The Welsh composer Arwel Hughes (1909-88) played many different roles in what E.T.Davies – the first Director of Music at Bangor University – termed the ‘new musical awakening’ in Wales during the 20th century. Arwel Hughes was born in Rhosllanerchrugog, North Wales, the youngest of 10 children from a coal miner’s family.

Debussy’s song cycle Ariettes oubliées of 1888 set six poems from Paul Verlaine’s collection Romances sans paroles, beginning with C’est l’extase and Il pleure dans mon cœur – penetratingly poetic images of love’s ecstasy and rainlike tears of despair.

Celebrated Mexican-born pianist Jorge Federico Osorio, “one of the most elegant and accomplished pianists on the planet” (Los Angeles Times) performs Romantic-era concertos and solo pieces by Mexican composers Ricardo Castro and Manuel María Ponce.

Few things have informed and inspired as much music as humanity’s search for God. Acclaimed baritone, arranger, and conductor Courtney Carey explores the relation between the worldly and the divine on I WANNA BE READY, a set of 12 spirituals arranged for different instrumentations — and each piece packs a punch.

"In the summer of 1989, when I was 15, my `love affair' with Alfred Schnittke's music began", recalls Daniel Hope. 3 years later the violinist became acquainted with the composer, studying with & performing for Schnittke many of his works over the next years.

Shaped by pianist Andrew von Oeyen’s experience of lockdown, this solo recital comprises Bach’s eight-movement Overture in the French Style BWV 831, Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas No 13 in E flat and No 23 in F minor, ‘Appassionata’, and arrangements by Wilhelm Kempff of two movements that Bach wrote for accompanied flute.

Arnold Schoenberg called him "Brahms the Progressive".

Baroque dedicatory letters seek to fmatter the addressee, such as those sent to Duchess Sibylla of Württemberg. This custom was as necessary as it was natural. However, it is remarkable how much Philipp Friedrich Böddecker (*1607, Hagenau in Alsace; †1683, Stuttgart) emphasised the particular musical abilities of the dedicatee in the preface to his Sacra Partitura, published in Strasbourg in 1651.

World premiere recording of violin and cello sonatas by Albinoni, Bigaglia, Caldara, Gentili, and Reali. Scaramuccia Ensemble.

Consolations is Saskia Giorgini’s second Liszt album, after her critically-acclaimed rendition of the composer’s Harmonies poétiques et religieuses. Named after Liszt’s six Consolations, the album also contains the Caprices-Valses, Valse Impromptu, Légendes and the world-famous Liebesträume. These introspective pieces shed light on love in all its forms and manifestations, showing us human nature in all its different aspects, as well as a different side of Liszt’s colourful musical persona.

John Wilson’s third volume devoted to music by Eric Coates combines some of the composer’s larger-scale works with miniatures and two marches. The Cinderella Phantasy frames the well-known fairy-tale from Cinderella’s perspective, glossing over the more brutal elements of the original, with some notably descriptive writing for the dream sequences, the ball, and of course the happy ending.

Notated on four staves, as though intended for some unspecified set of instruments (or even voices? or keyboard?), these thirteen erudite contrapuncti, four canons, and an unfinished triple fugue—incorporating the letters of Bach’s name—are often considered to be his musical testament. Shrouded in myths traceable to its very origins, The Art of Fugue is a puzzle for the performers and for the listeners alike, but when a brilliant string quartet takes up the challenge, a solution becomes obvious, and the music takes flight.

Marin Marais published his last collection in 1725, eight years after the appearance of his Quatrième Livre de Pièces de Viole . He was no longer playing in the Chambre du Roi by that time and had moved to a house in the Faubourg Saint-Marceau where he cultivated plants and flowers in his garden. He continued, however, to give lessons to people who wanted to improve their viol playing. The Cinquième Livre de Pièces de Viole reflects this image of a peaceful life; today we regard it as the final testament of a musician who was looking back upon his past years as their undisputed master — and which he remains today.

A fantastic collection of American choral classics ranging from Thompson’s sublime Alleluia to the terrific choral arrangement of Gershwin’s Summertime from Porgy and Bess.

Delve into the world of myths reconstructed in music by celebrated composers from different cultures and times. This unique album features three world premiere recordings, bringing fresh and exciting music to the programme. Greek pianist and professor Zoe Samsarelou has expertly curated a selection of works that weave together an interconnected narrative, taking you on a journey through the myth of Dionysus. From the works of Couperin, Rameau, Dandrieu, and Daquin to the eminent Greek composers of the 20th and 21st centuries and the Late Romantics in between, each piece is thoughtfully selected and presented.