In the wake of his Naxos recording of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 8 (8572392), hailed as ‘yet another Petrenko performance to join the greats’ (BBC Music magazine), comes this much-anticipated interpretation of Shostakovich’s massive Symphony No.10, which ranks among his most important and consistently popular works. Branded with his musical monogram DSCH, it embarks on a profoundly personal journey from fearful brooding to thunderous triumph. In 2010 Vasily Petrenko was named Male Artist of the Year at the Classical Brit Awards, a testament to his galvanizing achievements with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Petrenko has been called one of the great young conductors of this new century. Shostakovich’s symphonies have long been a part of his life and his extraordinary interpretations for Naxos have garnered outstanding critical acclaim.

Hear a fascinating interview with Vasily Petrenko about Shostakovich’s symphonies.

Widely acclaimed for their Naxos recordings of Dvořák’s Symphonies Nos. 7-8 (8572112) and No. 9 ‘From the New World’ with the Symphonic Variations (8570714), Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony here present his Symphony No. 6, which at once pays tribute to Dvořák’s mentor Brahms and to the rich folk music of his Bohemian homeland, together with one of his most successful works, the waltz-like Scherzo Capriccioso, and the Nocturne, an arrangement for string orchestra of the beautiful slow movement from his Fourth String Quartet.

This fascinating disc presents the young Georges Bizet’s first composition after having won the prestigious Prix de Rome, the grandiose Te Deum, which remained unpublished until 1971, and his Prix de Rome cantata Clovis et Clothilde, which recounts the tale of the Frankish King Clovis’s conversion to Christianity by his wife Clothilde. Both scores are abundantly theatrical, as one would expect from the future composer of Carmen (866000507), and are performed by three outstanding young singers and two internationally renowned French ensembles directed by Jean-Claude Casadesus, a Commandeur de la Légion d’Honneur.

The richly fascinating history of the Christmas carol spans some nine centuries, from the 12th Century until today, bringing together courtly and popular words and music to contemplate and praise the Christ child. Acclaimed by The Guardian as ‘poignantly expressive’, soprano Monica Whicher joins one of the world’s foremost harp virtuosos and former Principal Harpist with the Toronto Symphony, Judy Loman, to interpret carols both old and new, beloved and unfamiliar, many in Ms. Loman’s expert arrangements.

Once dubbed ‘the French Mendelssohn’, Camille Saint-Saëns was a prodigiously gifted composer of sophisticated and appealing music much of which has been unjustly neglected in recent times. His three highly inventive violin concertos abound in unforgettable melodies and foreground the soloist with many virtuosic and lyrical passages. The young Parisian violinist Fanny Clamagirand, who won First Prize at the 2007 Monte Carlo Violin Masters Competition, the competition of competition winners, is an ideal interpreter of this gorgeously Romantic music, while under the inspired direction of Patrick Gallois Sinfonia Finlandia provides accomplished support.

Gesualdo’s Second Book of Madrigals, performed on this recording by male voices only, is an even more radical study of the themes explored in Volume 1 (8570548), a continuation as it were of the same work. Like Book 1, it was published in 1594 in Ferrara during the preparations for his second wedding, and demonstrates Gesualdo’s ability to treat the poetic word as a source of musical ideas. The last two tracks present Gesualdo’s only two instrumental compositions. ‘Delitiae Musicae’s survey of Monteverdi’s madrigals for Naxos was an outstanding achievement, as good as any versions in the current CD catalogue.’ (The Guardian)

Few living composers besides Hans Werner Henze have enjoyed such remarkable success across such a wide range of musical genres, from large-scale concert and stage works to chamber and instrumental pieces. Henze’s interests are wideranging and deeply humanistic, the music heard here drawing inspiration from Shakespearean characters (Royal Winter Music), the injustices of childhood (3 Fairy Tales from Pollicino), the poetry of Eduard Mörike (Ode to an Aeolian Harp) and the sensuous lyricism suggested by the movement titles of his triptych Carillon, Récitatif, Masque. Volume 1 is also available (8557344).

Leonard Bernstein left few examples of chamber music, the three main instances of which are gathered on this recording. Both the Piano Trio and the Violin Sonata are student works, while the Clarinet Sonata (here arranged for violin by William Terwilliger) is among his earliest published compositions. Rounding out the disc are songs from three of his theatre works, four from the acclaimed madcap operetta Candide, (idiomatically arranged by Eric Stern), 'My House' from Peter Pan and 'Take Care of this House' from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

‘Songs are simply the most sensuous kind of fun one can have with the combination of words and music,’ remarks Scott Wheeler, composer of the highly praised opera The Construction of Boston (Naxos 8669018). ‘That combination can range from humor to melancholy to high operatic drama. This recording is a selection from over twenty years of exploration of that expressive range. I am deeply grateful to the…five intensely communicative artists on this disc.’ Set to texts by Emily Dickinson, Blake, Rilke and others, these songs glow with a subtle, immensely appealing immediacy.

‘Bruce Wolosoff’s music is beautiful, very musical, independent-minded stylistically,’ declares no less a luminary than William Bolcom. The 18 Songs Without Words on this disc are true ‘genre busters’, amiably crossing musical borders between popular and classical music and walking the lines that divide them. Such eclecticism requires superbly laid-back compositional control, and demands equally accomplished and relaxed performance. ‘Imagine my new-found joy at the possibility of writing music that my friends might want to listen to for pleasure,’ Wolosoff declared on hearing the Carpe Diem String Quartet’s enthusiastically fun-filled interpretations.

On this second of three albums dedicated to American composer Jonathan Leshnoff’s beautiful and deeply moving music, two acclaimed American soloists bring to life his ravishing new Double Concerto partnered here by his impressive First Symphony, a work which weaves tears and laughter into a haunting and ultimately life-affirming musical experience. The orchestral miniature Rush shimmers with pure kinetic energy. His first Naxos recording (8559398) was widely praised for its unabashed Romanticism: Charles Wetherbee, the soloist in his Violin Concerto, ‘has a selflessness…that’s quite refreshing (American Record Guide) while Leshnoff was hailed as ‘the real thing’ by Fanfare.

‘To play Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in G major, op.31 no. 1 in front of and 'in the shadow of' Wilhelm Backhaus, on his 85th birthday, must certainly be the highest demand on a young interpreter. Idil Biret has taken up this challenge and brilliantly overcome it. Her playing is full of temperament and nerve, her technical skill as impressive as her sense of shape and nuances.’ – Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

‘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.’ – Gramophone

The prolific composer, arranger, editor and author of an influential manual, Friedrich Valentin Hermann is well known to violin and viola students to this day though his technically demanding music is rarely heard in concert despite its appealingly virtuosic Romanticism. Paganini was enthralled by the ability of the young prodigy Johann Paul Eichhorn, whose elegant and equally virtuosic variations receive their world première recording. Friedemann Eichhorn’s Naxos recording of Pierre Rode’s violin concertos (8570469) has received high critical praise, while his recording with Alexander Hülshoff of Servais’s Grand Duos (8572188) was ‘urgently recommended’ by Fanfare.

Naxos’s critically acclaimed series of Franz Schmidt’s lush late Romantic symphonies culminates with this new recording of his heartbreaking Symphony No. 4, conceived as a requiem for his daughter Emma, and the Variations on a Hussar’s Song, which while recalling similar works by Brahms and Reger nonetheless showces Schmidt’s sensitive handling of large orchestral forces. Symphonies No. 1 (8570828), No. 2 (8570589) and No. 3 (8572119) are also available in what BBC Music magazine has praised as a ‘consistently impressive cycle of Schmidt symphonies’.

Playing a golden-toned 10-course lute and using original manuscript sources or his own sensitive reconstructions, British lutenist Nigel North presents a delightful recital of dances by Robert Johnson, a contemporary of Shakespeare for whose plays he wrote songs and incidental music. While using the old forms of pavan, galliard, almain and fantasie, Johnson’s exquisite works tend towards the more expansive, lyrical style that would later flourish in the Baroque period. Nigel North’s critically acclaimed boxed set of Dowland’s Complete Lute Music is also available (8504016). ‘A collector’s item’ (The Times on Vol 1, 8557586), ‘a remarkable performance of wonderful music’ (American Record Guide on Vol 2, 8557862), ‘North’s sweet-toned playing is both unfailingly musical and highly imaginative’ (Gramophone on Vol 3, 8570449), ‘Nigel North’s Dowland cycle sets a new benchmark’ (5 STARS, BBC Music Magazine), ‘Everything comes together for perfection.’ (MusicWeb International on Vol 4, 8570284).

A great lover of Renaissance and Baroque music, influenced by Chopin and deeply indebted to his idol Beethoven, Giorgio Federico Ghedini was a fiercely independent composer whose piano music covers half a century, from 1908-58. Each of the fresh and spontaneous early works on this disc, composed between 1908 and 1916, receives its world première recording using manuscript sources. Italian pianist Massimo Giuseppe Bianchi, who here makes his Naxos début, is also is a composer and a versatile improviser.

The music of Bohuslav Martinů, whose complete piano works have also been recorded by Giorgio Koukl for Naxos, can ring like bells, shimmer like a mirage or pulse with sheer rhythmic vitality as is the case with these three piano concertos, where high drama, brilliant tunes, unflagging energy and tongue-in-cheek frivolity all find their place. Volume 1 – Piano Concertos Nos. 3 & 5 (8572206) has been acclaimed for its ‘Buoyant and exuberant performances’ (Gramophone Editor’s Choice) and as ‘an auspicious debut...extremely well played’ (International Record Review).

'The Book of Sounds is dedicated to all those who want to draw close to sound, so that, in the search for the sound of sound, for the secret of life, one’s own resonance is discovered.' These are the striking words with which the German composer, pianist, sound sculptor, poet and radio promoter Hans Otte introduced one of the most hauntingly beautiful and original piano compositions of the twentieth century. 'Ralph van Raat is an exceptional talent who makes seemingly inaccessible music accessible, with an unconditional devotion and a direct emotional expressiveness.' (Philip Morris Arts Award Jury)

Manolis Kalomiris is honoured as the father of Greek national music. The inspired orchestration of his Piano Rhapsody No. 1 by Gabriel Pierné moved Byron Fidetzis to orchestrate the second of these, whose title Song of the Night captures its elusive nocturnal mood. Golden-voiced Greek soprano Julia Souglaku interprets Lyrics, also known as Songs of Sikelianos,with full-throated ease, while Eva Kotamanudou recounts a small miracle In St Luke’s Monastery. The symphonic poems Minas the Rebel and Death of the Valiant Woman present in purely orchestral garb contrasting tales of vengeance, valour and visionary transformation.

Recognised as the stars of their generation, pianist Ashley Wass and the Tippett Quartet join forces to present two contrasting yet equally engaging British piano quintets. Frank Bridge’s early work (1904-5, revised 1912) combines his admiration for the music of Fauré with the highly integrated ‘fantasy’ techniques he honed when composing music for the famous Cobbett Prize. Arnold Bax’s essay in this most orchestrally-inclined of chamber music forms was conceived on the grand scale, this and the influence of Celtic music making it a harbinger of his later symphonies.

Fryderyk Chopin’s name is synonymous with the piano. It is perhaps for this reason that his songs have been so often overlooked. In them the piano shares the spotlight with the singer, yet they possess the same combination of delicacy, power and beauty as his greatest works. This disc brings together the finest examples of his vocal compositions, as well as transcriptions of four of his mazurkas by the French singer Pauline Viardot. Graduates of the Chopin Academy of Music and prize-winners at several competitions, sisters Olga and Natalia Pasichnyk make their Naxos début with these charming rarities.

The four pieces on this disc span three decades of Giles Swayne’s choral music output, their striking echoes of Latin plainchant, Tudor polyphony and traditional African music providing contrasting and complementary strands characteristic of this much-travelled composer. Magnificat I draws on the music of the Senegalese Jola people and the Ba-Benezele of the Congo. His moving threnody, This Silent Land, scored for 40-part choir and solo cello, combines words from Requiem Mass and Christina Rossetti’s poetry, while Stabat Mater is dedicated to the grieving mothers of Israel and Palestine.

‘The Circus Maximus of ancient Rome was a real place. The largest arena in the world, it entertained over 300,000 spectators daily for nearly a thousand years. Chariot races, hunts and battles satisfied the Roman public’s need for grander and wilder amusement as the Empire declined. The parallels between the high decadence of Rome and our present time are obvious. Entertainment dominates our culture, and ever-more extreme ‘reality’ shows dominate our entertainment. Many of us have become as bemused by the violence and humiliation that flood the 500-plus channels of our television screens as those mobs of imperial Rome who considered the devouring of human beings by starving lions just another Sunday show. The shape of Circus Maximus was built both to embody and comment on this massive and glamorous barbarity.’ - John Corigliano

Wise, humorous and diverting, Laurence Sterne’s celebrated novel A Sentimental Journey joins the Naxos AudioBooks catalogue. Sterne’s novel transformed the travelogue genre in the 18th century by making travel writing much more personal and immediate. Writing from a subjective perspective, we experience France and Italy through the eyes of the delightful persona of Yorick. This spirited, mirthful and flirtatious character is an obvious alter-ego for Sterne himself. From losing his passport to being mistaken for a jester to indulging in numerous romantic clinches, Yorick’s journey is full of unforgettable incidents and adventures. The perfect gift for a friend travelling to France or Italy to listen to on the plane!

Wacky, raucously funny and pertinent, Mikhail Bulgakov’s satire of the Russian Revolution and the subsequent Soviet regime was initially outlawed. When a distinguished scientist implants the pituitary gland and testicles of a deceased drunkard into a dog, he has no notion of the monster that he has created. Slavik the dog becomes more human and more obnoxious by the day. He develops an intense revolutionary fervour, uses corrupt means in order to seize power, and turns the professor’s life into a living hell. Bulgakov’s wonderfully absurd allegory is a testament to the irrepressible powers of the imagination, which can still flourish under duress.

Franz Kafka’s The Castle is one of the greatest modern novels, famous for its dreamlike quality and its richness of interpretative possibility. The protagonist of the novel, K., is plunged into confusion and frustration when he arrives at a village to take up the job of a land surveyor that no-one seems to know anything about. He is told that he can get answers from the castle which rules over the village, but the castle turns out to be impenetrable fortress containing a never-ending paper chain of bureaucracy and inscrutable officials. The novel explores a vast range of themes including the facelessness of government, the impotence of the individual, and doubts about salvation. Kafka’s novel pertinently expresses the anxieties of modern life with a healthy dose of black comedy. Sydney Theatre Company recently performed a new stage production of Kafka's The Trial, which revolves around the same nightmarish themes.

This tale of romance and revenge is atmospherically situated in the brooding and evocative setting of Exmoor. Blackmore transports us back to the 17th century where the infamous Doone clan preside over the region, imposing their whims and callously removing anyone who stands in their way. They are loathed throughout the area, but it is the upstanding and worthy John Ridd who holds the ultimate grudge. The situation escalates when Ridd first catches sight of Doone heiress Lorna. He is powerless to prevent himself from falling in love and an almighty clash of wills ensues. Also available unabridged (9781843793618).