“Poulenc’s piano works, like his other works, have always captivated me, both with their unrelenting honesty and their fearless formal certainty. Poulenc is brilliant at taking his listeners from one emotion to another, often without any transition. Poulenc’s language is often glibly described as ‘light’ even by the musical public. But this view is only correct to the extent that one can objectively observe his personal life from within the palpable proximity of danger. This ‘predatory’ gaze pervades the French composer’s work. The unvarnished honesty of Poulenc’s music, which brilliantly blends tradition and progression, makes it astonishingly direct for all of us.”

There are a few guarantees in life, one of them is that you’re going to fall in love with someone, whether it’s unrequited or its mutual.

Soliloquy is the third solo album by Jaco Liu and his first international release. The album features nine original compositions and two arrangements, blending elements of rock, pop, jazz, and East Asian music. It showcases his deep musical expression and unique artistic style. Jaco Liu is a rising acoustic guitar artist from China. He has performed at numerous international music festivals and won many competitions, including the 6th European Guitar Award. With over 100 solo concerts to his name, he has extensive performance experience. He is currently studying at the Dresden University of Music.

Polish pianist, claviolinist, composer, and instrument builder Sławomir Zubrzycki announces the release of his new album ‘Viola Organista: Monologues & Dialogues’, a landmark recording that brings to life one of the most enigmatic inventions in the history of music: the viola organista, a long-forgotten bowed keyboard instrument originally sketched by Leonardo da Vinci. Produced by Nils Frahm and featuring works by Dowland, Marais, J.S. Bach, and others, the album will be released on October 24 on CD and across all digital platforms.

Violinist Sylvia Huang has drawn inspiration from nature since her childhood, marvelling at its beauty, its cycles and its subtle harmony. Her Ode to Mother Nature project, in partnership with WWF-Belgium, is designed to raise awareness of the fragility of all living things. Pianist Boris Kusnezow partners Sylvia on this musical journey, which celebrates the cycle of the seasons with works by Gabriel Dupont, Lili Boulanger, Dora Pejačević, Edvard Grieg, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Camille Pépin and Eugène Ysaÿe. Each piece highlights an aspect of one of the seasons, as well as the deep connection between music and nature. Through this music Sylvia invites us to appreciate the deep bond that unites humanity to its environment, and the urgent need to protect it.

After a 10th anniversary tour, a best-of release, and the arrival of a new Dublin-born singer, The Celtic Social Club delivers its most direct and powerful record yet. Produced by Nick Davis (Genesis, The Pogues, Bjork, XTC), YOU SHOULD KNOW captures the raw live energy of the Franco-Irish collective with ten tracks recorded together, live in the studio. The result: sharp songwriting, haunting vocals, inventive basslines, chiming 12-strings, soaring fiddles, and unstoppable grooves. Moving beyond traditional Celtic themes, the band shapes an international Celtic pop sound - rooted in tradition but infused with rock and indie-folk. Think Clash, Pogues, and Fontaines D.C, but with their own unmistakable voice.

Sometimes there are discoveries that hit likethunderbolts! Matt Pascale & The Stomps areundoubtedly one of them-and a major one atthat. Everything here is simply perfect. Musically,the backbone of this album remains blues, butrock, funk, soul, and even hip-hop are never faroff. The compositions flow like a string ofpotential hits. It only takes listening to this albumonce or twice for certain melodies to lodgethemselves firmly in your brain. As for theperformance, it"s downright incredible. MattPascale has a raspy voice with a "more Italian youcouldn"t get" vibe, his guitar playing is a sheermarvel of precision and feel, and The Stomps area rhythmic and groovy powerhouse capable ofwaking the dead. Un-be-lie-va-ble!

Recorded live at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, it presents two of Tchaikovsky’s most profound symphonies: a revelatory account of the Fifth, with its shifting balance between fate and triumph, and a searingly personal reading of Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique). The Times praised the ‘explosive chemistry between this conductor and orchestra’ while The Arts Desk declared ‘the LPO has a real treasure in Canellakis.’ Together, they continue the Orchestra’s rich tradition of powerful Tchaikovsky performances, offering a recording that is both steeped in legacy and brimming with new life.

Contemporaries of Alessandro Scarlatti and now largely forgotten, Camilla de Rossi and Maria Margherita Grimaldi left behind remarkable contributions to the oratorio genre, at a time when few women composed - and even fewer within official circles. Soprano Suzanne Jerosme, Jörg Halubek and Il Gusto Barocco bring several of their works back to life, preserved since the early 1700s in the holdings of the Austrian National Library. Alongside arias by Alessandro Scarlatti, who helped shape the oratorio form in both Rome and Vienna, these strikingly beautiful compositions emerge - fully deserving a place among the masterpieces of their time.

Prokofiev’s Symphony No 4 was originally completed in 1930 and shared much of its musical material with his ballet The Prodigal Son, composed around the same time. Though Prokofiev had largely avoided harsh criticism from Soviet authorities in the past, the initial reception of the Fourth Symphony was lukewarm at best.

Formed in Southern California and forged in adversity, Dayseeker evolved from post-hardcore upstarts into one of the most emotionally resonant and stylistically agile bands in heavy music today.

For their first harmonic mundi album, Florent Albrecht and his Ensemble L’Encyclopédie explore the mischievous world of the Mozarts, father and son. Whether in the well-known Toy Symphony, the tinkling bells of Leopold’s A Musical Sleigh Ride or the ‘How to compose all wrong’ tutorial of Wolfgang’s A Musical Joke, joy and fantasy are mixed with a portion of subtle wit – qualities shared by the polished stylistic approach of the performers.

Amid the pomp of the court, the ear of the young Louis XIV was awakened to the charms of the harpsichord. Surrounded by the most illustrious harpsichordists, he explored a world where music was still a treasure passed from hand to hand. While French harpsichord making flourished, Jacques Champion de Chambonnières published the first printed scores in 1670. From unmeasured preludes, to poignant tombeaux imbued with subtle melancholy, to delicate arrangements of popular airs, the harpsichord of Louis XIV echoes an era of unprecedented musical richness. Brice Sailly's sublime interpretation highlights the splendour and diversity of this golden age of the French harpsichord.

Maurice Ravel’s piano trio was the result of an earlier war insinuating itself into his composition. The work’s first movements, however, were conceived as far from war as imaginable. Early summer 1914 found Ravel at his happiest, holidaying with Alexandre Benois in the Basque town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, on the Atlantic coast half a mile from Ravel’s birthplace of Ciboure.

In 1392, King Charles VI of France was declared insane. In the midst of the Hundred Years’ War, his repeated absences left the field open to princes hungry for power and wealth.