The World of Classical Music NAXOS NEW ON
NOVEMBER 2025 UK release dates: 14 th and 28 th
This Month’s Other Highlights
Naxos Music UK Ltd North Suite, 3rd Floor, Forum House, 41-51 Brighton Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 6YS Tel: 01737 645600 · Fax: 01737 644065 · Email: info@naxosmusic.co.uk © 2025 Naxos Rights US, Inc.
NEW ON NAXOS | NOVEMBER 2025
© Thomas Aurin
2.110780 Playing time: 158 minutes Filming dates: 1 and 5 May 2024 Filming venue: Deutsche Oper Berlin, Germany Picture format: NTSC 16:9 Sound format: Dolby Digital 2.0 and DTS-Surround 5.1 Language: German Subtitles: German, English, Japanese, Korean Region code: 0 (worldwide) No. of disc/s: 1 (DVD 9) Release date: 12 Dec 2025
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Richard STRAUSS (1864–1949) Intermezzo A bourgeois comedy with symphonic interludes in two acts, Op. 72, TrV 246 (1924) Libretto by the composer Part II of Tobias Kratzer’s Strauss triptych at the Deutsche Oper Berlin Maria Bengtsson, Soprano • Thomas Blondelle, Tenor Philipp Jekal, Baritone Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin
Key features: •
Sir Donald Runnicles has built his reputation on enduring relationships with several of the most significant opera companies and orchestras over the course of a career spanning 45 years. He is especially celebrated for his interpretations of Romantic and post-Romantic symphonic and opera repertoire, including a complete recording of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen on seven DVDs (2.107001)/four Blu-ray discs (NBD0156VX) that has been much admired by the critics: ‘Donald Runnicles leads pacy yet detailed readings of all four operas, and his orchestra is superb. His conducting abounds in characterful touches, witty gesture and refulgent emotion’ ( Opera News ). ‘Veterans of great Strauss performances of the past will surely not be disappointed, at least not reasonably so, by Maria Bengtsson ’s Christine… Bengtsson made the role her own and also very much a creature of our own times, ultimately likeable through that earlier cited genuineness of emotion’. ‘[Tobias] Kratzer ’s direction of Elliott Woodruff as Franzl and indeed the boy-actor’s own performance helped here too. Philipp Jekal ’s Robert was finely sung and acted, treading difficult lines of his own without in any sense trying to upstage his partner-in-crime… Strong appearances in smaller roles from artists such as Clemens Bieber , Anna Schoeck , and Markus Brück likewise attested to thoughtful casting and direction. Assuming that performances of Intermezzo will, alas, continue to be rarities even in German-speaking lands, catch this if and when you can’ ( Seen and Heard International ).
Donald Runnicles
Maria Bengtsson
Sir Donald Runnicles, Conductor • Tobias Kratzer, Stage director Richard Strauss described his two-act opera Intermezzo as a ‘bourgeois comedy with symphonic interludes’. The soprano role of Christine with her shimmering cantilenas represents Strauss’s wife Pauline, while the successful Court Conductor Robert Storch is Richard Strauss’s alter ego in a reality drama that was avant- garde for its time. This acclaimed production from director Tobias Kratzer brings Intermezzo into the present day, highlighting Strauss’s own clever switches between reality and fiction with stunning visual effects and a superbly characterful cast.
Tobias Kratzer
•
Philipp Jekal
•
Also available on Blu-ray video: NBD0188V Playing time: 158 minutes Filming dates: 1 and 5 May 2024 Filming venue: Deutsche Oper Berlin, Germany Picture format: HD 16:9 Sound format: PCM stereo and DTS-MA Surround 5.1 Language: German Subtitles: German, English, Japanese, Korean Region: A, B, C No. of disc/s: 1 (BD 50) Release date: 12 Dec 2025
Clemens Bieber
Anna Schoeck
Markus Brück
Companion titles – Tobias Kratzer, Stage director
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2.110762 (NBD0174V)
2.110774 (NBD0182V)
2.110657 (NBD0108V)
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NEW ON NAXOS | NOVEMBER 2025
8.574707 Release date: 28 Nov 2025
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Leó WEINER (1885–1960) Complete Works for Orchestra, Vol. 4 Violin Concerto No. 1 * Variations on a Hungarian Folksong • Serenade Divertimento No. 3 ‘Hungarian Impressions’ * FIRST COMPLETE RECORDING Júlia Pusker, Violin * MÁV Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Valéria Csányi Leó Weiner was one of the most important of all Hungarian pedagogues as well as being a distinguished composer. The success of his Serenade , written when he was 21, was immediate – its light, intimate and richly melodic qualities, some of which derive from stylised Hungarian dances, are still captivating today. The Divertimento No. 3 and Variations on a Hungarian Folksong mine joyful music from a collection in Budapest’s Museum of Ethnography. The Violin Concerto No. 1 is a masterly orchestration of his Violin Sonata, Op. 9 , alternating between the playful and the dramatic. The performance heard here restores 115 bars that were cut from the fourth movement, making this the first complete recording. Key features: • Conductor Valéria Csányi has recorded all four of the Weiner albums in this series. • ‘It is clearly a labour of love on the part of the MÁV Symphony Orchestra, Budapest and conductor, who bring every section to life with energy and sensitivity. The sound is up there with Naxos’s best, and it is a recording of musicological significance’ ( Fanfare on Vol. 2, 8.573847). • Divertimentos Nos. 1 and 2 are on Vol. 3 (8.574125): ‘The performances are excellent… Valéria Csányi leads members of the Budapest Symphony with a great sense of control. The recorded sound is excellent’, wrote Fanfare .
Valéria Csányi
Click to listen to Divertimento No. 3, Op. 25 ‘Impressioni ungheresi’ (‘Hungarian Impressions’): V. Maskara-nóta (‘Masquerade Song’): Allegro LISTEN
About Valéria Csányi, Conductor Valéria Csányi has worked extensively at the Hungarian State Opera, conducting more than 700 performances. She has toured Austria, Germany, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Mexico. Csányi has made recordings for Naxos including the operetta Fürstin Ninetta by Strauss II with the Stockholms Strauss Orkester [8.660227-28] as well as the first complete recording of Erkel’s opera István király (‘King Stephen’) [8.660345-46], Széchényi’s Complete Dances for Orchestra [8.573807], and Weiner’s ballet Csongor and Tünde [8.573491], Toldi – Symphonic Poem [8.573847] and Divertimentos Nos. 1 and 2 [8.574125].
Companion titles – Previous releases in the series
MÁV Symphony Orchestra, Budapest
8.573491
8.573847
8.574125
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NEW ON NAXOS | NOVEMBER 2025
8.574583 Release date: 14 Nov 2025
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Andrew Cannestra © Margaret Butler
Józef WIENIAWSKI (1837–1912) Romantic Piano, Vol. 5 Piano Works Piano Sonata • Polonaises • Ballade Andrew Cannestra, Piano
Click to listen to Piano Sonata in B minor, Op. 22: I. Allegro con brio LISTEN
About Andrew Cannestra, Piano Pianist and composer Andrew Cannestra first rose to prominence as the winner of the 2021 Aeolian Classics Emerging Artist Competition, where he was unanimously lauded by the jury. In 2024 he was awarded the Bronze Medal at the Seattle International Piano Competition. His debut album, Mystic Pool , was released in 2022, featuring one of his own compositions alongside works by William Grant Still, Alexander Scriabin, Fryderyk Chopin and Henri Dutilleux. He recently gave the Oregon premiere of Amy Beach’s Piano Concerto with the University of Oregon Symphony, as well as the world premiere of Ryan Johnston’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Boston-based Horizon Ensemble.
Józef Wieniawski, younger brother of Henryk, was a prolific Polish composer and virtuoso pianist renowned throughout Europe. After studies in Paris he spent two years in Weimar studying with and absorbing the compositional style of Franz Liszt – Wieniawski’s work combines the pianistic flair and poetic intensity of both Liszt and his fellow countryman Chopin. These qualities can all be heard in the virtuoso Polonaises and the tragic Ballade as well as the Piano Sonata in B minor – the pinnacle of Józef Wieniawski’s many contributions to the piano repertoire. Andrew Cannestra’s recording of Polonaise No. 1 is available for streaming and download on a digital single (9.70388). Romantic Piano edition was launched in September 2025 with works by Julius Benedict on Naxos 8.574586. With numerous world premiere recordings, this series explores and promotes little-known composers and unusual repertoire, such as further volumes presenting rarely heard music by Charles Gounod, works by Friedrich Kiel, and piano sonatas by Wilhelm Taubert. • Key features: • This album presents several works that have never been commercially recorded among others with only a small handful of recent recordings. Fans of Fryderyk Chopin and Franz Liszt will find a great deal to enjoy here, with all of their Romantic- era virtuoso techniques richly on display through a composer who has his own original voice, and one that is remarkable for its sincerity and refreshing takes on familiar forms and genres.
Józef WIENIAWSKI Polonaise No. 1 in C major * Only available for download and streaming
9.70388 * Release date: 14 Nov 2025
Companion titles – Previous releases in the series
SEP 2025
SEP 2025
OCT 2025
OCT 2025
8.574586
8.574585
8.574534
8.574703
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NEW ON NAXOS | NOVEMBER 2025
Giacomo PUCCINI (1858–1924) Messa di Gloria Capriccio sinfonico Alejandro Del Angel, Tenor • Massimo Cavalletti, Baritone Aalto Theatre Opera Chorus • Essen Philharmonic Choir • Essen Philharmonic Orchestra Andrea Sanguineti
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Giacomo Puccini achieved global renown as an opera composer, but the choral, vocal and orchestral works recorded here reveal little-known aspects of his output, including several rarities. Puccini’s early training was in church music, with the Messa di Gloria a clear indication of his great talent. The recently discovered Preludio a orchestra shows his wider ambitions, with the Germanic influences of the Capriccio sinfonico resulting in music destined to reappear in operas such as La Bohème . The elegiac and prescient aria Ad una morta contrasts with the celebratory Inno a Roma , a rousing occasional piece that features plenty of Puccini’s characteristic melodic flourishes. A digital EP of the Preludio sinfonico and the Requiem is also available for download and streaming (9.70398). Key features: •
This recording marks Puccini Year 2024, with this programme from the Essen Philharmonic Orchestra dedicated to this composer in his least known works. The album offers a rare opportunity to experience almost all of the composer’s works for (chorus and) orchestra outside the operatic repertoire, many of which are now considered rarities and have almost completely disappeared from the concert stage. • German-Italian conductor Andrea Sanguineti is music director of the Essen Philharmonic Orchestra and the Aalto Theatre in Essen, also being in great demand as an opera conductor at major European opera houses. In addition to his success in the opera world, Sanguineti has become renowned for a series of critically acclaimed performances on the podium of the Essen Philharmonic Orchestra with masterpieces by composers such as Mahler, Bruckner, Strauss and Tchaikovsky. Reinforced with the Aalto Theatre Opera Chorus and the Essen Philharmonic Choir as well as stellar soloists Alejandro Del Angel and Massimo Cavalletti , this is not only a fascinating and desirable programme of rarely heard Puccini, but a glorious showcase for one of Western Germany’s finest sources of musical expression. Click to listen to Messa a quattro voci con orchestra ‘Messa di Gloria’, SC 6: Credo: Crucifixus etiam pro nobis LISTEN
8.574685 Release date: 12 Dec 2025
Andrea Sanguineti
Alejandro Del Angel
Massimo Cavalletti
Companion titles – Giacomo Puccini, Composer
Aalto Theatre Opera Chorus
8.660253-54 8.573501
8.660078-79 8.660089-90
Essen Philharmonic Choir
Giacomo PUCCINI Preludio sinfonico Requiem * Only available for download and streaming
Essen Philharmonic Orchestra
9.70398 * Playing time: 14:57 Release date: 14 Nov 2025
Claudio SANTORO (1919–1989) Symphonies Nos. 13 and 14 Viola Concerto * • Concerto for Chamber Orchestra Gabriel Marin, Viola * • Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra • Neil Thomson
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Claudio Santoro’s late works are marked by great concision and considerable emotional density. The music on this album was written in the last months of his life. The Viola Concerto and the Concerto for Chamber Orchestra juxtapose restless energy and expansive – if at times desolate – lyricism. The powerful Symphony No. 13 shows Santoro’s mastery of orchestration and form at its peak, and the compact Symphony No. 14 was to be the last in a cycle widely acclaimed as the most significant of its kind ever composed in Brazil. Key features: •
This release is part of an ongoing project to record all of Claudio Santoro’s symphonies, launched with Vol. 1 (Naxos 8.574402) acclaimed in Gramophone : ‘The performances by the Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra under its principal conductor Neil Thomson are first- class, as is the quality of the recording.’ Vol. 2 (8.574406) ‘unquestionably reveals [Claudio Santoro’s] real stature as
8.574641 Release date: 12 Dec 2025
Companion titles – Claudio Santoro, Composer
a symphonist’ ( MusicWeb International ). These have been joined by Vol. 3 (8.574410), which contains ‘powerful and strongly articulated pieces’ ( MusicWeb International ), and Vol. 4 (8.574572), which was much admired in Ritmo : ‘As usual, the perfect sound quality enhances convincing performances by… the Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Neil Thomson…’. • Our recording of Claudio Santoro’s complete piano sonatas is also available in this edition (8.574486), considered by the American Record Guide as ‘a significant release of works by a composer who should be better known’. A further album with the Fantasias Sul América (8.574407) received support from Gramophone : ‘It would be truly wonderful if these works could become more widely known as a consequence of such fine recordings’. Click to listen to Viola Concerto: I. Allegro LISTEN
8.574402
8.574406
8.574410
8.574572
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NEW ON NAXOS | NOVEMBER 2025
History of the Russian Piano Trio, Vol. 9 The Russian Abroad: Paris – Rome – New York
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AMFITHEATROF • GRECHANINOV A. TCHEREPNIN • J. WEINBERG The Brahms Trio
Paris was the musical destination for many Russian émigré composers between the two World Wars, with both Grechaninov, from an older generation, and Tcherepnin, from a younger one, living in the city. Grechaninov’s Piano Trio No. 2 in G major is a brightly decorative work, whereas Tcherepnin’s concise, refined orientalism in the Piano Trio, Op. 34 is influenced by French modernism and the Russian avant- garde. Daniele Amfitheatrof moved to Rome where he wrote his beautiful, sunlit Piano Trio , richly imbued with the aura of Puccini and Mascagni. The dazzling Piano Trio on Hebrew Themes by New York-based Jacob Weinberg incorporates synagogue and Russian tunes, quotations from Bizet, Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann, as well as tango rhythms. Key features: • This is a part of a projected series of 15 albums entitled History of the Russian Piano Trio . These releases have subsequently been nominated for an International Classical Music Award (ICMA), and were named as the best albums of 2021 by Gramophone and American Record Guide . •
8.574690 Release date: 28 Nov 2025
Companion titles – Previous releases in the series
In 2022, The Brahms Trio was nominated for Opus Klassik Awards in the categories of Best Chamber Music Recording, Ensemble of the Year and Outstanding Contribution to the Expansion of the Repertoire. Cellist Kirill Rodin is a winner of the Gold Medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow while pianist Natalia Rubinstein was First Prize winner of the Joseph Joachim Chamber Music Competition in Weimar. Click to listen to TCHEREPNIN, A.: Piano Trio, Op. 34: III. Allegro molto LISTEN
8.574116
8.574687
SEP 2025
Graf Mourja , Natalia Rubinstein and Kirill Rodin
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8.574689
David AMRAM (b. 1930) Voyages for Solo Violin 1 Piano Sonata 2 • Violin Sonata 3 Elmira Darvarova, Violin 1, 3 • Thomas Weaver, Piano 2, 3
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David Amram’s career as a versatile composer, conductor and multi-instrumentalist has spanned more than 70 years. Recorded here in its world premiere, Voyages for Solo Violin in three movements evokes ancient Egypt, Native American and African roots music and, in the words of the composer, “the tradition of the fiddler as a keeper of the flame.” Ranging from prayer-like melodies to blues and polyrhythms, the Piano Sonata is one of the most jazz-influenced of any 20th-century work in this genre, while the Violin Sonata brings classical and jazz idioms together in music that inspired a collaboration with the writer Jack Kerouac. Key features: •
This new release is special in many ways, not least for the interest that will inevitably be raised by a world premiere recording in Voyages for Solo Violin . GRAMMY-nominated and two times Gold Medal Global Music Awards-winning violinist Elmira Darvarova premiered this work at Carnegie Hall on 10 October 2024, and her championing of David Amram ’s Violin Sonata has made her its leading performer, having presented it on three continents over the last 15 years. •
8.559962 Release date: 12 Dec 2025
Companion titles – Elmira Darvarova, Violin
David Amram with Elmira Darvarova and Thomas Weaver
Pianist Thomas Weaver is also a notable Amram specialist, having performed the Piano Sonata at numerous festivals including the New York Chamber Music Festival at Carnegie Hall. This ‘dream team’ synergy is something that has produced an outstanding album that will bring the compelling verve and expressive variety of Amram’s music to a new level of appreciation. Click to listen to Voyages for Solo Violin: No. 1. Allegro assai “Cairo, Lahore and Athens” LISTEN
8.579042
8.572753
8.570928
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NEW ON NAXOS | NOVEMBER 2025
Gabriela Lena FRANK (b. 1972) Conquest Requiem 1 * Antonio ESTÉVEZ (1916–1988) Cantata Criolla 2 * WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING Jessica Rivera, Soprano 1 • Aquiles Machado, Tenor 2 Andrew Garland 1 , Juan Tomás Martínez Yépez 2 , Baritones Nashville Symphony Chorus and Orchestra • Giancarlo Guerrero
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Gabriela Lena Frank’s Conquest Requiem brings to life the complexities of colonisation, identity and survival through the story of Malinche, a Nahua woman from the Gulf Coast of Mexico who was given to the Spaniards as a young slave. Using a fusion of Western liturgical traditions, indigenous Nahua poetry and Latin influences, this powerful work deals with the fundamental question of how to reconcile a legacy of historical violence that continues to shape modern issues. Antonio Estévez’s wildly popular Cantata Criolla – considered one of the greatest choral pieces of the 20th century in Latin America – is the composer’s most celebrated work. Key features: • Gabriela Lena Frank ’s work Hilos was released in 2011 on a GRAMMY-nominated album (Naxos 8.559645) that was welcomed by David Hurwitz of ClassicsToday.com : ‘Gabriela Lena Frank is the real deal: a modern composer with a personal style, one that manages to integrate a wide range of sounds and performing techniques into a cohesive language… This is just good music.’ •
8.574267 Release date: 12 Dec 2025
Companion titles – Giancarlo Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony Orchestra
8.559841
8.559852
Given their remarkable track record on the Naxos label, each new release of contemporary repertoire performed by the Nashville Symphony Orchestra conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero has now become something of an event. Their recording of Michael Daugherty’s Metropolis Symphony (8.559635) was a multiple GRAMMY Award winner and considered ‘terrifically entertaining’ by ClassicsToday.com , as well as a recording of Christopher Rouse’s Fifth Symphony and two other works (8.559852) on which MusicWeb International reported that ‘all three performances are excellent as Giancarlo Guerrero draws utterly splendid playing from the Nashville Symphony’. Click to listen to Darius LIM (b. 1986) Songs of Dreams Echoes of the Lost World • A Puppet’s Dream The Fire Dance of Luna • The Water Dance of Lluvia The Glass Slipper • Cries From A Distant World Voices of Singapore Choral Society Darius Lim LISTEN
8.559853
8.559854
Nashville Symphony Orchestra with Giancarlo Guerrero
FRANK, G.L.: Conquest Requiem: VI. Confutatis maledictis –
MASTERED FOR
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Singaporean composer and conductor, Darius Lim, incorporates theatrical elements into his choral compositions, taking audiences on an emotional journey. The 14 works in this album attest to his belief in the passion, joy and transcendence of the human spirit, whether as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, or to the beauties of nature and imaginary fantasy worlds. Lim’s music embraces the mystical, the magical and the ethereal in ways that stir the imagination and touch the heart. Key features: • Dr Darius Lim is a Singaporean conductor-composer renowned for his visionary approach to choral music. He is CEO of The Voice Company, board member of the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM), council member of the Asia Pacific Choral Council, and board chairman of the World Alliance of Children’s Choirs. His works have been performed by thousands of choirs globally, including world-renowned ensembles Voces8, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain. In 2023 he was the composer-in-residence for National Concerts at Carnegie Hall. • Voices of Singapore (VOS) is Singapore’s largest singing organisation. With over 30 singing groups and a community of more than 1,500 members, VOS provides platforms that celebrate, build and inspire a Singing Singapore. This is the first official album by the Voices of Singapore Choral Society. It is also the first all-Singaporean album recorded by a Singaporean ensemble to be released by Naxos. Click to listen to A Puppet’s Dream LISTEN
8.579154 Release date: 28 Nov 2025
Companion titles – Other choral works
8.574647
8.579180
8.559944
8.574356-57
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NEW ON NAXOS | NOVEMBER 2025
Franz LISZT (1811–1886) Complete Piano Music, Vol. 67 March Transcriptions Paul Williamson, Piano
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This volume in the Complete Piano Music edition focuses on march transcriptions, a genre that often symbolised national identity and one that Liszt arranged and transcribed throughout his entire compositional career. Marches often appeared in Liszt’s recitals and allowed him to pay respect to the culture in which he was performing. These brilliant works are spiced with Hungarian timbres, suggesting native scalic patterns and the sound of the cimbalom, as well as Liszt’s Romantic flamboyance. Key features: Pianist Paul Williamson was included in CBC Music’s 2017 edition of 30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians under 30. Williamson received First Prize at both the 2014 Canadian National Music Festival and the 2017 Canadian Federation of Music Teachers’ Association National Piano Competition in addition to three semi-final awards. He is also a prize winner of the 2020 WMC McLellan Competition. An advocate of new music, Williamson regularly performs contemporary repertoire and has worked alongside many living composers. Click to listen to Introduction des variations sur une marche du Siège de Corinthe de Rossini, S421a LISTEN
8.574717 Release date: 28 Nov 2025
Companion titles – Previous releases in the series
8.574380
8.574565
8.574614
8.574667
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756–1791) Keyboard Works Fragments and Rarities Vijay Venkatesh, Piano
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Few musicians shaped the evolution of keyboard writing as profoundly as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His sonatas and concertos aligned technical brilliance with lyrical sensitivity to elevate the piano from largely domestic use to a powerful vehicle for solo and ensemble musicianship. This collection of hidden gems includes pieces spanning early childhood miniatures to complete sonata movements, minuets, a set of variations and a wide variety of incomplete works filled with Mozart’s characteristic delicacy, surprise and operatic drama. Vijay Venkatesh’s recording of Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 6 can be heard on a digital-only release, 9.70390. Key features: Appearing here in his Naxos debut, Indian-American pianist Vijay Venkatesh has been hailed by the Herald-Tribune for his ‘dazzling pianism verging on the impossible, effortless technical command and authority with a sense of poetry and refinement that belies his years’. Venkatesh has been recognised on three continents as a pianist with profound musicianship and sparkling pianism, whose playing is described as ‘fresh and inspired’ ( Cincinnati Courier ). He has rapidly established a major international reputation as top prize winner in the San Jose, Seattle, Zimmerli, World Piano, and Waring International Piano Competitions. Click to listen to Klavierstück in B flat major, K. 9b LISTEN
8.574422 Release date: 28 Nov 2025
Companion titles – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
8.574582
8.573114
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART Piano Sonata No. 6 * Only available for download and streaming
8.574477
8.574164
9.70390 * Playing time: 26:53 Release date: 28 Nov 2025
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NEW ON NAXOS | NOVEMBER 2025
Gioachino ROSSINI (1792–1868) Adina Farsa in one act (1818)
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Libretto by Gherardo Bevilacqua-Aldobrandini (1791–1845) Sara Blanch, Soprano • César Arrieta, Aaron Godfrey-Mayes, Tenors
Emmanuel Franco, Baritone • Shi Zong, Bass Kraków Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra Luciano Acocella
Rossini’s Adina is a one-act farsa sentimentale or semiseria set in a seraglio in Baghdad where we find the Caliph determined to marry Adina who is also loved by Selimo. To this standard story Rossini brought an unexpected psychological depth, augmented by coloratura arias and male choruses of richness and daring. However, for unknown reasons he omitted a vital Terzetto, which has made the work problematic to fully realise in performance. This recording employs the Terzetto from Giovanni Pacini’s opera La schiava in Bagdad , a solution first proposed in 1861, much to the benefit of the opera’s pacing. Key features: • In 2015 Sara Blanch made her debut at Rossini in Wildbad as Elvira in L’Italiana in Algeri and as Aurelia in Lindpaintner’s Il vespro siciliano and won the Audience Prize of the Bel Canto Academy. Bachtrack wrote, ‘Sara Blanch sang Marie with a brilliant, silvery soprano, capable of extremely easy, unfaltering high and super-high notes, full of harmonics. Her interpretation was funny, sweet, and engaging’. • Venezuelan Tenor César Arrieta has been a guest artist at Rossini in Wildbad (2015–16). He has appeared in Sigismondo (8.660403-04), Demetrio e Polibio (8.660405-06) and Lindpaintner’s Il vespro siciliano (8.660440-43). Bass Shi Zong ’s awards include First Prize at the Deiva Marina International Vocal Competition and the Special Prize at the Premio Boni International Vocal Competition. • Luciano Acocella directs Rossini’s Adelaide di Borgogna on 8.660401-02: ‘The live recording is fully acceptable, choral and orchestral forces excellent’, wrote MusicWeb International . Click to listen to No. 1: Introduzione Splende sereno e fulgido LISTEN
8.660606 Release date: 12 Dec 2025
Companion titles – Gioachino Rossini, Composer
8.660556-57
8.660554-55
8.660538-39
8.660512-13
Michael DELLAIRA (b. 1949) Arctic Explorations
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Folk opera in one act (2023) Libretto by Michael Dellaira Erin Brittain, Nicole Haslett, Sopranos • Michael Celentano, Tenor Colin Levin, Baritone • Nuka Alice, Vocal soloist New Amsterdam Singers The Harlem Chamber Players Clara Longstreth
Michael Dellaira has become one of America’s leading opera composers, receiving acclaim and awards for compelling stage works including The Leopard (Naxos 8.669052-53). Based on Elisha Kent Kane’s expedition to find the Northwest Passage in the mid-19th century, Arctic Explorations is a study on the human desire to discover what lies beyond the boundaries of our experience. The effects of global warming and the plight of the Inuit in one of the most beautiful but endangered places on earth also forms part of the narrative. Key features: • Naxos American Opera Classics has previously released Michael Dellaira ’s The Leopard (8.669052-53), an opera admired in the American Record Guide : ‘I encourage anybody interested in the current state of opera to get to know The Leopard ’, and also considered ‘a feather in the cap of the Frost School of Music, and also for Dellaira’ in Fanfare . • The strong cast of soloists for Arctic Explorations includes baritone Colin Levin , who made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2018 and who has an extensive history of collaborating with composers, and soprano Nicole Haslett , who has been hailed by The New York Times for both her ‘technically accomplished coloratura’ and her ‘floating lyricism’. Click to listen to Scene 4 “Love Letters – Interlude 1”: My dearest Maggie LISTEN
8.669054 Release date: 28 Nov 2025
Companion titles – Other American opera classics
8.669052-53
8.669041
8.669050-51
8.669049
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NEW ON NAXOS | NOVEMBER 2025
Reginald SMITH BRINDLE (1917–2003) Complete Works for Solo Guitar, Vol. 3 Preludes, Fantasies and Variations Duilio Meucci, Guitar
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Reginald Smith Brindle served with the Royal Engineers in Africa and Italy during the Second World War, and later returned to Italy in 1949 to further his compositional studies with Pizzetti and Dallapiccola. The influence of Italian landscapes and culture can be found in many of Smith Brindle’s works, including an extended combination of nostalgia and melancholy in November Memories dedicated to the poet Margherita Guidacci, and an evocation of the spirit of Gesualdo in The Prince of Venosa . The sheer variety of his guitar music is further represented in the expressive Preludes and Fantasias , the technical demands of the Île-de- France Variations , and the pedagogical but intriguingly atonal Ten Simple Preludes . Key features: • This release follows on from a first volume (Naxos 8.574476) that represented a Naxos debut both for composer Reginald Smith Brindle and guitarist Duilio Meucci , and was considered ‘a fine sampler of the music of one of the most important guitar composers of the 20th Century, dramatically played by a consummate artist who is deeply dedicated to his work’ in the American Record Guide . Vol. 2 (8.574634) will be released in September 2025. • Further acclaim for the first volume in this edition includes comments in MusicWeb International : ‘Duilio Meucci’s playing is excellent throughout, and the album has the clear, resonant recorded sound that one expects from Naxos… we can also hope that the album will help encourage other instrumentalists to take up Smith Brindle’s music’. Click to listen to Preludes and Fantasias: Prelude No. 5 LISTEN
8.574635 Release date: 28 Nov 2025
Companion titles – Previous releases in the series
8.574476 8.574634 Other works for solo guitar
8.574321 8.579103 8.574442 8.559948
Leoš JANÁČEK (1854–1928) On an Overgrown Path Gustav Piekut, Piano
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The Czech composer Leoš Janáček is primarily known for his operas and orchestral works, but at the piano he discovered a highly idiosyncratic and expressive language, strongly influenced by his studies of contemporaneous Slavonic folk music. The cycle On an Overgrown Path is a microcosm of this style. Composed between 1900 and 1911, these small pieces evoke the composer’s rustic boyhood in the village of Hukvaldy, conveying intimate nostalgia and poignancy in an autobiographical diary of impressions and dreams tinged with joy, introspection and loss. This recording includes the two surviving pieces from the work’s second series as well as the Paralipomena sequence of three miniatures from the 1942 publication. Key features: • Young Danish pianist Gustav Piekut is a laureate of international piano competitions such the Aarhus International Piano Competition and the Kissinger KlavierOlymp. In Denmark, Piekut has also received several awards, including the Artist Prize of the Danish Music Critics’ Association, the Danish Radio P2 Talent Prize, the Wilhelm Hansen Foundation Honorary Stipend, the Carl Nielsen and Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Talent Prize, the Léonie Sonning Talent Prize, and the Gladsaxe Music Award. • He has recorded piano works by Scriabin and Langgaard on 8.574312: Fanfare wrote that ‘Gustav Piekut was barely 25 when he recorded this album. He is already demonstrating mature artistry and a knack for thoughtful programming.’
9.70378 * Release date: 14 Nov 2025
Companion titles – Leoš Janáček, Composer
8.660526-27
8.574209
8.572695
8.572639
* Only available for download and streaming
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RETURN HOME
inCONCERT Songs of Yearning DVOŘÁK • HEFTI Stradivari Quartett
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The ‘Stradivari Quartett in Concert’ series presents this second volume – Songs of Yearning – a live recording captured during the ensemble’s Klangwelle concert in Zurich. The album features three remarkable works: Dvořák’s radiant ‘ American ’ Quartet , five lyrical selections from his Cypresses , and the world premiere recording of Swiss composer David Philip Hefti’s String Quartet No. 8 – a work expressly commissioned for the ensemble and designed to be performed interspersed with the Cypresses , as heard in this recording. Founded in 2007, Stradivari Quartett has earned global acclaim for its sophisticated musicianship and profound interpretations that affirm the quartet’s standing among today’s foremost ensembles. Key features:
Founded in 2007, the Stradivari Quartett features four musicians playing rare, historic Stradivarius instruments. Praised by Gramophone for their beauty of sound and ensemble unity, they have performed in top venues worldwide, including Wigmore Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, and Shanghai Concert Hall. Their recordings span Schubert, Schumann, and Mozart, with a Naxos EP released in 2021. Through their StradivariFEST and themed seasons, such as Dvořák (2023/24) and Haydn (2024/25), they captivate audiences with refined, composer-focused performances.
9.70397 * Release date: 7 Nov 2025
Companion titles – Other works for string quartet
Xiaoming Wang , Lech Antonio Uszynski , Stefan Tarara and Maja Weber
8.574495
8.574540
8.559851
8.574223
* Only available for download and streaming
The Magic Wonderland Opens Before our Gaze Austrian Songs from the 19th to the 20th Century
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Yuanming Song, Soprano Charles Spencer, Piano
This album features four Austrian composers from the late 19th to the early 20th century: Alban Berg, Arnold Schoenberg, Franz Schreker, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Presenting four contemporaneous yet stylistically diverse song cycles, it captures the artistic essence of Austrian songs during this transformative era. Soprano Yuanming Song, an award-winning international artist, graces prestigious stages worldwide. Viennese cultural media acclaim her as ’a pure lyric soprano with remarkable vocal elasticity - evenly magnetic, tender yet powerful’. Recorded in Vienna with pianist Charles Spencer, this album showcases their remarkable artistic synergy. Key features: • Yuanming Song is a celebrated lyric soprano praised for her magnetic, flexible voice. She holds multiple diplomas from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and teaches at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. A prize-winner in major vocal competitions, she has performed globally at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall and the Salzburg Festival. Her discography includes Favourite Lieder of Richard Strauss and Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn , with orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra under world-renowned conductors. • Charles Spencer is a distinguished pianist and professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, internationally acclaimed for his work as a vocal accompanist. He collaborated with Christa Ludwig for over a decade and has performed with leading vocalists including Jessye Norman, Thomas Quasthoff, and Elīna Garanča. Spencer’s artistry features on numerous recordings, and he regularly appears at top global venues. His refined musical sensitivity makes him one of the most sought-after accompanists of his generation.
9.70405 * Release date: 7 Nov 2025 Companion titles – Yuanming Song, Soprano
8.579088 8.574313 Charles Spencer, Piano
8.551459
8.551422
* Only available for download and streaming
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