suicide in 1849 aged 45. Tandaradei is his translation of the 13th-century German love poem, Under der linden, by Walther von der Vogelweide. Dirge and The Old Crow of Cairo are from Beddoes's posthumously published drama Death's Jest Book. Three single songs include settings of Andrew Marvell's pastoral poem The Mower to the Glow-Worms; George Meredith's sonnet Winter Heavens; and Matthew Prior's poem Daphne to Apollo inspired by Greek myth and set to guitar accompaniment. Two short solo piano pieces are from a set of Eight Fanciful Pieces-included in full on SOMM's 2024 release of piano music by Dodgson [SOMMCD 0684.] The marcato (marked) tempo of Il Zoppo suggests an irregular gait, while the contemplative Mirage hints at an Impressionistic style. Dodgson composed three sets of Bush Ballads based on texts by Australian poets and Australian folk verses. This release of the third series is a first recording. All Got a Mate sets an anonymous text as a folk duet. Rollicking, but steady is the tempo marking for Song of the Squatters to words by A.B. "Banjo" Paterson. The group closes with a quieter setting of Waitin'-a-While by Jim Grahame. Two single songs from 1950 include The Stone, marked Moderato: Calmo, to words adapted from Hal Summers, and the title song, Turn Ye to Me, which is a gently haunting Hebridean air with lyrics by Christopher North. The recital closes with London Lyrics, a cycle of five songs for tenor and guitar set to poetry by five different poets across four centuries-including Wilfred Owen and Cecil Day-Lewis-all inspired by Dodgson's home city. The composer draws expressive and captivating range from voice and guitar, exquisitely executed here by James Gilchrist and Mark Eden. UPC: 748871072022Label: Somm RecordingsRelease Date: 4.17.26Format: CD
An album entirely devoted to the trombone - that's rather unusual! de proche en proche, Belgian composer Michel Fourgon's second monographic disc on Cypres, features the instrument in a variety of configurations, in stages spanning some twenty years: from solo pieces (with Alain Pire as soloist) to concertos with symphony orchestra and choir (OPRL and Choeur de Chambre de Namur), via several chamber music repertoire arrangements and a surprising and delightful exchange between baroque (Les Agremens) and modern (ORCW) chamber orchestras tuned a quarter tone apart. Accompanied by Alain Pire, his long-time collaborator, Michel Fourgon explores all the resources of the instrument in a joyful kaleidoscope with an aesthetic rigour that never distances him from what he considers to be "his" voice at the heart of the music of his time. UPC: 5412217046712Label: CypresRelease Date: 4.24.26Format: CD
This album brings together works by composers closely associated with France and Paris, complemented by a reconstructed version of Mozart's unfinished sonata. The programme spans original compositions for two pianos, alternative arrangements created by the composers themselves, and a bold reimagining of Piazzolla's iconic Libertango by Aleami Piano Duo. In this innovative arrangement, the artists employ extended piano techniques, live looping, and improvisation, expanding the expressive possibilities of the two-piano medium.At the heart of the album lies the idea of encounter: the meeting of two pianos and two pianists, but also of cultures and musical traditions that inspired generations of composers-from the spiritual songs of enslaved African Americans to the passionate rhythms of Argentine tango.Despite their stylistic diversity, all the works are united by the distinctive sonority of two pianos, an ensemble capable of both orchestral grandeur and extraordinary intimacy. The rich palette of colours, vast dynamic range, and interplay between the instruments create a compelling musical dialogue throughout the recording.Aleami Piano Duo is among the most versatile young Polish piano ensembles of it's generation, performing repertoire that ranges from the classical canon to contemporary music and works influenced by jazz. This eclectic programme showcases the duo's interpretative freedom, virtuosity, and remarkable artistic synergy, offering a fresh and captivating perspective on the art of piano duo performance. UPC: 5902547022314Label: Dux Recording Prod.Release Date: 9.4.26Format: CD
Alena Baeva and Vadym Kholodenko are starting their recording of Beethoven's complete sonatas for violin and piano. Alena is recognised as a versatile violinist with a magnetic presence and now performs with the greatest orchestras and conductors, while Vadym has been one of the most impressive pianists of his generation since winning the gold medal at the 2013 Van Cliburn Competition. For more than ten years, they have formed a close-knit and highly sought-after duo (both on and off stage). The three sonatas featured on this recording (Op. 12 No. 3, Op. 24 "Spring," and Op. 47 "Kreutzer") were composed between 1797 and 1803, a period that brought Beethoven both his first recognition on the European stage and the first signs of his deafness. Baeva and Kholodenko used the 2020 edition by Bärenreiter and carried out in-depth research into their interpretative choices: phrasing, ornamentation, and tempi are the result of this research and of sources from the period. UPC: 3701624512081Label: AlphaRelease Date: 4.10.26Format: CD
The only violin concerto written by Richard Strauss, at just 18 years old, is a beautiful, energetic, brilliantly structured work with so many clues and features of his later style., says Alena Baeva. With her long-standing collaborator Paavo Jarvi and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, she has found the ideal partners to record this relatively rarely performed concerto, as well as another early masterpiece, Bartok's First Violin Concerto, which is essentially a love letter to the violinist Stefi Geyer, nine years his junior. The 'Stefi theme' (D - F? - A - C?) forms the basis of the first movement but she never played it, as she broke up with him a few days before he finished his concerto... Bartok's First Rhapsody for Violin and Orchestra rounds completes this programme. Just a few days after it's premiere, the composer travelled to Bremen for his next concert in the Glockensaal, where, 94 years later, this recording was made. UPC: 3701624511855Label: AlphaRelease Date: 10.9.26Format: CD
Principally surveying the Preludes and Images, the first two volumes of Alessandra Ammara's Debussy survey have attracted praise for their affinity with the composer's elusive but painterly idiom. According to Fanfare, 'Ammara reveals her sensitivity to the Debussy sound world, rife with blurred outlines of objects and infiltrated with variegated light, in the manner of the painter J.M.W. Turner.'For Volume 3, her focus turns principally to the set of 12 Etudes which miraculously took shape over the course of just two months, in August and September 1915. Plagued by ill-health following the diagnosis of rectal cancer in 1909, presented with the pressing need to increase his earnings through editing and performing, Debussy wrote the Etudes while staying in a town near Dieppe, on the Normandy coast. Emerging from a period of severe depression, he once more took inspiration from the sea in a sudden and final burst of creativity which also saw the composition of the suite for two pianos, en blanc et noir, and the Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp. However, it is the 12 Etudes which have come both to define Debussy's late style - on the piano, as a counterpart to his ballet for Diaghilev, Jeux - and to present both a model and a challenge to later composers of piano etudes from Tansman to Ligeti. Debussy himself said that they were "a warning to pianists not to take up the musical profession unless they have remarkable hands". While the dry titles of the individual Etudes serve to conceal their rich and turbulent inner landscape, aspects of their invention are prefigured by the earlier works on Alessandra Ammara's album. The three movements of Estampes are as much 'studies' in their way as the Etudes - of particular kinds of movement refracted through the images of a Japanese pagoda, a Spanish evening and a garden in the rain. From 1904, and capturing the passion of his affair with Emma Bardac, L'isle Joyeuse references both the island of Jersey and a painting by Watteau, but it also serves as a study in superimposed scales. UPC: 5063758103619Label: Piano ClassicsRelease Date: 4.17.26Format: CD
Icaro is a compelling recital for cello and piano that brings together four luminous works rooted in early-20th-century Spanish musical nationalism, enriched by Catalan folk colour and French Impressionist refinement. Cellist Alex Olmedo Duynslaeger and pianist Fiona Mato present a carefully curated programme that combines rediscovery with repertoire favourites, offering strong appeal to both specialists and a broader classical audience.The album opens with JoaquÃn Nin de Castellanos's Spanish Suite for cello and piano, a vivid journey through regional dances and melodies shaped by the Franco-Spanish aesthetic of Paris between the wars. A major highlight is the world-premiere recording of the Sonata in A major by LluÃs Benejam, rescued from the archives of the Barcelona Conservatory: an elegant, finely crafted work that blends Impressionist sonorities, rhythmic vitality, and lyrical depth. Manuel Oltra's mature Sonata for Cello and Piano follows, notable for it's dynamic dialogue, structural clarity, and expressive intensity, before the programme closes with Gaspar Cassadó's celebrated Requiebros, dedicated to Pau Casals and performed here with remarkable freedom and character.Icaro is both an artistic statement and a discovery album: ideal for distributors seeking high-quality repertoire with premiere value, strong interpretative personalities, and a narrative that connects myth, heritage, and modern performance in a highly attractive commercial package. UPC: 8436597701068Label: Ibs ClassicalRelease Date: 5.8.26Format: CD
The song cycle A Screenshot of Now is a new work by guitarist and composer Giacomo Susani on words by the poet, lyricist, author and physician Chinwe D. John. Receiving it's premiere recording on this album, the collection is a series of 14 poems in which Susani's music - for voice and guitar - aims to act as a conduit of the lyrics' deepest symbolic meanings, in such a way that sounds and words become indivisible. Each poem reflects on various aspects of modern life: the corrupting nature of global politics, family dysfunction, freedom, the beauty and seduction of nature, romance amid chaos, escape from tyranny and satire of modern 'pirates'. The cycle concludes with a reminder that simple pleasures still hold meaning despite technological change. Three leading voices share the spotlight: Alexander Chance, Tim Mead and Daniel Norman, with Giacomo Susani accompanying on the guitar. UPC: 691062078221Label: Linn RecordsRelease Date: 4.10.26Format: CD
In early summer 1929, after returning home from Germany, the Austrian Composer Ernst Krenek embarked on a twenty-day journey through the Austrian Alps, accompanied by his parents and his second wife, Berta. They covered the longer distances between the 14 stops by bus and train, from which they undertook their hikes and excursions. Their route took them from Vienna to Upper Styria, the Salzkammergut region, Carinthia, and East Tyrol, then back to Vienna via Lower Austria. On this journey, Krenek is not just a composer traveling, but rather a poet, stage designer, and philosopher tracing the spirit of the times in his homeland. Just a few days after returning to Vienna, he set to work and, while the impressions of the trip were still fresh, created the music and text for the song cycle almost simultaneously. The Austrian tenor Alexander Kaimbacher and Anna Sushon on piano present the resulting entertaining, often humorous "Reisebuch aus den osterreichischen Alpen" (Travel Book from the Austrian Alps). UPC: 9003643993563Label: GramolaRelease Date: 4.17.26Format: CD
Transcribing an established piece of repertoire for a new instrument unlocks new colors and expressions the original composer may have never dreamed of. On ART OF TRANSCRIPTION, flutist Alexander Lipay explores Brahms' Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Schubert's Sonatina No. 2 in A minor, and Franck's Sonata in A major with a fresh perspective, swapping the string instruments out for the liquid, ethereal sound of the flute. Accompanied by pianist Fanya Lin, Lipay unearths exciting qualities within each piece and breathes new life into well-known notes. UPC: 808857378682Label: NavonaRelease Date: 5.1.26Format: CD
Composer Maria Lithell Flyg will release a new album on September 25, 2026.This album brings together two works on environmental, climate change and biodiversitythemes, and a third piece about a loving percussion duo. Now that climate change is more andmore noticeable, it is urgent to bring attention to what we are in the process of losing.Ecce arbor! (Behold the tree!) is written for the soprano Alexandra Buchel and the musicians Ivo Nilsson, Helene Sikdal, Johannes Thorell, and Tora Thorslund. Right now, in Sweden, woodlands are rapidly beingdeforested and replaced by timber farms. Alongside climate change, the forest industry poses the biggest threatto biodiversity in this country. In order to shine a light on this matter, Lithell Flyg has used music to illustratewhat is going on. UPC: 7330658516954Label: Daphne RecordsRelease Date: 10.2.26Format: CD
Between pastoral lyricism and modernist edge lies another, richly compelling story of twentieth-century British music. This programme brings together four distinctive voices - Ruth Gipps, Doreen Carwithen, William Alwyn and Elizabeth Maconchy - whose works chart an alternative path through an era often defined by aesthetic conflict. Featuring soloists Alex Mitchell, Alexandra Dariescu and Rachael Clegg, with Manchester Camerata under the inspired direction of John Andrews, these performances illuminate music of remarkable individuality and emotional range. From Gipps' Jane Grey and Carwithen's long-neglected Piano Concerto to Alwyn's Autumn Legend and the searching power of Maconchy's Life Story, this album reveals a British musical landscape far richer, more adventurous and more rewarding than received histories have long suggested. UPC: 5060262794326Label: Resonus ClassicsRelease Date: 10.16.26Format: CD
The fourth instalment in The Mozartists' projected seven-volume series, conducted by Ian Page, pairs two turbulent minor-key symphonies by Kraus and Haydn with operatic scenes featuring soprano Alexandra Lowe. Kraus's rarely heard Symphony in C minor, which Haydn predicted would be regarded as a masterpiece for centuries, sits alongside Haydn's own celebrated Farewell Symphony. Lowe brings both fire and pathos to arias from Antigona by Traetta and La finta giardiniera by Mozart, and to the climactic scene from Benda's melodrama Medea, a work Mozart so admired that he briefly hailed it as the future of opera. UPC: 635212101223Label: Signum ClassicsRelease Date: 9.18.26Format: CD
For her debut solo album of music by J. S. Bach's contemporary Gottlieb Muffat, Gramophone praised pianist and harpsichordist Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya as "an ideal advocate for the music". Now, for her second solo recording for Linn, she turns to Johann Sebastian Bach in Transformations, revealing him as the supreme reinventor who continually refashioned existing material into striking new creations. The recital includes Bach's brilliant reworkings of concertos by Vivaldi and Marcello, expanded with a colour and vitality well beyond the originals. The other works on the programme are extraordinary arrangements of Bach's own music (Adagio in G major and Sonata in D minor), pieces initially written for a different instrument (Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E-flat major) and a concerto without orchestra (the Italian Concerto). UPC: 691062078924Label: Linn RecordsRelease Date: 4.10.26Format: CD
"Black Mountains" features original compositions by Alexej Gerassimez and Gordon Hamilton, who also conducts this recording with the NDR Radiophilharonie. The program explores the dynamic interplay between orchestral sound and percussion with a highlight being the work "Leviathan" by John Psathas - a powerful composition for percussion and orchestra, written specifically for Alexej Gerassimez. UPC: 885470044767Label: Berlin ClassicsRelease Date: 4.17.26Format: CD
For almost 3 decades, brothers Alfons and Aloys Kontarsky were the world's leading piano duo. They set the standard for all subsequent pairs of siblings to play the piano. Even today, their musical and analytical acuity and intellectual insight remain unrivalled. What is particularly fascinating about their playing is the lucid, transparent sound. An American critic summed it up succinctly, "One pianist in two bodies." Between 1959 and 1983, they recorded numerous albums for Deutsche Grammophon. These recordings are now available for the first time as an 18 CD Original Jackets Collection, which includes three CD premieres. Saint-Saens' 'Carnival of the Animals' is featured in 3 versions: English, German and a purely musical rendition. Additional Philips, ECM & Koch Schwann recordings are also available, as are live recordings from the Lockenhaus festival. The portrait is completed by liner notes from Peter Uehling & Markus Kettner, as well as numerous rare and unpublished photos. UPC: 028948682355Label: Deutsche GrammophonRelease Date: 5.15.26Format: CD
Reference recordings of the complete piano concertos and piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven, performed by one of the greatest Beethoven interpreters of all time. Few pianists have shaped the reception of Beethoven's music at the turn of the 20th to the 21st century as profoundly as the Austrian artist with Moravian roots. Presented on 12 CDs, this set features Brendel's pioneering Philips recordings of all Beethoven piano sonatas from the 1970s, complemented by his acclaimed interpretations of Beethoven's piano concertos with James Levine conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1983. The set also includes the Choral Fantasy, recorded by Brendel in 1977 with Bernard Haitink and the London Symphony Orchestra. UPC: 028948040032Label: DeccaRelease Date: 4.24.26Format: CD
The special edition collects Alfred Brendel's recordings of Mozart's Piano Concertos Nos. 5-27 with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields on 10 CDs. The recordings span 1971 to 1984. It is clear from his performances that he deeply appreciates the composer and the works, devoting his full artistic attention to each concerto. Marriner and the ASMF are the perfect accompanists, the renowned chamber orchestra captivating with it's clear and refined sound. It is therefore a pure joy for the listener to experience the outstanding interplay between pianist and conductor in each concerto. "Brendel's articulation and his use of the pedal deserve the highest praise. His playing has depth, confidence, and absolute precision." - GRAMOPHONE UPC: 028948025992Label: DeccaRelease Date: 4.24.26Format: CD
In the second instalment of Alfredo Perl's complete recording of Beethoven's piano works, the sonatas, variations, bagatelles and individual pieces composed during the so-called "classical" period (1801-1814) take centre stage. Their expressive power and innovative virtuosity constitute a landmark in the history of piano music. UPC: 4022143214621Label: AuditeRelease Date: 5.15.26Format: CD
Four sonatas from the middle period of this exceptional yet undeservedly overlooked composer reveal a distinctive musical voice, where echoes of Rachmaninoff's and Grieg's mature Romanticism intertwine with the shimmering colours of Impressionism and the refined sensibility of the English tradition. Though these works make undeniable virtuoso demands, it is their melodic and harmonic imagination that commands the foreground: long-breathed phrases, subtle expressive nuance, and richly intriguing sonorities. The recording brings together distinguished instrumentalists associated with the Academy of Music in Krakow, whose interpretations are marked by brilliance, passion, and a palpable sense of discovery as they illuminate the beauty, individuality, and enduring artistic value of Bowen's music. UPC: 5902547022420Label: Dux Recording Prod.Release Date: 7.3.26Format: CD
Alim Beisembayev is featured in this 14th volume of the Next Generation Mozart Soloists series. Under the baton of Howard Griffiths, the Kazakhstani pianist, who studied in Russia and at the Royal Academy of Music in London, presents two of Mozart's last piano concertos. Two years separate Concerto KV 503 and Concerto KV 537, composed in February 1788. It is nicknamed the 'Coronation Concerto' because the composer played it in Frankfurt for the coronation of Emperor Leopold II: "Both works are primarily majestic, but they also exhibit moments of playfulness, tenderness and sometimes nostalgia. There are also frequent passages that are operatic in character", says Alim Beisembayev. "For a long time I thought his music was only played by children. Perhaps we understand Mozart best as children, before we feel a hunger for 'interpretation'. I feel that Mozart's music should sound pure and innocent." UPC: 3701624511848Label: AlphaRelease Date: 5.22.26Format: CD
