NEW RECORDINGS

Alexey Shor’s New Album, “Composer’s Notebook, Vol. 4”

June 20, 2025

3 MIN READ

Released on Naxos, the album features six compositions for a soloist with string orchestra

Composer Alexey Shor has released his newest album, Composer’s Notebook, Vol. 4, on Naxos.

The recording presents a diverse selection of Shor’s recent works — ranging from full-scale concertos to chamber pieces — performed by internationally acclaimed soloists and ensembles. The six featured compositions include Cello Concerto No. 1 "Musical Pilgrimage," Violin Concerto No. 3 "The Four Seasons of Manhattan," Phoenix Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra, Crystal Palace: Frozen Garden Waltz, Saint Elmo Barcarolle, and Schubertango. All works feature a soloist with string orchestra.

The recordings bring together a wide array of musicians: conductors Massimiliano Caldi, John Warner, and Dmitry Yablonsky; the Kyiv Virtuosi Orchestra; cellist Alexander Chaushian; conductor and violinist; and violinists Dumitru Pocitari and Zia Hyunsu Shin.

Listen to the full album here.

"With this CD — which is part of a seven-volume series on NAXOS — I just hope listeners enjoy the variety of moods and stories behind each piece," Alexey Shor told The Violin Channel. "Some are very personal to me, some are lighthearted, but all are meant to be relatable and easy to connect with. In hope people come away feeling moved, happy or simply with a tune stuck in their head."

Listen to Shor's Cello Concerto No. 1 below:

The two concertos on the album offer a juxtaposition in compositional approach. The Cello Concerto No. 1 presents a unique musical pilgrimage across multiple eras, while the Violin Concerto No. 3 adds a contemporary vision to works by Vivaldi and Piazzolla.

"'Musical Pilgrimage' is a journey through many of my favorite musical styles, both within each movement and from one movement to the next," Shor explains. "Despite this variety, I tried to shape it all into a single, coherent narrative — a continuous voyage through my musical world."

"'Four Seasons of Manhattan' is my attempt to capture the unique atmosphere of New York City as it transforms throughout the year," he added. "Each movement reflects the character and rhythm of the city in a different season — from its hot summer streets to the vibrant energy of a Manhattan spring."

Born and raised in Ukraine, Alexey Shor moved to the United States to study mathematics. Currently based in New York, his compositions have been performed at concert halls including the Wiener Musikverein, Philharmonie Berlin, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Kyiv Conservatory, the Concertgebouw, Gasteig München, Wigmore Hall, and Teatro Argentina, and more.

In 2022, Shor was appointed as the Yehudi Menuhin School’s first associate composer. He has been the composer-in-residence for the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra since 2017, and in the 2024–26 seasons, he will also be the composer-in-residence at the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra. Shor’s scores are published by Breitkopf & Härtel and Universal Edition, and albums featuring his compositions have been released on Naxos, Warner Classics, Decca, and Sony Classical, among others.