FEBRUARY 6, 2026
Márton Illés, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Nicolas Altstaedt, Münchener Kammerorchester, Clemens Schuldt, Bas Wiegers
Release day: January 2026
The Budapest-born, Germany-based composer Márton Illés is one of the most prominent voices of his generation in contemporary music, known for a highly physical and exploratory approach to sound. His works have been commissioned by leading ensembles and orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, and he has collaborated closely with institutions such as the SWR Experimentalstudio and IRCAM. Bowed Spaces brings together a group of recent works that explore the interaction between solo instruments, chamber orchestra, and live electronics, reflecting Illés’s interest in spatial perception and instrumental gesture.
The album features long-standing collaborators Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Nicolas Altstaedt, for whom Illés has written major concertante works. Their performances, alongside the Münchener Kammerorchester, place the focus on the intense dialogue between soloist and ensemble that lies at the centre of Illés’s musical language, combining technical precision with a strong sense of immediacy and experimentation.
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FEBRUARY 3, 2026
Renaud Capuçon | Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonatas & Partitas
Release day: January 23, 2026
In this new album, Renaud Capuçon records Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, a cornerstone of the instrument’s repertoire and a lifelong point of reference for the French violinist. Capuçon first encountered these works through recordings owned by his parents and began studying them early on, inspired by figures such as Yehudi Menuhin. Although he had considered recording the cycle several times, he chose to wait, approaching the project as a personal milestone linked to his 50th birthday.
Rather than presenting the album as a definitive statement, Capuçon frames it as a snapshot of his current relationship with the music, shaped by decades of performance experience. The recording highlights the full range of technical and expressive demands posed by these works — from architectural clarity in the fugues to lyrical concentration in the slow movements — combining virtuosity with an introspective, carefully measured approach to Bach’s solo writing.
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FEBRUARY 1, 2026
Claire Huangci I Piano Heroines (Fanny Mendelssohn, Amy Beach, Clara Schumann, Florence Price) Alpha Classics. Release day: January 30, 2026
In Piano Heroines, Claire Huangci brings together piano works by Fanny Hensel, Clara Schumann, Amy Beach, and Florence Price, four composers associated with the Romantic tradition whose music reflects distinct aesthetic and cultural backgrounds. The programme combines character pieces, excerpts from larger piano cycles, and the Romanze from Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto, offering a varied overview rather than a complete survey.
Huangci, who has collaborated with Alpha Classics since the 2024–25 season, frames the album as a personal and artistic exploration, linking the German and American composers featured here to her own transatlantic background. Recorded in July 2025 in Hannover, Piano Heroines presents these works in a curated sequence that highlights their individuality while situating them within a shared historical context.
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