The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra led by Rumon Gamba join the very welcome trend of recording Mel Bonis’s orchestral works, composed between 1891 and 1912. Their program features the three-part Les Femmes de Légende, the Suite en forme de valses, the Suite Orientale, Three Dances, Danse sacrée, and Les Gitanos. Soprano Elizabeth Watts is soloist for Noël de la Vierge …

Violinist Miclen LaiPang presents his debut solo album with pianist Nigel Yandell. The program is a deeply personal recital of repertoire representing styles and places that have played meaningful roles in LaiPang’s own life, featuring American spirituals and works by Amy Beach, Clarence Cameron White, Fritz Kreisler, Richard Strauss, Robert Schumann, Maurice Ravel, Franz Liszt, Felix Borowski, and Peter Tchaikovsky. …

Flutist Juliette Hurel and harpist Isabelle Moretti present an inspired selection of French music arranged for their instruments, featuring key masterpieces alongside some rare delights. Their program highlights the virtuosity and expressive verve of a duo of great stylistic finesse and features the Suite en duo of Jean Cras (1879–1932), Deux Impressions by Eugène Bozza (1905–1991), Claude Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque, and select …

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 …

In a program teeming with contrasts and discoveries, Trio Wanderer (violinist Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian, cellist Raphaël Pidoux, and pianist Vincent Coq) explores French chamber music around the year 1900. The ardent lyricism of Édouard Lalo is represented by his Piano Trio No. 3. Maurice Ravel’s shimmering can be heard in his Piano Trio and his Sonata for Violin and Cello. The …

The debut album by violinist sisters Hina & Fiona showcases two rising stars of the classical music world. Born in New York, these gifted sisters have already achieved remarkable milestones individually: Hina recently won first prize at the 2023 Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition, while Fiona debuted with the New York Philharmonic at 16, and respectively embarked on illustrious solo …

Daphnis et Chloé, Le Tombeau de Couperin, and Ma Mère l’Oye anchor this new three CD box set of orchestral works by Maurice Ravel, recorded by the Orchestre National de France and its Music Director, Cristian Măcelaru at the Ravel Festival in Paris earlier this year. The festival marked the 150th anniversary of the French composer’s birth and celebrated the …

Music director JoAnn Falletta leads the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in works by three French composers who saw Spain as a paradise of warmth, fragrance, and color, whether real or imagined. Debussy’s Images, Ibert’s Escales, and Ravel’s Rapsodie espagnole show the considerable impact Spanish culture had on French composers in the early 20th century. “I have personally always been drawn to …

Klaus Mäkelä conducts Orchestre de Paris in two classic showpieces that premiered in Paris: Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique and Ravel’s La valse. “Mäkelä is a star, no doubt, and the proof of it is that he makes his players look and sound like stars, too” wrote The Guardian about the BBC Proms performance of the Berlioz last summer, shortly before this …

Kebyart is a Spanish saxophone quartet currently celebrating its tenth anniversary season. To mark the Ravel’s 150th anniversary, Kebyart sets out to explore his unique compositional legacy, despite the composer never having written for saxophone quartet. The album includes Kebyart’s transcriptions of Le Tombeau de Couperin and Pavane pour une infante défunte, alongside arrangements of French Baroque works by Rameau, …

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 …

The two-time Grammy Award-winning Attaccca Quartet commemorates the 150th anniversary of Ravel’s birth with a recording of Ravel’s String Quartet in F, an EP that also marks their debut in the Platoon record label. Celebrated for their versatility and ability to seamlessly navigate between traditional classical repertoire and contemporary collaborations, the ensemble continues to push the boundaries of the traditional …

In a companion to Ravel: The Complete Solo Piano Works released in January, Seong-Jin Cho continues his celebration of the Maurice Ravel 150th anniversary year with the composer’s two piano concertos. The recordings were made live at Boston’s Symphony Hall with Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Cho’s critically acclaimed readings of Ravel, on stage and in the studio, …

Coinciding with the London Symphony Orchestra’s first US Tour with new chief conductor Sir Antonio Pappano, the LSO releases Daphnis et Chloé, one of Ravel’s largest and best loved orchestral masterpieces. Marking their second recording together for the orchestra’s dedicated label LSO Live, the album captures their performance of Ravel’s ballet last April, for which they were joined by the …

Star Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho marks the 150th anniversary of Maurice Ravel’s birth by recording his complete solo piano music. Cho’s insightful readings of Ravel, on stage and in the studio, underline his status as one of today’s most elegant and accomplished pianists, ten years after his First Prize win at the Chopin International Competition. Seong-Jin Cho has always felt …

Following their acclaimed recordings of the complete Brahms and Beethoven sonatas, Bella Hristova and Michael Houstoun turn to French works for violin and piano, featuring sonatas by Ravel, Poulenc, and Fauré. Acclaimed as a player with impressive power, passion, and control, a beautiful sound, and a compelling command of her instrument, violinist Bella Hristova is an ardent proponent of contemporary …

In a delightful program of lullabies and gentle serenades, husband and wife duo cellist Emmanuelle Bertrand and pianist Pascal Amoyel have gathered a collection of some of the most beloved melodies that touch, console, comfort, and soothe. These are at once a marvelous entry point to listening to music for the very young, and a treat for all music lovers. …

Pianist Fazıl Say writes: “Oiseaux tristes brings together works by three prominent French composers… As I was working on the album during the pandemic period, it reflects the mood of that time… (Ravel’s) Miroirs is one of the most comprehensive and interesting works in the piano repertoire. I spent months working on it, and although it’s difficult to play, it …

Quatuor Van Kuijk explores treasures by Fauré, Debussy, Satie, Ravel and Poulenc that were originally composed for piano or voice. The program includes Debussy’s Petite Suite pour piano à quatre mains, Ravel’s famous Pavane pour une infante défunte and well-known songs by Poulenc, Fauré and Satie in transcriptions made especially for this recording by Van Kuijk violist Emmanuel François and …