Genre: Chamber

The acclaimed The Frahm-Lewis Trio entices with LA MORTE DI DUSSEK. Contrasting the works of Mozart with the lesser-known Ferdinand Ries and Philip Antony Corri, it is a veritable declaration of love to the Classical era. One would be forgiven to think that the only star of this album would be Mozart, with his befittingly performed sonatas. Or perhaps its Beethoven’s student, Ferdinand Ries? After all, he graces this collection with an imposing trio highly reminiscent of his teacher’s early chamber works. A veritable trifecta is achieved with the addition of the album's title piece by Philip Antony Corri, whose legacy intertwines with his sister’s marriage to the once famous composer Jan Ladislav Dussek. A historical oversight, for this premiere recording of his trio, translated as "The Death of Dussek," is a clear focal point of this album — lyrical, beautiful, melodically elaborate, and harmonically innovative, almost as much as the works by the composer it commemorates.

TEXTURES IN CLASSICS from renowned pianist and music scholar Sang-Hie Lee explores the rich musical possibilities offered by the piano. To do so, Lee performs works from some of the seminal composers in Western music including Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms. The album captures Lee’s unique pianism at the height of her maturity as an artist. While contemporary performers often place an outsized emphasis on virtuosic technical skill, Lee’s performances examine the notion of texture in piano music; this ranges from the clean, crisp soundscape of Mozart’s early pianoforte to Beethoven’s exacting technique and lush harmonies. There is little doubt that TEXTURES IN CLASSICS will cement Lee’s legacy as a scholarly-artistic pianist.

Concept albums are few and far between, and rarer yet in classical music. THINGS IN PAIRS, a conceptual as well as a musical beacon by violin/piano duo Audrey Wright and Yundu Wang, fills this gap. The tracks on THINGS IN PAIRS were not just carefully curated – rather, they were selected and sorted with the precision of a steady-handed artist stacking a formidable house of cards. Spanning five centuries, these pieces contrast the classical Joseph Bologne with modern minimalist Arvo Pärt, Baroque virtuoso Biber with the contemporary Rain Worthington, all under the watchful eye of Viennese Classical Beethoven.

Inspired by a transcription by composer Franz Liszt, GÖTTERFUNKEN employs the duality of two grand pianos to reimagine and reinterpret Beethoven’s revered Ninth Symphony. As mother and daughter, pianists Eliane Rodrigues and Nina Smeets infuse their own personal flair with Rodrigues’s arrangement, following the path Beethoven paved while connecting his work to the present day with small instances of improvisation throughout that reflect his original stylistic preferences. Conceptualized in the age of social distancing, GÖTTERFUNKEN was arranged not only to reunite Rodrigues and Smeets through music, but the world as a whole with Beethoven’s magnum opus.

The regions of Austria and Hungary have a rich history of music, art, and culture, where composers such as Beethoven, Artur Schnabel, and Emanuel Moór, among many others, developed their craft and influenced the traditions of European art music. On his debut release on Navona Records, CELLO MUSIC FROM AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, cellist Sam Magill presents works by Beethoven, Schnabel, and Moór that not only expand the cello repertoire and illustrate the cellist’s virtuosity, technical aplomb, conviction, and expressiveness, but enrich our understanding of these composers, their music, and their heritage.

THE KEY OF C-SPAN, Vol. 1 is the premiere release of the digital music collections featuring works from PARMA Recordings' audio catalog which have been used in C-SPAN's programming. PARMA and C-SPAN's collaborative relationship stems back to January 2013, when the two companies teamed up on C-SPAN series First Ladies: Influence & Image, for which PARMA produced a customized theme song. In May 2013, PARMA signed on as C-SPAN's music provider, placing content from its audio catalog across the network's original programming, promotions, and Senate quorum calls.