The New on Naxos for April 2024 highlights Marin Alsop's new recording of John Adams, with a specially dedicated work 'Spider Dance'. Naxos celebrates the sixth instalment of Auber's Overtures with Dario Salvi conducting the Krlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, and recognises the importance of Julius Fučík's Dances and Marches, released on Marco Polo. Naxos Audiovisual shares two new productions: the Deutsche Oper Berlin's Siegfried (originally released in a set) and Tchaikovsky's 'The Enchantress' featuring the talented Asmik Grigorian with Oper Frankfurt. Enjoy!
NEW ON NAXOS The World’s Leading Classical Music Label APRIL 2024 UK release dates: 5 th , 12 th and 26 th APRIL 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 | APRIL 2024
8.559935
Release Date: 5 Apr 2024
Marin Alsop © Grant Leighton
6 36943 99352 1
John ADAMS (b. 1947) City Noir Fearful Symmetries Lola Montez Does the Spider Dance ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra Marin Alsop
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Click to listen to Fearful Symmetries
About Marin Alsop, Conductor One of the foremost conductors of our time, Marin Alsop represents a powerful and inspiring voice. The 2023/24 season marks her fifth as chief conductor of the ORF Vienna RSO; her first as artistic director and chief conductor of the Polish National Radio Symphony; and her first as principal guest conductor of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra. She will begin a new position as principal guest conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra in the 2024/25 season. A full decade after becoming the first female conductor of the Last Night of the Proms, Alsop made history again in September 2023, as both the first woman and the first American to guest conduct three Last Nights.
Key Features: • Marin Alsop is chief conductor of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra , chief conductor and curator of Chicago’s Ravinia Festival where she conducts the Chicago Symphony’s summer residencies, music director laureate of the Baltimore Symphony and conductor of honour of Brazil’s São Paulo Symphony Orchestra. • Lola Montez Does the Spider Dance was written expressly for Marin Alsop, who is probably Adams’ leading champion today. • Alsop conducts Adams’ Shaker Loops , Wound Dresser and Short Ride in a Fast Machine with the Bournemouth Symphony on 8.559031. It was a Gramophone Critic’s Choice release: ‘this vividly recorded, inexpensive disc should make a compelling introduction to Adams’ music’. • She also conducts Nixon in China on 8.669022-24: ‘Alsop lets you hear the workings of the music… Adams’ score hasn’t dated a bit. It’s come up gleaming anew’ ( ClassicFM ). John Adams’ music has long since captured the admiration of listeners for its inimitable American qualities. City Noir was inspired by the cultural and social history of Los Angeles, with Adams calling it ‘an imaginary film score’ in its evocation of a terse, melodramatic and menace-drenched sound world. Fearful Symmetrie s exemplifies Adams’ steamroller motor rhythms, endlessly inventive in their shifts of timbre, texture and color. The album ends with a work dedicated to Marin Alsop, a capricious “Spider Dance” of memorable rhythmic drive.
Companion Titles – Marin Alsop, Conductor
8.669022-24
8.559031
8.559926
8.559613
ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
2
NEW ON NAXOS | APRIL 2024
INCLUDES WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
8.574532
Release Date: 26 Apr 2024
7 47313 45327 6
Daniel-François-Esprit AUBER (1782–1871) Overtures, Vol. 6
Dario Salvi © Murray Kerr
L’Ambassadrice • La Part du Diable Haydée • Le Premier jour de bonheur Le Dieu et la Bayadère Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra Dario Salvi
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Click to listen to Don Juan: Act II: Divertissement: Minuetto allegretto – Trio About Dario Salvi, Conductor Dario Salvi is a busy and respected conductor with a versatile and eclectic repertoire, which has been recognised through numerous awards and nominations, including the 2023 ‘Riccardo Drigo’ Music for Ballet prize and a 2022 International Classical Music Awards nomination for the world premiere recording of Johann Strauss II’s Waldmeister (Naxos 8.660489-90). His passion for the rediscovery and performance of long-forgotten masterpieces and the curation of world premieres has put Salvi in the spotlight around the world.
Key Features: • This release employs yet another Czech orchestra, the Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra – previous releases have included the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, the Moravian Philharmonic and the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Pardubice. • Vol. 5 in this series is on 8.574335: ‘This is the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra’s first appearance in this series… They play the music well… As for Scottish-Italian conductor Dario Salvi, this is a labour of love for him, and I have nothing but admiration for his persistence and scholarship…’ ( Fanfare ). • Vol. 1 is on 8.574005: ClassicsToday.com wrote of it: ‘The present release deserves attention on account of the repertoire’s rarity’, whilst MusicWeb International praised ‘the sound quality on this disc is clear and detailed… It serves to present these interesting and enlightening accounts of less than familiar scores in the best possible light’. • Conductor Dario Salvi is collaborating with Naxos on recording a series on Romantic ballets, including works by Minkus, Pugni, Adam and others. • Two other important projects include recording the last three missing operas by Johann Strauss II and three never before recorded operatic works by Giacomo Meyerbeer. Auber’s overtures were once as popular as those by Rossini and Suppé, with no less a figure than Tchaikovsky commenting on the ‘elegant clarity of his harmonisation, his delightful and striking melodies … and beautiful instrumentation.’ Full evidence is provided here in music that ranges across Auber’s creative periods where finesse of orchestral detail and piquant harmonies are met by verve and wit. Some of his least well-known music is encountered, as are scores that explore vivid dance themes, all presented with Auber’s gossamer orchestration and lightness of touch.
Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra
Companion Titles – Previous releases in the series
8.574006
8.574007
8.574143
8.574335
3
NEW ON NAXOS | APRIL 2024
Asmik Grigorian as Nastasya (Kuma) © Barbara Aumüller
2.110768-69 Picture format: NTSC 16:9 Sound format: PCM Stereo and DTS 5.1 Language: Russian Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Korean Region code: 0 (worldwide) No. of disc/s: 2 (DVD 9) Release Date: 26 Apr 2024 Key Features: •
7 47313 57685 2
WATCH VIDEO TRAILER
Pyotr Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840–1893) The Enchantress Opera in four acts (1887) Libretto by Ippolit Shpazhinsky (1844–1917) Asmik Grigorian, Soprano
Asmik Grigorian is one of the three stars featured in the video documentary Fuoco Sacro, A Search for the Sacred Fire of Song on 2.110710 (DVD) / NBD0141V (Blu-ray): ‘Anyone who loves singing should see this film’ ( American Record Guide ). It also won a German Record Critics Award. Grigorian has also been honoured with the prestigious Opus Klassik Award for Sängerin des Jahres (‘Singer of the Year’) in Berlin, October 2023. The New York Times called her ‘A soprano with a bottomless appetite for risk’. • Of this Frankfurt production Suddeutsche Zeitung wrote, ‘You can also translate the title of the opera as ‘The Bewitching’, then you know what Grigorian is doing. Her uniqueness is warm humanity, her singing-acting instinct pure miracle down to the last detail of every smallest gesture, every inconspicuous phrase’. •
Claudia Mahnke, Zanda Švēde, Mezzo-sopranos Alexander Mikhailov, Tenor • Iain MacNeil, Baritone Frederic Jost, Bass Chor der Oper Frankfurt Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester Valentin Uryupin, Conductor Vasily Barkhatov, Stage director
Originally set in the 15th century, Tchaikovsky’s The Enchantress is updated to the present day in this innovative production. The charismatic, emancipated Nastasya, who rejects the advances of the devious Mamïrov, duly faces the implacable forces of traditional values in a society riven by divisions between liberal freedoms and religious orthodoxies. The tragic outcome engulfs everyone. This production was a triumphant success – ‘At the end, storms of enthusiasm, the likes of which are rare even at Oper Frankfurt’ ( Neue Musikzeitung ) – both for the staging and performers, with soprano Asmik Grigorian hailed as a ‘miracle’ and baritone Iain MacNeil as ‘world class’.
Canadian baritone Iain MacNeil joined the Oper Frankfurt Ensemble in 2019. He was hailed as a World Star ( HR-2 Kultur ) for his recent interpretation of the Prince in this production, where critics said he ‘embodies the figure of the dark and faithless prince with great vocal authority’ ( Kulturfreak ) and ‘shines alongside Grigorian and Mahnke’ ( Opera Magazine ). Claudia Mahnke is one of the leading mezzos of our time due to her Brangäne and Fricka at Bayreuth Festival, Judith in Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle at Staatsoper Hamburg and Didon in Les Troyens at Oper Frankfurt in recent seasons.
•
Also available on Blu-ray Video: NBD0180V Picture format: HD 16:9 Sound format: PCM stereo and Language: Russian Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Korean Region: A, B, C No. of disc/s: 1 (BD 50) Release Date: 26 Apr 2024 DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Companion Titles – Recommended Oper Frankfurt productions
7 30099 01806 7
2.110762 (NBD0174V)
2.110770 (NBD0181V)
2.110739 (NBD0155V)
2.110738 (NBD0154V)
4
NEW ON NAXOS | APRIL 2024
Clay Hilley as Siegfried © Bernd Uhlig
Richard WAGNER (1813–1883) Siegfried Nina Stemme, Soprano Clay Hilley, Ya-Chung Huang, Tenors Iain Paterson, Bass-baritone Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin
2.110743-44 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 (1 DVD 9 and 1 DVD 5)
7 47313 57435 3
WATCH VIDEO TRAILER
Sir Donald Runnicles, Conductor Stefan Herheim, Stage director
Release Date: 12 Apr 2024
Siegfried is the third of the four operas that comprise Wagner’s epic tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen (‘The Ring of the Nibelung’). Siegfried, raised by the evil dwarf Mime, discovers that he is the son of Siegmund and Sieglinde. He must negotiate betrayals and dangers in a landscape of dragons and magic in order to kill Fafner, who has the Ring, as well as Mime, who has designs on it. Finally, in music of resplendent drama, Siegfried, the hero who knows no fear, can penetrate the ring of fire to awaken the sleeping Valkyrie, Brünnhilde. Sir Donald Runnicles conducts an internationally acclaimed cast in this innovative new production by Norwegian director Stefan Herheim.
• 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 in April and Götterdämmerung in May. • It is directed by the Award-winning Norwegian Stefan Herheim who is acclaimed as one of the most important directors of the moment, known for his emphasis on the historical contexts of ideas. Key Features:
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. Companion Titles – Richard Wagner, Composer
•
Also available on Blu-ray Video: NBD0159V Picture format: HD 16:9 Sound format: PCM stereo and
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Language: German Subtitles: German, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean Region: A, B, C No. of disc/s: 1 (BD 50) Release Date: 12 Apr 2024
7 30099 01596 7
2.107001 (NBD0156VX)
8.501403
2.110766-67 (NBD0178-79V)
2.110637 (NBD0099V)
5
NEW ON NAXOS | APRIL 2024
WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
8.225381
Release Date: 12 Apr 2024
6 36943 53812 8
Marek Štilec © Daria Kalinovska
Julius FUČÍK (1872–1916) Dances and Marches Walter Hofbauer, Flugelhorn Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice Marek Štilec
LISTEN
Click to listen to Elbtalgruss, Marsch, Op. 246
Key Features: •
This album is conducted by Marek Štilec who has made numerous recordings of Czech music for Naxos – Wranitzky, Novák, Fibich, Koželuch, etc. – the Wranitzky and Koželuch recordings are also with the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Pardubice. • The Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice is valued for its stylistic interpretations and the extraordinary quality of its orchestral sound, and it is rightly ranked amongst the world’s leading representatives of Czech musical culture. It often performs at the most prestigious festivals in the Czech Republic and venues throughout Europe such as the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, the Grosses Festspielhaus, Salzburg, the Herkulessaal and the Gasteig, Munich, the Musikverein, Vienna, the Brucknerhaus, Linz, and the Meistersingerhalle, Nuremberg among many others. Outside Europe the orchestra has performed in Japan and toured extensively around America. • Julius Fučík’s famous piece, the Einzug der Gladiatoren, Op. 68 (‘Entry of the Gladiators’) can be found in the Wind Band series on 8.557545, a compilation of best-known marches: ‘ Strike Up the Band! is a fascinating collection of marches that will delight the listener’ ( BandWorld ).
Julius Fučík studied composition under Dvořák at the Prague Conservatory but was soon to emerge as one of the great ‘march kings’ of his time. He gained worldwide fame for his immortal Entry of the Gladiators , but after the composer’s death in 1916 his music collection was acrimoniously broken up by his family, with many scores subsequently lost. Half the contents of this album come from handwritten manuscripts preserved in Prague that have no known printed parts. Painstaking editorial work has been carried out allowing us to hear the full range of Fučík’s works in these premiere recordings. About Marek Štilec, Conductor Czech conductor Marek Štilec is known as an interpreter of Classical orchestral repertoire and is a specialist in Czech Romantic and contemporary music. A prolific recording artist, he has made over 30 albums for labels including Naxos, ArcoDiva, cpo and Supraphon. In the field of historically informed performance Štilec has collaborated with ensembles including Czech Ensemble Baroque and Ensemble 18+. He is also the founder of the Wranitzky Kapelle and artistic director of Academy Prague Mannheim with Das Kurpfälzische Kammerorchester Mannheim. Since 2020 he has been the permanent principal choirmaster of the Czech Boys’ Choir, Boni Pueri.
Companion Titles – Recent releases from Marco Polo
8.225382
8.225385
8.225383-84
8.206006
Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice
6
NEW ON NAXOS | APRIL 2024
INCLUDES WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
Joaquín TURINA (1882–1949) Works for Strings La oración del torero
7 47313 33917 4
Tango • Orgía Concerto Málaga Gil de Gálvez
To commemorate the 75th anniversary year of Turina’s death, this album presents some of the composer’s most admired works heard in arrangements for strings that honour the colour, richness and vivacity of the originals. Two of his best-known works – La oración del torero (‘The Prayer of the Bullfighter’) and Orgía , from Danzas fantásticas – open and close the programme. Other examples include a sinuous Andalusian Tango and a rare example drawn from his incidental music, Aparición del Arcángel . Key Features: •
Concerto Málaga has given over a thousand performances and has collaborated with globally renowned artists including conductor José Serebrier, harpist Anneleen Lenaerts, violinist Mariana Sîrbu and guitarist Pepe Romero. The orchestra has captivated audiences across the globe in prestigious venues such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, Prinzregententheater in Munich and Balboa Theatre in San Diego. •
8.573391 Release Date: 12 Apr 2024
Companion Titles – Joaquín Turina, Composer
The orchestra was also the first Iberian chamber orchestra to record for Deutsche Grammophon, achieving a best-selling album in Germany in 2011 alongside Los Romeros. It was also the first Andalusian chamber group to receive a Latin GRAMMY nomination for Best Classical Album.
8.555955
8.573401
Click to listen to Danzas fantásticas, Op. 22 – No. 3. Orgía
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8.573539
8.573677
INCLUDES WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
Astor PIAZZOLLA (1921–1992) Buenos Aires Arrangements for Violin and String Orchestra Tomás Cotik, Violin Martingale Ensemble • Ken Selden
7 47313 43087 1
Astor Piazzolla’s Nuevo tango transcends categories and represents an amalgam of international influences. All the arrangements in this album are of instrumental works that Piazzolla composed for his Quinteto Nuevo Tango. Most prominent is the Vivaldi-inspired Las cuatro estaciones porteñas (‘The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires’) reimagined in concerto style for solo violin and string orchestra by Leonid Desyatnikov. The seven other companion pieces, arranged by Ken Selden, use printed sources for structure but incorporate improvisations transcribed from original recordings made by Piazzolla and his band. On this, his third Piazzolla album for Naxos, internationally recognised violinist Tomás Cotik pays homage to his birth city of Conductor Ken Selden has worked with composers Pierre Boulez, John Cage and Tan Dun, and has conducted world premieres of music by Peter Lieberson and Michael Nyman. • Tomás Cotik ’s album Piazzolla – Legacy (Naxos 8.573789), featuring his own arrangements of music by his countryman, was nominated for an International Classical Music Award. • On Tango Nuevo (8.573166): ‘Some of the music is sultry while other works are fast, rhythmic, and ornamented to show the exquisite virtuosity of Cotik and Lin. They finish with a rousing dance called Libertango. It is a perfect finale for this [disc] of catchy, toe-tapping music. Many other artists have recorded Piazzolla’s works, but not with violin and piano. The sound on this disc is clear and the performances precise. I think that lovers of tango music will definitely want this fascinating disc’ ( Fanfare ). Buenos Aires. Key Features: •
8.574308 Release Date: 26 Apr 2024
Companion Titles – Astor Piazzolla, Composer
8.573789
8.573166
Click to listen to Chin Chin
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8.572596
8.572271
7
NEW ON NAXOS | APRIL 2024
Gaetano DONIZETTI (1797–1848) La Favorite Opera in four acts (1840) Libretto by Alphonse Royer (1803–1875) and Gustave Vaëz (1812–1862) Caterina Di Tonno, Soprano • Annalisa Stroppa, Mezzo-soprano
7 30099 05497 3
Javier Camarena, Edoardo Milletti, Tenors • Florian Sempey, Baritone • Evgeny Stavinsky, Bass Coro dell’Accademia Teatro alla Scala • Orchestra e Coro Donizetti Opera • Riccardo Frizza Written for the Opéra in Paris, Gaetano Donizetti’s La Favorite contains some of his most famously enthralling arias. While its much-reduced Italian version has continued in popularity, this superb production from the Donizetti Opera Festival in his birthplace of Bergamo returns the work to its rarely heard 1840 French grand opera origins. Set in 14th-century Spain, the tragic story is of a pious novice (Fernand) who falls in love with a noble lady and abandons the cloister, meeting her in secret. He becomes a war hero and asks the King for her hand, later finding out to his horror that she is Léonor de Guzman, the King’s beloved mistress. Key Features: • This uncut performance uses the critical edition of La Favorite by Rebecca Harris- Warrick, and the recording therefore has all of the original ballet music, and also includes the cabaletta of the duet between Léonor and Alphonse, originally cut only as its content created political friction in its day. The cabaletta finally received its first modern performance at the 2022 Bergamo festival. The audiovisual recording of this performance is available on the Dynamic label (DVD: DYN-37992; Blu-ray: DYN- 57992): ‘The lovers are played by Annalisa Stroppa and Javier Camarena. Both are pretty much ideal. Leonor (…) requires power, precision and beauty of tone… Stroppa doesn’t disappoint. She’s vocally compelling, nails the big numbers and is a terrific actress. …Camarena is a proper mid-19th century tenor with plenty of oomph and super high notes. When these two duet, it’s very impressive’ ( operaramblings ). • ‘The musical performance was in the capable hands of Riccardo Frizza , a specialist and musical director of the Donizetti Opera Festival. La Favorite has enjoyed long years of success in its Italian version as La favorita , without the ballet and with several cuts. Here Frizza presented an integral rendition of the whole score in French, which is not often heard in modern times. We got all the recitatives, all the repeats of the cabalettas – it was wonderful!’ ( bachtrack.com ) • ‘The singing cast was one for great occasions. Javier Camarena sang Fernand with an elegance and a mastery of the bel canto style which I honestly had never heard from him at this level. His tenor was still brilliant and exciting, explosive in moments of rage, with laser-like high notes, but he managed to shape each phrase with delicacy and intent. Even a tiny frog in his throat at “Ange si pur” was turned in a sob, an expression of grief. What a performance!’ ( bachtrack.com )
8.660549-51 Release Date: 12 Apr 2024
Companion Titles – Gaetano Donizetti, Composer
8.660303-04
8.660255-56
8.660257-58
8.660261-62
Click to listen to Act 1: No. 2. Air et Choeur
LISTEN
WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
Franco ALFANO (1875–1954) Suite romantica Una danza Davide Vendramin, Accordion • Vittorio Rabagliati, Piano Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano • Giuseppe Grazioli
7 47313 45337 5
Franco Alfano is remembered today for his completion of Turandot after Puccini’s death. His catalogue of works, including operas, orchestral and chamber music, reveals him to be a sophisticated and original composer. Alfano possessed an innate melodic facility combined with a talent for unexpected timbres, as heard in the luxuriously orchestrated Suite romantica which, in the composer’s own words, aims to convey ‘the feelings of two lovers travelling through Italy’. From the neo-Classical Divertimento to the noirish postwar Nenia , and from the lightness of touch of Amour… Amour… to the impressionistic and iridescent Una danza , each work reveals a different aspect of this multifaceted composer. Key Features: • Accordion and bandoneon player Davide Vendramin is widely in demand as a performer, appearing at important international festivals, as soloist with numerous acclaimed orchestras. • Pianist Vittorio Rabagliati has won First Prize in numerous national piano competitions and was a finalist at the ‘Rendano’ Prize in Rome and at the ‘A. Casagrande’ International Piano Competition in Terni and has dedicated himself particularly to modern and contemporary repertoire, with first performances and recordings of composers such as Berio, Castiglioni, Donatoni, Nono, Manzoni, Maderna and Sciarrino. • Conductor Giuseppe Grazioli has specialised in recording less-often-heard music from his native Italy. He has a long track record as a conductor of both orchestral music and opera. He has conducted many rare Italian operas by Gino Marinuzzi, Licinio Refice, Franco Faccio as well as the world premiere of Marco Tutino’s opera Vita with the Orchestra della Scala. In 2019, he became the principal conductor and casting manager of the Opéra de Saint-Étienne in France and conducts extensively in that country. Click to listen to Suite romantica: Part IV: Natale campàno LISTEN
8.574533 Release Date: 12 Apr 2024
Companion Titles – Franco Alfano, Composer
8.579042
8.573754
8.572753
8.570928
8
NEW ON NAXOS | APRIL 2024
WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS
JIA Daqun (b. 1955) The Wave of the Surging Thoughts
7 47313 91577 4
Bashu Capriccio Jakub Haufa, Violin Sinfonia Varsovia • Michał Klauza
The prolific and internationally admired Jia Daqun is one of China’s leading composers. He has written in a wide variety of forms – his chamber works can be found on Naxos 9.70241 and 8.579011 – but is especially distinctive when writing for orchestra. The Wave of the Surging Thoughts is a large-scale symphonic concerto-suite in which he achieves a high degree of unity through the use of formal variations. Bashu Capriccio is an ardent symphonic prelude that expresses the cultural traditions and simple folk customs of Bashu, the ancient name of Sichuan province. Key Features: • Jia Daqun is well-known for composing The Prospect of Coloured Desert in 2000 for world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble which earned him worldwide appreciation. His music is regularly performed in China, Japan, Europe and the US. •
8.579157 Release Date: 12 Apr 2024
Michał Klauza is the artistic director of the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra. His discography includes a number of radio and television recordings, many of which have been released by Polskie Radio. Klauza has worked as a guest conductor with numerous orchestras in Poland and abroad. •
Companion Titles – Jia Daqun, Composer
Jia Daqun
Michał Klauza
Over the years Sinfonia Varsovia has performed in the world’s most prestigious concert halls under the baton of conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Witold Lutosławski, Lorin Maazel, Emmanuel Krivine and Jerzy Maksymiuk, as well as with soloists including Mstislav Rostropovich, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Alfred Brendel, Martha Argerich and Piotr Anderszewski. Sinfonia Varsovia has given over 4,000 concerts all over the world and recorded over 300 albums.
9.70241
8.579028 8.579011
Click to listen to II. Rhapsody: Tenacity and Struggle
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INCLUDES A WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING
George WALKER (1922–2018) Complete Piano Works, Vol. 1 Alexandre Dossin, Piano
6 36943 99162 6
George Walker’s unique collection of piano music ranges across his long career. The three sonatas heard here, in this the first of two volumes of Walker’s complete piano works, offer compelling contrasts. Sonata No. 1 is his longest and utilizes folk tunes, No. 2 is darker and unified by tonal relationships, whilst No. 3 displays contrapuntal mastery and translucent elements. Both Spatials and Spektra are atonal – the former athletic and compressed, the latter vivid and colorful. The album opens with Prelude and Caprice – a serene and majestic early work. Key Features: • Steinway Artist Alexandre Dossin ’s recordings for Naxos include three acclaimed releases for the Liszt Complete Piano Music series: ‘These are luscious performances. Dossin is sensitive to every nuance; and, if we do miss the voice, the piano is far from a mere substitute. As with Star Trek’s Borg, “resistance is futile”. Embrace this fully. You will not be disappointed’ ( American Record Guide on 8.574106). • He played in two albums of Kabalevsky piano music: ‘He has the sensitivity and flair for the poetic moments as well as the drive and excitement necessary’ ( ClassicsToday.com on 8.570822). • Fanfare also applauded his performance in Bernstein’s piano works (8.559756): ‘Alexandre Dossin’s luminous, expansive playing is a great delight from the beginning to the end of this disc. With his wonderful technical control… and with his breadth of imagination… he serves up these little fragments to their brilliant best advantage’.
8.559916 Release Date: 12 Apr 2024
Companion Titles – Alexandre Dossin, Piano
8.572432
8.573435
Click to listen to Piano Sonata No. 1: I. Allegro energico
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8.570822
8.559756
9
NEW ON NAXOS | APRIL 2024
WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING
Elisabetta BRUSA (b. 1954) Orchestral Works, Vol. 5 Requiem • Stabat Mater Réka Kristóf, Soprano • Dorottya Láng, Alto • István Horváth, Tenor • Marcell Bakonyi, Bass Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir • Riccardo Frizza Most of Elisabetta Brusa’s compositions have been written for orchestral forces, with four volumes currently available on Naxos. The two new choral pieces in this fifth volume offer a revealing look at the composer’s response to spirituality and her own feelings about the end of life. The Stabat Mater was written as a trial for the Requiem and features vocal parts that are often pushed to the limit of their extensions for maximum expressivity. Following traditional models, Brusa’s Requiem evokes an archaic atmosphere which gives the piece a medieval aura, contrasted with moments of luminous and transcendent music. Key Feature: Vol. 4 can be heard on 8.574263: ‘ Simply Largo , a Mahlerian song without words, is a heartfelt elegy for Elisabetta Brusa ’s beloved mentor, Carlo Major. The notes accurately state that this is an ideal introduction to Brusa’s music, projecting from beginning to end her gift for communicating strong emotion with layered melodic statements. Anyone who fears the romantic flame has died out needs to listen to this eloquent work, played here with plenty of soul’ ( American Record Guide ). 7 47313 45897 4
8.574589 Release Date: 12 Apr 2024
Companion Titles – Previous releases in the series 8.555266 | 8.555267 | 8.573437 | 8.574263
Click to listen to Requiem, Op. 25: Rex tremendae: Moderato maestoso
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Erich J. WOLFF (1874–1913) Complete Songs, Vol. 1 Daniel Johannsen, Tenor, Narrator Samantha Gaul, Soprano Klaus Simon, Piano
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Erich J. Wolff’s name will be unfamiliar to many but in the 1920s an authoritative reference book on popular art song ranked his compositions fourth, behind Hugo Wolf, Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler. The first volume in this series of Wolff’s Complete Songs introduces a composer of astonishing gifts whose Romanticism is as daring as his formal sophistication. Wolff’s songs are lyrical, serene and full of melodic beauty, coupled with piano writing that is both virtuosic and atmospheric. Key Feature: Pianist Klaus Simon has appeared as accompanist on many Naxos albums. He has recorded the complete songs by Pfitzner and Korngold, amongst others. He is also the founder and artistic director of the Holst-Sinfonietta and the Opera Factory Freiburg and as an arranger he is known worldwide for his chamber ensemble versions of Mahler’s symphonies and songs.
8.574451 Release Date: 26 Apr 2024
Companion Titles – Recommended vocal recordings 8.573785 | 8.573083 | 8.570283 | 8.572498
Click to listen to Neun Lieder, Op. 12: No. 4. Das mitleidige Mädel
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Georgi Dimitrov-Jojo Guitar Laureate Recital Winner, 2022 European Bach Guitar Award Johann Sebastian BACH (1685–1750)
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Lute Partita • Violin Sonata No. 1 Prelude, Fugue and Allegro • Ciaccona Georgi Dimitrov-Jojo, Guitar
Georgi Dimitrov-Jojo, winner of the 2022 European Bach Guitar Award, presents a selection of works transcribed for guitar from the rich repertoire of Johann Sebastian Bach. Arrangements made for different instruments were customary during the Baroque period – and with a wide range of tonal possibilities, the guitar is an ideal instrument for this music. Dimitrov-Jojo’s beautiful sound and poetic interpretations bring an intimate connection to Bach’s boundless imagination, crowned in this substantial programme by the famous Ciaccona, BWV 1004 .
8.574541 Release Date: 26 Apr 2024
Click to listen to Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001: IV. Presto
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Companion Titles – Guitar Laureate series 8.574539 | 8.574433 | 8.574199 | 8.574127
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