INCLUDES WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS

Tchaikovsky composed the Variations on a Rococo Theme for cellist Wilhelm Fitzenhagen who re-ordered the variations, infuriating the composer. The cello part for the virtuosic Pezzo capriccioso was also altered by its dedicatee, Anatoly Brandukov. In the performances heard here Tchaikovsky’s original intentions are restored. To accompany these pieces Gabriel Schwabe has provided two of his own arrangements – the Canzonetta from the Violin Concerto and Valse sentimentale from the Six Morceaux. The album ends with the second version – never before recorded – of the romantic fantasy overture Romeo and Juliet.

Igor Stravinsky is renowned for his legacy of glittering fairy tales in treasured favourites such as Petrushka and The Firebird. Another favourite is the ballet Pulcinella, a lovable melange of Baroque theatricality, heard here in its concert suite form. The other works in this programme are surprisingly less known: the luminous and symphonic Song of the Nightingale, and The Fairy’s Kiss based on Tchaikovsky’s music, are both derived from stories by Hans Christian Andersen. An astonishing rarity, The Faun and the Shepherdess is an ancient Greek tale that was Stravinsky’s romantically sensual gift to his young bride.

Giacomo Puccini’s much-loved opera Tosca contains some of his most famous lyrical arias. It is also a powerful and tragic theatre piece set in politically dangerous times featuring moments of courage and romantic tenderness. The expressive force of its narrative and the power of Puccini’s strikingly inventive score has made it one of the most frequently staged operas of all time. Daniele Gatti conducts this live performance from Maggio Musicale Fiorentino with a cast acclaimed for its impressive vocal and dramatic characterisation.

The Opéra Comique in Paris has a long tradition of giving stylish performances dating back to the 18th century. Five imaginative and critically acclaimed productions are featured in this collection of French operatic masterpieces. Bizet’s Carmen, which received its premiere at the Opéra Comique in 1875, is performed on period instruments conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Ambroise Thomas’s Hamlet features the stellar French baritone Stéphane Degout in the title role. Messager exemplifies the spirit of La Belle Époch in Fortunio; Gounod fuses Romanticism with the supernatural in La Nonne sanglante; and the outstanding French soprano Sabine Devieilhe takes the lead role in Delibes’s tragic tale of passion and loyalty, Lakmé – one of the jewels of the Opéra Comique.

Paul Hindemith is among the most significant German composers of the 20th century. The Sonata for Trombone and Piano – one of a multitude of sonatas he composed for various instruments – is a lively tour de force, performed here with an additional Ruhig movement from a sonata left unfinished before he was forced to emigrate. Hindemith’s songs lean towards the refined simplicity of the French mélodie and are performed alongside Poulenc’s lyrical Oboe Sonata, Koechlin’s brooding Trois Pièces, and selections by Ravel and Debussy, all specially arranged to display trombonist Guilhem Kusnierek’s expert musicianship.

INCLUDES WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS

Dušan Bogdanović’s inspiration behind this project came from writing a compilation of world music pieces for his young son, but after hearing the duo of Antigoni Goni and Eleonora Perretta perform he greatly expanded the idea. The abundant spirit of these folk inspirations is exemplified by their variety – from 17th-century chanson to Irish fiddle jigs; humorous Dalmatian songs to a Sephardic romance; and from the dances of southeastern Iran to Balinese rice-pounding music. To introduce a popular flavour, he has added arrangements of three beloved Neapolitan songs.

WORLD PREMIERE RECORDINGS

This album showcases recent works for two guitars by the Chilean composer and guitarist Javier Contreras. He is joined by fellow Chilean guitarist and pedagogue, José Antonio Escobar – a decisive figure in Contreras’s musical development – to explore the composer’s inventive harmonic and cosmopolitan influences, which range from South American folk music to jazz. The Sonata for Two Guitars evokes the uniquely versatile sirilla dance in a work that marries introspection with vitality and virtuoso flourish. Elsewhere, Patagonian folkloric elements, exotic dances, high-speed dialogues and exquisite colours are conjured up in music of subtlety and energy.

Anton Rubinstein stood at the heart of Russian musical life for nearly half a century and had a profound influence on generations of Russian musicians, including Tchaikovsky. His piano sonatas reveal a composer intent on uniting intellect and passion within a symphonic conception of the keyboard. With its heroic, noble themes, the Third Piano Sonata was Rubinstein’s own favourite of the set. The final Piano Sonata No. 4 represents the composer at the height of his creative command, pouring a lifetime of emotions into a single piece and distilling the paradoxical tensions between intellect and impulse, Germanic structure and Russian ardour. Sonatas Nos. 1 and 2, played by Han Chen, can be heard on 8.573989.

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.