Curating the best new classical recordings
There’s always wonderful music to discover, from instrumental to vocal music, new recordings of old favorites, or albums featuring cutting-edge contemporary works. Discover more about each selection below.
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Grieg: The Violin Sonatas – Eldbjørg Hemsing, Simon Trpceski
Following acclaimed recordings of concertos by Tan Dun and Josef Suk, the Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing returns to her roots in this Grieg recital, joined by Simon Trpceski at the piano. Each of Edvard Grieg’s three violin sonatas marks a decisive phase in the composer’s artistic development. Closing the disc, Hemsing plays her own composition Homecoming. It’s a set of ...
Nocturne: A Fauré Recital – Louis Lortie
Louis Lortie’s second volume of the music of Gabriel Fauré features Nocturnes, Barcarolles, and the Theme and Variations in C-sharp minor, along with transcriptions of the Pie Jesu and In paradisum from the Requiem. For over three decades, French-Canadian pianist Louis Lortie has performed world-wide, building a reputation as one of the worlds most versatile pianists.
Canadian National Brass Project: Constellations
The Canadian National Brass Project was founded in 2015 by James Sommerville and Sasha Johnson and consists of 25 Canadian brass players and percussionists from 15 major orchestras across Canada and the U.S. The repertoire on their new album “Constellations” consists of works by composers such as Holst (The Planets), Tchaikovsky (1812 Overture), and Revueltas (Sensemaya) arranged for a brass ...
Boundless: Zachary Carrettín, Mina Gajić
“Boundless” features the husband-and-wife duo of violinist Zachary Carrettín and pianist Mina Gajić in Schubert’s Violin Sonatinas, Op. 137. Originally conceived for the salon, the works are performed for this recording on an Érard concert grand (circa 1835) and a rare violin built by Franz Kinberg set up for historical instrument performance. The artists have recreated the atmosphere for which ...
Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3 – London Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
The second album in Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s Schumann series with the London Symphony Orchestra travels from glorious fanfare to dream-like passages with the lively Spring and Rhenish symphonies. The program includes the heartfelt and elegant Manfred Overture, displaying the intense strife which lies ahead for its protagonist.
Treasures from the New World
SOMM Recordings presents Treasures from the New World – a compelling collection of late-Romantic and contemporary works for piano and string quartet from the Americas brimming with color, energy, and emotion. Rio de Janeiro-born piano virtuoso Clélia Iruzun teams up with the Coull Quartet for a varied and vital program championing the music of her Brazilian compatriots Henrique Oswald and Marlos ...
Roger Lent: The Sublime Gershwin
Roger Lent is a versatile, seasoned jazz musician at home with the piano and the trumpet. He is based in New York City and has performed throughout North America and many European countries. Lent says, “Gershwin saw himself as a composer who was uniquely positioned to express the convergence of cultures in New York City and America. I love his ...
Exiles in Paradise: Émigré Composers in Hollywood
Political crises and rising antisemitism in Europe during the first half of the 20th century prompted many leading musicians to immigrate to America. An influx of refugees formed a flourishing artistic community centered within a few square miles near Hollywood. This exceptional gathering of composers transformed America’s musical landscape. “Exiles in Paradise” explores their diverse output through music for cello ...
Vivaldi: Manchester Sonatas – Mark Fewer, Hank Knox
Violinist Mark Fewer and harpsichordist Hank Knox have performed throughout North America and are known for imparting a unique signature to their performances. This collection of exciting but little-known works for violin and harpsichord is thought to have been penned by Antonio Vivaldi in 1726. However, the works were unknown until a manuscript was found in Manchester’s Central Library in ...
Vivaldi: I Colori dell’Ombra – Ophélie Gaillard
After an album dedicated to Luigi Boccherini that was acclaimed by critics, Ophélie Gaillard and the Pulcinella Orchestra reveal the incredible sound palette of Antonio Vivaldi. Drawing on the finest cello works of the composer, Gaillard’s selections place emphasis on the concerto, for one, two, or even four performers. She also includes a reconstruction of the Concerto RV 788 and ...
Piae Cantiones – Utopia Chamber Choir, Andrew Lawrence-King
Published in Germany in 1582, the collection Piae Cantiones (Pious Songs) contained 74 songs and choral pieces in Latin and Swedish, many medieval in date and style, and encompassing both sacred and school songs. While the melodies were largely used at the Finnish cathedral school in Turku and other schools in Finland and Sweden, they proved influential across northern Europe ...
Shai Wosner: Schubert Piano Sonatas
Pianist Shai Wosner has attracted international recognition for his exceptional artistry, musical integrity, and creative insight. He has established a reputation as one of the world’s great Schubert interpreters, with his earlier recordings praised by critics worldwide. This release completes his survey of the late sonatas. “There is no composer who binds the intimate and the grand so inextricably as ...
Lauren Scott: Beyond the Horizon
Lauren Scott’s passion for the lever harp inspires her interpretations of atmospheric works by 20th century composers ranging from John Cage and Peter Maxwell Davies to Lennon & McCartney, as well as her own ambient compositions. Beyond the Horizon, Lauren’s debut solo album, casts a twilight glow on the unique qualities of the traditional lever harp – also referred to as ...
Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral” – Berlin Academy of Ancient Music
Two symphonies on the theme of nature come together on this new album from the Berlin Academy of Ancient Music, directed by its concertmaster, Bernhard Forck. Justin Heinrich Knecht is best remembered for his Grande Simphonie “Le Portrait musical de la Nature.” Completed in 1785, this five-movement symphonic work depicting nature predates Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony by almost a quarter of a century. ...
Ēriks Ešenvalds: Translations
The multi-award-winning Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds’ 21st-century choral sound is both exquisite and angular, and in this album he explores ideas of translation, legend, and the divine. With his expanded tonality and employment of shimmering singing handbells in Translation, and the angelic use of the viola and cello in In paradisum, he creates music of ravishing refinement. Ethan Sperry leads the ...
Beethoven: A New Path – Andreas Staier
The year 1802 was a decisive one for Beethoven. In the autumn, he wrote the Heiligenstadt Testament, in which he clearly expressed his awareness of the outcome of his inexorably increasing deafness. At almost the same time, he told his friend Krumpholz that he was, “not satisfied” with his “work so far,” and he was planning to embark on “a ...
Anna Fedorova: Music of Rachmaninoff
Anna Fedorova is one of the world’s premier pianists. From an early age, she demonstrated an innate musical maturity and outstanding technical abilities. Her international concert career took off while she was only a child, and audiences around the world were stunned by the depth and power of her musical expression. For this all-Rachmaninoff program, she is joined by Modestas ...
Five for Five: Chamber Music of Michael Fine
Evidence Classics releases their second album of Michael Fine’s music: “Five for Five: Quintets for Winds and String Quartet.” The recording was made following performances at Festival Mozaic in San Luis Obispo, California, with musicians from leading musical organizations, including the Metropolitan Opera, Cleveland Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and Atlanta Symphony. Fine says, “As a clarinet player, I feel a particular ...
Mozart: Youth Symphonies – Freiburg Baroque Orchestra
Rarely played – and even less frequently recorded – Mozart’s early symphonies blend the naïvety of his earliest childhood compositions with the maturity of his future masterpieces. On this album of symphonies and contredanses, Gottfried von der Goltz and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra present a fascinating portrait of a brilliant young composer and explore an important piece of the Mozart ...
Beethoven Suites – Julien Martineau, Vanessa Benelli Mosell
“Beethoven Suites” is an album of works by or inspired by the great composer performed by mandolinist Julien Martineau and pianist Vanessa Benelli Mosell. Martineau once again spotlights the mandolin’s remarkable repertoire, nobility of character, and natural ability as a partner. From Beethoven, there are four youthful pieces he wrote for this unusual duo combination, and the Allegretto of his ...
