Thanks again for a great job,

I'd just like to say how pleased I am with the Naxos label. I've been collecting now for a good six or seven years, and have had very little to complain about in all that time. I'd like to commend you particularly for your work in bringing neglected composers, such as Thalberg, to the attention of a wider audience through the budget price.

I am particularly pleased with the Rodrigo edition you are currently recording. I normally can't stand the music of the 20th century, being too abrasive and experimental as it is, but Rodrigo is truly a genial composer. I have been thrilled by each disc so far, and eagerly await the ninth volume. Do you have any idea of when this will be released?

Another job well done is in the area of Classical Music (the period, not the generic). Such composers as Carl Stamitz, Franz Krommer, Albrechtsberger and Mozart senior have a lot of good work in their catalogues, and I am delighted to see it being recorded here. The Krommer disc of clarinet concertos was truly magnificent, and I hope you plan to record more works by this fantastically underrated composer in the future. I am also pleased with the steady stream of Hummel discs being released ¡V probably the only rival to Beethoven in his day, and yet, comparatively very few recordings have been made.

I admit that I was initially sceptical of Naxos Opera. I had had bad past experiences with budget labels recording works where thick, heavy central-European accents rendered Italianate works a mush of nonsense. It was with some trepidation that I bought Die Zauberflote, but I was so pleased I listened to the whole thing through twice. Since then, I have looked forward to these releases. I reserve special praise for Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, released in January of this year. I had never heard the work before, and sat spellbound for the whole 50 minutes, not just by the music but the quality of the production. I had always thought operas should be bought on the big-name labels, but here was a budget-priced production that was infinitely better than anything from Deutsche Grammophon or Philips. Can we expect the rest of Il trittico this year? And what of Verdi's early works? These massively underrepresented operas deserve to be heard by more than just those who have the inclination to buy the Philips editions.

I am particularly interested in obscure repertoire from the classical and romantic periods, and I am delighted to see that Naxos are making their way into highlighting this increasingly. I mentioned Thalberg earlier, a tremendously intelligent composer of piano potpourris and the like; but I must also thank you for discs of music by Vieuxtemps, Spohr and Svendsen. These too-often neglected composers are finally being heard by everyone. And deservedly so.

Once again, thank you Naxos.

M. G.
North Wales
August 7, 2004

I recently returned from a month long vacation in Michigan. One of the highlights, probably the highlight, was shopping at the Borders stores in Travis City and Ann Arbor where they offered a 20% discount on Naxos label. I bought 18 discs to take advantage of the sale and take advantage of the fact that we don't have Naxos dealer nearby our home.

Following the Michigan leg of our summer journey, I spent ten days in St. Louis with family and again found myself buying more music. I added another six or seven discs from the Borders store in Fairview Heights, Illinois.

Adding that music to my collection of CD's was one of the most enjoyable activities of my trip. Thanks for many hours of wonderful music. ( The Meredith Wilson 1st and 2nd Symphony CD is a gem. " The Missions" is simply exquisite! Bet you not one in a thousand is familiar with that piece.)

The American Music series has become very special to me. The idea for the series was a master stroke. I have now nearly three quarters of the American discs.

And finally, the new web site is nifty. In addition to the new selections featured, the composer bio file and the glossary are especially useful. Great idea to include these. Just shows what classical music folks know about their customers.

Thanks Naxos. Great label! Great music!

R. W. G.
Long Beach, Mississippi
July 29, 2004

Once again Naxos has risen high above other CD companies with it's recording of the Hummel Missa Solemnis. Thank you so very much for all the wonderful recordings that would not be available if not for Naxos.

SRP
Saugus,Mass
July 28, 2004

Your variety of CDs is excellent. I own 8 Naxos Piano Concertos CDs: Franck, Bliss, Glazunov, D'Albert, Beach, Moszkowski, Barber, Rawsthorne and enjoy them thoroughly.

I love the opportunity to listen to them on the website, to see the cover and to read the reviews and about the recording before to buy them....

P. C.
Brazil
July 2004

Hello Naxos,

I think your new website is a big improvement over the old one. I usually am interested in historical CDs and mostly vocal things. You have organized them now by composer which makes it much easier to read....

Thank you for the great work you do with Ward Marston and others to make those old recordings the very best. I have most of them, especially Marston, even though it requires me to twist the arms of my European friends to send the discs along.

Best wishes. J. J.

J. J.
Raleigh, NC
USA
July 2004

Dear Naxos:

Having only recently discovered your website, I must convey to you how greatly I admire your company's recording of Johan Helmich Roman's Drottningholm Music (8.553733). This has been recorded several times before, never very well ... , so to have it so well played by Anthony Halstead and his Uppsala ensemble is a privilege, especially given the recording's modest cost. While I nearly always cherish Naxos CDs anyhow, this one is exceptionally worthwhile.

Best wishes,
R. J. S., Melbourne, Australia
June 10, 2004

Thank you very much for your American Classics Series! Especially the Barber discs and the other discs in the series - Diamond, Hanson, Hadley. Keep up the good work and give us more wonderful American music.

B. B.
Gävle, Sweden
May 18, 2004

Dear Naxos,

It is no wonder you are the world's leading classical label! I have several Naxos CD's and I listen to them frequently. With your skill in providing the best classical music in North America, I would enjoy seeing some releases of my favourite composer, Dr. Thomas Augustine Arne, such as Artaxerxes or Alfred. I hope you will continue to provide beautiful classical music for years to come. Thanks for all you've done.

M. D.
Ontario, Canada
May 15, 2004

Bravo Naxos!

You've got the right answer to the "classical records crisis" : SACDs which are hybrid, stereo and multi-channel, and, cheaper than most of basic CDs of the other labels!

Though the anti-copy system of SACD is the only right one, the price range and the sound quality of your SACDs would make the copying mentality ridiculous!

The hybrid technology allows us to get, at once, a product for today and tomorrow with no extra expense!

In an interview, Klaus Heymann said that he likes DVD-A because there are more and more american cars DVD equipped. I would like to say that hybrid SACD can be played on CD players and DVD players as well but there's no way to listen a DVD-A with a CD player (which means in the great majority of cars which are just CD equipped). On the top of that, we can as well play a hybrid SACD on a "walkman" or a "ghetto-blaster" while a DVD-A can only be played on a DVD player and, even so, it can be a real hassle to play a DVD-A the right way with most of the DVD players. Actually, you're fair to propose both "Hi-rez" format each time.

Anyway, I already greatly appreciate Naxos for the musical quality, the innovative policy and, of course, the prices policy!

A. S.
FRANCE
May 15, 2004

Dear Naxos,

I have just puchased the new Marcello Giordani tenor arias disc which is a new release ( to add to my other 3000 cds!!!!!) and I would like to say being a very critical listener of these discs ( I am also a professional tenor myself) this is a masterpiece!!!!!! Marcello is the world's best kept secret an incredible vocal instrument also all credit to your wonderfull production and superb engineering on this project this disc could easily warrant being charged three times the price! congratulations and very well done!!!

kind regards,
L. R.
May 14, 2004

Dear Naxos,

I am a big fan of your label and I have written before but I must congratulate you once again! I bought the Elliot Carter disc of the Holiday Overture, Symphony No. 1 and Piano Concerto; what a fantastic disc this is! I must have played it at least 25 times in the last two weeks and it was a chance buy as I didn't know any of his works. I do try with contemporary music and many times I am shocked at how much I enjoy it and the aforementioned is proof of that.

Your new releases get my mouth watering each month and I feel like buying the whole lot!

Regards,
D. L.,
Upper Tean, Staffs., UK
May 4, 2004

"I feel compelled to restate my liking of the Naxos classical music library, due to your support of extremely talented musicians who are barely known (and sometimes playing barely known composers, at least to me) . It seems odd to me that shops such as Borders and Barnes & Noble, which [now] carry a reasonable but not extensive selection of your line, had no knowledge of your catalogue when I moved here (Albany, NY) from Canada a few years ago. I hope that your line continues to grow and support musicians who have spent their lives practising and playing, yet do not have the recognition they deserve."

I. G.
USA
May 4, 2004

The Naxos label is the greatest thing since CDs, [because of] the opening of repertoire that has [rarely] or never been heard. Douglas Lilburn is a find, [although] many people do not know of him. Having heard his music on vinyl, I am familiar with his work, but here are so many new works and old works that I am only recently discovering. I think Naxos is a God-send to music. I only wish Borders in Attleboro, Massachusetts would stock more and make more of your offerings available!

M. M.
USA
April 26, 2004

... I want to thank Naxos because I think it's a good label ...I wish to complete my collection of Niklas Eklund's CDs ... I have been fascinated by his amazing sound and his brilliant phrasing.

- R.B.
Italy
April 20, 2004

I have just bought the Shostakovich 7 SACD and have been absolutely blown away by the sound in multi-channel!

- N.C.
Australia
April 11, 2004

I am a great admirer of your label. I can't thank you enough for the quality of your recordings and the price.

-B.R.
Montreal, Canada
March 31, 2004

Keep those historical opera recordings coming. What a treasure trove! The Callas recordings are superb, and at the asking price, unbeatable. I'm still hanging out for a Welitsch/Reiner Salome and hoping for the Toscanini Otello in the near future. But if they don't eventuate I will be immensely satisfied with what Naxos has given us already.

B.U.
Melbourne, Australia
March 28, 2004

I am an amateur of Baroque guitar and lute music. Naxos has released some beautiful recordings containing Baroque guitar and solo Baroque lute music. Thank you for these important contributions to the lute and Baroque guitar CD repertoire.

S.W.
Belgium
March 22, 2004

Thanks so much for paying such close attention to Bruckner, whose day seems finally to be coming, and especially for recording the latest edition of the completed Ninth Finale, which is turning out to be some of the most remarkable music Bruckner ever wrote. I think Wildner's recording of the completed Finale is the best yet.

R.L.
USA
March 12, 2004

I am thrilled with your variety of CDs and the opportunity to listen to them on the website before I buy them. I own 12 Naxos CDs, and enjoy them thoroughly. In fact, I own all of your CDs by Jean-Baptiste Lully . . . Keep up the good work!

M.D.
Ontario, Canada
March 7, 2004

I am a great supporter of Naxos, and have hundreds of your CDs in my collection - including many of the American series, which has been of enormous value in opening up this broad, but very neglected, repertoire.

These are not easy times for the recording industry, but your vision and enterprise are valued by many.

D.B.
February 24, 2004

Just a brief note to let you know how very pleased I am with the Naxos 'Great Opera Recordings' CD of "I Puritani" with Maria Callas in the title role. The processing of the originals has been done excellently, and Callas is simply superb! . . . I look forward buying the Naxos re-release of Callas in "La Gioconda".

I.J.
Sydney, Australia
February 19, 2004

It seems to me that Naxos is the most important new classical record label to emerge in the last few decades. The range of music covered is quite extraordinary and it is always a pleasure to read the monthly new release schedules. Keep up the good work!

- M.C.
UK
February 3, 2004

I am so happy to have found Naxos.com! As a cancer patient currently undergoing chemotherapy, I find having access to the world's beautiful music a most pleasant feature of being confined to home.

-J.P.
January 30, 2004

Naxos is incredible. For us students it's an inexpensive way to stock up on the classics and venture into more modern territory with your surprisingly vast selection of 20th century music. I recently bought Korngold's Violin Concerto on Naxos and have since convinced about 7 friends of mine to do the same. Thanks.

R.G.
New Jersey, USA
January 28, 2004

As a classical musician, librarian, and lover of the often times obscure musical artwork, I really love your labels! Your historic recordings are beautifully "cleaned up" and the variety of repertoire you offer is wonderful. Great prices, too!

Also congratulations on your excellent volume 1 of the Gaubert flute music with Fenwick Smith. Beautiful sound, superb performances.

P.M.
Boston, MA
USA
January 26, 2004

Thank you so much for your website. I am an elementary school music teacher and I do not have the money to buy every CD of music that I want to share with my class. Now that I have found you, I can use my computer to have the kids listen to the classics and not have to spend my entire school budget on CDs. Now that I know you are here I *will* be spending some of my personal money at this web site. Thank you so much for giving me a resource that will help me build a new generation of classical music lovers.

R.L.
USA
January 18, 2004

I wanted to tell you how much I thoroughly enjoy the Naxos label! You folks might be low-end price-wise, but you are top of the line in your choices of what to record!! I love the 21st Century Classics and the American Classics series. Who else does this?! No one! That's why you are the best!

D.G.
USA
January 9, 2004

I was listening to various Historical Recordings (online) and I noticed that all your ADD and AADs before 1950 sound very hissy and noisy although the website claims to have remastered them. Regardless, I have other pre-1950 recordings of other labels and they sound very clean and noise-free, as though they were DDDs. Care to clarify?

J.Y.
Australia

[Editor: Thank you for sending us your comments. Part of the reason that our historical transfers sound hissy may be due to the low quality of samples available on our website. The listening samples can give the visitor an idea of how the CD sounds, but they do not accurately portray the sound quality.

The other reason for the noise is slightly more complicated. Here is an explanation from Mark Obert-Thorn, one of our award-winning restoration engineers:
"The lower quality of the on-line samples is part of the reason; however, I think the main reason is that Naxos Historical transfers (which for the most part are done by Ward [Marston] and myself) reflect our philosophy of taking the clicks and pops out but not all the surface noise, in those cases where taking out surface noise also takes out realistic orchestral timbres.
I was just reading a review of one of my Horowitz reissues for Naxos in the latest issue of Fanfare. The writer was comparing what I did to what EMI did in their own (denoised) transfers, and said something like "There's a lot more hiss [on the Naxos], but the piano really sounds like a piano." That's what we're trying for. If your correspondent is listening to transfers from 78s that sound as quiet as DDD recordings, he is most certainly missing a lot of high frequency information."]

I purchase Naxos CDs from our local store on a regular basis. Recently I have started dipping my feet into chamber music besides the usual orchestral repertoire 'must haves'. I felt particularly astounded listening to the Brahms/Schumann Piano Quintets and the Brahms Violin Sonatas. Such glorious interpretations of these timeless classics! . . . . Thank you so much for providing classical music lovers with such a treasure trove, and may you continue with the good work.

A.M.
Attar, Malta
December 31, 2003

I have bought over one hundred Naxos Classical CD's. They are all excellent. I prefer post Mozart music. As a youth I jumped from Stan Kenton to Stravinsky. The price is as excellent as the music . . . I can even find Naxos in the far reaches of notheastern Vermont. Thank you.

J.M.
Vermont, USA
December 17, 2003

Your site is fantastic for discovering your collections . . .In this period of gifts for grand-children learning flute, piano, and cello, this is a goldmine . . . . Have a beautiful holiday time.

G.C.
Tennessee, USA
December 10, 2003

I want to thank you for making all this music available. On your web site, I have just rediscovered Blomdahl's Adagio from "The Wakeful Night", a piece that has haunted me for a long time. Because of your website I was able to hear this beautiful music for the first time in several years.

The public library I work for purchases many Naxos compact discs, and our collection is popular with our clients.

J.B.
Canada
December 2, 2003

I found your recordings when I visited Tower Records. It is so refreshing to find CD's at reasonable prices . . . . I plan to obtain many more items now that I have found your products. I am not a connoisseur. Just a lover of classical music who is moved by its power, grace and emotion.

L.J.
USA
November 24, 2003

Thank you for all your CDs - very fine performances of good music at an affordable price. This has enabled me to try some music I would never have bought had it not been for your low price.

B.K.
Denmark
November 16, 2003

Your site is one of the best on the web. It is truly a treasure for music lovers and learners everywhere. Thank you so much for your generosity. Long live Naxos.

R.V.
US
October 18, 2003

I am enjoying your gradually expanding list of DVD-Audio releases. I particularly like the Elgar. I think the sound of these discs is excellent and I look forward to many more. Best wishes in helping to pioneer this superior new format.

R.E.
UK
November 5, 2003

Thank you very much for introducing me to so many different composers and their music. This has enabled me to become aware of so much more music - and to buy CDs which I definitely would not have done otherwise. Thanks for your wide vision, and bring on more of the same!

A.C.
Staffordshire, UK
October 15, 2003

Thank you so, so much for your now completed Bax symphonic cycle. For years I have waited for a truly justified interpretation of these glorious works. Bax is such an elusive composer. Lloyd Jones and band are evidently focused on the fight to lift him from the no-man's land he currently abides in, to the 'name in lights' podium he so desperately deserves.
Terms such as "the best" and "greatest" are not always appropriate but, given the excellence of the above, no more higher praise can be given. Sample the final few minutes of Symphony No. 6 and revel in the glory that is Naxos Bax.
Thank you SO much.

G.M., United Kingdom
October 12, 2003

Dear Naxos: I am hoping that Naxos will record music by Wallingford Riegger (especially the Symphonies), and music by Carl Ruggles. Am looking forward to Theodore Kuchar's recordings of more Roy Harris Symphonies. When is the "Adventures of Robin Hood" Marco Polo due out in the States? I hope that in Marin Alsop's Barber series she will include the Capricorn Concerto and the Toccata Festiva for Organ and Orchestra. I have about 200 of your CDs and I do feel that your new releases are more exciting than DG, Decca, SONY, BMG and Phillips. You also have the best classical music website. I really appreciate being able to listen to your CD's online first, but I would rather own the CD's in my collection. They take pride of place.

D.T.
Bloomington, MN
USA
October 7, 2003

[Editor: No occurrences of Riegger or Ruggles on our release schedule quite yet, nor future recordings of Roy Harris. The classic film score for "The Adventures of Marco Polo" will be released in the United States in November. The Barber series will include the Toccata Festiva, although it will not be conducted by Marin Alsop. However, a recording of the Capricorn Concerto with Alsop is due for release in mid-2004. Glad you enjoy the website!]

I now have almost 300 Naxos CD's, most of which collected since I retired 3 years ago....please don't change a thing!

J.S.
UK
October 4, 2003

The Kuchar / Ukraine recordings of Prokofiev are outstanding . . . All the Kuchar are excellent, with no competition. Thank you very much for these truly great recordings.

-P.B.
New Orleans, LA
USA
September 27, 2003

I think Naxos is doing an excellent job, especially in promoting an affordable product and nurturing brand loyalty. Thanks to both Naxos' affordable prices (and H&B's deals) and opportunities like the Saving Classical Music contest and your monthly classical music quiz, I rarely buy any music other than Naxos. Please keep up the good work.

J.G.
September 26, 2003
U.S.A.

I have just finished listening to the magnificent recording of English Choral Music by Lennox Berkeley which I bought on Saturday. This is the third CD of choral music by relatively neglected English composers I have bought from Naxos, the other two being the Rubbra and Finzi collections, both of which are also absolutely wonderful.

You are certainly to be congratulated on bringing these beautiful but criminally neglected pieces into the public consciousness.

Please keep up this wonderful work.

A.S.
September 17, 2003

A huge thank you to Naxos for the new Frank Bridge string quartet issue! . . . . Also, may I congratulate you on the Arthur Foote Chamber Music volume 3 - some of the most beautiful and inspiring chamber music I have ever heard and brilliant playing/recording - wonderful! Would love to hear more of Foote (I have vols. 1&2 of course). Must thank you for Dvorak Trios, Iceland Orehestra recordings of Sibelius symphonies, Sibelius Piano Music, Field Piano Concertos/Solo Piano, Elgar Piano Quintet, Vaughan Williams String Quartets, Smetana/Suk/Novak Trios, Medtner Piano Concertos and Piano Quintet - all superb, fabulous! I would urge every lover of music to buy all these CDs as they are worth their weight in gold.

B.K.
September 7, 2003
U.K.

Thanks for the fantastic releases. Naxos is clearly providing the cream of all classical releases in 2003.

D.M.
United States
September 4, 2003

Thanks for the fantastic releases. Naxos is clearly providing the cream of all classical releases in 2003.

D.M.
United States
September 4, 2003

Much thanks for the recording of Roy Harris Symphony No. 7. As a young lad I used to check out the record from the library. Had not been able to find a recording of this anywhere till I was in Barnes and Noble in Kansas and found your collections on a special rack . . . thanks again.

J.L.
Kansas
USA
August 22, 2003

I spend a lot of time listening to the wonderful performances of Bach by W. Rubsam and cannot have enough of it. Many thanks for allowing me (a retired music lover) to acquire such excellent performances of my favorite composer at such an affordable price.

Z.S.
Israel
August 19, 2003

First of all, let me thank you for many of my CD collector friends for such interesting and worthwhile releases. You keep us busy from month to month will all kinds of wonderful discoveries.

Naxos is the only label presently offering music of interest to the collector. We don't need more Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and Tchaikovsky. We serious collectors are looking for unusual repertoire and I buy as many Naxos discs as I can put my hands on. I just got three . . . by Rorem, Balada and the excellent Hashimoto (and Rochberg and others before that.)

I hope you will continue recording such interesting discs . . . Thank you,

M.P.
Santa Barbara, California
USA
August 16, 2003

I recently purchased [Russian Songwriter - A Collection from Boris Grebenshikov] and would like to say that it is giving me a lot of pleasure listening to it. For the price it is a real bargain! Well done and please keep up the good work!

P.B.
United Kingdom
August 5, 2003

The Naxos Sousa series is an evolving epic. To date no one label has ever attempted the massive task of recording all of his music. My hat goes off to Naxos for attempting this project. So much of Sousa's music deserves a wider following in the United States. He truly was one of our great composers who wrote or transcribed music in all different genres. Naxos has begun to show us how varied Sousa's music was. Each CD so far provides a fine balance of marches and other works, providing for a concert style program. The use of Keith Brion and the band of the Royal Regiment of Artillery are also inspired choices for presenting this music. Please continue developing this wonderful series of Sousa music.
R.W.
July 18, 2003

Thank you for publishing the recordings of some of the rarer Sousa music: Music for Wind Band vols 1-3 and the three CDs featuring the Razumovsky Symphony Orchestra, all directed by Keith Brion. Price is reasonable, too. Keep 'em coming.

C.C.

July 17, 2003

I wanted to let you know how well received the recordings of Naxos which we play in our clinic are by the patients. Not only do people ask for the specific catalog numbers but also I have requests that should I be going down to HMV to pick up certain ones for others, too.

A.W.
Canada
July 14, 2003

Dear Naxos,
You are undoubledly the best classical music label around. Delivering the best, especially recording music of composers who are both difficult and impossible to obtain music of elsewhere . . . For what you have done for classical music, thank you, you are the best!

M.C.M.
Norton, MA
USA
July 14, 2003

Thanks to Naxos I can get the CD at the price I can afford. At 70, I do not have much money, but I love good music, and with Naxos I can afford it and get lovely music. Thank you, Naxos, for keeping an old man happy.

S.L.
July 3, 2003

I want to congratulate NAXOS for producing such a wide range of quality recordings! I must say one can find virtually ANYTHING in the NAXOS catalog! Not only does NAXOS offer listeners high quality music, but the price makes collecting classical CDs much more joyous! I personally love the Stephen Gunzenhauser Dvorak symphonies, The Liszt Piano music played by Konstantin Scherbakov, and of course, Handel's Messiah by the Scholars Baroque Ensemble! I think all the NAXOS CD recordings are great! I am much surprised if the reviews are anything less than positive! Keep up the great work!

A.Y.
New York, USA
June 30, 2003

Thanks for such affordable and innovative CDs. It is wonderful to be able to buy 3 top quality CDs for the price of 1 'standard priced' CD. Then again, is Naxos now the standard in price and quality?

T. H.
Sydney, Australia
June 28, 2003

Just to say thank you. I would never have known such beautiful music as the Turangalila Symphony without Naxos. I also discovered Kraus, Pleyel, Salieri, Lumbye, etc.. The Majors are too expensive for me and their musical quality is often overestimated. Thanks to your politics of price and the quality of your artists and of your technical staff, I was able to discover more music. . . .

Many thanks, and long life to Naxos and Marco Polo

P.B.
Lesquin, France
June 8, 2003

I want to congratulate you for the edition of operas by Siegfried Wagner. I always thought it would be impossible to find these works (like the symphonic poems of Dvorak and many other works!), but Naxos makes my wishes a reality every time. Thank you, Naxos!

S.B.
Sweden
June 7, 2003

Thank you SO MUCH for being so accessible and for maintaining your independence! Your website is simple and very user-friendly, and a true relief after having to deal with the mega-labels.

C. W.
San Fransisco, CA
USA
June 4, 2003

I have been a Naxos customer for many years, and have been tremendously pleased by the consistent quality and adventurous repertoire of the recordings offered. I am especially impressed by the Historical series, to unfairly name but one. But now I have reason to commend Naxos on an issue often forgotten by companies that market a product, especially one marketed in part on it's affordability - customer service. Not only are Naxos' products exemplary, so is it's treatment of it's customers.

I have on several occasions requested information on recording availability or plans to record particular pieces, and have received very pleasant personal responses. This itself is outstanding service, in my experience. Recently, I made a request that I admitted to myself, as I wrote it, was probably asking too much: I requested an extended listing of performer's voice types for a recent Naxos release where this information wasn't available by conventional cataloging sources.

Not only wasn't my request treated as excessive by Naxos USA, they went beyond my request by compiling a hand-typed list of not only the twenty-some performer's vocal types, but also their other theatrical activities. And they apologized for the modest amount of time it took, and promised to update me if they discovered any of their information was in error.

I was astounded. Naxos has, if it was possible, made me an even more loyal customer.

A great catalog of recordings and great customer service: no wonder Naxos is such a phenomenon in the recording industry.

Brava! Bravi! Bravissimo!!!

Warmest regards and thanks.

R.G.
Florissant, MO
USA
June 3, 2003

I am a public school instrumental music teacher and just want to thank you for your website which I only discovered by accident. It is marvelous and an amazing resource for both me and my 200 elementary band and orchestra students. I have enjoyed hearing the lesser known artists and orchestras on your CD's and now have another reason to "toot your horn." Please keep it up!

R.P.
United States
May 29, 2003

I cannot express how thrilled I was to discover the new J Strauss Sr Edition,Vol 1 on the new releases page. I am even more delighted after listening to the wonderful performances of the Camerata Cassovia on your web site. I will certainly collect them all, hopefully to be followed up with lots of Lanner!

H.Y.
Atlanta, GA
USA
May 15, 2003

Please forward on my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the staff concerned for the quality of your newsletters and the fact that so much of your recorded material is so readily available for auditioning on-line. As I have received newsletters from No.52 onwards may I request that the previous numbers be forwarded to me? And if possible, please forward to the members of your historical sound restoration and publishing staff my warmest thanks for their work. It comes as no surprise that in all your classical departments Naxos leads the way in the CD world and may you long continue to delight us CD collectors the world over.

J.H.
May 21, 2003

[Editor: We're glad you enjoy our website and newsletters! To view past editions of the Naxos.com newsletter, go to the "News and Reviews" section of the menu and click on "naxos.com newsletter" on the drop-down menu.]

When will the Red River film score recording by The Moscow Symphony Orchestra be released in the U.S.? It is catalog number 8.225217 on Marco Polo according to your web site. I checked with several music sources and they have no firm release date.

Thank You. The Marco Polo film score series is one of my favorites. It is always first rate.

M.Z.
USA
May 7, 2003

[Editor - We have had several questions about Red River this month! While the Red River film score has been released in many parts of the world, we have not yet received copyright clearance for certain territories, such as the United States. Please be patient while we work to make this release available to you.]

Naxos 8.555785-86, Beethoven Cello Sonatas, are a pleasure to hear. The artists, engineers, and producers are to be commended for pellucid sound - just lovely. I didn't think any performance could approach DuPre, but Kliegel and Tichman stand at the same level. THANK YOU all.

T.B.
USA
May 5, 2003

I wanted to express my appreciation that you make your discs available for listening through your web site. It is an excellent way to preview them before purchase. Listening to the Jeno Jando performances of the Brahms/Schumann Piano Quintets resulted in my purchase of that disc today.

Thanks for the site and for your excellent label.

T.S.
Nashville, Tennessee
USA
May 1, 2003

My email is in reference to the email sent by J.M. from Toronto, Ontario, Canada on January 11, 2003 . J.M. was inquiring about whether Naxos would record the complete Milhaud symphonies. The reply was that there was no plan for that. CPO has issued a 5 CD boxed set of the complete Milhaud symphonies. I thoroughly enjoy them. I don't feel badly recommending CPO to this Naxos buyer since Naxos distributes CPO.

I must say that I am a huge fan of Naxos. I have purchased over 340 Naxos CDs in the past 2 years. Your label enables me to explore with abandon. I especially like the Japanese and American Classics series, Guitar Laureate and anything French. I have also expanded my knowledge of opera and the 18th Century symphony. I began my Naxos love affair by collecting the complete 15 volume set of Chopin piano music by Idil Biret. I am also making Naxos converts out of my music-loving friends.

Keep up the terrific work. I intend to keep buying Naxos and Marco Polo until the day I die!

D.S.
Austin, TX
USA
April 10, 2003

I am hoping that you will consider recording, perhaps as part of your splendid American Music series, Samuel Barber's opera Antony and Cleopatra.

A friend just sent me a recent Times article about the work, and I just read several listener reviews of the one recording available through amazon.com. In a nutshell, it seems as if the original version is the better of the two, but the shorter, revised version has a great love duet missing in the original. Perhaps you could combine the two to come up with an operatic performance that does justice to Shakespeare's wonderful (and wonderfully long) original and also contains that duet.

By the way, I am a big Naxos fan and have been telling all my friends to sign up with H&B Direct and check out your catalog. Keep up the fine work, which is a music lover's dream!

P.E.
USA
April 11, 2003

[Editor: At this time, we have no plans to release Barber's Antony and Cleopatra. However, this fall we will be releasing his opera Vanessa. Thanks for recommending us to your friends!]

Thank you so very much for the Naxos label as it has helped me enormously in establishing a wonderful CD collection (or the beginnings of one). I now have over 950 classical CDs (as I only like classical music whether it be early or contemporary) and 80 per cent of them are Naxos CDs (all of which are excellent). Praise cannot be too high for your CDs, not just the wide range of music but the lovely artwork and informative notes on your CDs. Each month I await eagerly your new releases and each quarter your newsletter. The only problem is that I wish to buy all your new releases each month; they are that tempting! I usually just stick to about four or five, though! Seriously, your wide range of repertoire is so exciting that it just puts all other labels in the shade. I do not know what the majors are playing at, charging so much for their new releases (which normally number about 1 or 2 a month, if that). Their budget labels are so boring as well, just old stuff re-packaged for the umpteenth time with boring covers and usually no notes or very little, talk about short changing the customer! Please carry on with all the good work at Naxos, and I hope you will continue to serve the public for a good number of years to come, because if you don't we are all done for! Sincere wishes for the future and congratulations for achieving such an enterprising label.

D. L.
United Kingdom
April 04, 2003

Many thanks for your fix re: cookies/IE6/Windows XP. I've now been able to hear, for the first time in over 40 years, a bit of Bjorling et al in Il Trovatore. Brilliant, brilliant, and a wonderful trip down memory lane! I shall buy that set forthwith! Thanks again.

F.H.
United Kingdom
April 5, 2003

Hello. I recently bought the Rutter Requiem. I honestly cannot believe the quality of the recording and the standard of musicianship. It truly is wonderful; thank you for a beautiful piece of work..........Why so cheap? Worth 3 times the price.
C.F.
UK
April 2, 2003

I just ran into one of your recordings of Kraus. I had never heard about him before. I do not know why. Now I can explore and enjoy very good music because of your four CDs. I am grateful for your contribution to the beauty of my world.

The sun is shining, the 'amoroso' part of the Symphony in F is playing. Life is good.

Continue your very good work.

S.Y.C.
Kristianstad, Sweden
March 20, 2003

Just wanted to thank you so much because of the great albums you have in your huge archive. Thank you so much, because many of these albums don't exist in Egypt.

Y.K.E.
Egypt
March 25, 2003

I have been buying Naxos recordings for ten years, but since discovering naxos.com, I have bought dozens more I might not have purchased without your 'listen and buy' approach, e.g. the excellent McKay, Strong, and Carpenter issues.

Your site now serves as my homepage.

J.S.
Cleveland, Ohio
USA
March 20, 2003

Thank you so much for your website. I particularly like the option to hear complete recordings of historical series CDs - I own many of them, but it is great to sample the recording first. I can assign students to listen to recordings for their assignments - then many will purchase the recordings they listen to online.

D.K.
Michigan, USA
March 19, 2003

Congrats. This is a fantastic web site... I will be coming back for MORE and MORE !!
BRAVO!
A new enthusiastic subscriber . . .

B.C.
Vermont, USA
March 09, 2003

I feel that I have to sit down here and write you a note about the "American Classics" series of recordings. I've always been attracted to this music, and have found that most recordings of it left me disappointed, both in terms of their scarcity, and their usual lackluster performances.

With some trepidation, I bought your CD of Walter Piston Violin Concertos, and was thoroughly delighted with it; it's extremely well-recorded, and performed with energy and conviction. Since then, I've bought a good two dozen titles in the series, and have gotten truly excited about the prospect of getting more of them. To me, you're not only releasing some exciting classical music, you're preserving a great part of the American heritage.

I sure hope there's more of Roy Harris' music in preparation. The disc you've already issued is perhaps the best anthology of his music I've ever heard. I'm sure you're already preparing a disc of Roger Sessions' music as well, but if you're not, please consider it.

R.A.
March 9, 2003

The Naxos site is undoubtedly my favourite destination on the Internet, in fact I visit the site almost every day. There is always something to interest me. I like to dip into the composer and artist profiles and to look at the composer images, many of them were just names and music to me and it is good to put a face to them. I read the Norman Lebrecht articles with interest and like to take part in the mini-polls and the competitions. Probably the greatest thrill is being able to sample almost any of the tracks from the various collections and recording labels listed on the site; in general the whole thing is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in music and the people behind the music making.

It seems churlish to ask for more when so much is already so freely given, but I would like to see more news content particularly in regard of recordings in progress. For instance, I recall reading, some months ago, (in the BBC Music Magazine) about a new recording of Walton's Belshazzars's Feast, I think with Paul Daniel and the Leeds Festival Chorus, I've seen nothing since and I'm sure that apart from this project there must be many more that would whet the appetite of music addicts such as I.

Something else that I feel would be of interest would be a definitive list of Naxos et al best sellers world-wide, by this I don't mean that the listings should include anything released by other recording companies, just a taking into account of HNH products and the labels distributed by HNH.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all concerned with your company for the many hours of enjoyment and the resource for learning you have provided me with for a great number of years now.

D.B.
United Kingdom
February 21, 2003

I wanted to send you a quick note to let you know how much I appreciate the Naxos website. It is easy to use, and there is very copious information for me to peruse. I visit almost every week.

It was through the website that I first became really aware of Naxos. I was searching for biographical information on composers using a search engine, and was pointed to pages on Naxos' website several times. This prompted me to poke around a bit, and after I found out I was looking at a record company's website I noticed that I had already acquired some Naxos CDs, a fact had eluded me previously as I was focusing on composers, not record labels.

I highly appreciate that Naxos makes the complete contents of CDs available for online listening by registered users (only limited by copyright restrictions in a few rare cases). All other companies I know of only make snippets of various sizes available which doesn't let me fully judge the CD contents. Thanks to Naxos I don't have to buy a pig in a poke. The quality of the online recordings is above average, and the streaming works extremely well with my 56K dialup connection.

As a consequence, I am now systematically looking for Naxos recordings and have increased the proportion of Naxos CDs as a part of my total CD purchases. I am interested in 17th and 18th century composers, including some "esoteric" areas such as organ music. Naxos has recordings of lesser known composers such as the organ music of Johann Gottfried Walther that are hard to get elsewhere.

Keep up the good work.

-- N. J.
February 3, 2003

I am an avid Naxos buyer. I find that your catalogue is quite overwhelming with a wide selection of music. One composer that has been overlooked in most classical catalogues is Darius Milhaud. I would be overjoyed if you would record his complete symphonic cycle. Other composers that deserve attention are Eduard Tubin and George Lloyd. Keep up the good work. Thanks.

J.M.
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
January 11, 2003

[Klaus Heymann: "We plan to record the most popular works of Milhaud this summer with the Orchestre National de Lille, but we have no plans to record the complete symphonies. No plans for Tubin and Lloyd.]

I bought your new release of Michael Torke's music (Rapture) yesterday, and I just wanted to thank you for supporting contemporary American composers like Michael. The music is excellent, and I still can't believe how you produce such great performances at such a low cost.

T.W.
Nashville, TN
January 25, 2003

I currently give monthly talks on recorded classical music at the Alexandria Library, and recommend Naxos strongly to my group as they expand their knowledge of music. Your company provides a wonderful service for music lovers everywhere.

J.L.
January 16, 2003

Just a thank you for R.B.'s [Robert Barto's] superb CDs of Sylvius Leopold Weiss's Lute sonatas. Quite remarkably moving. Another pat on someone's back: your CD of Peter Phillips' 5-part sacred music is ravishingly good. More, please.

N.C.
Newcastle under Lyme, UK
December 24, 2002

I just had to write to thank you and your staff for giving us the privilege to hear those fine artists from the past. As a teenager I grew up listening to the Met Opera each Saturday with such illustrious stars as Lily Pons, Grace Moore, Kirsten Flagstad, Lauritz Melchoir, Lawrence Tibbett, and the list goes on. It conjures up such fine memories of singers that we do not hear each Saturday today. Your reproductions are the greatest!

JD
Evans City, PA
USA
December 11, 2002

I just want to praise the Naxos label for your pioneer work for music of all categories, especially classical music. Recently I bought a Naxos Nostalgia CD with Marion Anderson. Recommended for all music lovers!

I am also an eager user of your very good website for classical music. I check your catalogue before I decide to buy a classical work, and I prefer the Naxos labels for 75% of my purchases. You have so many outstanding recordings of chamber music, baroque music, operas... Thank you, call me gladly a Naxos fan!

I.B.
Norway
December 9, 2002

I just wanted to tell you how much I love Naxos CDs. Naxos is the label that got me interested in classical music. It is all I will listen to now. I am a clarinet player, and I love all of the clarinet CDs you have. My favourite clarinettist on your label is Kalman Berkes. He has such a wonderful tone.

My favourite CD you make is the Krommer Partitas played by the Budapest Wind Ensemble. Keep up the great work.

B.B.
December 2, 2002

I have been buying Naxos recordings for sometime now, and the recent Bax Chamber music is excellent. Being a professional musician and teacher, I can appreciate the quality of the performances very much. The Moeran Symphony in G minor is one of the best I've heard; please do some other Moeran Orchestral works. Also, the American series of Edward Macdowell's music is also very well done; in fact, the choice of lesser recorded works seems to be growing all the time. I can fully recommend this wonderful array of great music to anyone; I can hardly find the words to describe the pleasure these recordings bring to both me and my wife. I do also buy recordings as gifts for other members of my family!
N.L.
Penarth, South Wales
UK
November 30, 2002

I have just listened to your new recording of West Side Story.

This is quite the best performance of the piece I've heard: streets ahead of the competition. It must stand as a particular high point in the many Naxos discs which I've purchased.

For sheer energy and prodigious musicality I'd recommend this release to even the most hardened cynic: a near-perfect cast, and quite exceptional playing from the Nashville Symphony Orchestra.

Now, how about 'On the Town' with the same forces......?

S.B.
UK
November 24, 2002

I've intended for some time to write you and thank you for the superb work you have done for the classical music buying fan. The Naxos catalogue is without precedent in its selection of quality and quantity. You are to be congratulated. Give yourselves a pat on the back. Your web site is the best.

I've been buying almost exclusively Naxos cd's since 1988. Back then, it was Naxos (Pacific Music Co. Ltd.) via Enigma Classics. I believe the disc that got me hooked was "The Enigma Classics/Naxos Sampler." I still pull it out every now and then to listen.

I recently purchased one of the "Listen Learn and Grow" series. This will be for my new grandson, and it will initiate a third generation of my family to enjoy your product.

Thank you for all you have done in the past and thank you for the future. My grandson will appreciate it too.

p.s. Are there plans to record any more of the Spohr Violin Concertos? These are such wonderful works. The Adagio from the 9th is a lovely masterpiece.

D.N.
North Carolina
USA
November 13, 2002

[Klaus Heymann: Eventually, we will do the Spohr concertos complete, but not any time soon.]

Naxos rules. This will sound a bit daft, but there it is. I actually wanted to rave about your website, as I came home from a concert a week ago with some fantastic Bruch ringing in my ears. Delved into your site, found it, and was able to listen to it. More than just music to my ears, it gave a real lift to my heart, o thank you, thank you, Naxos. And when I'm back in civilisation I'll buy it.

J.B.
November 18, 2002

I'm now teaching "History of Music" in a Secondary School (16-18 years) near Barcelona. Your web is simply EXTRAORDINARY. I send you my congratulations.

B.A.M.
El Masnou, Spain
November 15, 2002

My comment is simply that you have a class act. I don't know of any classical record company that even comes close to you in terms of quality, price, choice, and an incredibly helpful web site. I believe I own more Naxos recordings than of any other company, and you can be assured that that number will continue to increase steadily.

As you know, it is possible to listen to brief snippets of recordings on Amazon, with poor sound quality and too short to be of any help. I just listened to the entire MacDowell piano recording on your site with great sound quality. And that listening was not in lieu of purchasing the record. Quite the contrary - it made me anxious to buy a copy as soon as possible.

One thing that would be very helpful would be for you to try to get more of your CDs in the (ridiculously small) classical sections in the Borders and Barnes & Noble stores. It would be even more helpful if they could set aside a section for Naxos recordings.

I am a particular fan of 20th Century British and American music, and you are far in the lead in those areas. Please keep adding to them. You're doing a great job, and you have my enthusiastic support.

Ross Hardter
Reston, VA
USA
November 10, 2002

Thanks to outstanding releases of both known and less known, or even unknown repertory, presented with great artistry and excellent sonics at a very fair price, Naxos has become the most relevant label in my ever growing collection of classical CD's. Please, keep up with your wonderful job!

J.C.D.
Brazil
November 07, 2002

I would like to know what kind of guitar Victor Villadangos used for the recording of "Guitar Music of Argentina" (ref: 8.555058). I think this recording is fantastic and the tone of his guitar is magnificent. I hope this question is not too difficult to answer. Thank you for your assistance.

E.M.
Los Angeles, USA
November 5, 2002

[Victor Villadangos: In the Naxos recording I used my hand made classical guitar (1996) by the Argentine constructor Osvaldo Bragan, in the classical Spanish way (Enrique García model 1906).]

I just wanted to thank you for being enlightened enough to put audio samples online. Many media companies seem to think that if customers can get free samples, they won't bother buying the products. In my case, the samples have exposed me to lots of beautiful music that I didn't even know existed, and as a result, I've made many new Naxos CD purchases.

You are to be praised for your reasonable prices, your incredibly diverse selection, and your progressive attitude towards online audio samples. I'm really impressed!

D.B.
Tigard, OR, USA
November 5, 2002

Thank you sincerely for your excellent guide, "How to Enjoy a Live Concert." It confirmed my understanding that one does not applaud until an entire work is complete. I found your website on AskJeeves after attending an orchestral concert last night. I hope we both encourage other people to enjoy music.

D.F.
October 30, 2002

Dear Naxos,

I'm a 21 year old Kansan college student who has just in the past few months taken a serious interest in Classical music and I must say, I have been very pleased with your label, and I hope to be a lifetime customer. I have experimented with a number of labels, and while it goes without saying that your records are always the better bargains, I have actually found the quality of your recordings to generally be better as well! My purchases from other record labels, including big names, have been entirely unsatisfying, in fact, I'm almost considering giving them away simply to have the purity of an all-Naxos collection. I have bought a number of compilation discs from your "best of" series as well as few other odd recordings, such as a Brahms piano concerto and Beethoven's 2nd and 5th. All totaled, in the past few months I have purchased 11 of your records and they have all been truly top of the line. I plan on buying exclusively Naxos in the future as well. I thank you for nurturing my youthful interest in classical music and I look forward to a lifetime of wonderful music from you guys.

D.B.
Kansas, USA
October 25, 2002

I have been an advocate for Naxos almost since its inception, and consider its project to be as important culturally as Allen Lane's Penguin paperbacks (much lamented - I remember the magical list of the '60s). To extend the comparison, the Naxos historical releases are as significant as the Penguin Classics. Naxos has given us Tolstoy in the form of Toscanini. My question is when will it give us the Dostoevsky of Furtwangler? There needs to be a balance, and Furtwangler's unforgettable live performances of Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner and Wagner need a Ward Marston. There are other conductors out there waiting for Naxos's attention - Jochum, Schuricht, de Sabata, Celibedache, Mravinski. When will it happen?

May I also put in an appeal for Schorr's "Meistersinger" and Landowska's "48", and more Szigetti - the Bach sonatas and partitas, please.

M.C.
Brisbane, Australia
October 21, 2002

[Editor: Thank you for being an ardent supporter of Naxos.
We are adding many new Historical releases to our catalogue every month, thanks to the hard work and ingenuity of our restoration engineers. You will continue to see the legacy of many great conductors documented with state of the art audio technology.

[Klaus Heymann: Furtwaengler complete is planned but not the broadcasts. LANDOWSKA 48 and most SZIGETI. No plans for the other conductors.]

As for your requests, you'll be happy to know that in September Naxos released a Great Conductors CD of de Sabata, including Beethoven's Symphony No.6 (8.110859). Although the other conductors you mentioned will not be featured on releases before the end of the year, perhaps we will be seeing them soon. I'll pass your suggestions along.]

Hi, I must join the thousands of satisfied customers and congratulate you on giving so much at so reasonable a price. The stand out performers for me are Idil Biret with her complete Chopin series and anything by Konstantin Scherbakov. Idils' playing on the 1st and 2nd Chopin Concertos is breath-taking. Konstantins' interpretation of the preludes and fugues, op 87 by Shostakovich, is enthralling. The vision of your company is leading the way by ensuring the average person has access to the rich world of music. I just wish more stores would respond to the demand by stocking at least the current best sellers or those artists currently playing in various areas. It would be nice to be able to go out and buy an artists' work having just heard a concert, etc.--in other words, marketing to the demand. It would be good if, in each city, at least one retailer was able to stock an up to date range. Thank you once again for your dedication and insight.

C.M.
Dunedin, New Zealand
October 19, 2002

Thanks so much for "American Classics." Every month new composers, stunning works, and great orchestras. Splendid! And by the way: Central and South America would also be worth being fully discovered.

S.F.
Basel, Switzerland
October 13, 2002

It's a great pleasure for me to sent you this mail. I have been visiting your website (Naxos), and it's one of my favourite sites where I can get much information about classical music. In fact, I am new to music through the internet. Previously, my learning source was only through books.

K.W.
Nagaland, INDIA
October 11, 2002

Are there plans for the Capella Istropolitana to record complete sets Handel's Opp. 32 and 6? They have done so well on the two CDs currently out that a comprehensive set seems to me a natural.

I want to mention how impressed I am by the Karl Muck performances of Parsifal, which I picked up recently: how you manage to do such impressive work so consistently, and at such excellent prices, does not cease to amaze me.

Many thanks to you. And best of luck to all at Naxos - at times, you seem to be almost single-handedly keeping classical music recordings alive. And doing an extraordinarily good job of it! May you all prosper, for you have certainly enriched my world.

C.B.
San Francisco, CA
USA
October 5, 2002

[Editor: Thank you for your kind words. The Handel Concerti Grossi Op. 6 will be recorded in 2003, but not by Capella Istropolitana.]

I enjoy the naxos new jazz really. But the last times I've visited your jazz-homepage there were no new releases. Do you plan to do new productions the next time?

S.F.
Bremerhaven, Germany
October 5, 2002

[Editor: I am glad that you enjoy our Naxos Jazz releases. However, there are no new Jazz releases scheduled for the next six months.]

I have always wanted to know, what brand of pianos do your piano artists use to record?

J.Y.
Sydney, Australia
October 2, 2002

[Editor: I contacted a few of our Naxos pianists to find out what instruments they use. Here are some of their responses:

"I definitely prefer the German Steinway, model D. The Boesendorfer is better than the American Steinway, but "my" model D is the best.... At the end, the choice of the instrument isn't that important for pianists as, for example, for string-players - it always depends on the player, the instrument isn't responsible for poor results..."
--Wolf Harden

"It's always one (or two) Steinway(s) D!"
--Wolfgang Fahrenholtz, representing Piano Duo Matthies/Kohn

"I (artistic leader and accompanist of the "Deutsche Schubert Lied Edition) use Steinway for my recordings."
--Ulrich Eisenlohr]

Do whatever you must to persuade Beatrice Long to record more Scarlatti.

Her Naxos CD establishes her as one the greatest of all Scarlatti performers.

I cannot recall so many new revelations in the space of one recording, in sonata after sonata, since I first listened to the 1952 Kirkpatrick recordings forty years ago. Understand the significance of this comparison: Kirkpatrick was introducing me to Scarlatti; since then, I have heard thousands of performances of Scarlatti sonatas and was familiar with every sonata on Beatrice Long's CD when I sat down to listen to it.

That was four weeks ago and still I am out of my mind. Please, do whatever you must...

JS
Delaware, OH
USA
October 2, 2002

[Klaus Heymann: She will do more Scarlatti for us in future.]

Question: I have searched your website for Ivor Novello Music, which was popular in the 30s and 40s. Can you tell me if any of his recordings are available please?

J.J.
Lymington, Hampshire, UK
October 1, 2002

[Editor: We have one recording of Ivor Novello:
8.120600 NOVELLO, Ivor: Shine Through My Dreams]

Keep up the good work. I especially enjoy going through your yearly catalog as you show what was rated by which magazine or other source so that gives me a good idea as to how good it will be. Overall I've found that Naxos sound has been excellent and performances always enjoyable.

MZ
USA
September 30, 2002

Question: Is the Liszt/Beethoven Symphony Nos. 1 & 3 by Scherbakov released yet in the United States? Been looking forward to it for some time.

PS: I am up to 152 Naxos CDs and I would rate most of them 9 or 10 out of a scale of from 1-10. Sound on almost all of them is fantastic as are performances. Have particularly liked the Liszt cycle.

M.Z.
Chicago, IL
USA
September 25, 2002

[Editor: The Liszt/Beethoven Symphony Nos. 1 & 3 (8.555354) was released in the US in July. However, this title currently is on backorder, so you may not see it in your favorite music stores for awhile. If you can't order the CDs you want from your local stores, you might want to check out hbdirect.com. They stock many Naxos titles.]

Hi
I just thought you'd like to know that www.hnh.com/mgloss.htm saved my MUSIC APPRECIATION grade. All I did was look up a bunch of definitions and aced my test but I couldn't have done it without you. I just wanted to say your site is awesome and I'll be doing a lot of visiting in the next eight weeks. Thanks again.

Hi,

Thank you very much for hosting the very informative website and music samples. I wonder if you have the titles and composers of compositions used in the movie From Mao to Mozart. It is about Isaac Stern going to China and teaching children there. Thanks.

Philip
September 23, 2002

[Editor: While I have never seen From Mao to Mozart, I think it sounds like a fantastic movie. I have done my best to find some of the pieces included in it:

MOZART: Violin Concerto in G major (Naxos 8.550418)
BEETHOVEN: Violin Sonata No. 5 in F major, Op. 25 "Spring" (Naxos 8.550283)
SIBELIUS: Violin Concerto in D minor (Naxos 8.553233)
BRAHMS: Violin Concerto in D major (Naxos 8.550195)]

I need to choose a composer of an orchestral music to research. I must write about the composer's personal life, musical pursuits, musical period in which he/her wrote, types of music composed, examples of work and any interesting information or important innovations. PLEASE HELP ME!!

A.P.
Toronto, Ontario
Canada

[Editor: I believe that our "Life and Works" series would be of great help to you. Each 4-CD set contains a narrated biography of the composer plus several extended musical examples. For your project, I would recommend the Life and Works of Beethoven or Tchaikovsky. Additionally, you may want to check out our Learning Zone on Naxos.com. There you can find biographies and discographies of many composers, plus lists of their works on Naxos albums. If you register with our website (a note to our visitors who are under 18--you should get permission from your parents first), you can even listen to full-length works by each composer.]

Dear friends from Naxos,
I'm a 19 year old student of music (composition and regency) and I live here in Brazil.
I'm so grateful with this label! Your policy of prices and good artists like Jando, Bruhl, and my favorite, Idil Biret, makes this label special. I'm not rich, really I'm a little poor guy who makes every kind of sacrifice to become a musician. The "focus" of my learning and future career is composition. I love and give all my forces to this "laboratory of sounds" like Thomas Mann says in "Dr. Faust." No, I'm not a kind of "Leverkunn." I'm only a music lover.
I always have many exercises to do, like music analysis. And here, Naxos enters into my musical learning.
I have no money to buy DG discs, or even Teldec, Harmonia mundi, etc. to study the music with the score. So, always I prefer to buy a Naxos disc, and then, I can continue my job. Yes, you offer quality and good prices, and, first of all, musical education to me, to everyone who wants to know more about the music, and for those who admire this blessed art.

Now I'm buying the Schubert Deustche Lied Edition. And I have some questions that I couldn't find an answer to here in the site. How many volumes of this series are available to buy? I only have 4 volumes (1, 3, 4, 7). Will this collection record all of Schubert's lieder? Or only that which was "inspired" from a German poet? Will this wonderful project keep going on?

I hope I won't bother you with these questions. Please answer, if possible.

Thanks, Naxos, with all my heart.

Sincerely,
R.A.
Sao Paulo, Brazil
September 11, 2002

P.S. Sorry but my English is terrible!

[Editor: Thank you for your dedication to the Naxos label. We like loyal customers!
I believe we now have 9 volumes of the Deutsche Schubert Lied Edition available for purchase. We do plan on recording the complete catalogue of Schubert lieder with German vocalists and pianists.
P.S.-- Your English is much better than my Portuguese.]

Sincerely,
R. G.
Ann Arbor, Michigan
USA
September 10, 2002

[Editor: At this time, we do not have a source for the lyrics on 8.553154. I am very sorry that you were disappointed with your purchase. My recommendations for finding the lyrics would be to search folk song sites on the internet. There are many of them, and at least a few of the Red Army songs are out there. Some sites I recommend include:
http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/
http://ingeb.org/catru.html
http://russia-in-us.com/Music/Romance/
I hope you find this helpful!
Thank you for your inquiry.]

Hello,
In which of the Faure CD's will I find Pavanne? I've only heard a tiny bit of it,but it was so beautiful.
Best regards
M.B.K.
Denmark
September 6, 2002

[Editor: You actually have several choices for Pavane recordings. There are two all-Faure CDs with the piece:

8.553741 FAURE: Piano Music Vol.6 (piano version)
8.556679 FAURE : The Best of Faure

There are several collections of music that have other versions:

8.550088 French Festival (Orchestral version)
8.550480 ROMANTIC FRENCH MUSIC FOR GUITAR AND ORCHESTRA (Orchestral version with guitar)]

L.W.
September 5, 2002

I can't take any more! Every month you throw 1, 2, 3, 4, 5+ "must have's" into the works. At this rate, life's vital goods (food, toilet tissue etc) will become life's 2nd most vital purchase!!! PLEASE, I want to live beyond 26!

G.M.
UK
September 5, 2002

[Editor: I strongly urge you to continue consumption of food and water. You must preserve yourself so that you can live for many years and spread your love of Naxos throughout the world. Surely our low price point will allow you to buy at least a small allotment of food for each day. Thank you for your fanaticism, and I hope to hear from you for many years to come.]

Thank you,
D.B.
United Kingdom
September 4, 2002

[Editor: Thank you for your comment concerning our newsletter. We love to receive customer feedback, especially when it is as generous as yours. We hope you will continue to read our newsletter and provide us with your valuable feedback for many years.]

Question: Several labels, like Philips and Decca, have artist series such as 'The art of Alfred Brendel' on Philips, 'Best of Wilhelm Backhaus' on Decca, etc.

I recently purchased the Naxos CD featuring pianist Michael Ponti playing 2 Liszt works as well as the Brahms variations (8.550408).

Ponti's playing is spectacular and the recording superb - I can't find much on Ponti in the Catalogues (except for several early Turnabout and Vox recordings). Have you other Cds available featuring this artist?

S.L.
Sydney, Australia
September 1, 2002

[Editor: Thank you for your interest in our recordings. At this time, the Liszt and Brahms album is the only recording by Mr. Ponti in our catalogue. However, please feel free to check back with us from time to time, as we release about 30 new albums each month. Naxos is a repertoire-driven label, rather than being driven by artists. While we occasionally do have artists record a series of works for us, we do not feature artists in "Best of" compilations.]

First of all, thank you for your time. I have been a great fan of Naxos for several years now and am especially fond of your small, but lively collection of recordings of Johan Nepomuk Hummel's music. I would very much like to know if more music of Hummel's is in the works for Naxos release - possibly a rumored second volume of Piano Sonatas by Hae-won Chang. The most wonderful thing about Naxos, aside from the great recording sound and performances at reasonable price, has to be the label's efforts to expose the beautiful works of lesser known composers. Johan Nepomuk Hummel is a hidden gem of the classical period and I commend those responsible at Naxos for taking the initiative to reveal his skill (and the skill of the chosen performers). Any information on upcoming Hummel productions would be greatly appreciated. Once again, thank you for your time and keep up the fantastic work.

SP
Canada
August 26, 2002

[Editor: Thank you for being a devoted Naxos customer. Right now we have no news concerning a second volume of Hummel piano sonatas, although other Hummel works are scheduled to be recorded in 2003. In the mean time, you can find a complete discography of Hummel's works that are available on Naxos by searching the catalogue at Naxos.com. You might be interested in the Hummel Piano Concertos recorded by Hae-won Chang, catalog #8.223107 and #8.550837.]

I hope that you might help accomplish this.

Thank you.

Karen
Fremont, CA
USA
August 22, 2002

[Editor: I have found several options for you concerning Wiegenlied by Flies. The background of the work certainly could make it hard to find the score. Wiegenlied often is mis-attributed to Mozart , and I believe it actually was assigned a Kochel number. Additionally, it has an alternate title: "Schlafe, mein Prinzchen" ("Sleep, My Prince"). When looking for the sheet music, you may find it under several combinations of composers and titles! While I could not find the exact arrangement on the recording, here are several that I did find. You may be able to find more with this new information.
Choral:
http://home.swipnet.se/eva_toller/main.html
Keyboard:
http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/store/smp_detail.html?sku=JP.EMZ-2-107-696&cart=32389999283853170&searchtitle=Sheet%20Music
Flute Solo:
http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/store/smp_detail.html?sku=JP.EMZ-2-107-523&cart=32389999283853170&searchtitle=Sheet%20Music]

T.T.
Houston, TX
USA
August 22, 2002

[Editor: The Kodaly Quartet already has recorded and released Haydn's complete string quartets for Naxos. However, I do not believe that op. 2, no.3 & 5 or Op.3, no.1 & 2 will be recorded. The selections from op. 2 are not considered true string quartets, while the selections from op. 3 are believed to have been written by another composer. Check out the Kodaly Quartet's page in our artist gallery for details on the existing recordings as well as catalogue numbers. If you cannot find the recordings in your local music store, they should be able to special order them for you. You also might want to check online CD retailers.]

I look forward to introducing our patients to more of your recordings in the near future.

Regards,
A.W.
Toronto, ON
Canada.
August 20, 2002

First of all I am quite pleased that Naxos has decided to start making recordings with American Orchestras. It is high time a music company did so. The recording of Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony can stand with just about any other one in the catalog. I think it is better than some of the older recordings that other companies charge more than twice as much for these days. I hope that Naxos will continue this project and give American Orchestras the chance to be heard.

A.C.
July 25, 2002

When I was writing another thanks giving letter about the Bach's transcriptions by Enno Voorhorst, which is really excellent, I have just found the Gallen recording of Giuliani, which is really a must. The sound, the selection of pieces, the strength of the interpretation, the appropriateness of the instrument, the rhythm really worth listening. Is the best Giuliani I have listened to.
Thank you for this new jewel.

Dr. A.B.
Barcelona, Spain
July 14, 2002

I just continue to love Naxos and all that it is doing for classical music! Now I probably purchase 4 Naxos discs for every full-price CD. And of course your wonderful website just keeps getting better. (Other companies sites are embarrassing.)

F.G.
Australia
June 28, 2002

Dear folks at Naxos:

Please add my personal plaudits the many kudos you've
already received for your disc of the American
composer William Fry, including the "Santa Claus" Symphony.

Thanks,
N.N.W.
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
June 7, 2002

Hi there at Naxos,

I'm a recent buyer of Naxos CDs and I want to congratulate you for your Brahms four-hand piano series. I must confess that previously I dismissed Naxos recordings as second best at the most until I read some Classicstoday.com reviews that enthused about some of your recordings. So, being a big fan of Brahms' symphonies, I bought Silke-Thora Matthies/Christian Kohn's rendition of Brahms' 1st symphony, which is marvelous! Then I bought the same duo's Serenades 1 and 2 -a sparkling delight!

By the way, your newsletters with audio samples are a winner.

Kind regards,
O.G.
Santiago, Chile
May 27, 2002

As a collector of ballet music, I've been very impressed by the Naxos label, particularly by the work of conductor Andrew Mogrelia. I have his Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia and Sylvia - they are uniformly excellent. I appreciate the fact that the Naxos CDs offer the complete score, not just highlights. The tempo is even and unhurried - I can visualize the dancers moving to the music (which is impossible with many "concert hall" versions of the music).

What I would love to see from Naxos is more of the Bournonville repertory, specifically Napoli and Flower Festival in Genzano. I am noticing Napoli in more and more of the repertories of American ballet companies - for instance, Ballet San Jose did the complete ballet last year, and the School for American Ballet did much of Act 3 for their Spring show. I would love to have this lively and colorful music on CD. And I know Naxos would do it well!

A.P.
Los Angelese, California
June 5, 2002

Dear Naxos,
I've written to you at least several times before thanking you and praising you for your absolute genius. And recently, you've made me love you even more. Your new release, JAPANESE ORCHESTRAL FAVORITES, features my favorite composer, Akira Ifukube. I have an extensive collection of Ifukube's music mainly on expensive Japanese import CDs that are usually hard to find in the US. How excited I was, however, to learn that my favorite (by far) classical label was coming out with music from my favorite composer. I mean, how perfect is that?
I sincerely hope Naxos will continue to release more works of Ifukube on your incomparable label. I have always strongly contended Naxos is the most consistent classical label in terms of quality of recordings, talent of artists, repertoire, and of course, value. You folks are the best.
Thank you for the many years of superiority.
E.H.
San Diego, California
June 3, 2002

"I have just purchased two more of your American Classics recordings. Outside of CRI and New World Records, I know of no other recording company that has devoted time and effort to bring American music to the listening public. For reasons that I do not fully understand, American music is neglected in its homeland. Most estimates that I have seen indicate that 85% of the music played by American symphony orchestras and American classical music radio stations is by European composers. The Naxos American Classics initiative is helping to offset this incredible and disgraceful imbalance.

Sincerely,
R.J.S.
Reading, PA, USA
February 21, 2002

Dear Naxos,

I would like to congratulate you on your Gramophone Award for the excellent Vaughan-Williams recording with the Maggini Quartet (8.555300). I also think the Elgar Piano Quintet, with Peter Donohoe, is a magnificent recording - one of my favourite CDs. May I suggest that the Maggini Quartet and Peter Donohoe would be the number one choice to perform the wonderful Piano Quintet of Frank Bridge? This would be a very attractive addition to your English chamber music series, and I would love to hear their rendering of this work. The one recording I have of it is frustratingly second-rate and I don't believe it has ever been recorded again.

I would also like to say that the Arthur Foote chamber music Volume 3 (Naxos American Classics 8.559039) is absolutely brilliant! I would recommend every lover of beautiful music to rush out and buy this as it is some of the best music I have ever heard - the more I listen to it the more I love it - very exciting to find an unknown composer who is so deserving of discovery. Are there any more of his works, chamber or otherwise, to be released? (I also have and enjoy vols. 1 and 2, but the third is the best - material, performance and recording.)

Thank you very much,

Yours sincerely,
B.K.
(no address given)
May 4, 2002

About 20 yrs ago, I started to listen to classical music. In that period, LPs were very expensive for a student like me. The cheapest tape I could afford was published you - all packed in a silver background and blue text case. I remember the first music I listened to was Beethoven's Symphony no.6 which was performed by a Hungarian orchestra. It is one of my two favourite versions. I started with high grade but in low price music from that period and build up my own musical sense. I have full sets of those tapes. Of course I can now only buy CDs.

Thanks from your fan whom grow up with you.

(No name or address given) May 23, 2002

I discovered classical music late in life, but, I discovered the excellent quality, and superior performances of naxos recordings, early on. A special thank you, to Klaus Heymann, and the naxos family, for making such a superb selection of classical music available and affordable, to the pauper, as well as the pompous. I appreciate each and every one of you, very much. I wish naxos music continued growth and success in the years to come.

A "naxos only" classical music collector,

Marc Romero
North Carolina, USA
April 27, 2002

Great Website ! Webmaster, easily navigated, and well layed out. "Superb Job"

M.R.
April 27, 2002