no WAGNER, R.: Fliegende Holländer (Der) [Opera] (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, 2019) (Blu-ray, HD) (753904) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
no BACH, J.S.: Cello Suites Nos. 1-6 (The Bach Project) (Yo-Yo Ma) (NTSC) (754408) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
no BACH, J.S.: Cello Suites Nos. 1-6 (The Bach Project) (Yo-Yo Ma) (Blu-ray, HD) (754504) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
no 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
no 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
no 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
no 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
no 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
no KRČEK, J.: String Quartets Nos. 1-4 (Czech Philharmonic Quartet) (UP0214) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
no 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
no 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
no 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
no 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
no COLLINS, W.: No Name (Unabridged) (NA0415) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Magdalen and Norah Vanstone have known only comfort and affluence for their entire lives. Orphaned suddenly following the unexpected deaths of their parents, the illegitimate sisters find themselves flung into the other extreme of living: their father had neglected to amend his will following their parents’ recent marriage, leaving them with nothing, and their bitter, estranged uncle, the legal inheritor of the family fortune, mercilessly refuses them support. They have no money, no rights and no name. Norah, the elder of the two, looks for work as a governess and accepts her fate. Fiery and headstrong Magdalen, however, does not. She vows revenge and schemes a series of traps to recover the fortune, no matter the cost… Full Article
no 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
no 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
no 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
no 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
no 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
no 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
no 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
no 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
no 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
no 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
no 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
no 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
no 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
no 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
no SKORYK, M.: Violin Concertos (Complete), Vol. 2 - Nos. 5-9 (Bielow, Ukraine National Symphony, Sirenko) (8.574089) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Myroslav Skoryk is one of Ukraine’s leading composers and teachers, with a portfolio of works that include opera, a symphonic transcription of Paganini’s Caprices, and a cycle of nine violin concertos written over a 45-year span (Volume 1 is on 8.574088). Concerto No. 5 utilises jazz elements and a vivid fugato, while Concerto No. 6 explores the use of sensual moods and provocative dance rhythms. Syncopation and lyricism suffuse Concerto No. 7, while No. 9 is both touching and dramatic. Concerto No. 8 offers a representation of events in Chopin’s life through quotations, in combination with Skoryk’s own distinctive musical voice. Full Article
no 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
no 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
no SAURET, É.: 24 Études Caprices, Vol. 4 - Nos. 20-24 (Rashidova) (8.574159) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT The final volume of the 24 Études-Caprices by the internationally renowned virtuoso Émile Sauret, crowns one of the most impressive but seldom performed bodies of solo violin writing in the entire canon. In the last five Études, once again played by Nazrin Rashidova on Sauret’s own Stradivarius violin, the full range of his art can be heard, from double- and triple-stopping, to registral leaps, chordal and staccato techniques and exercises for absolute control of the bow. Of Volume 3 (8.573975) The Strad wrote: ‘Rashidova plays superbly’. Full Article
no 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
no PRADO, J.A.R. de A: Piano Concerto No. 1 / Aurora / Concerto Fribourgeois (Rubinsky, Minas Gerais Philharmonic, Mechetti) (8.574225) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT At the time of his death in 2010, Almeida Prado was one of Brazil’s most internationally admired composers, one who created music of unique sonority and colour, rooted in his native country. In Aurora (‘Dawn’) he employs his newly developed ‘transtonality’ to radiant effect, while the Concerto Fribourgeois features a collage technique. In his Piano Concerto No. 1 Almeida Prado explores a cogent structure in which the soloist opens up, rips apart or transforms the theme and variations, in a work that is both grandiose and luminous. Full Article
no Piano Recital: Choni, Dmytro - DEBUSSY, C. / GINASTERA, A. / LIGETI, G. / PROKOFIEV, S. (8.574136) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT The Ukrainian pianist Dmytro Choni, winner of the 2018 Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition, has selected a programme that spans the 20th century. The first book of Debussy’s Images offers poetic evocation and virtuoso caprice, whereas Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 6, completed in 1940, is the first of his ‘War Sonatas’, characteristically contrasting rhythmic vitality with rich lyricism. Ginastera, too, supplies vivid intensity in his Piano Sonata No. 1 suggesting the sound of the guitar, while Ligeti’s Étude is a Debussyian evocation of a rainbow. Full Article
no Piano Music (French) - BOULEZ, P. / DEBUSSY, C. / MESSIAEN, O. / RAVEL, M. (Rare French Piano Music) (van Raat) (8.573894) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT This album of French piano rarities features seldom-heard and recently discovered works by composers who had an influence on Pierre Boulez, as well as the premiere recording of Boulez’s Prélude, Toccata et Scherzo. This large-scale early work looks back on virtuosic Romantic music, while at the same time exploring the new compositional styles that Boulez would subsequently embrace. Among the rarities is a posthumously discovered piano study by Debussy, a reconstructed birdsong work by Messiaen, and a tiny masterpiece by Ravel found in a notebook. Full Article
no Opéra-Comique Overtures - BOIELDIEU, F.-A. / DELIBES, L. / GOUNOD, C.-F. / HALÉVY, F. / HÉROLD, F. / LECOCQ, C. (Vienna Radio Symphony, M. Halász) (8.574122) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Opéra-comique emerged in the 19th century as an intermediary between grand opera and burlesque operetta. This album charts its progression as a distinct genre, tracing the origins from Boieldieu and Méhul early in the century via the classic vitality of masters such as Hérold and Maillart into the operetta style of Offenbach and Lecocq. With innovative features, colourful orchestration, drama, wit and atmospheric writing, the operas proved very popular and these overtures encapsulate their immense vivacity and charm. Full Article
no LISZT, F.: Wanderer Fantasy / SCHUBERT, F.: Piano Sonata No. 13 / BRAHMS, J.: Handel Variations (C. Park, Eschenbach) (C5412) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
no HAYDN, J.: Cello Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 (N. Clein, Recreation - Graz Grosses Orchester, Hofstetter) (OC1895) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
no HAUG, H.: Guitar Concertino / Wind Quintet / Guitar Quintet (Minder, Basel Philharmonic Quintet, Il Piccola Orchestra, Zemtsov) (8.551426) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
no HARSÁNYI, T.: Piano Works (Complete), Vol. 2 (Koukl) (GP807) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT The Hungarian-born composer Tibor Harsányi is now recognised as an important personality in ‘L’École de Paris’. He had a lifelong interest in modern dance, represented here by the Petite suite and Trois Pièces de danse, and he also embraced jazz, which was part of the Parisian atmosphere of the inter-war period, and other influences, while keeping the Central European rhythms and tonalities of his Hungarian origins. The Trois Pièces lyriques is a rare example of Harsányi expressing torment during the turbulent years of the Second World War. Full Article
no HANDEL, G.F. / GLUCK, C.W.: Opera Arias for Soprano (Care Pupille) (Mariño, Halle Handel Festival Orchestra, Hofstetter) (C998201) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
no GROVEN, E.: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 (Kristiansand Symphony, Szilvay) (8.573871) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Many interwar Norwegian composers tried to create a new national music by combining elements of authentic folk music with new techniques. Eivind Groven was considered one of the most innovative composers in this quest, integrating the structure of folk dances from his rural upbringing into familiar formal principles. Both symphonies make use of techniques of so-called ‘progressive transformation’, which led fellow composer Arne Nordheim to declare: ‘While others made instrumentations of folk tunes, Groven created sounds, for example in his [two] symphonies which, in my opinion, are quite unique.’ Full Article
no Flute and Piano Recital: Mazzoli, Filippo / Dang, Nathalie - LEFORT, A. / MASSON, L. / MORET, E. / SEITZ, A. (Chant dans la nuit) (CDS7862) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
no CHINA Folk Music of China, Vol. 6: Folk Songs of China's Tajik and Russian Minorities (NXW76093-2) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT This album features folk songs from the Tajik and Russian ethnic minority groups living in the western and northwestern areas of Xinjiang, China. These folk songs have an earthy beauty that is theirs alone. Many of the Tajik songs featured here are accompanied by the Rewap—an ancient stringed instrument made from mulberry trunks. The sound is similar to that of an acoustic guitar, but the tone is brighter and more elastic. Many of the Russian songs feature the Bayan (a type of accordion) and the Balalaika. Full Article
no BERSA, B.: Piano Works (Complete), Vol. 2 (Filipec) (GP832) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT As with the first volume in this series (GP767), Blagoje Bersa’s piano works are organised according to their character and tonality rather than chronologically. They include elements of transcription drawing on Mozart and Beethoven but also characterful barcarolles that evoke Italian music, a taut and witty Bizarre Serenade, a simple but affecting Mélancolie, and an invitation to a Viennese ballroom in the Valzer, Op. 3. Full Article
no BELEVI, K.: Guitar Duos - Cyprian Rhapsodies Nos. 1-4 / Suite Chypre / Turkish Suite (Duo Tandem) (8.574081) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Kemal Belevi’s music is steeped in the colours and atmosphere of the eastern Mediterranean, and his aim is ‘to create beautiful music’ based on melodies and rhythms that have been absorbed from the folk music of Greece, Turkey and the Middle East. Belevi’s own arrangements of works such as the evocative Suite Chypre and the richly varied Cyprian Rhapsodies have significantly extended the repertoire for two guitars. The Duo Tandem are drawn towards this composer’s skilful modernity and his celebration of traditional heritage reimagined within the sound world of the classical guitar. Full Article
no BEETHOVEN, L. van: Piano Concertos (Complete) (Mustonen, Tapiola Sinfonietta) (ODE1359-2T) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
no LAZAR, B. / CHEMLA, J. / HUBERT, F.: Traviata [Opera] (after A. Dumas (fils) and G. Verdi) (Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, 2017) (NTSC) (BAC156) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article
no LAZAR, B. / CHEMLA, J. / HUBERT, F.: Traviata [Opera] (after A. Dumas (fils) and G. Verdi) (Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, 2017) (Blu-ray, Full-HD) (BAC456) By www.naxos.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT Full Article