Below is a list of all classical CD titles released in the last 120 days.
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Complete Songs Vol. 4 Alina Wunderlin (soprano), Kieran Carrel (tenor), Konstantin Ingenpaß (baritone), Urich Eisenlohr (fortepiano) [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Dec/2023 ] Brahms' early songs express an exuberance that may surprise those who are unfamiliar with this element of his music making. The Op. 6 set includes a Mediterranean-flavoured song in bolero rhythm and songs of hope and joy, displaying an apparent... |
FRANZ LISZT / DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Liszt: Piano Sonata in B minor / Shostakovich: Piano Quintet in G minor Angel Stanislav Wang (piano), with the Breton String Quartet [ Naxos Piano Laureate series / CD - released 1/Dec/2023 ] Angel Stanislav Wang, winner of the 63rd Jaén Prize International Piano Competition in 2022, presents his Naxos debut recital with a selection of works he performed during the competition. |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 19 and 25 [transcription by Ignaz Lachner] Alon Goldstein (piano) / Fine Arts Quartet, with Lizzie Burns [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Dec/2023 ] Ignaz Lachner's ingenious transcriptions show a complete grasp of Mozart's idiom, incorporating much instrumental detail and reinventing the music's underlying dramatic scheme within a chamber context. |
BRAHMS / ARENSKY / TCHAIKOVSKY / YEARDUMIAN / CHERUBINI / HAYDN / IBERT / etc
The Complete RCA Album Collection Anshel Brusilow Conducts the Chamber Symphony Of Philadelphia, with Lili Chookasian (contralto) [ Sony Originals / 6 CD Box Set - released 1/Dec/2023 ] "An orchestra of rare quality" - that's how High Fidelity described the Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia, founded in 1966 by Anshel Brusilow, then concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra. |
ARCILA / OROZCO / BECERRA / ARDILA / BIGNEY / SUPA
Same River Twice - Works for Guitar Billy Arcila (guitar) [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Dec/2023 ] Billy Arcila, raised in Medellín, Colombia, has lived in the United States for over 40 years, where he teaches and performs as one of California's foremost guitarists. |
FRANZ SCHUBERT / JOHANNES BRAHMS
Schubert + Brahms Can Çakmur (piano) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Dec/2023 ] For his series called Schubert+, pianist Can Çakmur juxtaposes the complete major piano solo compositions by the Viennese composer with works by other composers who were inspired by his music, thus providing the opportunity to see these works in a... |
CASSADO / GRANADOS / CASALS / CASABLANCAS
Catalan Cello Works Dmitry Yablonsky (cello) Laia Martín (piano) [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Dec/2023 ] The cello was a vital part of Catalan musical expression in the first half of the 20th century. Pablo Casals as composer and cello virtuoso was its revolutionary force, and his student Gaspar Cassadó joined him in writing superb transcriptions. |
ANDREAS BAKSA / UROS KREK / BORIS PAPANDOPULO / FRIGYES HIDAS
Piccolo Concertos Francesco Viola, (piccolo) / Nationaltheater-Orchester Mannheim, Salvatore Percacciolo [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Dec/2023 ] The idea of a piccolo concerto might have seemed far-fetched at the beginning of the 20th century, but numerous composers have now expanded its role as the highest instrument of the orchestra into a true solo voice. |
MICHAEL JARNEFELT
Jarrell: Orchestral Works Ilya Gringolts (violin), Florent Jodelet (percussion), Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Pascal Rophé [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Dec/2023 ] "The excellent Pays de la Loire Orchestra, who accompany the two concertos in exemplary fashion, take centre stage in the album's centrepiece, the Sechs Augenblicke...A very strong recording." Gramophone Editor's Choice Jan 2024 |
HELVI LEIVISKA
Leiviskä - Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 [Incls 'Symphony No.2'] Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Dalia Stasevska [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Dec/2023 ] "Whatever the reason Leiviskä has remained a shadowy figure, conductor Dalia Stasevska has now brought to light three of her orchestral works in fine performances by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, that give a strong flavour of what we've missed." BBC |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings / Souvenir de Florence / Andante Cantabile United Strings Of Europe, Julian Azkoul [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 2/Dec/2023 ] "So many inspired melodies, ravishingly harmonised, on a single disc...The inwardness of the 'Elegie' and the crescendos from pp to ff are superbly done." BBC Music Feb 2023 - Orchestral Choice |
ERIK SATIE / JOHN CAGE
Letter(s) to Erik Satie Bertrand Chamayou (piano) [ Erato / CD - released 8/Dec/2023 ] "Erik Satie and John Cage are UFOs in the world of music, because they envisioned music through a completely different prism," says pianist Bertrand Chamayou. "They are pioneers in the sense that, for many people, they changed the very idea of what... |
GLUCK / HANDEL / PURCELL / MOZART / MAHLER / BACH / etc
Dame Janet Baker: A Celebration - Great recordings on Philips, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, & Hyperion Dame Janet Baker (mezzo) with Gerald Moore, Geoffrey Parsons, Benjamin Britten, English Chamber Orchestra & others [ Decca / 21 CD Box Set - released 8/Dec/2023 ] Dame Janet Baker is an artist who enjoyed seldom-matched success in the concert and recital halls as well as in the opera house - not to mention on disc. She could confidently traverse the entire territory between the well-thumbed volumes of arie... |
BELLINI / DONIZETTI / LEONCAVALLERO / VERDI
Operette - Wien - Berlin - Paris Diana Damrau (soprano) / with Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Ernst Theis [ Erato / Warner Classics / CD - released 8/Dec/2023 ] Soprano Diana Damrau, dazzling in the operas of Mozart, Donizetti, Verdi and Richard Strauss, also has operetta in her blood. With this album she tours three capital cities of operetta - Vienna, Berlin and Paris - and covers nearly seven decades of... |
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Debussy: Preludes Books 1 & 2 Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano) [ Decca / CD - released 8/Dec/2023 ] Jean-Yves Thibaudet's classic recording of Debussy's Preludes with Vivienne Westwood created artwork. One of Vivienne Westwood's last creations before she died in December 2022, the design includes a personal tribute from Jean-Yves to Vivienne... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
21 x 21: Beneath The Trees Jenny Wollerman (soprano), Jian Liu (piano) [ Atoll Records / CD - released 8/Dec/2023 ] This project - to commission 21 female composers from Aotearoa New Zealand to write a song, then perform, record, and publish the resulting works - was developed as a way to profile the work of female composers and poets from this country and go some... |
Zygmunt NOSKOWSKI / Władysław ŻELEŃSKI
Noskowski//Zelenski: Violin Sonatas Laurence Kayaleh (violin) Bernadene Blaha (piano) [ Naxos / CD - released 8/Dec/2023 ] Both Zygmunt Noskowski and Władysław Żeleński were leading exponents of Polish nationalism in the period from the last quarter of the 19th century. |
RODRIGO / VIVALDI / FLAMENCO / TRADITIONAL
Los Romeros - The Mercury Masters Los Romeros, with San Antonio Symphony, Victor Alessandro [ Decca / Philips / Mercury / 10 CD Box Set - released 8/Dec/2023 ] Los Romeros was the first guitar quartet to achieve eminence across continents and on stages of the world. Their first recordings were made in January 1960 and released on Contemporary Records. |
GIOVANNI SGAMBATI
Sgambati: Sinfonia festiva / Piano Concerto in G minor Massimiliano Damerini (piano) / Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma della RAI, Francesco La Vecchia [ Naxos / CD - released 8/Dec/2023 ] Giovanni Sgambati led the revival of Italian orchestral music during the late 19th century. He was a favourite student of Liszt, admired by Wagner, and a pivotal figure in the emancipation of his country's music from the dominance of bel canto opera.... |
LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Maestro: Music By Leonard Bernstein London Symphony Orchestra,Yannick Nézet-Séguin [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 8/Dec/2023 ] From Director Bradley Cooper, Maestro is the towering and fearless love story chronicling the lifelong relationship between cultural icon Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein. A love letter to life and art, Maestro, at its core,... |