Christopher Jesina 11/15/24 Christopher Jesina 11/15/24

Jensen Artists: Selected 2024 Albums for Year-End Roundup Consideration

Selected 2024 Albums for Year-End Roundup Consideration

Neave Trio: A Room of Her Own (Chandos)
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James Blachly, Experiential Orchestra, Curtis Stewart:
American Counterpoints (Bright Shiny Things)
GRAMMY Nominated for Best Classical Compendium
GRAMMY Nominated for Best Classical Instrumental Solo
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Maya Beiser x Terry Riley: In C (Islandia Music Records)
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David Crowell: Point / Cloud (Better Company Records)
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Sophia Jani: Six Pieces for Solo Violin (Squama Recordings)
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Elizabeth Chang: Sonatas & Myths (Bridge Records)
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Neave Trio: Rooted (Chandos)
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David Kaplan: New Dances of the League of David (New Focus Recordings)
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Charlotte Hu: Liszt: Metamorphosis (Pentatone)
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Tina Davidson: Barefoot (New Focus Recordings)
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Alex Sopp: The Hem & The Haw (Sono Luminus, CD)
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Simone Dinnerstein: The Eye is the First Circle (Supertrain Records)
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Kristin Lee: American Sketches (First Hand Records)
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Ethan Iverson: Playfair Sonatas (Urlicht AudioVisual)
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Neave Trio – A Room of Her Own | February 2, 2024 (Chandos Records)
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“[T]he four works by Chaminade, Tailleferre, Smyth, and Lili Boulanger, are well chosen, both for themselves and for the way they work with and against each other.” “Throughout, the string tone is the most beautiful I’ve heard in a long time.” – Roger Nichols, BBC Music Magazine

“Naturally the case for all four composers is strengthened by these illustrious performances: the Neave Trio delivers perceptively characterised interpretations that are by turns individual and blended, supported by a pleasingly warm recording.” – Joanne Talbot, The Strad

“The Neave Trio has obviously invested time and emotional commitment into these pieces, and the album was splendidly recorded at Potton Hall in Suffolk. A superior chamber music release.” – James Manheim, AllMusic

On the Neave Trio’s fifth from Chandos Records, A Room of Her Own, two generations of composers are represented: Cécile Chaminade and Ethel Smyth were born in 1857 and 1858 respectively, while Germaine Tailleferre and Lili Boulanger were born in 1892 and 1893. All four were in their early twenties when they composed the works on this album. Smyth had just begun composing in her late teens, and the Piano Trio is one of her earliest known works, while Chaminade and Boulanger had been writing prolifically from an early age; Boulanger died prematurely, at the age of twenty-four, and her piano trios were among her final compositions, while the longest-lived of these composers, Tailleferre, returned to revise her forgotten early trio in her mid-eighties. The early lives of these composers were shaped by varying levels of familial support and educational opportunity, and each had to contend – in different ways – with the gendered barriers that faced women in music throughout their lifetimes.

The Neave Trio says of the album, “By recording and performing these trios, we aim to celebrate the richness of their musical contributions and emphasize the importance of recognizing and promoting the works of wonderful composers who happened to be women.”

James Blachly, Experiential Orchestra, Curtis Stewart – American Counterpoints | March 1, 2024 (Bright Shiny Things)
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GRAMMY® Nominated for Best Classical Compendium
GRAMMY® Nominated for Best Classical Instrumental Solo

“American Counterpoints shines a much-deserved light on [Julia Perry and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor,] two important, and thankfully rediscovered, figures in American classical music.” – Thomas Huizenga, NPR Music

“[Julia Perry’s Violin Concerto] is a fine example of the sober yet seething angularity of its era, leavened with warm strings and hints of Coplandesque expansiveness.” – Zachary Woolfe, The New York Times

“It’s not often you can claim a CD offers true revelations, but that’s the case with this fascinating release featuring US violinist and composer Curtis Stewart.” “a disc of musical discoveries, conveyed in compelling performances and warm, close sound.” – David Kettle, The Strad

American Counterpoints is the first album released by Experiential Orchestra since their Grammy® Award in 2021, and is the co-creation of GRAMMY®-winning conductor James Blachly, and 4-time GRAMMY® nominated violinist and composer, Curtis Stewart. Featuring the first commercial recording of Julia Perry's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, the album asserts the central importance of composers Julia Perry and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson in American classical music, juxtaposing early and late works of both composers and interweaving their compositions with original music by Curtis Stewart.

Maya Beiser x Terry Riley – In C | April 5, 2024 (Islandia Records)
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“This album is a musical journey for mind and body — both a stimulant and a sedative. It offers many engaging stopovers, from an oasis of calm where the pulse evaporates, to Led Zeppelin-like headbanging reminiscent of ‘Kashmir,’" to moments where the cello loops interleave with the sweet delicacy of Vivaldi. If you have a spare hour to let this singular, hypnotic music wash over you, the world might just seem a little brighter.” – Tom Huizenga, NPR’s All Things Considered

“Listen as cellist, producer, and adventurous artist Maya Beiser, turns Terry Riley’s minimalist classic, “In C”, into a captivating soundscape with her cello. In her version, the open-scored page is transformed into a series of drones and live cello loops, along with contributions from two of her long-time collaborators, the drummers Shane Shanahan and Matt Kilmer.” – John Schaefer, New Sounds

“an ecstatic, hypnotic piece of minimalism with sacred overtones” – John Lewis, The Guardian

Maya Bieser recreates Terry Riley’s In C as a series of ever-evolving cello loops. Enveloped by live drumming by Shane Shanahan and Matt Kilmer, Maya constructs a hypnotic, rapturous soundscape that re-envisions this classic 1964 Minimalist masterpiece, marking its 60th anniversary. “To me,” Maya says, “Terry Riley’s In C is an amalgamation of an ‘open source’ and ‘sacred text.’ In creating this album I was interested in finding the serendipitous rhythmic and melodic connections that emerge when reconstructing In C’s 53 melodic cells as a series of cello loops, floating above continuous C string cello drones. The cello’s lowest, most lush string, with its overtones and harmonics, forms the depth and resonance of the album.”

Terry Riley describes Maya's performance on the recording as, “stunningly beautiful.” He says, “The overall shape flows so naturally and her cello sound is so warm and powerful.”

David Crowell – Point / Cloud | May 3, 2024 (Better Company Records)
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”The New York multi-instrumentalist, who has played with Philip Glass and Steve Reich, shows great flair for making minimalism rich and harmonically complex.” – John Lewis, The Guardian – Contemporary Album of the Month

Featured on New Releases, April 2024 – John Schaefer, WNYC’s New Sounds

“[O]n Point / Cloud, composer, saxophonist, guitarist, and producer David Crowell proves his expertise at creating nuanced landscapes of feeling,” – Jeremy Shatan, anEarful

Point / Cloud is The Guardian’s Contemporary Album of the Month, described as “music that glistens, sparkles and dances with joy.” The album features David Crowell’s music performed by the GRAMMY®-nominated Sandbox Percussion, the versatile and gifted guitarists Dan Lippel and GRAMMY®-nominated Mak Grgić, and the musically meditative duo eco|tonal – David Crowell and cellist/singer/improviser Iva Casián-Lakoš. The album’s four sonically intricate and imagery-laden works prompt the idea of embracing respite while on journeys of travel and change – from the familiarity of highway drives, to enigmatic excursions, to pipe organs played by the ocean’s tides, to reprieve from musical progressions.

Sophia Jani – Six Pieces for Solo Violin | May 17, 2024 (Squama Recordings)
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“[Y]ou’ll want to explore more of [Sophia Jani’s] compositions just as much as I do once you listen to [Teresa] Allgaier’s performance of these seemingly simple, but deceptively complicated, works.” – Craig Byrd, Cultural Attaché

“The music here draws on the entire history of solo violin music to create something out-of-time yet contemporary…it’s rare to encounter a new piece that feels timeless from the outset.” – Peter Magarsak, Bandcamp

Six Pieces for Solo Violin was composed by Sophia Jani and recorded by violinist Teresa Allgaier Jani composed Six Pieces for Solo Violin between 2020 and 2023, and with it challenges the notion of simplicity as a parameter, weaving a tapestry of gentle consonance that invites contemplation and honors the violin as an instrument.

Of Six Pieces, Jani says, “What I find interesting about the violin is that it has remained the same for a few hundred years and has not really evolved. The great important violin cycles (Bieber, Bach, Paganini, Isaye, Lang) were not so much a reaction to the development of the instrument itself – unlike the piano for example – but about what kind of music could be written on it and what the players should be able to do. So the repertoire developed more based on the tastes of a certain period and who wrote for whom than motivated by technical advancement. Teresa and I asked ourselves what our contribution as two women of the 21st century could be in this context.”

Elizabeth Chang – Sonatas & Myths | May 17, 2024 (Bridge Records)
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“[Elizabeth] Chang is fiercely invested in this recording and her playing reflects a true understanding of these works. For 66 minutes, she and [Stephen] Beck give you music that obviously inspired countless composers who followed these three gentlemen.” – Craig Byrd, Cultural Attaché

“[Elizabeth Chang] is blessed with a beautiful tone, has fascinating musical ideas and a technique to burn.” “[Y]ou’ll be inspired and thrilled by great musicians performing wonderful repertoire at the highest level. Very highly recommended. – Anthony Kershaw, Audiophilia

Recorded with Elizabeth Chang’s longtime collaborator pianist Steven Beck, Sonatas and Myths features a collection of three seminal works from the early 20th century – Karol Szymanowski’s Mythes: Trois Poèmes, Op. 30 from 1915; Ernst von Dohnányi’s Violin Sonata in C# Minor, Op. 21 from 1912; and Béla Bartók’s Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano from 1921.

Sonatas and Myths portrays the profound teacher/student relationships from Chang’s artistic heritage, reflecting the influences and deep cross-generational connections between these composers. She explains, “I trace my connection to these composers through Carl Flesch, the great violin pedagogue who taught two of my teachers (Max Rostal and Roman Totenberg) and who was saved from deportation to a concentration camp by Dohnányi.”

Neave Trio – Rooted | July 5, 2024 (Chandos Records)
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“The Neave Trio have a way of making me fall in love with every oft-overlooked chamber work they record. Their latest release is chock full of Czech romanticism with trios by Smetana and Suk, as well as lovely folk-inspired works from Coleridge-Taylor and Martin.” – Emma Bauchner, Have You Heard - August 2024, WQXR

“[T]he virtues predominate, and the album's high points remain longest in your heart.” “A collection well worth experiencing.” – Peter J. Rabinowitz, Gramophone

“Such an inspired programme not only has immense musical appeal but also works superbly to the trio's advantage in enabling the group to demonstrate its versatility.” – Ron Schepper, Textura

Rooted features a range of works centered around folk music Piano Trio, Op. 15 in G minor by Bedřich Smetana; Five Negro Melodies from Twenty-four Negro Melodies, Op. 59 No. 1, for Solo Piano by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor; Petit Trio, Op. 2 in C minor by Josef Suk; and Trio sur des mélodies populaires irlandaises (on Popular Irish Melodies) by Frank Martin.

Smetana’s distinctive nationalistic style was largely based on the inclusion of bohemian rhythmic and melodic elements, and he was acclaimed in his native Bohemia as the father of Czech music. His Trio in G minor was composed in 1855 as a response to the death of his four-year-old daughter and shows the influence of Liszt. Josef Suk was a favorite pupil of Antonin Dvořák’s, and his early Piano Trio, while shorter in length and less intense than Smetana’s, is embedded in that Czech tradition. Also deeply influenced by Dvořák, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was inspired by his African heritage, and his Twenty-Four Negro Melodies for Piano was a prime example of his research. He subsequently arranged five of these pieces into the suite for piano trio that we hear on this album. The album concludes with Frank Martin’s Trio from 1925, which is based on several well-known traditional Irish melodies.

Of the new album, the Neave Trio writes, “ Each composer drew deeply from their personal lives and cultural roots, creating musical stories that are both universal and intimate. Working on these pieces has inspired us to reflect on our own stories and how our roots shape us artistically and beyond.”

David Kaplan – New Dances of the League of David | July, 12, 2024 (New Focus Recordings)
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“It’s obvious that Kaplan has devoted much time, care and consideration to honoring each composer’s wishes, including Schumann himself.” – Jed Distler, Gramophone

“the whole point is [the commissions’] diversity; Kaplan champions them all with spirit.” – Richard Fairman, Financial Times

“On this splendid release, the LA-based [David Kaplan] presents the composer's Davidsbündlertänze but with a twist . .the result is a riveting portrait in twenty-eight parts, thirteen short pieces from the original alongside fifteen reimaginings.” – Ron Schepper, Textura

New Dances of the League of David features 15 new piano miniatures commissioned by David Kaplan between 2013 and 2015 from some of today’s leading American composers, interwoven with Robert Schumann’s Davidsbündlertanze, Op. 6. The commissioned composers are Augusta Read Thomas, Martin Bresnick, Michael Stephen Brown, Marcos Balter, Gabriel Kahane, Timo Andres, Andrew Norman, Han Lash, Michael Gandolfi, Ted Hearne, Samuel Carl Adams, Mark Carlson, Ryan Francis, Caroline Shaw, and Caleb Burhans. Schumann’s Davidsbündlertanze is a collection of 18 short works from the 1830s, which the composer described as dances of the “League of David,” a musical society he created consisting of both real and imagined members – including the fictional characters Florestan and Eusebius, representing the two extremes of his own personality. The collection was dedicated to Robert Schumann’s wife, the composer and pianist Clara Wieck Schumann, and a mazurka she composed serves as its point of departure.

Kaplan writes, “Literary meanings, multiple personalities, and the border between reality and imagination aside, the Davidsbündlertänze is in purely musical terms a masterwork of startling originality; its genre simply has no precedent. . . The Davidsbündlertänze innovate in the contradiction between their apparent disjointedness and their stealthy, mysterious unity: pieces in different keys, with different affects, characters, tempi, lengths, and forms play on the same essential motives, and coexist with unlikely apposition. In a way, the young Schumann had invented the mixtape.”

Charlotte Hu – Liszt: Metamorphosis | July 19, 2024 (Pentatone)
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“A splendid introduction to a talented pianist” – Peter J. Rabinowitz, Gramophone

“[The programme] showcases some truly beautiful piano playing.” – Patrick Rucker, International Piano

“The album is a real gem.” – Giorgio Koukl, EarRelevant

Charlotte Hu explores Hungarian composer and virtuoso pianist Franz Liszt’s chameleonic and evolving approach to composing – the metamorphosis of his music spanning from his early works inspired by Beethoven to the abstract tonality of his later works, as well as his incredible ability to transcribe and transform the music of other composers he admired.

Liszt: Metamorphosis includes Liszt’s Les jeux d'eau à la Villa d'Este (The Fountains of the Villa d’Este) from 1877; his Lieder Transcriptions of art songs by Schumann and Schubert from 1838 and 1848; Three Concert Études from 1845-49; and Rhapsodie espagnole (Spanish Rhapsody) from 1858.

With this album’s release, Charlotte Hu announces a metamorphosis of her own – a new name. She says, “When I came to America from Taiwan at the age of 14, my Chinese name was translated to Ching-Yun. Though musical sounding, the translation from Chinese did not reflect its origin. I've long felt the need to embrace my evolving identity. To better reflect this new direction, I have chosen Charlotte Hu as my new stage name. Having lived as Ching-Yun in the media for decades and through so many important life milestones, it was not an easy decision. However, with time, experience, and self-realization comes strength to embrace change. Charlotte, with French origins, means freedom. As a Taiwanese-American, Charlotte embodies the core of my personality and lifelong aspiration to have the courage to act, think, and speak without hindrance or restraint.”

Tina Davidson – Barefoot | July 26, 2024 (New Focus Recordings)
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“Each of the five works inhabits a single, intense emotion, which Davidson pursues with her own energy, like a life force, barely concealed beneath the surface.” – Laurence Vittes, Gramophon

“the depth of representation and feeling [on Barefoot] is remarkable – James Manheim, All Music

“[Tina Davidson’s] use of lyrical lines gives her compositions a singing quality.” – Giorgio Koukl, EarRelevant

The new album highlights five of Davidson’s chamber music pieces for varying combinations of strings and piano, composed over the past decade, including Tremble (2013) for violin, cello and piano; the title track Barefoot (2011) for violin, cello, viola, and piano; Wēpan (2014) for string quartet and piano; Hush (2017) for violin and piano; and Leap (2021) for violin, cello, viola, and piano. Barefoot features performances by the Jasper String Quartet (violinists J Freivogel and Karen Kim, violist Andrew Gonzalez, and cellist Rachel Henderson Freivogel) and pianist Natalie Zhu.

All of the works are deeply personal for Davidson. She explains in her note for the album: “I am a composer who writes about where I am at that moment. For years I composed about a sense of connectedness to something larger than myself. But in this decade of life, I find myself returning to quieter issues. I have softened and come home to myself.”

Alex Sopp – The Hem & The Haw | September 27, 2024 (New Amsterdam Records [Digital], Sono Luminus [CD])
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“a colorful and vibrant blend of 80’s electronic pop with a dreamy and ethereal presence. There’s a bit of a Kate Bush element to [title track, “The Hem & The Haw”], with a very colorful and cinematic soundscape that Sopp perfectly combines with her seductive vocals. – Will Oliver, We All Want Someone To Shout For

"[an] utterly seductive album of ten smart and sophisticated pop songs." – The Wire

Flutist, composer, vocalist, and visual artist Alex Sopp’s new album The Hem & The Haw is a collection of 10 songs written by Sopp in 2020 during the pandemic. She explains, “This album came to me in a fit of stillness. I had been moving so much and for so long that I forgot that my favorite thing to do is to just sit. Sitting in stillness involves watching, waiting, listening, and observing. . . I have been writing many secret songs for a long time now, always teasing at my inner world without fully letting it see the light of day. Over the years the desire to make my own music has grown alongside the desire to make my own artwork. Like most of the world, the events of 2020 left me with a fresh batch of time and that is when I wrote this particular group of songs.”

Sopp’s songs on The Hem & The Haw find depth in their playfulness. The vocal work and lyrical expression are beautifully decorated by a wide palette of acoustic and electronic timbres. Ah Said Rosita greets the listener with an evolving vocal wall of sound that grows in intensity with each repetition. The strong sense of grounding in North Pole in Summer melts into an open sonic landscape, where instruments bloom from the central chord progression like a Glassian labyrinth playing out in double time. Like a Vine grows out of a central pulse while myriad synthesizers follow the lyrics down winding and unpredictable paths.

This is Sopp’s first non-classical album featuring her own songs. Of the musical path that led her to this point, she says: “I’ve been so fortunate to have such a rich musical life. I started singing as a child in the Virgin Islands, and then for a while I transferred my singing voice solely to the flute – the kind of fierce focus one has to have while studying in a conservatory environment at Juilliard. My flute playing took me to play for several years as a guest with the New York Philharmonic, and much to my great luck I grew into my beautiful chamber music family The Knights. Living in New York in the mid-2000s, the music scene was full of curiosity and dialogue between classical musicians and rock bands and singer songwriters. It was during this time that yMusic formed. I started using my voice again with yMusic, when I found myself collaborating with artists such as Sufjan Stevens, Ben Folds, and Paul Simon. I provided backup vocals on several albums and found myself singing more and more in live contexts, performing major roles in theatrical productions requiring musical chameleonhood by composers like Gabriel Kahane and Chris Thile. My confidence grew!”

Simone Dinnerstein – The Eye is the First Circle | October 18, 2024 (Supertrain Records)
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GRAMMY®-nominated pianist Simone Dinnerstein released her new album, The Eye is the First Circle featuring iconic American composer Charles Ives’ Concord Sonata, on October 18, 2024 via Supertrain Records – timed to coincide with Ives’ 150th birthday on October 20. The new album is a live recording of the premiere of Dinnerstein’s multimedia production of the same title, at the Alexander Kasser Theater, Montclair State University, New Jersey on October 17, 2021. This recording is Dinnerstein's last to be released with her longtime recording partner, the late GRAMMY-winning producer Adam Abeshouse, who also produced her previous thirteen albums.

With her production The Eye is the First Circle, Simone Dinnerstein ventured into bold interdisciplinary artistic territory in collaboration with projection designer Laurie Olinder and lighting designer Davison Scandrett. Conceived and directed by Dinnerstein, the dynamic production deconstructs and collages elements from two iconic works of art – Simone’s father Simon Dinnerstein’s painting The Fulbright Triptych and Charles Ives’ Concord Sonata – and also incorporates ambient sounds of children playing, night sounds from the pond, and birdsong.

Dinnerstein explains the work further. She writes in the liner notes: “We tend to think of identity as taking us back to our roots, the part of us which remains essentially the same across time. In fact, identity is always a never-completed process of becoming – a process of shifting identifications, rather than a singular, complete, finished state of being. Ives’ music teems with invention, with the music that was all around him – art music and popular music – from which he, in turn, created his own distinctive and changing voice. . . This artistic project was a way in which I could ponder the process we’ve all been through – the accretion of experiences and influences that brought me to the place I was. It was an attempt to do what Emerson argued that we all want to do: to draw a new circle.”

Kristin Lee – American Sketches | November 15, 2024 (First Hand Records)
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“With a relaxed, in the groove, almost laissez-faire approach, violinist Kristin Lee and pianist Jeremy Ajani Jordan deliver renditions of these pieces that feel so natural and off-the-cuff as to almost sound improvised, which suits this type of music extremely well.” – Jean-Yves Duperron, Classical Music Sentinel

American Sketches is Kristin Lee’s debut full-length recording, due for release on November 15, 2024 via First Hand Records. A milestone for the internationally acclaimed soloist, educator, chamber musician, and artistic director, Lee is joined by pianists Jeremy Ajani Jordan and Jun Cho on the album, with Jordan also contributing arrangements of selected works. American Sketches reflects the distinct and recognizable sound of American music and its rich history, encompassing both Lee’s journey as an American, as well as the journeys of the composers she has selected.

A native of Seoul, Korea, she emigrated to the U.S. at the age of seven. During her childhood, playing the violin was a refuge from bullying and racism for Kristin – she moved to the U.S. not speaking any English, and felt the violin became her voice. As a foreign-born citizen of the U.S., Lee was compelled to select this repertoire to express her pride in the country she now calls her own, and has recorded works by American composers that have a distinct and recognizable sound of American music and its rich history.

American Sketches includes: Four Rags by John Novacek, Girl Crazy: But Not For Me (Arr. Jeremy Ajani Jordan, B. 1989) by George Gershwin, Lament (Arr. J.A. Jordan) by James Louis ‘J.J.’ Johnson, The Entertainer (Arr. J.A. Jordan) by Scott Joplin; Romance, Op. 23 by Amy Beach; Southland Sketches by Henry 'Harry' Thacker Burleigh non-poem 4 (Arr. for Violin and Piano, 2018) by Jonathan Ragonese Four Airs: IV. Air (Previously Called Aria) by Kevin Puts; Monk's Mood by Thelonious Monk.

Of what American Sketches means to her, Kristin Lee says:

“My inspiration for American Sketches lies in the celebration of differences. It is the differences of people, environment, and encounters that ignite our curiosity, fuel our motivation, and inspire our creativity. By accepting and appreciating these differences, we pave the way for changes to our society. Whilst adopting change is difficult for many people, it is a critical component in our ever-evolving world, particularly within the musical communities. The history of American music is a great example of this notion. From the Indigenous sounds of the Native Americans to the influences of Western Europe and Africa, the American sound merged and evolved into what we know as Ragtime, Appalachian Folk, Jazz, and so much more. The variety of musical styles represents the diverse culture of America, showcasing the beauty of individual expression and the celebration of American history.”

Ethan Iverson – Playfair Sonatas | November 15, 2024 (Urlicht AudioVisual)
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“[Playfair Sonatas] is a wonderful CD”; “an imaginative recording.” – Ken Talbot, Musicweb International

Playfair Sonatas, the new album from pianist, composer, and writer Ethan Iverson, features six sonatas composed by Iverson for six different instruments and piano, and recorded by Iverson with some of today’s most vibrant classical performers – violinist Miranda Cuckson; marimba player Makoto Nakura; clarinetist Carol McGonnell; trombonist Mike Lormand; saxophonist Taimur Sullivan; and trumpeter Tim Leopold.

Playfair Sonatas was born in 2020 during the pandemic, when Iverson met curator, producer, and frequent commissioner of new work Piers Playfair for a summertime outdoor dinner. Like most musicians that year, Iverson had downsized and was concerned about making a baseline income. He had recently moved and rented a smaller, cheaper studio, and when Playfair asked if there was anything he could help with, Iverson replied, “Yeah, I’d love to cover the studio rent for a few months.” The two agreed that in exchange for six months of rent, Iverson would write six sonatas, and that Playfair would be allowed to choose the instrumentation.

Iverson’s Playfair Sonatas showcases a signature approach: The sonatas intertwine 21st-century jazz gestures with the formal structures of Beethoven, Mozart, and Haydn. While the outer movements are titled with traditional tempo indications (Allegro, Rondo, Scherzo, and similar), the middle movements of each work are dedicated to an artist whose work blended jazz and classical.

Christopher Jesina 11/15/24 Christopher Jesina 11/15/24

Sony Classical in 2024: Albums for Year-End Roundup Consideration

Sony Classical 2024 Albums for Year-End Roundup Consideration

Anastasia Kobekina: Venice
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Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, and Yo-Yo Ma:
Beethoven for Three – Symphony No. 4 and Op. 97
GRAMMY® Nominated for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
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Luka Faulisi: Vivaldi
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Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus
GRAMMY® Nominated for Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album
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Bryce Dessner: Solos
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Joshua Bell, Steven Isserlis, Jeremy Denk: Mendelssohn Piano Trios
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Paul Robeson: Voice of Freedom
- The Complete Columbia, RCA, HMV, and Victor Recordings
GRAMMY® Nominated for Best Historical Album

Igor Levit: Brahms Piano Concertos & Solo Piano Opp. 116-119
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Khatia Buniatishvilli: Mozart Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 23
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Yo-Yo Ma, Kathryn Stott: Merci
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Hayato Sumino: Human Universe
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Michael Tilson Thomas: The Complete CBS, RCA, and Sony Classical Recordings

Anastasia Kobekina – Venice | February 24, 2024
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“[Anastasia Kobekina’s] playing can be feverishly swift but also lithe.” “[I]t comes across as supple and sensitive on the recording.” – Olivia Hampton, NPR Morning Edition

“Interesting textures abound” “This is altogether a striking disc.” – Janet Banks, The Strad

“The programme is singular and intimate, less about virtuosic solo cello than ensemble musicianship, and all the better for it.” – Fiona Maddocks, The Guardian

Venice, which showcases many sides of Anastasia Kobekina’s artistry, draws listeners away from the lugubrious gondoliers and carnival masks that have provided our standard musical image of Venice. Instead, the album asks how much of what we’ve internalized about the iconic city is actually real. “Venice feels not just a city but an idea, a character in itself,” says the cellist; “or maybe it presents a different character to each of us. It asks questions of you, fires your imagination.” Her album, on which Kobekina is joined by a team of handpicked soloists and the Basel Chamber Orchestra, presents an embracing, personal conversation between past and present, including music from the Renaissance of Claudio Monteverdi and John Dowland to the twenty-first-century of Brian Eno and Caroline Shaw.

In reflecting on a city that exists both physically and in the imagination, Venice creates and links musical worlds. Some of the most familiar music on the album is invigorated for being both taken out of one context and placed in another. More unfamiliar music sounds strangely close-to-home. The effect is dream-like, enchanting and thought provoking – as mysterious, timeless and surprising as Venice itself.

Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, and Yo-Yo Ma – Beethoven for Three: Symphony No. 4 and Op. 97 "Archduke" | March 15, 2024
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GRAMMY® Nominated for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance

“This album breathes new life into the all-star format, and it made classical best-seller lists in the spring of 2024.” – James Manheim, AllMusic

“[T]his reading transmits in spades the sheer pleasure of three virtuosos with nothing left to prove simply playing together: surely the holy grail of chamber music making.”– David Threasher, The Strad

Like the artists' two previous Beethoven for Three releases, this new recording featuring Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, and Yo-Yo Ma challenges the traditional distinction between chamber and orchestral repertoire, pairing the unforgettable "Archduke" trio with one of the composer's most internally varied symphonies, thoughtfully re-arranged for piano, violin, and cello by Shai Wosner. Beethoven for Three: Symphony No. 4 and Op. 97, “Archduke" is the latest chapter in three friends’ ongoing exploration of what Beethoven’s invention means for musicians and audiences today.

The Beethoven for Three series features three artists in pursuit of the essential elements of Beethoven's musical language, presenting Beethoven's most iconic symphonies in intimate arrangements that maintain the power and immediacy of his orchestral works. By performing the symphonies on three instruments alongside the composer’s canonical piano trios, the artists present a wealth of insight into both Beethoven and his earliest audiences.

“We all feel that being able to participate in a symphony is such a wonderful thing to do,” says Ma. “One of the things that has separated people since recording began is the categories that we put people in, in which chamber musicians, orchestra players, people who play concertos, people who do transcriptions, people who compose, people who conduct, are all viewed as separate categories with no overlap. That siloed thinking discourages actual creativity and collaboration between people. And so we feel that one of the things that is really important to do today is to actually go back to the first principles of music, the simple interaction between friends who want to do something together."

Luka Faulisi – Vivaldi | April 26, 2024
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“[Luka Faulisi’s] gift for bringing a lyrical quality to these oft-recorded works is evident throughout.” – Greg Cahill, Strings

“[Luka] Faulisi is a player of great control and attention to detail.” – Samuel Wigutow, Concerto.net

Vivaldi is the exceptional new recording of the much loved Vivaldi “Four Seasons” by rising Italian-Serbian-French violinist Luka Faulisi, taking on the piece with his bright, youthful energy. For this album, Faulisi collaborated with the excellent Polish baroque ensemble (oh!) Orkiestra Historyczna, directed by concertmaster and ensemble leader Martyna Pastuzka. The combination of Luka’s romantic sound, formed in French impressionistic repertoire, and the ensemble’s energetic and forceful take let the well-known masterpiece shine in a new light.

With “a million-dollar sound” (Pinchas Zukerman), twenty-one-year-old Luka Faulisi is one of the most promising violinists of his generation. Having started to play the violin at the age of three, Luka was a student of Boris Belkin at the Conservatorium Maastricht in the Netherlands. Over the years, through personal mentoring, several distinguished artists have influenced Luka’s musical formation. Pavel Berman describes him as an ‘an incredibly gifted virtuoso violinist’. Flautist Emmanuel Pahud praises Luka as ‘an extremely talented young man with great instrumental abilities and a strong musical expression’ and according to Jean-Jacques Kantorow Luka possesses “incredible facilities.”

Ryuichi Sakamoto – Opus | August 9, 2024 (Sony Music Masterworks)
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GRAMMY® Nominated for Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album

“One might say it was a performance for nobody — Sakamoto filmed alone in a studio, with only the crew there as audience. But it’s more correct to say it’s for us, a gift from a master.” – Alissa Wilkinson, The New York Times

“[Ryuichi Sakamoto’s] playing throughout is emotionally resonant and carefully considered, but he eschews showy displays of technical prowess in favor of an intimate depiction of the man behind the piano.” – Colin Joyce, Pitchfork

“The stillness and poise, a sonic slow-motion playing out on some subtle fractal sonic wave that never breaks makes this set startling and arresting, as quiet as it is. Meditative, too. Good for the early hours.” – Tim Cumming, The Arts Desk

In late 2022, the Japanese composer, producer, and artist Ryuichi Sakamoto sat down at the piano for a final performance. Too ill to complete an entire set at once, Opus is garnered from multiple sessions shot and recorded in Tokyo’s legendary NHK 509 Studio. The concert was filmed and recorded without an audience, directed by Sakamoto’s son Neo Sora and turned into a film Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus, now available on The Criterion Channel. Opus was carefully curated by Sakamoto, with selections including his iconic film scores, Yellow Magic Orchestra classics, alongside pieces reflective of his eclectic career. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, perhaps one of his most famous melodies, and beloved works Andata, Aqua, and Trioon are represented as well as entirely new or never-before-recorded compositions. There is for Jóhann, dedicated to the late composer and Sakamoto’s friend Jóhann Jóhannsson, BB, a tribute to filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci, and 2010219 (w/prepared piano), a previously unreleased solo prepared-piano track, are all new to Sakamoto’s vast repertoire.

Sakamoto provided a statement on the project after it was recorded, saying:

“The project was conceived as a way to record my performances – while I was still able to perform – in a way that is worth preserving for the future. In some sense, while thinking of this as my last opportunity to perform, I also felt that I was able to break new ground. Simply playing a few songs a day with a lot of concentration was all I could muster at this point in my life. Perhaps due to the exertion, I felt utterly hollow afterwards, and my condition worsened for about a month. Even so, I feel relieved that I was able to record before my death – a performance that I was satisfied with.”

Bryce Dessner – Solos | August 23, 2024
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“All the musicians on this record are exceptional soloists who have spent their lives perfecting their instrument." – Bryce Desser on NPR Morning Edition

“[On Solos, Bryce Dessner is] giving these musicians the most exposed and personal form of music” – Martin Cullingford, Gramophone

“Dessner writes idiomatically for all the instruments [on Solos]. . . and that is quite an accomplishment.” “Bryce Dessner, founder and guitarist of the indie rock band The National, has arguably had the greatest success of any of the figures who have attempted the jump from rock to classical concert music, reaching greater heights with each new release.” – James Manheim, AllMusic

Bryce Dessner’s new album Solos is a collection of unaccompanied instrumental works written by Dessner over the past few years from both his classical and scoring catalog. Solos showcases not only Dessner’s compositional flair but also the immense talent of his frequent collaborators and friends. Featured soloists include cellist Anastasia Kobekina; violinist Pekka Kuusisto; pianist Katia Labèque; harpist Lavinia Meijer; violist Nadia Sirota; percussionist Colin Currie and Dessner himself on acoustic guitar. Today’s album release also signifies the launch of an extensive partnership that will see Dessner’s classical compositions released on Sony Classical while sister label Milan Records will continue to be a home for some of his celebrated soundtracks.

Of his Sony Classical debut, Bryce Dessner says, “Writing a solo piece for me is always a great challenge and joy, as you have all the personality and talent of the player plus the physicality and resonance of the solo instrument. These pieces of mine are often written like poems, where the musical language itself dictates the form and evolution of the piece and were often opportunities for me to explore more deeply my relationship to the instruments they were composed for. They also represent in each case close collaborative relationships and friendships I have been very lucky to develop with the incredible musicians who play them. Katia, Pekka, Anastasia, Nadia, Lavinia and Colin are all exceptional artists who brought so much of their amazing talent to these recordings.”

Joshua Bell, Steven Isserlis, Jeremy Denk – Mendelssohn Piano Trios | August 30, 2024
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“[A]s a whirling blend of lyricism and drive, conversation and argument, polish and spontaneity, the performances are genuinely exciting, with such ‘oomph’ that it’s hard to tear oneself away.” – Jessica Duchen, BBC Music Magazine

Violinist Joshua Bell reunites with two of his favorite collaborating artists and friends – cellist Steven Isserlis and pianist Jeremy Denk – for Sony Classical’s new recording of the piano trios of Felix Mendelssohn. The new recording follows a unique all-Brahms collection For the Love of Brahms – released by Sony Classical in 2018 – that was also a collaboration of Bell, Isserlis and Denk. The two Mendelssohn trios – No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 49 (1839) and No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 66 (1845) – are regarded as being among the composer’s masterpieces.

Of the new Mendelssohn Piano Trio recording, Joshua Bell notes:

“Steven Isserlis and Jeremy Denk have been my most cherished chamber music partners for decades. They bring seemingly limitless imaginations and uncanny musical intelligence to every work I have had the privilege of exploring with them. It is my hope that our mutual joy for playing chamber music and, in particular, our shared deep love for the genius of Felix Mendelssohn comes through in this recording of these Piano Trios. I am forever grateful for having the opportunity to make this album.”

Paul Robeson – Voice of Freedom: The Complete Columbia, RCA, HMV, and Victor Recordings | August 30, 2024
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GRAMMY® Nominated for Best Historical Album

“[T]his comprehensive survey of his recording career stands as a testament not just to Robeson’s incomparable talents and achievements, but also to the substantial hurdles faced by black Americans generally during his lifetime.” – David Mermelstein, Wall Street Journal

“[Voice of Freedom] aims to reinstate [Paul Robeson,] this one-time cultural icon, to his rightful place.” – Michel Martin, Olivia Hampton, NPR Morning Edition

“How do you pay tribute to the towering figure of Paul Robeson, the bass-baritone who also had a major stage and film career and was a prominent labor and civil rights activist? Sony Classical’s answer is Paul Robeson: Voice of Freedom.” – Jennifer Melick, Classical Voice North America

Paul Robeson—African-American bass-baritone, stage and film actor, All-American football player, lawyer, and advocate for civil rights—was outspoken against racism, colonialism, and social injustice. Rutgers graduate, scholar of world cultures, and speaker of more than 20 languages, he worked tirelessly to break down political and racial barriers, and to build bridges between the peoples of this world. However, with the advent of the Cold War and the Red Scare following World War II, the political climate changed. Doors began to close for Robeson as concert halls and radio stations shut him out. In July 1950, the US State Department revoked the blacklisted artist’s passport thus preventing him from pursuing his successful international career as a singer and actor. But international audiences continued to honor and call out for him, and he found technologically advanced and effective ways to reach his communities all over the world.

Today, his remarkable voice and unrivaled stage presence live on in sound recordings and films. This 14-CD edition, released on Sony Classical, is the first ever release of his complete Columbia, HMV and Victor recordings from 1925 to 1947. All of Robeson’s American recordings have been meticulously restored from the original master discs and tapes, and 25 studio recordings—as well as his complete historic New York and London recitals from 1958—are presented here for the first time on CD. The richly illustrated 160-page book, with essays by Shana L. Redmond and Susan Robeson, pays tribute to a cultural icon of the 20th century.

Igor Levit – Brahms: Piano Concertos & Solo Piano Opp. 116 - 119 | October 4, 2024
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“It’s all excellent. [Igor] Levit can be ruminative and poetic, then calmly commanding and even stormy without ever sounding harsh. As always, his most remarkable quality is avoiding seeming indulgent as he conveys personality and spontaneity. Under Christian Thielemann, the Vienna Philharmonic makes wonderful sounds,” Zachary Woolfe, The New York Times

“I stand in abject admiration of [Igor] Levit’s interpretative imagination as well as (almost needless to say) his fine technique. And the orchestral performances here, from a storied venue, bring the listener back in time to the creation of timeless music that feels as vital and emotionally stirring today in our anxious digital world as it did in the 19th century.” – Jon Sobel, Blogcritics

Johannes Brahms’ two piano concertos and Levit’s recording of Brahms’s well-known solo works opp. 116–119 make up the first joint recording by Igor Levit and Christian Thielemann – a triple album – released on Sony Classical. Levit’s and Thielemann’s first meeting was quite unplanned, although both had been curious about each other for a long time. In 2015, Levit spontaneously stepped in for a colleague who had fallen ill and performed Mozart’s C major Concerto K 467 with Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden in Munich. Despite an extremely short rehearsal period, the two hit it off straight away: “We have such a similar way of thinking that it is not necessary to discuss many things,” says Thielemann. And Levit adds: “When the piece begins, I simply have complete confidence in you. I know I can’t take a wrong turn. Having such unconditional trust is extraordinary.”

The two do not have to discuss individual passages – a common understanding is attained without the need for words, simply through listening and responding. Instead, they prefer to talk about performers and composers. And they are always amazed to discover how similarly they perceive so many things. Sometime after their initial meeting, it was during a walk together near Berlin that the conversation turned to Brahms – and thus they conceived the plan to record the two piano concertos as part of an upcoming Brahms cycle with Thielemann and the Vienna Philharmonic. For Levit the addition of Brahms’ beloved solo works opp. 116–119 on the album just felt right. Levit says: “Brahms’ music cannot leave you untouched. It’s just physically and emotionally not possible. Take op. 118 no. 2, for example, it’s like an arrow shot straight into your heart. It’s simply the most beautiful, touching, and tender music imaginable.”

Khatia Buniatishvilli – Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 23 | October 25, 2024
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“[I]t’s [Khatia Buniatishvilli’s] command of the stage, combined with her expressive performance energy and glamourous exterior that has made her a household name in classical music.” – Gary Gerard Hamilton, Associated Press

“Buniatishvili’s ability to infuse color into the sound is fully evident.” – Tal Agam, The Classic Review

For her tenth album on Sony Classical, pianist Khatia Buniatishvili joins an iconic orchestra in performances of two cherished piano concertos by Mozart, her first ever album dedicated to the composer. After a string of releases on Sony Classical that have redefined the parameters of the classical recital album, Khatia Buniatishvili is returning to tradition with a recording of two of Mozart’s most sublime late piano concertos.

In his Piano Concertos Nos 20 and 23, Mozart takes the genre of the concerto to new heights of sophistication and communicative power. The works come from the cherished crop of late piano concertos that are among the jewels of Mozart’s output and have long formed touchstone works for great pianists and recording artists. Mozart’s music, says Buniatishvili, carries “a simplicity that makes you lost before finding yourself.” She is joined on her recording by an orchestra with a near-unrivaled pedigree in Mozart recording, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.

Yo-Yo Ma, Kathryn Stott – Merci | October 25, 2024
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“A splendid introduction to a talented pianist” – Peter J. Rabinowitz, Gramophone

“[The programme] showcases some truly beautiful piano playing.” – Patrick Rucker, International Piano

“The album is a real gem.” – Giorgio Koukl, EarRelevant

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and longtime collaborator and pianist Kathryn Stott collaborate on new album Merci, released on Sony Classical. Merci is a deeply personal expression of gratitude, a celebration of the powerful relationships that keep music alive. This effervescent recording is rooted in the compositions of Gabriel Fauré, whom Stott calls her “musical soulmate,” and follows the arcs of his inspiration and influence, from the creations of his teacher Camille Saint-Saëns and his friend and supporter Pauline Viardot to works by his student Nadia Boulanger and her sister, Lili. Merci is testament to the gift of friendship, to the connections among performers, between students and teachers, and across generations that make music magic.

Ma and Stott—both of whom have connections to Fauré through their respective teachers Luise Vosgerchian and Nadia Boulanger—reveal the extent of Fauré’s influence and inspiration through a recording that juxtaposes Fauré’s works for strings and piano with compositions by members of his musical family. Yo-Yo Ma says, “we musicians stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, and that we can only hope that ours will sustain those who come after.”

“The inspiration for this project stretches back to my very early years as a child at the Menuhin School, where teachers often visited from Paris,” Stott writes in the recording’s liner notes. “One of those was Nadia Boulanger. Nadia had been a student of Gabriel Fauré, and when I was 10, I had the great privilege to play Fauré’s fourth Barcarolle for her; from that moment, Fauré’s music never left my side. At the age of 10, I had found my musical soulmate.”

Hayato Sumino – Human Universe | November 1, 2024
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Human Universe is the title of the new Sony Classical recording by the Japanese musical sensation Hayato Sumino – known to his million-plus YouTube followers simply as “Cateen.” The title also describes the environment where Sumino works, where he learns, where he creates, and where he dreams. For Human Universe, Hayato Sumino mixes classical pieces with his own compositions, which draw freely on improvisation and the music he came to love while growing up – jazz, rock, electronic, the music of anime – as well as the classical canon. Separately, and as a whole, they build the atmosphere he describes.

The familiar classical pieces by Bach, Chopin, Debussy, Fauré and Ravel – and even the late Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Solari and the track Day One from Hans Zimmer’s score for the film Interstellar – offer a grounding, both in what the listener expects and what drives Sumino’s imagination as a pianist and composer. Sumino’s recording of “Twinkle Twinkle” is a witty homage – in Sumino’s own terms – to Mozart’s famous set of variations on the nursery song Ah vous dirae-je, Maman (Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star). In his original pieces, Sumino gives voice to his sophisticated keyboard technique, in creating a rich sound-world that draws on the musical experiences that influence him and his expressive imagination. His three Nocturnes – I. Pre-Rain, II. After Dawn and III. Once in a Blue Moon – form a short cycle of daily human experience in sensual, almost tactile terms.

“As a musician, as a human, I listen to all kinds of music, as one small person in this entire universe,” Sumino says. “So, I hope the audience for Human Universe will feel the same way. As if they are sitting alone in the vast space of the universe, just talking with themselves in an introspective, intimate atmosphere… I hope it will bring them something they never experienced before.”

Michael Tilson Thomas – The Complete CBS, RCA, and Sony Classical Recordings | December 6, 2024
Pre-Order on Amazon

Michael Tilson Thomas – or MTT as he is affectionately known almost everywhere by now – has become one of the world’s best-loved musical figures and most successful recording artists, with a dozen GRAMMYs to his credit. In celebration of his 80th birthday, Sony Classical will release, for the first time, an 80-CD box set, which collects the entire discography MTT amassed for RCA, CBS and Sony Classical between 1973 and 2005.

Michael Tilson Thomas was born into an artistic family in Los Angeles in 1944. His paternal grandparents Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky were founding members of the Yiddish Theatre in America. By the age of 19, he was already conducting premières of works by Boulez, Copland, Stockhausen and Stravinsky. He assisted Boulez at the Ojai Festival in California, and in 1969 was appointed assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony under William Steinberg. He was music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic from 1971 to 1979, and principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1981 to 1985. He co-founded and directed the Miami-based New World Symphony, giving its first concert in 1988. That year, he became principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. In 1995, he assumed the career-defining post of music director of the San Francisco Symphony, turning an already top-class ensemble into America’s most boldly adventurous orchestra. Michael Tilson Thomas has been an eloquent champion of Mahler, Gershwin, Ives and Copland. He is also equally at home in the standard European repertoire, Broadway musicals and jazz; and he is a passionate, eloquent teacher.

Of what the collection means to him, Michael Tilson Thomas says, “Before and after this collection I made other recordings, but this edition represents a special period where the daring and exuberance of the musicians, the expertise of the technical team, and the support of recording companies enabled me to present a wide range of repertoire.”

Christopher Jesina 10/18/24 Christopher Jesina 10/18/24

Oct. 25: Pianist Khatia Buniatishvili Releases First Ever Mozart Album on Sony Classical with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

Pianist Khatia Buniatishvili Releases First Ever Mozart Album on Sony Classical with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

Pianist Khatia Buniatishvili Releases First Ever Mozart Album on Sony Classical
Including Piano Concertos No. 20 and 23
with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K.466/II. Romance
Out Today - Listen Here

Album Release Date: October 25, 2024
Pre-Order Available Now

For her tenth album on Sony Classical, Khatia Buniatishvili joins an iconic orchestra in performances of two cherished piano concertos by Mozart, her first ever album dedicated to the composer. The recording will be released on October 25, 2024. Listen here.

After a string of releases on Sony Classical that have redefined the parameters of the classical recital album, Khatia Buniatishvili is returning to tradition with a recording of two of Mozart’s most sublime late piano concertos.

In his Piano Concertos Nos 20 and 23, Mozart takes the genre of the concerto to new heights of sophistication and communicative power.

The works come from a cherished crop of late piano concertos that are among the jewels of Mozart’s output and have long formed touchstone works for great pianists and recording artists.

Mozart’s music, says Buniatishvili, carries ‘a simplicity that makes you lost before finding yourself.’ She is joined on her recording by an orchestra with a near-unrivaled pedigree in Mozart recording, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.

Mozart wrote his first piano concerto at the age of 11 in 1767. But everything changed in 1781 when the composer moved to Vienna and encountered a discerning public eager to hear piano concertos of increasing scope and variation.

The composer’s Piano Concerto No 20, dating from 1785, is not just the first he wrote in a minor key, it is the first to truly explore the properties that would make Mozart’s later concertos such masterpieces. This thrilling, changeable score forms the turning point in the composer’s project to reimagine the piano concerto as more than a superficial entertainment; to engage audiences in serious reflection and ensnare them with stories of drama, conflict, joy and loss. It is filled with the smoldering tensions of the composer’s iconic opera Don Giovanni, which launches with an imposing, troubled overture in the same key as the concerto, D minor.

The concerto’s key of D minor carries particular importance for the Georgian pianist. ‘D minor has always been my favorite in Mozart’s music,’ Buniatishvili says, referring to the sophisticated way in which the composer hides the comic inside the tragic in works including the opera Don Giovanni. ‘It is the unbearable heaviness of a pain transformed into a sigh of relief, which weirdly resembles happiness,’ she says, drawing comparison with the late Milan Kundera’s novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

A year after his D minor concerto, in March 1786, Mozart wrote his Piano Concerto No 23, a score filled with the spirit of another of the composer’s operatic masterpieces, Le nozze di Figaro, written at the same time. In this bold, spontaneous piece the sense of conversation is deepened further still, with instruments including the solo piano appearing as characters with distinct personalities vying for attention. It contains a sublime slow movement in the ‘black pearl’ key of F sharp minor.

After strong statements in the music of Liszt, Schubert, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Mussorgsky and the folk music of her native Georgia, Buniatishvili is well placed to put her formidable pianism and fearless musical imagination in the service of Mozart’s singular combination of the human and the divine. Her recording also includes the composer’s so-called ‘sonata facile’ or ‘little sonata for beginners’ - a work whose outward simplicity enshrines a playful introduction to the art of composition.

It was written in 1788, three years before the composer died, and only published after his death. Again, it occupies a telling key in Mozart’s oeuvre: the pure and radiant C major.

Buniatishvili recorded her album at Air Studios in London with the famed Academy of St Martin in the Fields - the orchestra whose recordings of operas, symphonies and concertos by Mozart under its music director Sir Neville Marriner became classics and which recorded the 13 Gold Disc-winning soundtrack to the iconic film Amadeus.

Khatia Buniatishvili is one of classical music’s true one-offs, a pianist with almost unequaled delicacy of touch and a film-director’s ear for focus-pulling and storytelling. She was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, in 1987 and studied at the University of the Arts in Vienna.

A former BBC New Generation Artist and protégé of Martha Argerich, Buniatishvili is a preferred collaborator of top-drawer musicians including Zubin Mehta, Paavo Järvi and Gidon Kremer - and has recorded with all three.

She signed to Sony Classical in 2010 and has now released ten albums on the label - including the concept albums Motherland and Labyrinth - all of which have ignited conversations on interpretation, presentation and repertoire.

Khatia Buniatishvili will play Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos 20 and 23 around the world in the coming season, including, in December 2024, as part of her residency at the Barbican Centre in London, where she will be joined by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.

Christopher Jesina 10/1/24 Christopher Jesina 10/1/24

Dec. 13: Sony Classical to Release Charles Ives – The RCA and Columbia Album Anthology in Celebration of the 150th Anniversary of American Composer

Sony Classical to Release Charles Ives – The RCA and Columbia Album Anthology

Sony Classical to Release
Charles Ives – The RCA and Columbia Album Anthology

In Celebration of the 150th Anniversary of
American Composer Charles Ives

Iconic Albums from the RCA and Columbia catalogs recorded in the analog era 1945–76 with 83 works for the first time on CD

Album Release Date: December 13, 2024
Reviewer Rate: $30.01

Pre-Order Available Now

In celebration of the Ives 150th anniversary year, Sony Classical proudly presents two of the most authoritative collections ever released of works by this eccentric, prophetic American genius. The 22-CD box set Charles Ives – The Anthology 1945–1976, which will be released on November 29, 2024, brings together the entire discography amassed over three decades by Columbia Masterworks, the label that dedicated itself with unmatched zeal to bringing his visionary works to public attention. The important albums made by RCA Victor during those years are also included in this, the largest and most comprehensive Ives compilation ever issued.

In January 1939 – twelve years after Ives had stopped composing new works altogether – John Kirkpatrick, the pianist who would become the composer’s friend and leading collaborator, played his Second Sonata (1916–1919), subtitled “Concord, Mass., 1840–1860” at New York’s Town Hall. It was the first public performance of Ives’s ferociously demanding masterpiece, and it garnered the first review of his music by a prominent, mainstream critic, who hailed the work as “the greatest music composed by an American”.

This was the turning point: “the artist and the work that launched the Ives revolution”, as it came to be known. In 1945, Kirkpatrick recorded the “Concord” Sonata for Columbia, which released it on 78s in 1948 and on vinyl a year later. Two decades later, the pianist made the celebrated stereo LP version of his painstakingly revised edition. Both of these still definitive recordings are in Sony’s new Ives “Anthology”.

In 1949, another outstanding interpreter of American music, William Masselos, gave another long overdue première, Ives’s remarkable First Piano Sonata (1909–21). A year later Masselos recorded it for Columbia, then he remade it in stereo for RCA Victor in 1966. Once again, a single artist’s two benchmarks, though in this case quite different, readings – the later one rather less reverential, more rhapsodic – are included in the new set.

Ives’s breakthrough as an orchestral composer finally came in 1946, when his Third Symphony “The Camp Meeting” (1901–12) was played in New York – the first time he had ever heard any of his symphonies performed complete. The next year it won him the prestigious Pulitzer Prize. In 1951, his Second Symphony (1907–09) had its première, with Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall. It was the first time that Ives, by then 77 years old, heard one of his major orchestral compositions played to his own satisfaction. Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic recorded the symphony in 1958, Columbia released it in 1960 along with an invaluable 13-minute bonus record of Bernstein talking about Ives and the symphony’s musical quotations.

During the 1960s, when the posthumous “Ives Revolution” was in full swing, Bernstein recorded the Third Symphony and the symphony of “New England Holidays”. In 1965, Ives’s profoundly searching Fourth Symphony, which Aaron Copland termed “an astonishing conception in every way”, had its première in 1965, with Leopold Stokowski conducting the American Symphony – a Grammy-winning milestone in American music history. In the same year, Morton Gould, conducting the Chicago Symphony for RCA, made the first recording of Ives’s First Symphony, begun when he was a student at Yale and still clearly in the European tradition. It also won a Grammy.

Not to be outdone, Eugene Ormandy jumped on the Ives bandwagon in Philadelphia, recording the first three symphonies, the “Holidays” and the beloved orchestral set Three Places in New England (the last-named work twice!) between 1964 and 1974. In that year, in London, José Serebrier, a co-conductor with Stokowski of the hugely complex Fourth’s première, recorded a version edited for a single conductor. The New York Times called the performance “stunning” and praised it for “extraordinary control and textural clarity”. Every one of these classic performances by Ormandy, Bernstein, Stokowski and Serebrier can be found in the Sony Ives “Anthology”.

Ives’s more than 150 songs rank among his finest achievements. 24 were recorded in 1969 by soprano Evelyn Lear and baritone Thomas Stewart, with Ives specialist Alan Mandel at the piano. This is the album’s first outing on CD. The greatest of the songs is the stirring General William Booth Enters into Heaven, now more familiar in the arrangement for bass, chorus and chamber orchestra. That version was part of the Gregg Smith Singers’ acclaimed 1966 album of Ives’s choral works, reissued in this set. Of his many chamber works, probably the best known are Ives’s two String Quartets, included here in the Juilliard String Quartet’s unsurpassed 1967 recording. The Second of his four Violin Sonatas is heard in a historic recording from 1950, never before issued on CD. The violin prodigy Patricia Travers was joined by pianist Otto Herz.

There are numerous other landmark recordings gathered in this epoch-making set, exploring works from every corner of Ives’s vast output, many of them also appearing for the first time on CD. One is a wildly entertaining album entitled Old Songs Deranged, played by the Yale Theater Orchestra and never reissued after its original Columbia release a half century ago. Edited and conducted by leading Ives authority James Sinclair, it inspired this wholehearted endorsement in a recent MusicWeb International Ives survey urgently calling for its re-release: “It sounds great! The marches are high-stepping, toe-tapping, swaggering romps. The sound of the orchestra is … completely idiomatic. This recording does such a good job of evoking Ives’ description of a ‘marching band with wings’ that it practically smells like Ives. The other works are wonderful too. Pieces like ‘Mists’ and ‘Evening’ conjure Victorian salon music filtered through the nostalgia of intervening years.” In short, Sinclair’s disc is a welcome addition to Sony Classical’s “Anthology 1945–76”, without doubt the essential Ives collection.

SET CONTENTS

Disc 1:
ML 4250
Ives: Piano Sonata No. 2 “Concord, Mass., 1840-60”
MM-749
Ives: Piano Sonata No.1: IIb. In The Inn: Allegro-Chorus

Disc 2:
ML 4490 Modern American Music Series
Ives: Piano Sonata No. 1
ML 2169
Ives: Sonata No.2 for Violin and Piano

Disc 3:
KS 6155
Ives: Symphony No. 2
Leonard Bernstein discusses Charles Ives

Disc 4:
MS 6775
Ives: Symphony No. 4
MS 7015
Ives: Robert Browning Overture

Disc 5:
MS 6843
Ives: Symphony No. 3 “The Camp Meeting”
Ives: Central Park in the Dark
Ives: Decoration Day
Ives: The Unanswered Question
MS 6161
Ives: Variations on “America”

Disc 6:
LSC-2893
Ives: Variations on “America”
Ives: Symphony No 1 in D Minor
Ives: The Unanswered Question

Disc 7:
MS 6921 Music for Chorus
Ives: General William Booth Enters into Heaven
Ives: Serenity
Ives: The Circus Band
Ives: December
Ives: The New River
Ives: Three Harvest Home Chorales
Ives: Psalm 100
Ives: Psalm 67
Ives: Psalm 24
Ives: Psalm 90
Ives: Psalm 150

Disc 8:
LSC-2941
Ives: Piano Sonata No.1

Disc 9:
LSC-2959
Ives: Orchestral Set No 2
Ives: Three Places in New England: II. Putnam's Camp
Ives: Robert Browning Overture

Disc 10:
MS 7027
Ives: String Quartet No. 1 “From the Salvation Army”
Ives: String Quartet No. 2

Disc 11:
MS 7111
Ives: Symphony No. 1
Ives: Three Places in New England
MS 7289
Ives (arr. William Schuman): Variations on “America”

Disc 12:
MS 7147
Ives: A Symphony, New England Holidays
M3X 31068 (M 31071)
Ives: The Gong on the Hook and Ladder
Ives: The Circus Band. March

Disc 13:
MS 7192
Ives: Piano Sonata No. 2 “Concord, Mass., 1840-60”

Disc 14:
MS 7321: New Music of Charles Ives
Ives: Processional “Let There Be Light”
Ives: Psalm 14
Ives: Psalm 54
Ives: Psalm 25
Ives: Psalm 135
Ives: Walt Whitman
Ives: 2 Slants (Christian and Pagan)
Ives: Duty
Ives: Vita
Ives: On the Antipodes
Ives: The Last Reader
Ives: Luck and Work
Ives: Like a Sick Eagle
Ives: A Lecture (Tolerance)
Ives: from the "Incantation"
Ives: The Pond
Ives: At Sea
Ives: The Children’s Hour
Ives: The Rainbow

Disc 15:
MS 7318 Calcium Light Night
Ives: Orchestral Set No. 1
Ives: Tone Roads No. 1
Ives: Orchestral Set No. 3
Ives: From the Steeples and the Mountains
Ives: The Rainbow
Ives: Ann Street
Ives: Scherzo: Over the Pavements
Ives: Orchestral Set No. 2 - Selections
Ives: Tone Roads No. 3
Ives: The Pond
Ives: Scherzo: All the Way Around and Back
Ives: Chromâtimelôdtune
M 33513
Ives: Omega Lambda Chi
Ives: March Intercollegiate

Disc 16:
M 30230 Chamber Music
Ives: Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano
Ives: A Set of Three Short Pieces
Ives: In re con moto et al
Ives: Largo for Violin, Clarinet and Piano
Ives: Largo risoluto No. 1
Ives: Hallowe'en
Ives: Largo risoluto No. 2
Ives: Largo for Violin and Piano

Disc 17:
M 30229 American Scenes - American Poets
Ives: The Things Our Fathers Loved
Ives: Walking
Ives: Autumn
Ives: Maple Leaves
Ives: At the River
Ives: Circus Band
Ives: The Side Show
Ives: Charlie Rutlage
Ives: Tom Sails Away
Ives: They are There!
Ives: In Flanders Field
Ives: Two Little Flowers
Ives: The Greatest Man
Ives: There is a Lane
Ives: The Last Reader
Ives: The Children’s Hour
Ives: Walt Whitman
Ives: The Light that is Felt
Ives: Serenity
Ives: Thoreau
Ives: Duty
Ives: Afterglow
Ives: The Housatonic at Stockbridge
Ives: Grantchester

Disc 18:
M 32969 Old Songs Deranged - Music for Theater Orchestra
Ives: Country Band March
Ives: The Swimmers
Ives: Mists
Ives: Charlie Rutlage
Ives: Evening
Ives: March II
Ives: March III
Ives: Overture and March 1776"
Ives: An Old Song Deranged
Ives: Gyp the Blood or Hearst? Which is Worst?
Ives: Remembrance
Ives: Fugue in Four Keys on The Shining Shore"
Ives: Chromatimelodtune
Ives: Holiday Quickstep
MG 33728 (2) Spirit Of '76
C. Ives (arr. William Schumann): Variations on “America”

Disc 19:
ARL1-0589
Ives: Symphony No. 4

Disc 20:
ARL1-0663
Ives: Symphony No. 2
LSC-3060
Ives: Symphony No. 3 “The Camp Meeting”

Disc 21:
ARL1-1249
Ives: A Symphony: New England Holidays
ARL1-1682
Ives: Three Places in New England

Disc 22:
ARL1-1599
Barber: String Quartet in B Minor, Op. 11
Ives: String Quartet No. 2
Ives: Scherzo for String Quartet

Christopher Jesina 9/16/24 Christopher Jesina 9/16/24

Oct. 25: Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Pianist Kathryn Stott to Release New Album Merci on Sony Classical – A Deeply Personal Expression Of Gratitude

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Pianist Kathryn Stott to Release New Album Merci on Sony Classical

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Pianist Kathryn Stott
to Release New Album Merci on Sony Classical

Gabriel Fauré’s Sicilienne, Op. 78
Out Today - Listen Here

Album Release Date: October 25, 2024
Pre-Order Here

A Deeply Personal Expression Of Gratitude; A Celebration Of The Relationships That Keep Music Alive

Album Highlights Include Gabriel Fauré’s Compositions For Strings and Piano, Alongside Works By Composers In His Musical Firmament: Nadia Boulanger, Camille Saint-Saëns, Lili Boulanger, and Pauline Viardot

Yo-Yo Ma and longtime collaborator Kathryn Stott announce their newest album, Merci (Sony Classical), set for release on October 25, 2024 and available for preorder now. Accompanying today’s news is the first track release from the new recording, Gabriel Fauré’s Sicilienne Op. 78 – listen here.

Merci is a deeply personal expression of gratitude, a celebration of the powerful relationships that keep music alive. This effervescent recording is rooted in the compositions of Gabriel Fauré, whom Stott calls her “musical soulmate,” and follows the arcs of his inspiration and influence, from the creations of his teacher Camille Saint-Saëns and his friend and supporter Pauline Viardot to works by his student Nadia Boulanger and her sister, Lili. Merci is testament to the gift of friendship, to the connections among performers, between students and teachers, and across generations that make music magic.

Ma and Stott—both of whom have connections to Fauré through their respective teachers Luise Vosgerchian and Nadia Boulanger—reveal the extent of Fauré’s influence and inspiration through a recording that juxtaposes Fauré’s works for strings and piano with compositions by members of his musical family. Beginning with his Berceuse, Op. 16, Fauré’s works alternate with those of his student (Nadia Boulanger), teacher (Camille Saint-Saëns), and friends and contemporaries (Lili Boulanger, Pauline Viardot), in a tribute to the belief that, in Ma’s words, “we musicians stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, and that we can only hope that ours will sustain those who come after.”

Gabriel Fauré lies at the heart of a musical family tree so thoroughly ingrained in the history of western music that it extends, through direct teacher-mentor lineage, as far back as Johann Sebastian Bach. The forward-looking reach of Fauré’s influence is no less impressive: artists who can trace a direct connection to Fauré through teachers or mentors include Quincy Jones, Aaron Copland, Philip Glass, and Leonard Bernstein.

Surrounding the album release, Ma and Stott will perform a recital tour in Europe, including stops in Reykjavík (October 26), London (November 2), Stockholm (November 3), Berlin (November 5), Munich (November 7), and Paris (November 9). Programmed works include compositions by Fauré and Nadia Boulanger, alongside Antonin Dvořák, Sérgio Assad, Dmitri Shostakovich, Arvo Pärt, and César Franck.

Ma and Stott’s recording partnership began in 1985, and includes Soul of the Tango and Obrigado Brazil, each of which garnered a GRAMMY® Award for “Best Classical Crossover Album.” In recent years, they have collaborated on the 2020 release Songs of Comfort and Hope—inspired by the recorded-at-home musical offerings that Ma began sharing under the hashtag #SongsofComfort in the first days of the COVID-19 lockdown in the United States—and the critically-acclaimed 2015 release Songs from the Arc of Life. Of the former, Gramophone wrote, “Ma and his frequent duo partner Kathryn Stott have managed to corral a collection of wide-ranging miniatures into something that feels closer to a recital than a compilation.”

Yo-Yo Ma, Kathryn Stott
Merci
Release Date: October 25, 2024

Tracklist:

Berceuse, Op. 16 - Gabriel Fauré
Nocturne - Lili Boulanger
Andante, Op. 75 - Gabriel Fauré
Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix from Samson et Dalila - Camille Saint-Saëns
Cantique - Nadia Boulanger
Papillon, Op. 77 - Gabriel Fauré
Hai Luli! - Pauline Viardot
Sicilienne, Op. 78 - Gabriel Fauré
D’un soir triste - Lili Boulanger
Morceau de lecture - Gabriel Fauré
La mer - Nadia Boulanger
Romance, Op. 69 - Gabriel Fauré
Aimez-moi from Six Chansons du XVI Siècle - Pauline Viardot
Élégie, Op. 24 - Gabriel Fauré
Sérénade, Op. 98 - Gabriel Fauré
Romance, Op. 36 - Camille Saint-Saëns
Romance, Op. 28 - Gabriel Fauré

Sony Music Masterworks comprises Masterworks, Sony Classical, Milan Records, XXIM Records and Masterworks Broadway imprints. For email updates and information please visit www.sonymusicmasterworks.com.

CONNECT WITH THE ARTISTS

YO-YO MA

WEBSITE: www.yo-yoma.com
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/YoYoMa
INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/yoyoma
TWITTER: twitter.com/yoyo_ma
TIKTOK: www.tiktok.com/@yoyoma.official
YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/user/YoYoMaVEVO

KATHRYN STOTT

WEBSITE: www.kathrynstott.com
TWITTER: twitter.com/kathystott
INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/stott.kathryn

Christopher Jesina 9/16/24 Christopher Jesina 9/16/24

Dec. 6: Sony Classical to Release Monumental Michael Tilson Thomas Box Set – The Complete CBS, RCA, and Sony Classical Recordings

Sony Classical to Release Monumental Michael Tilson Thomas Box Set

Sony Classical to Release
Monumental Michael Tilson Thomas Box Set

The Complete CBS, RCA, and Sony Classical Recordings

Sony Classical Celebrates the 80th Birthday of Conductor and Pianist Michael Tilson Thomas with his Complete Recordings in an 80-CD Edition Created in Collaboration with the Artist

Album Release Date: December 6, 2024
Reviewer Rate Upon Request
Pre-Order Available Now

He was Leonard Bernstein’s most famous protégé, and it’s convenient to draw parallels between two prodigiously gifted pianists, composers and charismatic explicators who became the leading American conductor of their respective generations. Like his mentor from the East Coast, Michael Tilson Thomas, born and bred on the West Coast, has been an eloquent champion of Mahler, Gershwin, Ives and Copland; he is also equally at home in the standard European repertoire, Broadway musicals and jazz; and he is a passionate, eloquent teacher – in the 1970s he took over Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts. MTT – as he is affectionately known almost everywhere by now – has become one of the world’s best-loved musical figures and most successful recording artists, with a dozen GRAMMYs to his credit. Sony Classical’s 80-CD box set now, for the first time, collects the entire discography he amassed for RCA, CBS and Sony Classical between 1973 and 2005. The set will be released on December 6, 2024.

Born into an artistic family in Los Angeles in 1944 – his paternal grandparents Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky were founding members of the Yiddish Theatre in America – by the age of 19 he was already conducting premières of works by Boulez, Copland, Stockhausen and Stravinsky. He assisted Boulez at the Ojai Festival in California, in 1969 was appointed assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony under William Steinberg, was music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic from 1971 to 1979 and principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1981 to 1985. He founded and directed the Miami-based New World Symphony, which gave its first concert in 1988, and that year, he became principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. In 1995, he assumed the career-defining post of music director of the San Francisco Symphony, turning an already top-class ensemble into America’s most boldly adventurous orchestra. “If Leonard Bernstein was 20th-century American music’s greatest missionary,” wrote Gramophone, “then Michael Tilson Thomas is its 21st-century acolyte.”

Right from the start, MTT’s recordings for CBS showed off his dedication to the music of his homeland. 1974 brought Stanley Silverman’s “multi-media pop-opera extravaganza” Elephant Steps: A Fearful Radio Show – New York Times: “[It] earned rave reviews, and so did its actor-conductor. Michael Tilson Thomas found himself a hero in East Coast contemporary music circles” – and John McLaughlin’s Apocalypse with the Mahavishnu and London Symphony Orchestras, whose producer George Martin, of Beatles fame, regarded it as “one of the best records I have ever made”. Along with recordings of Orff’s Carmina burana (“A terrifically exciting performance … aided by playing of characteristic brilliance and transparency from the Cleveland Orchestra” – ClassicsToday; Grammy winner for “Best Choral Performance” and nominee for “Album of the Year”); and, with the LSO and Ambrosian Singers, seldom performed late choral music by Beethoven (“On all counts very well worth adding to your collection” – Gramophone), the 1970s also saw his pioneering recordings of the complete works of Carl Ruggles, with the Buffalo Philharmonic (“For collectors of 20th-century American music … a landmark from the moment that CBS Masterworks released it in 1980” – New York Times).

Talking about George Gershwin in an interview, MTT disclosed that he “has occupied a vitally important place in my life. From my childhood, his music, interpretations, wise-cracks and wise-words were transmitted to me by my father…a piano student of Gershwin and by my uncle Harry who played and wrote music with him in his early years.” In 1976, Thomas stood the musical world on its head by recording Rhapsody in Blue with the composer as soloist (via a 1924 piano roll) matched to his conducting of the Columbia Jazz Band: “Nobody who is concerned with Gershwin’s music will be able to do without this record” (Gramophone). Dating from the same time is an album of Broadway overtures: “Thomas and the Buffalo Philharmonic have put together a group of stunning performances that are almost perfectly recorded and fill a real gap in the catalogue” (Gramophone).

In the 1980s with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, there was a live concert of Gershwin songs with Sarah Vaughan (“Sparkle and joyous spontaneity” – MusicWeb International) and an album of works with piano with MTT conducting from the keyboard; and in New York, he recorded two Gershwin musicals, Of Thee I Sing and Let ‘em Eat Cake: “Michael Tilson Thomas drives both scores along with total conviction … Aiding and abetting him is a splendid chorus … and three leads who are steeped in the performing tradition of the musical theatre” (Gramophone). And in 1997 a Gramophone reviewer proclaimed: “Michael Tilson Thomas and George Gershwin go together like bread and cheese … In the mini-avalanche of Gershwin centenary recordings this [San Francisco Symphony] set stands out … [with] an exquisitely poised understanding of the jazz influences on the opera [Porgy and Bess] … Tilson Thomas himself attacks the Second Rhapsody with glittering, humorous style … A piece as familiar as An American in Paris sounds freshly exciting.”

Similarly with Charles Ives: “If anyone has a hot-line to the cortex of Ives’s imagination, it’s Michael Tilson Thomas” (Gramophone Classical Music Guide). In the 1980s and 90s, he made acclaimed CBS recordings of Ives’s symphonies with the Chicago Symphony and Concertgebouw orchestras. With the San Francisco Symphony for RCA in 1999, he created “Charles Ives: An American Journey”, which the BBC’s reviewer called “a totally satisfying overview of Ives’s genius on one 65-minute CD. Songs, symphonies, psalms and tone poems … imaginatively sequenced as an organic whole.”

And Aaron Copland: MTT was still in his teens when he met him and began performing and premiering his music. He has said: “I have a very clear idea of him and his personality and his musical desires.” Of the numerous, diverse Copland recordings in this set, the most recent, and perhaps most indispensable, are two RCA albums with the San Francisco Symphony. “Copland the Modernist”, released in 1996, includes the Piano Concerto (with Garrick Ohlsson), Orchestral Variations, Short Symphony and Symphonic Ode: “A young man’s America, alternately monolithic and toughly contrapuntal … The performance knows just how good it is. Deep-set, blockbusting recording. A winner” (Gramophone). “Copland the Populist” (2000) features the composer’s “Big Three”: Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid and Rodeo “in performances of tremendous power and panache … Boasting some handsomely opulent, exhilaratingly expansive sonics, this is one corker of a release” (Gramophone).

Just a few further samplings of the countless riches in this set. Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, recorded with the San Francisco Symphony “easily withstands comparison to any of the great versions of the past … and it sounds better than any of them” (ClassicsToday). Debussy’s complete incidental music for Le Martyre de Saint-Sébastien with the London Symphony Orchestra for Sony in 1997 “is as near an ideal performance as could be imagined” (Penguin Guide). Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with Joshua Bell and the Berlin Philharmonic for Sony in 2005: “No matter how many other recordings you possess or may have heard [this one] is a must” (ClassicsToday). Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 with the London Symphony Orchestra for RCA in 1997 is “among the very finest to have come along in years” (ClassicsToday). Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet (excerpts) with the San Francisco Symphony for RCA in 1995 is “stunningly good … For many listeners this hugely enjoyable disc will be the one Romeo & Juliet to have and hold” (ClassicsToday). Stravinsky’s Firebird, Rite of Spring and Perséphone with the San Francisco Symphony for RCA in 1996–98): “Tilson Thomas has long established his credentials as an excellent Stravinsky conductor … Now with his own orchestra (which plays fabulously throughout), he undertakes the ever-popular Firebird and Rite of Spring ballets, and brings them off stunningly” (ClassicsToday).

Finally, two further adventurous albums with the New World Symphony for RCA. New World Jazz (1997), including works by Adams, Antheil, Bernstein, Gershwin, Stravinsky, Milhaud and Hindemith, is “imaginatively programmed and impeccably realized by all involved” (Gramophone). And with music by contemporary American composer Steven Mackey, “Tuck and Roll” (2001) is “free-wheeling, genre-defying fun … [with] sensational playing … Michael Tilson Thomas is in his element in this sort of repertoire as many of his conducting peers are not – and it is good to see him following Leonard Bernstein’s lead in taking up composers younger than himself. I cannot imagine this music better performed or recorded” (Gramophone).

SET CONTENTS

Disc 1:
McLaughlin: Apocalypse | Mahavishnu Orchestra with The London Symphony Orchestra

Disc 2:
Stanley Silverman: Elephant Steps: A Fearful Radio Show

Disc 3:
Orff: Carmina Burana | The Cleveland Orchestra

Disc 4:
Beethoven: König Stephan, Op. 117 | London Symphony Orchestra
Beethoven: Elegischer Gesang, Op. 118 | London Symphony Orchestra
Beethoven: Opferlied, Op. 121b | London Symphony Orchestra
Beethoven: Bundeslied, Op. 122 "In allen guten Stunden" | London Symphony Orchestra
Beethoven: Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt, Op. 112 | London Symphony Orchestra

Disc 5:
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue | Columbia Jazz Band
Gershwin: An American in Paris | New York Philharmonic

Disc 6:
Dvořák: The American Flag, Op. 102 | Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra
Dvořák: Suite in A Major, Op. 98a, B. 190 "American" | Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra

Disc 7:
Gershwin, arr. Don Rose: Oh, Kay!: Overture | Buffalo Philharmonic
Gershwin, arr. Don Rose: Funny Face: Overture | Buffalo Philharmonic
Gershwin, arr. Don Rose: Girl Crazy: Overture | Buffalo Philharmonic
Gershwin, arr. Don Rose: Strike Up the Band: Overture | Buffalo Philharmonic
Gershwin, arr. Don Rose: Of Thee I Sing: Overture | Buffalo Philharmonic
Gershwin, arr. Don Rose: Let 'Em Eat Cake: Overture | Buffalo Philharmonic

Disc 8:
Ruggles: Toys
Ruggles: Vôx Clamans in Deserto (For Chamber Orchestra and Mezzo Soprano) | Speculum Musicae
Ruggles: Men | Buffalo Philharmonic
Ruggles: Angels (Original Trumpet Version) | Brass Ensemble
Ruggles: Men and Mountains | Buffalo Philharmonic
Ruggles: Angels (Trumpet/Trombone Version) | Buffalo Philharmonic
Ruggles: Sun-Treader

Disc 9:

Ruggles: Portals (For String Orchestra) | Buffalo Philharmonic
Ruggles: Evocations (Original Piano Version) | John Kirkpatrick, piano
Ruggles: Evocations | Buffalo Philharmonic
Ruggles: Organum | Buffalo Philharmonic
Ruggles: Exaltation (For Brass, Chorus And Organ)

Disc 10:
Tchaikovsky: Suite No. 3 in G Major, Op. 55 | Los Angeles Philharmonic

Disc 11:
Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 "Pastoral" | English Chamber Orchestra

Disc 12:
Respighi: Feste Romane | Los Angeles Philharmonic
Respighi: Fountains of Rome | Los Angeles Philharmonic

Disc 13:

Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony in B minor, Op. 58 | London Symphony Orchestra

Disc 14:
Tchaikovsky: Suite No. 2 in C Major for Orchestra, Op. 53 | The Philharmonia Orchestra
Tchaikovsky: Orchestral Suite No. 4, Op. 61, "Mozartiana" | The Philharmonia Orchestra

Disc 15:
Stravinsky: Petroushka (Revised 1947 Version) | The Philharmonia Orchestra
Stravinsky: Scherzo à la russe | The Philharmonia Orchestra
Stravinsky: Petrouchka (1947 version) | Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa | Michael Tilson Thomas, piano

Disc 16:
Gershwin: Medley: Porgy and Bess | Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gershwin, arr. Paich, MTT: But Not for Me / Love Is Here to Stay / Embraceable You / Someone to Watch Over Me | Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gershwin: Sweet and Low-Down (From "Tip-Toes") | Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gershwin: Fascinating Rhythm (From "Lady, Be Good")
Gershwin: Do It Again (From "The French Doll") | Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gershwin: My Man's Gone Now (From "Porgy and Bess") | Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gershwin: The Man I Love (From "Strike Up the Band") | Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gershwin: Nice Work If You Can Get It / They Can't Take That Away from Me / 'S Wonderful / Swanee / Strike Up the Band | Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gershwin: Encore: I've Got a Crush on You - A Foggy Day

Disc 17:
Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 in B-Flat Major, Op. 60 | English Chamber Orchestra
Beethoven: Ah! Perfido, Op. 65 | English Chamber Orchestra | Eva Marton, soprano

Disc 18:
Ives: Symphony No. 2 | Concertgebouw Orchestra

Disc 19:
Prokofiev: Suite from Lieutenant Kijé, Op. 60 | Los Angeles Philharmonic
Prokofiev: Suite from "The Love for Three Oranges", Op. 33a | Los Angeles Philharmonic
Prokofiev: Overture in B-flat Major, Op. 42 "American Overture" | Los Angeles Philharmonic

Disc 20:
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 | English Chamber Orchestra
Beethoven: Egmont Overture, Op. 84 | English Chamber Orchestra

Disc 21:
Debussy: La mer, L. 109 | The Philharmonia Orchestra
Debussy: Nocturnes, L. 91 | The Philharmonia Orchestra

Disc 22:
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64 | The Philharmonia Orchestra | Cho-Liang Lin, violin
Saint-Saens: Violin Concerto No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 61 | The Philharmonia Orchestra | Cho-Liang Lin, violin

Disc 23:
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 | English Chamber Orchestra

Disc 24:
Ives: Symphony No. 3, "The Camp Meeting" | Concertgebouw Orchestra
Ives: Orchestral Set No. 2 | Concertgebouw Orchestra

Disc 26:
Gershwin, arr. Grofé: Rhapsody in Blue | Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gershwin: 3 Preludes for Piano | Michael Tilson Thomas, piano
Gershwin: Short Story | Michael Tilson Thomas, piano
Gershwin: Melody No. 40 "Violin Piece" | Michael Tilson Thomas, piano
Gershwin: Second Rhapsody | Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gershwin: Melody No. 79 "For Lily Pons" | Michael Tilson Thomas, piano
Gershwin: Melody No. 17 "Sleepless Night" | Michael Tilson Thomas, piano
Gershwin: Promenade: Walking the Dog | Los Angeles Philharmonic

Disc 27:
Beethoven: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36 | English Chamber Orchestra
Beethoven: Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21 | English Chamber Orchestra

Disc 28:
Brahms, orch. Schoenberg: Piano Quartet in G Minor, Op. 25 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Bach, orch. Schoenberg: Chorale Prelude "Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele", BWV 654 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Bach, orch. Schoenberg: Chorale Prelude "Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist", BWV 631 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks

Disc 29:
Beethoven: Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93 | English Chamber Orchestra

Disc 30:
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 | English Chamber Orchestra

Disc 31:
Copland: Old American Songs | Utah Symphony Orchestra | Don Becker, baritone
Copland: Canticle of Freedom | Utah Symphony Orchestra
Copland: Four Motets | Utah Symphony Orchestra

Disc 32:
Gershwin, arr. See LC: Of Thee I Sing | Studio Cast of Of Thee I Sing (1987)

Disc 33:
George Gershwin: Let 'Em Eat Cake | Studio Cast of Let 'Em Eat Cake (1987

Disc 34:
Ives: A Symphony - New England Holidays | Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Ives: The Unanswered Question (Revised Version) | Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Ives: Central Park in the Dark | Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Ives: The Unanswered Question (Original Version) | Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Disc 35:
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 55 "Eroica" | Orchestra of St. Luke's
Beethoven: Twelve Contredanses for Orchestra, WoO 14 | Orchestra of St. Luke's

Disc 36:
Mahler: Symphony No. 3 in D minor | London Symphony Orchestra | Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano

Disc 37:
Mahler: Rückert Lieder

Disc 38:
Weill: Die sieben Todsünden | London Symphony Orchestra
Weill: Kleine Dreigroschenmusik | London Symphony Orchestra

Disc 39:
Ravel: Ma Mere L'Oye | London Symphony Orchestra
Ravel: Fanfare for ballet L'Eventail de Jeanne | London Symphony Orchestra
Ravel: Rapsodie Espagnole | London Symphony Orchestra
Ravel: Piece En Forme De Habanera | London Symphony Orchestra
Ravel: Boléro | London Symphony Orchestra

Disc 40:
Strauss, R.: Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40 | London Symphony Orchestra
Strauss, R.: Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche, Op. 28 | London Symphony Orchestra

Disc 41:
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-Flat Major, Op. 10 | London Symphony Orchestra | Vladimir Feltsman, piano
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 16 (1923 Version) | London Symphony Orchestra | Vladimir Feltsman, piano
Prokofiev: 10 Pieces from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 75: No. 10, Romeo and Juliet Before Parting | London Symphony Orchestra

Disc 42:
McLaughlin: The Mediterranean Concerto | London Symphony Orchestra | John McLaughlin, guitar
McLaughlin: 5 Duos for Guitar & Piano | John McLaughlin, guitar; Katia Labeque, piano

Disc 43-44:
Puccini: Tosca | Hungarian State Orchestra

Disc 45:
Brahms: Serenade No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11 | London Symphony Orchestra
Brahms: Tragic Overture, Op. 81 | London Symphony Orchestra
Brahms: Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80 | London Symphony Orchestra

Disc 46:
Ives: Symphony No. 1 in D Minor | Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Webster: In the Sweet By and By | Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Sweney: Beulah Land | Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Zeuner: Ye Christian Heralds | Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Marsh: Jesus, Lover of My Soul | Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Ives: Nearer, My God, to Thee| Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Ives: Symphony No. 4 | Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Disc 47:
Strauss, R.: Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 | London Symphony Orchestra
Strauss, R.: Don Juan, Op. 20 | London Symphony Orchestra

Disc 48:
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20 | London Symphony Orchestra

Disc 49-50:
Adam: Giselle | London Symphony Orchestra

Disc 51:
Brahms: Serenade No. 2 in A Major, Op. 16 for Small Orchestra | London Symphony Orchestra
Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn, Op. 56a (St. Antoni) | London Symphony Orchestra
Brahms: Three Hungarian Dances | London Symphony Orchestra
Brahms, orch. Dvorák: Five Hungarian Dances | London Symphony Orchestra

Disc 52:
Janácek: Glagolitic Mass/Slavonic Mass/Festliche Messe | London Symphony Orchestra
Janácek: Sinfonietta | London Symphony Orchestra

Disc 53:
Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, L. 86 | London Symphony Orchestra
Debussy: La boîte à joujoux, L. 128 | London Symphony Orchestra
Debussy: Jeux, L. 126 | London Symphony Orchestra

Disc 54:
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat Major, Op. 100 | London Symphony Orchestra
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25 "Classical Symphony" | London Symphony Orchestra

Disc 55:
Debussy: Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien | London Symphony Orchestra

Disc 57:
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15 | London Symphony Orchestra | Alicia De Larrocha, piano
Mozart: Concerto for Flute and Harp, K. 299 | London Symphony Orchestra | James Galway, flute

Disc 58:
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18 | London Symphony Orchestra | Barry Douglas, piano
Saint-Saens: The Carnival of the Animals, R. 125 | Steven Isserlis, cello
Saint-Saens: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33 | London Symphony Orchestra | Steven Isserlis, cello
Copland: Clarinet Concerto | London Symphony Orchestra | Richard Stoltzman, clarinet
Jenkins: Goodbye "In Memory of Benny" | London Symphony Orchestra | Richard Stoltzman, clarinet

Disc 59:
Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms | London Symphony Orchestra
Stravinsky: Symphony in C Major | London Symphony Orchestra
Stravinsky: Symphony in 3 Movement s| London Symphony Orchestra

Disc 60:
Strauss, R.: Sechs Lieder Op. 68 | London Symphony Orchestra | Edita Gruberova, soprano
Strauss, R.: Zueignung Op. 10, No. 1 | London Symphony Orchestra | Karita Mattila, soprano
Strauss, R.: Muttertändelei Op. 43, No. 2 | London Symphony Orchestra | Karita Mattila, soprano
Strauss, R.: Meinem Kinde Op. 37, No. 3 | London Symphony Orchestra | Karita Mattila, soprano
Strauss, R.: Die heiligen drei Könige aus Morgenland Op. 56, No. 6 | London Symphony Orchestra | Karita Mattila, soprano
Strauss, R.: Frühlingsfeier Op. 56, No. 5 | London Symphony Orchestra | Karita Mattila, soprano
Strauss, R.: Vier letzte Lieder | London Symphony Orchestra | Lucia Popp, soprano

Disc 61:
Prokofiev: Romeo et Juliette, Op. 64 (Excerpts) | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

Disc 62:
Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras Nos. 4, 5, 7 & 9 | New World Symphony

Disc 63:
Copland: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Copland: Orchestral Variations | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Copland: Short Symphony (Symphony No. 2) | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Copland: Symphonic Ode | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

Disc 64:
Stravinsky: The Star-Spangled Banner | London Symphony Orchestra
Stravinsky: Circus Polka | London Symphony Orchestra
Stravinsky: Ode | London Symphony Orchestra
Stravinsky: Scherzo à la russe | London Symphony Orchestra
Stravinsky: Scènes de ballet | London Symphony Orchestra
Stravinsky: Concertino for 12 Instruments | Columbia Chamber & Jazz Ensemble
Stravinsky: Agon | London Symphony Orchestra
Stravinsky: Greeting Prelude| London Symphony Orchestra
Stravinsky: Canon | London Symphony Orchestra
Stravinsky: Variations: Aldous Huxley in Memoriam | London Symphony Orchestra

Disc 65:
Mahler: Das klagende Lied | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

Disc 66:
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14 | London Symphony Orchestra
Berlioz: Lélio ou Le Retour à la vie | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

Disc 67:
Gershwin: Catfish Row Suite with Scenes from Porgy and Bess | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Gershwin: Second Rhapsody for Orchestra with Piano | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

Disc 68:
Gershwin: An American in Paris | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Gershwin: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

Disc 69:
Adams: Lollapalooza | New World Symphony
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue | New World Symphony
Bernstein: Prelude, Fugue and Riffs | New World Symphony
Milhaud: La Creation du Monde | New World Symphony
Stravinsky: Ebony Concerto | New World Symphony
Hindemith: Ragtime | New World Symphony
Antheil: A Jazz Symphony | New World Symphony
Raksin: The Bad and the Beautiful | New World Symphony

Disc 70-71:
Mahler: Symphony No. 7 | London Symphony Orchestra

Disc 72:
Stravinsky: L'oiseau de feu | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

Disc 73:
Stravinsky: Le sacre du printemps | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

Disc 74:
Stravinsky: Perséphone | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

Disc 75:
Copland: Billy the Kid | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Copland: Appalachian Spring | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Copland: Rodeo | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

Disc 77:
Ives: From the Steeples and the Mountains | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Ives: The Things Our Fathers Loved | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Ives: The Pond | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Ives: 114 Songs: No. 102, Memories | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Ives: Charlie Rutlage | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Ives: The Circus Band | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Ives: Orchestral Set No. 1 - 3 Places in New England | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Ives: In Flanders Fields | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Ives: They are There! | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Ives: Tom Sails Away | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Ives: Symphony No. 4: III. Fugue | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Ives: Psalm 100 | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Ives: Serenity | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Ives: General William Booth Enters into Heaven | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Ives: The Unanswered Question | San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

Disc 78:
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, TH 59 | Berliner Philharmoniker | Joshua Bell, violin
Tchaikovsky, arr. Glazunov: Souvenir d'un lieu cher, Op. 42, TH 116: I. Méditation | Berliner Philharmoniker | Joshua Bell, violin
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20a, TH 219: Russian Dance | Berliner Philharmoniker | Joshua Bell, violin

Disc 79:
Tchaikovsky: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 23 | London Symphony Orchestra | Kazune Shimizu, piano

Disc 80:
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18 | London Symphony Orchestra | Kazune Shimizu, piano
Liszt: Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major for Piano and Orchestra S. 124, R. 458 | London Symphony Orchestra | Kazune Shimizu, piano

Christopher Jesina 8/20/24 Christopher Jesina 8/20/24

Oct. 18: Sony Classical Presents Charles Ives – The Anniversary Edition in celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the American Composer

Sony Classical Presents Charles Ives – The Anniversary Edition

Sony Classical Presents
Charles Ives – The Anniversary Edition
in celebration of the 150th Anniversary of
American Composer Charles Ives

The first re-issue of Columbia Masterworks legendary
Anniversary Edition from 1974
In collaboration with Yale Music Library, home of the Charles Ives papers

Album Release Date: October 18, 2024
Reviewer Rate Upon Request

On the 150th anniversary of the birth of Charles Ives – acclaimed by his champion Leonard Bernstein as the “first great American composer”, who, “all alone in his Connecticut barn, created his own private musical revolution” – Sony Classical presents the most authoritative recording collection ever released of works by this eccentric, prophetic genius. The 5-CD box set Charles Ives – The Anniversary Edition, which will be released by Sony Classical on October 18, 2024, is a unique and provocative introduction only released previously 50 years ago on LP by Columbia Masterworks under the art direction of Henrietta Condak to celebrate Ives’s centenary.

The first disc examines “The Many Faces of Charles Ives” through eight diverse works recorded between 1964 and 1970: Bernstein conducts the New York Philharmonic in The Fourth of July and The Unanswered Question; General William Booth Enters into Heaven, one of Ives’s towering achievements, and The Circus Band are performed by the Gregg Smith Singers; baritone Thomas Stewart sings the moving song In Flanders Fields; organist E. Power Biggs plays Ives’s Variations on “America”; composer Gunther Schuller conducts The Pond for chamber orchestra; and the Largo cantabile Hymn is performed by the New York String Quartet and double bass player Alvin Brehm.

CD 2, “The Celestial Country”, offers Ives’s early cantata by that name, composed in 1897–99 for his conservative Yale composition teacher Horatio Parker. It is sung by the Gregg Smith Singers (accompanied by the Columbia Chamber Orchestra), who also perform arrangements of four of Ives’s most powerful patriotic songs with the American Symphony Orchestra and Leopold Stokowski conducting.

“The Things Our Fathers Loved”, CD 3, contains 25 of Ives’s songs, delivered by the soprano Helen Boatwright, who specialized in American song. She is partnered by John Kirkpatrick, who studied and worked closely with Ives and is still regarded as the most authoritative interpreter of his piano music. Gramophone in 1974 praised this famous recording as “the finest selection ever to appear” on LP of “what may well turn out to be considered his most important, characteristic and consistently inspired body of music.”

The next CD is unusually revealing: “Ives Plays Ives” features the composer himself in 1933, 1938 and 1943, thumping out snippets of his pathbreaking “Concord” Sonata and shorter piano pieces in the New York recording studio of Mary Howard, Toscanini’s recording engineer. In his performance of the “Concord” Sonata’s slow movement, “The Alcotts”, wrote a Gramophone commentator, Ives “Ives’s playing is heartfelt but objective, a yin-meets-yang quality that wise performances embrace.” During three brief extracts from “Emerson”, the sonata’s opening movement, the writer goes on to say, “Ives hands pianists a timbral blueprint for the base sound he imagined: bangy attack, boozy rhythmic freedom; this is not the time or the place for consciously refined, ‘pretty’ playing.”

The last disc in the set is called “Charles Ives Remembered”. This fascinating collage of spoken reminiscences was the first-ever documentation of a musical figure using oral history. More than 50 interviews with family, friends, neighbors and colleagues create a vivid memory portrait of this enigmatic figure in the voices of the people who knew him best. Moving from Ives’s childhood and years at Yale to his public career as an insurance executive and his private career as a composer, the memories and reflections assembled by award-winning musicologist Vivian Perlis provide a multi-faceted and humanizing view of an enigmatic American musical icon.

SET CONTENTS

DISC 1

The Many Faces Of Charles Ives
The Fourth Of July • The Unanswered Question • In Flanders Fields • Hymn (Largo Cantabile) • The Pond • Variations On "America" • The Circus Band • General William Booth Enters Into Heaven

DISC 2

The Celestial Country
They Are There! (Choral Version) • Majority (Or The Masses) • An Election • Lincoln, The Great Commoner

DISC 3

The Things Our Fathers Loved
25 Ives Songs
Helen Boatwright, soprano; John Kirkpatrick, piano

DISC 4

Ives Plays Ives
Charles Ives performs his own works at the piano

DISC 5

Charles Ives Remembered
Reminiscences Of the Composer By Relatives, Friends And Associates
With A. J. "Babe" LaPine, Bernard Herrmann, Bigelow Ives, Charles Buesing, Chester Ives, Elliott Carter, George Tyler, John Kirkpatrick, Julian Myrick, L. Parkins, Lehman Engel, Mary Howard, Mrs. George F. Roberts, Richard Ives, Watson Washburn
Interviewer: Vivian Perlis

Christopher Jesina 8/20/24 Christopher Jesina 8/20/24

November 1: Sony Classical Presents Emanuel Feuermann – The Complete RCA Album Collection

Sony Classical Presents Emanuel Feuermann – The Complete RCA Album Collection

Sony Classical Presents
Emanuel Feuermann – The Complete RCA Album Collection

New Release Date: November 1, 2024
Reviewer Rate: $34.40

Pre-Order Available Now

“Anything he played he engraved in your memory” – Richard Taruskin

For the first time ever, Sony Classical is issuing a complete collection of the recordings made for RCA Victor by the fabled Austrian cellist Emanuel Feuermann with 11 works for the first time on CD transferred from the original master discs. The set, which will be released on September 20, 2024, comes with new liner notes by violin expert John Maltese as well as photos and facsimiles from the private archives of cellist Marika Hughes, granddaughter of Emanuel Feuermann.

In his tragically short career – mainly in Germany, until the Nazi regime dismissed him from his position at the Berlin conservatory in 1933, and in the US, where he emigrated five years later – Feuermann took the art of cello playing to new heights. Eugene Ormandy declared that his cello revealed to the conductor what music really means. In the words of American critic-pianist-composer Jed Distler, “Feuermann had everything: an intense, focused tone that sings with expressive economy, controlled warmth, centered intonation, a smooth yet variegated bow arm, one of the most adroit left hands in the business (what effortless double stops!), unswerving integrity, and impeccable taste.” “Anything he played he engraved in your memory,” wrote musicologist Richard Taruskin.

Feuermann made some celebrated recordings in Germany and England, but it is the post-emigration albums for RCA on which his iconic reputation largely rests. Produced in New York, Philadelphia and Hollywood between 1939 and 1941, the year before he died at the age of only 39 (the result of negligence during a routine operation) – they include the Brahms Double Concerto (with violinist Jascha Heifetz) and Strauss’s Don Quixote, both with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Ormandy; and Bloch’s Schelomo with the Philadelphians under Leopold Stokowski.

Feuermann’s benchmark RCA chamber music catalog comprises Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart and Brahms piano trios with Heifetz and Rubinstein; a Beethoven string duo and a Dohnányi string trio with Heifetz and viola great William Primrose; as well as a host of duo recordings – some never before issued at all – with the outstanding German-American pianist Franz Rupp (accompanist of Fritz Kreisler and singers from Lotte Lehmann and Beniamino Gigli to Marian Anderson), including Mendelssohn’s Second Cello Sonata and shorter works and transcriptions ranging from Bach and Handel to Fauré and Canteloube.

SET CONTENTS

DISC 1:

Brahms: Concerto for Violin and Cello in A Minor, Op. 102 with Jascha Heifetz, violin
Bloch: Schelomo - Hebraic Rhapsody for Cello & Orchestra

DISC 2:

Schubert: Piano Trio in B-Flat Major, D. 898 with Jascha Heifetz, violin; Arthur Rubinstein, piano

DISC 3:

Beethoven: Piano Trio in B-Flat Major, Op. 97 with Jascha Heifetz, violin; Arthur Rubinstein, piano
Beethoven: Duet in E-Flat Major, WoO 32 with William Primrose, viola

DISC 4:

Mozart: Divertimento in E-Flat Major, K. 563 with Jascha Heifetz, violin; Arthur Rubinstein, piano

DISC 5:

Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major, Op. 8 with Jascha Heifetz, violin; Arthur Rubinstein, piano
Dohnanyi: Serenade, Op. 10 with Jascha Heifetz, violin; William Primrose, viola

DISC 6:

R. Strauss: Don Quixote, Op. 35: Fantastic Variations on a Theme of Knightly Character

DISC 7:

Mendelssohn: Cello Sonata No. 2, Op. 58
Canteloube de Maralet: Bourée Auvergnate in A
Fauré-Casals: Après un rêve, Op. 7, No. 1 (Transcribed for Cello by Pablo Casals)
Handel-Feuermann: Organ Concerto, Op. 4, No. 3: Movement I (Arranged for Cello and Pinao by Emanuel Feuermann)
Handel-Feuermann: Organ Concerto, Op. 4, No. 3: Movement II
Beethoven: Introduction and Polonaise brilliante, Op. 3
Chopin-Feuermann: 12 Variations from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Op. 66
Davidov: 4 Pieces, Op. 20: 2. Am Springbrunnen
J.S. Bach-Casals-Siloti: Organ Toccata in C Major, BWV 564: Adagio
Handel-Feuermann: Organ Concerto, Op.4, No.3: Movement I
Canteloube de Maralet: Bourée Auvergnate in A
Davidov: 4 Pieces, Op. 20: 2. Am Springbrunnen
Fauré-Casals: Après un rêve, Op. 7, No. 1 (Transcribed for Cello by Pablo Casals)
Ochs: Arioso -"Dank Sei Dir, Herr" with Hulda Lashanska, soprano
Schubert-Pasternack: Litanei, D. 343 with Hulda Lashanska, soprano

Christopher Jesina 8/9/24 Christopher Jesina 8/9/24

Aug. 30: Violinist Joshua Bell Reunites with Cellist Steven Isserlis and Pianist Jeremy Denk in New Sony Classical Recording of Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Trios

Violinist Joshua Bell Reunites with Cellist Steven Isserlis and Pianist Jeremy Denk in a New Sony Classical Recording of Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Trios

Album Artwork – For Media Use (Download)

Violinist Joshua Bell Reunites with Cellist Steven Isserlis and Pianist Jeremy Denk
in a New Sony Classical Recording of Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Trios

Piano Trio No. 1 In D Minor, Op. 49: II. Andante Con Moto Tranquillo
Out Now - Listen Here

Album Release Date:
(Digital) August 30, 2024
(CD) October 25, 2024
Presave and Pre-Order Here

Violinist Joshua Bell reunites with two of his favorite collaborating artists and friends – cellist Steven Isserlis and pianist Jeremy Denk – for Sony Classical’s new recording of the piano trios of Felix Mendelssohn, to be released digitally on August 30 and on CD on October 25 – presave and pre-order here. Accompanying today’s news is the release of the first track from the forthcoming recording - Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 49: II. Andante con moto tranquillo – listen here.

The new recording follows a unique all-Brahms collection For the Love of Brahms – released by Sony Classical in 2018 – that was also a collaboration of Bell, Isserlis and Denk.

Of the new Mendelssohn Piano Trio recording, Joshua Bell notes: “Steven Isserlis and Jeremy Denk have been my most cherished chamber music partners for decades. They bring seemingly limitless imaginations and uncanny musical intelligence to every work I have had the privilege of exploring with them. It is my hope that our mutual joy for playing chamber music and, in particular, our shared deep love for the genius of Felix Mendelssohn comes through in this recording of these Piano Trios. I am forever grateful for having the opportunity to make this album.”

The two Mendelssohn trios – No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 49 (1839) and No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 66 (1845) – are regarded as being among the composer’s masterpieces.

In his liner notes for the new recording, Isserlis quotes Robert Schumann’s belief – written shortly after the premiere of his friend’s Piano Trio No. 1 – that “Mendelssohn… has soared so high, that we may venture to say that he is the Mozart of the nineteenth century, the brightest among musicians, the one who looks most clearly of all through the contradictions of the time and reconciles us to them.”

Interestingly, the writing of the first trio tested even Mendelssohn’s genius, as the second would, as well.

With that in mind, listeners to this recording will find a revelatory bonus track – the original version of the song-like second movement (Andante con moto tranquillo) of Piano Trio No. 1.

"Of course, Mendelssohn had excellent reasons for his revisions,” Isserlis writes in the liner notes, “including the addition of the deeply expressive middle section; but there are a few touches in the original version which have a delightful freshness to them – which is why we decided to include it as an extra track on this disc. (Here I would like to offer thanks to the Israeli pianist Ron Regev, whose fascinating article about the two versions, and painstaking transcription of the original, made this possible.)"

Such insight is among the reasons Joshua Bell has enjoyed creative partnerships with Isserlis and Denk for much of his career, in concert and on recordings, as both a performing partner and as the music director of London’s Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Their collaboration has a lively history.

As Denk told Strings Magazine, after the Brahms recording was complete, “Steven loves to argue – but it’s in good humor – and is more obsessed with structure, Josh with the flow of the narrative. I love both structure and narrative and might be in the middle, moderating from this black monster with its keys. We know each other’s foibles and tendencies and have all chosen to play with each other over a long period of time.”

About Joshua Bell: With a career spanning almost four decades, GRAMMY® Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell is one of the most celebrated artists of his era. Bell has performed with virtually every major orchestra in the world and continues to maintain engagements as soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, conductor, and Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.

Sony Music Masterworks comprises Masterworks, Sony Classical, Milan Records, XXIM Records, and Masterworks Broadway imprints. For email updates and information please visit www.sonymusicmasterworks.com.

Follow Joshua Bell
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Christopher Jesina 8/9/24 Christopher Jesina 8/9/24

Nov. 1: Sony Classical Releases Human Universe – New Album from Pianist and Composer Hayato Sumino

Sony Classical Releases Human Universe – New Album from Pianist and Composer Hayato Sumino

Sony Classical Releases Human Universe
New Album from Pianist and Composer Hayato Sumino

Album Release Date: November 1, 2024
Pre-order available now

Press downloads available upon request

Sony Classical announces the upcoming release of Human Universe by extraordinary young New York-based Japanese pianist and composer, Hayato Sumino (also known as Cateen), scheduled for release on November 1, 2024. The latest single from the album, Solari by Ryuichi Sakamoto, is out now.

Sumino is an exceptional artistic phenomenon: Known as Cateen, he has garnered over 1.5 million followers globally across his platforms and nearly 200 million views on YouTube to date. His participation at the 2021 International Chopin competition, where he reached the semifinals, caused a sensation and gained over 8.5M views on YouTube. In April 2024, he made a spectacular Royal Albert Hall debut with his performance of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue capturing the spotlight both online and in the concert hall.

Human Universe showcases Sumino’s multi-faceted gifts in a diverse selection of works that run the gamut from Bach, Handel, Purcell, Chopin, Fauré and Debussy to iconic film composers like Hans Zimmer and Ryuichi Sakamoto as well as Sumino’s own compositions and arrangements. The recording highlights his distinctive style, seamlessly merging his refined classical technique with the discerning ear of an arranger and exceptional improvisational talent.

A prodigious composer, Hayato Sumino possesses a unique and captivating style that effortlessly combines his diverse musical interests, ranging from classical and jazz to film music, post-classical, and electronica. He is also much in-demand for film and TV scores in Japan and is rapidly gaining a place as one of the leading members of the next generation of musicians for whom genre borders are simply no obstacle.

About Hayato Sumino: Born and raised in Japan, Sumino first gained international recognition in the 2021 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, where his unique and characterful performances captured the hearts of the audience and where he progressed to the semi-finals. Recognized for his distinctive style which carefully blends a well-honed classical technique with the fine ear of an arranger and strong improvisational skills, he brings a unique and refreshing musical approach to the piano.

Sumino has appeared as a soloist with numerous orchestras around the world, including the Hamburg Symphony, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, with whom he made a recording under Marin Alsop. He shares his music with enthusiastic audiences both online and in his many live performances throughout North America, Europe and Asia. He won a coveted spot on the Forbes Japan 30 Under 30 list, became a Steinway Artist in 2021 and is an ambassador for CASIO electronic musical instruments.

Christopher Jesina 8/9/24 Christopher Jesina 8/9/24

Sept. 13: Sony Classical Presents Misha Dichter – The Complete RCA Victor Recordings

Sony Classical Presents Misha Dichter – The Complete RCA Victor Recordings

Sony Classical Presents
Misha Dichter – The Complete RCA Victor Recordings

First re-issue of the complete remastered RCA Victor recordings
Silver Medal winner at the 1966 International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition

Album Release Date: September 13, 2024
Reviewer Rate: $22.51

Misha Dichter was born in 1945 in Shanghai, where his Polish parents had fled, by way of the trans-Siberian railroad, in order to wait out the war. In 1947, the Dichter family moved to Los Angeles where Misha began studying piano. His first significant teacher was Aube Tzerko, who had studied with Artur Schnabel. “He literally started me from scratch,” Dichter recalled. But the hard work finally paid off when he was accepted into Rosina Lhévinne's class at the Juilliard School.

“In the fall of 1965 I saw a poster in the Juilliard coatroom announcing the third annual Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow,” recalls Dichter. “I had just lost a few local competitions in Los Angeles, so I thought, why not just go for the big one?” The young pianist’s Silver Medal victory in 1966 led to a contract with RCA Victor, for whom he made the three acclaimed albums reissued here, and to the international career of this “most polished pianist” (High Fidelity).

It was inevitable, perhaps, that Dichter’s début release for the label would be given over to the Tchaikovsky B-flat minor Concerto, the same work that catapulted the competition’s first winner Van Cliburn to international stardom. Dichter was to perform the Tchaikovsky at Tanglewood, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Erich Leinsdorf, so RCA duly set up recording sessions.

Dichter’s second RCA Victor album juxtaposed selected Brahms piano pieces with Stravinsky’s 3 Movements from Petrushka, and with his third RCA release, the pianist devoted himself to Beethoven and Schubert. Arthur Rubinstein approved of Dichter’s Schubert, to the extent that he famously invited his younger colleague to his Paris home, where a film crew captured Dichter playing Schubert’s B-flat Sonata D 960 in Rubinstein’s presence. Dichter holds an equally special affinity for the A major Sonata D 959 – “it still represents to me what paradise looks and sounds like.” Sony Classical will release the first re-issue of Misha Dichter's complete remastered RCA Victor recordings on September 13, 2024.

SET CONTENTS

DISC 1:

Tchaikovsky: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in B-flat minor op. 23

DISC 2:

Brahms: Intermezzo in A minor op. 118/1
Brahms: Intermezzo in A major op. 118/2
Brahms: Capriccio in C-sharp minor op. 76/5
Brahms: Intermezzo in E major op. 116/4
Brahms: Rhapsody in E-flat major op. 119/4
Stravinsky: 3 Movements from Petrushka

DISC 3:

Beethoven: Andante in F major “Andante favori” WoO 57
Schubert: Piano Sonata in A major D 959

Christopher Jesina 7/24/24 Christopher Jesina 7/24/24

Sept. 13: Sony Classical Announces Jonas Kaufmann Puccini: Love Affairs – Six of Puccini’s Greatest Duets and Scenes Each with a Different Soprano

Sony Classical Announces Jonas Kaufmann Puccini: Love Affairs

Sony Classical Presents
Jonas Kaufmann Puccini: Love Affairs

Album Release Date: September 13, 2024
Pre-order Available Now

The tenor’s new release presents six of Puccini’s greatest duets and scenes, each with a different soprano, celebrating the composer’s centenary this year.

with Anna Netrebko, Asmik Grigorian, Malin Byström, Maria Agresta,
Pretty Yende and Sonya Yoncheva.
Two famous tenor arias complete the program

Following on from his phenomenally successful GRAMMY-nominated first Puccini album in 2015, Nessun Dorma, Jonas Kaufmann now presents a new album of Puccini highlights to mark the composer’s 2024 anniversary year. He has selected for the new recording six great duets and scenes with six outstanding sopranos – legendary love scenes, emotionally-charged Love Affairs. Pre-order is available now.

“What really appealed to me was recording these very different duets with different partners,” says Kaufmann. “With almost all of them I’ve experienced unforgettable moments on stage.”

Manon Lescaut is sung by Anna Netrebko, with whom he has appeared many times over the course of his career. This year alone audiences have heard them together in two productions of Ponchielli’s La Gioconda. Tosca is sung by Sonya Yoncheva, who recently partnered with him at the Arena di Verona. The part of Butterfly is sung by Maria Agresta, who will be touring with Kaufmann this October to mark the Puccini centenary and performing some of the repertoire on this album. In the wake of their stunning success in the new Vienna production of Turandot in December 2023, Asmik Grigorian and Jonas Kaufmann now portray the tragic lovers in Il Tabarro. And as in the performances of the opera at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Malin Byström is here once again his partner in La Fanciulla del West. The album also has a debut, with Jonas Kaufmann and Pretty Yende heard together for the first time, in the famous love duet from La Bohème.

Asher Fisch, the album’s conductor, is a regular collaborator of Kaufmann’s: “We’ve known each other for many years. This is also now our second album, after Dolce Vita, which we recorded in Palermo in 2016. This time we went to Bologna, and the brilliant orchestra of the Teatro Comunale, whom I gave a concert with a few years ago.”

The new album also features two of Puccini’s tenor hits that didn’t appear on the first album in 2015: “Che gelida manina” from La Bohème and “E lucevan le stelle” from Tosca.

For Jonas Kaufmann, Puccini’s music is and remains a unique phenomenon: “The buttons he pushes with his music still work, a hundred years after his death – and do so in a modern society that is completely jaded from an endless flood of bad news and experiences. Much has been written about Puccini, but as I see it, no one has ever yet been able to explain how he managed to evoke such unbelievably powerful emotions with just a few notes. That is a mystery that probably no AI in the world can comprehend.”

Puccini: Love Affairs will be released internationally on September 13, 2024 via Sony Classical as a limited-edition deluxe CD and on all digital platforms.

Tracklist:

Giacomo Puccini 1858–1924

LA BOHÈME (Act I, Rodolfo & Mimì)
Libretto: Giuseppe Giacosa & Luigi Illica

1 “O soave fanciulla”

with Pretty Yende

MANON LESCAUT (Act II, Manon & Des Grieux)
Libretto: Domenico Oliva, Giulio Ricordi, Luigi Illica & Marco Praga

2 “Tu, tu, amore? Tu?”

with Anna Netrebko

TOSCA (Act I, Tosca & Cavaradossi)
Libretto: Giuseppe Giacosa & Luigi Illica

3 “Mario!” – “Son qui!”
4 “Ah, quegli occhi!” – “Qual occhio al mondo”

with Sonya Yoncheva

LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST (Act I, Minnie, Johnson, Nick)
Libretto: Guelfo Civinini & Carlo Zangarini

5 “Mister Johnson, siete rimasto indietro”
6 “Quello che tacete”

with Malin Byström

IL TABARRO (Giorgetta & Luigi)
Libretto: Giuseppe Adami

7 “O Luigi! Luigi! … Dimmi: perché gli hai chiesto”

with Asmik Grigorian

MADAMA BUTTERFLY (Act I, Pinkerton & Butterfly)
Libretto: Giuseppe Giacosa & Luigi Illica

8 “Viene la sera”
9 “Bimba dagli occhi pieni di malia”
10 “Vogliatemi bene”

with Maria Agresta

LA BOHÈME (Act I, Rodolfo)

11 “Che gelida manina!”

TOSCA (Act III, Cavaradossi)

12 “E lucevan le stelle”

Jonas Kaufmann tenor
Pretty Yende · Anna Netrebko · Sonya Yoncheva
Malin Byström · Asmik Grigorian · Maria Agresta sopranos
Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna
Asher Fisch conductor

Christopher Jesina 7/12/24 Christopher Jesina 7/12/24

Sept. 6: Pianist Mao Fujita to Release 72 Preludes – Sony Classical Recording Crosses Continents and Eras – New Single Out Now

Sony Classical Presents Pianist Mao Fujita New Recording Crosses Continents and Eras with 72 Preludes

Sony Classical Presents Pianist Mao Fujita
New Recording Crosses Continents and Eras with
72 Preludes

24 Preludes: No. 8. in F-Sharp Minor - Andante tempo di Barcarolle
Out Now - Listen Here

Preludes Cycles By Chopin, Scriabin - Also Includes World Premiere Recording of Akio Yashiro’s ‘24 Preludes’

Available September 6, 2024 – Preorder Now

“The very model of a modern major pianist” – Gramophone

“Mao Fujita’s Mozart strikes a perfect balance between clarity and elegance, the exquisite and the down to earth.” – The Guardian

Following his “consistently impressive” (Gramophone) traversal of Mozart’s complete Piano Sonatas for Sony Classical - winner of an Opus Klassik Award - Japanese pianist Mao Fujita presents a similarly ambitious project: matching sets of 24 Preludes by three composers, Frédéric Chopin, Alexander Scriabin and Akio Yashiro. In so doing, Fujita unites the Europe in which he now lives with the Japan where he was born and raised. His new Sony Classical Album - 72 Preludes - is set for release on September 6, 2024 and available for preorder now. Accompanying today’s news is the new track 24 Preludes: No. 8. in F-Sharp Minor - Andante tempo di Barcarolle – listen here.

Chopin’s landmark set of 24 Préludes, completed in 1839, was the first work to treat the piano prelude as a self-contained work capable of standing alone. After the model laid down in Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier, the set traverses every key from C major to D minor, alternating major tonalities with their relative minors.

On his new album 72 Preludes, Fujita treats Chopin’s expressive yet elusive cycle as the basis for a dialogue that traverses borders and epochs. In 1884, Russian visionary Alexander Scriabin began work on his own set of 24 Preludes, directly inspired by Chopin’s. Scriabin’s pieces build on the grace and fluency of Chopin’s - also using his key scheme - while showing glimpses of the composer’s emerging radical harmonic and rhythmic character. They suggest that Scriabin, known for music on a huge scale, was an exquisite miniaturist.

Mao Fujita - recognized increasingly for his intelligent programming as well as for his affectionate, rooted and deeply poetic playing - was keen to combine these European masterpieces with work from his homeland. In the 24 Preludes by Japanese composer Akio Yashiro, he found a perfect companion.

Akio Yashiro was born in Tokyo and studied with Olivier Messiaen in Paris, where the two became close friends. His 24 Preludes, mapping the same cycle of keys as those by Chopin and Scriabin, date from 1945 - before the 15-year-old composer had traveled to Europe.

The works incorporate a huge variety of moods and styles as their young composer explores varied harmonic and rhythmic devices with panache. Fujita likens the contents of his new recording to a refreshing but hearty sushi meal: “If the Chopin and the Scriabin are the fish and the rice, the base, the Yashiro is the wasabi - just as vital, and with that special kick to create something delicious.”

In 1976, Yashiro died aged just 46. Fujita has since developed a friendship with the composer’s widow, who has shared stories surrounding the composer’s weekly Saturday concerts of new music and the compositional methodology of his 24 Preludes, which the composer once described as “the pieces in which I express myself most fully and one of the greatest pieces I ever wrote.” Fujita consulted the original manuscripts before recording the work.

As he consolidates his reputation as one of the world’s most distinctive pianists, Fujita sees it as his responsibility to shine a light on the culture of his homeland. “When I came to Europe, there were no Japanese pianists except Mitsuko [Uchida],” the 25-year-old pianist says.

It was only a matter of time before Fujita brought his distinctively weightless, cantabile playing style and crystalline clarity of expression to the music of Chopin. When Fujita included Chopin encores in his acclaimed Mozart Sonata series at Wigmore Hall in London, The Guardian concluded that “an all-Chopin programme from Fujita is now a priority.”

Fujita says he was drawn to Chopin’s particular character of expression and believes he was “able to make something of this special sound; this melodic poetry and beautiful harmony.”

The allure of Scriabin’s 24 Preludes was no less strong. “These are phenomenal pieces, with things you cannot find in Chopin,” Fujita says. “I fell in love with them, especially the way Scriabin uses not just tonality but also time - the atmosphere he creates in those pauses and rests.”

With three four-day sessions allocated to the recording, Fujita believes Sony Classical gave him the space, conditions and staff to get his recording exactly as he wanted it. “The studio is fantastic - the same studio we used for the Mozart - and Martin Kistner, the engineer and producer of this album is fantastic, I respect him a lot,” says the pianist. “We are a good team and it was a wonderful process.”

Mao Fujita makes his BBC Proms debut on August 28 with the Czech Philharmonic under Jakub Hrůša.

U.S. Tour Dates Feat. Album Repertoire:

Date: November 10, 2024
City: New York, NY
Venue: Carnegie Hall
Repertoire: Yashiro Preludes

Date: March 16, 2025
City: Chicago, IL
Venue: Symphony Center
Repertoire: Chopin Preludes

Connect With Mao Fujita
Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

Christopher Jesina 7/3/24 Christopher Jesina 7/3/24

July 12: Sony Classical Announces Louis Lane Conducts the Cleveland Orchestra – The Complete Epic and Columbia Album Collection

Sony Classical Announces Louis Lane Conducts the Cleveland Orchestra – The Complete Epic and Columbia Album Collection

Sony Classical Announces
Louis Lane Conducts the Cleveland Orchestra
The Complete Epic and Columbia Album Collection

Conductor Louis Lane’s Complete Cleveland Recordings

Album Release Date: July 12, 2024
Reviewer Rate Upon Request
Pre-Order Available Now

He went on to head major orchestras in Dallas and Atlanta and to guest conduct leading ensembles all over the world. But before that, Louis Lane honed his craft while working in the shadow of one of the great masters: in 1947, legendary maestro George Szell chose the young, inexperienced Texan to assist him in Cleveland – “I think you will do” was the gruff maestro’s verdict, exceptional praise indeed from that notorious perfectionist.

Lane remained with the Cleveland Orchestra for more than two decades, moving up the ladder to become associate conductor. Playing his important role in Szell’s transformation of a respected second-tier ensemble into arguably the finest symphony orchestra in America, Lane earned a sterling reputation of his own, directing the renowned Cleveland Pops and broadening the orchestra’s repertoire with no fewer than 75 local premières.

Between 1959 and 1972 – with the full Cleveland Orchestra, the somewhat smaller Cleveland Pops and the chamber-sized Cleveland Sinfonietta – Louis Lane made a series of critically acclaimed recordings for Columbia. They display the “exceptional breadth and impeccable taste” for which this gifted but perennially undervalued conductor was lauded in a tribute by the orchestra’s executive director. Sony Classical is pleased to present them now – many for the first time on CD – in a new 14-disc set, to be released on July 12, 2024. Pre-order is available now.

Reviewers were effusive in their praise when these albums were originally released on LP. Here is a sampling:

Pop Concert U.S.A. (1959) – music by Copland, Gershwin, Bernstein and other American composers: “If only all the pops (or, for that matter, all the classics) were as good as this! … The orchestra plays splendidly” (Gramophone).
On the Town with the Cleveland Pops (1960) – selections from On the Town, My Fair Lady, Oklahoma, The King and I and other Broadway musicals: “Scintillating … Under Lane’s enthusiastic direction, the Clevelanders play these familiar musical comedy excerpts with such precision and virtuosity that they emerge with glistening freshness” (High Fidelity).
Music from the Films (1961) – Henry V, Louisiana Story, Bridge on the River Kwai, Gigi, Exodus and other motion pictures: “This concert of music from the movies is so superior to most issues of its kind that it calls for special commendation … Lane has coaxed some beautiful playing from the Cleveland orchestra, and the engineers have provided him with rich and glorious sound” (High Fidelity).
Romances and Serenades (1963) – music by Vaughan Williams, Delius, Warlock, Sibelius and Françaix: “All the polish, assurance and musical sympathy one would expect from a Cleveland performance ... Not the least attraction of this splendid disc is the recording, firm and realistic with a glorious bloom on the instruments” (Gramophone).

Lane also recorded classical repertoire with the Clevelanders, including Mozart in 1966 (“A marvelous D major Divertimento K. 334” – ClassicsToday), Beethoven in 1967 (“…the complete Creatures of Prometheus, led with dramatic flair and character” – ClassicsToday), and a French collection of Debussy, Ravel and Satie (“Moving now to Cleveland we rediscover the striking sensibility of another underrated American conductor, Louis Lane ... Magic ... refinement of feeling. The warm ambience of Severance Hall is another asset ... The 1969 recording is most musically balanced” – Gramophone).

All these performances and many other gems are contained in this newly remastered anthology of Louis Lane’s Cleveland recordings, a long overdue homage to this outstanding American conductor.

SET CONTENTS

DISC 1:

Gould: American Salute (Based on “When Johnny comes marching home”)
Anderson: Serenata
Copland: Three Dance Episodes from "Rodeo"
Bernstein: Candide: Overture
Piston: Suite from the Ballet “The Incredible Flutist”

DISC 2:

Gershwin: Cuban Overture
Bernstein: Fancy Free Ballet: Variation III "Danzon"
Gould: Latin-American Symphonette: III. Guaracha
Benjamin: From San Domingo
Benjamin: Jamaican Rumba
Lecuona: Andalucía: 2. Andaluza
Lecuona: Andalucía: 6. Malagueña
Guarneri: Brazilian Dance
Villa-Lobos: Bachianas brasileiras No. 2: IV. Toccata “The Little Train of the Caipra”
Galindo: Sones de Mariachi

DISC 3:

Porter: Can-Can
Loewe: My Fair Lady: Embassy Waltz
Bernstein: On the Town: The Great Lover displays himself
Bernstein: On the Town: Lonely Town (Pas de deux)
Bernstein: On the Town: Times Square (Finale, Act I)
Rodgers: Love Me Tonight: Lover
Rodgers: Jumbo: The Most Beautiful Girl in the World
Rodgers: Boys from Syracuse: Falling in Love with Love
Rodgers: Oklahoma: Oh, What a Beautiful Morning
Rodgers: The King and I: March of the Siamese Children
Rodgers: On Tour Toes: Slaughter on Tenth Avenue

DISC 4:

Griffes: Poem for Flute and Orchestra
Foote: A Night Piece
Honegger: Concerto da camera, H. 196
Hanson: Serenade for Flute, Harp, and Strings, Op. 35

DISC 5:

Berlioz: La damnation de Faust, H 111: March Hongroise
Schubert: Marche militaire in D Major, Op. 51, No. 1
Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Weber: IV. Marsch
Pierné: Cydalise et le chèvre-pied: Marche des petits faunes
Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1, Op. 39 No. 1
Rimsky-Korssakov: Le Coq d'Or: Introduction and Wedding Procession
Ippolotov-Ivanov: Caucasian Sketches, Op. 10: 4. Precession of the Sardar
Tchaikovsky: Slavonic March, Op. 31

DISC 6:

Rome: Theme from “Fanny”
Loewe: Suite from “Gigi”
Rodgers: It Might As Well Be Spring from “State Fair”
Gold: Exodus, an Orchestral Tone Picture
Alfred: Bridge Over the River Kwai: Colonel Bogey March
Walton: Death Of Falstaff (Passacaglia) from “Henry V”
Walton: Touch Her Sweet Lips and Part from “Henry V”
Thomson: Acadian Songs and Dances from the film score Louisiana Story (Excerpts)

DISC 7:

Copland: An Outdoor Overture
Menotti: Suite From Amahl and the Night Visitors
Riegger: Dance Rhythms, Op. 58
Elwell: The Happy Hypocrite - Ballet Suite
Shepherd: Horizons: The Old Chisholm Trail

DISC 8:

Tchaikovsky: Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, Act I: Waltz
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act I, Scene 2: Waltz of the Snowflakes
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act III: Waltz of the Flowers
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20, Act I: Waltz
Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings, Op. 48: II. Waltz
Tchaikovsky: Eugen Onegin, Act II, Scene 1: Waltz
Debussy: Petite Suite, L. 65
Ravel: Introduction and Allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet and Strings
Satie orch. Debussy: Gymnopédie No. 1
Satie orch. Debussy: Gymnopédie No. 3

DISC 9:

Vaughan-Williams: Romance for Violin & Orchestra "The Lark Ascending"
Sibelius: Romance in C Major for String Orchestra, Op. 42
Francaix: Serenade for Small Orchestra
Delius arr. Beecham: Hassan, Act I: Serenade (Arr. T. Beecham for Violin, Harp and Orchestra)
Warlock: Serenade for Strings

DISC 10:

Chabrier: España (Spanish Rhapsody)
Alfén: Swedish Rhapsody
Enescu: Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 11
Herbert: Irish Rhapsody
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-Sharp Minor, S. 244

DISC 11:

Mozart: Divertimento No. 17 in D Major, K. 334

DISC 12:

Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 11
Mendelssohn: III a. Scherzo (orchestral arrangement of the Octet for Strings in E-flat Major, Op. 20)
Schubert: Symphony No. 1 in D Major, D. 82

DISC 13:

Beethoven: Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus, Op. 43

DISC 14:

Bach-Walton: The Wise Virgins (Suite)
Scarlatti-Tommasini: The Good-Humored Ladies (Ballet Suite)

Christopher Jesina 6/27/24 Christopher Jesina 6/27/24

Aug. 23: The Knights and Composer Anna Clyne Announce Sony Classical Album Shorthand – Featuring Performances by Avi Avital, Colin Jacobsen, Pekka Kuusisto, and Yo-Yo Ma

The Knights and Composer Anna Clyne Announce Sony Classical Album Shorthand

The Knights and Composer Anna Clyne
Announce New Sony Classical Album
Shorthand
Set for Release on August 23

Featuring Performances by Avi Avital, Colin Jacobsen,
Pekka Kuusisto and Yo-Yo Ma

Pre-Order Available Now

New York-based ensemble, The Knights, announce their new Sony Classical album, Shorthand, featuring the works of one today’s most in-demand composers, Anna Clyne, set for release on August 23, 2024. Shorthand explores the sound of strings through a collection of works that represent and reflect artistic friendships and the power of collaboration and features performances by mandolinist Avi Avital, violinists Colin Jacobsen and Pekka Kuusisto, plus cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

The Knights’ Artistic Directors Colin Jacobsen and Eric Jacobsen and Composer Anna Clyne note:

“Shorthand represents over two decades of artistic friendships and collaborations – each of the artists on this album has played an important part in our artistic lives. It has brought together so many creative spirits and it has been an honor to record these works with them all. Over the span of two years, starting at the Clark Art Institute in Massachusetts to Power Station Studios in New York City, we have come together to create this special album that we are excited to share with you.”

Shorthand brings together a host of internationally acclaimed artists and presents new interpretations of Anna Clyne’s music, including its title-track, Shorthand, for cello and string orchestra recorded here with Yo-Yo Ma. Three Sisters is performed by its dedicatee, mandolinist Avi Avital, and Clyne’s double violin concerto Prince of Clouds places violinists Colin Jacobsen and Pekka Kuusisto in the spotlight. With works spanning more than a decade, Shorthand presents musical conversations between the soloists and The Knights, and within the ensemble itself. The album was recorded by close collaborator, GRAMMY® Award-winning audio engineer Jody Elff.

Shorthand also features Clyne’s most personal work, Within Her Arms, written as a tribute to her late mother. Scored for fifteen individual string parts, the music is shaped around a simple motif which grows and moves around the listener throughout the piece. The title is taken from a poem by the Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist, Thich Nhat Hanh.

Earth will keep you tight within her arms dear one—
So that tomorrow you will be transformed into flowers—
This flower smiling quietly in this morning field—
This morning you will weep no more dear one—
For we have gone through too deep a night.
This morning, yes, this morning, I kneel down on the green grass—
And I notice your presence.
Flowers, that speak to me in silence.
The message of love and understanding has indeed come.

—Thich Nhat Hanh
(From "Message" in Call Me By My True Names, 1999, with permission of Parallax Press)

Poetry, art and music are reflected throughout the album, with Prince of Clouds drawing on Baudelaire’s poem L’Albatros. Three Sisters reflects on three stars found in the constellation of Orion, whilst Shorthand muses on Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata and the novella by Tolstoy of the same name. The album also features the premiere recording of Shorthand (Redux), a reimagining of Clyne’s thoughtful work.

Connect With The Knights

Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook

Connect With Anna Clyne
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook

Christopher Jesina 6/11/24 Christopher Jesina 6/11/24

July 12: Summer Night Concert 2024 – The Vienna Philharmonic Conducted by Andris Nelsons with Soprano Lise Davidsen

Summer Night Concert 2024 The Vienna Philharmonic Conducted by Andris Nelsons with Soprano Lise Davidsen

Summer Night Concert 2024
The Vienna Philharmonic
Conducted by Andris Nelsons with Soprano Lise Davidsen

Album Release Date: Friday, July 12, 2024
Pre-Order Available Now

Sony Classical is proud to announce the release of this year’s Summer Night Concert 2024 with the Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by Andris Nelsons with soprano Lise Davidsen. The unique concert experience will be available on CD, DVD, Blu-ray as well as digitally on July 12, 2024. Pre-order is available now.

The Summer Night Concert was performed this year on June 7, 2024. It is an annual open-air event, which has been held since 2004 in the magical setting of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna/Austria. The illustrious conductors who have previously led the orchestra at this event are Georges Prêtre, Daniel Barenboim, Franz Welser-Möst, Lorin Maazel, Christoph Eschenbach, Zubin Mehta, Semyon Bychkov, Gustavo Dudamel, Daniel Harding, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Andris Nelsons.

Thanks to its UNESCO World Heritage setting in the Baroque Park of Schönbrunn with the palace as a backdrop, the Summer Night Concert adds great visual charm to its superb musical quality. The idea of making classical music at its very best available for everyone and thus giving a gift to all music lovers still characterizes the event today. Millions of viewers and listeners in more than 80 countries can follow the concert online, on TV and radio.

The focus of this year’s program was on popular works from the 19th and 20th centuries from Europe’s rich musical heritage. Bedřich Smetana, one of the most important Czech composers, was honored with three works to mark the 200th anniversary of his birth. Andris Nelsons conducted the concert for the second time, while Norwegian opera and lieder singer Lise Davidsen made her début with the orchestra. She sang two arias – from Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser and Giuseppe Verdi’s La forza del destino.

Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen burst onto the international stage in 2015 by winning multiple prizes at the Operalia, Queen Sonja and Hans Gabor Belvedere competitions. These were swiftly followed by triumphant débuts at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Bayerische Staatsoper, Wiener Staatsoper, and the Aix-en-Provence, and Glyndebourne Festivals. In summer 2021 she appeared in two productions at the Bayreuth Festival (Elisabeth in Tannhäuser and Sieglinde in Die Walküre). In the same year she was awarded Female Singer of the Year by the International Opera Awards. A frequent recitalist and concert performer, Davidsen has toured with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors. In March this year, Lise Davidsen made her acclaimed role début at the Metropolitan Opera as Leonora in La forza del destino.

Andris Nelsons is Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Gewandhauskapellmeister in Leipzig. These two positions, in addition to his leadership of a pioneering alliance between both institutions, have firmly established Grammy Award-winning Nelsons as one of the most renowned and innovative conductors on the international scene today, with engagements with the world’s most important orchestras and opera houses. Born in Riga in 1978 into a family of musicians, Andris Nelsons began his career as a trumpeter in the Latvian National Opera Orchestra whilst studying conducting. He was Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra 2008–2015, Principal Conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie in Herford, Germany 2006–2009 and Music Director of the Latvian National Opera 2003–2007. In 2020, Nelsons was also the celebrated conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic’s legendary New Year’s Concert.

The 182-year old tradition of the Vienna Philharmonic goes back to 1842, when Otto Nicolai conducted a Grand Concert with all members of the imperial “Hof-Operntheater”. This event was originally called “Philharmonic Academy” and is regarded as the origin of the orchestra. Since its founding, the orchestra has been managed by the administrative committee – a democratically elected body – and works with artistic, organizational and financial autonomy. All decisions are reached on a democratic basis during the general meeting of all members.

Program:

1 Richard Wagner Die Walküre: Der Walkürenritt
2 Richard Wagner Tannhäuser: Dich, Teure Halle, Grüß Ich Wieder
3 Bedřich Smetana The Moldau
4 Bedřich Smetana The Two Widows: Polka
5 Bedřich Smetana The Bartered Bride: Dance Of The Comedians
6–7 Giuseppe Verdi La Forza Del Destino: Overture – Pace, Pace, Mio Dio!
8 Augusta Holmès La Nuit et L’amour
9 Aram Khachaturian Sabre Dance
10 Dmitri Shostakovich Suite For Variety Orchestra: Waltz No. 2

Christopher Jesina 6/3/24 Christopher Jesina 6/3/24

Oct. 4: Sony Classical Announces New Recording by Igor Levit, Christian Thielemann & The Vienna Philharmonic Featuring Brahms’ Two Piano Concertos

Sony Classical Announces the New Recording by Igor Levit, Christian Thielemann & The Vienna Philharmonic – Brahms’ Two Piano Concertos

Sony Classical Announces the New Recording by
Igor Levit, Christian Thielemann & The Vienna Philharmonic
Brahms’ Two Piano Concertos

“Andante” Piano Concerto No. 2 In B-Flat Major Op. 83
Out Now - Listen Here

The Triple Album Features Levit’s Long-Anticipated Recording Of Brahms’ Late Solo Piano Works And A Special Encore Of Levit And Thielemann Playing A Brahms Waltz Together

Album Release Date: October 4, 2024
Pre-Order Available Now

“Feel-good vibes effervesced, while applause resounded around the stage: that’s amore!” This is how the Viennese newspaper Der Standard described the audience’s enthusiastic reaction after Igor Levit, Christian Thielemann, and the Vienna Philharmonic performed Brahms’ First Piano Concerto at Vienna’s famous Musikverein in April 2024: “During these fifty minutes, an irresistible dose of emotion was conveyed – but at the same time the sophisticated structure of Brahms’ masterpiece remained crystal-clear.” Levit and Thielemann had already performed the Second Piano Concerto with the same orchestra in December 2023; the headline in Die Presse at the time ran: “Igor Levit sets a new gold standard for Brahms.”

These two concertos make up the first joint recording by Levit and Thielemann, which will be released on Sony Classical as a triple album on October 4, 2024 with Levit’s recording of Brahms’s well-known solo works opp. 116–119. Pre-order is available now. Levit’s and Thielemann’s first meeting was quite unplanned, although both had been curious about each other for a long time. In 2015, Levit spontaneously stepped in for a colleague who had fallen ill and performed Mozart’s C major Concerto K 467 with Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden in Munich. Despite an extremely short rehearsal period, the two hit it off straight away: “We have such a similar way of thinking that it is not necessary to discuss many things,” says Thielemann. And Levit adds: “When the piece begins, I simply have complete confidence in you. I know I can’t take a wrong turn. Having such unconditional trust is extraordinary.”

The two do not have to discuss individual passages – a common understanding is attained without the need for words, simply through listening and responding. Instead, they prefer to talk about performers and composers. And they are always amazed to discover how similarly they perceive so many things. Sometime after their initial meeting, it was during a walk together near Berlin that the conversation turned to Brahms – and thus they conceived the plan to record the two piano concertos as part of an upcoming Brahms cycle with Thielemann and the Vienna Philharmonic. “I’ve known the Wiener Philharmoniker for thirty-five years,” says Thielemann, and adds: “I’ve always been fascinated by how this orchestra can react to conductors and assimilate even the smallest details. And then there is the concert hall, the Wiener Musikverein, with its acoustic properties that Brahms knew so well.” “And what a sound!” Levit exclaims. “I was sitting in the first rehearsal and the horn began to play. You do not really want to start playing, but rather to say to the hornist: Can you please play that again? It was so beautiful.”

For Levit the addition of Brahms’ beloved solo works opp. 116–119 on the album just felt right. Levit says: “Brahms’ music cannot leave you untouched. It’s just physically and emotionally not possible. Take op. 118 no. 2, for example, it’s like an arrow shot straight into your heart. It’s simply the most beautiful, touching, and tender music imaginable.”

The album concludes with a special encore – the four-hand rendition of Brahms’ charming Waltz op. 39 no. 15 played by Levit and Thielemann. Levit explains: “It’s taken me some years to get to the point of having the courage to play and record this music, and Christian Thielemann has been instrumental in getting me here. Unlike Beethoven’s music, where you go emotionally from peak to bottom almost continuously, here Brahms is often the steadiest of music, with very long breaths and a steady heartbeat. Now that I feel right, placed with this music, you couldn’t find me happier than I am right now.”

TRACKLIST:

Johannes Brahms

Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor Op. 15
Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major Op. 83

Igor Levit, Christian Thielemann & the Vienna Philharmonic

7 Fantasias Op. 116
3 Intermezzi Op. 117
6 Piano Pieces Op. 118
4 Piano Pieces Op. 119
Waltz op. 39 no. 15 (version for piano 4-hands with Christian Thielemann)

Igor Levit

Connect With Igor Levit
Website | Instagram | YouTube

Christopher Jesina 5/30/24 Christopher Jesina 5/30/24

Aug. 30: Sony Classical Presents Paul Robeson Voice of Freedom – The Complete Columbia, RCA, HMV, and Victor Recordings

Sony Classical Presents Paul Robeson Voice of Freedom – The Complete Columbia, RCA, HMV, and Victor Recordings

Sony Classical Presents
Paul Robeson - Voice of Freedom

The Complete Columbia, RCA, HMV, and Victor Recordings

Album Release Date: August 30, 2024
Reviewer Rate: $55.16 + shipping/handling fees
Pre-Order Available Now

Today, his remarkable voice and unrivaled stage presence live on in sound recordings and films. This 14-CD edition on Sony Classical, is the first ever release of his complete Columbia, HMV and Victor recordings from 1925 to 1947. All of his American recordings have been meticulously restored from the original master discs and tapes, and 25 studio recordings—as well as his complete historic New York and London recitals from 1958—are presented here for the first time on CD. The richly illustrated 160-page book, with essays by Shana L. Redmond and Susan Robeson, pays tribute to a cultural icon of the 20th century.

Blacklisted and erased from American history, many of Robeson’s recordings in the U.S. remained unreleased – until now
Special 14-CD edition, documenting his complete major-label discography, recorded 1925–1947
First release of Robeson’s groundbreaking Victor recordings on CD, 16 recordings reissued for the first time, 5 previously unreleased
First restoration of Robeson’s famous 1944 Othello stage production with Uta Hagen and José Ferrer from the original 33 master disc sides
His complete remastered Columbia albums (Songs of Free Men, Popular Favorites, Spirituals)
First release of his historic 1958 recitals at Mother A.M.E. Zion Church, New York, and Royal Albert Hall, with 30 previously unissued recordings
Richly illustrated 160-page book with essays by Shana L. Redmond and Susan Robeson, a wealth of photos and facsimiles from the archives of The Paul Robeson Trust, the Academy of the Arts, Berlin, and Columbia Records, plus complete discographical notes

Paul Leroy Robeson (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass baritone concert artist and stage and film actor who became famous both for his work as singer and actor and for his political activism.

Robeson attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., where he was an All-American football player. Upon graduating from Rutgers at the head of his class, he rejected a career as a professional athlete and instead entered Columbia University. He obtained a law degree in 1923, but, because of the lack of opportunity for blacks in the legal profession, he drifted to the stage, making a London debut in 1922. He joined the Provincetown Players, a New York theatre group that included playwright Eugene O’Neill, and appeared in O’Neill’s play All God’s Chillun Got Wings in 1924. His subsequent appearance in the title role of O’Neill’s The Emperor Jones caused a sensation in New York City (1924) and London (1925). He also starred in the film version of the play (1933).

In addition to his other talents, Robeson had a superb bass-baritone singing voice and studied more than 20 languages. In 1925 he gave his first vocal recital of African American spirituals in Greenwich Village, New York City, and he became world famous as Joe in the musical play Show Boat with his version of “Ol’ Man River.” His characterization of the title role in Othello in London (1930) won high praise, as did the Broadway production (1943), which set an all-time record run for a Shakespearean play on Broadway.

Robeson’s recorded repertoire spanned many styles, including Americana, popular standards, classical music, European folk songs, political songs, poetry and spoken excerpts from plays.

Returning to the United States in 1939, during World War II Robeson supported the American and Allied war efforts. However, his history of supporting civil rights causes and pro-Soviet policies brought scrutiny from the FBI.

In 1949, a concert, organized as a benefit for the Civil Rights Congress, was scheduled to take place on August 27 in Lakeland Acres, just north of Peekskill, New York. Before Robeson arrived, a mob of locals attacked concertgoers with baseball bats and rocks. The local police arrived hours later and did little to intervene. Thirteen people were seriously injured, Robeson was lynched in effigy and a cross seen burning on an adjacent hillside. The concert was then postponed until September 4. Following the concert, request for Klan memberships from the Peekskill area numbered 748 persons.

Paul Robeson moved to Harlem and from 1950 to 1955 published a periodical called Freedom which was critical of United States policies.

In the McCarthy era, Robeson's passport was revoked, his records disappeared from stores, his name was blacklisted, which equated to a ban on performing in the United States. International committees were formed demanding freedom for Robeson to travel, particularly in Britain. In May 1957, members of the British House of Commons organized a "transnational" concert by telephone in London's St. Pancras Town Hall. He was only allowed to leave the U.S.A. again in 1958 as a result of a 1958 United States Supreme Court decision.

In the early 1960s he retired and lived the remaining years of his life privately in Philadelphia.

Robeson became the main mentor to the young Harry Belafonte, who became one of the most popular black entertainment stars of the early 1950s, but also a protagonist of the African American civil rights movement. Belafonte referred to Robeson both artistically and politically.

SET CONTENTS

DISC 1: THE EARLY VICTOR AND RCA RECORDINGS 1925–1940

Spirituals · Ol’ Man River · Ballad for Americans
16 recordings restored for the first time from the original masters, 5 recordings previously unreleased, all others newly remastered

DISCs 2–8: THE HMV RECORDINGS 1928–1939

DISC 9: THE COLUMBIA MASTERWORKS RECORDINGS 1942/1947

Songs of Free Men · Popular · Favorites · Joe Louis Blues
All recordings newly remastered · 1 recording previously unreleased

DISC 10: THE COLUMBIA MASTERWORKS RECORDINGS 1945/1947

Go Down, Moses · Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, and 22 more spirituals
All recordings newly remastered

DISC 11: LIVE IN NEW YORK, JUNE 1, 1958

Spirituals · Arias · Folk Songs · Ode to Joy

First restoration of the historic recital at Mother A.M.E. Zion Church
14 recordings previously unreleased

DISC 12: LIVE IN LONDON, AUGUST 10, 1958

First restoration of Robeson’s return to Royal Albert Hall
16 recordings previously unreleased

DISCs 13/14: SHAKESPEARE: OTHELLO (1944)

Columbia Masterworks’ first album of an entire stage production, restored from the original 33 disc sides

Christopher Jesina 5/14/24 Christopher Jesina 5/14/24

July 26: The Juilliard String Quartet Plays Schoenberg – The First Release of the Juilliard Quartet’s Complete 1975 Cycle of String Quartets on CD

The Juilliard String Quartet Plays Schoenberg with the first release of the Juilliard Quartet’s Complete 1975 Cycle of String Quartets on CD

The Juilliard String Quartet Plays Schoenberg
with the first release of the Juilliard Quartet’s
Complete 1975 Cycle of String Quartets on CD

Album Release Date: July 26, 2024
Reviewer Rate: $30.01 + shipping/handling fees
Preorder Now

Schoenberg at 150 on Sony Classical

Arnold Schoenberg, one of the most influential musical figures of the 20th century, was born in Vienna in 1874. Sony Classical is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the great composer’s birth with the reissue of 20 CDs of recordings from CBS/American Columbia. The company was a pioneer in documenting Schoenberg’s achievements and already demonstrated that commitment during his lifetime (he died in 1952). In 1940, with the composer conducting, Columbia Masterworks produced the first recording of one of his most captivating and revolutionary works, Pierrot lunaire; and in the 1950s and 60s, the label undertook a ground-breaking multi-volume series entitled “The Music of Arnold Schoenberg”. But arguably no recordings have done more to further the cause of Schoenberg’s orchestral and vocal works than those of Pierre Boulez, while none have done more to promote his chamber music than those by the Juilliard Quartet. Sony Classical now presents all of Boulez’s Schoenberg for CBS/Columbia in a 13-CD box, and all of the Juilliard’s in a 7-disc set.

The Juilliard Quartet brought its “profoundly intelligent” Schoenberg interpretations (Gramophone) into the studio over an even longer span – four decades, beginning with its first traversal of the numbered string quartets in 1951/52 (“Magnificent recordings” – Gramophone). The Juilliard returned to Columbia’s 30th Street Studio in 1975 for a stereo remake of the four “official” quartets, now coupled with the ensemble’s first recording of the early D major Quartet – a charming student work that could almost be mistaken for Dvořák.

But it wasn’t only advances in technology that prompted the Juilliard Quartet to re-record Schoenberg after years of regularly performing the quartets in concert. In an interview about their evolving interpretations with the recording’s producer, the players spoke of an increasingly romantic approach, especially to Nos. 3 and 4, with less emphasis on rhythmic drive but greater emotional intensity. The set won them the 1977 Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance.

The mono and stereo quartet cycles are both included in Sony Classical’s new 7-CD collection of the complete Juilliard Schoenberg recordings. And there are also two Juilliard versions for comparison – one from 1966 (the work’s LP premiere), the other from 1985 – of the extraordinarily intense String Trio which Schoenberg composed in the aftermath of a massive heart attack that caused his heart to stop beating. Something of that experience is reflected in the music. And, apropos comparison, the New York Philharmonic’s recording of Schoenberg’s sumptuous orchestral arrangement of his Verklärte Nacht in the Pierre Boulez collection is complemented here by the leaner original sextet version, with the Juilliard Quartet joined in 1991 by violist Walter Trampler and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

SET CONTENTS - The Juilliard String Quartet Plays Schoenberg

DISC 1:

Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7 (1952 recording)
Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 4, Op. 37 (1952 recording)

DISC 2:

Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 10 (1951 recording)
Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 3, Op. 30 (1951 recording)

DISC 3:

Schoenberg: Trio for Violin, Viola and Cello, Op. 45
Schoenberg: Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte, Op. 41 with John Horton and Glenn Gould

DISC 4:

Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 7 (1975 recording)

DISC 5:

Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10 (1975 recording)
Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 3, Op. 30 (1975 recording)

DISC 6:

Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 4, Op. 37 (1975 recording)
Schoenberg: String Quartet in D Major (1975 recording)

DISC 7:

Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4 with Yo-Yo Ma
Schoenberg: String Trio, Op. 45 with Yo-Yo Ma

Christopher Jesina 5/3/24 Christopher Jesina 5/3/24

GRAMMY® Award-Winning American Composer, Collaborator & Guitarist Bryce Dessner Signs Extensive Partnership with Sony Music Masterworks

Bryce Dessner Signs Extensive Partnership with Sony Music Masterworks

GRAMMYⓇ Award-Winning American Composer,
Collaborator & Guitarist
Bryce Dessner

Signs Extensive Partnership with Sony Music Masterworks

Creating A New Home Base
For His Classical Works and Select Soundtracks

Makes Sony Classical Début With New Album Solos
Available Everywhere August 23 – Pre-Order Now

Out Today – Lead Single “Lullaby For Jacques Et Brune”
Listen Here

Featuring Anastasia Kobekina, Colin Currie, Katia Labèque, Lavinia Meijer, Nadia Sirota, Pekka Kuusisto And Bryce Dessner

“Dessner […] moves fluidly between rock and classical and everywhere in between.”
– The Guardian, October 2021

“Dessner, who closely studied the Labèques’ repertoire, throws all manner of writing at the pianists, who play cascading figures in canon, stuttering syncopations, gently articulated polyrhythms, jabbing chords and twinkling starbursts of notes. The orchestra, mesmerized, follows their lead.” – The New York Times, December 2023

“It’s the sheer brilliance and ebullience of the music, with insistent rhythms that seem to owe as much to rock as they do to Steve Reich.” – The Guardian, February 2024

Sony Music Masterworks announces today, May 3, 2024 a unique far-reaching partnership with versatile composer, sought-after musical collaborator and guitarist Bryce Dessner, who is also a founding member of GRAMMYⓇ Award-winning rock band The National. The newly inked partnership will see Dessner’s classical compositions released on Sony Classical, while sister label Milan Records will continue to be a home for some of his celebrated soundtracks. This innovative tailored approach will give Dessner maximum artistic freedom to pursue these two essential strands of his creative output.

Dessner will make his Sony Classical début on August 23, 2024 with Solos, a collection featuring a series of unaccompanied instrumental works written by the composer over the past few years. Selected from both his classical and soundtrack worlds, the works showcase not only Dessner’s compositional flair but also the immense talent of his acclaimed collaborators, many of whom work regularly with him and are his friends. Featured soloists include cellist Anastasia Kobekina; violinist Pekka Kuusisto; pianist Katia Labèque; harpist Lavinia Meijer; violist Nadia Sirota; percussionist Colin Currie; and Bryce Dessner himself on guitar. Accompanying today’s announcement and album pre-order is the first single from Solos – “Lullaby for Jacques et Brune” – a lullaby for piano, written by Bryce Dessner for his godchildren.

Says Dessner of these pieces:

“Writing a solo piece for me is always a great challenge and joy, as you have all the personality and talent of the player plus the physicality and resonance of the solo instrument, a bit like a Shakespearean monologue. These solo pieces for violin, viola, cello, harp, percussion, guitar and piano represent many years of my compositional process. When I began composing, I mainly wrote solo pieces for myself to play and I have always loved unaccompanied instrumental music – including the solo Bach lute and cello suites and the Renaissance lute fantasies of John Dowland, which I used to play myself on the classical guitar. These pieces of mine are often written like poems, where the musical language itself dictates the form and evolution of the piece, and were often opportunities for me to explore more deeply my relationship to the instruments they were composed for. They also represent in each case close collaborative relationships and friendships I have been very lucky to develop with the incredible musicians who play them. Katia, Pekka, Anastasia, Nadia, Lavinia and Colin are all exceptional artists who brought so much of their amazing talent to these recordings.”

Dessner is a prolific classical composer, whose output has garnered him a Grammy Award and ranges from intimate chamber pieces and scaled-down works for solo instrumentalists to full orchestral scores and concertos.

In addition to his role as one of eight San Francisco Symphony Collaborative Partners, Bryce Dessner is currently Creative Chair of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, and Artist-in-Residence at London’s Southbank Centre and with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. Major new works include a Piano Concerto premièred by Alice Sara Ott and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich in January 2024 and now being performed internationally; a Concerto for Two Pianos premièred by Katia & Marielle Labèque and the London Philharmonic Orchestra; and a Violin Concerto premièred and performed internationally by Pekka Kuusisto. Dessner’s in-demand compositions have been performed by leading orchestras around the world, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Philharmonia Orchestra of London and San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

He has co-founded several new-music festivals, including the Cincinnati-based MusicNOW Festival in 2006, Copenhagen’s Haven Festival and the Cork-based Sounds from a Safe Harbour.

Bryce Dessner’s musical career has been rich and eclectic. Born into a musical family based in Cincinnati, he started out learning the flute as a child before switching to classical guitar in his teenage years, graduating from Yale University with a Masters in Music before finding fame as a founder member, guitarist, arranger and writer for alternative rock band The National.

Alongside his classical compositions, Dessner is also much sought after as a film composer, with recent and upcoming releases including the film Sing Sing starring Colman Domingo (due for release by A24 in summer 2024), limited series Manhunt (released in March 2024 on Apple TV), and John Crowley’s We Live in Time (due for release 2024 on A24). Over the years he has garnered great acclaim for his work on films such as Alejandro González Iñárritu’s The Revenant with the late Ryuichi Sakamoto and for his music to Netflix’s Fernando Meirelles’s The Two Popes. Dessner’s many musical collaborations include working with Philip Glass, Johnny Greenwood, Bon Iver, Steve Reich, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Sufjan Stevens, Taylor Swift and Thom Yorke.

Extraordinarily gifted, collaborative, secure in his own musical language and brimming with ideas, Bryce Dessner is a singular talent whose addition to the roster is warmly welcomed as he expands the repertoire with his new music, bringing with him his trademark original deep thinking, enthusiasm for all types of music and forward-thinking creative partnerships.

On this new arrangement with Sony Music, Bryce Dessner commented: “I am very much looking forward to an ongoing collaboration with Sony Music Masterworks and their wonderful team on several upcoming projects around my compositional work.”

Per Hauber, President, Sony Classical added: “As Bryce Dessner embarks on this exciting new chapter with Sony Classical, we look forward to showcasing his extraordinary talent and pushing boundaries of classical music together. We believe Sony Music Masterworks is the ideal new home for his releases and we warmly welcome him!”

Alexander Buhr, SVP International A&R adds: “Bryce is a uniquely gifted composer and musician, and a very important voice in contemporary music. With his broad range of influences and inspirations he crafts music that is daring and ambitious, while making instant emotional connection with the audience. All this is introduced perfectly on Solos. We are very happy to welcome Bryce to the Sony family.”

Bryce Dessner’s music is published by and available from Chester Music, part of the Wise Music Group.

Solos Tracklist

1. Lullaby for Jacques et Brune 2:26
Katia Labèque piano

2. Francis 2:19
Bryce Dessner guitar

3. Tuusula 11:24
Anastasia Kobekina cello

4. Song for Octave 3:42
Katia Labèque piano

5. Tromp Miniature 6:59
Colin Currie percussion

6. Ornament and Crime I 4:16

7. Ornament and Crime II 2:14

8. Ornament and Crime III 6:28
Pekka Kuusisto violin

9. A Good Person 2:42
Katia Labèque piano

10. On a Wire 11:02
Lavinia Meijer harp

11. Walls 2:58
Bryce Dessner guitar

12. Delphica I 7:31

13. Delphica II 4:32
Nadia Sirota viola

14. Ornament III Piano 7:21
Katia Labèque piano

15. Song for Ainola 1:19
Anastasia Kobekina cello