On his new album Canadian virtuoso pianist Jan Lisiecki brings the diverse sounds of the prelude to life, illustrating the genre’s potential to be more than just a curtain-raiser to something else. Frédéric Chopin’s extraordinary 24 Preludes Op. 28 are inspiration and centerpiece of this recording. For Lisiecki, Chopin was a “master of the short form” who “brought the prelude …

Ukrainian pianist Dmytro Choni is internationally recognized for his technically impeccable pianism, stupendous virtuosity, clarity of articulation and finest sensitivity. In recent years he garnered international attention by winning numerous awards, including the bronze medal at the 2022 Van Cliburn Competition and fourth prize at the 2021 the Leeds International Piano Competition. His debut solo album on for Naïve Classiques …

On her debut solo album, pianist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason takes listeners on a journey that explores connections across different composers’ sound worlds – whether they met, influenced each other, or simply existed in resonance. From Claude Debussy, Frédéric Chopin and Alexander Scriabin to Florence Price, Margaret Bonds and William Grant Still, Jeneba presents a program which is also very personal to …

While the nocturne — a short, dreamy, and melodically expressive work that evokes the night — is often associated with Chopin, it was pioneered by the lesser-known Irish composer John Field. Alice Sara Ott’s recording of his 18 Nocturnes celebrates the music of the man credited as the inventor of form. “Engaging with Field’s nocturnes was a deeply rewarding experience,” …

The theme for the latest album from the prolific virtuoso pianist-composer and polymath Sir Stephen Hough is nostalgia. This album centers the premiere recording of his first piano concerto, recorded by the composer with The Hallé under Sir Mark Elder. Its subtitle “The world of yesterday” deliberately places the work in a broader context of the pianist-virtuosi of yesteryear who …

The new album from acclaimed pianist Orion Weiss features music by Brahms, Schubert, and Debussy paired with works from young composers after World War I and II: Ernst von Dohnányi, György Ligeti, and Louise Talma. As the final issue of his ambitious three-part Arc series, this album is a set of pieces born from the bright points of life, inspired …

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 …

The music of Bach is a major cornerstone for Michael Houstoun, who has recorded the 96 pieces that comprise Bach’s Preludes and Fugues Books 1 & 2 on a four-CD set. As Houstoun says, “For a pianist like myself, someone for whom music virtually begins with Johann Sebastian Bach, he provides a series of bottom lines of incalculable value everywhere …

Francesco Tristano is a Luxembourgish classical and experimental pianist and composer who also plays the clarinet. In his new album, Tristano interprets some of JS Bach’s most challenging pieces written for keyboard. The album is branded with Tristano’s own imprint intothefuture, making its debut on the Naïve label. Tristano has previously released three other albums dedicated to the music of …

The great Italian legend of the piano Maurizio Pollini passed away on March 23, 2024. This album, recorded together with his son Daniele, showcases three different aspects of Franz Schubert’s mastery of the piano: the sonatas, the collections of short pieces, and music for four hands. Schubert’s great F minor Fantasia was the first piano four hands work father and …

Lara Downes’s latest album is a deeply personal collection of American music she is subtitling as “A Path to Hope.” An artist renowned for her musical explorations off the beaten path, Downes celebrates the beauty of the American experiment while offering an unflinching acknowledgement of its flaws and failings, ultimately embracing the power of hope and humanity. The centerpiece work …