'Janáček - Brahms - Bartók' by Patricia Kopatchinskaja & Fazil Say [It can be risky]
Merry Christmas and Joyeux Noël to everyone from the whole team at Alpha Classics! Thank you for sharing another beautiful year of music with us. 🤍🎶
As we get closer to the end of the year, it’s time to look back at some of our highlights of 2023, starting with one of the very first releases of the year: 'Janáček - Brahms - Bartók' by Patricia Kopatchinskaja & Fazıl Say: https://lnk.to/JanacekBrahmsBartokFA
DILOROM SAIDAMINOVA // 'The Walls of Ancient Bukhara: I. Mosque Kalon' by Behzod Abduraimov
On his new Alpha Classics album, Shadows of My Ancestors, pianist Behzod Abduraimov was keen to pay tribute to his Uzkbek compatriot Dilorom Saidaminova. The Walls of Ancient Bukhara (1973, rev. 1988) is a sonic journey back in time inspired by Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Behzod paints an evocative and colourful picture of his musical ancestry in a programme which is completed with works by Prokofiev and Ravel.
► Pre-order the album and listen to this new single on all digital platforms: https://lnk.to/ShadowsOfMyAncestorsFA
2024 GRAMMY® Awards Nominee: ‘Because’ by Reginald Mobley with Baptiste Trotignon.
The final voting phase for the 66th Annual GRAMMY® Awards starts today and we are so proud that 'Because', by Reginald Mobley - Countertenor with Baptiste Trotignon, is nominated for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album! A big thank you to everyone who has supported the nomination so far. ✨
🎧 https://lnk.to/Because_Mobley_TrotignonFA
CHARPENTIER // 'Te Deum, H. 146: III. Te æternum Patrem' by Ensemble Les Surprises
Ensemble Les Surprises under the direction of Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas are back! Here they perform the first of two Te Deums featured on their forthcoming Alpha Classics album: the joyful and famous Te Deum by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. Look out for ‘Charpentier & Desmarest: Te Deum’ which will be released in January 2024, and is available to pre-order now: https://lnk.to/CharpentierDesmarestTeDeumFA
MRS PHILARMONICA // Sonata Terza in G Minor, Parte Prima: II. Vivace
On the day we celebrate St Cecilia (the patron saint of musicians), enjoy this joyful performance by Le Consort. Unlike St Cecilia, the name of this composer is an historical mystery, but happily her trio sonatas were published under the name Mrs Philarmonica and they feature alongside works by Matteis and Purcell on the new Alpha Classics album Philarmonica: https://lnk.to/PhilarmonicaFA
BACH // 'Cello suite No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009: I. Prélude' by Sonia Wieder-Atherton
"I waited a long time before recording these suites. Then one day, or rather one night, I began. It was at Noirlac Abbey, in the monastic refectory. We arrived as the white stone of the building was being gradually shrouded in darkness. And when everything was quiet, we began."
► Discover Sonia Wieder-Atherton's new album, ‘Bach: Cello Suites No. 3 & 4: https://lnk.to/BachCelloSuitesNos3_4FA
MRS PHILARMONICA // 'Sonata terza in G Minor, parte prima: IV. Tempo giusto' by Le Consort
In the second half of the seventeenth century, London experienced an artistic golden age, where stars like the Italian Nicola Matteis became a sensation on the London music scene. On their new album ‘Philarmonica’ Le Consort has recorded Matteis’s Ayres, presented here for the first time in a version for four-part consort, a selection of Purcell, and introduce listeners to a mysterious, likely female, composer who published trio sonatas around 1715 under the name Mrs Philarmonica.
► Discover this new album now!: https://lnk.to/PhilarmonicaFA
J.S. Bach // 'Cello suite No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009: I. Prélude' by Sonia Wieder-Atherton
“For me, whenever I play the Bach suites, all of a sudden I find myself visualising Giacometti’s hands incessantly moulding the earthen clay until a face appears. Getting to grips with the Bach suites is very closely related to that sense. You have to dig deeply into the string to give birth to the phrase, to make sure it breathes correctly: a phrase that is perpetually becoming, endlessly making and remaking itself. ” Sonia Wieder-Atherton
► Discover Sonia Wieder-Atherton’s new album 'Bach: Cello Suites Nos. 3 & 4’: https://lnk.to/BachCelloSuitesNos3_4
🎧 Available also on LP: https://outhere-music.com/en/albums/bach-cello-suites-nos-3-4-0
J.S. Bach // 'Cello suite No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009: I. Prélude' by Sonia Wieder-Atherton
Taken from the second of her three Alpha Classics albums dedicated to Bach’s Cello Suites, Sonia Wieder-Atherton performs the Prélude from Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major.
► Listen to this single now on all digital platforms: https://lnk.to/BachCelloSuitesNos3_4FA
The full album 'Bach Cello Suites 3 & 4' is out next week.
'Rachmaninoff: Piano Sonata No. 1 Original Version, Preludes Op. 32
Discover Lukas Geniušas's new Rachmaninoff recording in Spatial Audio on Apple Music. Recorded in the composer’s Swiss home and on Rachmaninoff’s own piano you will hear all the details present in the original version of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Sonata no. 1 and the original editions of the op. 32 Preludes: https://apple.co/46wkk1T
'Infinite Voyage' by Emerson String Quartet, Barbara Hannigan & Bertrand Chamayou
'Infinite Voyage' in the press!
Barbara Hannigan | Emerson String Quartet | Bertrand Chamayou
► Discover the album: https://lnk.to/InfiniteVoyageFA
'Rachmaninoff: Piano Sonata No. 1 (Original Version) & Preludes Op. 32' by Lukas Geniušas
Pianist Lukas Geniušas has recorded the original version of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Sonata no. 1 in the composer’s Swiss home Villa Senar and on Rachmaninoff's own piano, gifted by Steinway & Sons to mark his sixtieth birthday.
Geniušas considers this one of Rachmaninoff’s best solo piano works comparable in splendor and scale to the Third piano concerto. The original editions of the op. 32 Preludes complement this masterwork.
► Discover this new album: https://lnk.to/Rachmaninoff_GeniusasFA
BWV921 // JUSTIN TAYLOR (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
Discover Justin Taylor and his soundtrack to modern life: more than 300 years after its composition the transalpine sparkle in Bach’s brilliant counterpoint remains timeless. Hear more from this young Baroque specialist on his new album Bach & l’Italie, out now on Alpha Classics: https://lnk.to/BachItalieFA
🎥 Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/XP2cTsMs6B8
[Directed by Gaultier Durhin and produced by Libelo Productions]
'Enigma' by Sarah Aristidou
Sarah Aristidou • Soprano sets out in search of the original sound on Enigma, her forthcoming new album with clarinetist Jörg Widmann and pianist Daniel Arkadij Gerzenberg. This mysterious, enigmatic (sometimes wordless) music is wholly captivating. Join Sarah on her odyssey of discovery, which is out on 27 October.
► Pre-order the album: https://lnk.to/Enigma_AristidouFA
RÉGIS CAMPO // 'Pagamania !' by Théo Ould
Which instrument is “halfway between a typewriter and an extra-terrestrial contraption”? With his debut album Laterna Magica Théo Ould Accordionist answers this question as he introduces listeners to all the possibilities offered by the classical accordion. It’s a kind of musical stained-glass window into all the different artistic facets of this fascinating instrument and one which depicts music from the Baroque period to the present day.
► Discover this new album now!: https://lnk.to/LaternaMagica
🎥 Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/0zT14enB6-k
VIVALDI // 'Quatre saisons: automne' by Le Concert de la Loge & Julien Chauvin
Le Concert de la Loge - Julien Chauvin continues its commemoration of the tercentenary of Vivaldi's Four Seasons with the release of a second EP. Released to coincide with the season it celebrates, l'automne is as lively and invigorating as ever. Violinist Julien Chauvin, the ensemble's founding conductor, is the soloist.
► Discover this new EP now on all digital platforms: https://lnk.to/VivaldiAutomneFA
[Video images: ©NOESYS Prod / ©La Seine Musicale]
RAMEAU // 'Suite in A Minor, RCT 5: VII. Gavotte et six doubles' by Théo Ould
Théo Ould Accordionist sees musical expression as a total art form, and explores all the possibilities of his instrument, which he champions with great pride. On his debut album 'Laterna Magica' he presents different artistic facets of the classical accordion, creating a kind of musical stained-glass window which depicts music from the Baroque period to the present day.
► Pre-order this album: https://lnk.to/LaternaMagicaFA
Out this Friday!
SCHUBERT // 'Schwanengesang, D. 957: No. 4, Ständchen' by Aurèle Marthan & Aurélien Pascal
Follow pianist Aurèle Marthan as he continues his dreamlike journey. Together with cellist Aurélien Pascal he sheds new light on Schubert’s famous Ständchen from Schwanengesang, diving into its emotional depths to present it anew as a ‘song without words’.
🎧 Listen to this track on Aurèle's newly released EP: https://lnk.to/PorqueTeVas_MarthanFA
🎥 Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/c_bZBe93RNk?si=b0ABN5KHgpO4CbNO
GRETRY // 'Céphale et Procris: Déesse des beaux jours' by Reinoud Van Mechelen & A Nocte Temporis
Reinoud Van Mechelen - Tenor concludes his trilogy dedicated to hautes-contre, focusing this time on Joseph Legros, a renowned singer at the Paris Opéra favoured by Gluck. a nocte temporis and Centre de musique baroque de Versailles are Van Mechelen's partners in this recital.
► Discover this album: https://lnk.to/LegrosHauteContreDeGluckFA
BACH // ‘Toccata in E Minor, BWV 914’ by Justin Taylor
Join Justin Taylor on a voyage exploring Bach and Italy on his new album. Out now on all digital platforms! ► https://lnk.to/BachItalieFA
RAMEAU // 'Suite in A Minor, RCT 5: VII. Gavotte et six doubles' by Théo Ould
This virtuosic transcription of the Gavotte from Rameau’s Suite in A opens Théo Ould Accordionist 's forthcoming album: Laterna Magica. He moves from the French Baroque to criss-cross between different historical periods to fully showcase the possibilities offered by the classical accordion.
► Listen to this single and pre-order this album now on all digital platforms: https://lnk.to/LaternaMagicaFA
🎥 Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/e6Zr21dahG4
Laterna Magica is out on October 6 ⏳
'Bach & l'Italie' by Justin Taylor
Watch Justin Taylor introduce his new Alpha Classics album: Bach & L’Italie, which is out on 15 September. Discover which composer prompted Johann Sebastian to experience a musical revolution and inspired him to transcribe some of the most beautiful concertos for harpsichord.
► Pre-order the album: https://lnk.to/BachItalieFA
HENRY GRENERIN // ‘Suite in D Major: V. Sarabande’ by Bruno Helstroffer
Bruno Helstroffer Music combines his expertise as both a Baroque musician and a modern performer to revive the exquisitely beautiful tablatures of seventeenth-century composer and guitarist Henry Grenerin. The Frenchman applied techniques used by the court lutenists to invent a new method of playing the guitar and thus secured his place in music history as a guitar hero whose influence is comparable to Django Reinhardt or Jimi Hendrix. This is the first recording devoted to Grenerin's music.
► Discover this new album now: https://lnk.to/AmeSon_HelstrofferFA
🎥 Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/wEXLBsQCCxE
CARRARA // ‘Mon amant de Saint-Jean’ by Le Poème Harmonique, Stéphanie d'Oustrac & Vincent Dumestre
Fascinated by the interplay of echoes from different eras, Le Poème Harmonique - Vincent Dumestre and Stéphanie d'Oustrac aimed to make their first collaboration a unique musical adventure. Mon Amant de Saint-Jean is inspired by the treasures of the madcap 20th-century years of Parisian popular song.
► Discover this album: https://lnk.to/MonAmantDeSaintJeanFA
'Bach minimaliste' by La Tempête & Simon-Pierre Bestion
Built around J. S. Bach, this programme features Harpsichord Concertos by Bach and Górecki, plus John Adams' Shaker Loops and an unpublished arrangement of Jehan Alain's Litanies which brings together the Bestion brothers, with Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas as the soloist.
► Discover 'Bach Minimaliste' by La Tempête now!: https://lnk.to/BachMinimalisteFA
KURT WEILL // 'Youkali' by Benjamin Appl and James Baillieu
Enjoy baritone Benjamin Appl performing Youkali, one of two Kurt Weill songs included on his new Alpha Classics album with pianist James Baillieu. Awarding the album five stars Opera Now describes Forbidden Fruit as “a delicious album with an intriguing sense of sin.”
► Discover it today:
https://lnk.to/ForbiddenFruit_ApplFA
'Nature Romantique' by Juliette Hurel, Emmanuelle Bertrand & Hélène Couvert
Flautist Juliette Hurel and pianist Hélène Couvert, currently celebrating 30 years of musical partnership, are joined by the award-winning cellist Emmanuelle Bertrand to perform romantic works which reflect nature’s inherent beauty. In their hands the landscape becomes a mirror.
Discover this new album now!: https://lnk.to/NatureRomantiqueID
SCHUBERT // 'Gretchen am Spinnrade, D. 118' by Benjamin Appl and James Baillieu
Benjamin Appl and James Baillieu present an astonishing journey from paradise and beyond, exploring the passion and drama inherent in the metaphor of forbidden fruit. The repertoire ranges from folk songs to German art songs, through the French masters to contemporary works.
► Discover this new album now: https://lnk.to/ForbiddenFruit_ApplFA