Chromatics is a word derived from the Greek noun (khrma), meaning color, and the Greek adjective (khrmatiks; colored). During the Renaissance, new music was composed in the Western world, opening up a palette of (timbral) colors for the first time. Before the Renaissance, music (in Gregorian chant) existed only to convey the word, not to make an appearance itself; this changed completely after the 15th century. Music, like painting, exploded into new forms and colors, and the era of the modern age was ushered in. Strange harmonies, mysterious voices - tones of passion and desire, of terror and fear, of the confusion of the sublime or of divine apparition… This is the world of musical colors that opened up in the age of the Chromatic Renaissance, giving rise to a music that is daring, adventurous and timelessly modern.

Chopin’s 21 Nocturnes, often described as ‘songs of the night’, are among the most well-known and beautiful of Chopin’s short solo piano works.

Chamber music, in it's centuries-long course, presents the most varied and surprising instrumental combinations: strings, woodwinds, percussion and keyboard instruments have, over time, found almost infinite possibilities of combination. If we wanted to limit ourselves to music composed for three instruments, the differences in instrumentation that tradition allows us to know would even number in the hundreds. In spite of this, however, a trio consisting of guitar, piano and harp has never before been thought of or realised by anyone, in any sphere or in any era.

Paul Hindemith described Reger as ‘the last giant of music’. When Schoenberg founded his Society for Private Musical Performances in 1918, Max Reger, along with Debussy and Bartók, was one of the most frequently performed composers. Admiring Reger as an important innovator, Schoenberg promoted his music because ‘he still remains unfamiliar’ and ‘I consider him a genius’. Even a century after his death, much of Reger’s music appears on concert programmes only very occasionally. This new album by the Gävle Symphony Orchestra and conductor Jaime Martín includes two of Reger’s finest orchestral works written towards the end of his life.

Preserved in three different libraries, the Marciana in Venice, the Library of the Naples Conservatory, and the State and University Library in Hamburg, the six cantatas that make up this world-premiere recording were composed by Benedetto Marcello in the early 18th century. These are thus youthful works, quite interesting for the originality of their writing, which helps us understand why their author was so highly regarded during his lifetime - even called the “prince of music” - and also by posterity, as he managed to blend his personal sensibility with lessons drawn from tradition and the influences of a life rich in cultural encounters.

Martin Tingvall is on the road all over the world both as a solo pianist and with his trio. PA VÄG (English: on the way / on the way) is the program for this. The themes of the piece seem at the same time familiar, almost classical, but also groping, searching and full of surprises.

Marking 70 years since Enescu’s death, celebrated violinist Charlie Siem returns to Signum Classics performing the Brahms Violin Concerto, and works by George Enescu with previous collaborators, conductor Oleg Caetani and the Philharmonia Orchestra. This release features a world premiere recording of the Brahms Violin Concerto cadenza written by George Enescu. PRAISE for Siem, Caetani and Philharmonia on Signum Classics: “Terrific performance there from Charlie Siem and the Philharmonia Orchestra and conductor, Oleg Caetani”

Sir Andrew Davis was a talented keyboard player as a child and teenager, and after study with Peter Hurford, at St Albans, he spent four years at the University of Cambridge as organ scholar at Kings College, under Sir David Willcocks. It was this period of his life that sparked his love for and appreciation of the organ works of J.S. Bach, which remained a lifelong passion. Sir Andrew made all the transcriptions on this album for the BBC Philharmonic, and four of them were recorded in November 2023. Sadly, Sir Andrew died before the final recording sessions for the album could take place (September 2024): we are immensely grateful that he completed the arrangements, and very thankful to Martyn Brabbins for completing the recording with the sense of style, love, and affection that Sir Andrew would have admired.

Simon Mulligan continues his traversal of Percy Grainger’s solo piano music. Volume 2 in the series includes a selection of Grainger’s popular folksong settings as well as works that feature the experimental side of his compositional style.

Austrian composer Thomas Larcher’s new album features premiere recordings of three strongly contrasting works. The Times has hailed Larcher’s music as a world “of haunting landscapes and dreams, stylistically disparate but fused by the composer’s astonishing ear and quizzical attitude to traditional forms”, a description borne out by the compositions here. The Living Mountain, for soprano and ensemble, draws upon the memoir of the Scottish poet and nature writer Nan Shepherd.

Alice Sara Ott presents a new deluxe version of the successful Echoes of Life album, set for release on 27 October. Among the 11 newly recorded tracks complementing the original album are the famous Bach Prelude in C Major both on a grand piano and a specifically prepared upright piano, as well as Silvestrov’s Distant Music, Chopin Preludes and a new composition by Alice’s friend Chilly Gonzales. The album is now available for pre-order alongside the second pre-release track ‘Silvestrov: Distant Music’.

Azimuth, the trio of pianist John Taylor, trumpeter Kenny Wheeler and singer Norma Winstone, already sounded like a fully-fledged ensemble when this, the group’s first album was released in 1977. Expanding and roaming beyond the spectrum the vocal jazz genre was usually limited to, Azimuth proved of a progressive spirit from the start. Upon the debut’s release, Melody Maker remarked that “this album may (…) be the first sign of [John Taylor’s] evolution into a genuinely important composer: behind its graceful flowing beauty lies a spirit of inquiry which will surely lead further.”

Moondog is the fifth album by American composer Moondog. Moondog had released no music for twelve years since his 1957 album The Story of Moondog. Finally, in 1969, producer James William Guercio invited him to record an album for Columbia Records.

We are proud to announce the next installment of our popular multi-artist compilation Virtual Dreams II - Ambient Explorations In The House And Techno Age, Japan 1993-1999'. As with Part One, released in 2020, 'Virtual Dreams II' shines a light on house and techno-adjacent music that helped redefine the definition of ambient music during the 1990s.

King of Rock Established Hip-Hop's Modern Blueprint and Mainstream Currency: 1985 Run-D.M.C. Album Bristles with Purpose, Energy, and Intensity. In Audiophile Quality for the First Time and Limited to 2,000 Numbered Copies: Mobile Fidelity's Hybrid SACD Plays with Visceral Immediacy Run-D.M.C. leaves no doubt about its intent on King of Rock. The New York trio's hard-hitting sophomore album begins with a statement of purpose ("Rock the House") that serves as a stereophonic primer for the title track, a hybrid warning-anthem-theme song that swarms with justified boasts, heavy metal riffs, booming beats, cowbell accents, and dance-worthy grooves. The back-to-back tunes set the tone for a 1985 record that largely established the blueprint for the hip-hop that would follow for the next two decades — and which helped make rap a mainstream currency via the previously off-limits channels of radio, TV, and the national stage.