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Jon Fadem:

Thankful

‘Thankful’ is the solo debut from Jon Fadem, a talented guitarist who has spent years honing his craft. It consists of all-original, guitar-oriented instrumental songs, telling a collected personal life story through music. The songs cross over many genres, creating a blend of rock, jazz, and soul with echoes of Jeff Beck, Stevie Wonder, George Benson, Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, and Steely Dan. It is an album of organic melodies and grooves that will find a welcome place in the minds and bodies of its listeners.

Jon Fadem on the making of ‘Thankful.’     “This album is a collection of original, guitar-oriented, instrumental songs taken from different periods in my life. After many years of playing and touring nationally with different cover bands, I decided to make an album of my own music, and it is a very personal project to me. It took countless hours over two years to complete this album, and to make sure it sounded exactly how I wanted it to sound. I played all of the instruments myself, with the exception of drums and percussion, which were played by John Kimock, who plays with Mike Gordon of Phish, and Oteil Burbridge of Dead and Company. The template for the overall sound of the album was my favorite music from the seventies, specifically these three albums: Jeff Beck's 'Blow by Blow', Stevie Wonder's 'Talking Book', and Joni Mitchell's 'The Hissing of Summer Lawns.' I wanted it to be an album that people would enjoy listening to. Theoretically, they would be able to either sit down and listen to it carefully and enjoy it, or just put it on and go about their day, allowing the music to become part of the fabric of their life. Either way, I sincerely hope that people like it, and that it finds a welcome home in people's lives.” 

Apollo Chamber Players:

BAN - Stories of Censorship

Through Apollo commissions from a kaleidoscopic array of today’s composers, Apollo reflects on the threat of censorship, drawing from multiple cultures and historical episodes in this musically vibrant call to cherish and defend our freedom of expression. Legendary actor, author, and activist George Takei performs as narrator in composer Marty Regan’s The Book of Names, delivering a powerful account of his personal journey and life of activism following his family’s experience in an internment camp for Japanese-Americans during World War II. Through his inspired, timely plea for the preservation of American democracy, Takei’s story offers a stark reminder that even our most basic rights must never be taken for granted. The album also features works by Emmy Award–winning composer Jasmine Barnes in collaboration with Houston Poet Laureate Emeritus Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, Houston-based composer Mark Buller, Turkish-American composer Erberk

Eryilmaz, Afrofuturist flutist/composer Allison Loggins-Hull, electronic and experimental hip-hop artist Paul Miller (AKA DJ Spooky), and Afghan-born composer and rubab performer Homayoun Sakhi.

“BAN: Stories of Censorship is Apollo Chamber Players’ bold musical response to rising global threats against freedom of expression,” said Apollo founder and Director Matthew J. Detrick. “Featuring new commissions by composers from politically embattled regions—including Afghanistan, Turkey, and the U.S.—the album amplifies voices often silenced. In connective harmony, these works form a musical call to conscience, reminding us that in dark times, art is both resistance and refuge.”

Fred Hersch:

The Surrounding Green w/Drew Gress, Joey Baron

Masterful trio interplay reliant on deeply honed three-way communication and a refined sense of understatement make Fred Hersch’s third recording for ECM an essential entry into the piano trio canon. Hersch tackles a handful of 20th century compositions – spanning from standards to less frequented jazz tunes – as well as three originals, with Drew Gress on bass and Joey Baron on drums.

Drew and Joey are longstanding companions of Fred’s who have played with him on and off since the early and late 80s respectively – in various combinations Fred was joined by the one or the other on over a dozen recordings. This however marks their first studio recording as a trio, and their exceptional collective approach, shaped by decades of experience, can be heard (and felt) in every song.

“Joey is such a genius with dynamics that it was no problem at all for us to hear each other in the Auditorio,” notes Hersch. “And the way that Drew plays, for example on ‘Plainsong’ and ‘The Surrounding Green’, there’s so much trust in how we get through the harmony, where we pause and where we move on. I feel that on this record you really hear the history! I hope that people can feel the maturity of the interaction, the sonic world and the sensitivity at play.”

Fred’s own pieces are striking in their lyrical intensity, beaming with elaborate harmonies and interwoven counterpoint on “Plainsong”, timeless melodic invention on the title track “The Surrounding Green” and irresistible Brazilian groove on “Anticipation”. While previous solo renditions of “Plainsong” already introduced the melody’s intimate quality, the trio formula heard here proves quietly revelatory, with bass and drums adding a fresh pulse and expanded harmonic dimensions to the tune. The title track and “Anticipation” are new entries into the Hersch songbook.

Kevin Olusola:

Dawn Of A Misfit

Kevin Olusola, the dynamic singer, cellist, and beatboxer best known for his work with the 3x-GRAMMY® Award-winning a cappella group Pentatonix, releases his debut solo album, DAWN OF A MISFIT, via Sony Music Masterworks, available everywhere now. To mark the album’s release, Olusola has also unveiled the music video for standout track “Hallelujah (I Don’t Think About You).” The song masterfully showcases Olusola’s blend of classical, pop, and hip-hop genres. It starts a bit unassuming: wrapped around a sample of George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” oratorio, beginning with a worship-worthy melody before exploding into a percussion-heavy beat as Olusola unleashes a massive kiss-off to those who have done him wrong. “You used to be my sweetest song / Turns out the autotune was on,” he sings with a wink.

“’Hallelujah (I Don’t Think About You)’ is my absolute favorite song on this project,” shares Olusola. “I remember driving home from the songwriting session, blasting the demo I produced in the car, and thinking, ‘This is exactly the sound I’ve been chasing all my life!’ This song sums me up artistically and personally - it’s about embracing your true self and letting go of the past (toxic people, habits, etc.). I hope you feel the energy and joy that pours into this song, helping you step into the freedom you’ve been dreaming of.”

The multi-faceted artist first previewed his new LP with the electrifying lead single “DARK WINTER," blending Vivaldi's Four Seasons and symphonic strings with Olusola's potent beatbox percussion, 808s & elastic R&B hooks. He followed with the spoken word and deeply personal “I Feel Misunderstood” and “Crazy,” an instrumental reimagining of Gnarls Barkley’s 2006 mega-hit that showcases Olusola’s powerful talents as a cellist. Most recently, Olusola released “Smile,” an uplifting number that showcases the purity of Olusola’s vocals and his signature beatboxing, along with the soothing sample of Bach’s “Cello Suites.”

Signum Quartett:

A Dark Flaring - Works for String Quartet from SA

A Dark Flaring marks the Signum Quartett’s return to ECM’s New Series after debuting for the label with striking performances on Erkki-Sven Tüür’s acclaimed chamber music recording Lost Prayers (2020). Here, the quartet has put together a unique programme dedicated to South African composers, born in the 20th century, whose works for string quartet are united by the way they blend respect for the past with an instinct for the future in a wide-flung idiomatic scope. The grid of references unravelled between the six composers here – their dates of birth span from 1903 to 1983 – is as geographically wide as it is idiomatically deep, with large musical bridges connecting inspirations ranging from South African Xhosa and Zulu traditions through the late Renaissance to 19th century Romanticism as well as 20th century impressionists and minimalists. There’s even a nod to popular culture, as Matthijs van Dijk’s (rage) rage against the borrows inspiration for its title from the rock group Rage Against The Machine.

The complicated historical and in the same breath cultural backdrop that goes hand in hand with musical repertory composed over this specific period, in the South African context, is not only impossible to ignore but moreover serves as catalyst, canvas and disrupter – sometimes all at once – for most of the music presented here. The country after all didn’t become united until 1910, when South Africa was declared a self-governed country under the Commonwealth in the aftermath of the Anglo-Boer Wars. Apartheid ensued following the World Wars – racist segregational policies that lasted until 1990 and continue to be worked through, digested and dealt with today. 

Raphael Feuillatre:

Spanish Serenades

When Raphaël Feuillâtre was given the opportunity to play guitars owned by three of Spain’s finest composers, he jumped at the chance. For his second Deutsche Grammophon album, Spanish Serenades, he has created a programme built around works by Albéniz, Llobet and Tárrega, adding others by their compatriots Granados and Rodrigo. A talented and prolific arranger, Feuillâtre plays five of his own inventive transcriptions of works for solo piano. These include Granados’s Andaluza, which he performs with violinist and fellow DG artist María Dueñas. Spanish Serenades also features the French guitarist’s first recordings with orchestra – he is joined by the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Gábor Takács-Nagy, in Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez.

Through the generosity of several different collectors, Feuillâtre was lent guitars owned by Albéniz, Llobet and Tárrega for this recording, and began planning a tracklist by selecting works by these three influential figures of the Spanish classical world.
Known as the “Sarasate of the guitar”, Francisco Tárrega was a composer, arranger and teacher as well as virtuoso performer. Feuillâtre captures his legacy in the colourful Recuerdos de la Alhambra and Capricho árabe, together with eight of his ingenious preludes for guitar. 

Miguel Llobet, who studied with Tárrega, made history as the first classical guitarist to create an electric recording. As a composer, he is perhaps best-known for his harmonisations of Catalan folk songs, four of which feature on Spanish Serenades, as does his transcription of Danza triste. Melancólica from Granados’s Danzas españolas. 

Klaus Makela:

berlioz ravel wOrchestre de Paris

Klaus Mäkelä’s forthcoming album with the Orchestre de Paris is out today, June 6, 2025 on Decca Classics. This is the third album in Mäkelä’s series with the orchestra and features two famous French works: Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique and Ravel’s La Valse.

The centrepiece of the album is Symphonie fantastique, recorded live at the Philharmonie de Paris in December 2024.  “Berlioz’s masterpiece has a very special meaning for the Orchestre de Paris” says Klaus Mäkelä. “It was one of the works that Charles Munch performed and recorded as the orchestra’s first Music Director in 1967, and it has remained core to their repertoire ever since. I have had the privilege of performing Symphonie Fantastique with these wonderful musicians on numerous occasions, both at home and on tour, and it amazes me how fresh the music still feels today, nearly 200 years after it was composed.”

Terry Riley:

The Columbia Recordings

One of the most consequential musicians of the 20th century – the visionary American composer Terry Riley – is celebrated with the Sony Classical release of Terry Riley – The Columbia Recordings.  Set for release on August 22 and available for preorder now, the four-disc box set includes Terry Riley’s unique recordings for Columbia Masterworks between 1968 and 1980 that changed the direction and expanded the range of late 20th-century music.

Terry Riley – The Columbia Recordings box set includes the albums In C (1968); A Rainbow in Curved Air (1969); Church of Anthrax (1971, in collaboration with John Cale of the Velvet Underground); and Shri Camel (1980), all made for Columbia Masterworks at a time when the label was boldly embracing new directions in American music. This collection offers an essential document of Riley’s most transformative period when the pulse of innovation met the possibilities of high-fidelity sound.

In addition to all four complete recordings and rarely seen archival photographs from recording sessions in Columbia’s fabled 30th Street Studios in Manhattan, Terry Riley – The Columbia Recordings includes a 50-page booklet featuring first-hand reflections from David Behrman, the original producer of In C and A Rainbow in Curved Air; and an essay by Thomas M. Welsh, Terry Riley’s longtime manager and archivist; and reprints of all essays and notes from the original vinyl releases.

“The magic of Terry Riley’s music derives from many worlds, among them the minimalist world, the indeterminate world, and the music of the world,” Grammy-nominated producer and former Sony Masterworks executive Tom Laskey wrote in his essay for Terry Riley – The Columbia Recordings. “And the way it all fuses together creates its own world. And like going to a new world, maybe it’s awkward at first. And then, maybe, it’s like you’ve lived there all your life. Or maybe your experience of listening to Terry’s music is like mine: it’s not the world I live in, but when I visit, I don’t want to leave.”

Avi Avital:

ITALY w/Between Worlds Ensemble

In a new series of recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, virtuoso mandolinist Avi Avital paints captivating musical portraits of three distinct geographical regions. Together with the nine versatile musicians of his Between Worlds ensemble, Avital has already delighted audiences around Europe with genre-defying programmes that celebrate folk traditions and their influence on classical composers past and present. Now they are set to release three digital EPs – ITALY, IBERIA and BLACK SEA – and an album, Song of the Birds, which features a colourful sequence of music from all three regions. Guest artists Marina Heredia, Alessia Tondo and the Georgian choir Ensemble Rustavi join the musicians in a rich selection of vocal and instrumental arrangements (most of which were created by David Bruce or Jonathan Keren). These are woven together by the magical sound of Avital’s mandolin, the heart of the ensemble, to form a vibrant tapestry of musical traditions. 

ITALY comes out on 30 May 2025, with IBERIA following on 27 June and BLACK SEA on 11 July.  Song of the Birds will be released digitally and on CD on 8 August. Nine of the album’s 20 tracks do not appear on any of the EPs. Filmed versions of the Between Worlds concerts at Berlin’s Pierre Boulez Saal will be made available to stream on STAGE+, beginning with the premiere of the IBERIA concert on 5 July, and continuing with VoD releases of the BLACK SEA concert on 18 July and the ITALY concert on 15 August.

Italy is close to Avi Avital’s heart – not just as the birthplace of the mandolin, but as the country he called home for eight years, during which time he discovered the huge variety of musical traditions still flourishing throughout the peninsula. ITALY focuses on the south of the country, with vocalist Alessia Tondo, a leading exponent of that region’s folk music, joining the ensemble in songs such as Tarantella di Sannicandro. Song of the Birds also acknowledges the historical influence of Greece on Italy with the inclusion of Raiko, a traditional Macedonian dance arranged for the ensemble by violinist-composer Antonis Sousamoglou.
Avital’s journey continues with an exploration of the varied musical history of the Iberian Peninsula. The IBERIA EP features two works by Andalusian composer Falla, both rooted in the folk music of his native region: Andaluza from 4 Piezas españolas and an excerpt from El amor brujo, with vocals from legendary flamenco singer Marina Heredia. She also sings a contemporary arrangement of an Andalusian folk song harmonised by poet and musician Federico García Lorca. The album expands this repertoire with a selection of Ladino songs (Ladino being the language of the Sephardi Jews who established new communities outside the Iberian peninsula after being expelled from Spain in 1492). Heredia sings La Petenera, while the remaining arrangements are purely instrumental.

Angela Hewitt:

Mozart Piano Sonatas K457, 533, 545, 570, 576

Out June 6, 2025: Angela Hewitt’s 50th album for Hyperion Records concludes her Complete Mozart Piano Sonatas project
Final album features the “Sonata Facile”, loved by millions of piano students worldwide, and the composer’s final piano sonatas
Hewitt’s 31 years on Hyperion have so far included Scarlatti, Couperin, and the complete solo keyboard works of J.S. Bach and Beethoven - Out Now on Hyperion

The 50th album from Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt, out today on Hyperion Records, completes her latest major project for the label; Hyperion has been her lifelong recording partner for 31 years. This double album ranges from the simplest and easiest of Mozart’s piano sonatas – the K545 “Sonata facile” played by a million students of piano every year – to the composer’s last and most profound piano sonatas. In between come the charming Variations on “Ah vous dirai-je, maman”, better known in the Anglosphere as the tune to the nursery rhyme “Twinkle, twinkle, little star”.

Sviatoslav Richter:

The Lost Tapes - Beethoven Sonatas 18, 27, 28 & 31

At the height of his pianistic ability, Richter plays the Beethoven sonatas 18, 27, 28 and 31 at the Festival in Tours and at the Lucerne Festival in June and September 1965. Recorded by DG Tonmeister (recording producer) Heinz Wildhagen, and newly restored by the renowned Emil Berliner Studios in Berlin and pitch fluctuations and interference have been carefully removed.
Available digitally, on 180gm 2-LP (EBS), and CD album (jewel)

Includes a recent interview with pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja, an essay by Jed Distler, editorial notes by Markus Kettner (LP in English, in the CD booklet in German and English), as well as numerous photos, some previously unpublished.
Anyone who thinks that there is no longer anything to say on the subject of Sviatoslav Richter’s discography is wrong. For sixty years these recordings, which were made by Deutsche Grammophon at the Tours and Lucerne Festivals in 1965, have slumbered in the Yellow Label’s archives. Carefully restored by Emil Berliner Studios, they are being released now for the very first time.

Andreas Ottensamer:

Romanza featuring Jose Gallardo

“For me,” says Andreas Ottensamer, “chamber music is the ‘purest form’ of making music, requiring virtuosity, expressiveness and the utmost sensitivity in the musicians’ interplay. Every note counts.” The Austrian clarinettist-conductor’s love of the chamber genre and his in-depth understanding of its complex demands lie at the heart of Romanza, his latest album for Deutsche Grammophon. Ottensamer recorded Romanza with Argentinean pianist José Gallardo, his long-standing chamber partner and co artistic director of the Bürgenstock Festival. 

Together the duo perform works by Brahms, Debussy, Gershwin, Poulenc, Rachmaninoff, Rota and more. Some were written expressly for clarinet and piano, others are transcriptions, several of them realised by Ottensamer himself. Having stepped down in January as principal clarinet of the Berliner Philharmoniker, Ottensamer is now focusing on his work as a conductor, but also plans to continue performing as soloist and chamber musician.

HAUSER:

'Mission Impossible' from 'CINEMA'

Continuing his quest to unite the world through beautiful music, the global cello sensation HAUSER now turns his attention to the greatest melodies ever written for classic films with his forthcoming Sony Music Masterworks album, CINEMA. For the new album, HAUSER chose 25 unforgettable melodies across the decades and reimagined them with his signature sound into sumptuous arrangements of classic film themes, which he recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Robert Ziegler. Songs range from the epic "Tara" theme from Gone with the Wind (1939) to Billie Eilish's Oscar-winning song "What Was I Made For" from Barbie (2023). Set for release on September 12 and available to preorder and presave here, the CD version of CINEMA will highlight 20 tracks, while the digital version will feature all 25 tracks.

“James Bond is my favorite character from the movies,” notes HAUSER. Thus, alongside today’s album announcement, he is excited to share his recording of "Writing's on the Wall," the Oscar-winning Sam Smith song from the 2012 James Bond film Spectre, as the first single off Cinema - listen here and watch the music video.

In further news, today HAUSER kicks off his second solo North American tour, THE REBEL IS BACK! at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, FL.  Additional stops along the tour include Radio City Music Hall in New York City on June 24, The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on May 25, Budweiser Stage in Toronto on June 17, and Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on May 30, to name a few.  Please visit HAUSERofficial.com/tour for ticketing information. The cellist’s enthusiasm for big, romantic melodies inspires each selection on the new album.  In addition to "Writing's on the Wall," CINEMA rediscovers a rarely heard Bond song from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) – “We Have All the Time in the World.”

Other iconic themes that are in everyone’s listening experience appear on CINEMA—from golden-age Hollywood classics A Summer Place and An Affair to Remember, as well as Lalo Schifrin’s pulsating Mission Impossible theme. The album also includes memorable romantic themes from Somewhere in Time and Out of Africa by one of HAUSER’s favorite composers, John Barry, as well as Amélie and The Last of the Mohicans.

Benjamin Grosvenor:

Chopin Sonatas 2&3, Ballade 1, Berceuse, Nocturnes

Decca Classics is thrilled to announce Chopin: Piano Sonatas Nos. 2 & 3, the new album by internationally renowned British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, now out today. This is Grosvenor’s ninth recording with Decca since his historic signing in 2011, when he became the youngest British musician—and the first British pianist in over sixty years—to join the label. Since then, Grosvenor has been recognised by Gramophone as one of the 50 greatest pianists ever recorded.
This album celebrates Chopin’s genius with two of his most profound and contrasting works: the Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor and the Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor. Composed five years apart, these masterpieces showcase the range of Chopin’s emotional and musical brilliance. 

Grosvenor comments, “The brooding Second Sonata is widely known for its Funeral March, but it also shows Chopin as a trailblazer, with the Finale: Presto hinting at modernism. It stands out in Chopin’s work as something truly unique.” By contrast, the Third Sonata, written at the height of Chopin’s career in 1844, blends dazzling piano technique with beautiful, flowing melodies, showing the composer at his most refined and expressive.

Various:

Shostakovich Discoveries

As part of the commemorations surrounding the 50th anniversary of the death of Shostakovich, Deutsche Grammophon releases Shostakovich Discoveries, an album of world premiere recordings and previously unreleased rarities. The recordings were made during and in cooperation with the Internationale Schostakowitsch Tage Gohrisch – the only annual international Shostakovich festival – which takes place each June in the German state of Saxony. Shostakovich Discoveries is now out today.
Dmitri Shostakovich was one of the most complex musical figures of the 20th century. His life in Soviet Russia was marked by both state oppression and official recognition and, in attempting to navigate safely between these two extremes, he often wove hidden messages into his music. The spa resort of Gohrisch, where he wrote his String Quartet No. 8 in C minor in 1960, has hosted the International Shostakovich Festival since 2010. Working closely with the composer’s widow, Irina Shostakovich, and musicologist Dr Olga Digonskaya, the Festival has unearthed numerous long-lost compositions – from early works written by a teenage Shostakovich to masterpieces of his maturity.

Pablo Ferrandez:

Moonlight Variations w/Julien Quentin, SCO - Frost

Star cellist Pablo Ferrández has realized a twenty-year dream to record Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations on his latest album for Sony Classical, combining the spirited work with melancholy nocturnes to create Moonlight Variations - an album he describes as ‘night followed by day.’

The night-time has long fascinated Ferrández. On his new album, he assembles eleven handpicked gems by composers from Antonín Dvorák to Manuel Ponce that speak of the heighted emotional intimacy of the dark hours. The cellist has arranged songs, piano nocturnes, violin works and an opera aria. ‘I feel more creative at night,’ says the cellist. ‘I’m not alone in that. So many composers have written special music connected to this time. They all felt a difference in the world once the sun had gone down.’

Erkki Sven Tuur:

Aeris w/Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Etts

Aeris is the ninth ECM New Series album to feature the vibrant and highly expressive music of Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tüür.  Olari Elts, a long-time champion of Tüür’s work, conducts the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra in compelling, intensely-focused performances of Phantasma, De Profundis and Tüür’s tenth symphony “ÆRIS”, which is scored for horn quartet and orchestra.

In Latin, Tüür notes, “æris” means brass while “aeris” means air, “and without this essential element, not a sound would come out of brass instruments. Thus, the title of my tenth symphony focuses mainly on the brass sound that carries the weight of this composition.” Written at the urging of the ensemble German Hornsound in 2022, the symphony is a vast drama of shifting energies and interactions, with the horns effectively “messengers from beyond the horizon, bringing prophecies of imminent irreversible changes.”

Janet Axelrod:

Act One

Acclaimed flutist Janet Axelrod has released a new album, Act One for fute and piano (Freedom Road Records FRR 003), featuring the world premiere recording of six works commissioned by Axelrod from Broadway’s most celebrated composers, arrangers and music directors. Act One is available at Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, all major streaming platforms, and www.janetaxelrod.com.

Hailed as one of America’s finest flutists, Axelrod is in demand as a Broadway musician, orchestral flutist, chamber musician and contemporary and world flutist. She is a leading recording artist in studios with some of the world’s top entertainers. Composer George Crumb said of Axelrod, “it is always a great pleasure for a composer to hear his music played with such great musical sensitivity and technical excellence.” Says Axelrod, “I was inspired to commission the works on this recording from the brilliant composers of Broadway shows, music directors and conductors of Radio City Music Hall in New York City who I have had the honor of collaborating with my entire career. As a performer and educator, I recognize the need for fresh music that is exciting to perform, and that audiences will want to hear again and again. This recording showcases the gift that these celebrated Grammy, Emmy, Drama Desk and Olivier winning and nominated composers, orchestrators and arrangers of musicals have for memorable tune craft, colorful harmonies and rhythmic grooves.”

Sven Helbig:

Requiem A w/Staatskapelle Dresden

The world premiere took place on 9th February 2025 at the Dresdner Kreuzkirche, featuring Sven Helbig’s live electronics, the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Dresdner Kreuzchor under the baton of Martin Lehmann. Renowned bass René Pape, celebrated for his performances with the Berlin State Opera and New York’s Metropolitan Opera, will appear as the soloist.

REQUIEM A is a deeply introspective work that blends traditional liturgical texts with new ones written by Sven Helbig. The title’s "A" symbolises "Beginning" (Anfang in German), highlighting themes of renewal and reconciliation. The composition weaves poetic imagery to explore the transition from mourning to life, with key motifs such as "setting off" (Aufbruch), "ashes" (Asche), and "breathing" (Atmen) guiding its narrative. Inspired by Helbig’s reflections on history, memory, and the contemporary relevance of conflict, REQUIEM A remains grounded in hope and the potential for new beginnings. A visit with his grandfather, who occasionally shared memories of World War II, sparked a contemplation of how the echoes of war continue to resonate in present-day discourse. This connection to history is especially poignant, as REQUIEM A debuts during the 80th anniversary of the destruction of Dresden and the end of World War II.

Sven Helbig’s work bridges the ordinary and the extraordinary, offering deeply personal yet universally accessible reflections on loss, renewal, and hope. With REQUIEM A, he creates a meditation on human resilience and the possibility of new beginnings - an idea inspired in part by conversations with his daughter, Ida, who encouraged the symbolism behind the title. The following conversation between Sven Helbig and his daughter offers deeper insight into the personal and artistic journey that shaped REQUIEM A.

Yunchan LIm:

Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 - LIVE, Cliburn

Decca Classics now releases one of the most talked-about performances in recent classical music history: Lim’s electrifying interpretation of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, recorded live at the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, when he was just 18 years old.

Dominic Fyfe, Label Director, Decca Classics, says: “The creation of a recorded legacy on Decca Classics was at the heart of our conversations with Yunchan from the very beginning. These two albums are already milestones in his career and each affords us the opportunity to own a piece of history. They document his artistry in both live and studio settings, capturing the hypnotic music-making which has become Yunchan's signature.”

Lim, now 21, first gained international recognition with this very performance, which conductor Marin Alsop described as showing “an old soul, rather than a young performer.” Since then, it has become the most-watched version of the concerto on YouTube, with over 17 million views.

The performance quickly went viral, trending worldwide and surpassing all other recordings of the piece online. It was broadcast on national television in South Korea and featured on global news outlets, making Lim a household name almost overnight. British pianist and jury member Sir Stephen Hough called him “a preposterously gifted pianist... he understood the rhetoric, the scope, the personality of Liszt. It isn’t speed but a kind of inner charisma.” Fellow juror Jean-Efflam Bavouzet said, “We didn’t talk, but our eyes said it all,” while Anne-Marie McDermott shared, “About halfway through the first movement… we just knew: we’re experiencing something magical here.”

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