Classical

Paul Lewis explores the world of late Brahms, wherein the old master, far from growing more sedate, deploys a palette of infinite colors and sensibilities in his last four collections for solo piano. By turns tender and dazzling, intimate and tempestuous, these pieces appear to us as their composer's final confidences, entrusted to a crepuscular diary.

This is a follow up to the astoundlingly successful Album "Black Swans: Earliest African-American Classical Stars". Produced by Leslie Gerber with painstaking re-mastering from Steve Smolian, this 2 CD set follows the canon through to the early 1960s.

David Fray adds a landmark of the solo keyboard repertoire to his Bach discography: the Goldberg Variations. "The Goldberg Variations are a real test," he says. "They are the work of a lifetime, perhaps a work about life itself... a kind of rite of passage, a journey. Every element of human life is in them... When you play the theme again after the 30 variations, in it's original purity, it is as if you're at the end of your life, looking back over everything that has happened in the last hour-and-a-half. Few works give such a sense of eternity".

Teunis van der Zwart and Alexander Melnikov have chosen to pay tribute to Giovanni Punto, now unknown to most music lovers, even though he truly established the cor basse (horn focused on the low register) by devoting no less than sixteen concertos to it. It was he who inspired Beethoven's famous Sonata Op.17, and the pieces by Danzi and Ries also bear the mark of his legacy. This recording provides an opportunity to discover the unique sound of this instrument in four emblematic works.

A precursor in this field as in so many others, Telemann gave the viola it's very first masterpieces, immediately establishing it as a solo instrument in it's own right. Alongside Sabine Fehlandt and the musicians of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Antoine Tamestit pays splendid tribute to this pioneering music, which blends melodic charm and contrapuntal rigor into an organic whole.

A celebration from The Orlando Consort of the musical and literary worlds of Florence's golden age under the Medici, in a selection of works which includes a number of first recordings.

Howard Shelley's survey of the piano music is an undoubted highlight of the Mendelssohn revival. In this, the final instalment of the series, he focuses on late works and posthumous publications.

The "extravagantly talented" (The New York Times) American organist Cameron Carpenter releases his first album on Decca Gold, a recording of J.S. Bach's The Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 juxtaposed with his own transcription of American composer Howard Hanson's Symphony No. 2 in D-flat Major, Opus 30, W45, "Romantic." Both works are performed on Carpenter's tailor-made instrument, the International Touring Organ, which was designed to allow him to perform at almost any location worldwide.

Mozart: Works for Oboe and Orchestra - ALBRECHT MAYER / DEUTSCHE KAMMERPHILHARMONIE - Star oboist Albrecht Mayer's new album is inspired by his lifelong love for the music of Mozart and featuring a world premiere recording and several new arrangements of Mozart's most famous pieces. Mayer's album is made in partnership with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and harpsichordist Vital Julian Frey and will be released 9 April 2021. It's tracklist features a B flat major version of the Concerto for flute and harp, K. 299 (297c) arranged for oboe and harpsichord, and a transcription of Exsultate, jubilate, K. 165 (158a) for oboe d'amore, orchestra and organ. Also included are arrangements of the concert arias Non temer, amato bene, K.505 and Ah se in ciel, benigne stelle, K.538, the Rondo in C major, K.373 and the motet Ave verum corpus, K.618.

Award winning Canadian violinist James Ehnes returns to the greatest body of work for solo violin: Bach's 6 Sonatas and Partitas. After many years of performing these masterpieces, it was lockdown 2020 that led to James recording the complete set at his home in Florida in the early hours of the morning. His interpretation of this music has changed over the years - he first recorded them in 2000 - and now at the height of his powers he delivers performances of superb musicianship that are sensitive and thoughtful, showcasing breath-taking technical prowess combined with great emotional power.

This album of popular short pieces provides a memento of the first French lockdown in 2020: Renaud Capuçon and pianist Guillaume Bellom performed on social media each day, raising the spirits of their fans. Ideal for streaming, the collection includes music by Enrico Morricone, Charlie Chaplin, Carlos Gardel, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Schumann

Some of Stephen Hough's most exquisite recordings come from his collaborations with EMI and Virgin Classics during this early period, offering a taste of the pianist's impeccable touch, his musical and intellectual rigor, and his fondness for the short showpieces that filled late 19th-century salons and peppered the 78 rpm records of golden-age pianists. In the two all-Liszt recitals, Stephen Hough is also in his element, creating atmospheric colors, with notes flowing like streams of pearls, shaping and magnifying the dramatic depth of these works. From Mozart to Schumann, Brahms to Britten, looking back at the great virtuoso tradition while looking forward through his own arrangements, Stephen Hough presents, through these early recordings, a fascinating portrait of a young artist whose brilliant, artistic intellect and appetite for creativity remains unmatched today.

This double album includes two recordings never published before: Robert Hacomplaynt's Marian Antiphon: Salve Regina, and Robert Fayrfax's Magnificat 'Regale', both from the Eton Choirbook. The other recordings in the album include works from the Early English Polyphony era, by composers John Taverner, Christopher Tye, Thomas Morley and last but not least Thomas Tallis

"The worlds of opera and symphony merge perfectly in daily life in Vienna, and with this album, I'm hoping to take the listener on a wonderful orchestral journey with my harp", says Anneleen Lenaerts. Anneleen chose this repertoire to reflect her life as a musician in Vienna with one of the most prestigious orchestras in the world: the Vienna Philharmonic. The album features pieces from both the operatic and symphonic worlds that are special to her, e.g. a concert memory of Les Préludes by Liszt with Riccardo Muti and Onegin with Andris Nelsons.

Manuel de Falla is regarded as the greatest Spanish composer of the twentieth century. Established in Paris from 1907 to 1914, he met Debussy, Ravel and Dukas and steeped himself in their works. Exploring and capturing Hispanic musical idioms he invented scores for lavish ballets, colour-saturated orchestras, splashy voices, refined pianos, thus contributed greatly to universal modernism. Setting his main works in their diverse context, this edition invites exploration and discovery. It spans almost a century of recording history, encompassing a host of great instrumentalists, singers, conductors and orchestras, many of them from Spain and France. And among legendary sessions from which he gained fame is Falla himself at the piano, still astonishing today.

Barbirolli's recordings of Mahler symphonies are now regarded as landmark performances, on top of the Mahlerian discography. This fifth symphony, the last recording Barbirolli devoted to Mahler, is an essential testimony of the conductor's art. It is accompanied by the Rückert-Lieder sung by Janet Baker, a perfect example of the two artists' perfect mutual understanding in Mahler's vocal music. This landmark recording is released on LP with the fine HD remastering made for the Barbirolli Complete Warner Edition.

This commemorative Christmas album contains music from fifteen years of The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square's beloved Christmas concerts-an annual tradition enjoyed by millions, both live on stage and through it's holiday season broadcast on PBS stations, where it has been the top-rated Christmas program for more than a decade. This new Christmas album is a collection of the best of Christmas music by The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. It is the first Choir Christmas album in 15 years to feature only music by the Choir and Orchestra. The repertoire is a mix of sacred and secular Christmas music with many recognizable Christmas favorites. Designed to serve as a soundtrack for the holidays, the album provides nearly a full hour of music to enrich every music library, invite the spirit of the season, and help everyone feel closer to the divine, especially at Christmas.

The programme for Alexandre Tharaud's first album of Schubert comprises the four Impromptus D 899 (op 90), the six Moments musicaux and, in Tharaud's own transcription for piano, four excerpts from the stage music for Rosamunde. When Tharaud performed the Impromptus at London's Wigmore Hall in 2014, The Guardian wrote: "He got to the heart of the beauties and abysses of this music."

The original concept of Lea Desandre's Amazone is based on music of the Baroque period written specifically on the subject of the Amazons, the mythical race of female warriors. Amazone has been recorded with the magnificent ensemble Jupiter and conductor Thomas Dunford. Lea Desandre explores the fascinating ways that composers treat their Amazonian characters, particularly interesting figures in that they embody a "male/female" duality. Gender ambiguity, which plays a role in so many operatic plots, provides an infinite source of dramatic and musical inspiration. Amazone has three special guests, true stars in the world of Baroque music: Cecilia Bartoli and Véronique Gens appear in separate duets with Lea, and William Christie features on harpsichord in a piece by Couperin. Amazone features compositions of Vivaldi, Cavali, Provenzale, Couperin, Rameau, and more.

An original album from the critically acclaimed Quatuor Ébène, 'round midnight features Dutilleux's quartet Ainsi la nuit, Schönberg's Verklärte Nacht, and a composition by the group's cellist Raphaël Merlin: Night bridge. All the works on the album are inspired by moods of the NIGHT. It improvises on jazz standards & pop songs that have become a trademark of the quartet. The album also features distinguished guest musicians Antoine Tamestit (viola) and Nicolas Altstaedt (cello).

Randall Goosby presents Roots, a celebration of classical music by Black composers and inspired by Black American culture. This debut album is a homage to the pioneering musicians that paved the way for Goosby's generation of young artists. It features world premiere recordings of pieces by Florence Price, as well as looking to the future, opening with a new work by Xavier Foley.

Six CD holiday box set. Christmas is a holiday filled with magic and wonder. One of the many things that make it more special are the beautiful Christmas carols that have become a part of the holiday season. So, this year when you gather family and friends together or when you spend time decorating the house, it's time to throw on this marvelous collection containing 100 of the best holiday carols around. Let your heart sing along to glorious musical moments like 'Away in a Manger', 'The First Noel', 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' and many, many more. EMI.