The Osvaldo Golijov

Celebrating the union of classical and jazz, LSO Live’s latest release encapsulates the very best of the two genres with an irresistible selection of works by Bernstein, Stravinsky and Golijov, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. Argentinian tango and jazz course through Golijov’s vibrant Nazareno. Superstar piano duo Katia and Marielle Labèque are flanked by brass, percussion and cello in this special arrangement for two pianos and orchestra by Gonzalo Grau.

Selected by ECHO (the European Concert Hall Organisation) as one of its Rising Stars of the 2009/10 season, the Swedish clarinettist Emil Jonason has become increasingly visible on the international music scene. For his first disc on the BIS label he has chosen to record a concerto written for him by his compatriot Christian Lindberg, composer, conductor and legendary trombonist. As Lindberg remarks in his own note on the work, the soloist was involved at all stages of the compositional process.

This pair of clarinet quintets from the revivified Sony Classical label presents a performer and a composer who have both been shaped by Jewish vernacular materials, and the combination delivers everything you hope it will. Osvaldo Golijov's Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind was composed 1994, before this Argentine composer entered a period of sustained popularity. Unlike his later riotously genre-crossing style, this one focuses on his own Jewish musical background.

"I can’t imagine a more diverse palette of sounds, styles and colours than the three composers on this recording. They are unmistakably Argentinian yet tantalisingly different. Between them they represent the vibrant fusion of cultures that exist in Argentina today. In order to give full justice to their music, we researched their personal tastes, sources and sound worlds, looking for the influences that shaped them."

In a world of dissonance and conflict combined with omnipresent media reporting, the unrelenting noise of social and political discord seems to be ever increasing. But the power of creativity inherent in music can provide balm and respite. This is the strong belief of the young players of the celebrated Calidore String Quartet and is their motivation for selecting this compelling repertoire for Resilience, their debut CD on Signum Records to be released worldwide on October 12.

Louis Andriessen’s The only one will be released on Nonesuch Records on March 5, 2021. This world premiere performance by the Los Angeles Philharmonic was commissioned by the LA Phil with generous support from the MaddocksBrown Fund for New Music as part of its centennial celebrations. Recorded live in May 2019 at Walt Disney Concert Hall and conducted by LA Phil Conductor Laureate Esa-Pekka Salonen with solo vocalist Nora Fischer, The only one is available for pre-order now.

On Nuevo, a collection of music from Mexico spanning nearly 100 years, Kronos Quartet presents a kaleidoscopic view of a music as diverse as the culture of the country itself. On each track, the group’s sound is transformed, through the collaborative efforts of co-producers Gustavo Santaolalla, the noted Argentinean musician and Rock en Español producer, longtime Kronos producer Judith Sherman, and Kronos Artistic Director David Harrington, as well as through arrangements by composers Osvaldo Golijov, Stephen Prutsman, and Ricardo Gallardo, whose efforts serve to reflect the individual spirit and character of each song.