Lute virtuoso Hopkinson Smith is no purist when it comes to Bach. His latest recording is the second of two devoted to Bach’s six suites for solo cello, transcribed here for lute.

Pianist Vassily Primakov confesses to “an emotional and a physical need to have this composer present in my life at all times”… “no matter what!” Find out why he's so passionate about Chopin.

Rachel Barton Pine has assembled a collection of 25 lullabies, arranged for violin and piano, by a formidable range of composers, representing distinct approaches to getting babies to sleep.

Tine Thing Helseth mixes standard trumpet repertoire with arrangements of Rachmaninoff, Falla and Kreisler on her new album. Read more and get a free download.

The Cypress String Quartet takes its name from a series of lush miniatures that a twenty-something (and smitten) Antonin Dvorak dedicated to a much younger pupil.

Daniel Hope has assembled a wide-ranging collection of compositions whose repetitions evoke the recurrent orbits of astral bodies.

"Exiles' Café" focuses on the concept of music written in exile, expressed through short pieces by composers including Chopin, Milhaud, Bartok, Weill and Rachmaninoff.

Violinist Nicola Benedetti plays works by Korngold, Shostakovich and John Williams.

Following up on her last collection of Simon & Garfunkel arrangements, Canadian harpist Valérie Milot turns to solo works by Satie, Debussy, Liszt, Albeniz and more recent 20th century composers.

While never the flashiest pianist around, Emanuel Ax is firmly in his element on his latest recording, featuring sets of variations by Haydn, Beethoven, Schumann and Copland.

As violinist James Ehnes and pianist Andrew Armstrong demonstrate on this new recording, Bartók fashioned some vibrant and colorful arrangements from his folk journeys.

Australian-born Percy Grainger was one of the prime eccentrics of music history. A new recording features a well-programmed sampling of pieces for piano duo.

With awards season heating up, our Album of the Week is an enjoyable collection of classic film themes, by composers such as Shostakovich, Piazzolla, Rota, Herrmann and Morricone, all arranged for cello and piano.

Before 2013’s anniversary celebrations of Wagner, Verdi and Britten get underway, we consider one Debussy recording that nearly slipped under our radar this past year.

In 2012 we've been pleased to spotlight new recordings in our Album of the Week feature. Here are the year's most popular albums according to web traffic on WQXR.org.

Although dozens of fine recordings of Handel's beloved oratorio are available, a new version by Toronto's Tafelmusik has much to offer.

→ Poll: What's Your Favorite Moment in the Messiah?

The French ensemble Arsys Bourgogne presents a collection of six centuries of Christmas songs sung in French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Latin.

Given that guitar ensembles and Christmas music are two surefire sales drivers in classical music, it's a wonder what took Los Romeros so long to release a holiday album.

The French pianist Alexandre Tharaud has compiled 20 pieces that were identified with the legendary venue Le Boeuf sur le Toit including numbers by Ravel, Milhaud, Gershwin, Kern, Porter and others.