New Releases

[Todd]

Interesting.





Boult always catches my eye, not because I'm a huge fan - he's good, though - but because I once worked with one of his great-grandsons who had a signed LP hanging from his wall.  He was surprised that I knew who his great-grandfather was, because that was exceedingly rare in his experience.













Preemptive cover art.

[Symphonic Addict]

The Sohy Symphony is really good, so great to have another recording of it. The work can be found on this outstanding compilation devoted to women composers:

[Mandryka]

https://gliangeligenve.bandcamp.com/album/bach-the-complete-chorale-cantatas-2

[Brian]

This fella had an alarmingly big forehead. 15 CDs. Contents: https://www.eloquenceclassics.com/releases-archive/horst-stein-the-decca-recordings/



17 CDs. In addition to the conductors on the cover, there is an album of Kodaly conducting Kodaly, a two CD set of Liszt "The Legend of the Holy Elisabeth", a Haydn mass, and an album of live performances from a 1961 piano competition featuring four pianists. 11 of 17 CDs are first-ever appearances on CD. Contents: https://www.eloquenceclassics.com/releases-archive/hungarian-pictures/

[JBS]

This fella had an alarmingly big forehead. 15 CDs. Contents: https://www.eloquenceclassics.com/releases-archive/horst-stein-the-decca-recordings/

Interesting that they include one DG album, but not the 9 CDs worth of Reger he recorded for Koch-Swann with the Bamberg Symphony, which DG re-issued as part of its Reger Orchestral Works set (which I happen to be listening to this week).

[Brian]

Some March 2026 stuff I found on Presto...





Schumann - Waldszenen
Schubert - Sonata D. 850
Schumann - Phantasiestucke Op. 111

Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 2 'lobgesang'
Jone Martinez, Eri Sawae, Benjamin Bruns, Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
BIS

Giacomo Puccini: Orchestral Music
John Wilson
Sinfonia of London
Chandos

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartets, Op. 59 Nos 1 & 2
Chiaroscuro Quartet (string quartet)
BIS

Dora Pejačević: Complete Symphonic Works
Annika Schlicht, Martina Filjak, Staatskapelle Weimar, Ivan Repušić
Audite

[Daverz]

Looks like a great set for those who don't already have the Sibelius, Bruckner, and Beethoven recordings.

[Madiel]

Some March 2026 stuff I found on Presto...





Schumann - Waldszenen
Schubert - Sonata D. 850
Schumann - Phantasiestucke Op. 111

Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 2 'lobgesang'
Jone Martinez, Eri Sawae, Benjamin Bruns, Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
BIS

Giacomo Puccini: Orchestral Music
John Wilson
Sinfonia of London
Chandos

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartets, Op. 59 Nos 1 & 2
Chiaroscuro Quartet (string quartet)
BIS

Dora Pejačević: Complete Symphonic Works
Annika Schlicht, Martina Filjak, Staatskapelle Weimar, Ivan Repušić
Audite

I am always pleased to see a Haydn Seven Last Words in its original format (far rarer than the string quartet transcription). I might even buy one one day...

Also interesting to see the Pejacevic. Competing performances of that repertoire can only be good for the listeners.

And Suzuki/Bach Collegium Japan doing the Mendelssohn Lobgesang is intriguing.

[Brian]

It's too bad that the Widor, Vierne, and Durufle are not complete works series. But this still looks like a treasure trove, especially in combination with one of the now OOP Marie-Claire Alain J.S. Bach sets.

[JBS]

It's too bad that the Widor, Vierne, and Durufle are not complete works series. But this still looks like a treasure trove,  especially in combination with one of the now OOP Marie-Claire Alain J.S. Bach sets.

Toujours la commercialisation

That would explain why the world's most famous composer of organ music was not included in "the encyclopedia of the organ".

When's the release date? And has @Harry pre-ordered it yet?😁

[Brian]

By the way, Marie-Claire's 100th birthday will be next August...so I wonder if another big box set will be on the horizon at that time...

(Oh and Amazon.de did not have a release date yet.)

[Todd]

Now that's a pairing.

[Mandryka]

[Selig]

A mass including a Gloria & Credo by Zacara da Teramo and Agnus Dei by Matteo da Perugia

(Digital only? Could not see a CD on the label's site.)

[prémont]

A mass including a Gloria & Credo by Zacara da Teramo and Agnus Dei by Matteo da Perugia

(Digital only? Could not see a CD on the label's site.)

Well, lossless download is the second best option, which I often use in such cases and burn the music to CDR.

[Brian]

MARCH 2026



The Alpha Mahler with Paavo is divided into 19 different tracks?! Seven for the first movement, three each for the second and third, two for the fourth, four for the finale.



Schubert Sonata D. 850
Schumann Waldszenen
Schumann Fantasiestucke Op. 111



Waldszenen and In the Mists surrounded by 5 Schubert/Liszt song transcriptions.









"This album celebrates a warm and close musical relationship between composer, conductor, and orchestra – and the extraordinary impact the Covid pandemic had on British cultural life. Sir Mark and the Hallé commissioned and premiered the works on this album between 2020 and 2025, with Huw Watkins writing with the specific sound of the Hallé in mind. Symphony No. 2 and Fanfare for the Hallé were born of the pandemic. The symphony was composed during Covid lockdown, and Watkins said this influenced the work's character, with a determination that it should end positively. This is uplifting music, crafted in a symphonic tradition whilst offering a fresh voice and skilful use of instrumental writing. The performance was awarded the South Bank Sky Arts Classical Music Award for 2022. The Fanfare for the Hallé was commissioned by the Hallé to celebrate the return of the orchestra to the concert platform following the first Covid lockdown. Scored for 11 brass instruments, the work moves from a tentative beginning to a confident and defiant conclusion – arguably reflecting much of the national mood during the pandemic. Following almost a quarter of a century as Music Director of the Hallé, Sir Mark premiered Watkins' Concerto for Orchestra in his first concert as Conductor Emeritus. The piece particularly reflects the qualities of the orchestra and its musicians, and their longstanding relationship with Sir Mark. The work exudes positivity, with rhythmic deftness and highly effective orchestral colourations, displaying the musical strengths of all sections of the orchestra, in writing that is beguiling and joyous."

[Brian]

MARCH PART TWO







"Praised for his "dazzling technique and rhythmic fire" in The Seattle Times and dubbed a "formidable virtuoso" by The Times (London), Cuban pianist and composer Aldo López-Gavilán excels in both the classical and jazz worlds as a recitalist, concerto soloist, chamber-music collaborator, and performer of his own electrifying compositions."

[Madiel]

There are various reasons why I probably won't actually buy this, but it seems a great idea.

[Todd]

Tracks:
1. Modest Mussorgsky - Pictures at An Exhibition: Promenade I - Piano Solo: Robert Thies
2. Maria Newman - Rhapsody for a Golden Age, 1937 Academy Players Directory - Piano: Robert Thies
3. Mychael Danna - Mother Teresa - Vocals: Azam Ali
4. Harry Gregson-Williams - Two Girls with Sparklers
5. Ihab Darwish - Curva Grande
6. Jeff Beal - New York World's Fair 1964 - 1965
7. Marco Beltrami - the Spirit of Sport: Jack Nicklaus
8. Michael Abels - Unbound: Jesse Owens, 1936 Olympics
9. Marc Shaiman - a Song About Audrey, Audrey Hepburn - Vocals: Marc Shaiman
10. Don Davis - Golden Eagles
11. Bill Conti - the Great Bridge: Brooklyn Bridge 100th Anniversary






This one caught my eye because the lighting for the cover seems rather less softened than I would expect, and post processing looks to have been pretty minimal.

[Mandryka]