The December New On Naxos spotlights one of Handel's most enduring and compassionate masterpieces - 'Theodora'. Enjoy a new production by Musik Theater an der Wien featuring Julie Boulianne and Jacquelyn Wagner. The Gould Piano Trio present a new series of Marschner's Piano Trios and the sixth volume of Brahms' Complete Songs (Op. 28, 58, 69 and 72) is available this month. Naxos also explore Orchestral Works by Malwaski and works by Ukrainian composer Alexey Shor, as they record 'Travel Notebook' alongside other suites. Enjoy!
NEW ON NAXOS The World of Classical Music DECEMBER 2024 UK release date: 6 th DECEMBER 2024
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 © 2024 Naxos Rights US, Inc.
NEW ON NAXOS | DECEMBER 2024
© Monika and Karl Forster
2.110776 Filming date: 23 and 25 October 2023 Filming venue: MuseumsQuartier /
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Hall E, Vienna, Austria
Picture format: NTSC 16:9 Sound format: Dolby Digital 2.0 and DTS Surround 5.1 Language: English Subtitles: English, German, French, Japanese, Korean Region code: 0 (worldwide) No. of disc/s: 1 (DVD 9) Release date: 6 Dec 2024 Key features:
George Frideric HANDEL (1685–1759) Theodora Oratorio in three acts, HWV 68 (1750) Libretto by Thomas Morell (1703–1784) Jacquelyn Wagner, Soprano • Christopher Lowrey, Countertenor David Portillo, Tenor • Evan Hughes , Bass-baritone Julie Boulianne, Mezzo-soprano Arnold Schoenberg Chor • La Folia Barockorchester Bejun Mehta, Conductor • Stefan Herheim, Stage director Initially a failure when first performed in London in 1750, Theodora has proved to be one of Handel’s most enduring and compassionate masterpieces – a work of introspective depth about the redemptive power of tolerance. Theodora’s determination to die in defence of her religious freedom offers her the promise of eternal salvation. In this acclaimed Viennese production, award-winning stage director Stefan Herheim contrasts Theodora’s self-sacrifice with the lack of spiritual direction of our own times. La Folia Barockorchester and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor are conducted by the acclaimed countertenor and Handel specialist Bejun Mehta.
As Irene, Julie Boulianne has a ‘full and beautifully timbred voice’… ‘ Jacquelyn Wagner was excellent as Theodora, whose otherworldliness and view of the afterlife she
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portrayed as convincingly as she sang’… ‘The coloratura-rich role of Valen was in good hands with the Figaro-proven bass-baritone Evan Hughes . He impressed with his stage presence and directorial sense of comedy’ ( Bachtrack ). ‘Vocally the most remarkable performance came from a young countertenor Christopher Lowrey who was stunningly superb and gave a masterclass in how to make a formal musical language have tremendous emotional and dramatic power’ ( operareviews.org ). ‘The balance between pit and stage was excellent and there was great rhythmic dynamism in the performance, which helped drive the drama forward’ ( operareviews.org ). The conductor is Bejun Mehta , himself a famous countertenor with an international reputation. Stage director Stefan Herheim is one of Europe’s leading opera stage directors and has been named Director of the Year three times in the critics’ survey in Opernwelt magazine.
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Also available on Blu-ray video: NBD0184V Filming date: 23 and 25 October 2023 Filming venue: MuseumsQuartier / Hall E, Vienna, Austria Picture format: HD 16:9 Sound format: PCM Stereo and DTS Master Audio 5.1 Language: English Subtitles: English, German, French, Japanese, Korean Region: A, B, C No. of disc/s: 1 (BD 50) Release date: 6 Dec 2024
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Companion titles – Other productions staged by Stefan Herheim
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NEW ON NAXOS | DECEMBER 2024
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Release date: 6 Dec 2024
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Click to listen to Piano Trio No. 1 in A minor, Op. 29: IV. Vivace LISTEN
Heinrich August MARSCHNER (1795–1861) Piano Trios, Vol. 1 No. 1, Op. 29 and No. 7, Op. 167 Gould Piano Trio Heinrich Marschner’s role as Germany’s leading Romantic operatic composer in the generation between Weber and Wagner has tended to draw attention away from his accomplished chamber compositions. Marschner had a high regard for the piano trio genre, composing seven throughout his career, which won the admiration of his friends Robert and Clara Schumann. The Trio No. 1 in A minor is profusely lyrical and not without surprises and contrasts. Written three decades later, the Trio No. 7 in F major is a work of his maturity – assured, dramatic and energetic. The Gould Piano Trio are important figures in the Naxos catalogue and are represented in Naxos’s The A–Z of Classical Music and in the Great Chamber Music release, a 10-disc box. • Of the Ireland disc on 8.570507 Fanfare commented that the ‘performances by the Gould Trio … are exemplary’. ‘The Gould Piano Trio lend them exquisitely refined, infectiously eager advocacy’ ( Gramophone ). Key features: •
Clockwise: Benjamin Frith , Richard Lester and Lucy Gould © Dan Reid
About the Gould Piano Trio The Gould Piano Trio has remained at the forefront of the international chamber music scene for over a quarter of a century. Launched by winning First Prize at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, it was European Concert Hall Organisation ‘Rising Stars’, making a highly successful and critically acclaimed debut at New York’s Weill Recital Hall. Its many appearances at London’s Wigmore Hall have included the complete piano trios of Dvořák, Mendelssohn, Schubert and Beethoven.
Companion titles – Other recordings featuring the Gould Piano Trio
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NEW ON NAXOS | DECEMBER 2024
Esther Valentin-Fieguth © Janine Kühn
Konstantin Ingenpaß © Biff-Foto
Ulrich Eisenlohr © Wolfgang Schwager
Johannes BRAHMS (1833–1897) Complete Songs, Vol. 6 Opp. 28, 58, 69 and 72 Esther Valentin-Fieguth, Mezzo-soprano Konstantin Ingenpaß, Baritone Ulrich Eisenlohr, Piano
Brahms’ lifelong preoccupation with the solo voice can be heard to great effect in this sixth volume of his complete songs. The ghostly and dreamlike opening of the Four Duets, Op. 28 and moods of desolation and loss in the Nine Songs, Op. 69 are linked by the unusually disparate subjects in each set, while the playful spirit of southern Italy and Spain forms part of Op. 58 . The programme ends with great musical beauty, depth, and even touches of crude humour in Five Songs, Op. 72 . This release follows on from our fifth volume in our complete edition of Brahms’ songs (Naxos 8.574490), which appeared in February 2024 and was much admired in Diapason : ‘A delicate accompanist, [Ulrich] Eisenlohr has always surrounded himself with interesting voices. Here, he has hit the nail on the head with Alina Wunderlin, a young German coloratura soprano, artistic and literary like few others. Her intuition for the Lieder, and first and foremost for the poem, is astonishing – that Lerchengesang!’ • Key features: • Baritone Konstantin Ingenpaß has won numerous awards, including First Prize at the international competition for Lied at the Hugo Wolf Academy Stuttgart in 2020. His extensive song repertoire has taken him to the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival, the Schubert Festival Dortmund, Heidelberger Frühling, Rheinvokal Music Festival and the Gargan Music Festival in Kanazawa, Japan. 2023 saw the appearance of his debut album, which was highly praised by the press, with works by Wolf, Liszt, Ullmann and Mahler in chamber music arrangements on the Hänssler Classic label. • Mezzo-soprano Esther Valentin-Fieguth has been awarded numerous prizes at international competitions. She has made recordings for GWK Records and was soloist in the first recording of cantatas by Salieri with the Heidelberger Sinfoniker directed by Timo Jouko Herrmann. Valentin-Fieguth has been passionately dedicated to art song for many years and regularly gives recitals, performing in prestigious venues such as the Kölner Philharmonie and Philharmonie Essen.
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Release date: 6 Dec 2024
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Click to listen to Neun Gesänge, Op. 69: No. 6. Vom Strande LISTEN
About Ulrich Eisenlohr, Piano Ulrich Eisenlohr has appeared as a soloist and accompanist on over 50 recording released by record labels such as Sony Classical, Naxos and harmonia mundi. Several of his recordings have been awarded major prizes. As a Lieder specialist the conception, artistic direction and recording of Schubert’s complete songs has been one of his major projects. Eisenlohr has conducted masterclasses in Lied and chamber music all over the world. He currently teaches Lieder at the Hochschule fü r Musik und Tanz Kö ln.
Companion titles – Previous releases in Johannes Brahms Complete Songs series
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NEW ON NAXOS | DECEMBER 2024
WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
Alexey SHOR (b. 1970) Composer’s Notebook, Vol. 1 Travel Notebook, Suite for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 * Violin Concerto No. 4 ** Marc Bouchkov, Violin ** • Anna Ulaieva, Piano * Kyiv Virtuosi John Warner ** • Dmitry Yablonsky *
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Travel Notebook, Suite for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 by Ukrainian composer Alexey Shor is cast in a neo-Classical vein. It offers personal impressions of places he has visited, with music that is harmonically traditional and melodic. Violin Concerto No. 4 , composed during the Covid pandemic, is a restless, passionate and romantic work, displaying Shor’s trademark lyricism. Both works are heard in the composer’s versions with string orchestra. Key features: • Ukrainian-born composer Alexey Shor ’s works have been performed at prestigious venues across the world such as the Wiener Musikverein, Philharmonie Berlin, Carnegie Hall, Moscow Conservatory, Kyiv Conservatory, Concertgebouw and Wigmore Hall. The overture to his ballet Crystal Palace was performed at the 40th Gramophone Classical Music Awards ceremony. • Shor’s works have been performed by internationally acclaimed artists such as
8.579139 Release date: 6 Dec 2024
Companion titles – Contemporary Ukrainian works
Salvatore Accardo, David Aaron Carpenter, Ray Chen, Freddy Kempf, Paul Meyer, Vadim Repin, Nikolaj Znaider and Maxim Vengerov. • Violinist Marc Bouchkov won а gold medal at the Montreal International Competition and a silver medal at the Tchaikovsky International Competition, while pianist Anna Ulaieva is a leading young Ukrainian-Austrian pianist.
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Click to listen to Travel Notebook, Suite for Piano and Orchestra No. 1: II. La Rambla (inspired by visiting Barcelona)
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WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
Giuseppe MARTUCCI (1856–1909) Sei pezzi • Capriccio e Serenata Minuetto e Tempo di Gavotta • Sonata facile Matteo Generani, Piano
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Giuseppe Martucci was one of the formative figures in the re-establishment of Italian instrumental music in the second half of the 19th century. His orchestral music had advocates as powerful as Mahler and Toscanini, and his piano concertos won admirers. His solo piano music was performed mostly by him, and today remains virtually unknown. These compositions offer verdant, colourful melodies, striking dance themes, and elegant music crafted for the salon. There are also some flamboyant and virtuoso challenges, tracing a lineage back to Scarlatti. Key features: • Matteo Generani is the winner of both national and international competitions, including the Solo Piano Competition Villa Oliva (Italy, 2018) and the White Lake Young Artist Solo Performance (Montague, Michigan, 2019). • Martucci’s Piano Concerto No. 2 is admired on American Record Guide on 8.570932: ‘For anyone who enjoys the Romantic piano concerto repertoire as much as I do, this is an essential acquisition’. His piano trios which can be heard on 8.573438, have been praised by ClassicsToday.com for their ‘superb performances’.
8.574628 Release date: 6 Dec 2024
Companion titles –Giuseppe Martucci, Composer
Click to listen to Capriccio e Serenata, Op. 57: No. 2. Serenata
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NEW ON NAXOS | DECEMBER 2024
WORLD PREMIERE COMMERCIAL RECORDINGS
Artur MALAWSKI (1904–1957) Orchestral Works Symphonic Études * Mountaineers’ Triptych Popular Suite Beata Bilińska, Piano * Artur Malawski Podkarpacka Philharmonic Mariusz Smolij
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Having sustained an injury to his left hand, Artur Malawski had to abandon his career as a virtuoso violinist and went on to become a successful teacher and composer in his native Poland. The Symphonic Études of 1947 brought him international recognition with its unorthodox design and powerful expression. The Overture shares something of his younger contemporary Lutosławski’s resourcefulness, while the Toccata shows a similar adventurousness of spirit. The manuscript of Mountaineers’ Triptych has not survived complete – it is heard here in a realisation by Kazimierz Wiłkomirski. Key features: • Conductor Mariusz Smolij ’s album of works by Polish composer Grazẏna Bacewicz won a 2015 Fryderyk Award (Naxos 8.573229). In 2019 the president of Poland awarded him the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit for the promotion of Polish culture. • Beata Bilińska is a laureate of numerous international competitions, including the 1st International Competition for Young Pianists ‘Arthur Rubinstein in Memoriam’, the 46th Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition and the 17th Rina Sala Gallo Monza International Piano Competition. In 2003 she made her debut at the Isaac Stern Auditorium in Carnegie Hall, receiving an enthusiastic review in The New York Times . Bilińska’s recording credits include 13 albums. In 2015 she received a Fryderyk Award for her recording of Wojciech Kilar’s Piano Concerto No. 2 , and she is also the recipient of numerous other phonographic awards, including the Pizzicato Supersonic Award (twice) and the 2008 MIDEM Classical Award.
8.579159 Release date: 6 Dec 2024
Companion titles – Polish orchestral music conducted by Mariusz Smolij
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Click to listen to Overture
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WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
Cristian CARRARA (b. 1977) The Devil’s Bridge * Eveline • Flower in the Desert ** • Four Emotions *** Sonia Prina, Contralto ** Massimo Mercelli, Flute *** • Erica Piccotti, Cello * FVG Orchestra • Nir Kabaretti
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Cristian Carrara, born and educated in the Friuli region of north-east Italy, has earned critical admiration as one of the most creative composers of his generation. Clarity and directness inform much of his music, as does a sense of mystery, examples of which can be heard on this album. These recent works were composed during 2016–21 and focus on dialogues between a solo instrument and the orchestra. All are strongly narrative in character but as The Devil’s Bridge shows, they are also informed by rhythmic vivacity and a rich variety of instrumental colour. Key features: •
8.579167 Release date: 6 Dec 2024
Italian contralto Sonia Prina is a famed specialist in Baroque opera. Of her Gluck album Gramophone wrote, ‘This is perfect stuff for Sonia Prina, whose firm, dark voice, wide tessitura and Olympically agile technique allow her to combine dazzling vocal virtuosity with compelling dramatic expression.’ • Flautist Massimo Mercelli ’s has been the dedicatee of works by Philip Glass, Michael Nyman, Gabriel Prokofiev and Ennio Morricone, among many others. • Cellist Erica Piccotti was named Young Artist of the Year at the 2020 International Classical Music Awards (ICMA). • Nir Kabaretti has been described as ‘a conductor of immense musicality and great personality’ by his mentor Zubin Mehta.
Companion titles – Recommended Italian music
Sonia Prina
Massimo Mercelli
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Erica Piccotti
Nir Kabaretti
Click to listen to The Devil’s Bridge
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NEW ON NAXOS | DECEMBER 2024
INCLUDES WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
21st Century Works for Clarinet and Guitar FREIDLIN • GIACOMETTI • SIERRA • SUSANI Andreas Hermanski, Clarinet Émilie Fend, Guitar
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Classical guitarist Émilie Fend and clarinettist Andreas Hermanski share an ambitious artistic vision to promote their relatively unusual instrumental combination through the commissioning of new repertoire. Including world premiere recordings, this programme presents neo-Classical dark and light contrasts in Giacomo Susani’s Sonata , and striking evocations of nature in Antonio Giacometti’s The Prideful Cry of Amazonian Forest . Psychological landscapes can be found in Jan Freidlin’s Kafka Sonata alongside Roberto Sierra’s Duo-Sonata , with all works exploring the diverse expressive potential of this exciting ensemble. Key features: •
Clarinettist Andreas Hermanski ’s international performing career as a soloist and chamber musician has taken him to Italy, France and the US, including concerts at New York University and Rutgers University in New Jersey. With activities including radio recordings and recordings for WDR, Andreas Hermanski is also highly respected as a teacher and as a performance artist for the clarinet company Buffet Crampon Paris on whose instruments he plays. • Guitarist Émilie Fend has won First Prize at the HASPA Guitar Cup at the Hamburg Guitar Festival in 2022 and the NRW Guitar Prize – Stephen Goss in 2023, as well as prizes at the Iserlohn Guitar Festival, Nürtingen Guitar Festival and Harmonia Cordis in Romania in the same year. The world premieres of the three original works for guitar and clarinet on this disc commissioned by Émilie Fend and her duet partner Andreas Hermanski led to a world premiere concert at the internationally renowned Koblenz International Guitar Festival and a recital at the 2nd International Guitar Festival Wupperta’.
8.579168 Release date: 6 Dec 2024
Companion titles – Other recordings featuring clarinet and guitar
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Click to listen to SUSANI, G.: Sonata for Clarinet and Guitar: III. Allegro vivace
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André PARFENOV (b. 1972) Bandoneon-Story Iuliana Münch, Violin • André Parfenov, Piano • Omar Massa, Bandoneon
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The bandoneon was remarkably popular as part of Argentinian culture during the 20th century and was brought into the Western mainstream through Astor Piazzolla’s ‘nuevo tango’. It was invented in Germany in around 1850, and for a while became a familiar part of musical life there. André Parfenov’s dramatic and evocative Bandoneon-Story delves into the instrument’s rich history turning it into a surprisingly varied audio journey, exploring its humble origins, expressive poetic palette and artful dance syncopations to create a cinematic historical panorama. Key features: • Pianist and composer André Parfenov expertly intertwines the works of Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Liszt, Prokofiev, and Ravel with his own creative ideas. His compositions draw from Russian modernism, French impressionism, tango, and jazz, creating musical experiences rich in passion and rhythmic energy that resonate deeply with listeners. • Romanian-born violinist Iuliana Münch plays a crucial role in the duo’s creative process. Her expressive and playful performance style brings Parfenov’s compositions to life. • Composer and bandoneon player Omar Massa is internationally recognised as one of the leading artists in the field of Tango Nuevo and the bandoneon. He has worked on projects with internationally renowned artists such as Plácido Domingo, Jonas Kaufmann, Daniel Hope, Paquito D’Rivera, Alondra de la Parra, Guy Braunstein, Fatma Said, Pablo Ferrández and Anastasia Kobekina.
8.551479 Release date: 6 Dec 2024
Companion titles – Other releases featuring André Parfenov
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