WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS

Prize-winning composer Gregory Fritze has written over a hundred compositions for a variety of forces, and is also a greatly admired teacher. The four works on this album share programmatic perspectives. The city of London is evoked in a celebratory overture full of vitality, diversity and pageantry; the two symphonies reflect Fritze’s immersion in the warmth, landscape and festive excitement of the city of Valencia; and the overture Waterplace Park, a popular meeting place in Providence, Rhode Island, is a jovial piece that features five unusual instrumental soloists.

Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor is a cornerstone of the cello repertoire, a product of the composer’s summer seclusion in the English countryside in 1919. A masterpiece of moods, it encompasses the world-weary and poignant but also the quicksilver and passionate. Two other cello works written at around the same time proved pivotal in their composers’ careers. John Ireland’s Cello Sonata in G minor fuses brooding, terse muscularity with lyricism and bravura, while Frank Bridge’s two-movement Cello Sonata in D minor reflects pre-War Romanticism coupled with wartime melancholy and defiance.

Considered a lesser-known gem of the operatic repertoire, Smetana’s Dvě vdovy (‘The Two Widows’) is set in a Bohemian country estate in which the contrasting personalities of recently widowed cousins Karolína and Anežka are tested by the attentions of gentleman-farmer Ladislav. Smetana’s expert theatrical craftsmanship seamlessly blends Czech dances and choruses with beautiful cavatina-like solos. With the humane warmth of its chamber-like comedy and deftly transparent orchestration, Smetana created a style of conversational opera in The Two Widows that was much admired by Richard Strauss.

Composed at the age of 19, Rachmaninov’s earliest published cycle of piano pieces, the Morceaux de Fantaisie, contains the Prélude in C sharp minor, destined to become his signature work, and the Mélodie in E major, much loved by Tchaikovsky. The expressive Morceaux de Salon show Tchaikovsky’s influence and some of the grief felt by Rachmaninov after his mentor’s death. With the inclusion of the melodically rich Nocturnes and the Four Pieces, the earliest to survive in his hand, this collection shows both the young composer finding his voice and the timeless Rachmaninov we recognise today.

Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s chamber works were composed early and late in his career. He considered the Piano Quintet No. 1 in F major from 1932 to be the best of all his chamber works from that period. It exudes Romantic candour and contrapuntal richness, full of lively themes and with a colourful atmosphere. The beautiful Piano Quintet No. 2, composed in 1951, draws on the composer’s memories of a serene and rustic Tuscany. Quartetto Adorno’s ‘reference-worthy performance’ (ClassicsToday.com) of the complete string quartets is on 8.574580.

FINAL VOLUME

Nikolay Roslavets was one of the great musical innovators of the 1920s, described by Stravinsky as ‘the most interesting Russian composer of the 20th century,’ but vilified by the Soviet regime on account of his constant experimentation. His Piano Trio No. 4 is notable for its romantic and passionate spirit, and complex polyphony. Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2 is one of the most harrowing and revered of all his chamber works. The Piano Trio No. 1, a remarkable composition for a 16-year-old student, is a work of romantic intensity cast in a musical language recognisably that of Shostakovich.

* WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING
** FIRST COMMERCIAL RECORDING

The German pianist and teacher Theodor Kullak, a piano student of Carl Czerny among others, enjoyed a stellar career. His transcriptions, arrangements and studies have proved enduring, while his lesser-known original works contain an abundance of persuasive pianistic colours. The pensive and dramatic Grande Sonate in F sharp minor reveals the influence of Mendelssohn and Beethoven, and the Symphonie de Piano displays elements of Schumann as well as Kullak’s fondness for Italian models. Virtuoso panache and drawing room grace are also represented in the smaller works in this selection.

This album features seven chamber works by contemporary Chinese composer Yao Chen. Focusing on the guqin, Yao explores the expressive potential of traditional Chinese instruments and cultural heritage, utilising contemporary artistic language. These works engage in a dialogue between old and new, East and West, weaving together diverse instrumental sonorities with operatic elements, while presenting Yao’s poetic musical language and creative vision at the frontier of contemporary musical expression. Performed by sixteen distinguished artists, the album leads listeners into a lucid, expansive, and contemplative musical world.

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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.