Big names across the classical and folk music worlds have released a number of entertaining albums as the days get shorter. Piano star Lang Lang returns with the second of his Piano Book series, bringing together iconic classics with new contemporary stand outs. New Zealand ensemble the Jade String Quartet highlights three string quartets by Anthony Ritchie that span a period of 40 years. Clarinetist and conductor Martin Fröst displays his love for Bach by arranging an entire album of his works for clarinet. On the last day of October, Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer unveils a stunning new Christmas album for the season. And finally, legendary documentary filmmaker Ken Burns works closely with Sarah Botstein & David Schmidt for a historically-informed soundtrack to his six part, 12-hour documentary series exploring the American Revolution.
New Releases Oct. 28: A Potpourri of Folk and Classical
The American Revolution is a new six-part, 12-hour documentary series that explores the country’s founding struggle and its eight-year War for Independence. In production for more than nine years, the November release of the documentary on PBS is scheduled to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the start of the war, which began in the spring of 1775, more than a year before the Declaration of Independence. Music from the documentary including contemporaneous American, Scottish, and Irish folk tunes as well as pieces composed for the series, features performances by Jake Blount, Brooklyn Rider, Nora Brown & Steph Coleman, Hanneke Cassel, Rhiannon Giddens, Jennifer Kreisberg and Yo-Yo Ma among others.
Lang Lang’s highly anticipated new album Piano Book 2 brings together iconic classical works, new contemporary pieces, and themes from film and TV scores, anime, and video games. It offers 32 miniature gems for all generations — spanning composers such as Bach, Chopin, Liszt, and Rachmaninoff to Tony Ann, Yu-Peng Chen, Ludovico Einaudi, and Joe Hisaishi. Also including music from Amélie, La La Land, and Naruto, viral sensation Rush E and many more. Lang Lang’s first Piano Book has become his highest-streaming album to date, with over 1.2 billion streams worldwide, and remains one of the biggest-selling classical albums from 2019.
Acclaimed Swedish clarinetist and conductor, Martin Fröst presents his new album dedicated to the music of J.S. Bach. Although Bach never encountered the clarinet, this has proved no barrier for Martin Fröst, who has returned to Bach’s music time and time again throughout his illustrious career. Fröst had already devised and performed programs entitled Beyond All Clarinet History (B.A.C.H.), which intertwine Bach’s timeless melodies with new arrangements. He returns to this original idea here with sparkling new interpretations for clarinet and a variety of other instruments. Guest artists include cellist Anastasia Kobekina, violist Göran Fröst, double bass player Sébastien Dubé, theorbo player Jonas Nordberg, and pianist Benny Andersson.
Based in Auckland, the Jade String Quartet has maintained a strong presence in New Zealand’s chamber music scene, committed to commissioning, performing, and recording music by New Zealand composers, alongside masterworks from the string quartet repertoire. Their new album features three string quartets by Anthony Ritchie, for whom the string quartet is a preferred form to express his personal thoughts. The first of the three stylistically diverse quartets on this recording is a tour-de-force, exploring an avant-garde sound world. The second forges a new path via the use of magic squares, while the third encapsulates Ritchie’s recent move to a more straightforward, “naïve” style. The three quartets span a period of 40 years, with the first completed in 1983, the second in 2003, and the third in 2023.
The Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer presents their new Christmas collection. The repertoire blends tradition with innovation, combining Renaissance motets and fresh arrangements of classic carols with contemporary compositions, including works by Lowell Mason, Sarah Quartel, Michael Praetorius, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Cristóbal de Morales, Henry Gauntlett, John Jacob Niles, Steven Sametz, John Francis Wade, Franz Xaver Gruber, Richard Rodgers, and two new commissions from Joanna Marsh. Showcasing the ensemble’s extraordinary ability to move seamlessly between styles, Joy to the World conjures a wintertime world of magic, light, and wonder.
