FINAL VOLUME

In the early 1960s Goffredo Petrassi’s idiom was almost indistinguishable from that of the Italian avant-garde. Completed in 1964, the Seventh Concerto evolves with mounting tension and a sense of underlying menace. The Eighth Concerto from 1972 was commissioned and premiered by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. It is a substantial piece of outright virtuosity, with dissonance, trenchant dialogues and a fraught atmosphere. The much earlier Sonata da camera for harpsichord and ten instruments finds Petrassi poised between neo-Classicism and a more modernist direction. This is the third and final volume of Petrassi’s complete Concertos for Orchestra on Naxos (Nos. 1–3 are on 8.573702; Nos. 4–6 are on 8.573703).

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Alexey Shor’s music is regularly performed at some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls. His popularity comes from a signature style that includes neo-Classical clarity with a strong emphasis on lyricism and traditional harmonies, as can be heard in his First Violin Concerto. The Second and Fifth Violin Concertos are works that explore a spectrum of emotions, from profound sadness and loss, to exhilarating and uplifting passions, both of which require high levels of virtuosity from both soloist and orchestra.

The three opéras-comiques in this set epitomise the glamour, vivacity and zest of the quintessentially French genre and are among their composers’ most admired works. Adolphe Adam’s Le Postillon de Lonjumeau exudes rococo Parisian charm, Reynaldo Hahn’s elegant and refined Ciboulette is one of the last masterpieces of French operetta, and Jacques Offenbach’s La Périchole is an opera-bouffe of scintillating colour and vivacious dances. These acclaimed productions from the famous stage of the Opéra Comique in Paris feature world-class performers, superb directors, and, in the Adam, costumes by the iconic French fashion designer, Christian Lacroix.

Arrigo Boito is remembered today for his only completed opera Mefistofele. The score for Nerone was left unfinished at the composer’s death – a performing version was completed by the composers Vincenzo Tommasini and Antonio Smareglia, along with Arturo Toscanini who conducted the world premiere at Teatro alla Scala in 1924. The narrative focuses on Emperor Nero during a time of conflict between beliefs in Imperial Roman gods and Christianity, and ends with tragic dramas amidst the Great Fire of Rome. With influences that include Wagner and Sibelius, Boito’s rarely performed Nerone uses a truly exciting harmonic palette delivered through a masterly handling of huge orchestral forces.

Tchaikovsky’s gift for writing music of indelible beauty and emotive power has ensured he remains central to the repertoire. The acclaimed arranger, pianist and conductor, Peter Breiner, has selected from across the range of Tchaikovsky’s compositions, including the symphonies, songs, opera and ballet, and chamber works, to create an album of the composer’s greatest melodies arranged for piano.

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Mozart’s melodic inspiration was unceasing and permeated even his most private and intimate pieces. The acclaimed arranger, pianist and conductor, Peter Breiner, has selected across the range of Mozart’s compositions – including popular works from the symphonic, concerto and choral canon, as well as lesser-known works – to create an album of the composer’s greatest melodies arranged for piano

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Heinrich Marschner was the leading German operatic composer between Weber and the rise of Wagner, but he also wrote prolifically for chamber forces. His Piano Trios No. 2 and No. 6 share similar qualities: both are in a minor key, they are rich in agitated melodies, and are full of inventive interplay between the three instruments. In contrast to the earlier light-hearted Trio No. 1 (available on 8.574612), No. 2 is a darker, more tension-filled work, albeit with Mendelssohnian grace. No. 6 also embodies elements of mid-19th-century Romanticism conveyed in music that ranges from the turbulent to the spectral.

Antonio Soler enjoyed high prestige at Spain’s royal palace, the Escorial, where his contributions to keyboard technique, harmonic innovation and his Spanish musical identity served to bridge the stylistic gap between the late Baroque and early Classicism. Soler’s innovations have often been overlooked but the intricate modulations and rhythmic vitality found in his sonatas offer compelling evidence of their importance. Sonatas Nos. 99–111 offer a wealth of entrancing features, which include sophisticated ornamentation, a synthesis of contrapuntal and Iberian folkloric traditions, and humorous cadences.

In 2009, a large collection of guitar music from the Gitarristische Vereinigung München (‘Munich Guitar Society’) was rediscovered in an attic in Munich. The collection included numerous significant works for guitar that had been long inaccessible with many by neglected composers who are deserving of exploration and revival. Wilhelm Schmoelzl’s Introduction und Variationen exists on the threshold between Classicism and Romanticism, while Adam Darr’s perfectly realised Sonata is notable for its striking use of Alpine folk music. The programme concludes with Carl Kamberger’s witty and surprising Grand Fantasy, with its multitude of quoted themes and unconventional techniques.

Anton Rubinstein always regretted that his status as an elite pianist eclipsed his reputation as a composer. Recent recordings have shown that his music is melodically distinguished and attractive, as these two major works from the mid-1860s show. Cast on a wide canvas, the Fantasia in E minor conforms to Romantic grandeur in its gestures, which also include Beethovenian echoes in the finale. The Five Pieces are condensed character studies, evoking Chopin and Schumann, and ending with a brilliant Toccata. The Trot de cavalerie, a march for mounted troops, was a popular genre in the 19th century.

Niklas Jahn, winner of the 9th International Organ Competition Musashino-Tokyo in 2023, was appointed organist at the Frauenkirche in Dresden in December 2024, the site of an acclaimed concert by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1736. This album features two works by Bach, including the monumental Toccata and Fugue in F major, as well as Toshio Hosokawa’s celestial Cloudscape, and the ultra-virtuosic Feuertaufe by Zsigmond Szathmáry. French repertoire by Messiaen and Vierne can also be heard alongside Brahms whose Chorale Preludes are among the last pieces he composed.

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Florence Price had an abiding love of literature, setting poets affiliated with the Harlem Renaissance as well as Byron and Robert Frost, among others. Her largest choral work is Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight, which sets a poem published in 1914 imagining Lincoln surveying the modern world with dismay. Its chorale-like passages and fugal finale, allied to her use of spirituals, gives the cantata a thoughtful, sometimes introspective grandeur. Song of Hope, which uses Price’s own text, is an emotionally intense supplication that also draws on spirituals. Charming smaller settings devoted to the natural world, and two sacred numbers, complete the album.

INCLUDES WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS

With their dramatic history, the Peterhouse Partbooks are among the most significant collections of English sacred music manuscripts from the 16th and early 17th centuries. Including several world premiere recordings, this programme presents a survey of the rich variety in the Peterhouse manuscripts, from the Venetian splendour of Croce’s eight-part anthem Omnes gentes plaudite, to the penitential intimacy of Tallis’s O God be merciful unto us.

The New & Now playlist features all that is new and exciting in the world of classical music, whether it’s new music, new presentations or new performers. With more than 200 new releases each year, and artists from around the world, there is always something new to discover with Naxos.