February’s New Album Releases 2025
5/3/2025
Solo - Timothy Ridout
On 21 February, Timothy Ridout saw his first solo album released by Harmonia Mundi. The album, Solo, features work by both Baroque giants as well as contemporary counterparts.
The release has been named as Album of the Week by both Presto Music and RBB.
Phantasmagoria — Lise de la Salle
Lise de la Salle releases her new solo album at Naïve Classique on 14 February. The Phantasmagoria is dedicated to Liszt’s renowned piano pieces: Piano Sonata, Cantique d’amour and Réminiscences de Don Juan.
Pulcinella — Gustavo Gimeno
Celebrating Stravinsky’s historic connection with TSO, a new album featuring composer’s two neoclassical masterpieces, Pulcinella (complete ballet) and the Divertimento from Le Baiser de la Fée , alongside Curiosity, Genius, and the Search for Petula Clark, a contemporary TSO-commissioned work by Canadian composer Kelly-Marie Murphy is released on Harmonia Mundi label on 14 February .
Recorded in February 2024 under the baton of Gustavo Gimeno, the album also features celebrated soloists Isabel Leonard (mezzo-soprano), Paul Appleby (tenor), and Derek Welton(bass-baritone).
Stravinsky’s relationship with the TSO is as historic as it is personal. The orchestra first performed his work, Petrushka, in 1934 under Sir Ernest MacMillan. In 1937, Stravinsky himself conducted the TSO in The Firebird and Petrushka. To date, the TSO has performed over 575 concerts featuring Stravinsky’s works, solidifying his place as a cornerstone of its repertoire.
Reflecting on the recording, Gustavo Gimeno shared: “Pulcinella holds a special place in the TSO’s history: Stravinsky himself conducted the orchestra in a performance of the ballet suite in 1967, marking his final public conducting appearance. It feels extraordinary to return to this work — this time in its full form — while celebrating Stravinsky’s musical ingenuity and the orchestra’s legacy.”
Stravinsky’s Pulcinella is now available worldwide. For more information about the TSO’s recordings, visit TSO.CA/Recordings.
Camille Saint-Saens: Complete Concertos – new Talents Edition #1 — Leia Zhu
28 February marks the release of Leia Zhu’s debut album Camille Saint-Saens: Complete Concertos – new Talents Edition #1. Recorded with ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and conductor Howard Griffiths, it is now available from Berlin Classics in all formats including hard disc, digital download and via all main streaming services.
The first in a planned series of eight albums dedicated to the solo concertos of Saint-Saens, this album showcases and celebrates the extraordinary capabilities of one of today’s most promising young musicians.
Mozart: Sonatas for Fortepiano and Violin K.301, K.378, K.454 — Sayaka Shoji
On 14 February, violinist Sayaka Shoji and her longstanding musical partner Gianluca Cascioli released a “historically informed” cycle of the complete violin and piano sonatas by Mozart on period instruments from Arcana. The second instalment album comprises Mozart’s sonatas K301, K378 and K454.
Ein Deutsches Requiem — Johanna Wallroth
Johanna Wallroth features on the latest Chandos release in Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem with Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Choirs, and under the baton of Edward Gardner, which was recorded live in March 2024 at Grieghallen.
Bach: Goldberg Variations — Nevermind Ensemble
Baroque quartet Nevermind released their fourth album with Alpha Classics on 7 February, a new arrangement of Bach’s Goldberg Variations for flute, violin, viola da gamba and harpsichord/positive organ.
