The third solo album from German pianist Esther Birringer surveys music by 15 different composers, bringing the masters such as Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, and others into dialogue with modern voices like Lera Auerbach, Ludovico Einaudi, and Valentin Silvestrov. “The term spectrum is usually associated with physics: when white light passes through a prism, it breaks into a full rainbow of …

Decca Classics presents a recital by soprano Lise Davidsen and pianist James Baillieu recorded at the Metropolitan Opera in September 2023. Their program reflects the full spectrum of Davidsen’s range, moving effortlessly between opera, song and musical theatre. Davidsen demonstrates her mastery of the music of Richard Strauss with four songs: “Allerseelen,” “Befreit,” “Zueignung,” and “Morgen.” Opera highlights include  “Dich, …

Established in 2016, Trio Sypniewski comprises violinist Magdalena, violist Anna, and cellist Caroline Sypniewski. For their debut album, the three sisters return both to the birth of the string trio and to the origins of their own ensemble. The program includes Purcell’s fantasias for viols – intimate pieces enriched by the musicians’ historically informed performance practice – alongside trios by …

Rising American violinist Karisa Chiu — Cedille Records’ 2021 Emerging Artist Competition Finalist — and renowned Chinese pianist Zhu Wang unite for Chiu’s debut album, HOME. Influenced by her Chicago upbringing, pandemic discoveries, and Korean and Chinese family roots, the recording reflects the various interpretations of “home” in the 25-year-old violinist’s life. “This album is not only a story of …

Rumon Gamba and Oulu Sinfonia present a fascinating picture of Finnish orchestral music, their second program of works from their native land. The album takes its title from Selim Palmgren’s four-movement suite, written in 1904, offering richly atmospheric character pieces celebrating the changing seasons. Several works take inspiration from the natural world, such as Kurkikohtaus (Scene with Cranes) which Sibelius …

In his new Scandinavia-centric album, Felix Klieser and the German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Jamie Phillips, present two contemporary concertos for horn and orchestra. Soundscape – A Walk in Colours by Swedish composer Rolf Martinsson (b. 1956) was commissioned for Felix Klieser and was premiered in 2022. Martinsson describes Soundscape as a single-movement concerto divided into five distinct sections, …

After a few albums that stretched the ensemble towards contemporary, crossover, and popular repertoire (including an all-Disney program), The King’s Singers, prolific recording artists at any rate, present a new album that can be characterized as a return to standard repertoire. “’Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On’ is an exploration of European choral music from the early 20th century …

This release marks the fifth and final volume of the complete Sibelius symphonies performed by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under the charismatic Finnish percussionist turned conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali. Rouvali, who made his debut with Chicago Symphony Orchestra in February, has been Chief Conductor of Gothenburg Symphony since 2017, a position that concludes in 2025. This series has already won numerous …

The celebrated international virtuoso James Ehnes joins the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Edward Gardner in this exploration of Sibelius’s extensive output for violin and orchestra. Sibelius studied the violin in his youth, and actively entertained the prospect of a career as a professional violinist for much of his student life. It therefore comes as no surprise that the instrument plays …