Béla Bartók’s pantomime The Miraculous Mandarin was banned after its first performance in 1926, but the composer’s orchestral suite quickly became a popular concert work, appreciated for its energetic rhythms and daring harmonies. Though facetiously dubbed ‘Beethoven’s Tenth’, Brahms’s Symphony No.1 is also, in its own way, a no less revolutionary work which charts a journey from darkness to light from its brooding introduction to its euphoric finale. This splendid 2008 recording joins other fine LSO albums available from Naxos.

On this second volume of Sibelius Symphonies (Nos. 1 and 3 are available on Naxos 8.572305), the acclaimed young Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen interprets two of his compatriot’s most contrasting symphonies. The Symphony No. 4 is a work of ominous brooding and bleak desolation, reflecting the Sibelius’s psychological state at the time of its composition. Sibelius commented of his much-revised and expansively heroic Symphony No. 5: ‘It is as if God the Father had thrown down mosaic pieces from heaven’s floor and asked me to put them back as they were.’

Composed and revised over a seven-year period (1819-26) Schubert’s fifth Mass setting is arguably his most songful and inventive. His integration of the soloists and chorus, mastery of fluid harmonies, and idiomatic treatment of the orchestra’s woodwind section give the Mass in A flat Major a symphonic quality which would later inspire Bruckner. Schubert regarded it as the finest of his six Latin Mass settings. Schubert’s C Major setting of selected versicles from the Magnificat is a more Haydnesque piece, recalling the joyfully expressive music of the earlier composer’s famous oratorio The Creation (available on 8.557380-81).

The novelty of Franz Anton Hoffmeister’s double bass quartets lies in his substitution of that husky-voiced instrument for the first violin in a regular string quartet line-up. Seldom heard in such a prominent position, and in Norbert Duka’s capable hands, the double bass reveals itself as a good humoured and surprisingly expressive vehicle for Hoffmeister’s amiably melodic writing. It also gives an especially haunting melancholic quality to Schubert’s much-loved Arpeggione Sonata, not merely in the beautiful Adagio but also in the more agile outer movements.

Described by Gramophone as a ‘magician, bewitching our ears’, Russian-born American-based violinist Ilya Kaler has won 1st Prizes and Gold Medals at the Tchaikovsky, Sibelius and the Paganini Competitions and made many acclaimed Naxos recordings. He is an ideal soloist in Mieczysław Karlowicz’s attractive and spirited Violin Concerto. The Serenade, Karlowicz’s first orchestral work, signals the young composer’s extraordinary command of expressive ideas and opulent harmonies. Karlowicz’s Symphonic Poems Volumes 1 (8.570452) and 2 (8.570295) also conducted by Antoni Wit are available. One further volume of Karlowicz’s Complete Orchestral Works is forthcoming.

Sergei Mikhailovich Lyapunov belonged to the second generation of Russian nationalist composers who were professionally trained and strongly influenced by Balakirev and his associates. His Violin Concerto has ‘a gorgeous solo part, big tunes, high energy, emotional Russian-romantic sweep, and a simply terrific cadenza… Maxim Fedotov sounds like he is having the time of his life’ (MusicWeb International). The first of Lyapunov’s two symphonies is a grand essay in the late Russian Romantic mold, a youthful yet masterful work of great charm and power.

Along with his legacy of nearly one hundred film scores, Miklós Rózsa’s concert music has held its place in the repertoire and this fourth Naxos album brings his heartfelt and impeccably crafted compositions to a new generation of listeners. Mark Kosower’s Naxos album of Hungarian Music for Cello and Piano (8.570570) was rated ‘audiophile quality’ by Strings magazine. Rózsa’s Violin Concerto and Sinfonia Concertante (8.570350) were ‘recommended’ by Gramophone. His Music for Violin and Piano (8.570190) was hailed as ‘impressive’ by Strings, while his Viola Concerto (8.570925) was deemed ‘magnificent’ by Fanfare.

This recording is a musical road trip from the creative world of Michael Daugherty, one of America’s unique and most performed composers, and the visionary conductor Marin Alsop, who has championed his music for over 20 years. Our drive begins with Route 66, a high-octane nostalgic drive from Illinois to California through 'Main Street America', as seen through Daugherty’s rear view mirror. Along the way, we stop at Ghost Ranch, where Georgia O’Keeffe created her brilliant paintings inspired by the open skies and bone-parched earth of New Mexico. Arriving in Los Angeles, Daugherty takes us for a tuneful spin down Sunset Boulevard where anything can happen, and it usually does. Our journey concludes as we travel into the 4th dimension with Time Machine, a wild exploration of sound for three conductors and orchestra.

The recently discovered Guerra Manuscript is an anthology of the finest pieces heard in Madrid during the second half of the 17th century and was probably prepared for a high-ranking noble or member of the Spanish royal family. It contains a hundred vocal/instrumental pieces by leading composers including Juan Hidalgo, José Marín, Juan de Navas, Cristóbal Galán, Juan Del Vado and Matías Ruiz, as well as others whose authors remain anonymous. Isabel Monar has been acclaimed worldwide for her concert and operatic performances. Manuel Villas has collaborated with numerous groups, including Les Musiciens du Louvre, Al Ayre Español and Musica Ficta.

The Italian composer and musicologist Gian Francesco Malipiero led two very differing lives. On the one hand he dedicated himself to the creation of complete editions of music by the great Italian composers Monteverdi and Vivaldi, while at the same time composing a large catalogue of music in a personal and distinctly twentieth-century style. Though largely self-taught, he was a composer in every genre, including a symphonic output of 17 works to which he gave the Italian title ‘sinfonia’. This recording reveals both sides of his personality, with two original and vivid orchestral scores, and two works in the style of composers from the 17th and 18th centuries that Malipiero dressed in modern orchestral colours. The complete published Malipiero Symphonies are available on Naxos 8.570879, 8.570880, 8.570881 & 8.570882 (Dec10 release).

‘Biret grasps the size of Beethoven’s style. The polyphony is laid out in a relaxed way with little indulgence in point making. She keeps the big line and yet is thankfully sparing in her use of fortissimos. The piano tone is sumptuous. Biret’s gentle and almost sensuous sonorities are really captivating. One is reminded that her mentor is Wilhelm Kempff.’ -Gramophone. ‘Turkish pianist Idil Biret’s series of Beethoven Sonatas is emerging as a major statement in the field, entirely different from the other cycles that have appeared in recent years. She favors slow tempos and a light touch which brings out small details, all subsumed within a convincing and well thought-out overall architecture…The performances here truly represent a lifetime of musical thinking, and they are essential for serious Beethovenians.’ - All Music Guide

Franz Xaver Richter’s Sonate da camera have many of the same musical characteristics that make his symphonies so distinctive: ingenious part-writing, rich, expressive harmonies and delightfully unexpected melodic twists. Probably composed by Richter in the late 1750s, these remarkable works are firmly rooted in the Baroque trio sonata tradition yet contain subtle echoes of the new musical language being developed by his colleagues in the famous Mannheim court orchestra. Richter’s Grandes Symphonies, Nos. 1-6 (8.557818) ‘charmingly urbane and sophisticated’ (MusicWeb International) and Nos. 7-12 (8.570597) ‘sparkling performances’ (Fanfare) are also available. Volume 2 of Richter’s Sonate da Camera is forthcoming.

Leonardo Balada’s Caprichos are a collection of compositions in the form of suites. Caprichos No. 2 for solo violin, strings and harp is a suite of three Latino American dances, presented in a free modernistic manner. Caprichos No. 3 ('Homage to the International Brigades'), for violin and chamber orchestra consists of five short pieces that pays homage to the army of volunteers from all over the world that fought during the Spanish Civil War. In Caprichos No.4 the ideas come from jazz, presented in a free modernistic manner with a double bass soloist, string orchestra, clarinet and piano. Here jazz-related ideas are developed in an extroverted way, mixing conventional classical jazz idioms, harmonies and rhythms with avant garde aleatoric devices.

Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, the ninth child and second surviving son of Johann Sebastian Bach, composed some twenty symphonies as well as concertos, chamber and instrumental music, and a number of vocal works. The three beautiful and witty symphonies on this disc are delightful examples of the synthesis between mid-to-late 18th-century Italian and German musical styles which marks the transition from Baroque to Classical. The acclaimed Leipzig Chamber Orchestra has recorded Haydn’s The Seasons (8.557600-01), Mozart’s Davide penitente (8.570231) and Requiem (8.557728) as well as a series of Schubert’s Masses (8.572114, 8.570381, 8.572279 & 8.570764).

Following his recording of Mieczysław Weinberg’s 24 Cello Preludes Op. 100 and Sonata for Solo Cello, No. 1, Op. 72 (8.572280), Latvian-born cellist Josef Feigelson here presents Weinberg’s three other sonata for solo cello using the composer’s original manuscripts. The highly charged second sonata was written for and premiered by Valentin Berlinksy of the famous Borodin Quartet, who was also the recipient of the demanding fourth sonata. The lyrical third sonata with its echoes of Mahler and Prokofiev reaches a forcefully emotional climax.

This second of Naxos’s two-disc survey of Giorgio Federico Ghedini’s complete piano music includes his largest-scale work for solo piano, the 1922 Sonata, an intimate and harmonically complex piece which emphasizes pianistic colour. The Fantasia, Divertimento contrappuntistico and Capriccio are dazzling virtuoso showpieces while the Ricercare, a work of sorrowful and contemplative mystery that the composer began during World War II, is notable for its spare, lean textures. The composer’s daughter, Maria Grazia Ghedini, writes of these recordings: ‘As I listened to these pieces being played by Massimo Giuseppe Bianchi, I was reminded of something my father once said: "This is my credo: music is not a passing fashion, it is everlasting…As society becomes ever more technical, there is a great need for genuine sentiment, which is why music too must be animated, at its core, by a dramatic, romantic impulse...only thus can all its magic be conveyed.”’ Volume 1 is available on Naxos 8.572329.

Beethoven’s String Trios Op. 9 date from his early years in Vienna and are a testament to his precocious ability as a composer out to make a strong impression. His melodic inventiveness, daring harmonic moves and integration of the three instruments into a satisfying ensemble mark these seldom-heard works as worthy predecessors to his string quartets. Beethoven’s String Trios Opp. 3 and 8 are also available (8.557895). ‘These musicians are three of the four members of the Kodály Quartet, and their playing as a trio is just as satisfying as their playing in the quartet. I love this recording’ (American Record Guide)

The late 19th century was the heyday of the drawing-room ballad, when families and friends entertained each other with a wide range of songs. Sir Paolo Tosti was one of the most successful of composers of such music, alongside his contemporaries Pietro Mascagni and Stefano Donaudy. Naturally, the subject of most of these charming songs is amore: love longed for, gained and lost; sweet lips, sparkling eyes, warm arms and cold hearts. Italian tenor Stefano Secco and pianist David Abramovitz enjoy distinguished international careers.

French composer Thomas Bloch's Missa Cantate for male soprano and symphony orchestra resembles its composer in nature: calm, serene and informed by his many collaborations as a performer (he moves quite happily from Mozart to John Cage and on again to Radiohead). Sancta Maria has won numerous awards and been used in several film soundtracks. Cold Song, Christ Hall Blues and Christ Hall Postlude are extraordinary works that synthesise voice, a variety of unusual instruments and electronics, seeming to exist in a sublime sound space somewhere between the Baroque and the Beyond. This entrancing album will appeal to fans of New Age and contemporary classical music.

Winner of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory’s Rubinstein Medal, classical guitarist Vincente Coves, and colleagues present a beguiling recital of music from Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Paraguay and Spain in which Classical and folk music, Afro-Cuban jazz and avant-garde influences, passion and pathos may all be heard. The Naxos Guitar Collection is the world’s largest catalogue of recordings of the classical guitar with music from Bach to Villa-Lobos, Paganini to Sor, all performed by leading guitarists from around the world.

Giovanni Pacini’s operetta The Stone Guest, written for private performance in 1832 by the composer’s family, is based on the same tale used by Mozart for Don Giovanni (8.660080-82) but without the character Donna Elvira. While Pacini’s version is scored for chamber orchestra and draws on arias from his other operas, many of which were doubtless family favourites, it nonetheless demands bel canto singing of the highest order particularly for Don Giovanni, Zerlina and Ficcanaso. For this recording Pacini’s manuscript score and the original performing parts, as well as the partially-preserved hand-written libretto, were used as the basis for reconstructing the entire work.