For the Record, Op. 332: Black Oak Ensemble; Anne Akiko Meyers; Bomsori

May 8, 2025, 6:06 PM · Welcome to "For the Record," Violinist.com's weekly roundup of new releases of recordings by violinists, violists, cellists and other classical musicians. We hope it helps you keep track of your favorite artists, as well as find some new ones to add to your listening! Click on the highlighted links to obtain each album or learn more about the artists.

The Black Oak Ensemble: Aurélien Fort, Desirée Ruhstrat and David Cunliffe.

Dance of the Night Sky
Black Oak Ensemble
Desirée Ruhstrat, violin
David Cunliffe, cello
Aurélien Fort, viola

The Chicago-based Black Oak Ensemble comprises Swiss-American violinist Desirée Ruhstrat, British-born cellist David Cunliffe and French-born violist Aurélien Fort Pederzoli. The idea for this album was born out of a mistaken Google search. During the 2022 World Cup, with Switzerland, Germany, France, and England all in the running — a bit of rivalry emerged. Ruhstrat, searching for British string trio composers, had previously been looking for World Cup scores and accidentally included “soccer” in her query, leading to the discovery of Shirley J. Thompson’s Concerto for Football and Orchestra. A subsequent deep dive into British string trios revealed that most were by women — and a new album concept was born. This album features the world premiere recordings of Shirley J. Thompson's Concerto for Football and Orchestra, Carol J. Jones' bulawayo railway, Grace-Evangeline Mason's Into The Abyss, I Throw Roses, and Errollyn Wallen's Making Hay, as well as works by Judith Weir, Dobrinka Tabakova, Freya Waley-Cohen and Sally Beamish. BELOW: Trailer for the album:

Beloved
Anne Akiko Meyers, violin
Los Angeles Master Chorale, Grant Gershon conducting

Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers' new album "Beloved" consists of the world premiere recordings of Billy Childs’ "In the Arms of the Beloved," Eric Whitacre’s "Seal Lullaby" (2024), and Ola Gjeilo’s "Serenity." All works feature the Los Angeles Master Chorale, conducted by Grant Gershon. "In the Arms of the Beloved," the centerpiece of the album, is a requiem for Childs’ mother, Mable Brown Childs. It conveys a profound message of hope, love and resilience that is especially poignant in the wake of the devastation from the fires that decimated the communities of Altadena and the Palisades, in Childs and Meyers’ home state of California. “That this work is rooted in the very land — Southern California — that endured such hardship adds an extra layer of emotional depth, making it not just an incredible composition, but a collective expression of grief and renewal," Meyers said. "This stunning music by Billy Childs, Ola Gjeilo, and Eric Whitacre feels like a beautiful gift — a way to transform tragedy into something redemptive, to carry the memory of those we’ve lost, and to honor the acts of courage and love that continue to surround us." BELOW: Trailer for the album:

Bruch & Korngold
Bomsori Kim, violin
Thomas Hoppe, piano
Bamberger Symphoniker, Jakub Hruša

Korean violinist Bomsori presents two masterpieces of the violin repertoire: the Bruch and Korngold violin concertos. The album is rounded out with a selection of further pieces by Korngold that are arranged and transcribed for violin, both with orchestra and for violin and piano. BELOW:
Korngold: Much Ado About Nothing, Op. 11, Suite: IV. Intermezzo "Garden Scene":

If you have a new recording you would like us to consider for inclusion in our "For the Record" feature, please e-mail Editor Laurie Niles. Be sure to include the name of your album, a link to it and a short description of what it includes.

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Sparsh Dabholkar

May 10, 2025 at 06:10 PM · Thank you for sharing!

Maurice Gatewood

May 12, 2025 at 06:25 PM · The Shirley J. Thompson piece sounds so cool my first thought was OOOOH I want to play that! Beautifully performed by the Black Oak Ensemble. Thanks for including the video with this story Laurie.

-M

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For the Record, Op. 332: Black Oak Ensemble; Anne Akiko Meyers; Bomsori

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