One morning in 1822, Schubert wrote down an enigmatic text in which all his ghosts seem to take shape: wandering, solitude, consolation, disappointed love. Inspired by this dreamlike narrative, Raphaël Pichon, Pygmalion and Stéphane Degout have devised a vast Romantic fresco, combining resurrection of unknown treasures with rediscovery of established masterpieces. © harmonia mundi

Masaaki Suzuki's Bach organ recordings, something of a labor of love after the completion of his magisterial cantata cycle, have been well-received; this one landed on classical best-seller charts in early 2024. It is the second of a pair recorded on a 1737 organ at the Stiftskirche St. Georg in Grauhof, Lower Saxony, Germany. The builder was Christoph Treutmann, one of the greats of the age, and if it is not an organ Bach played, it is certainly one he would have regarded as state-of-the-art. Both this release and its predecessor, Vol. 4 in Suzuki's series, feature intricate chorale settings from the Orgelbüchlein, played on this organ and tied to the liturgical year; this volume features chorales for Easter (and the album was released just in time for that holiday) along with other settings and a few framing preludes and fugues. Suzuki on the organ is recognizably the same musician who led the Bach Collegium Japan on his famed cantata recordings; he is lofty, precise, and warm. The Treutmann organ is ideal for both the repertory and the performer; in many registrations it has an edgy, rather acid sound that clarifies Bach's complex polyphony beautifully. Also, sample the double setting of "Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier," with its contrasting textures. The BIS label's well-known engineering expertise is applied profitably to this small German church on a recording that one suspects Bach would have greatly admired.© James Manheim /TiVo

For his first release on Alpha, the clarinettist and conductor Jörg Widmann celebrates the music of a composer who wrote some of the finest pieces ever devoted to his instrument: Carl Maria von Weber. With the ensemble of which he is principal conductor, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, he has recorded the Clarinet Quintet (in its version with string ensemble) and the Concertino, composed in 1811 and 1815 respectively, along with the ever-popular Overture to Der Freischütz. The pianist Denis Kozhukhin joins Widmann to perform the Grand Duo concertant. This album is the first in a series of recordings that will also give us a chance to meet Jörg Widmann in his role as one of the most active composers of his generation. © Alpha Classics

As is the case for many musicians who grew up listening to baroque music, René Jacobs’ evolution follows the chronology of music history. After treating us to Monteverdi, Pergolesi, Charpentier, Dumont, Bach and Handel, the countertenor eventually became a conductor in his own right. He’s enjoyed great success across the globe, both in concert and in opera, and has developed a rich and varied discography totalling more than 260 recordings spanning almost fifty years (most of them for the French label Harmonia Mundi).After his mostly successful forays into the operatic repertoire of Monteverdi, Handel, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, the Belgian musician has now turned his attention to Weber’s Der Freischütz, which is often considered the founding work of German romantic opera. With its mixture of black magic, popular culture and nascent nationalism—a combination which would go on to become the basis for German expressionist cinema a century later—Weber’s opera greatly influenced a whole generation of composers, starting with the young Richard Wagner.With this release, René Jacobs also doubles as a musicologist who’s keen to get back to the original source. His version of Weber’s masterpiece is based on the original project, readjusting certain scenes and placing them into their original positions. As in the early days of stereophony, his recording is staged (or embellished with sound effects) to compensate for the absence of visuals which brings the numerous German dialogues to life. The gunfire, sounds of nature, flowing water, bells, birds (and even the disturbing wolf howls made by the choristers!) make for a nice touch.This new recording was intended to commemorate the bicentenary of the work in 2021, though it was delayed due to Covid-19. However, its release will be followed by a large concert tour in Europe and it will likely become a real landmark in the Freischütz discography, which already features Carlos Kleiber’s famous 1973 recording for Deutsche Grammophon: an act that’s difficult to follow.Recorded in Freiburg-im-Breisgau in June 2021, this new production has been meticulously carried out thanks to the German-speaking cast, the incredible Zürcher Sing-Akademie choir and, last but not least, the powerful, clear sound of the Freiburger Barockorchester. They all come together beautifully under the passionate conducting of René Jacobs. This recording is exceptional. © François Hudry/Qobuz

There isn't a daring new approach to Schumann proposed by this set of familiar works, but that may be the appeal that put the album on classical best-seller charts in early 2023. The Fantasie in C major, Op. 17, was worked by Schumann as it developed into a tribute to Beethoven, and the references to Beethoven's late style, which Schumann, among just a few others, understood at the time, are multiple. However, it was also a chronicle of the composer's at-the-time forbidden love affair with his girlfriend, Clara Wieck, itself illustrated with a little quote from Beethoven's song cycle An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98. Schumann marked the first movement "durchaus fantastisch und leidenschaftlich vorzutragen" ("to be played fantastically and passionately throughout"), but it is also a densely polyphonic and intricately structured work, of which Liszt said, "I mean... to work at it and penetrate it through and through." Pianist Fabrizio Chiovetta, without obvious effort, holds these elements in balance. He is equally effective in the more Olympian Arabeske, Op. 18, and in the Kinderszenen, Op. 15, where each little scene of childhood is beautifully realized without extreme tempo variations that distort the nature of the work. The program, as a whole, places the listener amidst the ferment of Schumann's creativity in the mid-1830s, and Aparte's sound from the Salle Gustav Mahler in Dobbiaco, Italy, is another strong draw. A fine outing from Chiovetta.© James Manheim /TiVo

One might react to this album with initial annoyance and ask whether it is really necessary to hear orchestrated versions of Schubert's supremely pianistic songs. It may come as a surprise, then, to find that most of these Lieder with Orchestra were arranged by great composers. They include Benjamin Britten, Jacques Offenbach, and Max Reger, who took on the job because, he said, he hated to hear a piano-accompanied song on an orchestral program. Perhaps the most surprising name to find is that of Anton Webern, but his arrangements are not the minimal, pointillistic things one might expect; he wrote these arrangements as a way of studying Schubert's music, and they are quite straightforward. Indeed, it is somewhat difficult to distinguish the arrangers simply by listening to the music; Schubert's melodic lines tend to suggest distinctive solutions. Perhaps Reger's are a bit more lush than the others, although his version of Erlkönig, D. 328, is one of the few numbers here that just doesn't work (there is no way to replicate the percussive quality of the accompaniment). As for the performances as such, Benjamin Appl is clearly an important rising baritone, and he has a wonderful natural quality in Schubert. An oddball release like this might seem an unusual choice for a singer in early career, but he contributes his own notes, and he seems to have undertaken the project out of genuine enthusiasm for the material. At the very least, he has brought some intriguing pieces out of the archives and given them highly listenable performances. The Munich Radio Orchestra, under the young Oscar Jockel, is suitably restrained and keeps out of Appl's way. This release made classical best-seller lists in the autumn of 2023.© James Manheim /TiVo

'Resurrection' (1894) is a gigantic work of enormous proportions, extreme contrasts, and a score that surpasses even his First Symphony from two years earlier. Ten horns, eight trumpets, two harps, organ, five percussionists, two vocal soloists (soprano and alto), as well as a large mixed chorus, fill the podium. And behind all this, invisible, is a 'Fernorchester' (distant orchestra) as a symbol of 'the resurrection'. The work lasts for some 80 to 85 minutes, twice as long as Brahms's Fourth or the Franck and D'Indy symphonies of the same period. And relative to a Haydn or Mozart symphony, there is a tripling in size. Only Bruckner approaches it in the length department with his Fifth and Eighth, each lasting about 75 minutes. But then Mahler, in this symphony, is dealing with the themes of life, death, and resurrection, and he took whatever space he felt that he needed. There is a strangely sharp contrast between the untroubled key of C major and the dark and turbulent contents of the work. It has been suggested that the theme of life, death, and resurrection was borne in on Mahler on the occasion of the funeral of the great conductor Hans von Bülow in 1894. In any case, the words of Klopstock that were read on that occasion are the same ones that Mahler used that year for the apotheosis (last movement) of his Second Symphony: “Aufersteh'n, ja aufersteh'n wirst du, mein Staub, nach kurzer Ruh unsterblich Leben wird der dich rief gegeben.” (Thou shalt arise, yes, arise, my dust, after a brief slumber, thou shalt be called to immortal life). And Mahler expanded the text further with his own words: “O glaube, mein Herz. Es geht dir nichts verloren. Dein ist was du gesehnt. Dein, was du geliebt, was du gestritten. O glaube: Du wardst nicht umsonst geboren. Hast nicht umsonst gelebt, gelitten.” (O have faith, my heart. Nothing shall be lost to thee. What thou hast longed for is thine. Thine remains, what thou hast loved, what thou hast battled for. O have faith: thou wast not born for nothing. Thou hast not suffered in vain.) From liner notes (Clemns Romijn)

Having thoroughly investigated such historical matters as the first Mount Everest expedition, the global space race, and the British mining industry, London's Public Service Broadcasting turns its attention to one of Europe's most complex and fascinating locales, the city of Berlin. Led by the intrepid (and exquisitely named) J. Willgoose, Esq., the experimental trio has over the years assembled a fascinating catalog that fuses detailed post-rock, folk, and electronica with the aural ephemera and sonic textures of their chosen themes. While their first three collections have relied heavily on the sampling of archival material, Bright Magic sees them utilizing a more impressionist and mood-based approach. In the spirit of Berlin-inhabiting English forebears like David Bowie and Depeche Mode, Willgoose moved to Germany's capital to study its history, character, and contemporary flow. Citing Bowie's 1977 landmark album Low as a significant influence, he and the band have tapped into a similar dark futurism which is translated here through the use of thick analog synths, repetitive Krautrock motifs, and radiant crescendos. Samples are used sparingly (and effectively) and what vocals do appear are largely sung in German. Norwegian singer EERA appears on a pair of songs, as does Berlin-based Adreya Casablanca on the poppy "Blue Heaven." More thrilling, though, are the entrancing instrumental tracks which Public Service Broadcasting manage to build so well. The glorious "Im Licht" and "The Visitor" simply glow with a sense of ambition and sophistication. The band even structures in a three-part mini-suite ("Lichtspiel") that occupies much of the album's second half before segueing into the lush closer "Ich und die Stadt," over which German actress Nina Hoss narrates a sort of Berlin love letter. More of an immersive mood piece than a history lesson, Bright Magic is a bold new chapter for the group. © Timothy Monger /TiVo

“Nacht und Träume” takes its name from one of Schubert’s best-loved lieder, which is joined on the album by a further 10 of the composer’s songs. All performed in orchestral versions by such masters as Berlioz, Liszt, Brahms, Strauss, Webern, Britten and Schubert himself, they are complemented by three choral numbers and an orchestral interlude. The singers are rising stars – German mezzo-soprano Wiebke Lehmkuhl and French tenor Stanislas de Barbeyrac – and Laurence Equilbey conducts two ensembles she founded: the Insula orchestra and the choir Accentus. © Warner Classics

In 2018, Elina Duni went solo. Well, she put her name on an album cover and no one else’s. After leading a jazz-based quartet for two albums, the Tirana singer brought out Partir on ECM. The magnificent folklore and popular pieces were played on piano, guitar and percussion and evoked love as well as loss and bereavement. With Lost Ships, Duni continues her collaboration with the young British guitarist Rob Luft which began in 2017. The duo brings together songs of love, exile and suffering. They explore the world’s ills - from migration conflicts to ecological concerns - through truly moving melodies. It’s like a chamber symphony that mixes Mediterranean textures with jazz arrangements. Sometimes, the duo is joined by English pianist and percussionist Fred Thomas and Swiss trumpeter Matthieu Michel. Whether it’s a jazz ballad, an Italian song (Bella Ci Dormi), an Albanian folk tune (Kur Më Del Në Derë and N'at Zaman), a standard made popular by Frank Sinatra (I'm a Fool to Want You) or Charles Aznavour (Hier encore), these diverse sources are brought together by Elina Duni’s expressive voice. Sitting somewhere between a Balkans fado and European blues, it’s a voice that brings hope. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

Some divide recordings of Mahler's symphonic song cycle Das Lied von der Erde into "subjective" (Leonard Bernstein, and more recently, Simon Rattle) and "objective" (Pierre Boulez) readings. Perhaps conductor Vladimir Jurowski finds a middle road in this version, recorded live with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin at the Philharmonie in 2018. Jurowski contributes an extended note in which he argues that Mahler found a new "lyrical" mode in Das Lied von der Erde, in contradistinction to a "heroic" Beethovenian mode, and his reading broadly reflects this view. Many fine points emerge in the score, but this is due to a relaxed mood and space for details rather than to any attempt to be microscopic about the work. In Jurowski's hands, Das Lied von der Erde is more an orchestral song cycle than a symphony, with each of the five movements taking on its own flavor. There's much more to be said about Jurowski, and much to be said in favor of tenor Robert Dean Smith, who confidently takes on the borderline singable first movement. The best of all here is Sarah Connolly's run in the epic "Der Abschied," which in its deliberate long line both fits well with Jurowski's overall concept and is just sensuously, tragically gorgeous on its own, likely destined to become one of the highlights of her later career. PentaTone's superbly clear live sound seals the deal on a very fine Das Lied von der Erde.© TiVo

Jessye Norman was always protective of her art and the sound image she projected, no different with these unreleased recordings. However, with the approval of her loved ones, they’re now being released post-mortem.This new release (which is available in a lavish, physical limited edition) features three of Jessye’s recordings done between 1988 and 1998, when she was at the height of her career. There are substantial excerpts from her extraordinary performance of Tristan und Isolde recorded with Kurt Masur and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, featuring tenors Thomas Moser (Tristan) and Ian Bostridge (the young sailor) and soprano Hanna Schwarz (Brangäne).The rest of the programme consists of live recordings conducted by James Levine and Seiji Ozawa. With the former, Jessye Norman sings Strauss's Four Last Songs and Wagner's Wesendonck-Lieder in a recording that favours orchestral richness to the detriment of the voice. This may explain why the American singer chose never to release this recording, even though her hedonistic interpretation of Strauss's farewell to life is still striking. The album ends with a recital complete with orchestra, tailor-made for the diva in 1994 in Boston. It features two cantatas: Berenice che fai by Haydn and Phaedra, written by Benjamin Britten for Janet Baker. Nestled between the two, you’ll find a stunning rendition of Berlioz's The Death of Cleopatra. © François Hudry/Qobuz