The Naxos American Classics series continues its exploration of the music of Florence Price with this album of the Piano Concerto in One Movement and her two Violin Concertos; William Grant Still’s orchestration of her piano piece Dances in the Canebrakes completes the programme. Followers of Price’s resurgent profile might also note that her Abraham Lincoln Walks at Night and Song of Hope are scheduled for release in August. The violin soloist on this album is Fanny Clamagirand, whose previous Naxos recordings include a 3-volume cycle of Saint-Saëns’ works for violin and piano: ‘I’m awed by her in Volume 2 (8.572751). She has technique to burn, her high notes are silver-toned, her intonation is true; she plays with high spirits, vivacity, and panache.’ (Fanfare) The solo pianist on this new release is the 2018 Honens International Piano competition prize-winner, Han Chen. He already has four Naxos albums to his credit. ClassicsToday.com had this to say about his recording of opera transcriptions by Liszt (8.573415): ‘It isn’t just Chen’s assured, elegant and totally effortless technique that blows me away, it’s also his idiomatic flair, his use of colour and touch to convey character, plus a gift for textural variety and differentiation that one associates with golden age legends.’

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The fruitful collaboration between Naxos and Japanese composer Toshio Hosokawa continues with this new release which adds to previous volumes of his orchestral works conducted by Jun Märkl. Hosokawa has been honoured with numerous awards, commissions and acclaimed performances and this latest programme of world premieres continues to evidence the reasons behind that sustained reputation. Ceremony sees the flute soloist as a ‘person’ and the orchestra as the ‘universe and nature’; the flautist’s breath echoes like the winds of nature and becomes a song that awakens the spirits. A complementary work to Hosokawa’s The Raven (8.573724), Futari Shizuka (The Maiden from the Sea) is a single-act opera, the ancient tragic tale of which resonates with the fate of refugees around the world today.

Franz Hauk’s tireless restoration of the works of Johann Simon Mayr has resulted in some 30 Naxos recordings of Mayr’s operas and religious music. This latest release is the world premiere recording of his opera Amor non ha ritegno (Love has no shame), adding yet another substantial and significant entry to Hauk's already distinguished catalogue, and one that the composer’s ever-growing numbers of followers will consider an essential part of their collections. The opera is filled with bizarre happenings and a range of seria and buffa characters, from the sublimely inconsolable heroine, Donna Luigia, to her ridiculous suitors, proving as hugely entertaining today as it did over two centuries ago. We’re certain this release will again capture the critical acclaim received by previous releases: ‘Naxos’ project of recording the major works of Simon Mayr is an extremely important event, introducing to most of us a composer of genuine individuality and importance.’ (Fanfare on 8.573065); ‘[A] sparkler … there’s a lilt to everyone’s phrasing, courtesy of Herr Hauk. The period orchestra performs handsomely.’ (American Record Guide on 8.570366-67).

Conductor Christoph Poppen completes his authoritative recordings of Mozart’s complete masses with this sixth volume that includes the fine Missa brevis in G major, composed in 1768 when Mozart was just twelve years old; the theatrical and inventive ‘Credo’ Mass, K. 257; and the ‘Spatzenmesse’ K. 220, nicknamed the ‘Sparrow Mass’ on account of the chirping nature of the Sanctus. Previous volumes in the series have been uniformly well received, indicating the certain reception awaiting this latest instalment: ‘Poppen conducts both masses with energy, dynamic rhythm, and textual precision.’ (MusicWeb International on Vol. 1/8.574270); ‘The soloists … impress throughout.” (Gramophone on Vol. 2/8.574417); ‘A splendid Mozart choral album with music that will be new to all but the most hardcore of Mozart fans, with fine studio sound from Cologne.’ (AllMusic.com on Vol. 3/8.574514)

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The name of Adolf von Henselt (1814–89) is something of a rarity on recordings, even though his music was widely acclaimed in its time and shared platforms with that of composer-pianists such as Chopin, Schumann and Liszt; Henselt himself was held in high esteem by Rachmaninov. This programme takes us back to that golden age of Romantic virtuosity and music that deserves a similar recognition to that now given to Henselt's contemporaries. Collectors seeking a refreshing new programme of eloquent works will find much to discover and delight in this fine new recording made in the famously piano-friendly acoustic of the Wyastone Concert Hall in Monmouth, UK. The album represents the Naxos debut of pianist Marcel Tadokoro, who is a prize-winner of competitions in France, Russia, Germany, Panama, Austria and Japan.

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Gluck’s Orphée et Euridice is a masterpiece of the operatic canon, inspired by one of the most mysterious and cruel stories in Greek mythology. The gods allow Orpheus to descend into the underworld to revive his beloved wife Eurydice, but on condition that he must not look at her while returning. This production, recorded at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, re-imagines this myth as a story for our times. It explores each character from a new stance, highlighting the music and text as a more sophisticated psychological thriller than previously imagined, creating a moving and transformative narrative with which we can all identify. The performance enjoys a new staging directed by Pierre Audi; the conductor is Daniele Gatti, chief conductor of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

Also available on Blu-ray Video (DYN-58073)

For his second Sibelius symphony album with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, conductor Nicholas Collon is joined by internationally renowned violinist Christian Tetzlaff. Their previous album featuring Lutosławski’s Partita for Violin and Orchestra (ODE1444-2) was very well received: ‘Tetzlaff plays with fire and a lyrical sense of line … A recording to cherish.’ (American Record Guide) Collon’s first Sibelius album, which included the composer’s Seventh Symphony, was a Gramophone magazine’s Choice of orchestral albums. In this new, carefully crafted programme, Sibelius’ masterful Fifth Symphony is joined by two delicate works for violin and orchestra. The two Serious Melodies were written during World War One and belong to the composer’s most openly spiritual works, while Sibelius’ music to Strindberg’s play Swanwhite is a forgotten gem.

Pianist Tuija Hakkila enjoyed a close friendship with Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho that lasted for over 40 years, until the composer’s death in 2023. She also played a pivotal role in Saariaho’s creations for solo piano and for harpsichord. Although Saariaho did write several works featuring the piano, she felt that writing music for piano alone was particularly challenging due to the restrictions of the instrument. Although few in number, Saariaho’s keyboard works are 21st-century gems that continue the path set by Debussy’s late works and by Messiaen. Fall (1991/1995) and Delicato (2007/2015) are heard in their world premiere recordings. For Im Traume (1980), Tuija Hakkila is joined by cellist Anssi Karttunen.

Gilbert & Sullivan’s penultimate opera, Utopia, Limited, was written immediately after The Gondoliers. It’s performed here by Scottish Opera, with an updated libretto by director Stuart Maunder and a revised musical version by Head of Music Derek Clark. Satirising the conceits of the mighty British Empire, its politics, monarchy and press, Utopia, Limited is as incisive now as it ever was. Full of sparkling wit, it’s also packed with show-stopping patter, brilliant choruses and music that is at times of almost Verdian beauty. This audio recording is taken from Scottish Opera’s new co-production with D’Oyly Carte Opera and State Opera South Australia. The album also includes the suite from Sullivan’s incidental music to the drama King Arthur.

In 1930, Dmitri Shostakovich began to work on his Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, an opera which tells of the oppressed Katerina, who is consumed by an intense love for the shady Sergei and intent on securing her happiness through murderous means. Shortly after the premieres in Leningrad and Moscow, Shostakovich was forced to change some of the passages that were too sexually explicit. After Stalin attended a performance in 1936 and then published a scathing review about it, colleagues and critics who had previously approved of the opera turned against Shostakovich. It was not until about thirty years later that the piece was performed again in the Soviet Union, in a toned-down version with the title Katerina Ismailova, which was also performed internationally. It was only in 1980 that the original version came to Western Europe; in 2009, the Vienna State Opera performed that version for the first time, captured here on this live recording. The conductor is Ingo Metzmacher, a welcome guest at the most distinguished opera houses in Europe and at the Salzburg Festival, where he has conducted numerous operatic world premieres.