New orchestral recordings and works by performers who are also composers.
Members of the world-renowned Chicago Symphony Orchestra Brass (Principal Trumpet Esteban Batallán, horn David Griffin, trumpet John Hagstrom, trombone Michael Mulcahy and Principal Tuba Gene Pokorny) combine bold transcriptions of classic works with vibrant pieces by compelling contemporary composers. In the symphonic world, the Philharmonia Orchestra presents their third all-Shostakovich album and Karina Canellakis leads the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and choir in the iconic Rachamaninoff composition The Bells.
Choral group The Gesualdo Six explore a more secular repertoire as well as music from their formation in 2015 in their new album Wishing Tree. Finally, violinist and composer Curtis Stewart synthesizes a mix of music, from classical and pop pieces to his original compositions.
In the spirit of the caprices of virtuoso violinists Niccolò Paganini and Henryk Wienawski, filtered through Curtis Stewart’s own trademark ability to seamlessly integrate a kaleidoscope of popular styles into his classical vocabulary, 24 American Caprices pays homage to the history of solo violin performance and American culture. A seven-time Grammy Award-nominated violinist and composer, Stewart references a diverse range of American artists who have importantly influenced his own American cultural experience: Dolly Parton, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Billy Strayhorn, Nina Simone, Wayne Shorter, and Aretha Franklin, along with some “honorary” artists who made their homes in the U.S. and those from the broader Americas, like David Bowie, Tito Puente/Celia Cruz, Joni Mitchell, and Oscar Peterson. Stewart performs 12 of the works himself, with guest violinists Tai Murray, Deborah Buck, Melissa White, Njioma Grevious, Rubén Rengel performing five others. The remaining seven caprices are performed by students taught and mentored by Curtis Stewart from The Juilliard School, the Special Music School in NYC, and the Perlman Music Program.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet (Principal Trumpet Esteban Batallán, horn David Griffin, trumpet John Hagstrom, trombone Michael Mulcahy and Principal Tuba Gene Pokorny) presents a program combining bold transcriptions of classic works with vibrant pieces by compelling contemporary composers. The two large works featured on the album are Enrique Crespo’s Suite Americana No. 1, and J.S. Bach’s Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Major BWV 564. Other works include the overture from Verdi’s Nabucco, the third movement from Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 3 in F Major, and short works by American composer Verne Reynolds, Canadian composer J Scott Irvine, and Ukrainian composer Catherine Likhuta.
Internationally acclaimed for her emotionally charged performances, technical command, and interpretative depth, Canellakis has become one of the most in-demand conductors of her generation. As Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Canellakis and the orchestra are joined by the Netherlands Radio Choir with soloists tenor Dmytro Popov, soprano Kristina Mkhitaryan, and bass Alexander Vinogradov, for an all-Rachmaninoff program. In The Bells, radiant choral textures and richly colored orchestration trace a journey from youthful shimmer and lyrical warmth to ominous tolling, overwhelming drama and a final vision of serene transcendence. In Symphonic Dances, rhythmic vitality and earthy drive give way to moments of nostalgia and introspection, culminating in a bold and exhilarating finale that captures the composer’s unmistakable voice in his final orchestral work.
The Philharmonia Orchestra presents their third all-Shostakovich album conducted by Santtu-Matias Rouvali recorded live at London’s Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, where they are resident. The Philharmonia Orchestra has an extensive legacy of recording the music of Shostakovich, and in this latest release its Principal Conductor brings his own distinctive energy, precision, and flair to two contrasting masterpieces: the sharp-witted exuberance of the operetta Moscow Cheryomushki and the youthful brilliance of the First Symphony.
On their eleventh album for Hyperion, The Gesualdo Six explore a more secular repertoire, drawing on music they have performed live since their formation in 2015. The program spans Renaissance works celebrating nature and love, alongside contemporary settings of texts by Christina Rossetti and Kathleen Jamie. Themes of childhood and innocence run throughout, interwoven with imaginative reworkings of traditional British and Irish folk songs. As director Owain Park describes it, Wishing Tree is “a journey through time, poetry and song, rooted in tradition yet alive with contemporary expression.”
