Hyperion Records

Someone get that man a drink! 🥃 A fantastical passage of sheer sonority brings Scriabin's vibrating Piano Sonata No 5 to its unorthodox close, performed unmistakably, of course, by Marc-André Hamelin.

Andrey Gugnin, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Igor Stravinsky - Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker & Sleeping Beauty Suites; Stravinsky: Firebird & Petrushka Listen to Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker & Sleeping Beauty Suites; Stravinsky: Firebird & Petrushka by Andrey Gugnin, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Igor Stravinsky.

We're delighted it's our Record of the Month for October.

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The suites in question are drawn from 'The Nutcracker', 'Sleeping Beauty', 'Petrushka' and 'The Firebird'. All make formidable technical demands of the player, demands which are easily met by Andrey. Gramophone magazine concurs, 'it's all but impossible to get enough').

Benefiting from 'stunningly precise fingerwork' (BBC Record Review), the virtuoso piano transcriptions on Andrey Gugnin's new album of Russian ballet suites take the listener on a thrilling ride through four nineteenth- and twentieth-century favourite ballet scores.

Found Objects / Sound Objects Go to Found Objects / Sound Objects.

"Despite these inspirations, the piece is best described and experienced as a free fantasy."—Marc-André Hamelin

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"'Stuck on Stella' dates from 1979 and, in the composer's own words, it was written mostly to please. Martirano recalls being influenced by Carl Maria von Weber's 'Konzertstück' for piano and orchestra as well as by a passage from Dante's 'Divine Comedy'."

YouTube video by Hyperion Records Wood (C): Expectans Expectavi, 'This Sanctuary Of My Soul' - The Choir Of Trinity College Cambridge

From The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge's forthcoming album, 'Let all the world in every corner sing'.

Watch the video 🎥 youtu.be/l17pY00yIMQ?...

'Expectans expectavi' is the high-water mark of Wood's Romantic church music. Its intense, yearning diatonic language, epitomized by the opening wistful lyricism of the organ, the rich dominant-thirteenth harmony and the plaintive opening for the choir, is deeply memorable.

Fernando Lopes-Graça, Luís Duarte - Lopes-Graça: 11 Glosas, LG 127: No. 4, Do romance de Sta Iria de Mação Listen to Lopes-Graça: 11 Glosas, LG 127: No. 4, Do romance de Sta Iria de Mação by Fernando Lopes-Graça, Luís Duarte.

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The first single from Luís Duarte's album dedicated to Portuguese composer Fernando Lopes-Graça: a beguiling but somewhat sorrowful 'Romance of Santa Iria of Mação', one of 11 'Glosses' on traditional Portuguese songs.

Dvořák conjures theme after theme of ravishing beauty in the finale of his beloved Cello Concerto in B minor, here performed with an expressive panache characteristic of Steven Isserlis, alongside the Berliner Philharmoniker and Alan Gilbert 🎻

Marc-André Hamelin - Hamelin: Hexensabbat Listen to Hamelin: Hexensabbat by Marc-André Hamelin.

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"My own piece is called 'Hexensabbat', which roughly translates as 'witches sabbath'. It ended up being probably the most violent piece I've ever written, especially the ending. We just finished recording it a couple of hours ago, and, it was FUN!"—Marc-André Hamelin

YouTube video by Hyperion Records Hamelin: Hexensabbat - Marc-André Hamelin

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"The less said about my own 'Hexensabbat' the better. (While practising it, I sometimes wished I could avail myself of some potion from a bubbling cauldron to help me play it better!) And for the very ending, the horror of it, I make no apologies."—Marc-André Hamelin

Like a magician with a piano, Stephen Hough is spellbinding in this wonderful excerpt from Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 3 with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, back in 1993 🪄

"And for the very ending, the horror of it, I make no apologies."—Marc-André Hamelin

Coming soon … 👀

Oh wow! Hamelin is one of our most virtuosic pianists and the idea of him taking on some of Zappa's knottiest music is too intriguing to resist.

Frank Zappa, Marc-André Hamelin - Zappa: Ruth is Sleeping (Arr. Askin for Piano) Listen to Zappa: Ruth is Sleeping (Arr. Askin for Piano) by Frank Zappa, Marc-André Hamelin.

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"But since the composer himself sanctioned playing it as a solo work as well … how could I resist? It's very demanding, but worth the effort in conquering its hurdles."—Marc-André Hamelin

"'Ruth is sleeping' began life as a purely electronic creation. In 1993, when organising the legendary Yellow Shark concert(s) for the Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt, Zappa asked Ali N Askin to arrange the work for two pianists to play, either at one or two pianos."

Herbert Howells, IKON, David Hill - Howells: King David & Sine nomine Listen to Howells: King David & Sine nomine by Herbert Howells, IKON, David Hill.

Ikon and David Hill's new album, 'Sine nomine & other secular choral works', is out now.

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The work represents a development in Howells's harmonic writing, but the influence of Tudor music remains strong in the flowing melodic lines reminiscent of Renaissance polyphony.

'Sine nomine' was written for two soloists, a chorus and an orchestra for the 1922 Three Choirs Festival at the suggestion of Edward Elgar. In Farrington’s arrangement, this orchestral rhapsody transforms into a chamber work, achieving a new-found intimacy.

Herbert Howells, IKON, David Hill - Howells: King David & Sine nomine Listen to Howells: King David & Sine nomine by Herbert Howells, IKON, David Hill.

This album offers a welcome introduction to these, including two works newly arranged for this recording by pianist Iain Farrington. 'Howells: Sine nomine & other secular choral works' is out now.

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For many listeners, Herbert Howells's choral output will always be associated with his sizeable and significant contribution to the Anglican tradition, but his settings of secular texts should not be overlooked.

A memorable performance—now over a decade old!—of the inimitable Takács Quartet tackling the most famous among Haydn's six quartets of 1793, the G minor, whose 'bouncing' finale theme has given rise to its nickname of the 'Rider' 🎻

Now, over 2,000 recordings later, we'd like to send our best wishes to the artists, producers and engineers who have worked with us over the years, to our colleagues in this industry, and to YOU, our loyal customers, without whom we would not be where we are today. Thank you! ♥️

We're delighted to send a Happy Birthday to … us, in our 45th year! 1st October 2025 marks 45 years to the day since an advertisement appeared in Gramophone magazine.

'Pleasure and Pain': Howells's secular choral music Liner notes from a new recording by IKON and David Hill

'Discovering Howells's secular choral music': essential reading ahead of this week’s new release from Ikon and David Hill, by musicologist (and the album's booklet writer) Tom Edney 👉 tomedney.substack.com/p/pleasure-a...