an BRETÓN, T.: String Quartets Nos. 1 and 3 (Bretón String Quartet) (8.573037) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Sun, 01 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMT Tomás Bretón’s distinguished career as an opera composer and leading figure in Madrid’s musical life at the turn of the 20th century has tended to overshadow the significant contribution he made to Spanish chamber music. He remained true to the historic roots of the string quartet genre—his First String Quartet being a tribute to the Viennese tradition in its Classical poise. The Third String Quartet exudes Mendelssohnian inspiration in its first movement with overtly Spanish idioms, the Allegro no mucho third movement also having been turned into a version for piano trio as the Scherzo andalou. This is the first of two albums of the complete string quartets. Full Article
an BEETHOVEN, L. van: Celebrate Beethoven - Concertos (9.30210) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Sun, 01 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an BEETHOVEN, L. van: Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II / Cantata on the Accession of Leopold II (Chorus Cathedralis Aboensis, Segerstam) (8.574077) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Sun, 01 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMT By the time of Emperor Joseph II’s death in 1790 Beethoven was a member of the court musical establishment in Bonn. To mark the occasion, Beethoven was commissioned to write two cantatas, one to mourn Joseph’s death and the other to celebrate the accession to the throne of Emperor Leopold II. Although Beethoven was only 19 years old at the time, both works show the embryonic marks of his greatness: intense expression and control of structure in one, and an almost operatic panache in the other. Neither piece was performed during Beethoven’s lifetime. Full Article
an WIDOR, C.-M.: Organ Symphonies (Complete), Vol. 2 - Nos. 3 and 4 (Rübsam) (8.574195) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Charles-Marie Widor was a hugely influential and venerated musician in his day, and his innovative organ symphonies are both a pinnacle of the repertoire and a testament to his creative and technical mastery of the instrument. These spectacular works are in the grand Romantic manner, but Widor was keenly aware of his musical ancestry, referring to music of the past such as Bach’s St Matthew Passion in the opening of the Third Symphony. The Scherzo of the Fourth Symphony is one of Widor’s finest symphonic movements, exploring the organ’s sonic beauties. The original E major Scherzo from the Symphony No. 2, which Widor subsequently replaced with a Salve Regina (see Volume 1: 8.574161), can be heard on Track 6. Full Article
an WEILAND, D.: String Quartets Nos. 4 and 5 (Melbourne Quartet) (8.574028) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT British composer Douglas Weiland has long been acclaimed as one of contemporary music’s most outstanding composers for the string quartet medium, and his evolving cycle has won much admiration. Composed between 2011 and 2012 the Fourth and Fifth Quartets show him at the height of his artistic powers, where he seeks connections across time, and shows a Classical commitment to form, invention and melodic beauty. His conceptions can be Schubertian in scale and scope, while also displaying the influence of Haydn and Bartók. Full Article
an SPUCK, C.: Nutcracker and Mouse King [Ballet] (after P.I. Tchaikovsky) (Zürich Ballet, 2018) (NTSC) (ACC-20449) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Sun, 01 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an SPUCK, C.: Nutcracker and Mouse King [Ballet] (after P.I. Tchaikovsky) (Zürich Ballet, 2018) (Blu-ray, Full-HD) (ACC-10449) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Sun, 01 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an XENOPHON: Persian Expedition (The) (Unabridged) (NA0414) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT In The Persian Expedition (also known as The March of the Ten Thousand and Anabasis), Xenophon, a disciple of Socrates, relates his experiences of fighting with the Greek mercenary army ‘The Ten Thousand’ in Persia, and how he led them back to the safety of the Black Sea coast. Seeking to depose his brother Artaxerxes and take his place upon the Persian throne, Cyrus the Younger leads the 10,000 mercenaries on a dangerous campaign deep into the heart of Persia. There Cyrus is killed and his generals overthrown, leaving a young Xenophon to lead the army on its treacherous journey home. Snowy mountains, wide rivers, violent blizzards and hostile tribes obstruct their way, testing Xenophon’s leadership and his soldiers’ perseverance to the extreme. Full Article
an MULLEY, C.: Woman Who Saved The Children (The) (Unabridged) (NA0477) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Thu, 16 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT This is an unconventional biography of an unconventional woman. Eglantyne Jebb moved from drawing rooms to war zones, often defying expectation and at times breaking the law. Although not fond of individual children, she founded Save the Children and originated the revolutionary concept of children’s human rights. Clare Mulley brings to life the brilliant, charismatic, passionate and compassionate woman, whose work has saved millions of lives and permanently changed the way the world treats children. Save the Children ambassador Joely Richardson narrates this extraordinary story. Full Article
an LEBLANC, M.: Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar (Unabridged) (NA0411) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT The first of Maurice Leblanc’s collections about his devilish, debonair rogue, Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar presents eight dazzling short stories that display some of Lupin’s greatest thefts and escapes. Lupin robs from within prison, leaves its walls with ease, steals priceless diamonds from the rich and outwits the greatest detective of all: Sherlock Holmes. Witty, cunning and taunting, Lupin is a genius on the wrong side of the law, although his noble code of ethics and Robin-Hood-like ways often see him use his talents for good. Full Article
an FONTANE, T.: Effi Briest (Unabridged) (NA0412) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT Often compared to Madame Bovary and Anna Karenina, Theodor Fontane’s Effi Briest tells the poignant story of a passionate and spontaneous young woman who becomes trapped in a dull and restrictive upper-class existence. Married at the tender age of 17 to Geert von Innstetten, an ambitious nobleman and civil servant nearly 20 years her senior, unworldly Effi is whisked away to the quiet town of Kessin, on the Baltic coast of Prussia, where she is left to raise a daughter alone while her husband travels for work. Effi’s loneliness drives her into the arms of Major Crampas, a cunning womaniser who tempts her into adultery and lets her live out her passions. The affair is soon ended, and almost forgotten, until fate and negligence resurrect it, with devastating results. Full Article
an BURKE, E.: Philosophical Enquiry into the Sublime and Beautiful (A) (Unabridged) (NA0413) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 20 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMT In A Philosophical Enquiry… Edmund Burke sets out to define the nature of beauty and sublimity, and establish an objective criterion for discussing aesthetics. His definition of beauty as rooted in pleasure and sexuality, and the sublime in pain and survival, aligned him with the empiricists John Locke and David Hume, as he replaced the metaphysics of Plato’s aesthetics with a psychological and physiological perspective. According to Burke, the sublime and the beautiful are experiences that can be explained by biological and sensual factors; thus he proceeds to explain how smooth lines, sweet tastes and middle frequencies of sound can be considered beautiful, and the terror created by high mountains and dark forests can be sublime. These revolutionary ideas ushered in the age of Romanticism, and the Gothic genre of novels, with their delight in horror and fright, and continue to influence aesthetic theories today. Full Article
an WHARTON, E.: Ethan Frome (Unabridged) (NA0421) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Set deep in the remote countryside of Massachusetts, New England, in a world of small-town prejudice, pettiness and rural poverty, the story of Ethan Frome explores the crippling marriage of a young man to an older woman and his love for her vibrant young cousin, Mattie, who lives as a dependent in the Frome household. His feelings lead to a day of explosive emotions with tragic consequences. Published in 1911, two years before Wharton divorced her husband, the novel integrates the raw experiences of the author’s own life to create a powerful tale of the tragic destruction of innocent love, in a stark, compressed and unified form. Over time, the book has gained the reputation of being Edith Wharton’s best work. Full Article
an PIZAN, C. de: Book of the City of Ladies (The) (Unabridged) (NA0456) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Shocked and distressed by a male writer’s vilification of women, Christine de Pizan has a powerful dreamlike vision in which she is visited by three personified Virtues: Reason, Rectitude and Justice. They tell her she has been chosen to write a book which will be like a city, housing virtuous women and protecting them from feminist attack. Heroines past and present form the foundations of this city—biblical and mythical heroines, ruling queens, Christian saints, and inventors are among them. Partly myth, partly fact, The Book of the City of Ladies is an extraordinary, pioneering and impassioned defence of women that set out to shatter medieval misogynist clichés, and serve to instil self-worth in its female readers of the time. Full Article
an Podcast: The resurrection of a requiem. Randall Thompson’s choral masterpiece. (Apr 10, 2020) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 10 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT THOMPSON, R.: Requiem Philadelphia Singers, David Hayes 8.559789 Join Raymond Bisha in a podcast of artistic discovery as he unveils yet another American classic—Randall Thompson’s Requiem. Reckoned by many to be his most ambitious work, the composer himself considered it to be his masterpiece, yet it has languished for decades on the periphery of the choral performance repertoire. This world première recording fr ...more Full Article
an Podcast: Ludwig van Beethoven. Music from his late compositional period. (Apr 24, 2020) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 24 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT BEETHOVEN, L. van: Celebrate Beethoven – Music from His Late Compositional Period (c.1815–1827) 9.30207 Raymond Bisha introduces the latest release in the Naxos Beethoven anniversary digital album series. Ranging from a solo piano to the huge resources required for his final symphony, the programme comprises ten works that define the last ten years of Beethoven’s creative life, exemplifying his ever more technically c ...more Full Article
an Podcast: The symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven (Feb 13, 2020) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Thu, 13 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT BEETHOVEN, L. van: Celebrate Beethoven – Symphonies and Orchestral 9.30209 Raymond Bisha presents an overview of Beethoven’s nine symphonies as a companion resource to the first of Naxos’ monthly digital albums presenting the music of Beethoven in this 250th anniversary year of his birth. January’s compilation album (9.30209) spotlights the symphonic journey and stylistic progression from Beethoven&rs ...more Full Article
an Podcast: Ludwig van Beethoven. Works from his middle years. (Feb 28, 2020) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 28 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT Celebrate Beethoven – Music from His Middle Compositional Period 9.30206 Raymond Bisha presents an overview of works written by Beethoven during his middle years period. It’s a companion resource to the latest release in Naxos’ monthly digital album series featuring the music of Beethoven in this 250th anniversary year of his birth. February’s compilation album (9.30206) presents a programme of wo ...more Full Article
an Sounds Interesting. A witty ditty (Jan 03, 2020) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 03 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT This podcast from the Naxos Sounds Interesting series highlights some humorous lines from the pens of the past masters. The presenter is Richard Kennedy. Listen to the podcast Listen to more podcasts on the Naxos Blog ...more Full Article
an Podcast: Write It – Reflections on Sanctuary Road (Jan 10, 2020) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 10 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT MORAVEC, P.: Sanctuary Road Laquita Mitchell, Raehann Bryce-Davis, Joshua Blue, Malcolm J. Merriweather, Dashon Burton, Oratorio Society of New York, Kent Tritle 8.559884 WQXR radio host Terrance McKnight introduces the world premiere recording of an oratorio by composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell. It’s a deeply moving tribute to the men and women of the Underground Railroad and to one heroic man in ...more Full Article
an Podcast: Nino Rota’s works for solo piano. A magical melting pot. (Jan 17, 2020) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 17 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT ROTA, N.: Piano Solo Works (Complete), Vol. 1 Eleanor Hodgkinson GP827 Raymond Bisha introduces this new release from the Grand Piano label. It’s the opening volume in what is to be the first complete series of recordings of Nino Rota’s works for solo piano, performed by Eleanor Hodgkinson. Nino Rota embraced neo-Classical, neo-Romantic and even neo-Baroque affiliations. His music prized melodic directness ...more Full Article
an In the Studio with Kenneth Fuchs and the United States Coast Guard Band (Jan 18, 2020) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Sat, 18 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT Kenneth Fuchs, the GRAMMY Award-winning American composer, is no stranger to followers of our burgeoning American Classics Series, in which he is represented by six fine releases, including the GRAMMY-winning album with “Spiritualist” piano concerto from last year’s award ceremony. His next recording, a programme of music for wind band, will be available in August 2020. As part of the preparations for that release, Kenneth has been working on a couple of video pre ...more Full Article
an From the Naxos Blog: I can zing a rainbow (Jan 24, 2020) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 24 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT I never tire of listening to the voice of Peggy Lee (1920-2002), the American jazz and popular music singer who was also a songwriter, composer and actress. And with an active career that spanned some six decades, it seems I’m not the only one in her fan club. Her unique vocal timbre was apposite to one of her hits, Sing a Rainbow. I wondered if the Naxos catalogue could similarly zing a rainbow and turn up an interesting collage of pieces reflecting the individual c ...more Full Article
an Podcast: Richard Danielpour’s oratorio The Passion of Yeshua (Mar 13, 2020) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 13 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMT DANIELPOUR, R.: Passion of Yeshua (The) [Oratorio] UCLA Chamber Singers, Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra, JoAnn Falletta 8.559885-86 Raymond Bisha introduces Richard Danielpour’s oratorio The Passion of Yeshua, a 105-minute work for large chorus, six soloists and orchestra that takes the listener back to Jesus’ final day on earth, removing as much as possible the accretions of history since that moment in ...more Full Article
an Podcast: Ludwig van Beethoven–the concertos (Mar 27, 2020) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 27 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMT BEETHOVEN, L. van: Celebrate Beethoven - Concertos 9.30210 Beethoven’s concertos enjoy the spotlight in this podcast from Raymond Bisha. It serves as a companion resource to the latest digital album in our series marking the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth. The technical and musical demands Beethoven makes of his concerto soloists shine centre-stage in this compilation of wonderful performances of movements from his ...more Full Article
an SUK, J.: Asrael (Bavarian Radio Symphony, Hruša) (900188) By Published On :: May 2020 Review by Richard Whitehouse Gramophone, May 2020 Full Article
an Piano Recital: Gulda, Friedrich - BEETHOVEN, L. van / BACH, J.S. / SCHUBERT, F. / COUPERIN, F. (The Stuttgart Solo Recitals) (1966-1979) (SWR19081CD) By Published On :: May 2020 International Piano, May 2020 View PDF Full Article
an Piano Concertos - MOZART, W.A. / BEETHOVEN, L. van / HAYDN, J. (Gulda, Keilberth, Müller-Kray, Rosbaud) (1959-1962) (SWR19088CD) By Published On :: May 2020 International Piano, May 2020 View PDF Full Article
an NIELSEN, C.: Flute Concerto / IBERT, J.: Flute Concerto / ARNOLD, M.: Flute Concerto No. 1 (Andrada, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, J. Martín) (ODE1340-2) By Published On :: May 2020 Review by Christian Hoskins Gramophone, May 2020 Full Article
an LUTOSLAWSKI, W.: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3 (Finnish Radio Symphony, Lintu) (ODE1332-5) By Published On :: May 2020 Review by Freya Parr BBC Music Magazine, May 2020 Full Article
an LISZT, F.: 3 Études de concert / Grandes Études de Paganini / 12 Études d'exécution transcendante (Hommage à Liszt) (A. Katz) (C990202) By Published On :: May 2020 Review by Jeremy Nicholas Gramophone, May 2020 Full Article
an KÕRVITS, T.: Hymns to the Nordic Lights / Silent Songs / Élégies of Thule (Vind, Estonian National Symphony, Joost) (ODE1349-2) By Published On :: May 2020 Review by Ivan Moody Gramophone, May 2020 Full Article
an EŠENVALDS, E.: Choral Music (Translations) (Portland State Chamber Choir, Sperry) (8.574124) By Published On :: May 2020 Review by Malcolm Riley Gramophone, May 2020 Full Article
an WEBER, C.M. von: Euryanthe [Opera] (Theater an der Wien, 2018) (NTSC) (2.110656) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Sat, 01 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an WEBER, C.M. von: Euryanthe [Opera] (Theater an der Wien, 2018) (Blu-ray, HD) (NBD0107V) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Sat, 01 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an SHOSTAKOVICH, D.: Violin Concerto No. 1 / TCHAIKOVSKY, P.I.: Symphony No. 5 (Skride, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, A. Nelsons) (NTSC) (ACC-20478) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Sat, 01 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an SHOSTAKOVICH, D.: Violin Concerto No. 1 / TCHAIKOVSKY, P.I.: Symphony No. 5 (Skride, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, A. Nelsons) (Blu-ray, Full-HD) (ACC-10478) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Sat, 01 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an MARTHALER, C. / ENGEL, T. / VIEBROCK, A.: Universe, Incomplete (after C. Ives) / The Unanswered Ives (Documentary, 2018) (NTSC) (ACC-20434) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Sat, 01 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an MOZART, W.A.: Mass No. 18, `Great` / MOZART, L.: Litaniae Lauretanae de BVM (Salzburg Bach Choir, Camerata Salzburg, Manze) (NTSC) (BVE08057) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Sun, 01 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an MOZART, W.A.: Mass No. 18, `Great` / MOZART, L.: Litaniae Lauretanae de BVM (Salzburg Bach Choir, Camerata Salzburg, Manze) (Blu-ray, HD) (BVE08058) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Sun, 01 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an STRAVINSKY, I.: Rake's Progress (The) [Opera] (Equilibrium Young Artists, 2018) / HANNIGAN, Barbara: Taking Risks (Documentary, 2018) (NTSC) (ACC-20420) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an PURCELL, H.: King Arthur [Opera] (Sung in English with German dialogue) (Staatsoper unter den Linden, 2017) (NTSC) (2.110658) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an PURCELL, H.: King Arthur [Opera] (Sung in English with German dialogue) (Staatsoper unter den Linden, 2017) (Blu-ray, HD) (NBD0109V) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an MAHLER, G.: Symphony No. 5 / TCHAIKOVSKY, P.I.: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Live aus der Elbphilharmonie) (SoRyang, Yutaka Sado) (NTSC) (Gramola20004) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an SAINT-SAËNS, C.: Ascanio: Ballet / Overtures to Stage Works (Malmö Symphony, Märkl) (8.574033) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMT Saint-Saëns’ operatic works contain instrumental music of vivacity and charm but have been undeservedly overlooked. Ascanio contains a substantial and elaborate divertissement that fellow composer Reynaldo Hahn termed ‘the entire Renaissance in a few pages’. Les Barbares, a tale of conquest and revenge, includes a vivid Prologue and joyful ballet, while La Princesse jaune with its pentatonic writing, and La Jota aragonese laced with Spanish vitality, show the composer at his most generously carefree. Full Article
an SHAKESPEARE, W.: Romeo and Juliet (Royal Shakespeare Company, 2018) (NTSC) (OA1291D) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Sun, 01 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an SHAKESPEARE, W.: Merry Wives of Windsor (The) (Royal Shakespeare Company, 2018) (NTSC) (OA1293D) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Tue, 01 Oct 2019 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an ENRICO CECCHETTI DIPLOMA (THE) (Dance Documentary, 2019) (NTSC + Blu-ray, HD) (OASP4102BD) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an BENJAMIN, G.: Written on Skin / Lessons in Love and Violence [Operas] (Royal Opera House, 2013-2018) (NTSC) (OA1309BD) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an BENJAMIN, G.: Written on Skin / Lessons in Love and Violence [Operas] (Royal Opera House, 2013-2018) (Blu-ray, HD) (OABD7271BD) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
