NYHETER LAWO CLASSICS

John Dowland: The First Booke of Songes presents soprano Berit Norbakken and lutenist Solmund Nystabakk in an intimate and finely crafted interpretation of one of the most influential publications in early music. the album offers a fresh and deeply expressive reading of Dowland’s 1597 collection, a cornerstone of the English lute‑song tradition. 

Three Late Organ Sonatas presents organist Halgeir Schiager in a compelling exploration of three substantial works from the late‑Romantic and early‑modern organ tradition. Released on LAWO Classics, the album showcases Schiager’s authoritative musicianship, architectural clarity, and deep affinity for large‑scale organ repertoire, captured on an instrument capable of revealing the full expressive and dynamic range of these sonatas. 

A significant contribution to the rediscovery of Norwegian late‑Romantic repertoire emerges with Eyvind Alnæs Songs, Vol. 1, featuring mezzo‑soprano Marianne Beate Kielland, soprano Ann‑Helen Moen, and pianist Nils Anders Mortensen. Released on LAWO Classics, the album presents a carefully curated selection from Alnæs’ extensive song output, interpreted by three of Norway’s most respected and stylistically assured artists. 

RE‑CREATION, an innovative new album bringing together Armenian musical heritage, contemporary composition, and exploratory sound worlds. Pianist Mariam Kharatyan, blul and duduk performer Vigen Balasanyan, and vocalist/electronic artist Alessandra Bossa join forces in a project that reimagines tradition through modern artistic expression. 

Mot Sol, a new recording that highlights the ensemble’s radiant sound and artistic depth under the leadership of conductor Vivianne Sydnes. The release captures the choir in a moment of expressive clarity, offering a program centered on light, renewal, and the emotional resonance of Nordic choral tradition. 

Himmelskygge, an ambitious new album uniting mezzo‑soprano Hege Høisæter, pianist Jorunn Marie Bratlie, composer‑performer Kari Telstad Sundet (electronics), and the jazz ensemble Tov a Vot consisting of Vetle Nærø (piano/keys), Theis Jakob (bass) and Ola Grindbakken (drums). 

I Know This Place is a richly textured new release from Alpaca Ensemble, where contemporary chamber music, poetry, and spoken word merge into a vivid exploration of memory, landscape, and belonging. The album brings together a distinguished group of performers whose artistry shapes its distinctive sound world. 

A vibrant new sound is buzzing into the Nordic folk landscape with the release of La Humla Suse, an imaginative collaboration between Trio no Treble and accordionist–composer Ronny Kjøsen. The album captures the warmth, drive, and joyful unpredictability of the bumblebee that inspired its title—music that hums, dances, and takes flight. 

Lebensfries by Icelandic composer Hafliði Hallgrímsson is set for release, performed by the acclaimed Norwegian ensemble Ssens Trio. Written as a string trio for violin, viola and cello, Lebensfries stands as one of Hallgrímsson’s most intimate and reflective chamber works, and is dedicated to Ssens Trio, for whom the piece was commissioned. 

 

 

With Personal Best, Norwegian composer Eivind Buene presents a new work written for Trio Accanto that blurs the boundaries between composition, performance, and reflection. The title suggests competition and measurement, but Personal Best turns the idea inward. Rather than striving for virtuosity in the conventional sense, the work investigates what it means to perform at one’s limits—artistically, physically, and mentally. The instrumental writing moves between sharply etched gestures and moments of suspended clarity, creating a constantly shifting terrain in which sound, text, and presence interact. The result is a work that feels at once rigorously constructed and strikingly immediate. 

Lux Manifesta is a release featuring orchestral works by Herman Vogt, performed by the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Aivis Greters. The album takes its title from Vogt’s large-scale orchestral work Lux Manifesta, which is the central work on the recording. 

Alwynne Pritchard’s new work, Institutions of the Flesh, is a bold and immersive music-theatre work that explores the human body as a site of memory, ritual, and resistance. Created in collaboration with the Trondheim-based Alpaca Ensemble, the piece blends voice, cello, piano, and electronics in a raw and poetic meditation on love, labour, and devotion. Drawing on texts by William Blake, Heiner Müller and the composer. The work unfolds as a sonic and physical journey through the structures—both intimate and institutional—that shape our lives. 

The album Earth Walker brings oboist Marion Walker together with the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Eivind Gullberg Jensen in a striking new recording that highlights some of the most distinctive voices in Nordic contemporary music. the album presents a powerful and atmospheric program centered around Jan Erik Mikalsen’s monumental work Bois, alongside music by Lars‑Erik Larsson and Nils Henrik Asheim. 

The new recording Mass for Christmas Day presents the early‑music ensemble Currentes in a vivid and deeply informed interpretation of the medieval and early‑Renaissance repertoire traditionally associated with the Christmas liturgy. The album offers a richly woven musical journey through the structure of the Christmas Day Mass, performed with the ensemble’s characteristic blend of historical insight and contemporary expressive immediacy. 

Bragernes kirkes solistensemble stands at the heart of Drammensklang, a new recording that captures the richness and vitality of contemporary Norwegian church music. Under the direction of Jørn Fevang, the ensemble is joined by baritone Halvor F. Melien, soprano Julia Gusek, organist Jon Martin Høie, and trumpet soloist Brynjar Kolbergsrud, supported by a group of exceptionally fine string players whose warmth and clarity give the album its distinctive sonic character. 

Carl Nielsen: Symphonies No. 2 & No. 4, with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra conducted by the distinguished Latvian maestro Andris Poga highlights the orchestra’s dedication to presenting Nordic symphonic masterpieces to audiences worldwide, celebrating Nielsen’s distinctive voice as one of Denmark’s greatest composers. 

 

 

Britten’s seminal Suites for Solo Cello are a 20th century analogue to J.S. Bach’s landmark Suites for Solo Cello. All three of these pieces were written for, and dedicated to, the Russian titan of the cello, Mstislav Rostropovich. Coincidentally, Amalie Stalheim has recently been loaned a G.B. Guadagnini cello that was once owned by Mstislav Rostropovich. While she plays an F. Ruggieri cello from 1687 on this recording, Amalie makes her performance debut on the historic Guadagnini 1783 instrument in November 2025. 

 

 

A shimmering collection of Nordic Christmas songs and winter-themed works finds new life in Nordic Noël, a deeply evocative collaboration between mezzo-soprano Marianne Beate Kielland and pianist Nils Anders Mortensen. This album offers a contemplative and poetic soundscape, weaving together beloved carols, lesser-known gems, and art songs from Norway. 

 

 

Musical Icons is a bold and contemplative journey into the spiritual and expressive potential of the classical guitar. Performed by Norwegian guitarist Ole Martin Huser-Olsen, this album brings together three contemporary Nordic composers whose works explore sacred themes through striking musical language and intimate textures. 

Bizzarrie is the latest recording from Norway’s acclaimed baroque ensemble Oslo Circles. Known for their inventive programming and expressive freedom, Oslo Circles now invites listeners into a world of musical eccentricity, theatrical flair, and virtuosic brilliance. 

 

 

Mozart: Viennese Quartets marks the final volume in the Engegård Quartet’s ambitious and deeply personal journey through Mozart’s complete string quartets. The six works featured here—K.168 to K.173—were composed in Vienna in 1773, a period of artistic growth and experimentation for the young composer. These quartets reveal Mozart’s increasing command of form and texture, blending elegance with emotional complexity and a bold sense of invention. 

 

 

Oslo Kammerakademi returns with a compelling new recording, Symphonies for Harmoniemusik – Mozart · Haydn · Beethoven, offering a fresh perspective on three iconic symphonic works through the lens of historical wind ensemble arrangements. This album explores the rich tradition of Harmoniemusik, where orchestral masterpieces were transcribed for wind octet, contrabass, and timpani, making them accessible to smaller ensembles and intimate settings. 

 

 

What happens when the vast machinery of the symphony is entrusted to just seven musicians? At first, the idea seems absurd. Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel was written for one of the largest orchestras of its time; Ravel’s La Valse is an apocalyptic dance that normally takes every inch of a concert stage to contain. Even Prokofiev’s deceptively light Classical Symphony relies on the precision of a full ensemble. How can all that thunder and color possibly fit into the hands of a string quartet, double bass, accordion, and piano? That is precisely the provocation behind Boye’s Café Orchestra’s new album. 

Norwegian harpist Sunniva Rødland releases When She Awakens, a bold and immersive solo album that reimagines the harp as a vessel for myth, abstraction, and modern storytelling. Featuring works by some of the most visionary composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, the album invites listeners into a dreamlike soundscape where ritual and resonance intertwine. 

 

 

Evening Hymn brings together soprano Berit Norbakken, violinist and artistic leader Henning Kraggerud, and the Arctic Philharmonic in a contemplative and emotionally rich journey through the Baroque repertoire. the recording presents a carefully curated selection of arias and sacred works that explore themes of twilight, longing, and spiritual introspection. 

 

 

"Echoes", a new album featuring Norwegian trumpet soloist Tine Thing Helseth, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, and conductor Petr Popelka. The recording presents trumpet concertos by Alexander Arutiunian, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Mieczysław Weinberg, along with Arutiunian’s Theme and Variations. 

 

 

A powerful new orchestral recording featuring the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vasily Petrenko, performing Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 7 in C-sharp minor, Op. 131 and Nikolai Myaskovsky’s Sinfonietta in A major, Op. 68, No. 2. This album offers a compelling journey through two distinct yet complementary works from the Soviet era. Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 7, his final completed symphony, is a deeply lyrical and introspective piece composed in 1952. Often interpreted as a farewell to life and creativity, the work is rich in melodic beauty and emotional nuance, balancing nostalgia with quiet defiance. In contrast, Myaskovsky’s Sinfonietta, written in 1945, radiates neoclassical charm and clarity, showcasing his gift for elegant orchestration and structural finesse. 

 

 

Nordic Unrest is a striking new solo piano album by the Norwegian pianist Oda Voltersvik. This deeply expressive recording explores the dramatic landscapes and folkloristic characters of the Nordic region. The composers Edvard Grieg and Atli Heimir Sveinsson are separated by a century but united in their ability to combine unrest with musical poetry. 

 

 

In this elegant and expressive album, Nils Anders Mortensen pays homage to Joseph Haydn, one of the most inventive and influential composers of the Classical era. Through a carefully selected program of keyboard works, Mortensen explores the emotional depth, structural clarity, and playful spirit that define Haydn’s music—bringing a fresh and deeply personal interpretation to each piece. 

 

 

Cantus – Works by Egil Hovland, a compelling new album that pays tribute to one of Norway’s most visionary composers. The recording features acclaimed organist Lars Notto Birkeland, renowned percussionist Eirik Raude and Forsvarets stabsmusikkorps (The Norwegian Armed Forces Band), conducted by Peter Szilvay.