Domenico Cimarosa was a prolific composer of church and instrumental music, but his reputation rests principally on his operas. During the second half of the 18th century, and until the arrival of Rossini, he was the most successful and performed operatic composer in Europe, and one of the last exponents of the Neapolitan School. His bracing and vivacious overtures in this final volume include the hugely popular Il convito ('The Banquet'), a triumph in Venice and Florence, as well as some examples of his expressively moving overtures for oratorios. Michael Hal�sz's first engagement as a conductor was at the Staatstheater am G�rtnerplatz, Munich, where, between 1972 and 1975, he directed all operetta productions. Many engagements as a guest conductor followed and in 1977 Dohn�nyi took him to the Staatsoper Hamburg as principal Kapellmeister. From 1978 to 1991 he was GMD (general music director) of the Hagen Opera House and in 1991 he took up the post of resident conductor at the Wiener Staatsoper for 20 years. Michael Hal�sz's recordings for Naxos include ballets by Tchaikovsky, operatic excerpts of Wagner, symphonies by Beethoven, Schubert and Mahler, Rossini's overtures, three volumes of Liszt's symphonic poems, Fidelio, Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberfl�te, and a pioneering recording of Schreker's opera Der ferne Klang.

This is the third and final volume of the string quartets of the important but long-neglected Basque composer Andres Isasi (1890-1940). Initially influenced by Grieg and Dvorak, Isasi studied under Humperdinck in Berlin, where he acquired a love of Germanic culture, reflected in both quartets heard on this recording. Much of the violin sonata's thematic material has tangible links to Basque melodies and songs though there is also an element of Richard Strauss. His remaining quartets can be heard on Naxos 8.572463 and 8.572464, while Isasi's symphony no. 2 and suite no. 2 are available on 8.557584.

Johann Simon Mayr became one of the most popular opera composers in Europe in the period preceding Rossini, but his younger career in the last decades of the 18th century was largely as a church musician, dividing his time between his native Bergamo and Venice. Often taking the form of small-scale religious operas, his Venetian solo motets were tailor-made for the singers of the day, with notable results, as can be heard in the soaring expressiveness of 'Exsurge, anima,' the cavatina-style melodies of 'O Deus, quot me circumdant,' and the contrasting atmospheres of fear, dread and serenity in 'Qual colpa eterno Dio.' Franz Hauk is the world's leading expert and exponent of the music of Johann Simon Mayr, and his numerous new editions and recordings of operatic and other vocal works by this composer is internationally recognized as highly significant: "Naxos's project of recording the major works of Simon Mayr is an extremely important event, introducing to most of us a composer of genuine individuality and importance." (Fanfare on the cantata Arianna in Nasso) All of the soloists here have a close association with Franz Hauk's Simon Mayr project, and each have successful performing and recording careers.

The Michael Thompson Wind Quintet, today known as The Michael Thompson Wind Ensemble, came into existence in 1992 when Barry Tuckwell announced that he was leaving the Wind Quintet that bore his name. The remaining instrumentalists unanimously turned to the finest horn soloist they knew to take his place, and Michael Thompson had no hesitation in accepting the invitation to head the illustrious group. The original Quintet, which brought together five of London's leading wind-players, was formed in 1969 and in the course of the next two decades performed in Russia, Australia, the Far East, Europe and the United States. The Ensemble today is of impeccable pedigree, each player a soloist in his own right. Michael Thompson himself is in great demand throughout the world as a teacher and, in addition to his post as horn professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London, has given master classes in the United States, Japan and Australia. As soloist/director he has recorded Mozart's complete works for horn and orchestra with the Bournemouth Sinfonietta.

Muzio Clementi’s legacy to pianists is recognized as highly significant for his introduction of a new virtuosity and exploration of the possibilities of the then recently invented fortepiano. His three Sonatas, Op. 23 were published in London in 1790, their style reflecting Haydn’s tremendous popularity in th city at that time. The later Sonata, Op. 34 offers more dramatic contrast, sparkling with chains of thirds, handcrossing and much use of octaves, comparable resources also being explored in the Fantasia con variazioni on the familiar song ‘Au clair de la lune.’

This programme represents most of Pablo Ortiz's recent choral writing, the multifaceted variety of which reflects the composer's intense emotional connection with the past. Maizal del gregoriano uses a musical language that is reminiscent of Benedictine chant, while The Darkling Thrush absorbs Thomas Hardy's melancholy depiction of the end of an era. Mozart is referenced in the operatic Teatro Mart�n Fierro Suite, as are the beauties of 16th-century madrigals in E ne la face de' begli occhi accende. The final Metamorphoses is a remarkable superimposition of Medieval motets, expressing the essence of Ortiz's belief in music as the ultimate time machine.

Although John Ireland is best remembered for his orchestral works, his 91 songs convey a peculiarly English quality of emotion expressed through reserve.

The three works presented on this recording, the Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in the German stylus phantasticus, the Fourth Partita with it's French Overture and the Third English Suite with it's Italianate Prelude, reflect Bach' life-long interest in incorporating different national styles.

A period of twenty-one years separates Brahms' two Cello Sonatas. Suffused with lyricism and expressive ardor, the First has become one of his most popular chamber works. The Second is more sober and succinct than the earlier work, yet strikingly original not least for the wide range required of the cellist to reach unusually high notes from the very low register. Chosen to suit the cello's particular color and articulation, the six songs are heard in idiomatic and sensitive arrangements which stay as close as possible to the originals.

Sergey Prokofiev was so musically precocious that no less a figure than Reinhold Gliere was employed as his live-in tutor. Gliere’s lessons proved to be both rigorous and inspiring and the young Prokofiev wrote a delightful sequence of works for the piano. Revealing an increasing command of harmony, these miniatures show why he was, at the age of thirteen, the youngest ever student to be enrolled at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire. ‘Old Grandmother’s Tales, Op. 31,’ written in New York in 1918 is suffused with nostalgia, while the ‘Six Pieces, Op. 52,’ are vivid arrangements of some of his earlier works.

These youthful chamber works by Richard Strauss, not widely represented on disc, are filled with sparkling inventiveness and lyricism. Written at the age of thirteen, his charming Piano Trio No. 1 follows the models of Mozart and Beethoven.

Classical Music

One of the least recorded of Paganini's 6 Violin Concertos.

Mostly dating from Erich J. Wolff's final decade, the songs in this selection range from the charming children's cycle Vier Kinderlieder nach Richard Dehmel to the incomparably profound cemetery scene of Friedhof. The recital concludes with the radiant Mein Meister, Op. 33, No. 10, one of Wolff's very last songs. Volume 1 of this complete edition (8.574451) was released in April 2024. Volume 3 (8.574558) is scheduled for release in November.

These six world premiere recordings present one of percussion's greatest masters in a panorama of works by leading composers of our time. This remarkable journey through sound and rhythm includes electronics such as the dramatically funky climaxes to Bruno Mantovani's Le Grand Jeu, a dreamy musical halo around metal instruments in Marco Stroppa's Auras and Jean-Claude Risset's sound illusions in Nature contre Nature. Peter Eotvos's Thunder is a unique quest to explore the potential of a single bass timpani, while Philippe Hersant revisits Berlioz, Schuber and Gounod in his Trois petites etudes. Rene Leibowitz's Three Caprices were among the first works written for solo vibraphone.