The first New On Naxos for 2024 highlights a new recording of Franck & Chausson's Symphonies conducted by Jean-Luc Tingaud. Other highlights include Suppé's Orchestral Overtures, mastered for Dolby atmos, plus the final volume of the Dvořák String Quartet series by the Fine Arts Quartet. The audio version of Verdi's Ernani, British Composer Philip Stopford's Sacred Choral Music, and a new production of Cimarosa's L'Italiana in Londra, conducted by Leo Hussain and featuring the Frankfurter Opern-und Museumsorchester. Enjoy!
NEW ON NAXOS The World’s Leading Classical Music Label
JANUARY 2024
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NEW ON NAXOS | JANUARY 2024
MASTERED FOR
8.574536 Release Date: 12 Jan 2024
César FRANCK (1822–1890) Symphony in D minor Ernest CHAUSSON (1855–1899) Symphony in B flat major Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin Jean-Luc Tingaud
Jean-Luc Tingaud
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Click to listen to FRANCK, C.: Symphony in D minor, M. 48: II. Allegretto About Jean-Luc Tingaud, Conductor Jean-Luc Tingaud studied with the French conductor Manuel Rosenthal. Orchestras he has conducted include the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, the Warsaw and Kraków Philharmonics, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Orchestre National de Lyon, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the orchestras of the Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa and the Teatro Massimo, Palermo. His recordings include Sapho (Wexford), Werther (Martina Franca), La Voix humaine (Compiègne) and Le Siège de Corinthe (Bad Wildbad) and, most recently for Naxos, works by Dukas (8.573296), Bizet (8.573344), D’Indy (8.573522), Poulenc (8.573739), Franck (8.573955) and Massenet (8.574178).
César Franck’s only symphony came at a time when the French music world was seeking to rival the great Austro- German tradition. The ‘darkness-to-light’ narrative of the Symphony in D minor owes a debt to Beethoven and there is a unique power within its distinctive themes, innovative cyclic form and general gravitas. Franck’s student Ernest Chausson was no doubt inspired by his teacher’s thematic metamorphoses, but the anguished influence of Wagner is also ever present. The published score of the Symphony in B flat major includes many errors which conductor Jean-Luc Tingaud has meticulously corrected after careful study of Chausson’s autograph manuscripts. Key Features: • César Franck’s Symphony in D minor is rightly considered one of the greatest French orchestral works of the late 19th century but, surprisingly, it has rarely if ever been coupled with his pupil Chausson’s Symphony in B flat major . For this work, conductor Jean-Luc Tingaud has compared original manuscripts with the published edition and has corrected numerous errors. These include significant discrepancies in tempo relationships and other major mistakes in the published score, and the results will be of interest to scholars and record collectors alike. • The Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin is one of Berlin’s top orchestras, and ranked in the highest echelon of German radio orchestras. Its Naxos albums include JoAnn Falletta’s recording of Franz Schreker’s Der Geburtsdag der Infantin Suite (8.573821), which was an American Record Guide Critic ’s Choice, and had BBC Music Magazine admiring how these ‘stirring sumptuous performances show off Schreker’s lush scoring and vivid orchestral picture-painting’.
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin
DIGITAL PRE-RELEASE SINGLE
Ernest CHAUSSON Symphony – II. Très lent
* Only available for download and streaming
9.40566 * Release Date: 15 Dec 2023
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NEW ON NAXOS | JANUARY 2024
MASTERED FOR
INCLUDES WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
8.574538 Release Date: 12 Jan 2024
Ola Rudner © Marinko Belanov
Franz von SUPPÉ (1819–1895) Fantasia Symphonica Orchestral Overtures Preludes Tonkünstler-Orchester • Ola Rudner
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Click to listen to Dichter und Bauer (‘Poet and Peasant’) – Ouvertüre (excerpt)
About Ola Rudner, Conductor Swedish conductor Ola Rudner began his musical career as a first-rate violinist, assistant to Sándor Végh, and as concertmaster of several orchestras, including the Camerata Salzburg, Volksoper Wien and Wiener Symphoniker. He founded the Philharmonia Wien in 1995, was principal conductor of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (2001–03), principal conductor of the Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano and Trento (2003–07), and chief conductor of the Württemberg Philharmonic Orchestra in Reutlingen (2008–16). Rudner has appeared with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, BBC Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra among others, and has conducted almost every major Australian and Scandinavian Orchestra. In addition to having written the first Viennese operetta, Franz von Suppé was a master of the Italian, French and German styles which he blended like an alchemist to form his own unique, irrepressible compositions. Two imperishable examples are here, the overtures Poet and Peasant and Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna . This album also explores his previously unrecorded Fantasia Symphonica , recently rediscovered in Viennese archives by conductor Ola Rudner, which displays masterful orchestration, distinctive melodies and a mastery of counterpoint. Other rarities complete this fresh look at the breadth of Suppé’s ambition.
Key Features: •
The Swedish conductor Ola Rudner started his career as a high-profile violinist – he is a prize winner of the Paganini competition and was also the assistant of the legendary Sándor Végh. He has received the Order of Merit for services rendered to the Republic of Austria. • Suppé’s Die Reise um die Erde in 80 Tagen can be heard on 8.574396: ‘The orchestra responds beautifully to some of Suppé’s most intricate orchestrations. The sound is excellent’, wrote American Record Guide . His incidental music to Mozart on 8.574383 ‘is a must- have for fans of light opera, and for anyone in the market for something fun to listen to’ ( Fanfare ). • The Tonkünstler-Orchester is one of Austria’s largest and most important musical ambassadors. Recent tours have taken the Tonkünstler to Britain, Germany, the Czech Republic, Japan and the Baltic states. Its versatile artistic profile is reflected in its varied discography, and the orchestra’s own label, founded in 2016, releases up to four recordings per year of in- house studio productions and live recordings, mostly from the Wiener Musikverein.
Companion Titles – Franz von Suppé, Composer
8.574396
8.574383
8.553935
8.223865
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NEW ON NAXOS | JANUARY 2024
From left to right: Ralph Evans , Efim Boico , Gil Sharon and Niklas Schmidt
final volume
Antonín DVOŘÁK (1841–1904) String Quartet No. 2 1 Bagatelles 2 • Rondo in G minor 3 Fine Arts Quartet – Ralph Evans 1, 2 , Efim Boico 1, 2 , Violins • Gil Sharon, Viola 1 Niklas Schmidt, Cello Ryoko Morooka, Harmonium 2 • Stepan Simonian, Piano 3 Antonín Dvořák is revered as one of the greatest composers of late 19th-century Romanticism. He is celebrated for the kind of poignant melodies redolent of Czech folk music found in the utterly charming Bagatelles and Rondo – the haunting tunes and harmonic twists of which represent the distinctive style that brought him international fame. Less known is that during the years 1868–70 Dvořák composed in a style so wild for the time that it foreshadowed the modernistic innovations of Schoenberg and his contemporaries. Dvořák’s Second Quartet reveals fascinating examples of early experimentation before his transition into the harmonious Slavic style for which he is so beloved. Key Features: • With its unusual inclusion of a harmonium, Dvořák’s Bagatelles are less familiar on the concert podium in their original instrumentation, but they contain some of the composer’s most attractive melodies and their immediate appeal is set here against the more challenging Second String Quartet . This is a Dvořák programme both for inquisitive newcomers to his chamber music, and for collectors on the lookout for new recordings by one of the finest string quartets around. • Fine Arts Quartet’s renowned violinists, Ralph Evans (prize winner in the International Tchaikovsky Competition) and Efim Boico (former concertmaster of the Orchestre de Paris under Barenboim) have performed together for 40 years. They are joined by two eminent musicians: violist Gil Sharon (founder of the Amati Ensemble), and cellist Niklas Schmidt (co-founder of Trio Fontenay).
8.574513 Release Date: 12 Jan 2024
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Click to listen to Bagatelles, Op. 47, B. 79: No. 3. Allegretto scherzando About the Fine Arts Quartet The Fine Arts Quartet ranks among the most distinguished ensembles in chamber music today, with an illustrious history of performing success and an extensive legacy of over 200 recorded works and is one of the elite few to have recorded and toured internationally for over three-quarters of a century. Many of the Quartet’s recent releases have been selected for inclusion on GRAMMY Awards entry lists in the categories Best Classical Album and/or Best Chamber Music Performance, and have received multiple awards and distinctions. Recent releases for Naxos include Beethoven: Fugues and Rarities (8.574051), Dvořák: Spirit of Bohemia (8.574205) and Enescu: Early Chamber Music (8.574487).
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NEW ON NAXOS | JANUARY 2024
Cast of L’Italiana in Londra © Monika Rittershaus
2.110739 Picture format: NTSC 16:9 Sound format: Dolby Digital 2.0 and DTS Surround 5.1 Language: Italian Subtitles: Italian, English, German, Japanese, Korean Region code: 0 (worldwide) No. of disc/s: 1 (DVD 9) Release Date: 12 Jan 2024
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Domenico CIMAROSA (1749–1801) L’Italiana in Londra Intermezzo in musica in two parts (1778) Libretto by Giuseppe Petrosellini Angela Vallone, Bianca Tognocchi, Sopranos Theo Lebow, Tenor • Iurii Samoilov, Baritone Gordon Bintner, Bass-Baritone L’Italiana in Londra was Domenico Cimarosa’s first international triumph, thrilling audiences all over Europe after its premiere in 1778. It later became eclipsed by the even bigger success of Il matrimonio segreto however, and has become a rarity on stage today. Set in a London hotel, this cheerful ‘Intermezzo in musica’ has cleverly crafted arias, duets and ensembles that drive the plot along, the story being one of thwarted love, quarrels and misunderstandings. L’Italiana in Londra has been summed up by director R.B. Schlather as ‘incredibly charming and sophisticated ... demanding, dark, dirty and very funny ... an impeccable rom-com.’ Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester Leo Hussain, Conductor And Fortepiano R.B. Schlather, Stage Director
Key Features: •
While there are a few disc versions listed, this DVD release of the acclaimed Oper Frankfurt production of Cimarosa’s L’Italiana in Londra is the only video recording commercially available today, and we are delighted to have such a fine new production as part of our New Year release schedule for 2024. • This music for this production is led by internationally sought-after conductor Leo Hussain , who returns to Frankfurt where he made his debut in 2010–11 with Ravel’s L’Heure espagnole and Manuel de Falla’s La vida breve , which in turn was followed by Weinberg’s Die Passagierin . Hussain’s DVD recordings include acclaimed productions of Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia for Opus Arte, Massenet’s Thaïs for Unitel Edition, and a recent disc release of Lortzing’s Der Waffenschmied on Capriccio. American director R.B. Schlather also returns to Frankfurt, where he made his European debut with Handel’s Tamerlano in 2019–20. He has made a name for himself with his ability to involve himself closely with the characters, and a predilection for Baroque music. This production is a genuine collaboration between Hussain and Schlather, who both lean into Cimarosa’s clever observations of national stereotypes, making the jokes in this opera as funny today as they were centuries ago. • ‘...the Frankfurt “Italiana” is entertainment theatre in the best sense of the word: wonderfully played, beautifully sung and staged in a hilarious way’ (Bernd Zegowitz, BNN ). • ‘This production, Schlather’s second for Oper Frankfurt, is a runaway success and a rare delight … Let’s hope it remains in Frankfurt’s repertoire for years to come’ ( Opera Canada ).
Also available on Blu-ray Video: NBD0155V Picture format: HD 16:9 Sound format: PCM stereo and DTS-MA 5.1 Language: Italian Subtitles: Italian, English, German, Japanese, Korean Region: A, B, C No. of disc/s: 1 (BD 50) Release Date: 12 Jan 2024
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NEW ON NAXOS | JANUARY 2024
WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
Philip W.J. STOPFORD (b. 1977) Sacred Choral Music Grace Davidson, Soprano Choir of St Luke’s, Chelsea • Chelsea Camerata Rupert Jeffcoat, Organ • Jeremy Summerly
Philip Stopford is admired in Britain and America for his beautifully crafted music, rooted in the Anglican tradition. His works are memorable and colourful, as these world premiere recordings demonstrate. The biggest piece on this album is the Missa Deus nobiscum , a sacred concert work with a scintillating role for soprano soloist that displays Stopford’s compositional skill, creating a journey rather than a sequence of set piece movements. Elsewhere, in pieces for a variety of locations and occasions, his music is evocative, filmic and vividly celebratory. Key Features: • ‘In the last few years Philip Stopford has emerged from among the younger generation of British composers as one of the most popular and prolific writers of new choral music, and is in wide demand on both sides of the Atlantic. His beautifully-crafted music combines uplifting classic texts with memorable, radiant melodies, and glorious harmonies’, wrote Regent Records . • Stopford’s Ave Maria is represented on an album called Heaven full of stars on 8.574179, which was an American Record Guide Critic’s Choice.
8.574548 Release Date: 12 Jan 2024
Companion Titles – Recommended recordings of sacred choral music
8.574496
8.572739
Click to listen to Missa Deus nobiscum: Gloria in excelsis
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8.557277
8.573394
Giuseppe VERDI (1813–1901) Ernani Dramma lirico in four acts (1844) Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave (1810–1876) after Victor Hugo Maria José Siri, Soprano • Xenia Tziouvaras, Mezzo-soprano Joseph Dahdah, Francesco Meli, Tenors • Roberto Frontali, Baritone • Vitalij Kowaljow, Davide Piva, Basses Orchestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino • James Conlon Victor Hugo’s 1830 stage drama Hernani won overwhelming admiration, and over a decade later Verdi’s attention was drawn to it as an operatic vehicle that would give him opportunities for full dramatic unity. Its subject is the nobleman-turned-brigand Ernani who loves Elvira, herself the object of two other men’s desires. Ernani ’s success was immediate and it became Verdi’s most popular opera until he composed Il trovatore . This production won critical acclaim, as did conductor James Conlon for his ‘superb support of the singers and the flexible elasticity he brought to his tempi’ ( Opera This has previously been available as an audiovisual release from the Dynamic label (DYN-37972/DYN-57972) released in August and was praised by Opera Lounge as being ‘a performance that is ideal for getting to know this early work’. • Conductor James Conlon has conducted over 500 performances of Verdi operas. ‘James Conlon, had the orchestra erupt as though a tornado of tremendous force had suddenly blown into the hall’, wrote the Los Angeles Times of his May–June 2023 performances of Verdi’s Otello . • Francesco Meli is nowadays considered the Italian tenor par excellence. Of his performance in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda , ClassicsToday.com wrote, ‘Francseco Meli cuts a dashing figure, sings directly on the text, and handles the awkward transitions very well’. Traveller.com ). Key Features: •
8.660534-35 Release Date: 12 Jan 2024 Companion Titles – Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
8.572818-19 8.660357-58
8.660259-60
2.110590 (NBD0084V)
Click to listen to Act I: Il bandito: Scene 1 Chorus of Introduction: Evviva!… – Scene 2 Ernani pensoso!
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NEW ON NAXOS | JANUARY 2024
INCLUDES WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
José Antônio de ALMEIDA PRADO (1943–2010) Works for Violin and Cello Emmanuele Baldini, Violin • Rafael Cesario, Cello
José Antônio de Almeida Prado was one of the most prolific and creative Brazilian composers of the second half of the 20th century, finding inspiration in everything from the birdsong and forests of his native country to a contemplation of the galaxies. The evocative Le Livre magique de Xangô is considered a foundational work in Almeida Prado’s final, eclectic postmodern phase, during which folk music also re-emerged in works such as Das Cirandas . The lively Solo Violin Sonata and lyrical Capriccio both explore the violin’s full expressive potential, while The Four Seasons tests the skill of younger players. Key Feature: ‘The Music of Brazil’ series presents around 100 orchestral, chamber, choral and vocal works from the 19th and 20th centuries recorded by the country’s top orchestras, ensembles and artists, and selected according to their historical importance for Brazilian music.
8.574459 Release Date: 12 Jan 2024
Companion Titles – Emmanuele Baldini, Violin 8.574118 | 8.574407 | 8.574310 | 8.574297
Click to listen to Le Livre magique de Xangô: II. Manifestation de Xangô
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VISIT THE SERIES MINI-SITE
WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING
Daron Aric HAGEN (b. 1961) The Art of Song Lyric Fest – Gilda Lyons, Rebecca Myers, Sopranos Elisa Sutherland, Meg Bragle, Mezzo-sopranos James Reese, Tenor • Steven Eddy, Baritone Laura Ward, Piano
Daron Hagen is a force to be reckoned with in the world of opera and orchestral music, with Guggenheim, Rockefeller, and Kennedy Center Friedheim Awards numbering among his accolades. With Hagen’s catalog of over 500 songs and large-scale cycles, The Art of Song is founded on 45 years of distinguished experience in vocal music. Divided into four “life seasons,” this richly emotional cycle embraces themes that range from the human cost of America’s politics since the Civil War; the rueful wisdom of aging, love and nostalgia; and on towards tragedy, faith and an acceptance of nature’s cycles.
8.559919 Release Date: 12 Jan 2024
Click to listen to Part I: Summer: Un-American Activities
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Companion Titles – Daron Aric Hagen, Composer 8.669020-21 | 8.559714 8.669049 | 8.559657
Portuguese Piano Trios, Vol. 3 CÔRTE-REAL • FERNANDES • VIANA DA MOTA Trio Pangea – Léo Belthoise, Violin • Sara Chordà, Cello • Bruno Belthoise, Piano
Trio Pangea explores the rich variety to be found in a century of Portuguese chamber music history. Armando José Fernandes was one of the most prominent Portuguese composers of the mid-20th century, and with its contrasting musical playfulness and serene solemnity his Sonata a Tre reveals the composer’s strong attachment to neo-Classicism. Nuno Côrte-Real’s Sonata Holandesa is representative of a shifting compositional style that ranges in expression from violent to dreamlike. One of Liszt’s last pupils, José Viana da Mota has been described as ‘utterly Brahmsian’ in the noble opening to his Piano Trio , elements of which also reflect the influence of his teacher.
INCLUDES WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
8.574401 Release Date: 26 Jan 2024
Click to listen to FERNANDES, A.J.: Sonata a Tre in D major: I. Allegro
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Companion Titles – Previous volumes in the series 8.573402 | 8.574014 Recommended Portuguese music releases 8.572334 | 8.579039
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NEW ON NAXOS | JANUARY 2024
Gabriel FAURÉ (1845–1924) George ENESCU (1881–1955) Piano Quartets (Mélodies Infinies) Suyeon Kang, Violin • Karolina Errera, Viola • Andrei Ioniță, Cello • Cătălin Șerban, Piano Gabriel Fauré’s Piano Quartet in C minor was one of the first of its genre in France, composed as part of the ‘Ars Gallica’ idea of strengthening French music against German cultural domination. Fauré didn’t entirely escape the influence of Brahms however, and both he and his pupil George Enescu share a spiritual closeness to German late Romanticism in the melancholy complexity of expression in these chamber masterpieces. The monumental first movement of Enescu’s First Piano Quartet contrasts with the rhythmic momentum of the last, in a work that integrates French impressionism with the unmistakable folk music characteristics of his native Romania. Key Feature: Recorded specially for Naxos Deutschland in the superb acoustic of the Ölberg Kirche in Berlin, this programme couples two powerful Parisian chamber music works from teacher Gabriel Fauré and his student George Enescu.
8.551477 Release Date: 12 Jan 2024
Companion Titles – Other piano quartet recordings 8.574073 | 8.572799 | 8.573357 | 8.573892
WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING
Fabrice BOLLON (b. 1965) In Taros Welt (‘Taro’s Wonderful World’) A musical journey through space and time René Münch, Marimba • Jena Philharmonic Orchestra • Fabrice Bollon
Taro’s Wonderful World was conceived by conductor/composer Fabrice Bollon and author Julia Liebermann as an introduction or initiation into classical music both for children and adults unfamiliar with the genre. Taro, a child from the planet Trujillo, is woken one night by a curious little melody. His adventures take us through increasingly sophisticated and surprising sonic constellations that light-heartedly turn favourite classics upside down and inside out, exploring every facet of the orchestra and combining a wide variety of musical styles in a uniquely enjoyable way. A digital-only version with German narration is also available to stream and download (9.70356).
Companion Titles – Fabrice Bollon, Conductor 8.660410-12 | 8.660480-82 8.660526-27 | 8.574083 Fabrice Bollon, Composer 8.574456 | 8.574015 8.574498 Release Date: 26 Jan 2024
Click to listen to Suite No. 1: IV. Der springende Planet
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DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE
WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING
Fabrice BOLLON In Taros Welt (‘Taro’s Wonderful World’) Version with German narration by Roberto Gionfriddo * Only available for download and streaming
Click to listen to Suite No. 1: I. Reise in das Paralleluniversum
9.70356 * Release Date: 26 Jan 2024
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GREAT COMPOSERS IN WORDS AND MUSIC Franz SCHUBERT (1797–1828) By Davinia Caddy Read by Leighton Pugh
VISIT THE SERIES MINI-SITE
Franz Schubert was regarded chiefly as a composer of domestic music, and during his all-too-brief life managed to publish only a quarter of his works. Without patronage and without ever becoming well known or a virtuoso, how did Schubert manage to achieve unprecedented expressivity in song composition, or to create his chamber, symphonic and piano masterpieces? And how did he reconcile the warring elements of his tempestuous personality? This vivid biographical narrative includes selections from his most popular works including the String Quintet in C major and the ‘ Trout’ Quintet , as well as the symphonies, and examples from his Lieder and stage works.
8.578374 Release Date: 26 Jan 2024 Companion Titles – Previous releases in the series 8.578361 | 8.578362 | 8.578363 | 8.578367
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