This album brings together violinist Rachel Barton Pine, pianist Orion Weiss, and the Pacifica Quartet for transformational works by Ernest Chausson and Germaine Tailleferre. The album represents the culmination of a decades-long dream for Pine, who returns for her 25th Cedille album. From age 10 to 17, Pine studied violin with Anita and Roland Vamos, growing up alongside their son, cellist Brandon Vamos, and future daughter-in-law, violinist Simin Ganatra, who became founding members of the Pacifica Quartet. As a violinist who adores playing chamber music but isn’t a member of a string quartet, Pine holds special fondness for the Chausson Concerto for Violin, Piano, and String Quartet and had long hoped to play it with the Pacifica.

Dance of the Night Sky, Black Oak Ensemble’s third album for Cedille, expands the boundaries of string trio repertoire by offering listeners a vibrant collection of contemporary works including four world-premiere recordings, all by British women composers.

Comprised of violinist, Desirée Ruhstrat violist Aurélien Fort Pederzoli, and cellist David Cunliffe, the Black Oak Ensemble has been praised for its “insightful, committed and masterful performances” (ClassicsToday) and “fierce eloquence” (London Times).

The music of Alan Hovhaness, one of America’s most prolific composers, enchants with his signature synthesis of East and West. Influenced by his Armenian heritage and a fascination with nature and spirituality Hovhaness sought to create music “for all people, music which is beautiful and healing.” This collection of works featuring the violin includes several premiere recordings. Concerto No. 2, one of a series of ten concertos for various instruments, requires the soloist and ensemble to play using distinctive effects including tone clusters, melisma, and playing without strict measure. Evocations of Armenian liturgy contrasted with dizzying Scottish jigs can be heard in the Violin Sonata.

This year the label SWRmusic celebrates its 25th anniversary with a 6-CD boxed set containing several of the most representative recordings of the label.

SWRmusic is the label of the Südwestrundfunk (SWR) broadcasting company. Its purpose is to document the artistic work of the SWR’s internationally renowned orchestras and vocal ensembles, including outstanding archive recordings of famous musicians.

The music of the composer, educator and musicologist Liza Lim, who was born in Perth, Australia in 1966, has a collaborative and transcultural focus. Her recent works have explored beauty, anger and noise, ecological issues, and women’s spiritual traditions. Liza Lim has received commissions from leading orchestras and institutions worldwide, and her works continue to be performed at prestigious festivals. In 2024, she was named “Composer of the Year” by OPUS KLASSIK. Liza Lim is Professor of Composition and Australian Music at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. As part of a Laureate Fellowship from the Australian Research Council, she will lead a five-year program starting in 2025 to promote the exploration of pressing climate and social issues through music. Her gender equity initiatives through Sydney Con’s Composing Women have had a significant impact on commissioning, performance and next-generation leadership in Australian music.

Il diluvio universale (‘The Great Flood’) was premiered in Naples in 1830 but is better known in the much-revised version performed four years later in Genoa and Paris. The story, loosely drawn from the Bible, concerns Noah and his family, their conflicts, and the impending catastrophe of the flood. The opera offers a stream of attractive music, powerful choruses and refined harmonies, and represents a crucial stage in Donizetti’s musical thought. This acclaimed 2023 Donizetti Festival performance, conducted by Riccardo Frizza, employs the original 1830 edition.

Born in Venice around 1652, Marc’Antonio Ziani was an eminent operatic composer who, at the zenith of his career, moved to serve the Habsburgs in Vienna, where he was to die in 1715. Damira placata is the second of his operas whose plot centres on Damira, a queen in ancient Egypt, and her struggles to win back the love of King Creonte. As the opera was conceived for the puppet theatre, the singers and instrumentalists were hidden from sight to heighten the illusion. It is a quintessential Venetian opera – declamation melts into eloquent musical gestures, recitatives are full of pathos, arias have constant rhythm, and the central characters are strongly defined.

Though he was admired by figures as illustrious as Rossini and Verdi, violinist-composer Giuseppe Austri has been largely forgotten, unlike his great contemporaries Paganini, Sivori and Bazzini. These première recordings show how inventive and virtuosic his works for violin and piano are, suggesting that he must have been a performer of transcendent technical and expressive abilities. Austri was in the mould of the great itinerant virtuosi of his time and, though his compositions can display Paganini-like writing, he matches incendiary passages with graceful cantabile and intimate delicacy.

In their newest release, cellist Reinhard Latzko and accordionist Kurt Gold present J.S. Bach’s Viola da Gamba Sonatas and Le Grand Tango by Astor Piazzolla. Due to numerous deviations from the usual viola da gamba music of his time, it is considered likely that Bach originally had a different ensemble in mind, or that these works existed in other instrumentation before he adapted them for the viola da gamba. This was a common practice then, just as it makes sense today to arrange “classics” for all kinds of other instruments, preserving their original character while simultaneously creating possibilities for new tonal aspects. It was in precisely this spirit that Latzko and Gold arranged Bach’s sonatas for their instruments. Astor Piazzolla, one of Argentina’s most prominent and innovative musicians, stands out as a bandoneon player, composer and founder of the “Tango Nuevo”. This category includes Le Grand Tango, which was commissioned in 1982 by the Russian cello virtuoso Mstislav Rostropovich.

The two composers featured on this album worked in Russia during a period when it had become part of international musical culture, with many European musicians choosing to make a living there. Famous Czech cellist, Vladislav Aloiz, whose cosmopolitan Piano Trio in F major is an inspirational mix of beauty, passionate virtuosity and wit, moved to St Petersburg where he was awarded a professorship at the Conservatoire. Born in Kharkiv to an Austrian family, Alexander Winkler also found himself at the centre of Russian music at the turn of the century. The laconic themes of his masterfully written Piano Trio in F sharp minor are reminiscent of late Brahms.

Robert Oboussier was born in Antwerp and spent much of his youth in Germany. As a staunch opponent of National Socialism he emigrated to Zurich in 1939 where he held a number of important musical positions. However, the circumstances of his death in 1957 served to plunge his name into immediate obscurity and only now is his music being revived. This selection of mostly world premiere recordings demonstrates his personal use of twelve-tone rows, abrupt contrasts and a fondness for fantasia patterns. Oboussier’s radical piano miniatures, 25 Abréviations, are heard here in their original versions and in excerpts arranged for plucked string ensemble by Christian Wernicke.

Linda Guo and Manuel Lipstein make their duo debut on this new release. Titled Pas de deux, the programme features five significant 20th-century compositions for violin and cello. Works by Xenakis, Ravel and Honegger reflect the composers’ French roots, while a diverse, forward-looking harmonic language contrasts with such traditional forms as the sonata and passacaglia, the latter in Norwegian Johan Halvorsen’s Passacaglia for Violin and Cello after Georg Friedrich Händel; Austro-Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff’s Duo for Violin and Cello completes the programme.

Manuel Lipstein has already released his first solo album, Roots, on OehmsClassics.

FINAL VOLUME

In this volume we discover how composers in England, Scotland, the Netherlands and the Nordic countries responded to the waves of jazz and syncopated dance music that had crossed the Atlantic and captivated European audiences. The album features a wide selection of famous and less well-known composers who each succeed in combining the authentic energising rhythms of foxtrots, tangos and shimmies with their own unique styles. Gottlieb Wallisch’s seventh and final volume in this acclaimed series features many unknown gems and world première recordings. A digital EP of bonus tracks by Bliss, Schnitzler and Hijman (GP962DR) is also available for download and streaming.

This world premiere recording represents the rediscovery of composer Arturo Clementoni, who worked in Ascoli Piceno during the first two decades of the 20th century as chapel master and organist. Documentation of his activities reveals a man who lived and worked within the rich, vibrant musical culture of his region, earning the love and respect of his fellow citizens as well as the esteem of prominent musical figures of his era. His compositional achievements garnered numerous awards, including first prize for his Missa Jubilaris at the composition contest proclaimed in 1950 (declared Holy Year by Pope Pius XII) by Carrara of Bergamo, Italy’s most important publisher of sacred and liturgical music at that time.

Arturo Clementoni’s life and work align perfectly with the artistic and cultural ideals of the Cecilian Movement, whose principles were officially sanctioned by Pope Pius X’s Motu proprio “Inter plurimas pastoralis officii sollicitudines,” issued on November 22, 1903. The symphonic chorale Cristo risusciti undoubtedly represents a pinnacle among Clementoni’s known works and, due to its exceptional quality and scope, merits serious consideration within the canon of great twentieth-century European organ literature. The Missa Jubilaris deserves particular recognition for its profound spirituality and successful synthesis of Gregorian atmospheres, solid polyphonic structure, and bursts of symphonic élan.

This production is dedicated to the works of two American composers, of whom Morten Lauridsen is certainly better known in Germany. His choral work O magnum mysterium (1994) has become one of the most celebrated pieces in contemporary choral literature in recent years. As a creator of primarily vocal music, Lauridsen received numerous awards, including the National Medal of Arts in 2007. From 1994 to 2001, he served as composer in residence with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, one of America’s leading professional choirs, which also premiered his Lux aeterna. All five movements of this cycle refer to the “Eternal Light.” While Lauridsen was setting the underlying liturgical texts to music, his mother was dying – but the words about light as a universal symbol of all-encompassing enlightenment gave him consolation.

Jake Runestad is one of the newest additions to the list of great American composers and is establishing his place in US music history. He has received commissions from the Washington National Opera, the vocal ensemble VOCES8, and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, among others. His first album, The Hope of Loving, was immediately nominated for a GRAMMY Award. A passionate mountaineer and camper, Runestad finds nature a great source of inspiration. In his Earth Symphony, Mother Earth herself is given a voice; the five interrelated sections deal with her destruction, her sorrow, her healing, and her hope for humanity.

Following the first two releases in the Böck reads Bruckner series—the first dedicated to the composer’s self-image and Upper Austrian period, and the second exploring the eternal bachelor as a suitor and his relationship with the ‘fair sex’—this third recording continues the five-part series of readings with music. Based on letters and diary entries and featuring distributed roles (Wolfgang Böck, Thomas Thieme), this installment examines Anton Bruckner’s profound admiration for Richard Wagner, which Wagner reciprocated only partially. The recording explores the encounters between these fundamentally different composers and Bruckner’s regular pilgrimages to Bayreuth. Musically, the program highlights a lesser-known aspect of Wagner’s oeuvre: selected songs and piano pieces reveal the great music dramatist as a creator of intimate chamber works (Daniel Linton-France, piano; Elisabeth Wimmer, soprano).

King Leontes of Sicilia is crippled with an all-consuming jealousy when his friend, King Polixenes of Bohemia, stays with him and his wife Hermione. What follows is a tale where a marriage is destroyed, a child is abandoned and all hope is seemingly lost for two lovers.

Celebrating its tenth anniversary, The Winter’s Tale is an award-winning modern ballet classic, packed with emotional turmoil heightened by Joby Talbot’s compelling score.

Carl Teike achieved great success at the beginning of his career with Alte Kameraden (available on Naxos 8.574317), renowned as the German ‘march of marches’. Characterised by a clear structure, inventiveness and a wide range of tone colours, Teike’s marches significantly enriched the German concert march genre. On this second of three volumes they range from the festive Aus allen deutschen Gauen (‘From All Regions of Germany’) composed for veterans, marches with patriotic titles such as Der Kaiser kommt and Kaiser-Parole or dedicated to major cities in Northern Germany, to Die Welt in Waffen (‘The Weaponised World’), which gave rise to political scandal in its day.

In this concert, the Wiener Philharmoniker, conducted by Andris Nelsons, presents a “heavenly” pairing: Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto, To the Memory of an Angel, alongside Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, whose final movement sets Das himmlische Leben (Heavenly Life) to music. With this performance, young German-American violinist August Hadelich gave his debut at the Salzburg Festival and thrilled the press: “The fabulous Augustin Hadelich filled the difficult solo part with emotion and fragility, his performance was sensitive and yet glowing” (Die Presse). With Mahler’s Fourth, Andris Nelsons creates “a Mahler miracle of quiet tones” (Volksblatt), joined by German soprano Christiane Karg as the soloist of the finale. The concert is part of the Wiener Philharmoniker’s Mahler cycle with Nelsons.

Zoraida di Granata, a stirring tale of love, betrayal and reconciliation, set in the Moorish kingdom of Granada in Andalusia in 1480, gave the 24-year-old Donizetti his first major operatic triumph. It marked his establishment as a true musical dramatist with a sure sense of craftsmanship and a flair for the dramatic. The opera’s virtuosic central roles, fine choruses and powerful set-pieces show Rossini’s unavoidable influence, though it is more a presence rather than imitation. This performance of the 1822 edition, not the 1824 revision, is performed on original instruments by Gli Originali and conducted by Alberto Zanardi.

From a kaleidoscopic abstract ballet to a poignant elegy, celebrate Kenneth MacMillan’s endless invention in three works.

Kenneth MacMillan (1929–92) was the leading choreographer of his generation. Renowned for his full-length dramatic works which dug deep into the human psyche, MacMillan’s creativity knew no bounds. His one-act works also reshaped the collective identity of The Royal Ballet, challenging the art form to reflect real-life emotions, passions and human frailty. In three varied works, this mixed programme offers a taster of MacMillan’s exceptional craft.

A film by Willem Aerts

Just Dance the Steps is a personal portrait of the Dutch choreographer Hans van Manen in the run-up to his 90th birthday. For over five years director Willem Aerts followed and observed this internationally acclaimed master of contemporary ballet during his life and work at Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam, in the studio of the Ballett am Rhein in Düsseldorf and at Nederlands Dans Theater in The Hague. This powerful tribute and inspirational portrayal looks back at van Manen’s remarkable artistic legacy, and documents a life that remains inseparable from dance and choreography.

Just Dance the Steps is a personal portrait of the Dutch choreographer Hans van Manen in the run-up to his 90th birthday. For over five years director Willem Aerts followed and observed this internationally acclaimed master of contemporary ballet during his life and work at Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam, in the studio of the Ballett am Rhein in Düsseldorf and at Nederlands Dans Theater in The Hague. This powerful tribute and inspirational portrayal looks back at van Manen’s remarkable artistic legacy, and documents a life that remains inseparable from dance and choreography.

Avant-jazz pianist and composer Matthew Shipp has been referred to as the “elder statesman” of the art form by DownBeat magazine, but the reach and scope of his music extends much further than mere genre. The Cosmic Piano delivers on that promise — a solo recording that taps into the deeper exploratory potential of the instrument, with Shipp channeling a lifetime of knowledge and a daunting array of influences into nearly an hour of spontaneous, enlightened and joyfully rendered music.

“The preparation is your life,” Shipp explains. “If you’re a real improviser — and I mean real by acknowledging that it’s a praxis and an art form and a discipline — it’s like being a boxer. You do your road work, speed bag, heavy bag and then you spar, and it’s an all-day process for you. It’s a lifestyle.”

As with all of Shipp’s music, this recording goes beyond any simple categorisation, and in part informs why he wanted to release the album through Cantaloupe Music, the in-house label of Bang on a Can. The New York-based arts collective has built a worldwide reputation for nurturing new music dubbed as “alternative classical,” “experimental classical” or “indie classical,” and is known for collaborating with artists and composers across all genres, including jazz, electronic, rock, pop and hip-hop.

Breathtaking piano compositions by Angeline Bell that weave together nostalgic reflections of her Malaysian childhood with the rich tapestry of East Asian folk influences. Performed by her former student Katie Yao Morgan, this collection of evocative pieces transports listeners through bustling markets, tranquil landscapes and cherished personal memories. Featuring the exquisite sounds of the Chinese erhu by Xiao Wang, this album is a heartfelt fusion of East and West, blending tradition with contemporary expression.