Vom Ursprung und dem Ziel des Lebens, der Inspiration und Musik: Für sein Sony Classical-Debütalbum Ocean hat sich Pianist, Komponist und Internetphänomen Dirk Maassen von der Weite des Ozeans inspirieren lassen und Piano-Meditationen über den Ursprung und die Ziele des Lebens geschrieben. In einer Kirche in Herzogenrath erlebte der heute 49-jährige Elektroingenieur Dirk Maassen als Kind zum ersten Mal den Klang einer Orgel. Es war der Beginn einer lebenslangen Liebe zur Musik. Maassen lernte Klavier und Orgel zu spielen und komponiert und spielt seitdem Musik für sich und sein kleines musikalisches Tagebuch: "Alles, was mich beschäftigt, bewegt und beeindruckt, das gieße ich in Musik. Das können Naturereignisse sein oder auch zwischenmenschliche Dinge. Wenn ich am Klavier sitze, trete ich ein in einen Dialog mit mir selbst", erklärt er. Ein Gefühl wie am Ozean: "Du kommst runter, findest zu dir und kannst die ganze Ablenkung des Alltags hinter dir lassen. Das Wissen, dass wir Menschen dem Ozean entstammen, führt bei mir zudem zu einer großen Verbundenheit, zu einem ähnlichen Gefühl wie damals in der Kirche." In seinem Alltag leitet Maassen den Entwicklungsbereich eines Software-Unternehmens in Ulm. Nicht im Traum hätte er daran gedacht, eine Karriere als Musiker zu starten.

Music video for “Icefield” from the upcoming album, “Icefield” on PARMA Recordings. Film and music by Matthew Burtner “Icefield”, a new sound art work by Matthew Burtner, couples a lone saxophonist with a 1000-square mile body of ice in Alaska, an Icefield that serves as the source for dozens of prominent and ancient glaciers.

Judith Weir, CBE, composer and, Master of the Queen’s Music, writes: “Ed Hughes’ refreshing, cultured, lovingly patterned music is built around a thoroughly contemporary theme; our present-day contemplation of landscape, and how we give it the attention and respect it deserves.

After two recordings released on Alpha Classics (including a monograph devoted to Erkki-Sven Tüür – ALPHA595 – that won a Diapason d’Or in 2020), the Estonian Festival Orchestra and Paavo Järvi present six works by five internationally renowned Estonian composers: Tõnu Kõrvits, Ülo Krigul, Helena Tulve, Tauno Aints and Lepo Sumera. Four of these pieces were commissioned by the Pärnu Music Festival, founded and directed by Paavo Järvi. This traversal of six original sound-worlds highlights the richness of Estonian musical creation and its multiple facets.

Ernest Bloch’s Suite Hébraïque was the starting point for this programme: ‘This music came as a revelation to us. Its language is overwhelming and tells of the ravages of the twentieth century. The other composers in this programme (Ravel, Bloch, Bruch, Prokofiev, Shostakovich) each in their own way experienced the full force of this tormented century and drew inspiration from the most timeless and universal aspects of folk and sacred repertories, the better to respond to the brutality of the age’, say violist Arnaud Thorette and pianist Johan Farjot, who devised this programme.

‘Next Time Could Be Your Last Time’ – the debut album by Forgiveness, AKA Jack Wyllie, JQ and Richard Pike. Described as “not really jazz, not really new age, not really ambient or electronica”, instead they welcome you into a synaesthesia-inducing technicolour fantasy, full of wondrous emotive beauty.

Dónal McCann releases his debut CD of Concerto transcriptions by J. S. Bach and his contemporary J. G. Walther. This is the first solo organ recording on the Novum label and showcases the iconic New College organ.

With "Outcast", the Dutch string quartet Matangi breaks a lance for artistic freedom and musical expression - and now also against a senseless war. The three Soviet Russian composers composed music that ran dangerously counter to the tastes of the regime under which they lived. Shostakovich kept a packed suitcase ready in case he was arrested by the KGB. Schnittke's work was viewed with suspicion and his performances were regularly prevented. In addition to his musical work, the Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov is also known for his political commitment.

The goal of this recording is to celebrate French music through its past: its antique dances, its pastoral ambiences, its atmospheres of legend… starting with a homage to François Couperin. Often considered as the very quintessence of French musical art, this very great composer and harpsichordist succeeded in charming musicians from all times and places, even far removed from his personal universe.

„für Vater und Sohn, Stefan und Severin“ lautet die Widmung von Gerald Resch für sein Stück „Hoquetus“, einem Duo für Klarinette und Saxophon.

Christian Ferras will most likely be remembered as the violinist who was filmed shedding tears at the end of the slow movement of Sibelius's Concerto in 1965, and who, after a dramatic downturn in his career, took his own life at the age of 49.

John Ireland was something of a child prodigy, entering the Royal College of Music at the age of fourteen. There he studied piano, organ and composition (under Charles Villiers Stanford). He quickly progressed to significant positions as an organist, whilst continuing to pursue his interests as a composer. The Forgotten Rite, from 1913, is one of his earliest orchestral compositions, and was premièred by Sir Henry Wood at the Queen’s Hall.

This release couples Gian Francesco Malipiero’s two contrasting violin concertos with the world premiere recording of his kaleidoscopic orchestral work Per una favola cavalleresca, evoking legendary scenes of love, tournaments, battles, moonbeams and heroes.

The history of Brahms' Op. 34 is quite remarkable. The piece was originally composed in 1863 for a string quintet with two cellos. However, after a few rehearsals and a disappointing private concert, he decided to rework it as a sonata for two pianos…

This 2-disc recording, Virtuosa, encompasses 15 works that were either composed or performed by women, and was recorded on historical instruments. This project is set to be released on June 24, 2022.