Opera 2023

Second solo album by the American soprano. Presenting works of Richard Strauss's later years, the album pairs the composer's sublime 'Vier letzte Lieder' ('Four Last Songs') with the closing scene of his final opera, 'Capriccio'. Renowned conductor Andris Nelsons leads the Gewandhausorchester and German bass Sebastian Pilgrim joins Willis-Sørensen for the 'Capriccio' scene. The album follows up on the soprano's debut, an aria recital entitled 'Rachel', released in 2022 to unanimous international praise.

Armenia, once again threatened by hostile neighbours, needs to experience the friendship and fraternity of France, the first country to show it support as early as 1896, when it was faced with the Turkish massacres, through the voice of Jean Jaurès. Little after,the 1915 genocide, which caused the death of 1.5 million people, was strongly deplored the writer Anatole France. This concert is part of the National Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, established by France in 2019.

In drama as well as in musical theater, the monologue is often used to express and illustrate the smallest nuances of emotions - even those that cannot or should not be expressed.

A journey to visit the vast world of fantasy of these two giant stars in the history of piano music. Last year and this year marked the 150th anniversary of the birth of two great composers/pianists.

Friedrich Lux (1820–95) was one of those musicians who formed the fabric of musical life in nineteenth-century Germany: though he worked away from the major cities, as conductor, teacher, organist, organiser and composer, he was an indispensable element of the communities in which he worked. His large body of organ music, as good as unknown before now, brings together elements of the musical language of Bach, Mendelssohn and Schumann, in works that range from the intimate to the grandiose.This second volume brings some of his many transcriptions to the fore.

Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker, which has its origins in a novella by E. T. A. Hoffmann, contains some of the best-loved music ever written. But its composer wasn’t very happy with it, perhaps because the plot he was given to work with allowed him to present only a series of dances, losing the moral basis of Hoffman’s surprisingly modern tale, with its messages of inclusivity and what is now called ‘women’s agency’ – here it is the little girl who saves the prince. Hoffmann’s aspirational story continues well after the ballet ends, with the little girl, now grown up, marrying the prince, who is now king.

Picture this: a big storm is brewing overhead. You’re careening through the backroads of rural Iceland, trying desperately to catch your flight out of Reykjavik as the skies darken behind you. You’ve just had one of the best songwriting sessions of your life, in a farmhouse deep in the Icelandic countryside, but none of that matters now. You’ve found yourself in a race against time to get all your work to the next studio and continue working on your album—one that just might turn out to be one of the most important of your entire career.

From the late 17th century until well into the 18th century, Alessandro Scarlatti was one of the most important figures in European musical life, influencing musical development in both opera and instrumental music.

Jakub Jozef Orlinski brings forgotten works back to today with Beyond: "We take you on a journey that leads to new places - beyond the places you know," is how Jakub Josef Orlinski describes the idea behind his album Beyond. T

The German Music Competition has helped many great musicians launch their careers: German violinist Anne Luisa Kramb won the competition in 2022 and is now releasing the debut CD accompanying her victory on GENUIN.