On this stunning Naxos Blu-ray Audio album Antoni Wit leads the immense forces required for Mahler’s Eighth Symphony in a performance, originally released on Naxos CD 855053334, ‘at once deeply religious and extremely sensual. The playing is tremendous, the choral singing thrillingly beautiful ‘(The Guardian) which ‘combines the best of just about all of the competing versions (10/10 Classics Today). The CD version’s ‘full-bodied sound production’ (Fanfare) is here further enhanced by state-of-the-art high-resolution and extra-wide dynamics, giving ‘one of the top Mahler Eighths’ (Classical CD Review) a new sonic dimension.

Praised by Gramophone magazine as ‘an invigorating account of the Seasons’ when first released on Naxos CD 8557920, Vivaldi’s universally popular Four Seasons depict the changing seasons in a pastoral landscape with dazzling variety. Vivaldi evokes not only the changing atmospheric conditions, but bird calls and animal cries, swaying grass, bubbling brooks, and even comical drunkards and a man walking on ice. Violinist Cho-Liang Lin, who has been compared with Gidon Kremer, Nigel Kennedy and Kyung-Wha Chung, and the virtuoso ensemble Sejong give ‘a durable and unmannered, yet bracing and continuously interesting version’ (Fanfare) of these immortal classics.

MORE NAXOS BLU-RAY AUDIO ALBUMS
CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 1, Fantasy on Polish Airs, Rondo a la krakowiak NBD0011
CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 2, Variations on La ci darem, Andante spianato and Grande polonaise brillante NBD0012
CORIGLIANO Symphony No. 3 ‘Circus Maximus’, Gazebo Dances NBD0008
DVORAK Symphonies Nos. 6 and 9 `From the New World`  NBD0014
DVORAK Symphonies Nos. 7 and 8  NBD0010

Filmed at the Großes Festspielhaus, Salzburg, 5, 10 and 15 August 2007. A mix of futurism à la Metropolis, fantasy à la Batman and quotes from Piranesi’s Carceri, juxtaposed in the form of photo montages, enhanced with…robots, a helicopter, a shark and the winged vehicle of a pop star Pope’, was how the Neue Zürcher Zeitung described this astonishing Salzburg Festival production of Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini. The high-calibre cast, headed by Burkhard Fritz as the temperamental Renaissance artist and the 26-year-old Latvian soprano Maija Kovalevska as Teresa, the woman with whom he tries to elope, is conducted by Valery Gergiev who ‘pulled out all the stops. He whips the Vienna Philharmonic into a delirium similar to that which possibly took hold of the composer’. (Der Standard) This is French grand opera at its fast-paced and spectacularly-staged best. Also available on Naxos DVD 2110271

ALSO AVAILABLE NAXOS BLU-RAY VIDEO ALBUM
ADAMO Little Women NBD0007

Acclaimed British composer John Rutter’s Gloria was a milestone in his career and remains an evergreen favourite with choirs worldwide for its freshness, drama and sheer beauty. His joyous setting of the Magnificat was conceived, in the composer’s words, as ‘a bright Latin-flavoured fiesta’ and is performed here in its version for choir, organ and chamber orchestra. This delightful choral album concludes with Rutter’s setting of the Te Deum, one of the church’s most ebullient hymns of praise to the Almighty.

The most famous and enduringly successful composer of nineteenth-century light music, Johann Strauss II captivated not only Vienna but the whole of Europe and America with his abundantly tuneful waltzes, polkas, quadrilles and marches. This unique collection brings together for the first time ever his entire orchestral output. The Strauss Edition, originally fifty-two separate releases on the Marco Polo label, represented a milestone in recording history. It is celebrated by this beautiful 52-CD box-set with a 248-page booklet.

Tianwa Yang continues her highly praised survey of Pablo de Sarasate’s brilliant music for violin and orchestra. His Magic Flute Fantasy is a masterpiece of the genre à la Paganini, while the Gounod Fantasy (his second) is a miracle of lightness. The highly popular Navarra, the charming Muiñera with its bagpipe effects, the bewitching Venetian Barcarolle and the Introduction et Caprice-Jota with its barcarolle-like beginning and dancing finale coming thrillingly to life on this album. Of Ms. Yang, the New Zealand Herald recently wrote "this 23-year-old can hold her own against the legendary players of her instrument”.

The Guardian has praised Pietari Inkinen as ‘a conductor of bold, sure-footed intelligence’ and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as ‘a fine, responsive unit’ (Sibelius Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3, 8572305). Volume 3 in Naxos’s new series presents the dramatic and highly popular Symphony No. 2, which emerges from the northern mists, cultivating a pastoral atmosphere along the way, to reach a grandiose, heroic finale. One of Sibelius’s best loved compositions, the Karelia Suite, presents a series of musical tableaux based on stirring episodes from Finnish history.

Best known today for his sumptuously Romantic symphonic poems (8570452, 8570295), Mieczysław Karłowicz completed his most ambitious work, the ‘Rebirth’ Symphony, in 1903. Like Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ Symphony which was premiered the following year (855052324), it evokes the soul’s spiritual struggle against fate from tragedy to triumph. The resplendent Prologue Karłowicz’s music for the play Bianca da Molena (The White Dove) introduces one of his most serene compositions, the Intermezzo. Polish conductor Antoni Wit brings out the brooding, portentous and lyrical characteristics of his compatriot’s richly orchestrated yet seldom-heard scores.

This eighth and final volume of Naxos’s acclaimed survey of Haydn’s Masses contrasts the intimately-scaled Little Organ Solo Mass with the symphonically-conceived Mass in B flat major, nicknamed Theresienmesse after Marie Therese, the wife of Emperor Francis II and the soprano soloist in the Viennese premieres of The Creation (855738081) and The Seasons (855760001). The Great Organ Solo Mass is available on 8572125 and the 8-CD boxed set of the Complete Masses on 8508009. ‘Bravo!’ (Early Music America) ‘monumental recording… the first-ever collection of the complete Haydn masses performed on period instruments’ (Baker & Taylor CD Hotlist)

Naxos’s acclaimed Robert Craft Stravinsky Edition continues with this fascinating album of diverse pieces by one of the 20th Century’s iconic composers. The Duo Concertant reconciles the contrasting timbres of violin and piano, while the breezy Sonata for Two Pianos, written in America, draws on Russian themes. The Requiem Canticles were performed at Stravinsky’s funeral, while the ‘sacred ballad’ Abraham and Isaac is a dramatic and moving retelling of the Old Testament story. The Élégie for solo viola is one of his most affecting works, and Bluebird is a loving arrangement for chamber orchestra of excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty.

Arnold Bax was one of the major forces in British composition between the two world wars, his music blending broad melodies and brilliant orchestral sonorities into a lush Romantic sound world. The three works on this disc were composed for the renowned pianist Hilary Cohen. Bax described Winter Legends as ‘a northern nature piece full of sea and pine forest and dark legends’. Subtitled ‘Maytime in Sussex’ Morning Song celebrated the 21st birthday of the then Princess Elizabeth. In contrast, martial overtones give the Saga Fragment, the composer’s own orchestration of his Piano Quintet of 1922, a darker hue.

The driving energy of Turkish/American composer Kamran Ince’s Hot, Red, Cold, Vibrant recalls the motoric rhythms of John Adams’s Short Ride in a Fast Machine with some unexpected jolts added. The soloists, chorus and large orchestra of his Symphony No. 5 celebrate the glories of the great Galatasaray soccer club with grandly-sung poetry, sonorous harmonies and rousing music. Requiem Without Words mourns the Muslims, Christians and Jews killed in the 2003 terrorist bombings in Istanbul, while Before Infrared creates a sense of a great mass of sound hurtling towards a bright and shimmering Shangri-la.

The polystylistic riches of his music mark Alexandre Tansman as a free-and clear-thinking composer. Polish-born and active in Paris and the USA, Tansman had a successful career and his music now enjoys renewed interest worldwide. The sinuous contours and tender melodies of his Clarinet Concerto contrast with the ever-changing musical styles of his Concertino for Oboe, Clarinet and Strings. The Six Movements for String Orchestra form a cycle unified by their deftly conceived interrelationships. His 24 Intermezzi and Petite Suite (8572266) and Chamber Music with Clarinet (8570235) are also available.

Naxos’s many highly-praised recordings of William Alwyn’s music have done much to revive excitement among today’s listeners for this British composer who is best known for his 200 or so film scores. His bravura Violin Concerto, the second and most substantial of his six concertos, is romantic and rhapsodic in nature. The Miss Julie Suite takes episodes from his last completed opera based on Strindberg’s tragic play, while the Fanfare for a Joyful Occasion pays tribute to the late James Blades, a gifted percussionist. Juilliard School-trained violinist Lorraine McAslan has been praised by The Strad as ‘one of the most distinguished British violinists of her generation’.

Honoured in 2009 with an Academy Award, David Gompper has travelled the world working as a pianist, conductor and composer, and developing a fascination with all manner of things and sounds, from the experience of echoes in mountainous terrain to the Fibonacci Series, popular film and TV themes to old Russian icons. Putting such disparate ideas into play, his music often has a tightly-organised yet free flowing character making it endlessly fascinating. David Gompper's compositions are heard throughout the United States and Europe.

William Mathias’s eloquent and accessible style comes to the fore in these premiere recordings of his music for violin and piano. His unpublished Violin Sonata (1952) is a highly original and ambitious work from his student days. The first Violin Sonata is a model of clarity and concision, while the second Violin Sonata, commissioned to celebrate the composer’s 50th birthday, is cast in four vividly contrasted – and virtuosic – movements. Sara Tricky, praised by The Strad for her ‘fiery and passionate’ playing, joins Iwan Llewellyn-Jones whose ‘power and clean-cut precision’ was acclaimed by The Guardian.

In the quarter-century between 1983 and 2008, the music world underwent dramatic shifts in technology, resources and fashions. Through it all, Lawrence Dillon’s artistic concerns remained steadfast. A love for lyricism, a dash of wit, and what he has called “an irresistible urge” to connect with the Classical music heritage have remained easily identifiable hallmarks of Dillon’s music. The nine works on this recording trace these ongoing characteristics, which can also be found in his vocal, chamber and symphonic works, through the lens of music featuring the violin.

Their albums of Mendelssohn’s String Quintets ( 8.570488) and Glazunov’s chamber music (8.570256) were named “Recordings of the Year” by Musicweb International, and their recording of Schumann’s string quartets ( 8.570151) was hailed by the American Record Guide as “one of the very finest chamber music recordings of the year”. On this disc the acclaimed Fine Arts Quartet performs Camille Saint-Saëns’s two magnificent string quartets. “Saint-Saëns has been unfairly tarnished as being a lightweight composer,” notes first violinist Ralph Evans. “Listening to these serious, intellectual, brilliantly crafted yet delightful works will change minds in a hurry.”

Compared by contemporaries to Ravel and Debussy, French composer Florent Schmitt is being rediscovered today. Following his death, one critic mourned that “French music has just lost a smile and a master”. The whimsical and sparkling À tour d’anches for oboe, clarinet, bassoon and piano and the dramatically beautiful Piano Quintet reveal a powerful and distinctive personality. By turns lyrical, humorous and fiery, these two chamber works span a period of almost forty years, from the beginning of Schmitt’s mature period to his late style.

Music for wind band embraces an extraordinary range of musical styles and finds inspiration from a remarkable variety of sources. The Medieval Suite pays homage to Léonin, Pérotin and Machaut, three master-composers from the Middle Ages, while the Sketches on a Tudor Psalm are based on the same hymn tune that Vaughan Williams used for his celebrated Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. The Capriccio thrillingly sets off a saxophone quartet against the full wind band, while the Rhapsody embroils the solo trumpet and wind band in a dazzling set of variations. The Symphony is a tightly-integrated work whose central movement is a plaintive chaconne. The album opens with a Fanfare composed for The Kennedy Centre’s 25th Anniversary season.

Following in the footsteps of such great late romantic composers as Richard Strauss, Mahler and Pfitzner, the precociously gifted Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s unwavering commitment to refined melody, ravishing harmony and formal coherence earned him a reputation as somewhat reactionary in the face of the rising Modernist avant garde. Yet these very characteristics now drive immense interest in his music, among which the varied songs on this album rank among his most intimate and imaginative small-scale works. This new Naxos series is set to reveal countless treasures, worthy to be heard beside the songs of Schubert, Schumann, Brahms and Wolf.

Throughout the 19TH Century, and owing greatly to Franz Liszt’s seminal contributions, operatic transcriptions, arrangements, paraphrases and fantasies were indispensible for any virtuoso performer. Liszt’s piano versions brought music from Wagner’s and Weber’s operas to audiences who avidly enjoyed hearing famous themes in virtuosic garb, whether as straight transcriptions or as more florid improvisations and medleys. Winner of the Grand Prix du Disque Liszt, pianist Steven Mayer was praised by The New York Times as ‘a very fine pianist; his nuances and rubato were markedly more stylish than the work of some of our more famous virtuosos.’

Following the release of delightful piano music by Chopin’s pupils (8.572344), Naxos reveals more rarely-heard Romantic bon-bons by these heirs of the ‘poet of the piano’. Each movement of Karol Mikuli’s Grand Duo is ingeniously based on two prevailing themes evoking Wagner, Schubert, Liszt and, of course, Chopin along the way towards a triumphant conclusion. Thomas Tellefsen’s two violin sonatas reflect musical developments between the legacy of Beethoven and the advent of Grieg. Chopin’s favourite student, the short-lived prodigy Carl Filtsch, is represented by his charming Allegretto con variazioni which was probably composed in Vienna.

An innovative genius, Claude Debussy is famous for his mature ‘Impressionist’ music, though he rather disliked the term. He frequently performed four-hand piano pieces in concert, most of the works on this disc either being composed or adapted by him for this line-up. The imaginative figuration, kaleidoscopic sonorities and moments of dazzling virtuosity found in these rarely-heard works from the 1880s are a testament to Debussy’s skills both as a performer and a composer. Pianists Adrienne Soós and Ivo Haag have been a firmly-established piano duo for more than fifteen years, becoming one of the leading chamber music ensembles in Switzerland.

Recipient of the prestigious Grawemeyer and Academy Awards, among other prizes and fellowships, Sebastian Currier composes "music with a distinctive voice" (The New York Times) that is "lyrical, colorful, firmly rooted in tradition, but absolutely new" (The Washington Post) and which has been performed at major venues worldwide by acclaimed artists and orchestras. Whether inspired by Bach, Beethoven and Hindemith (Piano Sonata), playing with Scarlattian formulas, stirring up a satirical Brainstorm, or pondering on his compositional choices (Departures and Arrivals), Currier engages the listener’s head and heart. Laura Melton’s Naxos recording of Samuel Adler’s piano music (8.559602) was praised by Fanfare as “expert and excellent”.

A special musical compendium for brides and grooms who are planning a church wedding ceremony, complete with church choir. CD 1 is a selection of favourite anthems, many of which stem from the Anglican choral tradition and are popular choices for most church choirs. CD 2 is a selection of favourite hymns, well-known to many people and will provide either contemplative or rousing fare for your congregation.

Scored for as few as three marimbas (Splendid Wood) or as many as 100 percussion instruments plus celesta, harp and piano (Grand Concerto), inspired by the structure of DNA, the measure and meaning of a 19th-century Japanese poem (Pulling Radishes), or the vibrant Mexican folk holiday The Day of the Dead, the five innovative and often playful works on this disc celebrate the entrancing art of contemporary percussion music. These striking works by leading American composers abound in fascinating rhythms, ingenious combinations and juxtapositions of unusual instruments. A sound spectacular!

Bernardo Storace’s Selva di varie compositioni, published in Venice in 1664, is one of the greatest outpourings of sheer inventiveness in music history. The two passacaglias on this fascinating disc contain no fewer than 320 variations, climaxing, as do the Ciaccona and the two Passamezzi, with dashing dances, correnti and galliarde, which point toward the later development of the Baroque suite. These fine 17th-century pieces in which Frescobaldi’s powerful influence is evident are played on a modern copy of a beautiful 1697 Italian harpsichord whose clear, rich sound is ideal for this music.

The pairing of the comic opera The Telephone with the sinister music-drama The Medium proved to be a big hit for composer Gian Carlo Menotti when they opened together on Broadway in 1947. The double bill ran for over 200 performances, and enjoyed similar success in London during 1948. This original 1947 cast recording of The Medium, made by the American Columbia company, was first released in the United Kingdom in 1961, when Gramophone wrote enthusiastically: ‘its effectiveness as a musical work for the stage is beyond argument.’

William Walton’s Violin Concerto, heard here in its revised version in a now legendary recording conducted by the composer, was undoubtedly Jascha Heifetz’s most successful commission. Like the other Romantic works on this disc by Camille Saint-Saëns and Christian Sinding, it perfectly suited Heifetz’s polished elegance and scintillating virtuosity. Written for and premièred by Heifetz, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Second Violin Concerto was described by the composer as ‘a kind of Biblical concerto, an evocation of times in the glorious past’. Although the work predates the composer’s Hollywood days by seven years, any one of the three movements, which portray the Old Testament prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Elijah, would not be out of place as part of the soundtrack to an epic Biblical film.

This is the final album in Idil Biret’s acclaimed nineteen-volume Beethoven Edition, consisting of the complete piano sonatas and concertos, the choral fantasy and Liszt’s transcriptions of the nine symphonies, bringing to completion after a quarter of a century Idil Biret’s Beethoven odyssey. ‘The performances here truly represent a lifetime of musical thinking, and they are essential for serious Beethovenians.’ (All Music Guide) ‘With unflagging energy she produced a series of supercharged performances. In Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata she revealed not only glittering fingerwork, but an unusually powerful and clear-thinking musical mind.’ (The Daily Telegraph)

Donizetti’s fiftieth opera, Marino Faliero, was first performed in Paris on 12 March 1835 with a cast comprising four of the finest singers of the period before premiering in London a few weeks later. Although both of these premieres were overshadowed by Bellini’s I Puritani (Naxos Historical 8.110259-60), Marino Faliero subsequently enjoyed a long and successful run of international performances throughout the 19th Century before disappearing from the stage until its modern revival in 1966. Set in Venice in 1355, it remains a major work of Italian Romanticism, sentimental, martial, full of conspiratorial adventure and culminating with the execution of the leading character.