Karina Canellakis offers the first fruit of her exclusive Pentatone collaboration with a recording of Bartók’s 4 Orchestral Pieces and Concerto for Orchestra, together with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, of which she is the Chief Conductor. The 4 Orchestral Pieces have a strong affinity with the stage works Duke Bluebeard’s Castle and The Wooden Prince, conceived in the same period. The Concerto for Orchestra is one of Bartóks final works, full of folk tunes, and utterly colourful and virtuosic for all the instruments. As such, it’s an ideal piece to showcase the congeniality between the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and its star Chief Conductor.

After 2021’s critically acclaimed Echoes of Life, pianist Alice Sara Ott has now recorded a selection of works by Beethoven for her latest album. At the heart of Beethoven is Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 15, in which she is joined by the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and its Chief Conductor Karina Canellakis. Ott and Canellakis were in fact approached by Apple Music to record this particular concerto, with the result that they and the orchestra became the stars of the Apple Music Classical app launch video earlier this year. The pianist then selected a series of solo works to complement the concerto performance, including “Für Elise” and the “Moonlight” Sonata. Beethoven is released digitally on 28 July – together with a “Für Elise” video – and physically on 29 September.