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 …

Renowned horn player Felix Klieser’s eighth solo album explores Italian opera arias, film music, and song. Kleiser is joined by the Italian orchestra I Solisti di Pavia, recorded in the famous Teatro Fraschini at Pavia. The program features some of the most beloved opera arias by Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, as well as Italian songs like “O Sole Mio” and Nino …

Venezuelan trumpet virtuoso and composer Pacho Flores presents world premiere recordings of Latin American trumpet concertos with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under their chief conductor Domingo Hindoyan. Flores and Hindoyan’s tangible musical chemistry stems from a friendship going back to their time in the Simon Bolivar Orchestra. The title work is Flores’s own vibrant and rhythmic flugelhorn concerto which …

The Swedish duo of trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger and pianist-composer Roland Pontinen, longtime collaborators, present a program of recently composed works, arrangements, favorites of both musicians and standards from the Great American Songbook. The centerpiece of the program is Three Autumns by Staffan Storm, a reflection on elegiac autumn moods. Among contemporary composers, Mark-Anthony Turnage and HK Gruber, who have provided …

Legendary bass trombonist Randall Hawes (35 years with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra; four years as guest with The Cleveland Symphony Orchestra; and eight years as a member of the Saito Kinen Orhcestra) and his longtime collaborator, pianist Kathryn Goodson present a new album featuring 15 works that span the history of their musical relationship. The title work, David Biedenbender’s Liquid …

Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero is on a mission with the Nashville Symphony to expand the contemporary American concerto repertoire. Each of the three works on their new release spotlights a different facet of the relatively underexplored brass instrument family. Brad Warnaar’s Cornet Concerto is a witty and heartfelt homage to the rich heritage of 19th-century band music. Chick Corea’s Trombone Concerto, …

Following the success of the popular Mozart y Mambo project, Sarah Willis, horn-player of the Berliner Philharmonic, and The Sarahbanda release their first album on Deutsche Grammophon. Together they inject the colourful, contagious energy of Cuban music into a selection of timeless holiday classics. With their trademark genre-defying approach, the album includes works by Bach and Tchaikovsky – also re-imagined …

Washington’s distinguished Cathedral Choral Society presents EXALTATIONS by award-winning Indian-American composer Reena Esmail. Commissioned by the Cathedral Choral Society, EXALTATIONS is a three-movement work for double choir and brass quintet that draws inspiration from the monumental works of Giovanni Gabrieli and Anton Bruckner. Each movement is set in a different Hindustani raga, reflecting Esmail’s deep engagement with her bicultural heritage. …

Founded in 1993, Onyx Brass has been a leader in cementing the place of the brass quintet as a medium for serious chamber music. The group has commissioned and performed the world premières of more than 200 new works with many more are in the pipeline for performance and recording. Their new album combines pieces for the ensemble’s core quintet …