When John Dowland composed the pieces that form the famous Lachrimae, or Seven Teares, he gave the instrumental repertoire one of its first masterpieces. The Sit Fast consort, lead by Atsushi Sakaï, presents a new reading of those timeless pages. Who says the viol should be earmarked for early music? The pure sonority of this instrument also inspired the English …

After the success of Angela Hewitt’s first album of Scarlatti sonatas, she has released a second on the Hyperion label. As Hewitt herself writes: “The first recording was such a great experience that, inevitably, I couldn’t stop there. Not with another 540 or so to choose from!” Of this latest selection, many are new to her repertoire and are performed …

The effervescent and communicative energy of pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy is encapsulated again in this second volume of their series devoted to Mozart’s piano concertos. The two concertos presented here are among the six that Mozart composed in Vienna in an extraordinarily productive year. As Bavouzet states in the notes, they “share their association with operatic and …

The legendary conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy, with the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra and the promising young violinist Irmina Trynkos, presents the premiere recording of three works by Nimrod Borenstein. The past few years have seen a number of Borenstein’s compositions presented at prestigious venues in London, Zurich, Paris, and New York. If You Will It, It Is No Dream was written especially …

In 1517, indignant at the mercenary abuses of the Church and convinced that a public debate was needed to restore faith in the founding texts of the Bible, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door of Wittenberg Castle. This marked the beginning of the Reformation, which was to spread all over Europe. Five hundred years later, Graham …

Pianist George Li celebrates his newly-signed exclusive Warner Classics contract with his recording debut, the solo recital ‘Live at the Mariinsky.’ The young American, winner of the silver medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 2015, offers an enthralling program of Haydn, Chopin, Rachmaninoff and Liszt. It was recorded live at the Mariinsky Concert Hall in that other …

Recognized as one of the world’s great ensembles, the Takács Quartet plays with a unique blend of drama, warmth and humor, combining four distinct musical personalities to bring fresh insights to the string quartet repertoire. A new release from the Takács Quartet is guaranteed to be a highlight of the musical year. Their latest features two works by Dvořák: the American …

Pianist Ivan Ilić has signed a new multi-album recording contract with Chandos Records. His first project on the label is a series devoted to the solo piano works of the Czech composer Antoine Reicha (1770-1836), a contemporary and lifelong friend of Beethoven. Although best known for his contributions to the repertoire for wind quintet, Reicha wrote vast quantities of solo …

Steven Osborne is one of Britain’s most highly regarded pianists. His awards and prizes have included Gramophone Awards in 2009 and 2013, three German Schallplattenpreise, and the Royal Philharmonic Society Instrumentalist of the Year in 2013. Osborne’s unerring command of the elusive ambiguities of Debussy’s piano-writing has already been amply confirmed by his earlier recording of the two books of Preludes. …