For the Record, Op. 350: Joshua Brown, Karisa Chiu, The Kanneh-Masons, Ember

September 11, 2025, 5:41 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.

Violinist Joshua Brown. Photo by Neda Navaee.

Schumann: Violin Sonatas & Fantasy
Joshua Brown, violin
Paolo Giacometti, piano

"The struggle that Schumann so openly expresses through his music continues to bring me solace and companionship in difficult times," said violinist Joshua Brown, who presents his first recording after winning Second Prize at the 2024 Queen Elizabeth Competition. Brown also is a 2025 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient. "I hope that you can find similar comfort in it, and enjoy the perspective that Paolo and I have brought to this music that we both love." BELOW: Schumann Violin Sonata No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 105: I. Mit leidenschaftlichem Ausdruck.

Home
Karisa Chiu, violin
Zhu Wang, piano

Drawing from her Chicago upbringing, Korean-Chinese heritage, and reflections during the pandemic, violinist Karisa Chiu explores the ideas of belonging and the meaning of "home." The album includes five works: Jean Sibelius’s Five Pieces, Claude Debussy’s Violin Sonata, Augusta Read Thomas’s "Incantation for Solo Violin," Cyril Scott’s "Lotus Land" (arr. Fritz Kreisler), and Gabriel Fauré’s Violin Sonata No. 1. "Upon hearing the word ‘home,’ each person will recall something different — a community, a person, a city, a culture, a memory," Chiu writes in her personal note for the booklet. "This album is not only a story of what home means to me, but an invitation for you to reflect on the things in your life that define home." Chiu was a finalist in Cedille Records’ inaugural Emerging Artist Competition (2021), and this album represents the label’s ongoing commitment to supporting and elevating Chicago’s most promising emerging talent. BELOW: Trailer for the album.

River of Music
The Kanneh-Masons

From their Welsh grandmother following love across the sea to Sierra Leone, to their Antiguan grandad passing on his own dashed hopes of a musical career, this album celebrates the musical threads of the Kanneh-Mason family. Surrounding Schubert’s Trout Quintet, which they all grew up playing, are new arrangements of classical favorites most loved by their grandparents, Welsh folk songs, and spirituals, performed and often arranged by the seven siblings. The album is pulled together with a story by writer Konya, called "Grandad’s Dream." BELOW: Piano Quintet in A major (“The Trout Quintet”) iv. Andantino – Allegretto.

Birds of Paradise
Ember
Emily Levin, harp
Julia Choi, violin
Christine Lamprea, cello

This debut album by the trio Ember directly confronts the historical stereotyping of the harp as a "feminine" domestic instrument. As Emily Levin explains in the album notes, while the harp was once "considered suitable for the domestic sphere,” its transition to the concert hall was largely championed by male performers playing works by male composers, often overlooking the revolutionary contributions of women performers and composers. The album features three works: French harpist and composer Henriette Renié's groundbreaking Trio in B-flat Major (1901), the first major composition written for harp, violin, and cello; the world premiere recording of Angélica Negrón’s "Ave del paraíso" (2023); and the first recording of Reena Esmail’s "Saans" (2017) in this new arrangement for harp, violin, and cello created for Ember. BELOW: Angélica Negrón: Ave del paraíso.

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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Replies

Christian Lesniak

September 11, 2025 at 10:49 PM · Sweet, two of my favs! Joshua Brown got 2nd at QE last year, but his Bartok 2nd Concerto at the Indianapolis Competition is a really special rendition - absolutely lyrical. Karisa Chiu played wonderfully at the Menuhin Competition and her graduation recital from Curtis is fantastic. She has a really wonderful sound and lyrical sensibility.

I don't buy a lot of classical cds these days, but I'll have to check them both out.

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