The latest release from Uzbek pianist Behzod Abduraimov combines the fire and virtuosity suggested by the album’s title (and cover), tempered with the musical depth and poetic communication for which he is equally acclaimed. Inferno begins with music by Carl Czerny, a pupil of Beethoven and a teacher to Liszt best known for his technical exercises from The School of …

Leokadiya Kashperova (1872–1940) was Igor Stravinsky’s piano teacher, having herself been a student of Anton Rubinstein. To this day, however, her compositions remain in the shadow of the male Russian masters, a fate shared by many other women of this era. Although her output is nowhere near as comprehensive as that of her contemporaries, what she did produce demonstrates incredible …

Critically acclaimed harpist Ashley Jackson presents an EP of artistic arrangements of music by four icons of popular music: Whitney Houston, Nina Simone, Dolores O’Riordan (the late lead singer of The Cranberries), and Pakistani singer-composer Arooj Aftab. Cover Girl celebrates the fearless women who have shaped the popular music landscape. With brand new arrangements, Ashley Jackson pays homage to those …

Winner of the 2024 La Maestra competition in Paris and recipient of five additional prizes, conductor Bar Avni was born in Israel and first studied percussion before turning to conducting. She counts Yoav Talmi, Barbara Hannigan, and Ayelet Geva as mentors and has assisted conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, Klaus Mäkelä and Myung-Whun Chung. Known for her desire to seek …

German cellist Marie-Elisabeth Hecker caused a sensation by winning both the First Prize and two Special Prizes at the eighth Rostropovich Competition twenty years ago, while her duo partner Martin Helmchen has also been performing on the most prestigious international stages for two decades. Partners both on and off the concert platform, the two artists are passionate advocates of chamber …

The United Strings of Europe and artistic director Julian Azkoul are devoted to developing engaging programs that blend the familiar with the new and encourage the discovery of new repertoire. On Hommages, the ensemble presents a program featuring the world premiere recordings of Dobrinka Tabakova’s Organum Light, inspired by Einstein’s quantum theory of light, Olli Mustonen’s Apotheosis – In memoriam …

This album of works for two pianos features pianists who are life partners as well as a performing duo, and each also has a thriving solo career. Anna Geniushene won the silver medal at the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, while Lukas Geniušas’s two Rachmaninoff recordings have both won major awards. The program for their first duo album pays …

Grammy Award-winning Conductor and soprano Barbara Hannigan leads an ensemble of outstanding young musicians from the Royal Academy of Music and The Juilliard School on this new recording. Since 2002, the Academy and The Juilliard School, both international leaders in their field, have enjoyed collaborations in performances, exchanges and recordings. In this project, Hannigan conducts this transatlantic group in a …