- The Works
UPDATED PLAYLIST
The Works
This week we begin with the touching <i>Adoration</i> by Black American composer Florence Price (1887-1953), performed by the Isidore String Quartet in a track from their forthcoming album <i>Adorations</i>. The players, all graduates from New York’s Juilliard School, tell Apple Music Classical that Price’s piece “embodies a restrained, meditative character, shaped by her engagement with church music, spirituals, and late-Romantic musical language”. Originally written for organ, <i>Adoration</i> has become a favourite among several leading soloists and instrumental groups, and its serene yet passionately expressive character comes to the fore in Samuel Araya’s fine arrangement for string quartet. “Its sincerity and intimate expression are what made us fall in love with the piece,” says the Isidore Quartet. “<i>Adoration</i> offers an authentic glimpse into Price’s expressions of love, admiration and reverence, speaking through a prayer-like intimacy rooted in grace. In the context of the album, it serves as a gentle closing, offering the listener space to reflect, breathe, and experience a sense of peace.” The Works features the best of the very latest classical releases. We regularly update this playlist, so if you find a piece of music or a performance you particularly love, don’t forget to add it to your library.
The Isidore String Quartet tops this week’s new classical releases with music by Florence Price. - Track by Track: Lang Lang on Piano Book Highlights
IN THEIR WORDS
Track by Track: Lang Lang on Piano Book Highlights
<i>Track by Track is a dynamic way for an artist to guide you through one of their albums. Exclusive audio commentary features personal insights and invaluable context, bringing you closer than ever to the music.</i> Lang Lang, arguably the most famous pianist in the world, has devoted much of his career to inspiring the next generation of pianists through the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, his Piano Academy series of music tutorials, and the two volumes of his <i>Piano Book</i>, released in 2019 and 2025. The original <i>Piano Book</i>, an album of piano pieces, all performed by the pianist himself, was designed to inspire beginners in their quest to discover exciting repertoire. 2025’s <i>Piano Book 2</i> built on its success, with pieces designed to take students to the next level. “With the first <i>Piano Book</i>, I wanted to encourage beginners and show that even the simplest pieces can have beauty,” Lang Lang tells Apple Music Classical. “This time, I wanted to take a step further with pieces that are still accessible, but that challenge young pianists to grow. It’s about the next stage of discovery, when you start to realise how much colour and character you can bring out of the piano.” Now we have <i>Piano Book Highlights</i>, released in February 2026, combining the very best tracks from both albums. Here, in this exclusive Track by Track, Lang Lang takes us through each piece in this special compilation album, giving us unparalleled access to his thoughts on the music and his expert advice on how each musical gem should be played.
Listen as Lang Lang talks us through each track of his album in English. - Classical Music for Love
JUST UPDATED
Classical Music for Love
Love is a powerful inspiration. Some of classical music’s greatest works, from symphonies and concertos to sonatas and songs, have been composed in the throes of passion, requited or otherwise. Here’s a collection of arrangements and original works, from simple, heartfelt piano pieces to ardent operatic moments, all of which encapsulate the heart’s deepest feelings. This playlist is updated regularly by our editors, so if you like something, be sure to add it to your library.
Feel the passion and romance in these beautiful, heart-melting performances.
- Pablo Heras-Casado, SWR Symphonieorchester, WDR Rundfunkchor, SWR Vokalensemble, Christina Landshamer, Sophie Harmsen, Daniel Behle, Franz-Josef Selig, Erika Baikoff, Wiebke Lehmkuhl, Sebastian Kohlhepp & Matthew Rose
- Ottavio Dantone, Accademia Bizantina & Alessandro Tampieri
- Jordi Savall, Le Concert des Nations, La Capella Nacional de Catalunya, Lina Johnson, Tilman Lichdi & Matthias Winckhler
- Ryan Speedo Green, Eric Owens, Latonia Moore, Stephanie Blythe, Eric Greene, Paul Groves, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & The Metropolitan Opera Chorus
- Sondra Radvanovsky, Matthew Polenzani, Janai Brugger, Ekaterina Gubanova, Michele Pertusi, Carlo Rizzi, The Metropolitan Opera Chorus & The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
- Allan Clayton, Brenda Rae, Dame Sarah Connolly, Rod Gilfry, William Burden, John Relyea, David Butt Philip, Jacques Imbrailo, Nicholas Carter, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & The Metropolitan Opera Chorus
- Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic & Columbia Symphony Orchestra
- Listen as Lang Lang talks us through each track of his album in English.
- Andrew Megill & Chœur de l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
- Freiburger Barockorchester, RIAS Kammerchor & Pablo Heras-Casado
- Yeol Eum Son, Svetlin Roussev, Da-Min Kim & Woongwhee Moon
- Adriana Kučerová, Kateřina Kněžíková, Pavol Breslik, Adam Plachetka, Jana Sibera, Petr Nekoranec, Prague National Theatre Chorus, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra & Robert Jindra
- PKF - Prague Philharmonia, Český filharmonický sbor Brno, Veronika Rovná, Richard Samek, Roman Janál, Petr Fiala & Petr Altrichter
- OperaCréole Ensemble, Opera Lafayette Orchestra, Patrick Dupré Quigley, Nicole Cabell, Chauncey Packer, Joshua Conyers, Mary Elizabeth Williams, Jonathan Woody & Kenneth Kellogg
- Michele Spotti, Orchestra del Teatro di San Carlo di Napoli, Ludovic Tézier & Marina Rebeka
- Montserrat Caballé, Plácido Domingo, London Philharmonic Orchestra & Carlo Felice Cillario
- Pablo Heras-Casado, SWR Symphonieorchester, WDR Rundfunkchor, SWR Vokalensemble, Christina Landshamer, Sophie Harmsen, Daniel Behle, Franz-Josef Selig, Erika Baikoff, Wiebke Lehmkuhl, Sebastian Kohlhepp & Matthew Rose
- The Tallis Scholars & Peter Phillips
- Graham Ross, Choir of Clare College, Cambridge & Dmitri Ensemble
- Ottavio Dantone, Accademia Bizantina & Alessandro Tampieri
- Antoine Tamestit, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Sabine Fehlandt & Bernhard Forck
- Stella Chen, Academy of St Martin in the Fields & Jean-Jacques Kantorow
- Les Arts Florissants, Paul Agnew, Reinoud Van Mechelen, Ana Vieira Leite & Julie Roset
- The Cleveland Orchestra, Franz Welser-Möst & Garrick Ohlsson
- Pablo Heras-Casado, SWR Symphonieorchester, WDR Rundfunkchor, SWR Vokalensemble, Christina Landshamer, Sophie Harmsen, Daniel Behle, Franz-Josef Selig, Erika Baikoff, Wiebke Lehmkuhl, Sebastian Kohlhepp & Matthew Rose
- Gianandrea Noseda & London Symphony Orchestra
- OperaCréole Ensemble, Opera Lafayette Orchestra, Patrick Dupré Quigley, Nicole Cabell, Chauncey Packer, Joshua Conyers, Mary Elizabeth Williams, Jonathan Woody & Kenneth Kellogg
- Michele Spotti, Orchestra del Teatro di San Carlo di Napoli, Ludovic Tézier & Marina Rebeka
- Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers, John Wilson & Sinfonia of London