New releases
Sam Jackson introduces the latest new releases to be added to the Classic FM playlist.
The Romantic Piano Concerto: Volume 51
The Hyperion record label’s Romantic Piano Concerto series has been an extraordinary journey of discovery, and has recently celebrated its 50th release. For years, the series has been a means of uncovering repertoire by all sorts of composers – many of whom we’d never heard of before – and has shed light on some of the other music-making that was going on at the time the likes of Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky and Brahms were composing.
For Volume 51, which is released at the beginning of August, we get to uncover the music of Wilhelm Taubert and Jacob Rosenhain, both of whom were almost exact contemporaries of Chopin, Schumann and Liszt; indeed, Schumann described Taubert’s Piano Concerto No.1 as ‘one of the best’.
Haydn Cello Concertos
Classic FM’s Orchestra in the North-East, Northern Sinfonia, are joined by Brazilian cellist Antonio Meneses for a spirited new recording of the Haydn cello concertos.
Directing from the cello, Meneses navigates Haydn’s fast movements with astonishing agility, and the inner slow movements with enduring expressiveness; hear it across the station in the weeks ahead.
Dances - Aquarelle Guitar Quintet
This new CD from the Aquarelle Guitar Quartet features a wide selection of unknown but beautiful repertoire.
The highlight is a piece called The Swan, written by the British harpist and composer Catriona McKay. Its beguiling melody is likely to prove a big hit on Classic FM in the weeks ahead; Margherita will be featuring it regularly on Smooth Classics.
Sam Jackson
Executive Producer, Music and Events
