Mozart married Constanze Weber in 1782, and it is thanks to her diligent curation of ‘these marvellousrelics’ that we have these rarely heard fragments including fugues which reveal the influence of Bach anddemonstrate Mozart’s agility with sophisticated contrapuntal techniques. The more substantial Rondoshave gained popularity with their memorable themes and musical depth, while forays into Baroque stylecan be heard in the unfinished Suite. These, the improvisational Fantasias and a mocking parody of aFuneral March all highlight neglected facets of Mozart’s oeuvre.
Heinrich Scheidemann flourished as a key figure in the development of keyboard music amidst the Hanseatic prosperity of 17th-century Hamburg and the luxurious tonal qualities of Northern European organ playing. This programme includes early works reflecting the influence of Scheidemann’s teacher Sweelinck as well as fashionable dances, and is crowned with majestic transcriptions and variations on secular and Lutheran vocal music. Julia Brown’s many Naxos recordings include Vols 3–5 and the forthcoming final Vol 7 of Scheidemann’s organ works. MusicWeb International described Vol 5 (8.557054) as “wonderful music…compellingly played.”
Heinrich Scheidemann’s significance as a composer lies in his absorption of the influence of his teacher Sweelinck, and his subsequent forging of a new, independent style in North German music in the first half of the seventeenth-century. Volume 7 includes one of his significant settings of the Magnificat and presents chorales, liturgical extemporisations, and keyboard realisations of vocal motets. Also included are some brief dance pieces showing Scheidemann’s lighter side.
Respighi & Pick-Mangiagalli: Works for Violin & Piano
Naxos
CD
$13.99$19.99Save 30%Nov 11, 2014
Respighi’s Sonata in B minor was completed a year after The Fountains of Rome had brought him international renown. + A work of considerable dimensions and scope, it combines expressive intensity with techniques grounded in early Italian music. + Like Respighi, Pizzetti, Casella, Malipiero and others, Riccardo Pick-Mangiagalli belonged to the ‘generation of the 1880s’, which played such a key rôle in the resurgence of Italian instrumental music. + His early Sonata, notable for its concise ideas and attractive melodies, and the three short pieces on this album, comprise the complete works for violin and piano of an undeservedly neglected composer. + Volume 1 of this two-disc series can be heard on Naxos 8.573129.
Xiaogang Ye: The Macau Bride Ballet Suite & 4 Poems of Lingn
Naxos
CD
$13.99$19.99Save 30%Apr 29, 2014
Xiaogang Ye is regarded as one of today’s leading Chinese composers. The Macau Bride a colourful and evocative ballet based on a story from the 17th century in which Chinese sailor Chon Kou and Portuguese captain’s daughter Maria do Mar fall in love following a chance encounter in Belém. They set sail for Macau, survive a storm and an attack by pirates, and are finally reunited and married in Macau. The Four Poems of Lingnan from the classical literature of ancient Chinese dynasties.
Seen as the successor to Beethoven by many of his contemporaries, Johannes Brahms combined traditional form with an originality o fmusical language that has inspired generations of composers. His two string quintets are, like Mozart's, scored with two violas for richness of texture and harmonic depth. The positive mood of the First String Quintet reflects the sunny resort of Bad Ischl where Brahms composed during the spring of 1882, while his Second String Quintet combines symphonic breadth with nostalgic melancholy in what was originally intended to be his final chamber work. Formed in 1987, the New Zealand String Quartet has established a distinguished international reputation over the past three decades. The ensemble's discography includes all the quartets by Mendelssohn, Bartok and Berg, and this recording completes their three albums of Brahms chamber music for Naxos.
Debussy: Four-hand Piano Music, Vol. 2 / Armengaud, Chauzu
Naxos
CD
$13.99$19.99Save 30%Nov 11, 2016
In 1891 Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé asked Debussy to compose incidental music for a theatrical version of his poem L’Après-midi d’un faune (The afternoon of the faun) and the resulting work, with its innovative melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic writing, is both impassioned and expressive. The four-hand arrangement was made by Ravel in 1910. Subtitled “esquisses symphoniques” – or symphonic sketches – La Mer, inspired by the natural phenomena of water, light and wind, is a masterpiece that doesn’t conform to structural convention. Of the evocatively enchanting Images, he wrote that it marked a departure for him, dealing with “realities” not impressionism.
Boris Giltburg, the Russian-born Israeli pianist who won the 2013 Queen Elisabeth Competition, is that genuine rarity: a pianist whose Rachmaninov is entirely idiomatic yet intensely personal in a way that yields fresh perspectives on this well traversed repertory.
His sense of rhythm is impeccable, with a chaste application of rubato that is organically derived from the life of the phrase. He is a master of the great surges and retractions of energy so specific to the composer. Giltburg’s pellucid sound is never forced; his large dynamic range has a soft spectrum, between mezzo-piano and ppp, which is infinitely calibrated and shaded. His eloquence derives from a poise and restraint that, while uniquely his own, is not unlike the aristocratic delivery that was the hallmark of Rachmaninov’s playing.
Without ostentation or fuss, he has examined these scores in every kind of light, lived with them and come up with a vision that, without being wilfully contrarian, is nevertheless something beyond received wisdom. I suspect that before long this vision will place him among the truly memorable Rachmaninov interpreters, an elect including Moiseiwitsch, Horowitz, Kappel, Richter and Cliburn. His originality stems from a convergence of heart and mind, served by immaculate technique and motivated by a deep and abiding love for one of the 20th century’s greatest composer-pianists.
A pupil of Tchaikovsky, who called him the "Russian Bach", Sergey Taneyev is best known today for his four symphonies, although he also composed a sizable body of chamber music, including nine complete String Quartets.
Quartet No 9 is a memorably melodic work, while the beautifully crafted No 6, his last completed quartet, is rather more austere, though marked by a playful Jig, and even more masterful in construction. One of the most unique and sought-after chamber ensembles on the concert stage today, the Carpe Diem String Quartet are also involved in several most noteworthy educational and community outreach initiatives that bring music to those with limited access to it, or are otherwise unable to access it at all.
Anthony Burgess, celebrated author of A Clockwork Orange, memorably filmed by Stanley Kubrich, once said, “I wish people would think of me as a musician who writes novels, instead of a novelist who writes music on the side.” Initially thwarted in his desire for a professional musical career, Burgess returned to composition in the mid-1970s, writing prolifically in many genres. His music is mostly tonal but sometimes dissonant, a hybrid of Holst and Hindemith. Mr. W.S. is an imaginative evocation of the Elizabethan era while Mr. Burgess’s Almanack is a variegated work of ingenuity and charm with a nob towards modernism. This is the first recording of Burgess’s orchestral music.
Music for Brass Septet, Vol. 3: Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Scriabin, Rachmaninov
Naxos
CD
$13.99$19.99Save 30%Dec 11, 2015
Stretching back from the stark Soviet soundscape of Shostakovich, to the early pre-modernism of Prokofiev, to the pre-revolutionary opulence of Scriabin and Rachmaninov, Septura redresses a lack of original music for brass by these great composers by charting a turbulent 70 years of Russian history. Brass instruments feature prominently in these composers' symphonic output, and Septura is a natural fit for their chamber music. The focus is piano music with one prominent exception: perhaps Septura's most ambitious transcription to date, Shostakovich's profound and deeply personal Eighth String Quartet.
Jose Viana Da Mota: A Patria - Sinfonia (To The Homeland)
Naxos
CD
$13.99$19.99Save 30%Oct 09, 2015
The most distinguished pianist of his generation, a brilliant pedagogue and a highly gifted composer, José Viana da Mota was a towering personality in the field of Portuguese music. Disapproving of ‘modernistic’ compositional trends he stopped composing around 1910 but not before he had written his Symphony ‘To the Homeland’, a brilliantly orchestrated paean to Portuguese prowess and discovery which makes use of Portuguese folk dances and songs. Based on the dramatic life and murder of the 14th-century noblewoman Inês de Castro, Viana da Mota’s Lisztian symphonic poem is an early work notable for its kaleidoscopic sections full of inspiring contrasts. This recording presents the complete orchestral works of Viana da Mota.
In 2014 Ekachai Jearakul became the first Asian guitarist to win the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition (GFA). Winner of numerous awards and an international artist, he has selected a recital that takes the listener on a journey from the baroque beauties of Weiss through nineteenth-century classics by Mertz and Legnani, concluding with three modern compositions influenced by jazz.
M. Haydn: Symphonies, Vol. 2 / Gallois, Czech Chamber Philharmonic
Naxos
CD
$19.99Aug 12, 2016
Johann Michael Haydn's music has inevitably been overshadowed by that of his elder brother Franz Joseph, but his music represents some of the best features of 19th century classicism. These four Sinfonias span just over a decade, from the graceful combination of elegance and liveliness in the Sinfonia in D, the muted violins in the Adagietto affettuoso of the Sinfonia in E-Flat, the lovely sicilienne of the Sinfonia in B-Flat to the substantial Sinfonia in F, which features a solo violin and cor anglais playing together or in alternation.
Franz Anton Hoffmeister was active in Vienna both as a composer and a publisher, becoming closely associated with Mozart and including works by Beethoven amongst his editions. The combination of violin and cello had its appeal for the amateur market, though Hoffmeister’s Duos Op. 6 include plenty of technical challenges. Conjectured as being from Beethoven’s final years as a young man in Bonn, the three refreshing and inventive Duos for Clarinet and Bassoon are so pleasing that they have appeared in numerous arrangements
Enrique Soro rose to great esteem not only as Chile's leading composer but as a distinguished pianist, conductor and teacher. The Sinfonia romantica was the first symphony to be composed in Chile and remains the most important example of the genre in the country's musical history. Soro's melodic distinction, mastery of orchestration and his sense of form are equally distinguished. The Tres aires chilenos espouse a kind of nationalism, fusing Chilean folk music, specifically the tonada, with the European classical tradition. The rousing Danza fantastica is a perfect concert opener.
Lanner: Viennese Dances / Dorner, Orchestre de Cannes
Naxos
CD
$19.99May 13, 2016
Joseph Lanner was the inventor of the formal Viennese waltz, elevating it from a peasant dance to a refined art form enjoyed by high society. While renowned in his day, Lanner seldom left Vienna and failed to acquire the same European fame as his more widely-travelled colleague and rival Johann Strauss I, but his music endures for its rich generic variety and lyrical, poetic style. These dances range from boisterous and ‘immoral’ gallopades to the spooky Geistermusik of the Hexentanz, and a late masterpiece Die Schonbrunner, given 21 encores at Lanner’s final concert and including melodies quoted by Stravinsky in his ballet Petrushka.
Review:
Naxos's sound engineers have done a first class job on this disc. Robert Letellier's booklet notes provide a welcome and expert introduction to a composer who will be little - if at all - known to many.
Naxos's competitive pricing always encourages taking a risk on unfamiliar material. In this case and after listening to nearly 70 minutes of Lanner's undemanding but nonetheless highly enjoyable music, most buyers will conclude that any risk had turned out to be well justified. Believe me, if you enjoy the music of Lanner’s era you will most certainly like his easy-going tunes. And if, like me, you do so enough that you play the disc more than a few times, I suspect you might even start whistling them too.
Latino Ladino: Songs of Exile & Passion / Yaniv d'Or
Naxos
CD
$13.99$19.99Save 30%Jul 08, 2016
The music and poetry of numerous persecuted and exiled minority cultures flourished throughout the Mediterranean and South America during the 17th century, the sensitivities of these displaced communities retaining powerful resonance today. These ancient narratives on beauty, love, joy and sorrow are expressed through Yaniv d'Or's haunting voice against a "folk-Baroque" instrumental backdrop that reinvents enchanting and distinctive musical worlds.
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Reviews:
Latino Ladino is the latest album from the inventive countertenor Yaniv d’Or. His rich, honeyed falsetto guides us through various Ladino traditions, eventually crossing the Atlantic to the Missa Mexicana of 1677. Here d’Or multi-tracks both voices of Francisco Escalada’s Canten dos Jilguerillos, a wonderful flamenco-infused setting of two goldfinches watching over the Christ child. Flamenco also appears in the Ladino song ‘A la una yo naci’, which d’Or has traced as far as Peru. This sumptuous programme is enhanced by excellent booklet-notes from Richard Jones, who explains how each performance has been constructed in what d’Or himself often calls a folk-Baroque style.
– Gramophone
This recital by countertenor Yaniv d'Or mixes a wide variety of music, from Spain to South America, from the 17th century to the 21st. The program's chief novelty, as the title suggests, is to mix Jewish and non-Jewish elements convincingly; recordings of music from the Ladino tradition of Spain's Jewish community generally focus on that tradition to the exclusion of others. D'Or maps it onto a wider theme of exile and wandering, reaching back to the African-influenced marizápalos and canarios dances cultivated by various composers of the Spanish Baroque, but also bringing in music by Albéniz, the Chilean folk singer Violeta Parra, and even a song of his own composition. But really the main attraction is the limpid voice of d'Or, who has performed this program live and entranced audiences with darkly beautiful readings of traditional Ladino songs from across the Jewish diaspora. An innovative and lovely recording.
Before his thirtieth birthday the young Catalan composer Antonio Soler had become maestro di capilla and organist at the Escorial palace, positions he held for hte rest of his life. Many of his keyboard sonatas were written for Don Gabriel, son of King Carlos III, and they represent his greatest compositional achievement, effortlessly embodying the dual influences of Domenico Scarlatti and the emergent Viennese school. Each sonata in Volume 6 has its own distinctive character, from the ingenious contrasts of No. 63 in F major and the harmonic sophistication of No. 64 in G major to the delicious Iberian colours evoked in No. 66 in C major.
Alessandro Scarlatti was largely responsible for developing early Neapolitan opera but his son Domenico Journeyed to Lisbon and then to Madrid where he entered the service of the royal family. It was primarily for the Infanta Maria Barbara, who became Queen of Spain in 1746, that Domenico Scarlatti wrote his celebrated single-movement sonatas, some of the greatest pieces in eighteenth-century keyboard repertoire. This volume reveals Scarlatti’s evocations of Spanish dance rhythms, vivid exploration of color, scintillating scales and arpeggios and striking echo effects. Goran Filipec was born in Rijeka in 1981 and showed considerable early musical talent. After completing his studies in Croatia at the Academy Ino Mirkovich he continued at the Cologne Musikhochschule, the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory and at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. His concert performances have led him to some of the most prestigious concert halls of Europe, including the Auditorium di Milano, The Mariinsky Theatre, the Budapest Bela Bartok National Concert Hall, and the Theatre du Chatelet, Paris. He is a laureate of several international piano competitions, including the Concorso Internzionale Franz Liszt- Premio Mario Zanfi (Italy), the Concurso de Piano Parnassos (Mexico), the Jose Iturbi International Music Competition (USA) and the Gabala International Piano Competition (Azerbaijan). His Naxos recording of Liszt’s Paganini Studies was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque of the Budapest Ferenc Liszt Society, previous winners of which have included Vladimir Horowitz, Gyorgy Cziffra, Alfred Brendel, Claudio Arrau, Zoltan Kocsis and Maurizio Pollini.
