an BRAHMS, J.: Deutsches Requiem (Ein) (Farcas, Goerne, State Choir Latvija, Bremen German Chamber Philharmonic, P. Järvi) (NTSC) (753208) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Sun, 01 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an BRAHMS, J.: Deutsches Requiem (Ein) (Farcas, Goerne, State Choir Latvija, Bremen German Chamber Philharmonic, P. Järvi) (Blu-ray, HD) (753304) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Sun, 01 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an LA PHIL 100 - The Los Angeles Philharmonic Centennial Birthday Gala (Dudamel, Mehta, Salonen) (NTSC) (753408) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an LA PHIL 100 - The Los Angeles Philharmonic Centennial Birthday Gala (Dudamel, Mehta, Salonen) (Blu-ray, HD) (753504) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an Piano Trio and Quartets - ELSNER, J. / SZYMANOWSKA, M. / MOZART, W.A. / LESSEL, F. (Warsaw Music Salon) (Arte dei Suonatori) (CDAccordACD269) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an Piano Recital: Kim, Honggi - GRANADOS, E. / RAVEL, M. / SÁNCHEZ-VERDÚ, J.M. / SCHUMANN, R. / VINE, C. (8.574232) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Honggi Kim, winner of the 2018 Jaén Prize International Piano Competition, has chosen a fascinating recital programme for his Naxos recording debut. Both Scarbo and Los requiebros are pillars of the piano repertoire, brimming with expressive and technical challenges for any performer, as is Carl Vine’s beautifully written but rarely heard Piano Sonata No. 1. Sánchez-Verdú’s Jardín de espejos (‘Garden of Mirrors’) is influenced by the multiple layers in Islamic art, the ‘mirrors’ of the title lending shape to a tradition of listening, silence and echoes. The programme concludes with Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E flat major, an outstanding work in the chamber-music literature. Full Article
an Piano Recital: Józsa, Peter - HAYDN, J. / SCHUBERT, F. / CHOPIN, F. / LISZT, F. / BRAHMS, J. (Portrait) (Gramola99213) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an Piano Music (Norwegian) - TVEITT, G. / GRIEG, E. / KJERULF, H. / BACKER GRØNDAHL, A. (Nordic Light) (Soboń-Wakarecy) (CDAccordACD267) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an MICHL, J.C.W.: Quartets Nos. 1-6 for Bassoon, 2 Violins and Cello (Hoadley, The Hall String Trio) (8.574054) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Upon hearing a chamber piece by Joseph Michl in Munich in 1772 the English composer and music historian Charles Burney wrote, ‘I hardly ever heard a composition that discovered more genius and invention.’ Even though Michl achieved success writing for the operatic stage and his contemporary reputation rested on his sacred works, the Bassoon Quartets present the epitome of urbane sophistication—elegantly constructed and full of imaginative detail—and at times resembling miniature concertos. Full Article
an MARTINI, G.B.: Azione teatrale / Richiami degli ambulanti al mercato di Bologna (Contro, Troilo, Coro da Camera Euridice, Circe, Scattolin) (TC701307) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an MAGNARD, A.: Orchestral Works - Ouverture / Chant funèbre / Hymne à la justice / Hymne à Vénus (Freiburg Philharmonic, Bollon) (8.574084) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Although Albéric Magnard’s oeuvre is relatively small, the uncompromising perfectionism with which he worked created a catalogue that is filled with expansive, complex and beautifully crafted music. Composed while he was still a student of Vincent d’Indy, the Suite d’orchestre dans le style ancien follows 18th-century models and is simultaneously solemn and joyful in mood, while the Chant funèbre is seen as his first true masterpiece. The importance of justice in Magnard’s life is expressed in the Hymne à la justice, while the Hymne à Vénus reflects every aspect of love, from tenderness to elation. Full Article
an KORNGOLD, E.W.: Opera Highlights and Orchestral Works - Das Wunder der Heliane / Märchenbilder / Die tote Stadt (Linz Bruckner Orchestra, C. Richter) (C7350) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an Impressions of China - Winning Works from the 2018 Huang Zi International Chinese Piano Composition Competition (G. Luisi) (8.579070) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT All of the works in this programme were prize winners in the hotly contested 2018 Huang Zi International Chinese Piano Composition Competition, an event marking the 80th anniversary of the death of this influential composer and educator. Themes explored include the charm and unpredictability of China’s landscape, alongside elements of Chinese musical and theatrical aesthetics. Joint First Prize winners were Emile Naoumoff, whose Celestial Parade describes the composer’s wonderful experiences while in Shanghai, and Zhiliang Zhang, whose Qiao Ling Liu Dan portrays six widely differing ‘Dan’ or female characters in Sichuanese opera. Full Article
an HERNÁNDEZ, S.: Piano Music Initiation to the Shadow / Terra Santa / Fantasia for Piano / Don't Forget About That (S. Hernández) (8.579072) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT The distinguished Spanish composer and pianist Sira Hernández is known especially for her involvement with multi-discipline arts projects at major international festivals and cultural events. Many of her works are inspired by Italian artists as can be heard on this album. Minimalist techniques and the significance of tonality and timbre in communicating darkness and light are heard in Iniciación a la sombra and the sewing-machine ostinatos of Fantasía para piano. The presence of God amidst the bleak spaces of madness are expressed in Terra Santa, and the intensity of Don’t Forget About That invites us to resist oblivion. Full Article
an HANDEL, G.F.: Messiah (1742 version) (Mields, Schachtner, Kristjánsson, Berndt, Gaechinger Cantorey, Rademann) (ACC-30499) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an Guitar Recital: Egholm, Jonas - BERGNER, Y.L. / CHRISTENSEN, J.J. / FRANDSEN, J. / GLERUP, R. / HEGAARD, L. / HOLMEN, J. / NIELSEN, M. (Educate-S) (8.226615) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an GIULIANI, M.: Choix de mes fleurs chéries / Le Giulianate (Le Bouquet Emblématique) (Khouri) (CDS7855) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an GAVRILIN, V.A.: Russian Notebook (The) / Anyuta (excerpts) (Shkirtil, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Symphony, Serov) (8.573883) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Valery Gavrilin was one of the most colourful and significant Russian composers of the second half of the 20th century. He was only 25 when he composed The Russian Notebook, a ‘poem of love and death’ crafted in a new musical language that doesn’t employ folk melodies but does use folkloric texts, and with a virtuosic vocal part. These stylised tunes are combined with rich melodies to form a haunting cycle heard here in a 2018 orchestration. The ten numbers from the ballet Anyuta are lively, melodious and touchingly beautiful. Full Article
an DOHNÁNYI, E.: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 (Gülbadamova, Rheinland-Pfalz State Philharmonic, Matiakh) (C5387) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an CLARKE, N.: Mysteries of the Horizon / Dial 'H' for Hitchcock / Swift Severn's Flood (Vanhoorne, Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Thornton, Clarke, S.Smith) (8.574097) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Nigel Clarke has always been fascinated by virtuosity and timbre—it is the brass band genre that has lent itself most to his passion for musical athleticism. Dial ‘H’ for Hitchcock is an imaginary film score in the film noir vein, complete with classic and chilling sound effects, while the heroic, brooding and violent Swift Severn’s Flood was inspired by a line from Shakespeare. Cornet concerto Mysteries of the Horizon examines the atmosphere of paintings by René Magritte, and Earthrise celebrates one of the most iconic photographs in history and the drama of the Apollo 8 mission. Full Article
an ČIURLIONIS, M.K.: Sea (The) / In the Forest / Kęstutis Overture (Lithuanian National Symphony, Pitrėnas) (ODE1344-2) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an CIPULLO, T.: Parting (The) [Opera] (Strickling, C. Cook, Mayes, Music of Remembrance, Willis) (8.669044) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Heard here in its world premiere recording, The Parting is a daring opera by award-winning composer Tom Cipullo and librettist David Mason that explores the life and art of Miklós Radnóti, one of the most important poetic witnesses to the Holocaust, and one of its tragic victims. Radnóti’s poems express emotions from love and enchantment to absolute loss, and The Parting includes texts found in his jacket pocket after his death. This opera is a profound meditation on what it is about art that outlives us, that enables us to be creative even in the face of unimaginable adversity, and reminds us to guard against hatred and to celebrate what makes us human. Full Article
an CHOPIN, F.: Scherzos Nos. 1-4 / Impromptus Nos. 1-3 / Fantasy-Impromptu / Allegro de concert (Mao Fujita) (8.574052) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Chopin turned the Scherzo into a new form of piano composition: an independent virtuoso work which he laced with drama, Polish folk song, tranquillity and nuance. With their rhythmic lilt and filigree ornamentation the Impromptus are infused with Romantic freedom, while the Allegro de concert, Op. 46 was originally conceived as a movement for a projected piano concerto but was instead revised for solo piano. Full Article
an Cello, Soprano and Piano Recital: Ruh, Janina / Kusnezow, Boris - POULENC, F. / DEBUSSY, C. / FRANCK, C. (Dialogues) (SWR19030CD) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an BRUCKNER, A.: Symphony No. 4, `Romantic` (1886 version, ed. L. Nowak) (Bavarian Radio Symphony, M. Jansons) (900187) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an BRAHMS, J.: Piano Concerto No. 2 / Handel Variations (Vogt, Royal Northern Sinfonia) (ODE1346-2) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an BOLIVIA Ruphay (Los): Music of the Andes - Jach'a Uru (The Great Day) (EUCD2893) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an BOITO, A.: Mefistofele [Opera] (F. Furlanetto, Filianoti, Theodossiou, Zaramella, Palermo Teatro Massimo Chorus and Orchestra, Ranzani) (CDS581) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an BERNSTEIN, L.: Songfest / GERSHWIN, G.: An American in Paris (Wolf Trap Opera, National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic, Judd) (8.559859) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT An American in Paris is one of Gershwin’s most vivacious works, an orchestral ballet saturated in homesickness and the blues. This recording, however, uses the new 2019 critical edition and offers Gershwin’s original orchestration, unheard for 75 years—leaner, more angular and transparent, it also employs the correct use of the iconic taxi horns, for a new sonic experience. The breezy vitality of Copland’s An Outdoor Overture is balanced by Bernstein’s Songfest—written to celebrate the Bicentennial Year in America, setting the verses of 13 of the country’s poets. Full Article
an BEETHOVEN, L. van: Symphonies Nos. 1-9 (Warsaw Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, Kord) (CDAccordACD075) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an BEETHOVEN, L. van: Symphonies (Complete) (Stuttgart Radio Symphony, Norrington) (SWR19525CD) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an BEETHOVEN, L. van: String Quartets Nos. 13 and 15 / Grosse Fuge (Tetzlaff Quartet) (ODE1347-2D) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an BEETHOVEN, L. van: Mass in C Major / Vestas Feuer / Meeresstille und Glückliche Fahrt (Chorus Cathedralis Aboensis, Turku Philharmonic, Segerstam) (8.574017) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT The custom of marking the name-day of Princess Esterházy with a newly composed Mass began in the 1790s and for many years was carried out by Joseph Haydn. In 1807 Beethoven was commissioned and responded with his Mass in C major. Coolly received at court, it is a celebratory work of large-scale brilliance. The cantata Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt is set to Goethe’s poems and contrasts calm with exuberance. In 1803 Beethoven set two numbers from Vestas Feuer, written by Emanuel Schikaneder, the librettist of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Full Article
an BEETHOVEN, L. van: Chamber Music - Piano Quartet, Op. 16 / Minuets and Dances (Sofia Kim, Kroh, Segal, Sarid, IU Wind Ensemble, Dorsey) (8.574040-41) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT In his first decade in Vienna, Beethoven seems to have been preoccupied with music for wind instruments. The best-known example is his Quintet in E flat major, Op. 16, which he arranged at the same time for piano quartet. He also wrote music for dances and settings of folk songs, and reflected the public’s interest in automata by writing for musical clock. The Napoleonic wars were mirrored in Beethoven’s music of the period, especially in his military compositions such as a series of Marches and the Equali, scored for trombones, which were later played at his funeral. Full Article
an BEETHOVEN, L. van: Celebrate Beethoven - Music from His Late Compositional Period (c.1815–1827) (9.30207) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an BEETHOVEN, L. van: 30 of the Best (8.578350-52) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Beethoven is regarded by many to be the greatest composer who ever lived, and this collection presents 30 essential recordings of his most well-known works. From the beautiful moods of lamentation in the ‘Moonlight’ Sonata to the amorous sophistication of Für Elise, and from the heroism of Fidelio to the mighty finale of the ‘Choral’ Symphony, every significant facet of Beethoven’s monumental achievement is represented in this collection of exemplary performances from the Naxos catalogue. Full Article
an BALADA, L.: Clarinet Works - Caprichos Nos. 6 and 7 / Double Concerto (Ivanov, Rominski, Polaczyk, Eryılmaz, Larson) (8.579056) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Barcelona native Leonardo Balada’s creative style has been labelled ‘Dalí’s surrealism in music’—an aspect of his work explored in this programme through the technique of ‘sound transformation’ in which abstract musical materials become familiar melody. Fusing traditional and contemporary elements, Caprichos Nos. 6 and 7 engage intimately with Spanish culture and history, while the virtuoso Double Concerto, heard here in an arrangement for flute, clarinet and piano, blends well-known Mexican folk tunes with the composer’s distinctive avant-garde style. Full Article
an ADÈS, T.: Piano Solo Works (Han Chen) (8.574109) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Composer, conductor and pianist Thomas Adès has been described by The New York Times as ‘among the most accomplished all-round musicians of his generation’. His Concert Paraphrase on Powder Her Face reflects the glamour of the opera’s subject in the grand manner of Liszt or Busoni, while Still Sorrowing and Darknesse Visible explore John Dowland’s haunting lute works. Heard here in its world premiere recording, competition piece Blanca Variations is lyrical and flowing in character, and Traced Overhead is a vivid description of ascent and flight. Adès captures and transforms Polish style in his Mazurkas, and the spirit of Satie and Ravel in a Souvenir from the film Colette. Full Article
an Vocal and Piano Recital: Fingerlos, Rafael / Mouissi, Sascha el - BRAHMS, J. / SCHUBERT, F. / WOLF, H. / STRAUSS, R. / SCHUMANN, R. (Fremde Heimat) (OC1711) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an VIVALDI, A.: Four Seasons (The) / VERDI, G.: I vespri siciliani: Le quattro stagioni (R.M. Minasi, La Scintilla Orchestra) (PHR0112) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an Violin Sonatas (American) - SCHOENFELD, P. / STUCKY, S. / HARBISON, J. (Three American Sonatas) (Cho-Liang Lin, J.K. Parker) (8.559888) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT The three sonatas on this recording were written at the behest of violinist Cho-Liang Lin, who worked closely with each composer at their premiere performance. Paul Schoenfeld’s Violin Sonata references literary influences and the composer’s past as well as his Jewish heritage in the work’s final Freilach or “joyous dance”. Steven Stucky acknowledged Debussy as the source of inspiration in his work, while the alchemy of John Harbison’s style creates music that is simultaneously abstract and narrative. Wryly introduced as “crazy modern music”, Bernstein’s brief Canon for Aaron was composed for Copland’s 70th birthday celebrations. Full Article
an Violin Recital: Arnoldi, Roberto - ANZAGHI, D. / ARNOLDI, N. / GARBARINO, G. / SPINOSA, R. / VACCHI, F. (New Music for Solo Violin) (TC940003) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an VERDI, G.: Due Foscari (I) [Opera] (Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, Orchestra Giovanile della Via Emilia, Arrivabeni) (CDS7865.02) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an VERDI, G.: Attila [Opera] (I. D'Arcangelo, Monastyrska, S. La Colla, G. Petean, Bavarian Radio Chorus, Munich Radio Orchestra, Repušić) (900330) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an TCHAIKOVSKY, P.I.: Sacred Choral Works - Vesper Service / Hymn in honour of SS Cyril and Methodius (Latvian Radio Choir, Kļava) (ODE1352-2) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an SIERRA, R.: Cantares / Loíza / Triple Concierto (Trío Arbós, Cornell University Chorus and Glee Club, Xalapa Symphony, Marcelletti) (8.559876) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Roberto Sierra’s refined compositional voice is subtly combined with contemporary musical techniques and his Puerto Rican heritage in the three works recorded here. Cantares, commissioned by the Cornell University Chorus and Glee Club to celebrate the university’s sesquicentennial anniversary, evokes ancient Peruvian, Aztec and Afro Caribbean voices lost in time. The virtuoso Triple Concierto transforms the popular Caribbean rhythms of salsa, bolero and merengue into complex contemporary expressions, while the polyrhythmic layers of Loíza conjure a Puerto Rican town known for its strong African traditions. Full Article
an SCRIABIN, A. / PASTERNAK, B.: Piano Works (Samson-Primachenko) (UP0213) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an SCHARWENKA, P.: Piano Trio, Op. 121 / Duo for Violin and Viola / Viola Sonata / 4 Concert Pieces (Breuninger, Berthaud, Triendl) (C5391) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an PROKOFIEV, S.: Symphonies Nos. 3 and 6 (German Radio Saarbrücken-Kaiserslautern Philharmonic, Inkinen) (SWR19086CD) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
an PROKOFIEV, S.: Songs and Romances (Gritskova, Prinz) (8.574030) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Sergey Prokofiev is acknowledged as one of the 20th century’s greatest composers, and his enduring popularity today rests on a rich legacy of orchestral and chamber works. Less well-known are his songs, which display a lyrical component that suited his liking for clear and simple forms. This can be heard particularly in Five Poems of Anna Akhmatova, but all of these pieces show Prokofiev to be a worthy successor of the great 19th-century tradition of art songs. Margarita Gritskova’s voice was described by Opera News as ‘a spectacular instrument’ in her recording of Russian Songs on Naxos 8.573908. Full Article
