April’s New Releases 2026
6/5/2026
Paavo Järvi releases Schubert: Symphonies No.5 & No.6
On 10 April 2026, Paavo Järvi and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen released Schubert: Symphonies No.5 & No.6, the second volume in their ongoing complete Schubert symphony cycle, on Sony Classical.
Following the first volume of the cycle, selected as an Editor’s Choice by Gramophone, this new release continues the exploration of Franz Schubert’s symphonic output, focusing on the transition from Classical models toward an emerging Romantic voice. Gramophone praised the first volume for bringing “their wonderfully collegial rapport and virtuosity to bear in a beautiful Schubert recording.”
The album brings together Symphonies No.5 and No.6, composed between 1817 and 1818, when Schubert was still in his early twenties and refining his approach to large-scale orchestral form.
Schubert: Symphonies No.5 & No.6 was featured in April 2026 by Crescendo Magazine in its selection of new releases, highlighting the recording as a vibrant contribution to Schubert’s symphonic repertoire.
Listen and share: Spotify • Apple Music • YouTube.
Buy/stream via the label: Sony Classical (Apple Music Classical)
Additional feature: Press coverage
“A vibrant immersion into Schubert’s symphonic world, exploring with exquisite finesse the luminous contours of Symphonies Nos.5 and 6.”
– Crescendo Magazine, April 2026
Release of ‘Blackbirds: Music from the 1960s’ with Nicolas Altstaedt
On 10 April, cellist Nicolas Altstaedt releases Blackbirds: Music from the 1960s, a new album recorded with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Maxim Emelyanychev, on Alpha Classics.
Framed around music of the 1960s, Blackbirdsexplores a decade often associated with cultural and social upheaval, presented here as a period of radical and emotionally charged sonic experimentation. At the centre of the album is Grażyna Bacewicz’s Second Concerto for Cello, alongside works by Benjamin Britten, Sándor Veress and Morton Feldman. The album concludes with an intimate live recording of John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s Blackbird, recorded with lutenist and frequent collaborator Thomas Dunford in a church in Portugal.
Already attracting warm critical response, the album has been praised as ‘a passionate plea for risk‑taking and curiosity’, with reviewers highlighting Altstaedt’s intellectual freedom and the programme’s striking coherence and originality. One review notes that Altstaedt ‘presents a programme that is intelligently conceived and sounds entirely different’, revealing the 1960s as a decade of ‘radical, highly emotional sonic exploration’ (Dirk Schauß, Online Merker).
Works for Violin and Orchestra, Sayaka Shoji’s debut album was originally released in 2000, shortly after Shoji won the Paganini International Violin Competition in 1999 as the youngest winner in its history. Twenty-six years on, the album is now available on all digital platforms.
The recording features Paganini’s Violin Concerto No.1 alongside works by Chausson, Waxman, and Milstein, showcasing both dazzling virtuosity and lyrical beauty. Shoji is joined by Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Zubin Mehta, who recognised her exceptional talent.
“Sayaka possesses wonderful talent and musical aptitude. Above all, what is most wonderful is that she plays with her whole heart and soul,” says Mehta.
Shoji continues her close relationship with Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, having collaborated with them in 2022 and 2025, with further performances scheduled for summer 2026.
Ava Bahari and Santtu-Matias Rouvali — Sibelius: Violin Concerto — Lemminkäinen Suite
Joining forces with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and former Chief Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Ava Bahari records Jean Sibelius’ famous Violin Concerto – for Bahari, a work that ‘sounds like home’.
Included on Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice, this record is not the first time Bahari, Rouvali and the orchestra have performed this work, having previously collaborated in 2025 as part of Bahari’s Artist in Residence with the orchestra.
This album, which also features Sibelius’ innovative symphonic tone poems, Four Legends of Lemminkäinen, released on 24 April 2026 under the independent classical music label, Alpha Classics, and is available as physical CD and available streaming platforms.
Gramophone – “Hugely impressed by Ava Bahari here. She is truly a storyteller… Nothing is ‘incidental’, every note has a purpose.”
The Guardian – “Bahari is an enthralling storyteller, investing every phrase with musical intention.”
★★★★
Sean Shibe’s latest album, Vesper
Released on Friday, 17 April. Since its release, it has received an exceptionally positive response, including being featured on the cover of the May issue of Gramophone Magazine.
All of the repertoire has been recorded for the first time by Shibe on this release.
The music video for Sleep Song was also selected as Gramophone’s “Video of the Day” and is available to watch on YouTube (duration: 1’26’’).
Vesper is available on Spotify and Apple Music, as well as on Pentatone’s official website.
Alto Appassionato features violist Timothy Ridout and pianist Jonathan Ware
“Accomplished violist Timothy Ridout and pianist Jonathan Ware add bristling imagination and rich emotional layers to music by Franck, Fauré and more.”
– The Guardian, April 2026
Alto Appassionato features violist Timothy Ridout and pianist Jonathan Ware in a programme of French Romantic music by composers including Gabriel Fauré, César Franck and George Enescu. Highlighting the viola’s lyrical, vocal quality, the album combines original works with Ridout’s transcriptions, including a warm and expressive arrangement of Franck’s Violin Sonata for viola and piano. Released by Harmonia Mundi, the recording captures the elegance and passion of the French Romantic tradition.
