New On Naxos | Consumer: March 2026

MARCH 2026

THE WORLD OF CLASSICAL MUSIC

Kenneth Kiesler

MASTERED FOR

Nkeiru Okoye Courtesy of the composer

8.559953

Playing time: 78:46 Release date: 27 Mar 2026

Click to listen to Part I: Gather Together in My Name: Who am I supposed to be? LISTEN

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Nkeiru OKOYE (b. 1972) When the Caged Bird Sings Rita Coburn, Narrator • Angela Brown, Soprano Christie Dashiell, Mezzo-soprano • Issachah Savage, Tenor Jubilant Sykes, Baritone • Cyrus Chestnut, Piano

Tracklist 1 – 4 Part I: Gather Together in My Name 5 – 8 Part II: Now Sheba Sings the Song 9 – 0 Part III: And Still I Rise ! – @ Part IV: I Shall Not Be Moved # – & Part V: A Song Flung up to Heaven

EXIGENCE • University of Michigan Choirs University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra Kenneth Kiesler

Nkeiru Okoye’s When the Caged Bird Sings is a ‘musical celebration’ whose compositional voice, though rooted in the African American church, also embraces minimalism and improvisational elements. Delivering a message of adversity turned to triumph, it celebrates the transformative ability of African American women, partly evoking the experiences of the author and activist Maya Angelou. The work functions as a communal ritual that, like oratorio, opera and theatre, brings together vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra, in an experience that both commemorates and celebrates hope and possibility. Key features: • Award-winning director Rita Coburn produced Maya Angelou’s Oprah Radio

University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance Choirs

programme and co-directed the acclaimed Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise (2016), which won a Peabody Award. Angela Brown made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in Aida she earned international acclaim, with The New York Times declaring, ‘At last an Aida’. Christie Dashiell ’s When soprano

EXIGENCE

Rita Coburn

Angela Brown

•

Christie Dashiell

Issachah Savage

University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra

debut solo album, Time All Mine (2016), charted on Billboard’s Jazz and Contemporary Jazz Albums, as well as Jazz Times’ Top 50 Writer’s Ballots, Critics’ Poll. Tenor Issachah Savage has sung roles in Tannhäuser , Otello , Aida , Rienzi , and others with top opera companies, including The Metropolitan Opera.

MARCH 2026 NEW ON NAXOS

About Kenneth Kiesler, Conductor Kenneth Kiesler , GRAMMY Award nominee and winner of the 2024 American Prize National Arts Award, has led over 100 orchestras across six continents. He was acclaimed for Britten’s Peter Grimes and Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and Bright Sheng’s The Silver River in Singapore. As music director of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra (1980–2000), he appeared at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and was named Conductor Laureate for life. Kiesler has given dozens of premieres, and founded MORE (Michigan Orchestra Repertoire for Equity). His discography includes Milhaud’s L’Orestie d’Eschyle (8.660349-51), which was nominated for a GRAMMY Award, and Johnson’s De Organizer and The Dreamy Kid (8.669041), which was included in The New York Times Best Classical Music Albums of 2023.

Recordings conducted by Kenneth Kiesler ‘The Michigan soloists are good to excellent, especially Kristin Eder as Electra.

‘The performances of both works are first-rate. The singers as a whole bring resonant, attractive voices, clear diction, and dramatic intensity to their work. Kenneth Kiesler elicits crisp, lively, and colourful playing by the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra.’ –Fanfare

Choruses do well with the French language and the orchestra shows occasional signs of labour, though everyone sounds mightiest amid the most challenging polytonal sections of Les Euménides .’ – Gramophone

MAGAZINE

GRAMOPHONE CRITIC’S CHOICE OF THE YEAR

NOMINEE

Remy Franck’s Journal about Classical Music

‘Handsomely recorded, Kenneth Kiesler conducts the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra in convincing, invigorating and satisfying accounts which, I’m sure, will win these compelling scores many friends. A deep love and commitment to this composer conveys itself throughout.’ – MusicWeb International

‘The performance by the Portland-based Third Angle Ensemble, directed by Kenneth Kiesler, is superlative.’ – Ritmo

WANT LIST

RECOMMENDED

For the full list of Kenneth Kiesler recordings on Naxos, visit www.naxos.com/Bio/Person/Kenneth_Kiesler/31997 3

THE MUSIC OF BRAZIL

Henrique OSWALD (1852–1931) Symphony, Op. 43

Sinfonietta, Op. 27 • Elegia Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra Fabio Mechetti

Henrique Oswald was perhaps the most European of Brazilian composers, having spent a large part of his life in Italy; he also absorbed influences from France and Germany. Oswald’s music always retains a lyrical character with qualities of elegance and radiance, which can be heard in the Sinfonietta . The expressive Elegia , originally conceived for cello and piano, is dedicated to the memory of a friend. With its contrasts between darkness and light, coupled with undeniable beauty, the Symphony is regarded as Oswald’s finest orchestral achievement and one of the most significant works in the Brazilian orchestral literature. Key features: • The Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra was established in 2008 and has become one of the most successful cultural institutions in Brazil. Led by artistic director and principal conductor, Fabio Mechetti, it has received numerous accolades and awards, including the Grande Prêmio Concerto 2015, Prêmio Carlos Gomes de Melhor Orquestra 2012, and the Melhor Grupo Musical Erudito 2010 awarded by the Associação Paulista de Críticos de Artes. • The ensemble has made a significant contribution to The Music of Brazil series, including symphonies by Lorenzo Fernández (8.574412) in an album acclaimed for its ‘intense sonic energy’ in Diapason , and for the American Record Guide ‘The playing of Brazil’s Minas Gerais Philharmonic is excellent, as are the leadership of American conductor Fabio Machetti and the recorded sound.’

8.574643

Playing time: 69:05 Release date: 13 Mar 2026

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Click to listen to Elegia LISTEN

Tracklist

1 Elegia (1896–97)

Symphony, Op. 43 (1910) 2 I. Allegro moderato 3 II. Adagio 4 III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace 5 IV. Allegro deciso 6 I. — 7 II. Andante con moto 8 III. Tempo di minuetto (Moderato) 9 IV. Presto Sinfonietta, Op. 27 (1897) *

Henrique OSWALD Elegia * Only available for download and streaming

9.50349 * Release date: 13 Feb 2026

* WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING

Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra © Eugênio Sávio

MARCH 2026 NEW ON NAXOS

About Fabio Mechetti, Conductor Fabio Mechetti has been artistic director and principal conductor of the Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra since its foundation. Under his leadership, the orchestra has received numerous awards, recorded nine albums, including several for Naxos, and undertaken a tour of South America. In 2014, he became the first Brazilian music director of an Asian orchestra when he was appointed principal conductor of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. In the US, Mechetti conducted the Jacksonville Symphony for 14 years and is now its conductor emeritus.

The Music of Brazil titles with Fabio Mechetti

‘Their performance is first class, with excellent discipline. As it’s a large group, the sound is full-bodied and resonant. Maestro Mechetti leads the music with verve and understanding.’ – American Record Guide

‘The playing of Brazil’s Minas Gerais Philharmonic is excellent, as are the leadership of American conductor Fabio Mechetti and the recorded sound.’ – American Record Guide

NOMINEE

GRAMOPHONE CHOICE

Remy Franck’s Journal about Classical Music

MAGAZINE

‘The Minas Gerais Philharmonic play with precision and flair for their founding director and conductor Fabio Mechetti – and, crucially, they make magic in the many hushed moments… This is yet another edifying entry in Naxos’s Music of Brazil series.’ – Gramophone

‘This music is all enjoyable and well written, if not especially vital. The piano concertante works are most inspired and worth your time. The performances are excellent.’ – American Record Guide

Remy Franck’s Journal about Classical Music

NOMINEE FOR RECORDING OF THE YEAR

For the full list of Fabio Mechetti recordings on Naxos, visit www.naxos.com/Bio/Person/Fabio_Mechetti/204706

Franz Joseph HAYDN (1732–1809) Baryton Trios Treasures from the Eszterháza Palace, Vol. 3 Valencia Baryton Project It was Prince Nikolaus of Esterházy’s increasing infatuation with the baryton that compelled Haydn, the prince’s Kapellmeister, to write an unprecedented body of 125 works for baryton trio. The instrument is more like a viola d’amore than a bass viol and has extra strings behind the neck that provide resonance and opportunities for plucking effects. The six works in this album are intimate expressions of great beauty with a sustained level of invention, all of which reflect the prince’s increasing confidence in the instrument. Volumes 1 and 2 are available on 8.574188 and 8.574504. Key features: • The Valencia Baryton Project is an international collective formed to perform the nearly 160 works written by Franz Joseph Haydn for the baryton as well as compositions by other composers, both modern and classical. • Vol. 1 in this series is on 8.574188. The Strad wrote ‘The six trios included have been very well chosen to demonstrate Haydn’s inexhaustible creative fantasy. While Matthew Baker has pride of place as the player of Nikolaus’ instrument, Haydn…has ensured the others are by no means reduced to accompanying lackeys. The trio prove themselves a well attuned team, always alert to the music’s mercurial nature’. • Vol. 2 is on 8.574504: ‘The dark sonority of three instruments pitched in the alto, tenor and bass ranges… makes for a curiously engrossing sequence of music… the Valencia Baryton Project, recorded closely in the airy acoustic of a Spanish castle, provide variety through ornamentation and a range of sonic alterations in repeats’.

8.574708

Playing time: 70:48 Release date: 27 Mar 2026

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Click to listen to Baryton Trio in D major, Hob.XI:72: II. Allegro assai (cadenza by Matthew Baker) LISTEN

Tracklist

Baryton Trio in G major, Hob.XI:80 (1769?) 1 I. Moderato 2 II. Menuetto: Allegretto – Trio 3 III. Finale: Presto Baryton Trio in A major, Hob.XI:57 (1768) 4 I. Adagio 5 II. Menuetto: Un poco allegretto – Trio 6 III. Finale: Presto Baryton Trio in G major, Hob.XI:26 (date unknown) 7 I. Presto assai 8 II. Andante 9 III. Menuetto: Allegretto – Trio

Baryton Trio in D major, Hob.XI:72 (date unknown)

0 I. Adagio ! II. Allegro assai (cadenza by Matthew Baker) @ III. Menuetto: Allegretto – Trio Baryton Trio in C major, Hob.XI:82 (pub. 1771?)

# I. Adagio $ II. Allegro % III. Menuetto: Allegretto – Trio

Baryton Trio in D major, Hob.XI:50 (date unknown) ^ I. Andante (cadenza by Matthew Baker) & II. Allegro di molto * III. Menuetto: Moderato – Trio

MARCH 2026 NEW ON NAXOS

Valencia Baryton Project – Ismar Gomes , Brett Walfish and Matthew Baker © Brett Walfish

About the Valencia Baryton Project The Valencia Baryton Project is an international collective founded in Valencia, Spain with the vision of performing the nearly 160 works written by Franz Joseph Haydn for the baryton as well as pieces by other composers, both modern and Classical. At the heart of the ensemble is the traditional baryton trio of baryton, viola and violoncello. Led by Matthew Baker, one of only a handful of baryton performers in the world, the Valencia Baryton Project has inspired audiences in sold-out concerts and festivals throughout the Americas and Europe. Its work with the baryton, considered to have been the pinnacle of aristocratic instruments of the Classical era, has garnered wide acclaim, with the project being featured in full length articles in major international publications such as The Strad and Ritmo . The project’s educational work has brought the instrument to a wide range of institutions, from country farm schools to the Royal College of Music.

Chamber works by Franz Joseph Haydn

‘A superb recording by the Valencia Baryton Project of Haydn’s rarely heard baryton trios.’ – AllMusic.com

‘These performances are the best I have heard of this repertoire.’ –American Record Guide

‘Plenty to enjoy… captured spaciously… Haydn’s still-underestimated trios provide nothing but constant pleasure and this ensemble’s sensitive, responsive, occasionally cheeky performances do them full justice.’ – The Strad

THE STRAD RECOMMENDS

For the full list of Franz Joseph Haydn titles on Naxos, visit www.naxos.com/Bio/Person/Franz_Joseph_Haydn/24410

William SHIELD (1748–1829) Complete Chamber Works, Vol. 3 Violin Duets, Opp. 1 and 2 The Dorrit Ensemble

William Shield’s early career as a violinist and violist took him to the centre of musical life in London where he became principal violinist of the Covent Garden theatre orchestra in 1773. The publication of the Violin Duets later that decade marked the launch of Shield’s success as a hugely popular composer. Each set of duets is neatly engineered, with many attractive details in the Italianate spirit of Op. 1. The Op. 2 set is more compact, developing arioso vocal styles, clever changes of texture, and folk elements such as hurdy-gurdy- This complete edition of William Shield’s complete chamber works was launched in October 2025 with his String Quartets, Op. 3 (8.574446), of which Pizzicato wrote that ‘The Dorrit Ensemble is at home in the music of this era… [and] performs these elegant and timelessly charming works with musical skill and subtle interpretations, allowing both the composer and the performers to be discovered with pleasure’. • British violinist Elizabeth Layton has served as soloist with orchestras such as the Philharmonia, BBC Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, London Mozart Players and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. She has given recitals at Wigmore Hall and the Southbank Centre, and festival appearances include Bath, Edinburgh, Harrogate, Cheltenham, Schleswig-Holstein and Gstaad. • like figurations. Key features: • Australian violinist Elizabeth Sellars is an accomplished artist whose playing is recognised for its nuanced tone, technical assurance and communicative integrity. Sellars has appeared as guest concertmaster and principal violin with numerous leading Australian orchestras. A dedicated chamber musician, she co-founded the Sutherland and Quercus Trios, as well as the Techniski Quartet, which won the inaugural Tunnell Trust and Royal Over-Seas League Ensemble Prize, and is first violinist of the Flinders Quartet.

8.574443

Playing time: 77:48 Release date: 13 Mar 2026

7 47313 44437 3

Click to listen to Violin Duet in B flat major, Op. 1, No. 5: II. Allegro LISTEN

Tracklist

Violin Duets, Op. 1 (pub. 1778) Violin Duet in G major, Op. 1, No. 1

Violin Duets, Op. 2 (pub. c. 1779) Violin Duet in G major, Op. 2, No. 1

1 I. Allegro moderato 2 II. Amoroso

# I. Allegro $ II. Rondo: Affettuoso

Violin Duet in F major, Op. 1, No. 2

Violin Duet in A major, Op. 2, No. 2

3 I. Allegro moderato 4 II. Allegretto

% I. Adagio ^ II. Rondo: Allegretto

Violin Duet in E flat major, Op. 1, No. 3

Violin Duet in B flat major, Op. 2, No. 3

5 I. Allegro non tanto 6 II. Minuetto con variazione

& I. Allegro con spirito * II. Tempo di minuetto

Violin Duet in A major, Op. 1, No. 4

Violin Duet in D major, Op. 2, No. 4

7 I. Moderato 8 II. Rondeau: Tempo di minuetto

( I. Allegro moderato ) II. Allegretto

Violin Duet in B flat major, Op. 1, No. 5

Violin Duet in E flat major, Op. 2, No. 5

9 I. Con spirito 0 II. Allegro

¡ I. Adagio ™ II. Grazioso con variazioni

Violin Duet in D major, Op. 1, No. 6

Violin Duet in D minor, Op. 2, No. 6

! I. Moderato @ II. Rondeau: Tempo di minuetto

£ I. Canoni: Allegro ¢ II. Tempo di minuetto

MARCH 2026 NEW ON NAXOS

About The Dorrit Ensemble Based in Australia, The Dorrit Ensemble is dedicated to performing chamber music from early Classical repertoire to the music of today, and approaches previously unrecorded works with great musical skill and artistic maturity. It has been performing regularly throughout Australia and New Zealand since 2019, and members of the ensemble are regularly invited to perform and tour for chamber music presenters such as Musica Viva Australia, and they are in demand at festivals throughout Australia, Europe and North America, often performing with the world’s most well-known musicians.

Elizabeth Layton © Jacquie Way

Elizabeth Sellars © Pia Johnson

Chamber music from the British Isles

NEW

‘The Australian Dorrit Ensemble plays with verve and elegance, with tasteful rhetoric, allowing the melodious charm of the works to unfold fully.’ – Pizzicato

‘Each track is sensitively crafted, with beauty of tone paramount and a warm, closely recorded sound… O’Connor’s high notes shine… while Peregrine’s solos at the beginning and end sound as expressive as a human voice.’ –The Strad

‘The Dorrit Ensemble is at home in the music of this era and also discovers previously unpublished works. Based in Australia, the ensemble performs these elegant and timelessly charming works with musical skill and subtle interpretations, allowing both the composer and the performers to be discovered with pleasure.’ – Pizzicato

‘This is a feast of eminently explorable repertoire in performances which were often the first, and are even more frequently the finest, on record.’ – Gramophone

Robert VOLKMANN (1815–1883) Romantic Piano, Vol. 8 Piano Sonata • 6 Fantasiebilder • 4 Marches Deutsche Tanzweisen • Lieder der Großmutter Levon Avagyan, Piano A native of Germany, Robert Volkmann was virtually unknown as a composer until the 1840s when he moved to Hungary. It was there that Volkmann achieved wider recognition due in part to Franz Liszt, Hans von Bülow and Richard Wagner expressing admiration for his Piano Trio, Op. 5 . Volkmann’s music straddles the radical and conservative camps in the music of his era, with the early Fantasiebilder influenced by Schumann and Mendelssohn, and the scintillating Piano Sonata in C minor retaining the Classical roots of Beethoven and Schubert. From the cimbalom effects in the Ungarische Lieder to the whimsy in Lieder der Großmutter, Volkmann’s expressive potency is always infused with a compulsive rhythmic verve. Key features: • The Naxos Romantic Piano series first appeared in September 2025 with works by Julius Benedict (8.574586), which was warmly welcomed by MusicWeb International : ‘we must above all be grateful to Naxos… for their enterprise in exploring an area of the repertoire that must be totally unknown to all but a very few experts in the period’. With numerous world premiere recordings, this series explores and promotes little-known composers and unusual repertoire. • Further volumes present rarely heard music by the likes of Charles Gounod, works by Friedrich Kiel, and piano sonatas by Józef Wieniawski. Vol. 2 of the series with sonatas by Wilhelm Taubert (8.574585) saw Interlude commenting that this recording is ‘a reminder of the breadth of 19th-century musical life, where many composers made meaningful contributions to the piano repertoire, even if they did not become household names’.

8.574674

Playing time: 74:57 Release date: 13 Mar 2026

7 47313 46747 1

Click to listen to Piano Sonata in C minor, Op. 12: IV. Allegro molto LISTEN Tracklist 1 – 6 6 Fantasiebilder, Op. 1 (1837) * 7 – 0 Piano Sonata in C minor, Op. 12 (1853) ! – % Deutsche Tanzweisen, Op. 18 (1854) ** ^ Ungarische Lieder, Op. 20 (1855) & – ) 4 Marches, Op. 22 (1855) ** ¡ – ‹ Lieder der Großmutter, Op. 27 (1856) * * WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING ** WORLD PREMIERE COMPLETE RECORDING

MARCH 2026 NEW ON NAXOS

About Levon Avagyan, Piano Armenian pianist Levon Avagyan combines virtuosity and depth with a distinctive musical sensitivity. In 2017 he garnered international recognition as the winner of First Prize, the Audience Prize and several special awards at the Maria Canals International Music Competition in Barcelona. He has since performed as a soloist with renowned orchestras across Europe, and is a regular guest at major festivals such as the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Kissinger Sommer, Marbella International Piano Festival, Arsonore and Alpenarte. Born in Yerevan, Avagyan received his education at the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory under Vagharshak Harutyunyan, and continued his studies at the Kunstuniversität Graz with Milana Chernyavska, graduating with distinction.

Previous releases from the Romantic Piano series

JAN 2026

FEB 2026

NEW

‘The Scottish pianist Elizabeth Haughan endeavours to get the maximum appeal out of Kiel’s works by differentiating the individual movements or pieces well and enlivening them with nuances, dynamic changes and accents… The sound recording is very natural and pleasant.’ – Pizzicato

‘[Warren Lee] plays the miniatures or the short pieces from the Six Romances and Préludes et fugues cycles with style in a most humble and honest way. This lends these interpretations an impressive seriousness that does justice to the melodic charm and elegant style of Gounod’s music.’ – Pizzicato

‘Wong’s interpretation brings warmth, clarity, and vitality to works that deserve recognition alongside those of Taubert’s more famous contemporaries.’ – Interlude

‘[Tuccia’s] playing is superlatively precise throughout, delicate and impassioned by turns and clearly responsive to the writing.’ – MusicWeb International

Remy Franck’s Journal about Classical Music

Das Klassik- & Jazz-Magazin

Domenico CIMAROSA (1749–1801) L’Italiana in Londra Angela Vallone, Bianca Tognocchi, Sopranos Theo Lebow, Tenor • Iurii Samoilov, Baritone Gordon Bintner, Bass-baritone Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester Leo Hussain, Conductor, Fortepiano Domenico Cimarosa, one of the last great exponents of the Neapolitan School, was also one of the most-performed opera composers before the arrival of Rossini. He composed over 60 such works and was esteemed from Venice to St Petersburg where he was appointed to the Russian Court . L’Italiana in Londra (‘The Italian Girl in London’) is a charming and sophisticated intermezzo that displays an incredible understanding of comic situations and characters, satirising different cultural stereotypes that are as identifiable today as they were in the 18th century. Humour and wit abound in this acclaimed production. Key features: • This was first available on a Naxos 2.110739 (DVD) and NBD0155V (Blu-ray). • ‘The glamorous (visually and vocally) Angela Vallone , as Livia, excels both in amorous longing and fiery indignation. Her fellow soprano, the bright-toned Bianca Tognocchi , brings comic panache to the role of the knowing, seen-it-all Brillante’, wrote Gramophone .

8.660586-87

Playing time: 2:30:27 Release date: 13 Mar 2026

7 30099 05867 4

Fanfare wrote of it that ‘Vallone is a fine jilted lover, with good expressions and a kaleidoscopic change of mood… [Iurii] Samoilov ’s resonant voice has a great deal of depth and good inflection that brings out his vacillating character…a great show, with excellent singing, a fine orchestra in the pit, and lively staging, all of which are sure to entertain’.

•

Click to listen to Sinfonia: Allegro con spirito – Andantino – [Allegro] LISTEN

MARCH 2026 NEW ON NAXOS

About Leo Hussain, Conductor During the 2025/26 season, conductor Leo Hussain ’s engagements have included Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Saul for the Semperoper Dresden, Mitridate, re di Ponto and Weinberg’s The Passenger for the Oper Frankfurt, and concerts with the Opéra Orchestre national Montpellier and George Enescu Philharmonic. Previous opera highlights include Die Zauberflöte at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Eugene Onegin for the Bayerische Staatsoper, Capriccio for the Santa Fe Opera, Tosca for the San Francisco Opera and The Rape of Lucretia for the Glyndebourne Festival. He has also appeared with the Hamburgische Staatsoper, and at the Theater an der Wien and Staatstheater Hannover, as well as with the English, Welsh, Gothenburg, Norwegian and Royal Swedish national operas.

Other works by Domenico Cimarosa

‘The vocal performance standards on this Eastern European release are uniformly high, and the smooth overall texture forged by American conductor Kirk Trevor, leading the venerable Capella Istropolitana, does the job in putting the soloists front and center.’ – AllMusic.com

‘Talk about prolific! …The performances themselves are fine. Patrick Gallois, famed flutist become conductor, makes the regional orchestra from Pardubice play with solid ensemble, excellent tuning, and firm pulse and rhythm…’ – American Record Guide

‘What this disc…offers is simply a wealth of well-made instrumental music that is very much of its time and is performed with considerable élan by the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice under Patrick Gallois.’ – Infodad.com

‘Here, and throughout the disc, the veteran opera conductor, Michael Halasz, draws weighty performances from the Czech orchestra in excellent sound.’ – David’s Review Corner

Remy Franck’s Journal about Classical Music

For the full list of Domenico Cimarosa recordings on Naxos, visit www.naxos.com/Bio/Person/Domenico_Cimarosa/25952

Celil Refik KAYA (b. 1991) Guitar Works Sketches, Vol. 1 • Sonata No. 1 • Sonatina Celil Refik Kaya, Guitar Celil Refik Kaya is a contemporary guitarist and composer in the great tradition of artists who have created their own unique contribution to the repertoire. Sonata No. 1 is characterised by various stylistic resemblances which include South and North American composers, jazz chord progressions, French impressionism and Spanish folk music, whereas the Sonatina expresses more personal emotions. Kaya’s Turkish background can be heard in his variations on the folk song Yavuz Geliyor Yavuz , which, like the Sketches , has its origins in art and music close to the composer’s heart. Key features: • Celil Refik Kaya has been a Naxos recording artist for some years now, and this new recording of his own guitar music joins acclaimed releases of works by other composers. Kaya’s first recording, Jorge Morel: Guitar Music (8.573514) was critically acclaimed in the American Record Guide in performances that are ‘just perfect’, with MusicWeb International adding that ‘the playing is splendid in every sense by one of the outstanding young virtuosos of the guitar’. • Kaya has also made acclaimed recordings for Naxos of works by Carlo Domeniconi (8.573675 and 8.574240), with ‘music- making at its highest level from a consummately creative composer and an intrepid and extremely capable performer’ ( American Record Guide ) and Agustín Barrios Mangoré (8.573898).

8.574598

Playing time: 59:26 Release date: 27 Mar 2026

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Click to listen to Guitar Sonatina: III. Allegro LISTEN

Tracklist

8 Prelude No. 1 for Guitar (2008)* Sketches, Vol. 1 (2019)* 9 No. 1. Bridge 0 No. 2. Bosporus ! No. 3. Blind Fisherman @ No. 4. Blind Fisherman’s Wife # Theme and Variations on Yavuz Geliyor Yavuz (2023)*

Guitar Sonata No. 1 in D major (2017) 1 I. Allegro moderato 2 II. Andante espressivo 3 III. Scherzo-Finale 4 From My Window (2020)* Guitar Sonatina (2012–13)*

5 I. Andante 6 II. Adagio 7 III. Allegro

* WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING

MARCH 2026 NEW ON NAXOS

About Celil Refik Kaya, Composer/Guitar Since his concert debut at the age of six, Turkish American guitarist and composer Dr Celil Refik Kaya has received many high accolades. He was the youngest contestant to win First Prize in the 2012 JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition, and is a prizewinner of international guitar competitions across Europe and the US. In 2017 he was named Rising Young Musician of the Year by the Donizetti Classical Music Awards in Istanbul and awarded a prestigious fellowship from Harvard University’s Dumbarton Oaks. Dr Kaya has performed in concert halls and festivals, giving solo performances at Carnegie Hall, Het Concertgebouw, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and Ankara International Music Festival among others, and numerous radio broadcasts and concert performances throughout the United States, Europe and Turkey.

Other recordings featuring Celil Refik Kaya

‘Refik Kaya surely loves this music. The performances are just perfect – he doesn’t try to make the music more than it is, but he does realize the real heart in these pieces. If you don’t know Morel’s music, this is a wonderful chance to hear a healthy helping of pure delight.’ – American Record Guide

‘Virtuosity and musicianship galore are on display in this superb release! Highly recommended.’ – Music for Several Instruments

‘I was impressed by Kaya’s work on the Morel disc – by his good taste. Everything was just right, not overstated, with plenty of virtuosity, but never flash for the sake of flash. This leaves me with the same impression.’ – American Record Guide

‘In Kaya’s hands, seemingly effortless and executed with the utmost clarity, completely masking their difficulty… This is music-making at its highest level from a consummately creative composer and an intrepid and extremely capable performer.’ – American Record Guide

Das Klassik- & Jazz-Magazin

For the full list of Celil Refik Kaya recordings on Naxos, visit www.naxos.com/Bio/Person/Celil_Refik_Kaya/274299

Franz SCHUBERT (1797–1828) Piano Sonata No. 21 in B flat major Gustav Piekut, Piano

Schubert’s final year was marked by growing public acclaim, but also by the gradual deterioration of his health, so that any idea of him becoming Beethoven’s musical successor was to be short-lived. Schubert’s final three piano sonatas of 1828 were completed only weeks before his death, and the last of these, the Sonata in B flat major with its ‘heavenly length’, stands at the summit of Schubert’s works for piano, bringing together the lyrical and monumental characteristics that are most cherished in his music. Key features: • Released as a digital exclusive for Naxos Denmark, this recording of Schubert’s remarkable and justly popular final Piano Sonata, D. 960 is a very fine performance in its own right, and also a further showcase for the young Danish pianist Gustav Piekut, whose brilliant career has already stretched well beyond the borders of his home country. • Gustav Piekut ‘hits the sweet spot between technical precision and off-the-cuff brilliance’ ( BBC Music Magazine ) and is ‘a true musical poet, a real sound artist’ ( Pizzicato Magazine ), both comments as a response to his recording of works by Scriabin and Langgaard Towards the Flame , released on Naxos Records 8.574312, which was also nominated for the International Classical Music Awards 2022. Piekut has also recorded Leoš Janáček’s On an Overgrown Path for a Naxos digital exclusive (9.70378), released in November 2025.

9.70379 *

Playing time: 42:54 Release date: 27 Mar 2026

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* Only available for download and streaming

Tracklist

1 I. Molto moderato 2 II. Andante sostenuto 3 III. Scherzo:

Allegro vivace con delicatezza – Trio 4 IV. Allegro ma non troppo – Presto

MARCH 2026 NEW ON NAXOS

About Gustav Piekut, Piano The young Danish pianist Gustav Piekut has recorded internationally acclaimed albums, including Towards the Flame (works by Scriabin and Langgaard, Naxos 8.574312), which was nominated for the International Classical Music Awards 2022. Recent highlights include soloist performances with the Copenhagen Philharmonic, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Magdeburgische Philharmonie, Slovak State Philharmonic Košice and the Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester. Piekut is a laureate of international piano competitions such the Aarhus International Piano Competition and the Kissinger KlavierOlymp. In Denmark, Piekut has 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 is an alumnus of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation. Gustav Piekut is generously supported by the Augustinus Foundation.

Other recordings featuring Gustav Piekut

‘Piekut’s relaxed and focused pianism redeems the ecstatic, celestial, religious and boundary-pushing of two important composers of the early 20th century on this album. Amidst all the existential violence and religious tumult, he manages to maintain a core of inner calm. It is very successfully done.’ – Politiken

‘[Piekut] plays very slowly, and then suddenly drives the music forward with powerful gestures. It is these abrupt changes of mood, this eruption in the midst of thoughtfulness, that make this interpretation so special… Piekut achieves this with dynamic and colourful means, and in doing so, he manages to control his playing so that harshness never arises.’ – Pizzicato

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