The performers on this new recording of music for viola and piano from Brazil open their notes with a very strong accusation: ‘Violists can be guilty of relying too much on a short list of tried-and-true pieces’. Their response is

Felix Mendelssohn’s eight volumes of Songs without Words were written between 1829 and 1845 and in those sixteen years, Mendelssohn not only created a new genre but became its boldest exponent. He was followed by his sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and

The worldwide lockdown of COVID gave the world breathing space, in which to sit or to explore, to do the things there was never time for, to create. For American composer Todd Mason, the time was devoted to something he’d

Three British piano concertos dating from 1932, 1948, and 1957 have just been released on Lyrita Records. They are an interesting view of a particular market at a particular time, with a genre that, if anything, is slightly outdated but

Meng-Chieh Liu is a highly acclaimed pianist with Taiwanese roots; he has recently released his latest album demonstrating the deeply moving nocturnes of Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849). Consisting of 21 pieces, this exquisite collection spans a total of two hours, exhibiting

Think of the music of Latin America and one immediately conjures up the foot-tapping idioms and rhythms of dance – tango, salsa, bachata, merengue, samba, to name but a few. A keen advocate of lesser-known repertoire, in her new album

This very first production of Eduardo e Cristina at the Rossini Opera Festival (ROF) completes the performed oeuvre of the great Pesarese maestro. The epicentre of Rossiniana possibly left it so late because of the challenges of this barely performed

IMAN: ALBUM II James W. Iman, piano (Divine Art Recordings) This second album from American pianist James Iman places Debussy’s evergreen ‘Images’ alongside works by Donald Martino (1931-2005) and contemporary composer Jenny Beck (b.1985), whose work ‘Stand Still Here’ receives