Amina Claudia Meyers

Superstar violinist Anne Akiko Meyers’ imagination and ingenuity knows no bounds. Her idea to persuade leading living composer Morten Lauridsen to transform his choral masterpiece, O Magnum Mysterium, into a work for violin and choir is a masterstroke. Teaming up with conductor Grant Gershon – who first collaborated with Anne as chamber musicians over 40 years ago – and the Los Angeles Master Chorale, for whom Lauridsen was their first Composer in Residence, Anne rounds out this digital EP with three other arrangements for violin and chorus of ever-popular works by J. S. Bach. The result is gold dust for the holiday season.

Some mysteries really do last a lifetime. Jazz singer Claudia Thompson debuted with Goodbye to Love in 1959, making it her first and only album to ever grace the public's ears. Alluring and mysterious, Claudia Thompson's album remains as a testament to the singer's stunning voice.

This programme is truly a reflection of my three years as artist-in-residence at Royaumont and my artistic personality of the last years. Working with young composers is a passion for me – to study a completely new score, to discover the intentions of the composer through discussions, experimentation and sometimes just through being in their company, is something that is very important to me as the foundation of my work as a performer. The pieces that Annie Hui-Hsin Hsieh and Matthew Chamberlain wrote for me are great examples of this work, and although very different, they both speak to different parts of being a pianist.

Anglo-German contralto Claudia Huckle, tenor Nicky Spence and pianist Justin Brown present Mahler's autograph piano version of Das Lied von der Erde in this stunning new recording. The recording was a lockdown project, which provided Huckle with a focus for over a year during the pandemic.