Djilile, From Kakadu, Into the Dreaming, Edwards Blackwattle Caprices, Guitar Dances, Dean Three Caprichos after Goya, Houghton Stele, Koehne A Closed World of Fine Feelings and Grand Design

This disc is a must-have for lovers of guitar music and contemporary Australian composition. It presents a selection of lively and accessible Australian works arranged for guitar from our finest composers, from Sculthorpe's ever-popular Kakadu to Ross Edwards' thrilling Maninyas and works by Brett Dean, whose new opera Bliss will soon be the toast of the town when Opera Australia premieres it in March.At 29 and with countless awards and competition wins under his belt, classical guitarist Aleksandr Tsiboulski easily transcends the image of the technically flawless competition winner. Foremost is his commitment, passion and intelligence – the ‘Russian’ communicative quality, underpinned by a depth of study, apprenticeship and scholarship to rival any in his generation of guitarists. Here, he brings a diverse collection of music by leading Australian composers to listeners the world over.

Images, Iberia, Rondes de Printemps, Gigues

The music of three nations—Britain, Spain and France—inspired Debussy’s Images for orchestra, which occupied him from 1905 to 1912. Originally conceived for two pianos, this third set draws on several folk songs in its outer movements, the tripartite middle movement evoking in musical terms Spanish sights, sounds and fragrances. Vivid orchestrations by the composer or admired colleagues of short piano pieces likewise embrace contrasting moods and national characters. Volumes 1 (8570759) and 2 (8570993) in this series have been highly praised.

Commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Dear Mrs. Parks had its World Premiere by the DSO at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in February 2005 under the direction of Resident Conductor Thomas Wilkins. According to Hannibal Lokumbe, 'Dear Mrs. Parks is a prayer of music and words in honor of Mrs. Rosa Parks and every soul of her spiritual and social realm. She is the true nature of what is perceived and spoken of as being heaven. Her unselfish love, as unselfish love always does, transforms the entire world.' Dear Mrs. Parks is a 57-minute oratorio for which Lokumbe wrote both the music and libretto. The work features a massive ensemble comprised of full orchestra plus a large choir and four vocal soloists. Featuring influences from the blues, jazz, African music and Gospel music, it pays homage to Rosa Parks in the form of imaginary letters to the civil rights heroine from three individuals, an African-American woman who worked with Mrs. Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., representing the viewpoint of all African-American civil rights activists of her generation; Viola Liuzzo, a white Civil Rights martyr from Detroit slain by the Ku Klux Klan in 1965; and a young African-American man whose generation has benefited from the Civil Rights Movement. The fourth soloist is a young girl, representing innocence and hope, who leads the 'Prayer for the World' that concludes the composition.'

Together with the Missa Cellensis, the Stabat Mater (1767) was one of the first sacred works Haydn composed in his new position as Kapellmeister of the Esterhazy court. When Haydn sent his setting to Hasse, asking the more famous senior composer for advice, Hasse responded – perhaps as Haydn had hoped – by inviting him to perform the work in Vienna, which he did in March 1768. Haydn vividly expresses the Virgin Mary’s intense emotions during the Crucifixion with consummate craft and immense musicality.

Symphony No 4, Rhapsodie Flamande, Sinfonietta, Small Suite, Concerto for Small Orchestra

Following a period of soul searching during the mid 1920s and as his music gained success outside France during the 1930s, Albert Roussel took the thematic integration and formal lucidity of his Third Symphony to new heights with his Fourth. The perfectly-wrought Sinfonietta, the Flemish Rhapsody, which draws on popular songs of the Belgian provinces, the picturesque Petite Suite, and the delightful Concerto for small orchestra showcase the exquisite orchestrations and fastidious craftsmanship with which Roussel interwove dynamic impulse with lyricism.

String Trio, Four Pieces for Mixed Chorus, Three Satires for Mixed Chorus, Septet Suite, Accompaniment to a Cinematographic Scene

Naxos’s Robert Craft Collection has been acclaimed as ‘one of the most enticing Schoenberg collections around’, with Fanfare proclaiming that ‘Craft outshines them all’, to mention only two critical commendations. He has twice won the Grand Prix du Disque, as well as the Edison Prize for his landmark recordings of Schoenberg, Webern and Varese, and countless other awards. Craft’s consummate artistry and unique insight continues to bear fruit with this volume featuring diverse works spanning more than 20 years of the Schoenberg’s controversial and highly influential career.

Rilke Songs, Sometimes I Feel Alive, Missa Brevis

Julian Wachner’s music has been described as ‘bold and atmospheric’ (New York Times), and ‘jazzy, energetic, and ingenious’ (Boston Globe). As the composer has written: ‘I have found equal inspiration from strict form or unbridled chaos; tonality, modality or post-tonality; and lyricism, pointillism or minimalism – I find it crucial to have as sweeping a palette of creative possibilities at my disposal as possible…The challenge therefore, is to ride this wave of self-proclaimed eclecticism with sincerity, individuality and spontaneity, writing music that speaks to the human condition.’

Born in Warsaw, Mieczysław Weinberg was, as Shostakovich remarked, ‘one of the most outstanding composers of the present day’ in his adoptive Russia and a close friend of the older composer. His Cello Sonatas, the second of which was composed for Rostropovich, make masterful use of the cello’s expressive capabilities, while his sonatas for solo cello have been likened in importance to the suites of J.S. Bach. The first and third of these, dedicated to Rostropovich are significant contributions to the instrument’s repertoire.

The Chinese composer and violinist Ma Sicong was born in Haifeng in Guangdong (Canton) province in 1912, and was among the relatively few Chinese musicians of his generation to study abroad. He settled in America in 1967. The music on this disc embraces contrasting moods, each imbued with Ma's abiding love, and at times aching homesickness, for his homeland and combining Chinese inspiration with Western musical techniques. Shortly after composing the Rondo No. 4 he wrote this heartbreaking entry in his diary: ‘When can I end my exile? Nobody knows.’

Shur, Kyurdi Ovshari, Gyulistan Bayati Shiraz, Azerbaijan Capriccio

Fikret Amirov wrote operas, ballets, symphonic works, suites, piano concertos, sonatas, musical comedies, songs, romances, stage and fi lm music, his Azerbaijani heritage influenced by Rimsky-Korsakov, Khachaturian and Tchaikovsky. Shostakovich described melody as ‘the soul of his music’. His works belong among the most expressive, creative and imaginative compositions for symphony orchestra. The symphonic mugams Shur, Kyurdi Ovshari and Gyulistan Bayati Shiraz sparkle with brilliant orchestration, rich melodic invention and expressive instrumental solos, bringing to life colourful images from Azerbaijani folklore. Azerbaijan Capriccio is a scintillating finale to the discovery of these gems of Azerbaijani music.

Piano Concerto, Three Preludes, Three Piano Pieces, Fantasie

Treated ‘like a son’ by Wilhelm Furtwangler, and the youngest person ever to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic, Paul Kletzki was active as a composer between 1921 and 1942, relinquishing this creative outlet to become famous solely as a conductor. The works on this disc, the Three Preludes, Op. 4, Fantasie, Op. 9, Piano Concerto, Op. 22, and Three Unpublished Piano Pieces  are all adventurous tonal pieces which push the pianist’s technique and musicianship to the limit, and make a strong impression to this day.

Suites Nos 1-4

Handel’s keyboard suites may be among his lesser-known works, but the so-called ‘Eight Great Suites’ of 1720 are true masterpieces of the genre. This volume, containing the first four, showcases his extraordinary versatility, imagination and contrapuntal skill, as well as his willingness to break with tradition. Encompassing a wide range of forms, including fugues, a toccata, Italianate airs and Baroque dances, Handel skillfully weaves together these disparate elements into a unified whole.

Russian Carnival, Schwedische Polska-Lieder, Opera Transcriptions - Fantasy on Don Giovanni, 24 Etudes Op 15

Danish-born Joachim Andersen was a spectacular flautist who made his mark in Berlin in the 1880s, becoming a founding member of the Berlin Philharmonic and an important force during its early years. In his adaptations of Isidor Dannstrom’s Swedish Polka-Songs and in his fantasy on Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Andersen ably recast the music of others into charming new creations. Cesare Ciardi’s best-known composition, Le carnaval russe, is a set of virtuoso variations based on a tune from Alexander Serov’s opera Rogneda. His own musical miniatures and studies also gained Andersen recognition throughout the world

Four Preludes, The Swineherd, The Galoshes of Fortune

Rostropovich once remarked: ‘I consider him to be a genius...one day people will come to know that two great Russian composers bore the same name’. Boris, a pupil of Shostakovich, enjoyed a long and illustrious career. Four Preludes for Chamber Orchestra, originally conceived as a song cycle, which was promptly banned by the authorities, was reworked while maintaining the trenchant contradictions, beguiling wit and fleeting moods of the original. The three delightful suites derive from music composed for radio plays between 1954 and 1958 but only recovered in 2003.

This anthology begins with Homer’s account of Alcinous’ garden and ends with contrary little Mary Lennox opening an ivy-covered door in the wall in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden. It includes both legendary writers who were enthusiastic gardeners (Francis Bacon, Alexander Pope, John Evelyn, Joseph Addison, Henry Thoreau, George Eliot and Edith Wharton) and great gardeners who were excellent writers (Gervase Markham, Erasmus Darwin, William Lawson, John and Jane Loudon, William Robinson and Gertrude Jekyll). There is poetry and pragmatism, fun and fanaticism, but the common link is the unending fascination and deep satisfaction of having a little Eden of one’s own. The perfect gift for someone you know with a green thumb!

Conrad’s famous examination of colonialism is a richly-allusive work of terrible beauty. Newly-employed in an ivory trading company, Marlow travels down-river into the depths of the African jungle. As he goes, he witnesses the shocking subjection of the natives, and his faith in the imperialist mission weakens. The enigmatic chief of the trading camp – Kurtz – becomes the focus of this ambivalence. Reports of rapacious and violent deeds seemingly contradict his reputation as an idealistic and admirable leader, and the suspense mounts in the lead up to the appearance of this shifting, unknowable figure. Experienced reader David Horovitch conjures up a great sense of atmosphere and delights in Conrad’s poetic use of language.

Wives and Daughters is a sensitive coming-of-age tale set within a provincial town in Victorian England. Having lost her mother at a young age, Molly Gibson’s entrée into womanhood and navigation of the adult world of attraction and relationships is stilted. By contrast, her stepsister Cynthia emanates self-confidence and is bolstered by her conniving, opportunistic mother. By unhappy mischance, Molly falls for the very man that the vivacious Cynthia has set her sights on. However, as events unfold, the deceptive nature of appearances becomes apparent, and a dramatic reversal of fortunes occurs. In the tradition of Jane Austen, Wives and Daughters is a captivating novel of social observation, humour and touching romance. Patience Tomlinson is an experienced audiobook reader and presents this novel with a steady, comfortable assurance. Also available unabridged, ISBN-13: 9789626342305.

The desperate plight of the strikingly beautiful and effervescent Anna Karenina is one of the most stirring in all of literature. In pursuit of a romance which is deemed elicit by her aristocratic clique, the story of Anna’s fire and passion being gradually choked by the repressive social standards of the day etches itself onto the memory. And yet, Tolstoy’s epic is sensitive and nuanced. Anna’s predicament is contrasted against the experiences of a whole range of intriguing characters. All in all, a finely detailed portrait of a Russian society in flux emerges, as the old ordering principles of social class, religion and morality are thrown into disarray. Kate Lock brings out the often unnoticed humour in one of the monuments of Russian literature. This unabridged recording will surely be the audiobook highlight of the Tolstoy year.

It is important for children living in the multi-faith society of today to grow up with an understanding of the rich diversity of religious beliefs and customs that co-exist within their communities. Here is a lively and informative companion to religious education studies for children of primary school age. The main religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and others - are introduced in a clear, accessible manner. This approachable guide to world religions has been written with current educational requirements in mind.

The mighty Roman Empire held the ancient world in awe and presided over unprecedented advances in civilization which still hold sway over our language, architecture and municipal organisation today. A notably autocratic regime, the succession of colourful personalities that headed one of the world’s most powerful empires, makes for riveting listening. From the magnetic but divisive figure of Caesar via the capricious, vengeful Nero to the belligerent, martially-skilful Constantine, the careers of these Roman rulers were thrillingly eventful. Classics scholar and writer Hugh Griffith introduces the rulers and the principal events associated with them in Naxos AudioBooks’s successful Junior Classics series. The voice of Benjamin Soames is widely known in this age-group from the bestselling Tales from the Greek Legends.