News from the Naxos Music Group
November 2017
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Label of the Month – Grand Piano
Dedicated to the exploration of undiscovered piano repertoire, Grand Piano specialises in multi-volume recordings and complete cycles of piano works by many lesser-known composers, whose output might otherwise have remained unknown and unrecorded. Spanning almost four centuries of music from around the world, the Grand Piano catalogue includes music by past composers such as Leopold Koželuch, Alexander Tcherepnin and Mieczysław Weinberg, as well as works by living composers such as Valentin Silvestrov, Martial Solal and Philip Hammond. Grand Piano artists are very often authorities on these less well-known composers and experts on the chosen repertoire, giving their performances a unique stamp of authenticity. Drawing on such a rich resource, the label is able to boast that most of its 130-plus recordings to date include world premières.
In the coming months, new releases will include the completion of the Leopold Koželuch series played by Kemp English, and the continuation of Nicolas Horvath's survey of the urtext edition of Erik Satie’s piano music. Other highlights include an exciting album of Paganini variations presented by Goran Filipec, and Stephane Ginsburgh's recording of Anthony Burgess' 24 Preludes & Fugues.
“The Grand Piano label continues to uncover gems of the piano repertoire.” – Fanfare on GP652
“[The] Grand Piano label has previously released some rarities for the connoisseurs, featuring nothing more than capable pianists... they have catapulted up to the very top of piano releases with CD I simply cannot praise enough.” – Pianist on GP641
“[A] commendable label focusing on piano music that is off the beaten track and repeatedly presenting the most beautiful discoveries.” – Spiegel Online
RECENT RELEASES FROM GRAND PIANO
Bernstein and his protégé Marin Alsop
2018 will mark the centenary of the birth of Leonard Bernstein. A two-year global celebration (#BernsteinAt100) of the 20th-century cultural giant was officially launched on August 25, 2017 by the Bernstein Office.
In memory of its former president, the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) presented a series of concerts with Marin Alsop, one of Bernstein’s most prominent protégés, featuring Bernstein's dramatic Kaddish Symphony, Jeremiah Symphony and Halil, his haunting work for flute and orchestra. The programme also included Mahler's First and Tenth Symphonies, a composer who played a central role throughout Bernstein's career.
The following video shows rare archive footage of Marin Alsop in a masterclass with Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood in 1989.
Stay tuned for the Bernstein anniversary boxed set from Naxos, which will be released early next year. This limited edition release brings together all of Naxos’ acclaimed recordings of his music conducted by Marin Alsop, including new and world premiere recordings, and an insightful documentary DVD in which colleagues and family sum up this boundlessly brilliant and charismatic musical giant of the 20th century.
The collaboration between Naxos and Marin Alsop to record Bernstein’s orchestral works has proven highly successful over the years:
Henning Kraggerud receives ECHO Klassik award
The ECHO Klassik 2017 awards ceremony was held on 29 October at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. Naxos and its affiliated label Ondine received three awards from Germany’s most prestigious awards body in the field of recorded classical music. Naxos artist Henning Kraggerud received the Concert Recording (Music up to and including 18th Century) Award for his recording of Mozart’s Violin Concertos Nos. 3, 4 and 5 (8.573513), while Naxos’ recording of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck (8.660390-91) won the Opera Recording (20th/21st century) category, and Ondine’s Christian Tetzlaff received an award in the Instrumentalist (violin) category for his recording of Brahms’ violin sonatas (ODE1284-2) with pianist Lars Vogt.
Henning Kraggerud, along with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, won the Concert Recording (Music up to and including 18th Century) for their recording of Mozart's Violin Concertos Nos. 3, 4 and 5. Click on the link below to view his interview with Crescendo.de.
“Kraggerud’s buoyant, mellifluous spontaneity and spotless intonation are in a class apart.”
– The Strad
“A fresh wind blows through Mozart’s Violin Concertos Nos. 3, 4 and 5 in these colorful performances by Henning Kraggerud and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra…stylish and elegant.”
– Pizzicato ★★★★★
Naxos’ recording of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck (8.660390-91) won the Opera Recording (20th/21st century) category. Recorded live in Houston in 2013, Hans Graf conducted the Houston Symphony Orchestra in this album, featuring Roman Trekel and Anne Schwanewilms.
![BERG, A.: Wozzeck [Opera]](https://www.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/others/8.660390-91.gif "BERG, A.: Wozzeck [Opera]")
– Gramophone
Ondine artist Christian Tetzlaff received an award in the Instrumentalist (violin) category for his recording of Brahms’ violin sonatas (ODE1284-2) with pianist Lars Vogt.
– The Observer
In addition, opera singer, director, author and educator Brigitte Fassbaender, who has made many critical acclaimed recordings for Naxos-owned label Orfeo, was the recipient of this year’s ECHO Klassik Lifetime Achievement Award.
Wagner’s Ring Cycle SIEGFRIED
Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) is one of the most remarkable achievements in all music, and Siegfried, the third instalment in the cycle, contains some of the greatest moments in Wagner’s entire output. Wagner conceived Siegfried as an heroic ‘man of the future’, and his fantastical tale is one in which the human dramas of treachery and violent struggles for power become magnified in a world of gods, dragons and magic.
This is the third and penultimate release in Naxos’ acclaimed cycle of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen with the Hong Kong Philharmonic conducted by Jaap van Zweden. Recorded live in concert, this production features some of today’s best Wagnerian singers including tenor Simon O’Neill in the title role, soprano Heidi Melton as the Valkyrie Brünnhilde, and tenor David Cangelosi as the gnome Mime. This is also the third and final appearance of bass-baritone Matthias Goerne as The Wanderer. Goerne was praised by many critics for his “deep, powerful portrayal of Wotan” (Fanfare).
![WAGNER, R.: Siegfried [Opera]](images/8660413-16-NBD0069A.png "WAGNER, R.: Siegfried [Opera]")
Concert Reviews for Siegfried
“Hong Kong Philharmonic rises to the challenges of Ring Cycle’s third episode … to convey in concert form the power and emotion of the epic story Wagner tells”
– South China Morning Post
“Van Zweden’s interpretation of this third instalment was arguably even more inspiring”
– Classical.net
“Orchestral colours were superb and balance among the various parts was well maintained. Integration with the singing was seamless and the artistry of the players was evident.”
– Bachtrack.com
Previous Releases in the Naxos Ring Cycle
![WAGNER, R.: Rheingold (Das) [Opera]](images/8.660374-75-NBD0049.png "WAGNER, R.: Rheingold (Das) [Opera]")
“Van Zweden conducts with an easy sweep that would carry one along in the opera house, drawing some splendid sound from the orchestra”
– BBC Music Magazine
“Adroit and versatile performance of baritone Matthias Goerne, with Peter Sidhom’s colorful Alberich a close second. The other positions are ably-filled, noticeably the Fricka of Michelle DeYoung”
– Audiophile Audition ★★★★
“The most remarkable element of the performances was the high standard of the orchestral playing, astonishing for a band that had never tackled Wagner’s dramas in sound before.”
– The Sunday Times
“The orchestra plays wonderfully for the most part; textures are translucent; brass ring out; lower strings offer danger and sadness. The word I’d have to use for this performance would be, “beautiful”.
– ClassicsToday.com
THE FINAL JOURNEY BEGINS JANUARY 2018
Mr. Robot
Naxos is pleased to be a part of the new season of Mr. Robot on the USA Network! An American drama-thriller television series, Mr. Robot’s Season 3 follows Elliot, a young programmer who works as a cyber-security engineer by day and as a vigilante hacker by night, finding himself at a crossroads when the mysterious leader of an underground hacker group recruits him to destroy the firm he is paid to protect. Be sure to check out all the sci-fi computer hacking glory featuring Penderecki’s Polish Requiem (8.557386-87). Below is a trailer to give you a taste of what it's all about!
For more information about the latest projects from Naxos Licensing, visit www.naxoslicensing.com.
Charles Koechlin’s 150th Birthday Anniversary
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Charles Koechlin’s birth, SWR Classic has released two 7-CD boxed sets featuring Koechlin's vocal and orchestral music (SWR19046CD) and piano and chamber music (SWR19047CD). This comprehensive project began in 2001 as a collaboration between the Radio Symphony Orchestra of SWR Stuttgart, conductor Heinz Holliger, and Otfrid Nies of the Charles Koechlin Archive in Kassel.
A pupil of Gabriel Fauré, Charles Koechlin occupies a position of honour among French composers, highly respected as a teacher (Poulenc and Tailleferre were a couple of his pupils), while exercising a strong influence on Milhaud and a generation of younger composers associated with Satie.
Prepare for Christmas with the Naxos Holiday Collection
Christmas is one of the most richly celebrated seasons around the world. While its focus rests on just a few days of the year, the wealth of music that has been written to mark its spirit and story is astonishingly plentiful and varied. In this catalogue, you will find examples of contemporary choral works by British composers Bob Chilcott, James MacMillan and Sasha Johnson Manning alongside the established masterpieces of composers such as J. S. Bach, Handel and Berlioz. The Christmas story has also been recorded in opera, ballet and instrumental music, in a range of expression that runs from piety to jollity.
We hope our Christmas catalogue will serve you with music that is both comfortingly familiar and refreshingly novel. May you spend a very happy Christmas with Naxos.
to see all titles from the series.
THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT FROM NAXOS
Here are our picks of the top CD gift ideas for your loved ones:
[30-CD Boxed Set]
THE COMPLETE ORCHESTRAL EDITION
[52-CD Boxed Set + 248-page Booklet]
PETER AND THE WOLF
[Includes sticker sheet]
(+BRITTEN: The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra • POULENC: Babar the Elephant)
[9-CD Boxed Set]
The new Messiah recording – choral magnificence
![HANDEL, G.F.: Messiah [Oratorio]](https://www.naxos.com/SharedFiles/images/cds/others/PRCD2080.gif "HANDEL, G.F.: Messiah [Oratorio]")
Naxos affiliated label Proprius, one of Sweden’s eminent labels for audiophiles, offers a wide range of classical music recordings of high quality and high sonic potency. A new CD recording of Handel’s Messiah, featuring the S:t Jacobs Kammarkör and the Baroque orchestra REbaroque, was recorded live during three performances in late November 2016.
This performance reflects a cherished collaboration between a group of instrumentalists, four leading Swedish soloists and a cathedral chamber choir, performed and recorded in Stockholm Cathedral.
2018 is an important year for Stockholm Cathedral as it marks the 90th anniversary of staging an annual performance of Handel’s Messiah. From 1928 until 1976, the work was performed a total of 79 times by the soloists, choir and orchestra of the Stockholm Royal Opera. In 1977, the tradition was taken over by the cathedral choir together with instrumentalists from the Swedish Radio Orchestra under the direction of Cathedral Organist Gustaf Sjökvist. During a span of 34 years until his retirement in 2010, Sjökvist led his forces in a total of 142 highly acclaimed and well-attended annual Messiah performances.
Brahms’ Double Concerto by Tianwa Yang & Gabriel Schwabe
Composed in 1887, the Double Concerto was Johannes Brahms' final work for orchestra. Under the baton of Antoni Wit, star violinist Tianwa Yang joined cellist Gabriel Schwabe and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin to record this titanic work. The recording took place in the Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin. In this brief video, Tianwa Yang and Gabriel Schwabe talk about the music and the recording. Stay tuned for their new release and don’t miss out!
LATEST ALBUMS FEATURING TIANWA YANG AND GABRIEL SCHWABE
Music to be Thankful For
November is the time of year for reflection and giving thanks. With so much to be grateful for, a stream of gentle, soothing music is the ideal means of framing our quiet, reflective time. We have playlists to accompany your Thanksgiving festivities, family time and dinner gatherings. And if you've had too much turkey, we're here to help you drift off into postprandial slumber, dreaming of those delicious leftovers lined up for tomorrow's lunch! Don't forget to add these playlists to your library. Then simply press 'play' whenever you're ready to sit back, relax and enjoy time with friends and family, or during contemplative moments. Happy Listening!
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Artist of the Month – Tra Nguyen, Violin
British-Vietnamese Tra Nguyen has performed worldwide at important venues such as the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Tokyo Opera City, the Hong Kong City Hall Recital Hall, and the Cadogan and Wigmore Halls. Her imaginative programming balances core repertoire with lesser-known music, winning critical praise. Her recordings of Joachim Raff’s piano music have been widely acclaimed, and received an Album of the Week award by The Independent. Tra Nguyen studied with Lev Naumov at the Moscow Conservatory and with Christopher Elton at the Royal Academy of Music. She was awarded the ARAM (Associate of the Royal Academy of Music) for her “significant contribution to the music profession” in 2013.
In her latest release, she joins the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and conductor Kerry Stratton to present Joachim Raff’s works for piano and orchestra. Raff was considered one of the foremost symphonists of his day; he also wrote prolifically for the piano. Of Raff’s nine works for solo instrument and orchestra three are for piano. The Ode au Printemps, Op. 76 is full of freshness, its atmospheric qualities and cantabile melodies enhanced by superb orchestration. Unjustly neglected but full of dreamlike delicacy, the Piano Concerto in C minor, Op. 185 offers one of the most delightful, lyrical and stirring works in the Romantic concerto canon. The Caprice, Op. 65, No. 2 balances assured development and passionate virtuosity.
“This CD explores the synergy of Raff’s symphonic gift and pianistic elegance combined in one album. The dialogues between the piano and the orchestra in Ode Au Printemps and the Piano Concerto are lush with colours and shades to carry out the emotional gravitas, especially in the latter. World-première track Caprice on Motifs from Raff’s opera King Alfred gives us a glimpse into his operatic work through the composer’s own pianistic lens, often seen with an understated sense of humour.” – Tra Nguyen
TRA NGUYEN’s ACCLAIMED RECORDINGS OF RAFF’s PIANO WORKS
– Raff.org – The Essential Raff
– MusicWeb International
– Gramophone
– Diapason ★★★★
– American Record Guide
– BBC Music Magazine ★★★★
– The Buffalo News
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