Sony Classical in 2025: Albums for Year-End Roundup Consideration
Sony Classical 2025 Albums for Year-End Roundup Consideration
Wiener Philharmoniker & Riccardo Muti: New Year’s Concert 2025
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Hans Zimmer: The World of Hans Zimmer Part II: A New Dimension
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Eugene Ormandy: The Columbia Studio Recordings (1964-1983)
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Jeneba Kanneh-Mason: Fantasie
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Guarneri String Quartet: The Complete RCA Collection
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Malakoff Kowalski: Songs With Words
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Lorin Maazel: Lorin Maazel Conducts the Cleveland Orchestra
– The Complete CBS Masterworks Recordings
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Leif Ove Andsnes: Liszt: Via Crucis & Solo Piano Works
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Eugene Ormandy & The Philadelphia Orchestra - The RCA Victor Recordings 1935-42
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Esther Abrami: Women
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Kevin Olusola: Dawn of a Misfit
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Pablo Ferrandez: Moonlight Variations
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Anna Lapwood: Firedove
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Wiener Philharmoniker & Tugan Sokhiev: Summer Night Concert 2025
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John Williams: The Anthology – Vol. 1 1969-1990
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Terry Riley: The Complete Columbia Recordings
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Yo-Yo Ma, Leonidas, Kavakos, Emanuel Ax:
Beethoven for Three: Symphony No. 1 / Op. 70, No. 1 “Ghost” / Op. 11 Gassenhauer
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Jonas Kaufmann: Doppelgänger
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Hauser: Cinema
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Anastasia Kobekina: Bach: Cello Suites
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Martin Fröst: B.A.C.H
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Jeneba Kanneh-Mason: Jane Austen’s Piano
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Wiener Philharmoniker & Riccardo Muti: New Year’s Concert 2025 | January 10, 2025
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“If, like so many people around the world, you want to waltz your way into 2025, this recording is for you.” – Craig Byrd, Cultural Attaché
There are few concerts in the world that are awaited with as much excitement as the New Year’s Concert from Vienna. 2025’s performance by the Vienna Philharmonic and conducted by Riccardo Muti, was broadcast to over 90 countries around the world, reaching an audience of millions of people. The program featured repertoire from the Strauss family and their contemporaries, with a unique addition: for the first time, a work by a female composer, and a friend of Johann Strauss II, The Ferdinandus-Walzer, composed by the twelve-year-old Constanze Geiger in 1848, was a highlight of this year’s program.
The artistic collaboration with Maestro Muti that began in 1971, has given rise to more than 500 mutual concerts, including six New Year’s Concerts, Philharmonic subscription concerts, memorial concerts, guest performances and tours, as well as numerous opera productions.
Daniel Froschauer, Chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic, emphasized the conductor’s special significance for the orchestra: “Riccardo Muti has held an exceptional position in the history of the Vienna Philharmonic for over fifty years. An honorary member of the orchestra since 2011, Muti has helped shape the repertoire and specific sound of the ensemble in a unique manner.
The tradition of presenting New Year’s Concerts began in 1941. The first concert marking the New Year was given in 1939, albeit on 31 December. The first conductor was Clemens Krauss. The Vienna Philharmonic regards this now traditional event as a way of wishing the world a Happy New Year through the medium of music in a spirit of hope, friendship and peace.
Hans Zimmer – The World of Hans Zimmer Part II: A New Dimension | February 28, 2025
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“Hans Zimmer is famously known for his use of deep bass in his movie scores, and that is on full display in the brand-new release The World of Hans Zimmer – Part II [A New Dimension].” – James Larson, Audioholics
Melding the grandeur of symphonic music with the dynamic power of Hans Zimmer’s cinematic compositions, The World of Hans Zimmer – Part II: A New Dimension transforms more of his most successful soundtracks into epic new orchestral suites. Highlights include a short, captivating “cello-concerto-like” version of Final Ascent from No Time to Die, a tranquil rendition of A Time of Quiet Between the Storms from Dune II, and a new romantic suite from The Prince of Egypt. Additionally, Zimmer revisits one of his classic 90s soundtracks with a newly crafted suite of The Rock.
The World Of Hans Zimmer – Part II: A New Dimension features Zimmer accompanied by a stellar ensemble of soloists and collaborators, including singers Lebo M, Lisa Gerrard, Gan-ya Ben-gur Akselrod, and Nokukhanya Dlamini; multi-woodwind wizard Pedro Eustache; bass player Juan García-Herreros; guitarist Alexios Anest; pianist Eliane Correa; cellist Mariko Muranaka; violinist Rusanda Panfili; and percussionists Aleksandra Šuklar, Luis Ribeiro, and Lucy Landymore. Together, they perform alongside the Odessa Orchestra & Friends and the Nairobi Chamber Choir, under the baton of conductor Gavin Greenaway.
Zimmer says: “We’re taking music that fans know and love and presenting it with a renewed sense of energy, scale, and emotion. These new orchestral suites are a testament to the incredible musicians I’ve had the pleasure of working with, and the magic that happens when we come together with the orchestra and choir. It’s about capturing those transformative moments in performance.”
Eugene Ormandy – The Columbia Studio Recordings (1964-1983) | January 31, 2025
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“Ormandy knew he had a team of tireless, world-class musicians — an American powerhouse — and was eager to share them with the world. With this kaleidoscopic showcase, it is clear that he succeeded.” – Bruce Hodges, WRTI
“The repertoire ranges from Bach to Mozart to Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Nielsen, Ives and everything in between, and it's all performed at an amazingly high level of consistent excellence. You'll be astonished.” – David Hurwitz, Classics Today
This massive new reissue from Eugene Ormandy’s stereo discography collects all the Columbia Masterworks recordings he made in Philadelphia between the early 1960s and early 1980s, in a new 94-CD box set from Sony Classical. Some of these performances – including the complete recording of Bach’s St. John Passion, Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis, Schubert’s Sixth Symphony and a disc of opera choruses with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, as well as Ginastera’s Concerto for Strings and the ballet music from Massenet’s opera Le Cid – have never appeared before in the digital medium, and they shine a light into new corners of Ormandy’s astonishingly large repertoire. Also new to CD are two late symphonies by Haydn – No. 96 “The Miracle” and No. 101 “The Clock” – a prime example of Ormandy excelling in repertoire not normally associated with him.
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason – Fantasie | March 7, 2025
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Best New Albums Out on March 7 – NPR Music, All Songs Considered
“This is a promising debut revealing a gift for Chopin.” – James Manheim, AllMusic
“a stellar debut recording,” – Jonathan Blumhofer, The Arts Fuse
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason takes listeners on a journey that explores connections across different composers’ sound worlds – whether they met, influenced each other, or simply existed in resonance. She is a musician deeply committed to her craft, relishing the challenges of performance and recording and dedicated to her audience, whether in the concert hall or via her recordings and is a talented young artist for whom mastery isn’t just technical but emotional too.
From Claude Debussy, Frédéric Chopin and Alexander Scriabin to Florence Price, Margaret Bonds and William Grant Still, Jeneba Kanneh-Mason presents a program on her debut solo album Fantasie, which is also very personal to her as an artist.
She says, “I’ve always loved coming up with quite complex programmes which flow really nicely from one piece to the other and all these works mean a lot to me” she says. “By gathering them here for my debut album, I am not only revealing more of myself as a musician, but also sharing the very different styles of music I grew up listening to.”
The Guarneri String Quartet – The Guarneri String Quartet: The Complete RCA Victor Collection | March 21, 2025
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“Sony’s monumental 49-disc box set (compiling the remastered RCA releases) cements Guarneri’s status, spanning the Brahms Piano Quartets and Quintet with Arthur Rubinstein, the early Beethoven set (1967–70), the Bartók set from 1977, and a feast of left-field entries like Dohnányi, Verdi, Grieg, and Smetana.” – Tim Riley, LA Review of Books
“The Guarneri Quartet's legacy for RCA features wide-ranging repertoire choices, extremely high performance standards, famous artistic partnerships (most notably with Artur Rubinstein), and (with one exception) consistent personnel over more than three decades. The result is 49 CDs of sterling music-making, even if you already own some of the most familiar items.” – David Hurwitz, Classics Today
In the early 1960s, four young musicians who had been playing chamber music at Rudolf Serkin’s Marlboro School and Festival in Vermont were encouraged to form a string quartet. In July 1964, the Guarneri String Quartet gave its first concert and less than a year later made its first recordings under contract to RCA Victor. For the next 45 years, with only one change of personnel, the Guarneris performed all over the world and amassed a large, wide-ranging, prize-winning discography. For the first time in a single collection, Sony Classical presents all the recordings made by the Guarneri Quartet for RCA between 1965 and 2005.
HiFi Stereo Review said of the group when they made their complete recording of the Beethoven String Quartets for RCA between 1966 and 1969: “The Guarneri is, without a doubt, one of the most extraordinary string quartets before the public these days: the group has an absolutely stunning sense of both soloistic and ensemble color. Indeed, I can’t think of another string quartet that can match them for sheer sensuous appeal.”
Malakoff Kowalski – Songs With Words | March 21, 2025
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Songs With Words is the new Sony Classical album from vocalist and composer Malakoff Kowalski with pianists Igor Levit, Johanna Summer, and Chilly Gonzales. Songs With Words features miniatures by classical composers coupled with sung poems by American Beat poet Allen Ginsberg. Reflecting on Felix Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words, this thrilling quartet presents a new kind of music, and possibly a whole new genre that has never before appeared in this form either in classical music, jazz, or pop.
Kowalski says of the album: “It took about five years to birth these twelve songs. They were assembled from both famous and lesser-known miniatures by Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, Aram Khachaturian, Maurice Ravel, Edvard Grieg, Amy Beach, Germaine Tailleferre, Claude Debussy, and Gabriel Fauré. I kept unearthing timeless, intimate, vulnerable poems from Ginsberg’s oeuvre, and for some reason, again and again, these poems, with little or no reworking, functioned very naturally as song lyrics. The quiet, inner-directed vocals strictly followed the piano’s motifs and themes, while the piano parts, in turn, stuck to their original versions, with only the most imperceptible of alterations here and there.”
The result is a song cycle reminiscent of Tom Waits, Jim Morrison, and David Bowie, infused with the musicality of Bill Evans, Kurt Weill, and Michel Legrand.
Through Songs With Words, Kowalski, Levit, Summer, and Gonzalez have created a fascinating interplay between the pristine European piano tradition and the American poetry of the Beat Generation.
Lorin Maazel – Lorin Maazel Conducts the Cleveland Orchestra: The Complete CBS Masterworks Recordings | March 28, 2025
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“For devoted Maazel fans, this box may well be an attractive package.” – Karl Nehring, Classical Candor
“You have any number of reasons to buy this box. As a Maazel fan, you can place it among the hundreds of other recordings he’s made. It’s a showcase for one of our “big five” orchestras. It has a solid basic-repertory place with its complete Beethoven symphonies alongside the only Tchaikovsky symphonies people care about. Maazel proved that Szell was not irreplaceable, and he also paved the way for a succession of similarly distinguished conductors at that helm. But Maazel’s was a magical decade in Cleveland.” – Byron Nilsson, Words and Music
When he was called to succeed George Szell as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra in 1972, the 42-year-old American conductor was hardly known in his home country. But over the next ten years, as the recordings collected for the first time in Sony Classical’s new 15-CD box set amply demonstrate, this enigmatic genius by the name of Lorin Maazel burnished the Cleveland image and maintained the exalted standards set by Szell, who had elevated his ensemble to pre-eminence among the US “Big Five” orchestras.
Eugene Ormandy & The Philadelphia Orchestra – The RCA Victor Recordings 1935-42 | May 13, 2025
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“[H]earing these newly remastered recordings reveals that the Ormandy/Philadelphia partnership’s salient virtues were well in place during the conductor’s first years as the orchestra’s co-director and (starting in 1938) full music director.” – Jed Distler, Classics Today
Best New Albums Out on April 25 – NPR Music, All Songs Considered
“gem of a set that offers still more great-sounding reasons to reassess the Ormandy Legacy.” – Byron Nilsson, Words and Music
Sony Classical continues its comprehensive documentation of Eugene Ormandy’s discography with a new 21-CD release of everything he set down in Philadelphia before the ban on commercial recording instigated by the musicians’ union in 1942. By the time the strike ended in 1944, Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra had moved to Columbia Masterworks. As connoisseurs have long known, these early Philadelphia albums are among the most impressive performances Ormandy set down in over 40 years at the orchestra’s helm.
1931 was the breakthrough year for 32-year-old Hungarian immigrant Eugene Ormandy. First, he was engaged by the Philadelphia Orchestra to deputize for his idol Toscanini, who was briefly indisposed. Then, a few months later, he was asked to step in for the conductor of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, also indisposed – but in this case permanently. Soon Ormandy was hired to take over that rising Midwestern orchestra. At the end of his five-year tenure in Minneapolis, which produced a considerable discography for RCA Victor, Ormandy was called back to Philadelphia, this time to become its co-conductor with Leopold Stokowski. In 1936, he began recording regularly for Victor with his new orchestra, picking up the pace in 1938 when he became its sole music director.
Leif Ove Andsnes – Liszt: Via Crucis & Solo Piano Works | April 11, 2025
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“This album offers a new and fresh examination of one of Liszt's least-understood works, and it is a major release from Andsnes.” – James Manheim, AllMusic
“a splendid project that shows [Leif Ove] Andsnes’s pianism at its best.” – Ryan Ross, Classical Candor
“The most interesting compositional aspect of Via Crucis is the democratic relationship between piano and choir. The function of the piano is not, as you might expect, an accompaniment to the choir — and hence perhaps why Andsnes became interested in this project. The piano functions as an independent soloist, and in its interactions with the choral ensemble is as a collaborating voice, akin to the role of the piano in chamber music.” – Xenia Hanusiak, Classical Voice North America
On Liszt: Via Crucis & Solo Piano Works, the latest Sony Classical album from Leif Ove Andsnes, the Norwegian pianist unveils the often-forgotten side of the famed virtuoso Franz Liszt - the sacred music that offers a more intimate picture of the man and his deeply held faith.
With acclaimed vocal ensemble the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir, Andsnes has recorded Liszt’s remarkable late work Via Crucis (The Way of the Cross’) for choir and piano. The pianist completes his all-Liszt album with the solo piano work Consolations and two movements from the composer’s Harmonies poétiques et religieuses. Via Crucis is unlike any other work in the repertoire: a concentrated ritual drama, ranging from liturgical chant to Lisztian chromaticism at its most searching and expressive. It sets a pianist and choir in dialogue with one another, each performing alone as well as together.
“This is something very different,” says Andsnes. “It is incredible, the journey Liszt made as a composer, from this very flamboyant virtuosic style to [Via Crucis], which is very bare, with so few notes, but still an incredible tension and beauty. It points forward to the twentieth century while also building on the tradition of sacred music.
Esther Abrami – Women | April 25, 2025
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“Attention grabbing. Stirring, even. When you hear it, you will probably feel something about it. And that’s what French violinist Esther Abrami wants. She wants you to listen to her album, titled Women, and feel something. Because that’s what she wants when she listens to an album." – Olivia Hampton on NPR Morning Edition
“[Esther Abrami] is offering something different from the usual run, and those presenting classical music could benefit from paying attention to what she is doing. Women, released in 2025, is far from a parade of crossover favorites. In fact, there is a good deal of music here that most listeners will not know, some of it arranged for violin and orchestra, chamber ensemble, or piano by Abrami.” – James Manheim, All Music
A tribute to women composers across history and a range of genres, Women, the new album from violinist Esther Abrami, showcases the exceptional talent of 14 remarkable composers, spanning newly composed works and rediscovered masterpieces. The album features Oscar winners Rachel Portman and Anne Dudley, as well as new arrangements of compositions by historic composers such as Pauline Viardot, Chiquinha Gonzaga, Teresa Carreño or Ethel Smyth. Women also includes Transmission, an original composition by Esther Abrami, who has arranged several pieces on the album. At its heart is the world-premiere recording of Ina Boyle’s Violin Concerto, a breathtaking, late-Romantic composition. Esther Abrami carefully chose each piece on Women not only for its musical brilliance but also for the emotional connection it holds for her, highlighting the often-overlooked voices of women in classical music.
Abrami says, “Women is a journey through centuries of music, told through the voices of women who composed, fought, lived, and created despite the odds. The stories of these women inspired me to create; they showed me the importance of leaving your mark for future generations to discover. I hope Women can inspire a new generation of young girls to compose.”
Kevin Olusola – Dawn of a Misfit | May 9, 2025
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“[Dawn of a Misfit] is a kaleidoscope of sounds and feelings that reflect [Kevin Olusola’s] struggle to appreciate the different parts of himself.” – Ayesha Rascoe, NPR Music
“The album showcases the style of performance that Olusola has dubbed “celloboxing,” a way of playing that incorporates some of the rhythmic techniques of vocal beatboxing. The project, as one would expect, is a blend of styles and musical enthusiasms, exhibiting a strong spirit of experimentation, exploration, self-expression, and joyously entertaining play.” – David Templeton, Strings
Kevin Olusola, the dynamic singer, cellist, and beatboxer best known for his work with the 3x-GRAMMY® Award-winning a cappella group Pentatonix, releases his debut solo album, Dawn Of A Misfit on Sony Music Masterworks. The wide-ranging album touches on spirituality, fatherhood, and being a first-generation person in a Western country, all while fusing classical, pop, R&B, and hip-hop. It even includes a nod to Pentatonix with Kevin’s Fifth, a fan-favorite expansion on Beethoven’s 5th that he often performs during their live shows.
Dawn of a Misfit draws on Kevin Olusola’s classical virtuosity and the graceful soulfulness of his vocals, partly fueled by his Nigerian and Grenadian heritage. While recording the new album, he was influenced by a diverse range of artists, including Sting, multi-hyphenate artist Jon Batiste, Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, American singer and actor Harry Belafonte, country-rap artist Shaboozey, cellist Jacqueline du Pré, pianist Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr., and Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Pablo Ferrandez – Moonlight Variations | May 23, 2025
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“Through an intimate sequence of nocturnes, song transcriptions and lyrical miniatures – some newly arranged for cello – that culminate in the Rococo Variations, [Pablo] Ferrández reflects on his fascination with night-time and how it enhances imagination and perception.” – Thomas May, The Strad
“Playing for the first time on a gorgeous-sounding 1689 Stradivarius cello, [Pablo Ferrandez] delivers absorbing melodies with just a hint of rubato delay to keep the listener's attention fixed..” – James Manheim, All Music
“[T]he centerpiece work of this album — Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations — demonstrates a wide spectrum of colors and emotion.” – Oliver Camacho, WFMT
Cellist Pablo Ferrández has realized a twenty-year dream to record Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations on Moonlight Variations, his latest album for Sony Classical, combining the spirited work with melancholy nocturnes to create an album he describes as “night followed by day.”
On his new album, he assembles eleven handpicked gems by composers from Antonín Dvořák to Manuel Ponce that speak of the heightened emotional intimacy of the dark hours. The cellist has arranged songs, piano nocturnes, violin works and an opera aria. In addition to Tchaikovsky’s extended variation set, recorded in Örebro with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra under Martin Fröst, Ferrández includes movements from Liszt’s Liebestraum and Schumann’s Kinderszenen, transcriptions of piano nocturnes by Chopin and songs by Schubert and Debussy. The album also includes two additional works by Tchaikovsky including the composer’s own arrangement for cello and orchestra of his ‘Nocturne’ from 6 Pieces for Piano. The recording constitutes Ferrández’s first on the 1689 Archinto Stradivarius he recently acquired.
“We made a decision to make our arrangements true to the instrument I’m playing while not removing the piece from its original concept,” says Ferrández. “The idea was to give each piece a personality of its own that suits the cello. I was thinking, of course, of singing - of that more human kind of expression. One reason I love to play lieder is that we always try to sing though the cello.”
Anna Lapwood – Firedove | May 30, 2025
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Best New Albums Out on May 30, 2025 – NPR Music, All Songs Considered
“[Anna] Lapwood’s musical vision comes through as consistent and compelling. Whether playing the organ on Hans Zimmer’s Time or leading the choir in Bob Dylan’s Make You Feel My Love, she is able to draw us into the music, make us share in her reverence for the sheer wonder of melody and harmony,” – Karl Nehring, Classical Candor
“[Firedove is] an unexpected and utterly compelling mix of music, from Vierne to Robbie Williams to Hans Zimmer.” – Meg Bragle, WRTI
“It's not hyperbole to state that with Luna and now Firedove [Anna Lapwood] is invigorating contemporary organ practice with her fresh and imaginative vision. – Ron Schepper, Textura
Already widely celebrated for introducing the organ to new generations of music fans through her extraordinary interpretations of both classical and contemporary works, Anna Lapwood has become known to millions through viral TikTok videos, high-profile collaborations and sold-out live concerts. Her latest recording, Firedove, is the follow-up to her acclaimed Sony Classical debut album Luna, released in September 2023. Firedove effortlessly demonstrates Lapwood’s open-minded approach to music. The album's repertoire choices showcase how this release is Lapwood’s most personal record to date, with a Vierne scherzo sitting alongside a rendition of Robbie Williams’ Angels and Maurice Duruflé’s Prelude and Fugue with Bob Dylan’s Make You Feel My Love.
On how Firedove stands out as an exciting listening experience, Lapwood says,
“There are lots of little easter eggs in there that you wouldn’t expect – even the first appearance of the choir – and a through-line of flight and spreading wings, because this does feel as though I’ve found what I want to say as an artist. I’m very proud of it.”
Wiener Philharmoniker & Tugan Sokhiev: Summer Night Concert 2025 | August 29, 2025
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“[E]njoy a mini-vacation to one of Vienna’s most famous musical events.”
– Nicole Lacroix, WETA
“The Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert 2025 was more than a concert — it was a celebration of art, history, and unity, reminding audiences worldwide why this open-air tradition continues to captivate year after year.” – Leo Hart, Chicago Music Guide
Once again, Sony Classical releases a recording of the Summer Night Concert 2025 with the Vienna Philharmonic, this time conducted by Tugan Sokhiev with tenor Piotr Beczała.
2025’s Summer Night Concert was performed on June 13, 2025. The annual open-air concert took place on the grounds of the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria. With its UNESCO World Heritage setting in the Baroque park of Schönbrunn and the palace as a backdrop, the Summer Night Concert enchanted with its visual charm and outstanding musical quality. The idea of making the very best of classical music accessible to all—offering a gift to music lovers—continues to characterize the event. Today, millions of viewers and listeners in more than 80 countries follow the concert online, on television, and on the radio.
The program for the 22nd Summer Night Concert by the Vienna Philharmonic focused on well-known melodies from opera and operetta, featuring renowned arias alongside popular overtures and interludes. Maestro Tugan Sokhiev and Piotr Beczała as vocal soloist were joined by the Vienna Boys Choir, marking a special premiere in the Summer Night Concert.
In response to the tragic attacks in Graz, Austria this year’s Summer Night Concert opened with Air by Johann Sebastian Bach, replacing the originally scheduled Can-Can from Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld.
John Williams: The Anthology – Vol. 1 1969-1990 | August 22, 2025
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“[John Williams’] work has touched the lives of any and all cinephiles, music fanatics, or anyone who even remotely calls themselves a lover of American culture. With their three-volume, 75-disc anthology, Sony Classical has endeavored to honor that prolific body of work as a way to sing the praises of, as they put it, the most beloved composer of our time.” – Lacey Cohen, Screen Rant
“[W]hen it comes to iconic scores and a composer at the very height of his powers, [John Williams: The Anthology – Vol. 1 1969-1990] will be hard to beat.” – Clive Paget, Musical America
“For those who love the music of John Williams — which is to say, any self-respecting cinephile — there’s something to get excited about.” – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
Sony Classical embarks on a definitive, one-of-a-kind celebration of the music of five-time-Oscar®-winning composer John Williams, with the release of John Williams: The Anthology. The three-volume comprehensive collection will be released as three individual box sets throughout 2025. It will encompass the seven-decade career of the most popular and admired composer of his time, plus feature many of the maestro’s original soundtrack recordings and concert music recordings. The 22 discs in John Williams: The Anthology – Vol. 1 1969-1990 showcase Williams’ music for 27 films that established him as one of the most influential and imaginative composers in the history of film music. They include his unforgettable scores for the first three Star Wars films, Jaws, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the first two Indiana Jones adventures, Superman and a range of others from The Reivers (1969) to Home Alone (1990). Three of the scores included in this first volume – Jaws (1975), Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) – won Williams the Academy Award® for Best Original Score. Fifteen more Oscar® nominations were accorded to other scores in Volume 1, as well as five BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globes and 14 Grammy® Awards.
“I have often said that without John Williams, bicycles do not fly, nor do brooms in Quidditch matches or heroes in red capes. Dinosaurs do not walk the earth. Sharks do not terrorize idyllic summer beaches. And Jedi do not return,” the director Steven Spielberg, the composer’s most frequent collaborator, writes in the foreword for this collection. “Without the magic of John Williams, audiences do not wonder, or weep, or believe. Whether in an elegant concert hall or a darkened cinema, John’s music is instantly recognizable both for its emotional power and its ability to tap into our collective unconscious… to inspire us, to captivate us, and to illuminate our shared journey through the human experience.
Terry Riley – The Columbia Recordings | August 22, 2025
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“The release reaffirms Riley’s foundational status in the history of late-twentieth-century music and his unexpectedly broad influence.” – William Robin, The New Yorker
“Palpably, six decades later, Riley’s Columbia recordings connote a time of idealism, of possibilities inhabiting the territory between motion and repose.” – Marc Medwin, Point of Departure
“The reissue of Terry Riley's Columbia recordings in a handsome four-disc box set invites a new appreciation of the hugely influential work the American visionary produced between 1968 and 1980.” – Ron Schepper, Textura
One of the most consequential musicians of the 20th century – the visionary American composer – is celebrated with the Sony Classical release of Terry Riley – The Columbia Recordings. The four-disc box set includes Terry Riley’s unique recordings for Columbia Masterworks between 1968 and 1980 that changed the direction and expanded the range of late 20th-century music. Terry Riley – The Columbia Recordings box set includes the albums In C (1968); A Rainbow in Curved Air (1969); Church of Anthrax (1971, in collaboration with John Cale of the Velvet Underground); and Shri Camel (1980), all made for Columbia Masterworks at a time when the label was boldly embracing new directions in American music. This collection offers an essential document of Riley’s most transformative period when the pulse of innovation met the possibilities of high-fidelity sound.
In addition to all four complete recordings and rarely seen archival photographs from recording sessions in Columbia’s fabled 30th Street Studios in Manhattan, Terry Riley – The Columbia Recordings includes a 50-page booklet featuring first-hand reflections from David Behrman, the original producer of In C and A Rainbow in Curved Air; and an essay by Thomas M. Welsh, Terry Riley’s longtime manager and archivist; and reprints of all essays and notes from the original vinyl releases. Riley’s rich musical life has continued through the decades to explore the potential of his musical ideas, building on the early success and his four seminal recordings for Columbia Masterworks.
Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, Yo-Yo Ma – Beethoven For Three: Symphony No. 1 / Op. 70, No. 1 “Ghost” / Op. 11 Gassenhauer | August 22, 2025
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“Not only can [Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, and Yo-Yo Ma] convey the music’s symphonic breadth, but they also — even more impressive — make this potentially unwieldy creation sound like genuine chamber music.” – David Weininger, The New York Times
“These three players have worked together for enough time that they've jelled as a unit, with a relaxed, confident quality.” – James Manheim, All Music
“The three beloved artists perform the symphonies on three instruments alongside the composer’s canonical piano trios, giving audiences a rare look at Beethoven’s compositional language at its most intimate and raw—all while conveying the power and immediacy of his orchestral works.” – Lisa Flynn, WFMT
Beethoven for Three features pianist Emanuel Ax, violinist Leonidas Kavakos, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma – three musicians in pursuit of the essential elements of Beethoven's musical language, presenting his most iconic symphonies in trio arrangements. By performing the symphonies on three instruments alongside the composer’s canonical piano trios, the artists give audiences a rare look at Beethoven's compositional language at its most intimate and raw—all while conveying the power and immediacy of his orchestral works.
The trio’s latest collaborative release in this series, their fourth, features Symphony No. 1 (Op. 21) and the Ghost (Op. 70, No. 1) and Gassenhauer (Op. 11) piano trios. This new recording marks another milestone in three friends’ journey through the marvels of one extraordinary composer.
“We all feel that being able to participate in a symphony is such a wonderful thing to do,” says Ma. “One of the things that has separated people since recording began is the categories that we put people in, in which chamber musicians, orchestra players, people who play concertos, people who do transcriptions, people who compose, people who conduct, are all viewed as separate categories with no overlap. That siloed thinking discourages actual creativity and collaboration between people. And so we feel that one of the things that is really important to do today is to actually go back to the first principles of music, the simple interaction between friends who want to do something together."
Jonas Kaufman – Doppelgänger | September 5, 2025
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“Kaufmann and Deutsch prove an impeccable Lieder duo.” – Richard Fairman, Financial Times
“Kaufmann approaches these new recordings with a grace and ease that I think we all find in our lives and our work as we get older. The results are quite satisfying.” – Craig Byrd, Cultural Attaché
Just like the album Selige Stunde, the recordings of Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Kerner Lieder were made during the first COVID lockdown in 2020. In retrospect, the circumstances were as bizarre as they were artistically creative, and, according to Helmut Deutsch, “made the recordings feel almost like ‘domestic music-making’, which is very different from the usually austere atmosphere of a concert hall or a studio.” For Jonas Kaufmann, it was a welcome opportunity to intensively engage with Dichterliebe once again: “It is an incredible stroke of luck to be able to sing this song cycle both as a young and as a mature singer. Dichterliebe is unique and unparalleled in the entire Lied repertoire.”
Kaufmann had already worked on the famous song cycle during his student years in Munich, while attending Helmut Deutsch’s Lied class. His piano accompanist at the time was Jan Philip Schulze, who is now Professor of Art Song Interpretation at the Hanover University of Music; together, they presented the final result at a recital, which was also recorded. Jonas Kaufmann has chosen six songs from this previously unreleased recording, made in March 1994, as bonus tracks for the Schumann CD – a fascinating contrast to the 2020 recording. These works come together on a new Sony Classical recording from Kaufmann, titled Doppelgänger.
Hauser – Cinema | September 12, 2025
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“With his signature blend of classical elegance and cinematic flair, Hauser is back—this time not just to serenade, but to score our emotions.” – TMRW Magazine
Global cello sensation Hauser releases his brand-new album Cinema, a sweeping homage to some of the most unforgettable film melodies ever written. With his unmistakable artistry and passion, Hauser breathes new life into cinema’s most iconic music.
The 25-track collection, recorded with the prestigious London Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Robert Ziegler, spans decades of cinematic history, reinventing timeless themes through HAUSER’s lush and emotional interpretations. Beyond the music, the project also serves as a cultural bridge, with performance videos filmed in breathtaking locations around the world, reinforcing his mission to connect people across borders through the power of melody. The album features a powerful lineup of iconic themes, including What Was I Made For?, Concerto pour la fin d'un amour, Le Vent, Le Cri, the Mission: Impossible theme, Phantom of the Opera’s Music Of The Night, A Time For Us, and Writing’s on the Wall, the Oscar-winning song from Spectre.
The album also features romantic themes from Somewhere in Time and Out of Africa, as well as deeply personal renditions of hidden gems by legendary European composers, including Nino Rota, Francis Lai, Luis Bacalov, and Vangelis.
Anastasia Kobekina – Bach: Cello Suites | September 26, 2025
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Best New Albums Out on September 26, 2025 – NPR Music, All Songs Considered
“One might call these Romantic renditions, were they not rooted in Bach's time by the historical instruments. They are, above all, personal and deeply felt. To use Kobekina's words, the language is ‘abstract, architectural, rational, logical, and at the same time passionate, emotional, and deeply personal to the performer.’ She lives up to that duality in a set of Bach suites that marks an important step for an exciting young performer.” – James Manheim, All Music
“[Anastasia Kobekina] is the perfect artist to both draw out the mysteries at the heart of these suites as well as leave their ultimate interpretations to the listener.” – Kevin Filipski, The Flip Side Blog
Taking on Bach’s set of six suites for solo cello – an Everest for cellists – Anastasia Kobekina aims to open up ‘a shared space for interpretation, mine and yours.’ As with her previous album for Sony Classical, the hugely acclaimed Venice, Kobekina promises a fresh view of familiar music. On this album, she performs with period instruments, bringing a historically informed perspective to these iconic works.
Bach’s Cello Suites represent the music that has accompanied Kobekina the longest and which she has performed most frequently. ‘The dialectic nature of Bach’s suites – their internal dialogue and contradictions – has always fascinated me,’ says Kobekina. ‘The language is abstract, architectural, rational, logical, and at the same time passionate, emotional, and deeply personal to the performer.’
The works themselves represent the baroque composer’s most inwardly concentrated and revered music. Each consists of a prelude and a suite of dance movements. Adding to the work’s iconic status is the mystery behind its creation. No autograph score exists – only a copy, in the hand of Anna Magdalena Bach, the composer’s second wife – while the work’s original recipient remains unknown.
Martin Frost | B.A.C.H. – October 24, 2025
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“Some of the pieces [on B.A.C.H.] are deeply poignant, some are quite jazzy — even playful — and others are more straightforward. Each one brings a fresh arrangement and sound to what is familiar and beloved music” – Stephanie Elkins, Wisconsin Public Radio
Acclaimed Swedish clarinetist and conductor, Martin Fröst releases his brand-new Sony Classical album, B.A.C.H., dedicated to the music of J.S. Bach. Bach’s music has fascinated Fröst throughout his life, being enchanted and beguiled by its intimate form, even at a very young age. Although Bach never encountered the clarinet, this has proved no barrier for Martin Fröst, who has returned to Bach’s music time and time again throughout his illustrious career. In the past, Fröst devised performance programs entitled ‘Beyond All Clarinet History’ (B.A.C.H.), which intertwined Bach’s timeless melodies with new arrangements and he returns to this original idea here with sparkling new interpretations both for clarinet and a variety of other instruments, such as bass, cello, and theorbo that form the linchpin of his new album.
B.A.C.H. was recorded in an extraordinary setting: an old wooden chapel set in the Swedish countryside, purchased, restored, and turned into a studio and concert venue by Fröst himself and which provided the perfect environment for this extraordinary musical adventure which features a range of fascinating artists including bassist Sebastien Dubé, violist Göran Fröst, cellist Anastasia Kobekina, and lutist Jonas Nordberg alongside a special guest appearance by Benny Andersson of ABBA on piano on the closing track.
With this unique, inventive album, Martin Fröst guides the listener through the enduring landscape of Bach's music. It is an album born of moments of challenge, unexpected discovery, and profound collaboration. Its narrative of connection and the sheer joy of the music and of the collective music-making will hopefully resonate keenly with all who listen.
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason | Jane Austen’s Piano – December 5, 2025
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To which books does a busy professional musician turn for relaxation in between the hectic whirl of rehearsals, performances and travel?
In the case of young rising star pianist, Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, it’s the novels of Jane Austen that provide her with an unending source of enjoyment and contentment as well as revelry in the understated humour and social commentary contained therein. So much so that Jeneba started to reflect on references to music in Jane Austen’s works and more broadly on the music of the time. It started a new train of thought for her: known to be a pianist herself, with which music may Jane Austen have been familiar? Which pieces might she have performed privately?
The result of Jeneba’s fascination with the music of Jane Austen’s time is this brand-new recording for solo piano: Jane Austen’s Piano, scheduled for release on December 5, 2025 on Sony Classical, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth on December 16, 1775. Jane Austen’s Piano consists of six pieces overall, mirroring the fact that Jane Austen wrote six full, famous and much-loved novels. The recording includes music hand-picked by Jeneba either because of its specific link to Jane Austen or for its significance to the time. It features music by George Frideric Händel (1732-1809), Joseph Haydn (1685-1759), George Kiallmark (1781-1835) and Johann Baptiste Cramer (1771-1858) plus a bonus Jane Austen-related work composed by Dario Marianelli (b. 1963).