New Classical Albums from Ketty Nez, Matthew Arndt, Josh Getman Out Now
Joseph Summer's POEMS OF DEVOTION features horn player Radek Baborák and violinist Josef Špaček.
New classical music releases arrived on August 21st, 2026 from Navona, Ravello, Big Round, Albany, and MSR Classics, spanning new works from Joseph Summer, St. Charles Singers, Josh Getman, Floyds Row, Heidi Louise Williams, Ketty Nez, and Matthew Arndt.
ONLY THE PATH REMAINS
Ketty Nez, composer
Guillaume Combet, violin
Lawrence Stomberg, cello
Trio Perruches
Robyn Julyan, violin
David Short, cello
Ketty Nez, piano
On ONLY THE PATH REMAINS, composer and pianist Ketty Nez explores her heritage and musical roots, weaving together the arts and culture of Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, and North Macedonia to create a vivid portrait of family history. Written for a small chamber ensemble of piano, violin, and cello, the two works on the album provide an intimate and poignant look into Nez's life and background.
AMPLE LAMPS
Matthew Arndt, composer
Playing off of an image from the creation story in Genesis, Matthew Arndt's AMPLE LAMPS explores three symbolic lights that guide us: our mystery, humanity, and integrity. Bermuda, April 28, 1964, a bassoon-and-piano transcription of a whale song, embodies a connection to that which lies beyond our ken, like the stars. Sonata for Violin and Piano, bursting with expressivity, embodies human connection to our loved ones and communities, like the lesser light to rule the night. Lestovka for bassoon and piano, modeled on a prayer rope, embodies an inner connectivity, like the greater light to rule the day.
CHASING GHOSTS
Josh Getman, composer
For Josh Getman, creativity begets creativity, with a single piece of work evolving over time and influencing itself. On CHASING GHOSTS, the composer embarks on a journey of rediscovery and improvisational creativity, transforming his original String Quartet—itself an exploration and recontextualization of the third movement of Beethoven String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor—into an experimental work of electronic resampling. In doing so, Getman shows that even works from the past can continue to grow as time goes on.
POEMS OF DEVOTION
Joseph Summer, composer
Radek Baborák, horn
Josef Špaček, violin
Miroslav Sekera, piano
Renowned for his musical settings of The Bard's vast output of work, composer Joseph Summer extends his ear to a wider chorus of myth and memory with a collection of classical chamber music exploring Shakespearean themes, echoes of Greek myth, stories encapsulated in art, and more on POEMS OF DEVOTION. Featuring hornist Radek Baborák, violinist Josef Špaček, and pianist Miroslav Sekera, this Navona Records release unveils the world premiere recordings of several original works, showcasing Summer's command over the intersection of classical music and time-honored texts, and his ability to musically revitalize fascinating artistic marvels from a bygone era with modern mastery and verve.
DIORAMA BRASIL
Heidi Louise Williams, piano
Ney Fialkow, piano
Acclaimed American and Brazilian pianists Heidi Louise Williams and Ney Fialkow present a stunningly vast collection of seminal solo piano compositions by Brazilian composers on DIORAMA BRASIL, also featuring two world premiere recordings of new four-hand piano works by André Mehmari and Vagner Cunha, commissioned by Fialkow and Williams. As one might expect, the European, Amerindian, and African influences abound, In the works by Mignone, Guarnieri, Gnattali, Santoro, Fernandez, and Guerra-Peixe, these influences meld into a heady blend; they also resonate in the Mehmari but are strikingly absent in the Cunha, reflecting diverging contemporary Brazilian trends. Dazzling with percussive elements, loose on convention, rich in color, these works bear witness to a vibrant musical legacy almost unknown outside of Brazil. Williams and Fialkow solidify themselves as brilliant ambassadors in their spellbinding performances.
THE CARLISLE SESSIONS
Floyds Row
Emily Noël, soprano
Asako Takeuchi, violin
George Lykogiannis, accordion
Chris Ferebee, cittern, guitar & mandolin
Andrew Arceci, viola da gamba & upright bass
George Lernis, percussion
Take a trip back in time with Floyds Row, a folk collective who seeks the old, forgotten, and obscure. On THE CARLISLE SESSIONS, the group unearths and brushes the dust off of musical relics and freshens them anew with contemporary folk-classical flair, reviving five musical tales that tell epic tales of swashbuckling, recount the tale of Robin Hood, and inspired George Washington to cut a rug.
DANCING TREE: CHORAL LANDSCAPES
Benjamin Britten, composer
Claude Debussy, composer
Charles Forsberg, composer
Jake Runestad, composer
John Rutter, composer
Charles Villiers Stanford, composer
St. Charles Singers
Jeff Hunt, conductor
Deb Stevenson, executive director
DANCING TREE presents the St. Charles Singers, conducted by Jeff Hunt, in a program ranging from early 20th-century masterworks to contemporary pieces. The title work, written for St. Charles Singers, is Sir John Rutter's Dancing Tree, an eight-song cycle drawn from the poetry of Charles Causley, whose verse blends folklore, nature, and emotional directness. The program proceeds with Benjamin Britten's Hymn to St Cecilia, Op. 27, Claude Debussy's Trois Chansons, Charles Villiers Stanford's The Blue Bird, Jake Runstad's Cello Songs, and Charles Forsberg's Buttercup Days — the latter two, written for the St. Charles Singers. Cellist Jean Hatmaker, harpist Erin Freund, and pianist Stephen Uhl support the choir with steady, flowing musicality and verve.
