Hailed by The New Yorker as “the last indisputable compositional genius in a tradition that goes back to Mikhail Glinka,”  Deutsche Grammophon celebrates the 90th birthday of  Sofia Gubaidulina, releasing world premiere recordings of three substantial late works by this pioneering contemporary composer.

Entitled simply Sofia Gubaidulina, DG’s new album is set for international release on 22 October and features performances directed by a conductor with whom Gubaidulina has forged a hugely productive relationship in recent years: Andris Nelsons. Together, he and the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester present her latest violin concerto, Dialog: Ich und Du (2018), with soloist Vadim Repin, and the orchestral works The Wrath of God (2019) and The Light of the End (2003). The album honours the remarkable achievements of a composer whose creative powers show no sign of waning.

“It is a great privilege to record these works by Sofia Gubaidulina, whose strength, artistry and genius are reflected in the intense spiritual depth of her music, and its visionary sound world,” comments Andris Nelsons. “Conducting the world premiere of the Triple Concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2017 was an unforgettable experience. It has, therefore, been a particular honour to welcome Sofia Gubaidulina as the Gewandhausorchester’s composer-in-residence in Leipzig for three seasons from 2020/2021 onwards. The Gewandhausorchester and I have embraced the journeys her works have offered us throughout the past seasons, and I am thrilled that Deutsche Grammophon’s album showcases three pieces that allow her extraordinary wisdom to be shared with every listener. We wish Sofia Gubaidulina a happy 90th birthday and look forward to experiencing many more masterworks in the future.”

Fresh from this year’s triumph of the Nomadland and The Father soundtracks, illustrious composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi announces Underwater, his first new solo piano album in 20 years. Underwater was born in lockdown, utilising the rare opportunity for song-writing in its purest and most intimate form: just Einaudi and his piano. It features 12 newly-composed solo piano tracks, beautifully showcasing his unmistakable musical style which is renowned around the world. Last night saw Einaudi tease fans with a sneak preview to his performance video for first single Luminous, which is released today (watch the full video performance here). The album artwork displays one of Einaudi’s own photographs, perfectly encapsulating the feeling of the album.

On the making of Underwater during the pandemic, Einaudi explains: “It came naturally, more than ever before. I felt a sense of freedom to abandon myself and let the music flow differently. I didn’t have a filter between me and what came out of the piano; it felt very pure. The title Underwater is a metaphor – it is an expression of a very fluid dimension, without interference from outside.”

Underwater follows an astounding year for Einaudi with the release of soundtracks to Oscar, BAFTA, and Golden Globe-winning films Nomadland and The Father (which include tracks from his chart-topping 2019 release Seven Days Walking), and the compilation album Cinema, featuring his composition achievements in film and TV. 2021 also saw the launch of new podcast mini-series Experience: The Ludovico Einaudi Story, starring celebrated filmmakers including multiple award-winning actor and director Russell Crowe (Gladiator), Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao (Nomadland), BAFTA-winning director and screenwriter Shane Meadows (This is England), Academy Award winner Florian Zeller (The Father), and multiple award-winning director Eric Toledano (The Intouchables).

Milan Records releases BELLE (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK – ENGLISH EDITION), an English language version of the Original Soundtrack to Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda’s latest feature. Available everywhere now, the album features both score and vocal tracks written by a team of composers led by Taisei Iwasaki and including Ludvig Forssell and Yuta Bandoh. Originally written and performed in Japanese, the album’s vocal tracks have been newly recorded in English by Kylie McNeill, who voices ‘Belle’ in the English dubbed version of the film. Today’s album follows the massive success of the original Japanese Edition of the soundtrack, which has garnered over 20 million streams globally since its July 2021 release. Also premiering alongside today’s album are official music videos for English vocal tracks “U,” “Lend Me Your Voice” and “A Million Miles Away” featuring lyrics and footage from the film.

The album’s arrival coincides with the US debut of the Studio Chizu film, which is set to open theatrically and on IMAX screens in both its original Japanese language and English dubbed version on Friday, January 14 via GKIDS, the acclaimed producer and distributor of animation for adult and family audiences.

Milan Records today releases REDEEMING LOVE (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK) with music by composers BRIAN TYLER and BRETON VIVIAN. The album features music written by the composing duo for the Western romance based on the bestselling novel by Francine Rivers, and is the latest collaboration between Redeeming Love director DJ Caruso and Brian Tyler, who have worked together since 2008 on five of the director’s previous films. For Redeeming Love, co-composers Tyler and Vivian have crafted a sweeping score that captures the heart of the story and its many themes. They enlisted the talents of GRAMMY Award-winning violinist Gil Shaham, who features as a soloist across 8 of the album’s 22 songs and helps shape the score’s thematic melodies. Redeeming Love makes its theatrical debut today via Universal Pictures.

BRIAN TYLER says, “Composing the score for Redeeming Love was truly one of the most moving experiences of my life. Incredibly directed by long-time collaborator DJ Caruso, the characters imbue such a sense of grace and love that I wanted to create music that could capture their spirit. I wanted to write music that evoked their raw emotion in all of its complexity. So I chose solo violin as the instrument to do this with and was lucky enough to have world-renowned violinist Gil Shaham as our soloist. He is truly one of the greatest violinists in history, a violinist whom I fell in love with from witnessing his solos on a broadcast live performance of Schindler's List conducted by John Williams years ago. 

Milan Records today releases THE WHEEL OF TIME: SEASON 1, VOL. 2 (AMAZON ORIGINAL SERIES SOUNDTRACK), an album of music composed by LORNE BALFE for the hit world-building fantasy series. Available everywhere now, the album features original vocal and score music written by Balfe for the latest episodes in the series, which debut each Friday on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. Today’s release arrives on the heels of The First Turn themes album and the Volume 1 soundtrack release and will be followed by a third and final soundtrack from the show’s first season arriving on Friday, December 17.

The series’ vast musical universe was initially introduced with the release of The Wheel of Time: The First Turn (Amazon Original Series Soundtrack), a conceptual album of key themes written by Balfe for the characters, settings and ideas central to the show. Available everywhere now, the 14-track collection provides a foundation for the fantasy series’ rich soundscape, with many of Balfe’s final score cues developing as variations of these initial themes. In addition to the album’s digital release, The First Turn soundtrack will also be made available in spatial audio, giving listeners a completely immersive listening experience with enhanced clarity, as well as in vinyl format, set to arrive in 2022.

The soundtracks are produced by 14th Street Music, a production company owned by Hans Zimmer, Steve Kofsky and Lorne Balfe.

Rachmaninoff’s Cello Sonata Op.19, one of the great landmarks of late Romantic music, has found its ideal interpreters in Yuja Wang and Gautier Capuçon. Their new recording of the work for Deutsche Grammophon projects a partnership of equals fully immersed in the music’s turbulent emotions and striking expressive contrasts. Released digitally on 19 November 2021, it will also form part of a full album from Wang, Capuçon and clarinettist Andreas Ottensamer to follow next October, on which it will be coupled with Brahms’s Cello Sonata and Clarinet Trio. 

The Rachmaninoff Sonata is a work that makes equally high demands on both players. Revealing the depth of their communicative connection, regular chamber partners Wang and Capuçon convey every dramatic twist and turn of its score, from the darkness and despair of the opening movement to the joyful ecstasy of the finale. Yuja Wang’s artistry in Rachmaninoff has been praised for its compelling combination of “astonishing facility” (Gramophone), “exquisitely nuanced playing” (Evening Standard, London) and “devil-may-care glamour and dexterity” (Guardian). Gautier Capuçon, meanwhile, has earned acclaim for performances noted for their striking passion and uncanny range of tone colours.

Sony Music Masterworks today releases tick, tick… BOOM! (SOUNDTRACK FROM THE NETFLIX FILM), an album of music from the film adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical musical directed by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda 

The soundtrack features songs by Jonathan Larson, who revolutionized theater as the creator of Rent, as performed by the film’s star-studded cast, which includes Academy Award® nominee & Tony Award® winner Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, Tony Award® nominee Robin de Jesús, Tony Award® nominee Joshua Henry, Emmy Award® nominee Mj Rodriguez, Emmy Award® winner Bradley Whitford, Grammy® Award winner Tariq Trotter aka Black Thought of The Roots, with Emmy® and Tony Award® winner Judith Light and Vanessa Hudgens.

Sony Masterworks Broadway today releases ANNIE LIVE! (ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK OF THE TELEVISION EVENT ON NBC) featuring the Tony and GRAMMY Award-winning  score from the beloved musical as performed by the cast of NBC’s latest television event. Available everywhere now, the soundtrack features vocals by Harry Connick, Jr., Nicole Scherzinger, Tituss Burgess and Megan Hilty, with newcomer Celina Smith in the titular role of Annie and Taraji P. Henson. The album will also be released in CD format beginning January 21, 2022 and is available to preorder now. Originally making its broadcast debut last night on NBC, Annie Live! is now available to stream on Peacock.

The album was produced by two-time GRAMMY- and Tony-winner Stephen Oremus, who heads the music department for Annie Live! as music supervisor and orchestrator, as well as three-time GRAMMY- and two-time Emmy-winner Harry Connick, Jr., who plays the role of Daddy Warbucks in the production. Scott M. Riesett serves as associate producer on the album, which was recorded by Ian Kagey and mixed by Derik Lee and Tracey Freeman.    

Originally presented by Mike Nichols, Annie is one of the biggest hits in Broadway history and the winner of seven Tony awards including Best Musical. A bonafide name brand around the world, it has been licensed and performed in 50 countries and translated into 8 languages. From songwriters Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin, songs such as “Tomorrow,” “It’s the Hard-Knock Life,” “Maybe,” “Little Girls,” “Easy Street,” and “NYC” are part of the GRAMMY-winning score that has delighted families and kids of all ages for over 40 years.

“You and I could go to chamber concerts for years and never hear a program as full of surprises and discovery as this one. And we’ve been missing out.” – San Francisco Chronicle  

On Friday, February 4, 2022, GRAMMY Award-winning Catalyst Quartet releases UNCOVERED Volume 2: Florence B. Price on Azica Records. The digital album is the second issue of a multi-volume anthology highlighting string quartet works by historically important Black composers which aims to bring greater awareness and programming of their music. Volume 2 is entirely devoted to the six known string quartet and piano quintet works of composer Florence B. Price – including four world premiere recordings – performed with pianist Michelle Cann, recipient of the 2021 Price Award.  The album consists of four string quartets, three of which have never been recorded, and two piano quintets, one of which has never been recorded, including Price’s Quintet in A minor for Piano and Strings; Negro Folksongs in Counterpoint for String Quartet; String Quartet in A minor; Five Folksongs in Counterpoint for String Quartet; and her unfinished String Quartet in G Major and Quintet for Piano and Strings.

In the words of the Catalyst Quartet, “Price faced extreme obstacles in her lifetime, however her compositional output is vast despite the many barriers placed in her path. The six works in UNCOVERED Vol. 2 highlight her most productive years and unique cultural identity. Her experience as a Black woman displaced because of the deep racism of the Jim Crow south; a wife and mother fleeing from an abusive husband; a prodigious organ student at the New England Conservatory; and as an important contributor to the great Chicago Renaissance between 1935 and 1950, where she associated with icons such as Langston Hughes, Marion Anderson, and Margaret Bonds; shaping her body of work while contributing authentically to American music in its depth and beauty. The works on this album are a powerful reminder that America’s romantic classical vernacular, as prophesied by Dvorak, owes an incredible amount to the voices history has overlooked and suppressed.”

On November 12, 2021, New Amsterdam released Before and After, the much-anticipated new album from NOW Ensemble, a group of composers and performers creating "effervescent, genre-busting" (NPR All Things Considered) chamber music for the 21st century. Before and After-NOW's seventh album with New Amsterdam-is devoted to the "refreshingly new and solidly mature" (Slate) work of Rome Prize-winning composer Sean Friar. Featuring flute, clarinet, double bass, piano, and electric guitar, NOW's compositions each have "a distinct voice but a shared ethos" (The Washington Post). Friar's acclaimed piece "Velvet Hammer" appeared on NOW's equally acclaimed 2011 album, Awake; now, a decade later, the composer and ensemble reunite on Before and After. 

"Before and After is a rumination on the lifespan of civilizations, on our own small place in the larger rhythm of the world," says Friar. "Each section touches these themes-growth and progress run amok, our nostalgia for an often-fictitious golden age, our idealized notions about the beginnings of civilization, and our feeling that, perhaps, humans have crossed some threshold we really shouldn't have." 

But while Before and After is about big and daunting ideas, the music itself is often intimate and reflective, inviting listeners to contemplate how these themes resonate in both their own lives and our collective life.

THE CLASSIC REVIEW - Azusa Ueno writes…..Soprano Lise Davidsen’s first collaboration with Leif Ove Andsnes on the songs of Edvard Grieg is not without some high stakes: “Everyone in Norway knows this music,” she says, and adds that there are certain “‘conventions’” about how the works ought to be presented. And so, the duo sees this album as a chance, perhaps even a quest, to find their unique voice.

Haugtussa (The Mountain Maid), is Grieg’s only song cycle. Based on text by Norwegian writer Arne Garbourg, it incorporates a love story with images of nature. (One might in fact draw a connection to Schubert’s Die Schöne Müllerin, as the protagonist in Haugtussa also faces a lover’s deception and, in the final song, seeks solace beside a brook.) The composer creates a vivid narrative by giving a distinctive character to each song–something the duo emphasizes in their performance. Killlingdans (Kid’s Dance, track 6), opens with the pianist’s sprightly skipping rhythms; the soprano carries the energy forward with her crisp diction that also mimics a childlike innocence. Midway in each stanza, however, the duo makes some lovely momentary shifts into something more dreamy and even wistful.In Vong Dag (Unhappy Day, track 7), the lover deserts the protagonist. Davidsen makes some skillful adjustments to her timbre to reflect the somber mood: the bright tone heard prior is now velvety, complementing the well-controlled sostenuto. The high points, too, are nicely done, fraught with a moving angst. With the relatively sparse accompaniment, Andsnes takes a step back–a wise choice that lets the singer shine.

The Op. 25 Six Poems are again scenic portraits. We can hear influences from Schubert and Schumann in Med en Vandlilje (With a Water-lily, track 10), especially in the texture of the piano part, which resembles gushing water. The chromaticism, of course, is what sets it apart and is a clever musical nod to the slightly dark undertones of Henrik Ibsen’s poem. Davidsen’s pitch placements are pristine, while Andsnes is seamlessly synchronized to the ebb and flow of the vocal line.Jeg elsker dig (I Love but Thee, track 13), with text by Hans Christian Andersen, comes from a much earlier set written when Grieg was in his early 20s. It is a selection that Davidsen says is “essential…of any Grieg recital”: despite being a shorter song, it features some beautiful Romantic harmonies and lyricism. I found the duo’s performance here especially lovely. Small amounts of rubato create fluidity; the soprano sings with an earnest passion, while the pianist invites us in with a warm tone. Davidsen’s take brings out a youthful optimism, which makes for an interesting comparison with Kirsten Flagstad’s 1970s performance (Decca). Flagstad, with her expansive, Wagnerian voice, unearths a perhaps surprising but equally effective sense of nostalgia.The Op. 59 Five Poems, according to the notes, are not often featured fare, which is a real shame given the fine music–this is some of the darkest writing of Grieg’s. Ved Moders Grav (At Mother’s Grave, track 18) features a thicker-than-usual accompaniment which Andnes infuses with dignity and poignancy. Meanwhile, Davidsen shows her true versatility, embodying qualities of both a mezzo and a soprano. The contrast they create between the middle and outer selections is quite effective: the climax, with its dissonance, sounds nearly cataclysmic.The liner notes are a little unbalanced and too short, with the lion’s share going to Haugtussa where there could have been more said about the other songs. There are bits of Davidsen’s reflection interspersed throughout–while insightful, they might leave more impact if better organized. The inclusion of the song’ texts and translations, however, are a most welcome addition that helps better appreciate the connection between text and music. As for the sound engineering, it gives both the voice and piano appropriately balanced exposure–even in the more minimal accompanimental material, for instance, we can still hear Andnes’ finessed tone quality.The selections are well-chosen in how they reveal the many aspects and nuances of Grieg’s in a genre of his we don’t always pay enough attention to. The performers certainly adjust comfortably and organically to each song. A fine debut collaboration indeed. Warmly recommended.SEE THE CLASSIC REVIEW PAGE 

YES WEEKLY's Ian McDowell writes…..The Greensboro Opera production of Porgy and Bess that ended its brief run at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday may seem an odd fit for Greensboro-born polymath Rhiannon Giddens. Not that Giddens doesn’t know opera. Before she became a Grammy and MacArthur-winning folk singer and multi-instrumentalist (not to mention writer, historian, and ethnomusicologist), she was a classically trained Oberlin grad, and she hosts the Met’s radio show and podcast Aria Code.

And George Gershwin’s score for Porgy and Bess is a masterpiece of 20th century American music, populist as well as highbrow. The songs Gershwin conceived as arias have become part of the informal canon known as the Great American Songbook. Giddens was the main attraction of the first opera to be performed at Tanger. But while a historic role for Black women, Bess is not necessarily a great one, and not just because she only gets one of the opera’s marquee arias, the final and briefest reprise of “Summertime,” after it’s been done twice by the character Clara (in this production, the Marian Anderson Award-winning soprano Indira Mahajan, who sings it very well indeed).

Called a “Folk Opera” on its 1935 premiere, Porgy and Bess was one of the first major productions in which all of the Black characters were played by Black performers, as George Gershwin and his librettist brother Ira contractually required it never be done in blackface. It was also the first in which the leads, chorus, and much of the supporting cast were filled by classically-trained Black singers.  

Subject to both acclaim and controversy in 1935 and its 1942 revival, its stateside reputation waned after World War 2. By the late 1950s, it was largely forgotten in America, and when performed, was often done in a musical theater or jazz rather than operatic manner.But in 1977, it was revived by the Houston Grand Opera in a style that embraced the O-word, with “Folk” removed. For the first time, it was billed as “The Great American Opera,” a description regularly applied to it ever since.Considered as either an opera or musical, its best aria/song is the magnificent “Summertime,” the rare moment in the show where Gershwin’s music is matched by words that Stephen Sondheim called “the best lyrics in musical theater.” They are also among the few in colloquial but standard English, rather than a white man’s idea of phonetic dialect.

That song, and all the music, is transcendent, but the narrative and other words reflect a vision of Black poverty reimagined by Depression-era rich white progressives. It’s a masterpiece, but a problematic one. While that criticism may seem “woke,” it’s been made by performers and critics for the better part of a century.A week before the original run closed in 1936, Black composer Hall Johnson wrote that it was “not a Negro opera by Gershwin, but Gershwin’s idea of what a Negro opera should be.” A few years later a Federal Theater production was canceled when performers from the Negro Repertory Company of Seattle criticized the show as racist.Harry Belafonte turned down the role of Porgy in Otto Preminger’s film version for being “racially demeaning.” Second choice Sidney Poitier said he found the role insulting but was coerced into it by producer Samuel Goldwyn. When the film was released in 1959, novelist James Baldwin called it “a white man’s vision of Negro life.”But ultimately if paradoxically, it was Giddens’ show, whether despite or due to the handicaps of both the material and the way the orchestra was conducted. I hope the next time I see her in a musical or opera, she will have a better part. If the Gershwin estate allows it, perhaps a talented writer will rework this libretto the way that Tony Kushner did the script of Spielberg’s West Side Story, and bring out nuances either absent or only hinted at in the text. If that happens, Bess may become a great role as well as a historic one.SEE THE YES WEEKLY PAGE

Seong-Jin Cho is quoted as saying….."Chopin's music is very honest, it reflects his emotional personality and it shows that he was not afraid to communicate that to his audience and to the world." 

Broadway World's A.A. Cristi writes……Seong-Jin Cho became a rising star in 2015 when he won the First Prize at the Chopin International Competition in Warsaw. Now the Society for the Performing Arts presents the internationally acclaimed pianist on Friday, March 11, 2022, in Houston's Cullen Theater. His proficiency and talent created a sensation featuring the music of Chopin and now Houston audiences will be captivated first-hand.In January 2016, Seong-Jin Cho signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. Now in great demand, with engagements including the Boston Symphony and Berlin Philharmonic, he's made his mark as a consummate talent of his generation.With an overwhelming talent and innate musicality, the pianist has made his mark as one of the consummate talents of his generation and most distinctive artists on the current music scene. His thoughtful and poetic, assertive and tender, virtuosic, and colorful playing can combine panache with purity and is driven by an impressive natural sense of balance. 

From Album PR……. His third Chopin recording for Deutsche Grammophon eatures Piano Concerto No. 2 and the four Scherzi.For his sixth and latest Deutsche Grammophon album, pianist Seong-Jin Cho returns to the music of Frédéric Chopin with Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 · Scherzi. The album is set for international release on 27 August 2021 and features these best-loved works in interpretations characterised by thoughtful poetry and youthful ardour. For the concerto, Seong-Jin Cho teams up with the London Symphony Orchestra andGianandrea Noseda, a conductor with whom he has enjoyed a productive and stimulating collaboration over the past five years. The digital version of the album will include three bonus solo tracks: the "Revolutionary" Étude, Op. 10 no. 12, Impromptu No. 1, Op. 29 and Nocturne, Op. 9 no. 2.Cho came to worldwide prominence in 2015 when he won First Prizeat the Warsaw International Chopin Competition, the first South Korean pianist to achieve this feat. His technical mastery coupled with his artistic maturity – particularly remarkable given that he was only 21 years old – impressed a jury of seventeen members, including the 1970 competition winnerGarrick Ohlsson, who praised Cho as a "remarkable, complete young artist". After the success of his first studio album for the Yellow Label, featuring Chopin's First Concerto and the 4 Ballades, also recorded with the LSO and Noseda,Cho is now realising his wish to follow that release with what he considers to be its logical companion, a pairing of the Second Concerto and the four Scherzi.Kathryn McDowell, Managing Director of the London Symphony Orchestra,spoke of the ensemble's pleasure at being involved in this latest collaboration: "The London Symphony Orchestra and our Principal Guest Conductor Gianandrea Noseda are delighted to have joined Seong-Jin Cho in the studio to create this wonderful recording of Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 · Scherzi. We've enjoyed some memorable concerts together at our Barbican home in the City of London and look forward to many more to come."The Concerto in F minor, Op. 21 was the second of Chopin's two concertito be published, but the first to be written. Despite the composer's youth, the salient features of his style were already in place: theheartfelt, cantabile lines; the ingeniously detailed, bel canto-inspired decorative passages; and the extraordinary harmonic invention. Like most pianists, Cho sees the F minor Concerto as less technically demanding than the E minor, however he does not feel that this makes it any less challenging. "One has to find the ideal balance," he explains, "between the music's passion and drama and its many moments of delicacy and fragility."Cho performed the Chopin F minor forhis BBC Proms debut in 2018, with Noseda conductingthe European Union Youth Orchestra. Reviewing the performance, theObserver called Cho "a soloist of real poise and refinement" and praised him for "never lapsing into sentimentality". Alexander Hall (Bachtrack) wrote: "An early indication that Cho had more than just crystalline clarity and tonal fastidiousness to offer came early on in the first movement, where his left hand emphasised the shifting and glittering harmonies rather than allowing the right hand to dominate through the melodic lines. The full-bloodedness of the account was splendidly matched in the weight and expressive power of the orchestral accompaniment."Even though "scherzo" literally translates as "joke", a seriousness of purpose and sense of formal concentration permeate Chopin's four Scherzi. Their fusion of bravura pianism and epic drama has attracted pianists and audiences alike ever since they first appeared.  "In fact, I've played the four Scherzi together as a cycle in concerts," says Cho, "and they seem to feel comfortable all in one place. I think it's because they are so different in character, yet there is great contrast within each individual piece."The appearance of Cho's new Chopin recording ties in with several remarkable engagements later this year, most notably his performance of Piano Concerto No. 2 at the Olympic Park in Seoul, with the Korean Symphony Orchestra conducted by Shi-Yeon Sung, an event which will take place on the album's release date.As concert life continues to open up, Cho is looking forward to reconnecting with his audiences, especially as his artistry continues to develop. "I would say my relationship with Chopin has matured in the last six years," says the pianist. "My relationship with his music is very progressive, but it's not something I can define right now, as I think it's going to be a lifelong journey. Every time I come back to Chopin, I make new discoveries."SEE Broadway World PAGE

"Cien Años" is not only an exquisitely expressive celebration marking the centennial of Piazzolla's birth, the CD honors more than one man's immeasurable musical contributions. For Uruguayan-born conductor Gisèle Ben-Dor, a fierce champion of Latin American composers, equally important as paying homage to the Argentine nuevo tango legend was capturing the uniquely mesmerizing performance of bandoneón player/arranger/composer Juanjo Mosalini on Piazzolla's most ambitious work-the Aconcagua concerto-and showcasing an exciting new piece she commissioned from this extraordinary musician. Mosalini's title composition, Cien Años, is in turn a heartfelt 100th birthday tribute to his own grandfather and the legacy of his family's four generations of bandoneónists. Winnipeg's CLASSIC107 - Chris Wolf writes….2021 marked the 100th Anniversary of the great bandoneon virtuoso, composer and ambassador for Argentinian tango, Astor Piazzolla. What better way to mark this milestone, than with music by Piazzolla, and music inspired by him!Gisele Ben-Dor is and American-Israeli conductor, who has travelled the world conducting and exposing audiences to the wonders of Latin American music. Born and raised in Uruguay, she has grown up with this music and has been championing its rhythms, its textures and its ability to truly transport the listener to the warmth of Latin America.

Ben-Dor has collaborated with the amazing Argentinian bandoneon virtuoso and composer Juanjo Mosalini, to create a recording that consists of both Mosalini’s new music for bandoneon and orchestra, and the music of Piazzolla.Originally the album was meant to feature Mosalini’s music which is heavily influenced by the sounds of Piazzolla, but as Ben-Dor explains “at some point Mosalini said ‘I have this piece that I started to write for my grandfather called Cien Años’…and then the idea of the Piazzolla anniversary came to mind and that was it…we were really recording the music of Piazzolla, one way or the other.”Ben-Dor and Mosalini recorded Cien Años with the Pro Arte Orchestra of Boston, which is an orchestra that consists of Boston’s best freelance musicians. Ben-Dor was Music Director of the orchestra for ten years, and continues to conduct frequently as Conductor Emeritus. She has conducted many works by Latin American composers with the orchestra, and the playing on the recording reflects the Orchestra’s ability to capture the magic of the Latin American feel and mood of the music.Many of the orchestral arrangements have been done by Mosalini, and it is Mosalini who is front-and centre on the disc playing his bandoneon with a phenomenal virtuosity that would give Piazzolla a run for his money. Of particular interest, is Mosalini’s arrangement of Piazzolla’s “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.” The four pieces were composed as individual pieces by Piazzolla and were never meant to be performed as a suite. Mosalini takes Piazzolla a step further and has puts the four pieces together as a suite, having the pieces flow seamlessly into the next.For any lover of Latin American music and the tango, Cien Años is a must have recording! For all those who live in cooler climates, and want to feel the warmth of Latin America, give this disc a listen and you will be transported to the warm streets of Argentina.Watch the Segment

VAN's Olivia Giovetti writes……All easygoing years are alike; each exhausting year is exhausting in its own way. For 2022, I can place my breaking point at West Elm Caleb. It’s the sort of story I didn’t need to know—and one I have no real desire to recap here—but one that exemplifies the unique brand of noise that’s grown out of most people reconciling time spent increasingly, aggressively online and the slippery, concrete events of the offline world. There’s an algorithm-fuelled tempest in a teacup, parasocial relationships to actual human beings, a fever pitch of ubiquity no matter what website or app you’re on, and a series of psychotherapy metaphors so tortured that it should be prohibited by the Geneva Convention.To counteract this brand of exhaustion, many have recommended that we start building our resilience muscles. The New York Times recently touted, “The good news is both resilience and the ability to grow from adversity can be cultivated, whether during the best of times or in the middle of a crisis.” All we need is optimism and positive thinking. As I try this one bleak Tuesday morning, cleaning my dog’s diarrhea out of my rug, my mind turns instead to something John Eliot Gardiner wrote about Bach:I see no need for us to stand Bach in a flattering light or to avert our eyes from possible movement in the shadows.… To do so is to underestimate the psychological toll that a lifetime, not so much of tireless application, as of bowing and scraping to his intellectual inferiors, could have had on his state of mind and well-being.From PR……On November 12, 2021, New Amsterdam released Before and After, the much-anticipated new album from NOW Ensemble, a group of composers and performers creating "effervescent, genre-busting" (NPR All Things Considered) chamber music for the 21st century. Before and After-NOW's seventh album with New Amsterdam-is devoted to the "refreshingly new and solidly mature" (Slate) work of Rome Prize-winning composer Sean Friar. Featuring flute, clarinet, double bass, piano, and electric guitar, NOW's compositions each have "a distinct voice but a shared ethos" (The Washington Post). Friar's acclaimed piece "Velvet Hammer" appeared on NOW's equally acclaimed 2011 album, Awake; now, a decade later, the composer and ensemble reunite on Before and After. "Before and After is a rumination on the lifespan of civilizations, on our own small place in the larger rhythm of the world," says Friar. "Each section touches these themes-growth and progress run amok, our nostalgia for an often-fictitious golden age, our idealized notions about the beginnings of civilization, and our feeling that, perhaps, humans have crossed some threshold we really shouldn't have." But while Before and After is about big and daunting ideas, the music itself is often intimate and reflective, inviting listeners to contemplate how these themes resonate in both their own lives and our collective life.Olivia Giovetti continues…..There’s something kinetic and raw about Sabine Devieilhe’s new recording of Bach that fits in neatly alongside Gardiner’s unvarnished portrait of the composer. There’s a delicious friction that comes with listening to Sean Friar’s “Before and After” alongside Sabine Devieilhe’s “Bach & Handel.” On almost all counts, the works could not be further apart from one another—where Bach and Handel create straight lines with their music, Friar charts maps full of locations yet absent of any set route. But there’s a sense of holy rawness in both performances that, when played back-to-back, illuminates both. In Friar’s case, it’s the NOW Ensemble, of which he’s also a member. Inspired by the blurred lines between past and present that form modern-day Rome, the album-length work is a more literal exploration of the circuitousness of history, told with clear-eyed pragmatism. In describing the work, Friar questions the myths of growth, progress, nostalgia, and “the beginnings of civilization.” He also makes room in his music for “our feeling that, perhaps, humans have crossed some threshold we really shouldn’t have.”Not that Friar offers up an idea of where that threshold is located, either in terms of time or space. Ultimately, that’s not the point. Friar is more interested in the slow burn of history, rendered through his meticulous ear for timing and pace. Take the shortest movement, “Artifact,” which clocks in at just over 90 seconds yet moves in slow, deliberate steps that begin with a drone of an electric guitar. Like a Polaroid as it develops, details emerge from the ether—a sustained clarinet line, a repeated, insistent piano chord—that lead into the next movement (“Rally”). “Before and After” ends with the ten-and-a-half-minute “Done Deal,” a spiral of dread and despair that at times feels like Baroque lamentation before slowly giving way to a pixellated agitation. It’s the existential void I want to crawl into like a hot bath on a cold night. READ THE FULL VAN ARTICLE

SiriusXM Symphony Hall and Philadelphia's 90.1WRTI celebrate Mozart 266th birthday. Tomorrow'sThursday 01/27 Birthday Bash will air on SiriusXM Symphony Hall from 6:00am to midnight (ET). They will play all of Mozart's major works - his Requiem, Symphonies, Piano Concertos, chamber works and much more!

90.1: WRTI, Philadelphia's Classical and Jazz Source is celebrating the the wunderkind from Salzburg, born on January 27th 1756 with his symphonies, operas, concertos, and compositions that remain to this day an incredible marvel of genius. Tune in for music throughout the day on Thursday devoted to the great composer. None other than Joseph Haydn said to Mozart’s father, “I tell you before God, and as an honest man, your son is the greatest composer known to me by person and repute.” For many of the WRTI staff, it was the introduction to Mozart that helped launch their love of classical music. Check out their Mozart Memories. Station GM - Josh Jackson writes…."A Mozart album bought by Josh Jackson at a yard sale years ago I bought a trunkload of historical classical albums from a yard sale many years ago, and this was one of them. Hearing the “Jupiter” on the A side is what encouraged me to learn more about Mozart’s music. I just loved the energy of this performance before I knew anything about Sir Thomas Beecham or the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. This recording is more than 70 years old, and it still gives me the feels every time I play it. Great music is eternal!"You can read about additional staff memories and share your own Comments here

BroadwayWorld's Stephi Wild writes….Welsh superstar Katherine Jenkins received her OBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) from Prince Charles at The Queen's residence Buckingham Palace in 2014 and in June of this year, she sings at The Queen's much-loved country retreat Sandringham Estate to mark the monarch's historic Platinum Jubilee.But first, the celebrated mezzo sings for Orange County audiences in an exclusive engagement with Pacific Symphony for Valentine's Day weekend, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 11-12, 2022.Cherished as one of Britain's all-time favorite singers, in 2017 Katherine Jenkins was officially crowned 'the biggest selling artist of the century' by Classic FM, and made chart history when her last album Cinema Paradiso became her 14th UK Classical No.1 album, further cementing her position as the world's most prolific artist in UK Classical chart history.As one of the UK's greatest musical exports, the multi-award-winning Katherine Jenkins has performed all over the world, for the Pope, for Presidents and is a favorite of the Royal Family, having been invited to sing "God Save The Queen" at Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee, perform at Her Majesty's Coronation Concerts at Buckingham Palace and by special request at Her Majesty's 90th birthday celebrations at Windsor Castle. She has embarked upon numerous sold-out tours and duetted with such names as Andrea Bocelli, José Carreras, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Bryn Terfel, Rolando Villazón and Il Divo, among others. She has wowed audiences and critics alike with her stellar performance as Julie Jordan in Lonny Price's semi-staged production of Carousel at the London Coliseum in 2017 and has been featured on "Dancing with the Stars." Pacific Symphony Pops favorite, David Foster commented about the singer: "The incredibly beautiful, incredibly talented and gorgeous Katharine Jenkins has a voice like an angel."

For her Pacific Symphony debut, Katherine Jenkins has curated a program that includes favorite selections from her new studio album, Cinema Paradiso, which she describes as "all the best film musical themes that we know and love, all together on one recording."Hear this great superstar sing her greatest hits live on this special Valentine's Day show."Ode to Joy" from Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven / Friedrich Schiller)"Habanera" from Carmen (Georges Bizet / Ludovic Halévy)Love Theme: "Se Tu Fossi," from Cinema Paradiso (Ennio Morricone / Andrea Morricone)"O Danny Boy" from Memphis Belle ("Londonderry Air") sung by Harry Connick, Jr. in the film"Somewhere" from West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein / Steven Sondheim)"Here's to the Heroes" from Dances with Wolves (John Barry / Don Black)"I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady (Frederick Loewe / Alan Jay Lerner)"Music of the Night" from Phantom of the Opera (Andrew Lloyd Webber / Charles Hart & Richard Stilgoe)Love Theme: "Parla Più Piano" from The Godfather (Nino Rota / Giovanni Boncampagni)

"Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz (Harold Arlen / Yip Harburg)"Jealous of the Angels" (Jenn Bostic) from Jenkins' inspirational recording Guiding Light"Never Enough" from The Greatest Showman (Benj Pasek / Justin Paul)"Time to Say Goodbye" ("Con Te Partirò" / Francesco Sartori) popularized by Andrea BocelliThis Valentine's Day weekend, treat your significant other, family members, friends and yourself to an evening with Britain's most exciting crossover pop star. Pacific Symphony will be led by guest conductor Albert-George Schram (Resident Conductor of the Nashville Symphony). SEE THE BroadwayWorld PAGE