Themes of love and passion dominate these orchestral excerpts from Wagner's music dramas. The legend of Tannhauser contrasts the sensual allure of Venus with the ideals of courtly love and religious devotion. Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg pits an inspired but rash young singer against the traditions of the old masters in a song competition, with a beautiful girl as the prize. Tristan und Isolde, based on one of the world's great love stories, is considered Wagner's most revolutionary work, seamlessly blending themes of love and death into a shattering apotheosis. Gerard Schwarz's other selections of Wagner excerpts can be found on 8.572767 and 8.572768.

Robert Groslot's significant contribution to the concerto genre is explored here in works that emphasize enjoyment in performance, and precision in sonorities and structure. The Cello Concerto includes a musical joke, whereby the soloist 'quarrels' with the concert master, only for the argument to be quelled by one of the percussionists. Robert Groslot made his name as a concert pianist, winning both the Alessandro Casagrande and Queen Elizabeth competitions in the 1970s. He has since developed a career as conductor, multimedia artist and composer. This world premiere recording of three significant concertos follows on from a release in August 2018 with his Violin Concerto and Concerto for Orchestra (8.573808), also performed with the Brussels Philharmonic and conducted by the composer. This was highly acclaimed by the critics, summed up by Fanfare as 'highly rewarding music... Groslot possesses a musical voice well worth hearing and clearly aims to entertain his listeners.

Portuguese composer Vasco Mendon�a regards this portrait album as a letter to himself - written over time and with different chapters that throw light on his long-standing obsessions with drama, ritual and precision mechanism. Group Together, Avoid Speech highlights the string and woodwind principals of the wonderful Gulbenkian Orchestra to create 'a Baroque concerto grosso on steroids', while Unanswerable Light is a memorial to a friend and a meditation on fury and loss. The piano concerto Step Right Up is 'a ritual celebration between the most incredible music box - the orchestra - and the most beautiful sound machine - the piano.' This is Vasco Mendon�a's Naxos debut recording. Including the world premiere of Mendon�a's new piano concerto Step Right Up, this programme of remarkable orchestral works will raise his profile and deservedly introduce this exciting compositional voice to a wide audience

The Piano Quartet by much-admired Latvian composer Peteris Vasks is one of his longest and most imposing chamber works. Unfolding with inexorable expressive force, it utilizes dance-like motifs and folk-inflected themes throughout. The pieces by Lithuanian composer Arvydas Malcys form a cohesive sequence akin to a three-movement piano quartet in which specific sound effects, emotional power and colorful textures are in perfect alignment. The Ippolitov-Ivanov Piano Quartet (Irina Grayfer (piano), Elena Ivanova (violin), Olga Kogan (viola), Sergey Ananich (violoncello)) is nowadays considered one of the premiere young chamber ensembles of Moscow. It's members all received post-graduate education at the Moscow Conservatory under the guidance of Prof. Bonduriansky.

Vienna was a magnet for musicians across Europe in the 18th century, and among the most successful and influential were composers from Bohemia. Credited with developing idiomatic piano performance in the city, Leopold Ko�eluch also wrote choral music of considerable individuality. Joseph der Menschheit Segen ('Joseph, Mankind's Blessing') is a powerful Masonic cantata that unusually includes Melodrama, where spoken text is followed by instrumental passages. The two sacred arias are masterful compositions and the Missa in C, though small in scale, is unusually lavish in it's scoring. Klage auf den Todt Marien Theresien ('On the Death of Maria Theresa') possesses a grave and subtle beauty. This new release also features the Naxos debut of the Czech Boys Choir Boni Pueri. Founded in 1982, it has become one of Europe's most famous vocal ensembles and have given more than 3000 performances in Europe, North America and Asia.

Domenico�Cimarosa's�operas were remarkably successful, being staged and re-staged in opera houses all over Europe. Success in his�hometown�of Naples led to court appointments and royal commissions, including his best-known work Il�matrimonio�segreto�('The Secret Marriage') composed for Austrian emperor Leopold II. Other hits include�L'impegno�superato�('The Broken Engagement'), an instant success and soon to become one of the most frequently performed of�Cimarosa's�comic works, and Penelope that was produced as far away as London in 1817. The Cantata per Ferdinando IV was, however, written as an act of repentance,�Cimarosa�having made the mistake of backing the failed republican government in 1799.

Alexander Moyzes remains one of the most significant figures in the establishment of Slovak musical nationalism in the 20th century. A profound and admired symphonist, he also wrote a sequence of orchestral music that explored the landscapes and national folk identity of his native country. Down the River Vah, Op. 26 is one of his most colorful and vivid scores, charting a journey from the Tatra mountains passing flowery meadows, imposing castles and surging waters. The Dances from Gerner, Op. 51 and Pohronie Dances, Op. 43 are characteristic national works epitomizing Slovakia's fertile folkloric traditions.

Beethoven was commissioned to write his first stage work- a ballet score for Die Geschopfe des Prometheus ('The Creatures of Prometheus')- for the dancer and choreographer Salvatore Vigano, nephew of composer Luigi Boccherini. In the myth, Prometheus is punished by Zeus for stealing fire for the benefit of mankind; in the allegorical ballet, Prometheus brings Enlightenment ideas of art and science to humanity. The overture remains popular and the finale- the theme of which Beethoven was later to use in his 'Eroica' Symphony- offers a heroic conclusion.

Jacques Casterede's distinguished career was centered in Paris, but with musical roots in the early twentieth-century traditions of neo-Classicism and Les Six- the wide variety of scope and intent in his work was never meant to compete with the radical avant-garde. The balletic Flutes en vacances has become one of his most popular pieces, while Ciels ('Skies') was a competition piece for the Conservatoire. The colors in Trois moments musicaux d'apres Corot depict paintings in sound while the Sonatine de Mai is more neo-Classical in mood.

Louis Spohr's reputation as one of Germany's leading violinists was at it's height when he composed his Duets for Two Violins, Op. 39, and while it appears his intention was to finance an Italian concert tour with marketable duets, the publishers complained of their technical difficulty. Spohr defended this aspect by stating his 'desire to give my duets more inner value, more richness of harmony' than is usual in this genre. Indeed, a contemporary critic exclaimed that 'it is no exaggeration to say that the ideas and artistry required for these works would be sufficient... to create three concertos.'

Laurent Petitgirard's eclectic career as a composer of lyrical and intensely French symphonic music, operas and chamber music is matched by conducting activities at the highest level- experience that accounts for the colorful richness of his orchestration. The rhapsodic concerto Etats d'ame explores the saxophone's vocal expressiveness. Of the three symphonic poems Le Marathon is an allegory in which the runners represent birth, love and death, while Flaine is a poignant and inspiring journey through art and culture. "Anyone enjoying accessible contemporary music will find much to enjoy here." (MusicWeb International on Petitgirard's Concertos for String Instruments)

Award-winning Atanas Ourkouzounov is one of Bulgaria's foremost composers and has written prolifically for the guitar. These five sonatas reveal elements of Bulgarian national music- sometimes through a textured soundscape that includes percussive elements- cast in forms that are often rhythmically asymmetric. Teeming with complex harmonies, contrapuntal effects and poignant depth, the sonatas are a vivid contribution to the contemporary guitar repertoire. Kostas Tosidis is a classical guitarist, performer, researcher and a pedagogue in 3 different institutions. Since September 2016 Tosidis has been a PhD candidate in the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. His topic of research explores the possibilities of playing arrangements of contemporary pieces for cello, violin and viola on the guitar without losing the music's intention or style. Part of that is his arrangement on the monumental work by G. Ligeti 'cello solo sonata', published by Schott Edition. His doctoral research includes commissioned works by composers such as Atanas Ourkouzounov, Marios Joannou Elias, Feliu Gasull, Marco Dottlinger, Giannis Papakrasas and Yorgos Nousis.

Muzio Clementi was born four years before Mozart and outlived Beethoven by the same span. His legacy to pianists as a composer and teacher was a significant one, introducing new virtuosity and exploring the expressive possibilities of the piano, a recently developed instrument. Clementi dedicated his youthful Op. 1 sonatas to his benefactor Peter Beckford, and the brilliant Sonata in F major, Op. 24, No. 1 is the partner work to Op. 24, No. 2 played in the famous contest between Clementi and Mozart. In her recording of Scarlatti's Keyboard Sonatas Soyeon Kate Lee 'applies her playful imagination to each one, polishing it into a unique gem.' (The Whole Note).

Composers of every era have drawn on the strengths, sorrows and joys of women for operas and vocal works, inspiring some of their most powerful music. From the heartbreaking tragedy of Samuel Barber's Andromache's Farewell to the magical storytelling of Sheherazade and the Fairy-Tale Princess, acclaimed soprano Seljan Nasibli takes us on a timeless journey through female musical ancestors whose courage is as relevant in today's society as it has ever been.

My Mother Persia is a cycle of eight symphonic poems by the distinguished Iranian-born composer and conductor Alexander Rahbari. Three of the works on this album set some of the finest Iranian poetry and are cast for the tenor voice employing traditional sung forms. Rahbari's music utilizes the lavish sound world of the symphony orchestra but contains many of the essential elements- scales, rhythms, and colors- of Iranian music. Alexander Rahbari is a remarkable figure in the music world, taking a leading position in the cultural development of his country from a young age, winning numerous awards as a conductor and becoming closely associated with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra as assistant to Herbert von Karajan.