The August New On Naxos celebrates the start of a new series of Haydn's Late Symphonies with the Danish Chamber Orchestra and Adam Fischer. 20th-Century Greek composers are also celebrated in this edition of the New on Naxos, alongside world premiere recordings which include Jennifer Higdon's new concerto 'Duo Duel' and Franco Alfano's Complete String Quartets. Other highlights include the Fine Arts Quartet recording Enescu's Early Chamber Music and a new production of Humperdinck's fairytale opera 'Königskinder' with Marc Albrecht conducting the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. Enjoy!
NEW ON NAXOS The World’s Leading Classical Music Label
AUGUST 2023
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NEW ON NAXOS | AUGUST 2023
8.574516 Release Date: 11 Aug 2023
Adam Fischer © Nikolaj Lund
About Adam Fischer, Conductor The Hungarian-born conductor Adam Fischer (b. 1949) graduated from the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest and undertook further studies in Vienna. Adam Fischer has been associated with the Danish Chamber Orchestra since 1997, serving as chief conductor from 1998, where he still is a major driving force and initiator both in Denmark and internationally. In 2019, he was awarded the international Wolf Prize for Music, was nominated Conductor of the Year by Presto Classical in the UK, and received the BBC Music Magazine Awards Orchestral Award for his recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 with the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra. Fresh from their critically acclaimed series of the complete symphonies of Beethoven (8.505251) and Brahms (8.574465-67), the Danish Chamber Orchestra and Adam Fischer turn to Haydn’s late symphonies, beginning with the first three of the twelve ‘London’ symphonies, composed during Haydn’s first visit to the capital. Arguably his greatest achievements in the genre, they include the enduringly popular ‘surprise’ in the slow movement of No. 94 . Fischer and his orchestra, who have performed together for over two decades, employ varied bowing and playing styles in the strings and innovative dynamic techniques in the winds that bring new levels of excitement to these masterpieces. Franz Joseph HAYDN (1732–1809) Late Symphonies, Vol. 1 Nos. 93–95 Danish Chamber Orchestra Adam Fischer
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Click to listen to Symphony No. 93 in D major, Hob.I:93: I. Adagio – Allegro assai
Key Features: •
Adam Fischer has conducted the Danish Chamber Orchestra for over two decades. In 2022 he was awarded with the International Classical Music Award for this lifetime achievements and has received – among others – the renowned Wolf Prize of the Wolf Foundation in Jerusalem and the Gold Medal in the Arts of the Kennedy Center, Washington DC. He has been a member of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights for more than 20 years. Since 2016 he has presented the Tonhalle Düsseldorf Human Rights Award every year. • He has performed at the Vienna State Opera, La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera as well as directing orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. • Fischer has two major cycles already recorded for Naxos – the first is the complete Beethoven symphonies on 8.505251 praised by Gramophone : ‘I find these performances utterly fascinating… The recorded sound is excellent.’ The second is the complete Brahms symphonies on 8.574465-67, which received similar critical praise: ‘fascinating performances’ ( The Guardian ). • The Danish Chamber Orchestra is perhaps one of the most reactive, sensitive and expressive orchestras in the world because of Fischer’s involvement. ‘The Danish Chamber Orchestra’s excellent playing ensures a set in which relationships, between orchestral groups, between sections of movements, and between symphonies, are thoughtfully and provocatively delineated. These renditions showcase Beethoven’s revolutionary side in a way few other sets even come close to managing’ ( Fanfare ).
DIGITAL PRE-RELEASE SINGLE
Franz Joseph HAYDN Symphony No. 94 ‘The Surprise’: II. Andante
* Only available for download and streaming
9.30288 * Release Date: 14 Jul 2023
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NEW ON NAXOS | AUGUST 2023
8.660516-17 Release Date: 11 Aug 2023 Stanisław MONIUSZKO (1819–1872) Paria Opera in three acts with prologue (1859–69) Libretto by Jan Chęciński (1826–1874) after Casimir Delavigne (1793–1843) Sung in Polish Aleksandra Kiedrowska, Iwona Sobotka, Sopranos Piotr Friebe, Dominik Sutowicz, Tenors Stanisław Kuflyuk, Baritone • Rafał Korpik, Bass Poznań Opera House Orchestra and Chorus Jacek Kaspszyk Stanisław Moniuszko’s music is filled with patriotic character and songful lyricism, and of his numerous operas he is perhaps best remembered for Halka (8.660485-86) and The Haunted Manor (8.111391- 92). With his reputation as ‘the father of Polish national opera’ firmly established, Paria was his final completed opera. The tragic narrative tells of the pariah Idamor, who becomes the heroic leader of an army and goes against Indian social norms in choosing Neala, the daughter of High Priest Akebar, as his bride. Although Paria was misunderstood by critics at its premiere, the moving themes of exclusion and the power of social rules now make it an opera for our times. Key Feature: Renowned in his native Poland and increasingly recognised internationally as a leading opera composer, Stanisław Moniuszko can always be relied on for superb music drama. Despite this reputation, his final opera Paria was summed up by one contemporary critic as a work that ‘can hardly arouse enthusiasm, yet it can be admired’, and it has long remained the least frequently staged of Moniuszko’s operas. Removed from the work’s context as a departure by the composer from its more popular predecessors, Paria can now be taken at face value – a touching story of love and exclusion, heard here in a concert version that was given First Prize at the International Opera Awards 2021 in the category ‘rediscovered work’.
Jacek Kaspszyk
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Click to listen to Overture
About Jacek Kaspszyk, Conductor Polish-British conductor Jacek Kaspszyk ’s career was launched at the Karajan conducting competition where he was one of only two prize-winners together with Valery Gergiev. He has recently completed a tenure as artistic director of the Warsaw Philharmonic, and has held leading positions with most major Polish orchestras, including artistic director of the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, music director of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, and music and general director of the Polish National Opera. Known worldwide for his masterly interpretations of Polish works, he also conducts a wide range of the major Romantic, 20th century and contemporary orchestral repertoire.
Poznań Opera House Orchestra
Companion Titles – Stanisław Moniuszko, Composer
8.660485-86 8.573610
8.572716 8.111391-92*
* May not be available in all markets due to copyright reasons.
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NEW ON NAXOS | AUGUST 2023
Olga Kulchynska as The Goose Girl © Monika Rittershaus
Engelbert HUMPERDINCK (1854–1921) Königskinder Fairy-tale opera in three acts (1910) Libretto by Ernst Rosmer (Elsa Bernstein-Porges) Olga Kulchynska, Soprano • Doris Soffel, Mezzo-soprano Daniel Behle, Tenor • Josef Wagner, Baritone Chorus of Dutch National Opera Nieuw Amsterdams Kinderkoor Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra Marc Albrecht, Conductor • Christof Loy, Stage director Michael Beyer, Film director Hänsel und Gretel brought Humperdinck worldwide fame but his tragic fairy story Königskinder (‘The King’s Children’) offers a stark contrast to it and has only begun to be revived in recent years. The doomed love of a goose girl and a prince – as they battle prejudice and are obstructed by magic – ends in their loving deaths, and with it a rebuke to the villagers who rejected them. This acclaimed production by the renowned German director Christof Loy features the award-winning singers – tenor Daniel Behle and Ukrainian soprano Olga Kulchynska.
2.110759 Picture format: NTSC 16:9 Sound format: Dolby Digital 2.0 and Surround 5.1 Language: German Subtitles: German, English, Dutch, Japanese, Korean Region code: 0 (worldwide) No. of disc/s: 1 (DVD 9) Release Date: 11 Aug 2023
WATCH VIDEO TRAILER
Key Features: •
German director Christof Loy is now 60 years old and is one of the most internationally sought-after opera and theatre directors of his generation. His meticulously crafted productions have
earned him numerous awards, including Director of the Year several times by Opernwelt magazine. In 2017 he was named Director of the Year at the International Opera Awards, where he also won the 2016 award for Best New Production for Peter Grimes at the Theater an der Wien. • Bachtrack wrote of this production; ‘It is in its Personenregie that [Christof] Loy’s direction is at its most impactful, and here he benefits from a complete cast who all act as well as they sing… Daniel Behle’s tenor sounded ideal as the King’s Son and Ukrainian soprano Olga Kulchynska’s warm and bright lyric instrument made for the most endearing Goose Girl’. • Gramophone wrote about tenor Daniel Behle ’s Mozart singing: ‘Daniel Behle confirms his high reputation as a Mozart lyric tenor. His unforced, evenly produced tone is always easy to the ear, his coloratura fluent, his phrasing stylish and sensitive’. He was also honoured as Singer of the Year in 2020 for his MoZart recording with OPUS Klassik. • Ukrainian soprano Olga Kulchysnka won First Prize at the Francisco Viñas Vocal Competition in Barcelona in 2015, and since then has also appeared frequently at Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Opera Bastille in Paris, and the Met in New York. The New York Times wrote of her as ‘a fast- rising artist…with plush yet focused tone, palpable warmth and sensitivity’.
Also available on Blu-ray Video: NBD0171V Picture format: HD 16:9 Sound format: PCM stereo and DTS-MA 5.1 Language: German Subtitles: German, English, Dutch, Japanese, Korean Region: A, B, C No. of disc/s: 1 (BD 50) Release Date: 11 Aug 2023
Companion Titles – Naxos Audiovisual opera productions staged by Christof Loy
2.110751 (NBD0165V)
2.110738 (NBD0154V)
2.110656 (NBD0107V)
2.110584-85 (NBD0083V)
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NEW ON NAXOS | AUGUST 2023
Topos 20th-Century Greek Orchestral Music
CONSTANTINIDIS • KALOMIRIS • MICHAELIDES • SKALKOTTAS Noé Inui, Violin • Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra • Zoi Tsokanou
Greek-Cypriot composer Solon Michaelides’s evocative Dawn at the Parthenon is infused with impressionist elements whereas Manolis Kalomiris, the leading figure in Greek national music, turns more to the voluptuous richness of Rimsky-Korsakov in his Island Pictures . Yannis Constantinidis’s two suites are notable for their subtle dance rhythms and expert orchestration while Nikos Skalkottas’s ingenious Greek Dances , one of his most popular works, are heard here in an edition for string orchestra by his friend, the conductor and composer Walter Goehr. Key Features: • Violinist Noé Inui has been internationally recognised at the 2005 Sibelius Competition, the 2007 Louis Spohr Medal, and the 2009 Young Concert Artists/New York, among others. He received the Incentive Prize for Young Artists from the German federal state of Nordrhein- Westfalen. At the Verbier Festival Academy in 2012, he was awarded the coveted Prix Julius Bär, presented to a musician of exceptional talent. It led to an invitation to the festival’s 2013 edition. In 2020 the Concertgebouw Amsterdam selected Noé as one of their ‘Classical Futures Europe Artists’. • Gramophone praised Skalkottas’ 36 Greek Dances which can be heard on 8.574182: ‘Recorded with due clarity and immediacy, this release is an ideal way into a defining period of Skalkottas’s musical evolution, and an ideal introduction to his orchestral work in general’. • Kalomiris’ works can be heard on 8.572451: ‘Performances that are equally full of expertise, verve, and passion’ ( Fanfare ). His Symphony No. 3 is on 8.557970: ‘A superb ear-opener and one that certainly augurs well for the forthcoming instalments in what seems to be Naxos’s Greek Classics series’, wrote Musicweb International .
8.574436 Release Date: 25 Aug 2023
Companion Titles – Other titles in the Greek Classics series
8.574354-55 8.574182
8.557970
8.574132
Click to listen to KALOMIRIS, M.: Island Pictures, Suite for Solo Violin and Orchestra: III. Sousta: Vivo
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INCLUDES A WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING
Jennifer HIGDON (b. 1962) Duo Duel * Concerto For Orchestra Matthew Strauss & Svet Stoyanov, Percussions * Houston Symphony • Robert Spano
Pulitzer Prize- and three-time GRAMMY award-winning composer, Jennifer Higdon, continues to write what the Chicago Sun-Times describes as music “both modern and timeless”. Duo Duel for two pitched percussion instruments and orchestra is a double concerto of scintillating, high-speed virtuosity: “don’t blink – you might miss something!” she advises the listener. Concerto for Orchestra demands the utmost in technical accomplishment from all members of the orchestra. The first movement was written last to give a clearer picture of what was needed to start a work that is both an orchestral celebration and a true virtuoso tour-de-force. Key Features: • Jennifer Higdon has a strong presence on Naxos. Her Viola Concerto and Oboe Concerto coupled with All Things Majestic can be heard on 8.559823: ‘Jennifer Higdon is one of the most consistently important composers creating music today and the Nashville Symphony’s brilliant performances do full justice to works that include her Viola and Oboe Concertos ’ ( Fanfare ). • The Viola Concerto on the above album was one of the works for which she won the GRAMMY Award (the others were for the Percussion Concerto and Harp Concerto ).
Companion Titles – Jennifer Higdon, Composer 8.559913 Release Date: 11 Aug 2023
8.559823
8.559752 8.559298
Click to listen to Concerto for Orchestra: I
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NEW ON NAXOS | AUGUST 2023
George ENESCU (1881–1955) Early Chamber Music Piano Quintet 1 • Prélude et Gavotte 2 • Aubade 3 Pastorale, Menuet triste et Nocturne 4 • Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A major 5 Fine Arts Quartet –
Ralph Evans 1, 2, 4, 5 , Efim Boico 1, 3, 5 , Violins • Gil Sharon, Viola 1, 3, 5 Niklas Schmidt, Cello 1–3, 5 • Alexander Bickard, Double bass 5 Gisele Witkowski 1, 2, 4 , Fabio Witkowski 2, 4, 5 , Pianos
It was in Paris just before the end of the 19th century that George Enescu began to compose prolifically, but it is only in recent years that a number of these scores have emerged. The Piano Quintet in D major is one such work, lost for decades, but which proves to be a robust and elaborate piece reflecting the influence of Brahms. Enescu’s liking for unusual instrumental combinations is another theme of this album, such as the Prélude et Gavotte for violin, cello and two pianos, and the eloquent Pastorale, Menuet triste et Nocturne for violin and piano four hands. Aubade is Enescu’s only string trio, and the ever-popular Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in the arrangement for piano and string quintet ends the programme with a flourish. Key Features: •
Companion Titles – George Enescu, Composer 8.574487 Release Date: 11 Aug 2023
The Fine Arts Quartet is one of the world’s leading quartets. They have received Gramophone Award and Recording of Legendary Status ( Gramophone Classical Music Guide ), Key Recording/Top Recommendation ( Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music ), Editor’s Choice ( Gramophone ), Critic’s Choice ( American Record Guide ) twice, BBC Music Magazine Choice and Recording of the Year ( MusicWeb International ) thrice. •
8.572120
8.572691
8.572692
8.573616
From left to right: Ralph Evans , Efim Boico , Gil Sharon and Niklas Schmidt
The quartet’s violinists, Ralph Evans (prize-winner in the International Tchaikovsky Competition) and Efim Boico (former concertmaster of the Orchestre de Paris under Daniel Barenboim), have performed together for 40 years.
Click to listen to Piano Quintet in D major: I. Allegro moderato
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INCLUDES WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
Isaac ALBÉNIZ (1860–1909) Piano Music, Vol. 9
Rapsodia española • Chants d’Espagne Miguel Ángel R. Laiz, Santiago L. Sacristán, Pianos
Twenty-five years ago, Guillermo González, a great exponent of Spanish music, inaugurated an ambitious project to record all of Isaac Albéniz’s piano music. This ninth volume is the culmination of that project and the recordings have all been made by González or his students, adding interpretative unity to the cycle. The final instalment focuses on Albéniz’s compositional evolution and his use of inspired folk-based melodies, Hispanic nostalgia and vivid dance rhythms, encapsulated by the intoxicating Chants d’Espagne . Additionally, five works are heard in exciting new arrangements for two pianos made expressly for this recording, presented as if in a suite of dances. Key Features: • Guillermo González recorded the first three volumes in the series. The other volumes have all been played by five other leading Spanish pianists, all of whom were his students. • He is the holder of the Premio Nacional de Música (1991), the Premio Nacional del Disco (1980), the Medalla Albéniz (2009) and his 1998 urtext edition of Albéniz’s suite Iberia has become a work of reference. • Fanfare wrote of Vol. 2 on 8.570553, that ‘González plays with passion, bringing out the music’s warmth… this should prove to be another rewarding series from Naxos.’
final Volume
8.573927 Release Date: 25 Aug 2023
Companion Titles – Other releases in the Isaac Albéniz Piano Music series
8.554311-12
8.570553
8.572196
8.573294
Click to listen to Recuerdos de viaje, Op. 70: No. 5. Puerta de Tierra, bolero, T. 72E
8.573293
8.573295
8.573160
8.573779
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VISIT THE SERIES MINI-SITE
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NEW ON NAXOS | AUGUST 2023
WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
Franco ALFANO (1875–1954) Complete String Quartets
Elmira Darvarova, Violin I • Mary Ann Mumm, Violin II • Craig Mumm, Viola • Samuel Magill, Cello The Neapolitan composer Franco Alfano was prolific and highly successful in the field of opera, but he also composed three string quartets over a period framed by the two world wars. No. 1 in D major was written during the First World War and stretches the limits of the quartet medium with its quasi-orchestral vigour, tied together with a habanera rhythm. No. 2 in C major In Three Linked Movements , though smaller in scale, reflects the range of Alfano’s influences, which include Russian and Eastern European music, rustic dances and French impressionism. Work on No. 3 in G minor was started in 1944, a year after the death of his beloved wife, to whom Alfano pays tribute in the haunting first movement. The quartet was completed in 1945 and ends with an ebullient monothematic march finale celebrating Ancient Rome. Key Feature: Violinist Elmira Darvarova is a GRAMMY-nominated recording artist, and an award-winning performer (2017 and 2018 Gold Medal at the Global Music Awards), the first-ever female concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera and called a ‘marvellous violinist in the Heifetz tradition’ by American Record Guide .
8.579042 Release Date: 25 Aug 2023
Companion Titles – Franco Alfano, Composer 2.110270 (NBD0005) | 8.570928 8.573754 | 8.572753
Click to listen to String Quartet No. 1 in D major: I. Vivacissimo
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Alberto WILLIAMS (1862–1952) Violin Sonatas Nos. 2 and 3 DUO AM – Alejandro Aldana, Violin • Fabio Martino, Piano
Alberto Williams has been described as ‘the grand old man of Argentine music’ and is recognised as one of the founders of an independent musical language for his native country. Williams studied in Paris during the 1880s, and his violin sonatas draw comparisons with his teacher César Franck – their heroic mood reflects the post- Wagnerian grandeur that was popular at the time. The concentrated and passionate interplay between violin and piano in Violin Sonata No. 2 bears comparison with Brahms, while the adventurous and at times experimental Violin Sonata No. 3 is notable for its striking shifts in harmony and dazzling virtuosity. Key Feature: We have previously explored some of the music of Alberto Williams with two volumes on our Marco Polo label (8.223799 and 8.223800) with pieces that were described as ‘music for a pleasant summer afternoon’, and ‘recommended for all fans of offbeat solo piano works in the Romantic mode’ in ClassicsToday.com .
8.579120 Release Date: 25 Aug 2023
Companion Titles – Latin American Classics 8.223799 | 8.223800 | 8.572635 | 8.572271
Click to listen to Violin Sonata No. 2 in D minor, Op. 51: I. Moderato – Allegro maestoso
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Chinese Romance 中国式浪漫 HUANG Tao • LIN Huanqi • XIA Weinan Xianji Liu, Guitar
Chinese Romance presents a selection of recent compositions that are all deeply evocative, referring to specific imagery and romantic experiences for their inspiration. These poetic and lyrical pieces explore the guitar’s delicate timbres with nuance and subtle detail, expressing a universal range of emotions. Popular concert and recording artist, Xianji Liu, is the first Chinese-born winner of the Francisco Tárrega International Guitar Competition, Benicàssim. Key Feature: Filled with musical poetry and a lyrically tender atmosphere, this is the kind of album that will fulfil the desires of a wider public seeking new music without the often harder edge of Western modernism. Rising star Xianji Liu is already an experienced and popular concert and recording artist, and he knows his audience well. With Chinese Romance he gives us what we want, while at the same time delivering the exciting prospect of a whole raft of world premiere recordings.
INCLUDES WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
8.579136 Release Date: 11 Aug 2023
Companion Titles – Guitar Recitals 8.573813 | 8.573432 8.573905 | 8.574442 NEW
Click to listen to XIA Weinan: Swan and Maiden
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