Raphaela Gromes Releases New Album Winter

Today, 6 November 2026, cellist Raphaela Gromes releases her new album Winter on Sony Classical. Joined by a remarkable circle of musical collaborators, she creates a richly atmospheric winter world filled with new arrangements, variations and newly created compositions. Moving between orchestral colours, chamber music intimacy and personal memories, Winter becomes a musical journey through the quiet magic of the darkest season of the year.

Alongside her long-time musical partner Julian Riem, whose contributions as both pianist and arranger have been instrumental in shaping the project, Gromes brings together artists who have accompanied her throughout her career. They include the Goldmund Quartet, the SIGNUM saxophone quartet, violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing and Italian composer and pianist Olivia Belli. For the orchestral recordings, she collaborated with the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Gordon Hamilton.

The idea for Winter grew out of Gromes’s own memories and her present-day fascination with winter’s quiet strength. For many years, winter was a season she would have happily avoided, with the exception of the unique atmosphere of Christmas: the warmth of family gatherings, singing carols together and the glow of candlelight against the darkness outside – and, perhaps most importantly, the Christmas when the four-year-old Raphaela received her very first cello.

Musically, Winter spans centuries, styles and traditions. Rather than presenting familiar repertoire in its original form, the album exclusively features newly created arrangements, variations and compositions. Music by Georg Friedrich Händel, Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Schubert, Richard Strauss, Camille Saint-Saëns, Edward Elgar and John Rutter appears in new colours.

Works by women composers also play a key role throughout the album, continuing Gromes’s important work in this field. The programme includes Florence Price’s Song for Snow, Amy Beach’s Peace I Leave with You, Fredrikke Egeberg’s Julemorgen and Hildegard von Bingen’s O eterne Deus. A particular thematic focus is the idea of light, exemplified by Olivia Belli’s In Luce Gratiae, which reflects on the inner light that emerges and grows in times of darkness. The Ukrainian folk song Shchedryk, which Gromes repeatedly encountered during a recent Christmas-time visit to Kyiv, stands as a symbol of hope and solidarity.

“For me, this album is not only about Winter and Christmas. It is about darkness and the light that emerges from it, as well as being about retreat and renewed strength. It also reflects memories and new encounters and the music that brings people together,” says Raphaela Gromes.

Winter is far more than a traditional Christmas album. It is a poetic musical journey through snow-covered landscapes, silent nights and festive moments, filled with the promise of light, warmth, comfort and beauty.