Stevens is a composer whose music is informed and guided by deep connections with visual media, literature, travel, past and present. This album of works for solo cello is a reflection on modern times. Each piece takes advantage of extensive techniques for cello to create a musical atmosphere that is expansive, dramatic, and original.

Keyboard Cubed is Cervetti’s second recording for Navona and takes the listener into a world of kinetic and emotionally charged sound forged from 3 keyboard instruments. Sometimes it is the pianoforte, the double keyboard of the harpsichord and the organ.

One of the central tenets of Albert Camus' philosophy is the indomitability of the human spirit, a subject on which he famously mused that "In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." This quote encapsulates the theme of Winter's Warmth, Navona's latest orchestral compilation featuring works from John A. Carollo, J.A. Kawarsky, Andrew Schultz, and R. Barry Ulrich. These composers present conceptual pieces that all act as soundtracks to our resiliency during the toughest moments of the human experience. Let Freedom Ring, the first of Carollo's two contributions to the album, focuses specifically on the freedoms of the American experience, utilizing an aesthetic of performer interpretation to exemplify the inalienable rights of Americans. A triumphant instrumental mood conjures intense feelings of patriotism despite being set in a minor key. The shifting phases of Kawarsky's Episodes speaks to the need to overcome life's unpredictable changes. Amidst the crawls and crescendos of the piece's orchestral mood, the piano retains center stage through the piece, pointing to a steadfast confrontation of turbulent times. The piano and orchestra often engage in a call-and-response manner of conversation, with strings and piano working to develop the central theme introduced with clarinet as the piece concludes. Carollo's second piece, The Transfiguration of Giovanni Baudino, similarly focuses on these themes of change, with the composer describing his fascination with the process of transfiguration and the "transformations we experience as human beings living through life's demands and delights, its turmoil and tribulations." The composition is appropriately tumultuous, journeying through numerous, intense orchestral moods. Schultz contributes the majestic Falling Man/Dancing Man, a piece inspired by two contrasting depictions of human reactions to war - a photo of a man leaping to his death from the burning World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 and a snapshot of celebration in the streets after an allied victory in World War II. This creates a clear juxtaposition of themes throughout, given life by the composition's lofty three movements which breathe in and out with orchestral swells. Throughout, an inspired organ performance provides the work's trailblazing element. The album's name sake manifests in Ulrich's Russian Winter, a short segment of a larger, string suite written in G minor. The title perfectly matches the imagery conjured by the cinematic nature of the composer's writing; it's easy to picture this piece playing in the background as grandiose shots of the cold Russian tundra loom in the distance. Despite the numerous themes explored on Winter's Warmth, there remains an underlying feeling of hope which points to the triumph of humanity within times of hardship. These four composers' talents work towards a cohesive album rife with musical commentary on what it means to thrive within the human experience.

WARRIOR MONKS is a collection of two clarinet concerti and a trumpet concerto by Carl Vollrath that span topics of war, solace, fascination, and reverence among many others. “And Bugles Sang” drew inspiration from the unique juxtapositions in Benjamin Britten’s “War Requiem” and explores the many ways the trumpet is used as a symbol throughout human history. At times the trumpet is brash and lyrical, expressing ecstasy; in other instances it is strident and rhythmic perhaps reflecting charges into battle; and yet in an instant it reappears low and mellow in what could be heard as a faux-lullaby. The virtuosity in this piece is not to be understated. The next two concerti were inspired by a trip Vollrath took to China and his powerful impression of “a complex culture which contained an old traditional heritage with a new contemporary injection.” He expresses this fusion especially in “Land of Lanterns” in which he uses various layers of melodies to create rich harmonies and active polyphony; the moments in which the solo clarinet returns to a pure pentatonic are especially poignant. “Dragon Land” further explores Vollrath’s time in China, approaching his experience with a heightened sense of drama. Angular clarinet melodies, quick dynamic changes, and flashes of folk melodies present vignettes that reflect a society where ancient practices and modern influences coexist, at times in discord and at times in harmony. Coincidentally, the final movement of this piece was inspired by warrior monks and became the impetus for the album. A warrior monk is a person trained deeply in both spiritual studies and martial arts; they are engrained with a vast knowledge of their culture and entrust that heritage to the pupils they train. At the same time, they are equipped with the skills to defend it at all costs. This duality inspired Vollrath to create this collection of works, dedicated to those who strive to cultivate acceptance and respect for other cultures. Moreover, it is dedicated to the memory of those who have sacrificed their lives to do so. This is Carl Vollrath’s fourth release on Navona Records. The title And Bugles Sang comes from one of the poems used in Britten’s “War Requiem.” Land of Lanterns was written in response to what Vollrath felt was left unsaid in Dragon Land.

Schlumpf combines his myriad of influences to craft expressive, complex chamber pieces that marry the sophisticated intricacies of Jazz with the studied nuance of modern classical. These 3 pieces-December Rains (piano), Clarinet Trio (clarinet, cello, piano) and Summer Circle (String Quartet), blend Schlumpf's traditional experiences with his penchant for the post-modern and improvisational, painting him as a composer who knows the strengths of these instruments and how they bring them to life.

ARCHITECT is an Opera composed by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Spratlan based on the architecture of Louis I. Kahn. The opera sets to music Kahn's ideas and philosophies including the relationships between sound and space and connections with the past and present. Full audio album and enhanced DVD with entire film and bonus material included.

FLEETING REALMS is an inviting compilation of chamber music featuring six composers. Though the album obviously mixes different compositional voices, the different pieces share many characteristics. FLEETING REALMS is defined by a pervasive uplifting quality. Many of the album’s works feature driving rhythms and a joyfully relaxed sensibility. Even dissonance is used playfully or as a counter weight to beautiful lyricism. Such consistency in manner across six pieces by six diverse composers is obviously remarkable, and it makes FLEETING REALMS a very special musical collection. The album’s tone is set by three works: Bruce Babcock’s Irrational Exuberance, Joyce Tang’s Snowy Landscapes, and Nora Morrow’s Luca’s Dream. Each is powerful, yet gentle, and exudes a kind of musical warmth that draws the listener into the rest of the album. Irrational Exuberance, for alto saxophone, cello, and piano, is thematic and rhythmically active, and features conversational imitation between its three instruments. Although interior sections of Irrational Exuberance are more subdued, Babcock’s work is markedly hopeful and confident. Tang’s Snowy Landscapes and Morrow’s Luca’s Dream perfectly embody the subject matter of their titles. Luca’s Dream is scored for solo vibraphone, and Morrow clearly exploits its bell-like sound to emphasize the work’s overall innocence. A fantasia of sorts, Luca’s Dream moves through a series of different melodic ideas, which are united by their rhythmic energy. Beginning in a very sweet, diatonic space, Luca’s Dream becomes increasingly chromatic until its final section, which returns to the gentleness that carries through most of the work. Snowy Landscapes is more texturally active than these other two works, but is nonetheless beautiful and welcoming. Scored for piano trio, Snow Landscapes begins and ends with sections of long violin and cello melodies accompanied by a resonant piano part. In between, we hear more contrapuntal and energetic textures, which, like Irrational Exuberance, feature playful imitation between the trio’s instruments. David Maki’s Five Impromptus for Two and Craig Madden Morris’s Crosscurrents are also notable because they are the album’s most dissonant works. Nevertheless, they approach their dissonance with a warmth and playfulness that fits well with the character of the other works on FLEETING REALMS. Crosscurrents, for example, begins with dissonant solo piano, which eventually gives way to a stately and Romantic cello part whose lyricism comes to dominate the rest of the piece.

Music represents a dialogue between composer and listener, channeled through performance and observation. Much like in spoken conversation, the works in PERCEPTIONS presents us with the revealing perspectives of their composers as told through small ensembles.

A potent representation of Australian composer Bruce Crossman's usic, Living Colours is inspired by his strong spirituality and eclectic, multicultural interests. Both overtly and subtly, Crossman's music seems to embody the expansive geography of Oceania. To this end, the works on the album draw explicitly on the native music of other Asia-Pacific cultures - particularly the Philippines, Korea, and China - and feature vast musical spaces that seem to symbolize the great distances that separate Australia from its neighbors. In his own words, Crossman describes his desire to evoke a "resonance of space" with his music, which arises from a "deep-felt emotion and sensibility linking heaven and earth." Crossman's works are probing and profound, offering listeners an array of unique, primal listening moments. The sense of space that so deeply characterizes his music is epitomzied in the opening of Double Resonances, for piano and percussion. The work begins with an echoing, disembodied piano sound - one of a few special timbres Crossman uses in the piece - which is only responded to by the percussion after a few minutes have passed. Double Resonances also represents one way Crossman maeks his music eclectic: the use of non-western instruments. Here, in addition to more conventional items in the percussion battery. Crossman calls for kulintang - a set of pitched gongs originating from the Philippines - and the ching - a type of Korean Samul Nori flat-going - among othe rindigenously Asian instruments. Crossman essentially builds a new musical voice with this enhanced set of percussion instruments, which are paired with the piano to explore resonance in this piece. Both these instruments also appear in the song cycle Gentleness-Suddenness. The composition may be the most overtly spiritual work on the album, as part of its text is from the Bible. Crossman's writing features a kaleidoscopic array of musical elements, from instrumental noise common to Western avant-garde music to melodic and rhythmic elements of various Southeast Asian, East Asian, and Cantonese traditions.

When appraoching his latest chamber album Bliss Point, Polish-born violinist and composer Piotr Szewczyk turned to a unique lens of inspiration - food science. His interpretation of a "bliss point" in the culinary sense embodies the technique's saturation ofa flavor just before the poitn of diminished potency. Of course, he trades in the contents of his spice cabinet in favor of diverse instrumental pairings, and in doing so, the composer explores the "saturation limits in teh full spectrum of emotions, textures, and characters." In doing so, Szewczyk is confident that the resulting collection of chamber works "covers the entire expressive range of my vocabulary and artistic sensitivity." Naturally, Szewczyk's violin stylings are included in this spectrum, as he appears on nearly all the album's compositions. He keeps true to his stated inspirations on Bliss Point and exemplifies these goals on the title track. Accompanied by clarinet, cello and piano, the violinist leads the quartet through a set of intertwined sections that stakly differ in their pacing. An ostinato bookend aids in structuring the piece, opening with a gentle pulsation and closing with tranquility after a midsection of contrasting instrumental textures. Contrasting moods also appear on the album's first two mixed ensemble pieces. The four shot, ever-shifting movements of Twisted Dances are brought alive by oboe, violin, cello and piano, and the scattered themes of Images from a Journey - which retains the same instrumentation save for a flute replacing the oboe - range from explorations of darkness to a similarly dance-inspired movement based on gypsy performers. These ensembles are only a sample of Szewczyk's use of contrast on teh album, with a strong example arrivign on Piano Trio No. 1's bricolage of disparate movements. The composer cycles through passages of intense, rhythmic virtuosity; then meditative jazz piano obscured by melancholic tendencies; and lastly, an explosive finale with unbridled energy as its ignition. His vibrant writing for strings echoes this trend as well, including the viscous, atonal sonorities of a string quartet in the octatonic scale on Half-Diminished Scherzo and the fury of a lively string trio on the appropriately titled Furioso. These types of musical personification all exhibit the itnense imagery of Szewczyk's compositions. Even without knowing the title of Very Angry Birds, the way the violinist's extended techniques glide over propulsive piano chords will prompt listeners to point their imaginations skyward. This tendency also holds true for the composer's dialogue between instruments, such as the furious battle of violin and viola on Conundrum and the marital themes of Nimbus, which tests the polarity of wedding vows with passages full of both joy and bickering.

Veronique Mathieu's Argot is a spectacular demonstration of her abilities as a violinist, as well as the dramatic range of her instrument. The recording embodies the definition of its title - Argot, whcih means teh language of a particular group in two meaningful ways. First, Mathieu has selected a unique array of violin-centric works that illuminate the creative strengths of twentieth century modernist composers. Second, as a result of the album's daring program and Mathieu's incredible talents, listeners enjoy the opportunity to hear every nuance of the violin's expressive vocabulary executed at the highest possible level. Argot focuses on compositions by three titans of twentieth century european modernism: Franco Donatoni, Pierre Boulez, and Witold Lutoslawski. Donatoni's Argo: Due pezzi per violono not only gives the album its title, but also serves as one of two solo violin works on the album, alongside Boulez's Anthemes 1 pour violon seul. These pieces reveal the depths of Mathieu's virtuosity, as she delivers deeply human and emotive performances of these notably technical and demanding works. In Mathieu's rendering of these compositions, every corner of the violin's sound world is both exploited and imbued with significance. Some might think that any piece written for solo instrument must be limited in what it can express, but, with that instrument in Mathieu's hands, this theory is thoroughly disapproved as neither Donatoni nor Boulez's compositions submit to its tenets. On the contrary, Mathieu's expert performances turn these works' intricate gestures and motives into the foundation of compelling musical narratives with which the listener cannot help but become enchanted.

Cross Connection features the works of Wolking and Ballantine. Both composers' works consider the meaning of life, love, and music, and the relationship between each. This recording features performances by the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra, and Moravian Philharmonic String Players, clarinetist Robert Walzel, and bassoonist Eric Wolf Stemberg.

With Parallel Worlds, Czech composer Jan Jirasek provides a portal into his intricately textured and resonant choral music. These works are enhanced by Czech children's choir Jitro, whose singers imbibe Jirasek's delicate and earnest compositions with authority, maturity, and captivating grace. A varied collection of Jirasek's sacred and secular choral music, Parallel Worlds reveals the composer's affinity for non-traditional sounds, as well as vocal forms rooted in Renaissance and Medieval traditions. These subtle, period-based influences are most evident in the nuances of compositions such as works like Missa Propria that evoke the voice-leading techniques of Italian Renaissance composer Carlo Gesualdo. Most obvious of these subtleties is Jirasek's contrast of polyphony and monophony in Missa Propria and Si, Vis, Amari, Ama, which use chant-like melodies scored for the entire choir. These moments strongly recall the structural role of Gregorian chant in Medieval, Renaissance, and even later musical settings of the mass text. King Lavra presents a subtler allusion to earlier eras of choral music, as its dramatic scoring recalls teh Medieval genre of the liturgical drama. This composition is also one of several works on this album to feature atypical sounds, including percussive vocal sounds ranging from spoken text to individual isolated consonants. Jirasek's use of a pair of scissors as a percussion instrument on King Lavra is a brilliant and wholly unpredictable reinterpretation of a mundane object, and the clear, precise attack of the swiftly closing scissors works impressively well with the piano and vocal forces. Throughout Parallel Worlds, Jirasek's creations are vibrant and profound, often suggesting the choir's singing is filling an enormous venue. The composer constantly plays with layering fixed materials, and he often manipulates the density of these musical strata to pull the listener through his intricate compositional mazes.

Triptych Revelation, composer Sergio Cervetti's seventh album wtih Navona, presents works from across four decades of his extensive career. Though a fair bit of time separates these pieces, the album's three works all feature unique explorations of apocalyptic themes drawn from the New Testament, nineteenth century French literature, and Flemish art of the sixteenth century. Inspired by portentous images from the Book of Revelation, Concerto for Trumpet, Strings, and Timpani pays specific homage to the passage, "And the seventh angel sounded the trumpet". Cervetti created the work as a trumpet aria, with three sections that unfold in a faceted continuum. Opening with a foreboding and menacing trumpet solo, the piece launches into full swing with tumultuous interplay between the brass and timpani. The final section's viola and celli parts recall the Voices of Heaven, joined later by timpani and trumpet for an apocalyptic crescendo and finale. Written in memory of the composer's sister, Piano Quintet "Toward the Abyss" is molded from Charles Baudelaire's poem "Le Voyage" and contemplates mortality and the voyage toward the afterlife. The work's post-minimalist tendencies exhibit a mature dexterity, using salient aesthetic means such as scattered 12-tone rows, minimalism, glimmers o fmelody, and the synthesis of suspense in tone and material. A meditative sequence of ascending piano and string lines conjures imagery of a flame extinguished and fused with eternity, with the smoke fading into eternal resplendence in the last movement's quotation of J.S. Bach's chorale Before They Throne I Now Appear. The Hay Wain, an electroacoustic tone poem, was inspired by the medieval triptych of the same name by painter Hieronymus Bosch. Cervetti uses a virtual orchestra redolent of the painter's brush to create colorful, grotesque responses to Bosch's horrifying representations of the world and its ultimate fate. In traversing this narrative, the composer draws inspiration fo rfour movements from the painting, evoking imagery such as angels as insects falling to earth like confetti; a wagon laden with hay drawn by semi-human, semi-animal monsters; a tower of human pride constructed by sinners; and lovers sitting and playing the lute in bliss, oblivious of the abyss towards which they are being driven.

NY based Anthony Piccolo leads a vibrant career as the Children's Chorus Director at the Metropolitan Opera. This recording is an album of works written entirely by Piccolo and features the Imaginary Symphony No.1 hailed as "one of the most appealing pieces for children and orchestra ever written" (The Advocate, Stamford CT).