“Christmas for Lovers” is a smooth and elegant holiday compilation that brings together a selection of timeless jazz performances centered around romance and seasonal warmth. Featuring legendary artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Tormé, Oscar Peterson, and Antonio Carlos Jobim, the album blends classic Christmas themes with sophisticated jazz arrangements and intimate vocal interpretations. The collection leans toward a mellow and atmospheric mood, favoring soft tempos, lush instrumentation, and expressive phrasing that evoke cozy winter evenings and nostalgic reflections. Instrumental pieces sit comfortably alongside vocal tracks, creating a balanced listening experience that flows seamlessly from start to finish. The album avoids overly festive excess, instead focusing on subtlety and emotional depth, making it ideal for relaxed holiday settings. “Christmas for Lovers” stands as a refined seasonal compilation that captures the romantic and reflective spirit of Christmas through the lens of classic jazz artistry.

In his own words, Raymond Lewenthal was an octave thrower, long-distance arpeggioer and general producer of volcanic rumbles. This hugely talented, extroverted pianist was also a key figure in the revival of a great deal of 19th-century piano music, most of all that of Charles-Valentin Alkan. Sony Classicals new collection of Lewenthals complete recordings for RCA and Columbia Masterworks celebrates this maverick pianists recorded legacy, with three LPs of material specially remastered from the analogue tapes. Its release comes thirty years after Lewenthals death in November 1988. Both a showman and a scholar, Lewenthal was born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1923, working as a child movie actor in Hollywood before beginning formal piano study at the age of 15.

For fans of Sviatoslav Richter, it does not much matter if the sound is not all that great and it does not much matter if the repertoire is the same repertoire as always. It does not even matter much if the performances are not the greatest Richter ever recorded. For fans of Sviatoslav Richter, the only thing that matters is that there are new Richter recordings because that all by itself means that they will be some of the greatest performances of the greatest repertoire ever recorded. And this five-disc set of Sonatas by Beethoven, Schubert, and Liszt does not disappoint. With recordings dates from 1961 through 1975 and recording venues all in the USSR and its empire, the sound is hard and harsh. But with repertoire ranging from the last three Beethoven Sonatas through Schubert's last Sonata to Liszt's only Sonata, the music has the supreme masterpieces of the Romantic repertoire. And while there are Richter performances here and there that may arguably exceed these, Richter's performances here are as virtuosic, as expressive, as profound, and as transcendent as any he ever recorded. Which makes them some of the greatest performances of the greatest repertoire ever recorded.

With its new recording of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, *Resurrection*, the Basel Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Markus Poschner, makes a striking artistic statement marking the beginning of a new era. No other work could have been better suited to Poschner’s debut as the new principal conductor in autumn 2025: Mahler’s monumental Second combines existential depth with visionary sonic splendour and demands both emotional commitment and structural clarity. At the heart of Poschner’s interpretation lies a deliberately pared-back, crystalline and transparently shaped Mahler sound. Instead of overwhelming massiveness, he focuses on precise articulation, subtle dynamic nuances and a clear delineation of the orchestral parts. With this recording, Markus Poschner and the Basel Symphony Orchestra mark a significant artistic beginning.

Festive music from the greatest French Romantic operas! Conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Charles Mackerras treats us to a selection of ballet pieces from Gounod and Delibes and the irresistible España and Fête polonaise from Chabrier.

Pianists Martha Argerich and Nelson Freire are stupendous virtuosos, and there's nothing in this recording of their 2009 Salzburg recital of staggeringly difficult works they cannot play. They know each other so well as old duo piano partners that their playing is stunning in its unity, but their distinctive individuality also comes across. What's most impressive about this recital is how completely Argerich and Freire have made this music their own. Brahms' Haydn Variations sound freer and fresher, more playful, and more profound than ever. Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances are thrillingly rhapsodic, rapturous, and dramatic. Schubert's Grand Rondeau is more lyrical, intimate, and graceful than usual, and Ravel's La Valse more ecstatic and apocalyptically over-the-top frightening than in any comparable recordings, including Argerich's own earlier releases. Captured in wonderfully clear yet wholly present digital sound, the performances on this disc will be compulsory listening for anyone who loves music, any music.

This upcoming release from Paavo Järvi and The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen (DKAM) features Schubert's Symphonies No. 5 and No. 6. Scheduled for release in April 2026, it is the next installment in their complete Schubert symphony cycle for Sony Classical.

With Magische Töne, Jonas Kaufmann returns to the world of operetta and late‑Romantic opera, presenting a collection of some of the genre’s most beautiful and beloved melodies. Recorded in Budapest with the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra under the baton of Dirk Kaftan, the album celebrates the rich musical heritage of the Austro‑Hungarian Empire (1867–1918).

Reference 80 is a comprehensive compilation by Century, highlighting the band’s signature blend of melodic pop rock, emotional ballads, and synth-driven dance tracks that defined their sound. Released in 2012, this collection revisits the group's most recognizable material with extended versions, alternate mixes, and rare cuts that showcase their versatility and songwriting depth. Century is best known for their international hit "Lover Why," which appears here in a full-length version, emphasizing its atmospheric arrangement and memorable vocal delivery. The album balances upbeat, rhythm-focused tracks with softer, introspective songs, creating a dynamic listening experience. With polished production and a distinctly European pop sensibility, Reference 80 serves both as an essential introduction for new listeners and a valuable retrospective for fans, capturing the essence of the band's contribution to 1980s-inspired pop music.

Takin' My Time is the second studio album by American R&B group After 7, showcasing their smooth harmonies and refined production style that helped define early 1990s contemporary R&B. The album blends elements of soul, new jack swing, and quiet storm, creating a polished and cohesive listening experience. With strong vocal performances from Kevon and Melvin Edmonds, the group delivers emotionally resonant ballads alongside groove-driven tracks. The production, featuring contributions from prominent figures of the era, maintains a sleek and radio-friendly sound while preserving musical depth. Songs like "Can He Love U Like This" and "Baby I'm For Real" highlight the group’s ability to convey heartfelt emotion, while uptempo tracks add variety and rhythm. Overall, Takin' My Time stands as a solid continuation of After 7’s signature sound, appealing to fans of classic 90s R&B.

Schubert’s Octet in F Major, D 803 stands as one of the crowning achievements of chamber music – an expansive, symphonic vision distilled into eight voices. For the Scharoun Ensemble Berlin, this masterpiece lies at the very heart of their artistic identity. Founded in 1983 by members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the ensemble takes its name from Hans Scharoun, architect of the Berlin Philharmonie, whose Kammermusiksaal has been their musical home since their very first public performance – and the venue of this recording. Shaped by decades of deep familiarity, the Octet reveals Schubert’s entire emotional world: joy and exuberance, tenderness and nostalgia, fear and defiance, all unfolding across what violinist Rachel Schmidt calls “one glorious hour of music” that portrays an entire life.

This disc is an important one as regards the performance of Bruckner’s symphonies. Norrington tends to be renowned for fast speeds: here he is eight minutes quicker than the only other current recording, Eliahu Inbal’s, of this original (1873) version of the symphony. This is a cogently argued account using the orchestral forces of the Vienna Philharmonic of the 1870s. Forty-five gut string instruments are used, with leather-covered timpani, distinctively different sounding wind and brass, forward-facing cellos and basses and a platform layout which highlights cross-stage dialogue between related instruments.

A central fixture in the world of string quartets for the past thirty years, the Zehetmair Quartett’s ECM recordings of Schumann, Hindemith, Bartók and Hartmann have received luminous praise—Gramophone lauded their Schumann as “Record of the Year”, while The Sunday Times described their Hindemith and Bartók performances as “playing of huge finesse in both pieces,” calling them “a real benchmark”. For this newest entry to their New Series catalogue, the quartet turns to Johannes Brahms’s first two string quartets, Op. 51 Nos. 1 and 2—works of mature reflection and dramatic urgency that reveal Brahms’s mastery of form.

Although there have been several fine recordings of Schumann's String Quartets, Op. 41 – those of the Gabrieli and Lark Quartet immediately come to mind – and several superb classic recordings of the works – those of the Juilliard and the Drolc and of course the magisterial Budapest immediately come to mind – but hands down, far and away, and absolutely without question the best recording of Schumann's String Quartets, Op. 41, is this one by the Quatuor Ysaÿe.