CARL TEIKE
Teike: Marches Vol. 1 The Royal Swedish Navy Band, Alexander Hanson [ Naxos / CD - due 21/Jun/2024 ] German composer Carl Teike came into contact with military music at an early age, but with his modest temperament he never achieved a high rank during his time in the army. |
PAUL DUKAS
Dukas: Music for Piano / Orchestral Music / Ariane et Barbe-Bleue Philippe Jaroussky (countertenor), Jean Hubeau, Martha Argerich, Alexander Rabinovitch (pianos) / Orchestre National de I'O.R.T.F., etc [ Warner Classics / 4 CD Box Set - released 15/Mar/2024 ] The composer Paul Dukas was known for abandoning many of his musical undertakings, resulting in a limited output of published works. This collection consolidates the core of his oeuvre in landmark renditions by prominent artists. |
ANTOINE & MAX BOHRER
Bohrer: Grande symphonie militaire Friedemann Eichhorn (violin) Alexander Hülshoff (cello) / Jena Philharmonic Orchestra, Nicolás Pasquet [ Naxos / CD - released 16/Feb/2024 ] The Bohrer family produced a succession of distinguished musicians of whom the brothers Antoine, a violinist who studied with Rodolphe Kreutzer in Paris, and cellist Max were the most eminent. |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Overtures Kölner Akademie, Michael Alexander Willens [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 19/Jan/2024 ] "The Kölner Akademie is in period instrument guise, and the sound is of ten suitably thrilling and zippy" BBC Music |
ROBERT SCHUMANN
Schumann: Piano Quartet & Piano Quintet Isabelle Faust, Anne Katharina Schreiber, Antoine Tamestit, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Alexander Melnikov [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 24/Nov/2023 ] "By any standards this is chamber music playing of the highest class; the fact that it's performed on instruments of the period only makes it more satisfying." BBC Music Chamber Release of the Month Jan 2024 |
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Shakespeare: All's Well That Ends Well (recorded live in 2022) Royal Shakespeare Company / Claire Benedict, Benjamin Westerby, Rosie Sheehy, Jamie Wilkes, Will Edgerton, Bruce Alexander [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 22/Sep/2023 ] Bruce Alexander [The King of France] is best known as Superintendent Mullett in A Touch of Frost and has appeared in many other TV shows such as Berkeley Square, Casualty and Peak Practice. He has also played major roles in the theatre. |
GEORGE ENESCU
Enescu: Piano Quintet in D major / Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A major, Op. 11 (arr. piano & string quintet) Fine Arts Quartet, Alexander Bickard (double bass), Gisele Witkowski & Fabio Witkowski (piano) [ Naxos / CD - released 18/Aug/2023 ] It was in Paris just before the end of the 19th century that George Enescu began to compose prolifically, but it is only in recent years that a number of these scores have emerged. The Piano Quintet in D major is one such work, lost for decades, but... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Fantasie: Seven Composers, Seven Keyboards Alexander Melnikov (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 16/Jun/2023 ] BBC Music Magazine July 2023 - Instrumental Choice |
JOHN DOWLAND / THOMAS CAMPION / JOHN DANYEL / THOMAS FORD / HENRY PURCELL / etc
Drop Not, Mine Eyes Alexander Chance (counter-tenor), Toby Carr (lute) [ Linn / CD - released 28/Apr/2023 ] "Chance's tone is pellucid; notes fall round and clear as water drops...a recording in which Chance stakes serious claim to the title of his generation's most exciting British countertenor." Gramophone Editor's Choice July 2023 |
JONATHAN LESHNOFF
Leshnoff: Elegy / Violin Concerto No. 2 / Of Thee I Sing Noah Bendix-Balgley (violin) / Canterbury Voices / Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Alexander Mickelthwate [ Naxos / CD - released 21/Apr/2023 ] This is Naxos's fifth album devoted to the music of leading American composer, Jonathan Leshnoff. He was GRAMMY-nominated for his album Violins of Hope (Naxos 8.559809) and is among the most frequently performed of living composers. The themes of... |
DIETER AMMANN
Ammann: Core - Turn - Boost & unbalanced instability Noah Bendix-Balgley (violin) / Canterbury Voices / Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Alexander Mickelthwate [ Naxos / CD - released 14/Apr/2023 ] Dieter Ammann has won numerous international awards and is now one of the most renowned Swiss composers of his generation. The multilayered unbalanced instability is a concerto for violin and chamber orchestra that seeks unpredictability and shifting... |
ANTONIN DVORAK
Dvorak: Violin Concerto & Trio Op. 65 Isabelle Faust (violin) Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello) Alexander Melnikov (piano), Prague Philharmonia, Jiri Belohlavek [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 10/Feb/2023 ] Almost twenty years ago, Isabelle Faust and Jiří Bělohlávek established a new milestone in the discography of Dvořák's Violin Concerto. The coupling, the tumultuous Trio in F minor, inaugurated the violinist's long and fruitful collaboration with... |
BOHUSLAV MARTINU / HANS KRASA / VIKTOR KALABIS
Martinů, Krása & Kalabis: Harpsichord Concertos Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord) / Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra / Alexander Liebreich [ Hyperion / CD - released 3/Feb/2023 ] "An unalloyed joy from first chord to last...The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra's accompaniment is sensitive and ideal, and Esfahani plays like an angel." Gramophone Award Finalist 2023 - Concerto |
MARCO PUTZ
Pütz: Moods Cottbus State Theatre Philharmonic Orchestra, Alexander Merzyn, with Philippe Schwartz (euphonium) & Karl Berkel (tuba) [ Naxos / CD - released 27/Jan/2023 ] Marco Pütz gained international recognition after winning awards for his compositions in the mid-1990s. Accessibility and enjoyment for both audiences and musicians are a central element in Pütz's music, and he is renowned for numerous symphonic,... |
LENNOX BERKELEY / JOHANNES BRAHMS / JONATHAN LESHNOFF
Berkeley / Brahms / Leshnoff: Horn Trios David Cooper (horn) Alexander Kerr (violin) Orion Weiss (piano) [ Naxos / CD - released 27/Jan/2023 ] Lennox Berkeley's Trio is lively and characterful with a sequence of ingenious and playful variations. GRAMMY-nominated Jonathan Leshnoff is one of America's leading contemporary composers and his 2016 Trio moves from darkness to light. |
SELAOCOE / BACH / PLATTI
Where Is Home (Hae Ke Kae) Abel Selaocoe (cello) with Yo-Yo Ma, Colin Alexander, Simran Singh, Max Baillie, Rakhvinder Singh, Ruth Gibson & others [ Warner Classics / CD - released 23/Sep/2022 ] BBC Music AWARD NOMINATION 2023 - CHAMBER BBC Music AWARD NOMINATION 2023 - NEWCOMER |
CHOPIN / RACHMANINOFF
Chopin, Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonatas Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello), Alexander Melnikov (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 2/Sep/2022 ] "Jean-Guihen Queyras and Alexander Melnikov somehow manage to contain the overgrowth and shape the profusion of ideas into a cultivated and warmly lit musical garden." Gramophone |
HENRY VIEUXTEMPS
Vieuxtemps: Fantasie in E major, Op. 9b 'La Sentimentale / Variations on a Theme from Bellini's Norma in G major, Op. 2 / etc Alexander Markov (violin) [ Naxos / CD - released 26/Aug/2022 ] Vieuxtemps transformed the technique and aesthetic of violin playing in the 19th century, and as a virtuoso exponent and composer he was considered a worthy successor to Paganini. |
BERNHARD HEINRUCH ROMBERG / ANTON KRAFT / NIKOLAUS KRAFT
Works for two cellos Alexander Rudin, Emin Martirosian (cello) / Musica Viva Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Alexander Rudin [ Naxos / CD - released 22/Jul/2022 ] The emergence of the cello as a solo instrument at the beginning of the 19th century encouraged composers to explore its melodic and sonorous potential, with compositions for two or more cellos becoming increasingly popular. Bernhard Romberg and... |
Joey Alexander
Origin [ Mack Avenue / CD - released 8/Jul/2022 ] Origin will be the 18-year-old pianist, composer and bandleader's sixth album. It follows 2020's Warna, released by Verve. "I'm honoured to be a part of the Mack Avenue family of amazing artists, and grateful to be able to work and collaborate... |