The New on Naxos for May 2024 returns with Gerald Peregrine's second album of Folk Tales, including rarely recorded works and new interpretations of traditional Irish songs. Multi-award winning JoAnn Falletta conducts three works by Lukas Foss with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra highlight the importance of Valentin Silvestrov's Symphony 'Widmung'. Naxos Audiovisual presents the final opera of Wagner's Ring Cycle with the Deutsche Oper Berlin's interpretation of Götterdämmerung (originally released in a set on Naxos AV), a dramatic staging by Stefan Herheim features the talented soprano Nina Stemme and tenor Clay Hilley. Enjoy!
NEW ON NAXOS The World’s Leading Classical Music Label MAY 2024
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NEW ON NAXOS | MAY 2024
Gerald Peregrine © Anthony Woods
Lynda O’Connor
Antony Ingham
Folk Tales, Vol. 2 British and Irish Miniatures
BAX • BREATNACH • BRIDGE • CLARKE • ELGAR HUGHES • IRELAND • VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Gerald Peregrine, Cello • Antony Ingham, Piano Lynda O’Connor, Violin Following the success of the first volume of Folk Tales (8.574035), Gerald Peregrine and Antony Ingham go further into their explorations of British and Irish music. These include rarely recorded works and new interpretations of traditional Irish songs that Peregrine presented during his more than 2,000 ‘Covid Care Concerts’ performed at health care settings during the pandemic. This is yet another treasure trove of poetic miniatures to treat the ear and tug at the heartstrings. This second volume of Folk Tales follows in the wake of Gerald Peregrine’s success with his international solo debut recording on the Naxos label in May 2019 (8.574035). The album was admired for its ‘special luminosity’ by Gramophone , and The Northern Echo was persuaded of ‘compelling performances that come highly recommended’. • Gerald Peregrine is an Irish cellist who has established a fine career as a soloist, chamber and orchestral performer. Peregrine regularly performs as a chamber musician with Ensemble Avalon, Trio Festivale and Camerata Ireland under the direction of Barry Douglas. • Pianist Antony Ingham enjoys a varied musical career of accompanying and coaching strings, woodwind and voice. He has performed at Wigmore Hall, the Royal Festival Hall, the Purcell Room and St Martin-in-the-fields and recent projects have included working with the winner of the BBC Young Musician competition (cellist Laura van Heijiden). Key Features: •
8.574550 Release Date: 10 May 2024
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Click to listen to BRIDGE, F.: Berceuse LISTEN
Companion Titles – British music for cello and piano
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NEW ON NAXOS | MAY 2024
8.559938 Release Date: 24 May 2024
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JoAnn Falletta © Enid Bloch
Lukas FOSS (1922–2009) Symphony No. 1 Renaissance Concerto Three American Pieces • Ode Amy Porter, Flute • Nikki Chooi, Violin Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra • JoAnn Falletta
Click to listen to Renaissance Concerto: II. Baroque Interlude (after Rameau) LISTEN About JoAnn Falletta, Conductor Multiple GRAMMY-winning conductor JoAnn Falletta serves as music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) and music director laureate of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. She has guest-conducted many of the most prominent orchestras in America, Canada, Europe, Asia, and South America. As music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic, Falletta became the first woman to lead a major American orchestra. With a discography of over 125 titles, she is a leading recording artist for Naxos.
Berlin-born Lukas Foss studied music in Paris before settling in Philadelphia in 1937. Though he freely explored diverse compositional styles, three of the works in this recording fall into his early neo- Classical period and exemplify his dictum that “to have a big foot in the future, you’ve got to have a big foot in the past.” Symphony No. 1 in G major is lyrical, bucolic and subtly jazz-influenced, while the Three American Pieces show Aaron Copland’s “open air” influence. Foss’s Ode expresses his feelings about the loss of American lives during the Second World War, and Renaissance Concerto is a “handshake across the centuries” ingeniously spiced with unexpected Lukas Foss is well represented on Naxos’ American Classics series. His solo piano works are on 8.559179: ‘They are inventive and…delightful pieces. Anyone who feels at home in the musical worlds of Barber and Copland will find this highly congenial’ ( The Penguin Guide ). His Elegy for Anne Frank on 8.559438 also won Fanfare ’s Want List accolade. • Foss’s Three American Pieces for Violin and Piano can be heard on 8.559235. ‘This is a wonderful album-nothing profound, mostly well-written shorter works in performances that capture their sheer American swing and nostalgia’ ( American Record Guide ). • harmonic twists. Key Features: • JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra are a high-profile Naxos pairing and have recorded prolifically. Their recent recoding of Kodály’s Háry János Suite was well-received by critics: ‘Falletta draws vivid performances from her orchestra, not just in the set-piece exuberance but also the suite’s more contemplative moments. The Buffalo players are warm and reflective in the music…’ ( BBC Music Magazine ).
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
Companion Titles – Recommended titles from the American Classics series
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NEW ON NAXOS | MAY 2024
Claudia Mahnke as Sélika © Monika Rittershaus
Giacomo MEYERBEER (1791–1864) L’Africaine – Vasco da Gama Opera in five acts (1865) Libretto by Eugène Scribe (1791–1861) Kirsten MacKinnon, Soprano Bianca Andrew, Claudia Mahnke, Mezzo-sopranos Michael McCown, Michael Spyres, Tenors • Brian Mulligan, Baritone Thomas Faulkner, Andreas Bauer Kanabas, Basses Chor der Oper Frankfurt • Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester Antonello Manacorda At a late stage in its composition Meyerbeer changed the name of his opera L’Africaine to Vasco da Gama and completed it the day before he died in 1864. Changes were then made by the Belgian musicologist and composer François-Joseph Fétis who prepared a performing version from the extensive score material, retaining the title L’Africaine , before the opera’s premiere in April 1865. The plot concerns the famed Portuguese navigator and his series of love entanglements cast as a magnificent grand opéra . This production is based on the critical edition of the full score and reflects Meyerbeer’s original intentions. Key Features: • This Frankfurt Opera’s 2018 production was deemed an ‘Entertaining New Production’ and ‘Tobias Kratzer’s stage work is remarkable, with admirable direction and some brilliant moments’ ( Seenandheardinternational.com ). •
8.660558-60 [3 Discs] Release Date: 10 May 2024
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This recording features an excellent line-up of soloists: ‘Musically, the evening leaves nothing to be desired. Michael Spyres is a prime casting for the demanding role of Vasco da Gama… Claudia Mahnke impresses as Selika with her warm-timbered mezzo-soprano, which has enormous drama in the high notes. She portrays the foreign princess’s fluctuating feelings with great intensity and moves you to tears in her big final scene with emotionally charged singing’ ( Online music magazine ). It also wrote that ‘As her rival Ines, Kirsten MacKinnon is her vocal equal in every respect. She also inspires with great drama. In particular, the duet between the two women, when Selika decides to let her lover go and choose suicide herself, is presented with moving intensity by MacKinnon and Mahnke’.
Click to listen to Act I: No. 3. Le Conseil d’État: Morceau d’ensemble: Il faut avec ardeur seconder sa vaillance! LISTEN
About Antonello Manacorda, Conductor Antonello Manacorda ’s versatility as a conductor is rooted in the richness of his musical and cultural background: born into a French-Italian family in Turin, he is a long-time resident of Berlin. Manacorda was a founding member and longstanding concert master of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra before studying under Jorma Panula. Today, Manacorda appears at world renowned opera houses as well as at the helm of leading symphony orchestras.
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• Mundoclassico.com wrote that the ‘voices of Spyres, Mahnke, Mulligan, MacKinnon and the rest of the cast vibrated with energy’.
Companion Titles – Giacomo Meyerbeer, Composer
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NEW ON NAXOS | MAY 2024
© Bernd Uhlig
Richard WAGNER (1813–1883) Götterdämmerung Nina Stemme, Soprano Clay Hilley, Tenor Albert Pesendorfer, Bass Orchestra and Chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin
2.110745-46 Picture format: NTSC 16:9 Sound format: PCM Stereo Language: German Subtitles: German, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean Region code: 0 (worldwide) No. of disc/s: 2 (DVD 9) Release Date: 10 May 2024
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Sir Donald Runnicles, Conductor Stefan Herheim, Stage director
Key Features: •
The acclaimed Deutsche Oper Berlin Ring cycle was issued in DVD and Blu-ray sets on Naxos in November 2022. The individual operas are now being made available to buy separately starting with Das Rheingold (2.110740/NBD0157V) in February, then Die Walküre (2.110741-42/NBD0158V) in March, Siegfried (2.110743-44/NBD0159V) in April and Götterdämmerung in May. • It is directed by the award-winning Norwegian director Stefan Herheim who is acclaimed as one of the most important stage directors of the moment, known for his emphasis on the historical contexts of ideas.
Götterdämmerung (‘Twilight of the Gods’) is the final opera of Wagner’s epic tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen (‘The Ring of the Nibelung’) in which his visionary masterpiece reaches its cataclysmic conclusion. Betrayal and death, murder and remorse, lie at the opera’s heart, in a work that draws together every plot element in writing of blazing intensity. As the Ring is restored to the Rhinemaidens, the age of the gods ends, with the opera offering the certainty of destruction but the consolation of renewal. Sir Donald Runnicles conducts an internationally acclaimed cast in this innovative new production by Norwegian director Stefan Herheim.
Also available on Blu-ray Video: NBD0160V Picture format: HD 16:9 Sound format: PCM stereo and AC3 5.1 Language: German Subtitles: German, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean Region: A, B, C No. of disc/s: 1 (BD 50) Release Date: 10 May 2024
In addition to working with the Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin , Sir Donald Runnicles is a proven Wagner expert who is currently continuing his Ring interpretations at the opera houses of Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna and San Francisco, and at the BBC Proms in London, the Edinburgh International Festival and The Metropolitan Opera in New York.
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NEW ON NAXOS | MAY 2024
Valentin SILVESTROV (b. 1937) Symphony for Violin and Orchestra ‘Widmung’ 1 Postludium for Piano and Orchestra 2 Janusz Wawrowski, Violin 1 • Jurgis Karnavičius, Piano 2 Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra Christopher Lyndon-Gee
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Valentin Silvestrov, Ukraine’s leading composer, currently lives in exile in Berlin. His life in the late-Soviet period was harsh and included expulsion from the Composers’ Union which led to his withdrawal from participation in public life. This album brings together the two superlative works of Silvestrov’s early maturity. Postludium for Piano and Orchestra is yearning and dissonant, embodying the atmosphere of a lament, but without nostalgia, cast in a style full of ambiguity and allusion. The Symphony for Violin and Orchestra ‘Widmung’ is another melancholy, mystic work, a homage to the human spirit and life-force, but also, through hard-won lyricism, to love, hope and renewal. Key Features: •
8.574413 Release Date: 10 May 2024
Valentin Silvestrov ’s Seventh Symphony is on 8.574123: ‘A demonstration-class recording and detailed notes by Christopher Lyndon-Gee complete a very appealing release’ ( Gramophone ). • His orchestral music on 8.573598 was praised by Fanfare : ‘These are beautiful, sensitive performances that make a strong impression even though they never raise their voices. Yablonsky gives these works the transparency of chamber music, and the Ukrainian musicians respond to the music’s tender requiems’. • Silvestrov’s Quintet is on an all-Ukrainian Piano Quintets disc on 8.579098. It won a Fanfare Want List accolade: ‘This is a terrific introduction to an unfamiliar corner of the chamber repertoire’ ( BBC Music Magazine ). • The Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO) was established in 1940 by the composer, conductor and pianist Balys Dvarionas. The orchestra presents around 50 concerts annually in the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Hall and across Lithuania. It has also performed in some of the most prestigious international concert venues, such as the Musikverein Wien, the philharmonic halls of Cologne and Berlin, and the Barbican Centre in London.
Companion Titles – Christopher Lyndon-Gee and the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra
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8.573618 8.573282
Christopher Lyndon-Gee and Valentin Silvestrov
Click to listen to I. Allegro moderato con moto – Moderato
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Robert FUCHS (1847–1927) Violin Sonatas Nos. 4–6
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Hyejin Chung, Violin Warren Lee, Piano
Eminent composer and revered teacher, Robert Fuchs, was an established part of Vienna’s musical landscape. His six violin sonatas fuse lyricism with conversational ease and chromatic harmonies with folk- derived melodies. This second volume of the complete set (Volume 1 is on 8.574213) charts a decade’s worth of composition, from 1905 to 1915. No. 4 in E major is hymn-like, while No. 5 in A major is playful and deeply lyrical. His final violin sonata No. 6 in G minor , is sombre with a nervous energy reflective of the time of its composition, though still, as always, exuding Brahmsian richness and beauty. Key Features: •
This volume completes the recording of all of Robert Fuchs’s six sonatas. Gramophone commented on the previous volume (8.574213) that ‘the attentiveness of their music- making well served by the admirably lucid sound. Qualities, indeed, that will doubtless be equally in evidence on the follow-up release of Fuchs’s subsequent three sonatas’. • Violinist Hyejin Chung , together with pianist Warren Lee , recorded the Schubert Violin Sonatas on 8.573579 about which audiotechnique wrote: ‘Hyejin Chung and Warren Lee… are a perfect match… Recording sound is spacious … One can easily imagine being immersed in the music’.
8.574547 Release Date: 10 May 2024
Companion Titles – Recordings featuring Hyejin Chung and Warren Lee
Hyejin Chung and Warren Lee
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Click to listen to Violin Sonata No. 4 in E major, Op. 77: I. Allegro vivace
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NEW ON NAXOS | MAY 2024
Gioachino ROSSINI (1792–1868) Armida
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Dramma per musica in three acts (1817) Libretto by Giovanni Schmidt (c. 1773–1849) Ruth Iniesta, Soprano • Manuel Amati, Michele Angelini, César Arrieta, Patrick Kabongo, Moisés Marín, Chuan Wang, Tenors • Jusung Gabriel Park, Bass-baritone Shi Zong, Bass • Kraków Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra José Miguel Pérez-Sierra The story of Armida had already inspired around 70 composers by the time Rossini took it on both as an opportunity to measure himself against his colleagues, and as a special role for soprano Isabella Colbran with whom he had recently started a relationship. The narrative of Armida sees the arrival of a beautiful noblewoman at a Crusaders’ camp, asking them for help and protection. She claims that her throne has been usurped by the evil Idraote. However, she is in fact the sorceress Armida in disguise – and secretly in love with the heroic Rinaldo. This acclaimed Rossini in Wildbad production was admired for its ‘near magical casting’ ( Interlude.hk ). Key Features: •
8.660554-55 Release Date: 24 May 2024
José Miguel Pérez-Sierra and the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra have recorded numerous Rossini in Wildbad releases for Naxos, including La scala di seta (8.660512-13) considered ‘a most enjoyable recording’ in the Yorkshire Post , and Pizzicato observing that ‘José Miguel Pérez-Sierra and the musicians of the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra provide light, warmly coloured orchestral playing. Pérez- Sierra knows when to give more space to the elegant charm and when to sparkling verve. He also strikes an ideal balance between the orchestra and the singers’. • This 2022 Rossini in Wildbad production was received warmly by the critics: ‘The real sorcery lay in Michele Angelini ’s Rinaldo. The American tenor boasts perfect technique, keeping his powerful voice free of any pressure. Wildbad cast Moisés Marín as Goffredo, the leader of the crusaders trying to conquer Jerusalem. He proved an inspired choice, catapulting his grainy and rich voice… Wildbad regular Patrick Kabongo … possesses a passionate and engaging voice though occasionally pressed high notes. Chuan Wang and César Arrieta were the final tenors, providing a perfect foil for Angelini in the trio ‘In quale aspetto imbelle’ ( interlude.hk ).
Companion Titles – Rossini in Wildbad productions with José Miguel Pérez-Sierra
José Miguel Pérez-Sierra
Michele Angelini
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8.660492-94
Moisés Marín
Patrick Kabongo
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8.660419-21
Chuan Wang
César Arrieta
Click to listen to Act I: Lieto, ridente oltre l’usato
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Albert ROUSSEL (1869–1937) Violin Sonatas Nos. 1 1 and 2 2 String Trio 3 David Bowlin, Violin • Tony Cho, Piano 1–2 Kirsten Docter, Viola 3 • Dmitry Kouzov, Cello 3
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Although he is best remembered for his highly regarded stage and orchestral works, Roussel also composed a significant body of masterful yet relatively unknown chamber music. The Romantic early First Violin Sonata is an epic journey of soaring majesty, while the later Second Violin Sonata is dramatic and succinct, sharing its dynamic neo-Classical style with the String Trio , Roussel’s last completed work. Key Features: •
Albert Roussel is remembered as teacher to the likes of Martinů, Varèse and Satie, and in terms of his composing is probably best known today for orchestral works such as his Second Symphony , considered ‘one of the shattering masterpieces of the 20th century literature’ ( ClassicsToday.com on 8.570529). • A considerable force in the chamber music world, acclaimed violinist David Bowlin and pianist Tony Cho are established as the
8.574577 Release Date: 24 May 2024 Companion Titles – Albert Roussel, Composer
David Bowlin
Tony Cho
Bowlin-Cho Duo. Alongside cellist Dmitry Kouzov they also form the Oberlin Trio, whose volume in our Haydn Piano Trios edition (8.574385) was considered to be ‘nothing short of fetching… Felicity, finesse, and good cheer are hallmarks of these performances, and I, for one, would not be unhappy to have the Oberlin Trio remain onboard to complete the remaining volumes of this survey, however many that may turn out to be’ ( Fanfare ).
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Click to listen to Violin Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 11: III. Très animé
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RETURN HOME
WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING
Daron Aric HAGEN (b. 1961) Heike Quinto Duo YUMENO – Yoko Reikano Kimura, Voice, Koto • Hikaru Tamaki, Voice, Cello Daron Aric Hagen, Electro-acoustics
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Daron Hagen is a multi-award-winning creative polymath whose work is internationally acclaimed for its impeccable craftsmanship, social conscience and emotional accessibility. Embracing the Japanese medieval text The Tale of the Heike , Hagen has brought his musical vision as an opera composer to create in Heike Quinto a work that is as grand and emotionally complex as the original on which it is based. Themed around the Buddhist law of impermanence, the story is told through its female protagonists. The unique combination of cello and Japanese koto is layered with a wide variety of vocal textures and effects alongside pre-recorded material helping to create a compelling and expressive narrative.
8.559914 Release Date: 24 May 2024
Companion Titles – Daron Aric Hagen, Composer 8.559919 | 8.669049 | 8.559714 | 8.559657
Franz LISZT (1811–1886) Complete Piano Music, Vol. 62 Transcriptions of Religious Works LISZT • MOZART • ROSSINI • VERDI • GOLDSCHMIDT Martin Cousin, Piano
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Franz Liszt’s entire life was influenced by the spiritual and the mystical, his piety often in conflict with the secular life of a journeying pianist. Liszt’s prolific and historical transcriptions range from the Renaissance to his own time, and he is acknowledged as Western civilisation’s finest creative force in this genre. The transcriptions of religious works in this recording hold a special place in Liszt’s output and show a different side to this often misunderstood composer, conveying and enhancing the essence of each work to often achingly beautiful effect, and resulting in a treasure trove of unexpectedly intimate and private treasures. Key Feature: This is Vol. 62 of our Liszt Complete Piano Music edition, adding to the wealth of transcriptions already recorded in the series. With this recording by Martin Cousin we are offered a rarely heard glimpse into Liszt’s spiritual side, with such gems as a simple but especially effective setting of Mozart’s famous Ave verum corpus , and a transcription of the love scene from Goldschmidt’s oratorio Die Sieben Todsünden – an achingly beautiful and delicate rendering which includes moments that are reminiscent of Liszt’s own Second Ballade . Alongside the more bravura opera transcription volumes this disc stands out as an exceptional contribution to our Liszt edition.
8.574546 Release Date: 24 May 2024
Companion Titles – Previous volumes in the Liszt Piano Music series 8.574545 | 8.574095 | 8.574172 | 8.574147
Click to listen to Cantico del Sol di San Francesco d’Assisi, S499/R191
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GREAT COMPOSERS IN WORDS AND MUSIC Richard WAGNER (1813–1883) Written by Davinia Caddy Narrated by Nicholas Boulton
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The Bayreuth Festspielhaus stands today as a testament to Richard Wagner’s ambition and self-importance – a theatre designed and built solely for the performances of his immersive ‘music dramas’. From the influence of Beethoven to the transcendental properties of his greatest music, Wagner’s work became a cornerstone of European musical culture, but what kind of journey took him towards this remarkable achievement? In this fascinating audio biography we hear about Wagner’s tempestuous personal life, his controversial political views and his struggles to establish himself as one of the most influential musical visionaries of the 19th century. The narrative is illustrated with excerpts from all of his best-loved operas including the Ring cycle, Tristan und Isolde , Lohengrin , Der fliegende Holländer , Parsifal , and more.
8.578377 Release Date: 10 May 2024
Companion Titles – Previous releases in the series 8.578361 | 8.578362 | 8.578363 | 8.578364 | 8.578365 | 8.578366 8.578367 | 8.578368 | 8.578369 | 8.578373 | 8.578374 | 8.578375
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