Korngold’s breathtaking precocity is everywhere in evidence in these two chamber masterpieces. The Piano Trio was composed when he was just twelve years old but its symphonic breadth and brilliantly demanding piano writing reveal myriad tonal colors and a mischievous reinvention of conventional Viennese form. Audacious yet rooted in lyricism, the String Sextet was written almost five years later and possesses memorable themes as well as a refined, theatrical intimacy.

Spectrum Concerts Berlin is one of Germany’s most significant voices in the world of chamber music and has specialized for Naxos in the music of expatriate German/Austrian composers. Their recording of Schulhoff’s String Sextet (8.573525) was a MusicWeb International ‘Recording of the Month’ in December2016: ‘This is sometimes quite difficult music... [But] it is given a terrific performance here by a group of string players’.

Everbest Music presents a reissue of two classic Virgil Thomson albums: Portraits and Self-Portraits and Mostly About Love. Performed by pianist and New York Times chief classical critic Anthony Tommasini, these out-of-print gems are now available as Portraits, Self-Portraits and Songs in a 2-CD set, digital download, and streaming formats. Previously released on Northeastern Records, these definitive recordings feature 22 of Thomson’s chamber and vocal works, showcasing his signature wit and shrewd musical style.

Volume 2 in Thomas Adès and the Britten Sinfonia's collaborative performances of the works of Beethoven and Barry; specifically the Beethoven Symphony Cycle and a selection of Barry’s works. This CD features Beethoven’s 4th, 5th and 6th symphonies, interspersed with Barry’s 'Viola Concerto' (featuring Lawrence Power) and piece for orchestra and bass 'The Conquest of Ireland' (featuring Johsua Bloom).

Gerald Barry grew up in rural Ireland. His music shows us how his upbringing had an effect on his compositional style - giving a piece a title such as Beethoven would suggest an attempt at emulating his legacy nearly two centuries after his death. Do not be fooled by this however; his music shows his major influence from radio, moving from the sublime and the ridiculous with carefree abandon. "...the most striking orchestral contribution to this year’s anniversary celebrations that’s come my way." (Presto Classical) "This set cuts pristine interpretations of Beethoven’s early symphonies with Gerald Barry’s 21st-century zesty homage ... Adès and the Britten Sinfonia present tightly knit performances [of the Beethoven Symphonies], and dynamic subtleties are largely preserved in the concert recordings." (BBC Music Magazine)

REVIEW:

Volume two of Thomas Adès’s Beethoven symphony cycle with added Gerald Barry continues to illuminate both composers. Under Adès, the Britten Sinfonia provide lean, though certainly not mean, performances of Beethoven’s middle three symphonies. There are a few scrappy moments, the wind almost getting ahead of themselves in the Fourth’s slow movement, but generally this is stylishly incisive Beethoven. Barry’s pieces are no mere filler.

– BBC Music Magazine

Richard Wagner began composing his Wesendonck Lieder during a stay in Zurich between November and December 1857. Originally conceived for female voice and piano alone, the five songs were later orchestrated, first by the Austrian conductor and composer Felix Mottl in 1893, and then later in 1976 by the German composer Hans Werner Henze, in a chamber setting. In fact Wagner had already orchestrated a version of "Träume” to be performed by chamber orchestra (with violin playing the voice part) on the occasion of his wife Minna’s birthday in 1857. Later, in 1870, for his second wife Cosima’s 33rd birthday, he enacted a similar gesture. Mixing new motifs with themes from his Ring cycle, he composed the Siegfried Idyll and had it performed by a small orchestra as a birthday surprise. Hanz Werner Henze’s orchestration of Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder highlights the relationship between the words and the sounds. The agile yet intense scoring for ten wind instruments, harp and small string ensemble appears to be Henze’s way of finding an alternative to the original piano without taking the cycle outside the realm of chamber music or altering the lieder’s original image. Siegfried and Brünnhilde sing from the depths of their hearts returns here with the grace of a child’s nursery. Salvatore Sciarrino’s Languire a Palermo (Languishing in Palermo), composed in 2018, is predominantly built around the melody Tempo di Porazzi, a fragment composed by Wagner during a visit to Sicily in late 1881 and early 1882. Sciarrino describes the ‘allure of a distant unaccompanied melody, played by someone for their own benefit and entrusted to the wind’ and hypothesizes that it may correspond ‘to the sounds in Sicily that stimulate and amaze the ears...Mediterranean charm gushes from the throat of every street vendor.’

Infusion Baroque draws new audiences to early music through a truly captivating concert experience, deftly combining seasoned musicianship with theatrical elements. Described as “dynamic and alive” (Early Music America) with “polish, energy, and finely-honed style… merrily breaking established traditions” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel), the four women of Infusion Baroque enthrall audiences across North America with their creative and interactive programming. Their debut album 1747: C.P.E. Bach was released in 2017 and reached #3 on iTunes Canada Classical chart. Infusion Baroque's second album is the debut recording of six rare quintets by Georg Anton Kreüsser. Joyful and elegant, these pieces for flute, violin, viola, cello, and basso continuo feature the instruments engaged in a lively musical conversation that are sure to delight and charm listeners.

Featuring ten premiere recordings and a number of recently discovered ‘Sins of Old Age’ manuscripts unassigned to specific volumes, this album brings together a notable diversity of genres and instrumentation. They include the catchy ‘Allegretto’ for violin and piano that Rossini used as his musical calling card, the ‘Tarantelle pur sang’ for choir, harmonium, clochette and piano, and a harmonization of the simple folk melody ‘Marlbrough s’en va-t-en guerre’ that transforms it into a little musical gem. The Ars Cantica Choir was established in 1988 in Milan and today, as a body of professional singers, has won a reputation for its versatility and ability to tackle repertoire from the Renaissance to the contemporary.

Mario Pilati was a leading member of the Italian generation of composers born around the turn of the 20th century. His love of the Baroque can be felt in the sunny and joyful immediacy of Preludio, aria e tarantella, originally conceived for violin and piano. His other abiding passion was for the folk traditions of his native country, exemplified by his beautiful settings of Quattro canzoni popolari italiane- light, elegant, and suffused with subtle humor- and the delightful Bagatelles. In the strikingly inventive ‘Divertimento’ for brass ensemble, he draws on cinema, jazz and the vibrancy of Neapolitan street life. Pilati’s Concerto for Orchestra and Suite for Strings and Piano can also be heard on Naxos.

Kerry Turner made his mark on the global music community through his association with the illustrious American Horn Quartet. Turner’s compositional goal is to communicate to the listener a vivid picture through his highly melodic musical language. Many sources provided the inspiration for the works on this album, ranging from the spiritual, to the literary, and even Turner’s powerful response to the music of J.S. Bach.

William Mathias wrote some of the most imaginative, communicative and joyful choral music of the mid- to late 20th century. These qualities are perhaps most clearly represented in his substantial catalogue of works for choir and, in particular, his settings of sacred texts, notably the invigorating A Babe is Born and the hauntingly beautiful Ave verum corpus, one of his last compositions. This selection also includes the both serious and entertaining sequence of Riddles and the rapt, ecstatic A May Magnificat. More Mathias choral music can be heard on prior Naxos releases.

One of Spain’s most internationally admired living composers, Lorenzo Palomo is the natural successor to Joaquin Turina. His orchestral music shares a sense of rhapsodic freedom with Turina’s, perfectly exemplified by the Sinfonia Cardoba. This rapturous portrait of the city conjures its architecture and spirit with dance rhythms and vivid, poetic lyricism. Written for the unique combination of guitar, violin and orchestra, Fulgores skillfully blends these three voices in music that possesses a wealth of tonal color and expressive beauty.

The custom of marking the name-day of Princess Esterhazy with a newly composed Mass began in the 1790s and for many years was carried out by Joseph Haydn. In 1807 Beethoven was commissioned and responded with his Mass in C major. Coolly received at court, it is a celebratory work of large-scale brilliance. The cantata Meeresstille und gluckliche Fahrt is set to Goethe’s poems and contrasts calm with exuberance. In 1803 Beethoven set two numbers from Vestas Feuer, written by Emanuel Schikaneder, the librettist of Mozart’s die Zauberflote.

Soprano Mary Bevan and pianist Jopseph Middleton perform a programme exploring the genius of Baudelaire and Goethe, and how texts by them unlocked very specific musical landscapes in settings by Debussy, Duparc, Chausson, de Breville, Severac, Faure and Schubert. Praised by Opera for her “dramatic wit and vocal control” in stand out performances on opera and concert platforms, Mary Bevan is a winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artist award and UK Critics’ Circle Award for Exceptional Young Talent in music. Pianist Joseph Middleton specialises in the art of song accompaniment and chamber music and has been highly acclaimed within this field. Described in the BBC Music Magazine as “one of the brightest stars in the world of song and Lieder”, he has also been labeled “the cream of the new generation” by The Times and “a perfect accompanist” by Opera Now.