Accordionist Théo Ould became, at the age of 24, the first accordionist to be shortlisted as a “Newly Discovered Talent” at the Victoires de la Musique Classique awards. Le Monde raved: “Served by a masterly technique (an unbelievably supple left hand and an inexhaustible wealth of phrasing), Théo Ould’s interpretations show a personality expressing itself naturally in terms of the …

New York City-based period instrument ensemble Sonnambula’s debut album on Avie Records traverses music by several Renaissance composers who were forced to conceal their identities for social, religious, or ethnic reasons. Yet their music transcended the disorder surrounding them, flourishing in the intersection of beliefs and styles. The program features works by William Byrd and Richard Dering, two Catholics composing …

Ember – a trio comprising harpist Emily Levin, violinist Julia Choi, and cellist Christine Lamprea – releases its debut album celebrating both historical and contemporary women composers while addressing the cultural significance of the contributions of women in classical music. The program showcases three compelling works: French harpist and composer Henriette Renié’s groundbreaking Trio in B-flat Major (1901), the first …

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 …

In their newest release, mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre and Jupiter, the ensemble led by lutenist Thomas Dunford, present a collection of vocal and instrumental music by John Dowland and Henry Purcell. Repertoire includes Dowland’s Lachrimae and vocal works from his First and Second Book of Ayres, as well as selections from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and The Fairy Queen. Baritone Huw …

The Telegraph Quartet presents the second volume in its 20th-Century Vantage Points series with a new album examining the turbulent years of war and its aftermath from 1941-1951 through string quartets by Grażyna Bacewicz, Benjamin Britten, and Mieczysław Weinberg. As Kai Christiansen writes in the liner notes, “Each composer featured on the album lived a unique wartime life that unmistakably …

Led by gambist/conductor Robin Pharo, the French period instrument Ensemble Près de votre oreille (Close to your ear) makes its debut on the Harmonia Mundi label with a program of sacred vocal work and viol consorts with harp by William Lawes. The brilliant heir to William Byrd and Orlando Gibbons, Lawes wrote contrapuntal 5- and 6-part works of immense complexity …

Reuniting all seven of the Kanneh-Mason siblings – Isata, Braimah, Sheku, Konya, Jeneba, Aminata and Mariatu – the family’s second joint album features new arrangements of classical works and folk songs, with the centerpiece being Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet, a beloved family favorite the siblings grew up listening to together. River of Music shares how the Kanneh-Masons’ love of music has …

Violinist Joshua Brown is an alumnus of the Music Institute of Chicago, recipient of a 2025 Avery Fisher Career Grant, and 2nd Prize-winner and Audience Award-winner of the 2024 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. He presents his debut solo album of violin sonatas by Robert Schumann with pianist Paolo Giacometti. “The struggle that Schumann so openly expresses through his music …

In the latest installment of their series devoted to British 18th-century music, the musicians of period-instrument ensemble La Rêveuse take us to London 1760. Handel had just died and George III acceded to the throne. During his reign with his queen Charlotte, both discerning musicians, musical life in the British capital was to enjoy an exceptional revival. Virtuosos and composers …

The Dover Quartet presents Antonín Dvořák’s “American” quartet paired with music by Pura Fé Crescioni and Jerod Impichcha̱achaaha’ Tate. “While the three works contrast each other substantially in style, expression, and historical context, they all share the common influence of music native to North America. Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate and Pura Fé Crescioni both find inspiration from the traditional music of …

The fourth album in Leonidas Kavakos, Yo-Yo Ma, and Emanuel Ax’s Beethoven for Three series features Shai Wosner’s arrangement of the Symphony No. 1, as well as the “Ghost” (Op. 70, No. 1) and “Gassenhauer” (Op. 11) piano trios. In this series, the three beloved artists perform the symphonies on three instruments alongside the composer’s canonical piano trios, giving audiences …

Composer, pianist and singer Helene Liebmann was a contemporary of Beethoven and Schubert, born into one of the wealthiest and oldest Jewish banking families in Berlin and a distant relative of the Mendelssohns. She was an artistic personality who achieved a certain renown in her time and was highly respected as a serious artist. Her name was mentioned in music …

Chicago-based Duo FAE (violinist Charlene Kluegel and pianist Katherine Petersen) pay tribute to three pioneering women composers whose work and lives defied the social confines of their time. Featuring Cécile Chaminade’s Trois Morceaux, and sonatas by Dame Ethel Smyth and Amy Beach, these chamber works for violin and piano stand as acts of bold artistic and political expression. Anchored in …

This album comprises three works by three composers of three different nationalities performed by Finland’s Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra led by artistic director Malin Broman (who is also an accomplished violinist). The Sea Sketches by Welsh composer Grace Williams opens the program, inspired by the beaches of Glamorganshire and by its seascape. Grażyna Bacewicz’s Fourth String Quartet is played here in …

Mandolinist Avi Avital explores the music of Italy, Iberia, and the Black Sea interweaving folk and Western classical musics from the past and present. Avital is joined by his ensemble Between Worlds and renowned musical ambassadors (Flamenco singer Marina Heredia from Spain, singer Alessia Tondo from southern Italy, and the Georgian choir Ensemble Rustavi) to bring centuries-old traditions and compositions …

The debut solo album of French cellist Juliette Herlin — noted for having given the first performances since 1919 of a lost cello sonata by Camille Saint-Saëns — pairs her with Canadian pianist Kevin Ahfat. This repertoire features original works for cello and piano (Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Debussy’s Cello Sonata, etc.) as well as song transcriptions, exploring the subtle connections between …

UnderStories is a Baroque ensemble consisting of only bass instruments inspired by the botanical term “understory,” referring to the layer of plants that grow in the shade of the canopy of a forest. Founded in 2018, the group focuses on exploring the rise of the cello as a solo instrument, and especially the repertoire for two concertante cellos in the …

Rachel Barton Pine’s 25th album on the Cedille label unites her with pianist Orion Weiss and the Pacifica Quartet for French music of the turn-of-the-century and early mid-20th century. As a violinist who adores playing chamber music, but isn’t a member of a string quartet, Pine holds special fondness for the centerpiece work on this program: Ernest Chausson’s Concert for …

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 …

For the ensemble’s tenth commercial album, New York Polyphony has assembled a program of Renaissance compositions by William Byrd and Orlando Gibbons, ingeniously complemented by 20th and 21st century works composed in the same timeless spirit – often by composers with personal and collaborative ties to New York Polyphony. The album’s evocative title comes from the text of a poem …

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 Neave Trio explores the power and majesty of the ocean as the inspiration behind their newest album of French works for piano trio. La Mer includes: Trio No. 2, Op. 92 in E minor by Camille Saint-Saëns; Soir-Matin, Op. 76 by Mel Bonis; and La Mer by Claude Debussy, arranged by Sally Beamish. “La Mer is a meditation on …

This release from CPO marks two important anniversaries – the 150th anniversary of the death of French composer Louise Farrenc and the 75th birthday of Russian composer Elena Firsova. The USSR-born, UK-based composer’s piano quartet, now ten years old, is the centerpiece of this recording. For her piano quintet, Farrenc adopted the unusual scoring of her piano quintet from her …

Andreas Ottensamer, who recently announced he will step down as principal clarinet of the Berlin Philharmonic to focus on conducting, presents his latest album with pianist José Gallardo. Romanza features select movements from clarinet sonatas by Brahms, Poulenc, Saint-Saëns, Rota, and Joseph Horovitz. The album also includes Ottensamer’s own transcriptions of beloved classical melodies such as Satie’s Gymnopédie No. 1, …