News from the Naxos Music Group
October 2017
Label of the Month – Naxos
Naxos Records, founded in 1987 in Hong Kong by German-born entrepreneur Klaus Heymann, is the world's leading classical music label as measured by the number of new recordings it releases and the depth and breadth of its catalogue. Since it's inception, Naxos has transformed into a virtual encyclopaedia of classical music with a catalogue of unparalleled depth and breadth. Innovative strategies for recording exciting new repertoire with exceptional talent have enabled Naxos Records to develop one of the largest and fastest-growing catalogues of unduplicated repertoire. Some 9,000 titles are currently available at affordable prices, recorded in state-of- the-art sound, both in hard format and on digital platforms. Naxos works with artists of the highest calibre and its recordings have been recognised with numerous Grammy® awards, Penguin Guide 3-star recommendations, Gramophone Editor’s Choice Awards and many other international honours.
Naxos still stays true to its original promise of offering great value. Naxos recordings include complete cycles or cycles-in- progress of basic repertoire, such as the complete piano works of Liszt or the complete string quartets of Haydn, but the label has also introduced music lovers to many neglected composers, such as Joachim Raff, Ferdinand Ries and Simon Mayr. It has also helped to put contemporary composers such as Krzysztof Penderecki, John Corigliano and William Bolcom in reach of a much wider audience. Additionally the label continues to add to the numerous world première recordings it already has to its credit.
Naxos Records also has gained stature by pioneering groundbreaking projects like the American Classics series. Currently numbering about 500 titles, the series is set to be the most comprehensive recording project of American concert music ever attempted. Naxos is also leading the field with the landmark Naxos Historical Series. The releases in this massive restoration project are engineered by leading restoration engineers/artists. The series covers all genres of classical music as well as legends of jazz and pop music from the first half of the 20th century. Other notable Naxos series include Japanese Classics, Spanish Classics, Early Music, Organ Encyclopaedia, the Guitar Collection, and Opera Classics. All this, together with the development of a range of apps and ebooks, demonstrates the Naxos commitment to providing the best possible access to recorded classical music in the world.
“Being a Naxos artist has enabled me to really develop my career in a very broad repertoire, not just limited to contemporary American music, but to encompass a Brahms cycle or do an opera by John Adams. I think, having this ability to be a complete artist wouldn’t have been possible without this relationship [with Naxos].”
– Marin Alsop, conductor
2017 marks Naxos' 30th anniversary, and in celebration, a special edition boxed set offering 30 CDs selected from the vast Naxos catalogue was released worldwide in May. This limited edition anniversary product spans the wide range of the label’s repertoire, offering landmark recordings from the 30-year history of the label. Featuring a host of stellar artists, every one of these discs has received critical acclaim and has contributed towards the huge success of Naxos: the world’s largest independent classical record label.
“Klaus Heymann’s Naxos Records stands as a prodigy in both quantity and quality. …The Naxos history has many twists and turns but its stunning trajectory has always been onwards, upward, outwards.”
– MusicWeb International
Naxos celebrated its 30th anniversary with events around the world - Munich, London, Manila, Hong Kong and Nashville. In Munich, a gala concert at the Court Chapel in Munich featuring Naxos artists Boris Giltburg (piano), Tianwa Yang (violin), Gabriel Schwabe (cello) and Nicholas Rimmer (piano). Watch the following video of the concert highlight:
| COMPLETE GALA CONCERT: |
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Naxos Chair Klaus Heymann has won many awards over the years, the latest of which was a Special Achievement award from the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) for his contributions to and influence on the classical music industry over the last 30 years.
Daniel Müller-Schott – Elgar and graffiti
Daniel Müller-Schott ranks among the world’s best cellists of his generation and can be heard in all the foremost international concert halls. Apart from his captivating performance on stage, he was approached by the Melbourne Symphony to participate in a novel artistic project with the orchestra. This involved decorating a pavilion with graffiti together with the English street art artist Daniel Mann in Munich. A film documentary of Daniel Müller-Schott was broadcast on ARTE TV. In the following video trailer, Daniel Müller-Schott talks about the broadcast. (in German)
Daniel’s new album Cello Reimagined on Orfeo will be released next month. It features concertos by Mozart, J.S. Bach, Haydn and C.P.E. Bach.
“All of these adventurous excursions into new musical terrain provide an opportunity to extend the cello repertoire. One can follow the stylistic changes in the music. From Bach to Mozart, from external to internal forms of individuality and expression.” – Daniel Müller-Schott
DANIEL MÜLLER-SCHOTT’S HIGHLY ACCLAIMED RELEASES
Hannu Lintu celebrates his 50th with new Sibelius album
Hannu Lintu, Chief Conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, turned 50 on 13 October. To celebrate the occasion, Ondine is releasing his new Sibelius recording with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra featuring two favourite tone poems by Jean Sibelius, Tapiola and En Saga. The recording also features renowned mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, who performs eight Sibelius songs orchestrated by Finnish composer Aulis Sallinen.
Another of Hannu Lintu’s new albums features pianist Olli Mustonen in Prokofiev’s Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 5. This is the second and final disc in a cycle of Prokofiev’s piano concertos, and received five stars in Pizzicato Magazine.
Stay tuned for his upcoming recording with the Finnish Radio Symphony of Bartók’s Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 with violin virtuoso Christian Tetzlaff!
Recording of Bartók Violin Concertos with Christian Tetzlaff & @Yle_Rso CD cover photo by Giorgia Bertazzi ;-) @OndineRecords @Musiikkitalo pic.twitter.com/6Fb9YYivSV
— Hannu Lintu (@hlintu) October 16, 2017
Hannu Lintu has won international critical acclaim for his profound interpretations of a diverse range of repertoire from Beethoven and Berio to Schumann and Sibelius. He previously held the positions of artistic director and chief conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, principal guest conductor with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and artistic director of the Helsingborg Symphony and Turku Philharmonic orchestras. For more information, visit his website at www.hannulintu.fi/.
Discovering Early Music
Naxos extensive catalogue of Early Music titles spans a wide range of music from Gregorian chant (c.750) to early Baroque music (c.1600). From von Bingen to Byrd, from Dowland to Dufay, from Gabrieli to Gesualdo, these enduring works are a musical slice of history and a fascinating look back at the era’s uniquely intriguing sounds. Vocal, instrumental, sacred and secular works are gathered either in discrete discs of the more celebrated composers from the Mediaeval and Renaissance periods, performed by internationally renowned ensembles and soloists on authentic and modern instruments.
HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 9
The Naxos Licensing team is proud to be a part of the return of Curb Your Enthusiasm! Tune in for the hilarious dry wit of Larry David at 9pm on HBO and catch Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (Manhattan) (8.556811) as the opening montage music!
Curb Your Enthusiasm was nominated for four Emmys® in 2008, including Outstanding Comedy Series. It won the Golden Globe in the Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy category in 2002. In 2003, Robert B. Weide won a directing Emmys® for his work on the series. The series has also received awards from the Writers Guild of America, Directors Guild of America, Banff Television Festival, American Film Institute and Monte Carlo Television Festival, among others.
Check out the trailer for the returning season below!
Need to license some music for a project and don’t know where to start? Visit Naxos Licensing to find out how!
JoAnn Falletta honoured with Charles E. Burchfield Award
In recognition of her service as music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra [BPO] since 1999, JoAnn Falletta was awarded the 2017 Charles E. Burchfield Award on 6 Oct 2017. The Burchfield Penney Art Center bestows the award annually. The award recognises great achievements in the arts, in addition to honouring commitment to environmental sustainability and the power of the arts.
Falletta is the recipient of many major conducting awards, including the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award, the coveted Stokowski Competition, and the Toscanini, Ditson and Bruno Walter Awards for conducting, as well as the American Symphony Orchestra League’s prestigious John S. Edwards Award. She is an ardent champion of music of our time, having introduced over 500 works by American composers, including more than 110 world premieres. Hailing her as a “leading force for the music of our time,” she has been honoured with twelve ASCAP awards and serves on the US National Council on the Arts. Her recording of John Corgliano’s Mr. Tambourine Man with the BPO from 2008 won two GRAMMY® Awards.
Her next recording with BFO, features the orchestral showpieces of Zoltan Kodály, will be coming out in early 2018. Stay tuned!
JOANN FALLETTA AND THE BUFFALO PHILHARMONIC – A WINNING PARTNERSHIP
– Audiophile Audition ★★★★
– ClassicsToday.com
– Â Fanfare
The Decameron with Simon Russell Beale as Boccaccio
The Decameron is one of the greatest literary works of the Middle Ages. Ten young people have fled the terrible effects of the Black Death in Florence and, in an idyllic setting, tell a series of brilliant stories, by turns humorous, bawdy, tragic and provocative. This celebration of physical and sexual vitality is Boccaccio’s answer to the sublime other-worldliness of Dante’s Divine Comedy.
This release features Simon Russell Beale as Boccaccio, as well as a full cast of ten other artists who assume the voices of the ten young storytellers.
Simon Russell Beale is one of Britain’s leading classical actors. He won Best Actor in the Evening Standard Awards for his individual interpretation of Hamlet, and his Ariel in The Tempest was marked by an Olivier Award. His many other starring roles in London theatre include Candide and Mosca in Volpone. He also enjoys a busy career in TV and film, with appearances in Branagh’s production of Hamlet and in the outstanding TV dramatisation of Persuasion.
OTHER AUDIO BOOKS FEATURING SIMON RUSSELL BEALE
From the Recording Studio: Bohuslav Martinů -
The Complete Symphonies
Bohuslav Martinů was a prolific composer, yet most of his works have remained generally and undeservedly unknown. Capriccio’s new release of his symphonies therefore provides an excellent opportunity for listeners to become familiar with his distinctive style. Forced to leave his native Czechoslovakia in 1939, Martinů settled in America where he wrote these six works. They are among his most impressive achievements, combining driving energy and rhythmic flexibility, with melodies drawn from Czech folk song. Cornelius Meister has been principal conductor and artistic director of the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna since 2010. Reviewing his recording of works by Richard Strauss (C5208), Gramophone wrote: “This excellently recorded performance under Cornelius Meister is superbly played and spontaneous. It stands up well against its countless rivals.”
OTHER RELEASES FEATURING CORNELIUS MEISTER
![DVOŘÁK, A.: Spectre's Bride (The) [Cantata]](https://www.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/others/C5315.gif "DVOŘÁK, A.: Spectre's Bride (The) [Cantata]")
– Pizzicato ★★★★★
– Gramophone
– Gramophone
Classical Music Playlists for Autumn
October is a month for adventures and imagination. As the weather cools down and we transition into a new season, there is a new energy in the air that calls for a new soundtrack. There are new outdoor activities to enjoy and spooky holidays to celebrate and as usual, we've got plenty of classical music to accompany them all. Make sure to add these playlists to your library so you can easily enjoy them throughout the wonderful Autumn season!
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Artist of the Month – Tianwa Yang, Violin
Tianwa Yang is one of Naxos’ star violinists and an internationally renowned performer and recording artist. In recognition of her Naxos recordings of Ysaÿe's 6 Sonatas for Solo Violin (8.572995), the Mendelssohn Violin Concertos (8.572662) and the Complete Music for Violin by Sarasate (8.504046), she was the winner of the prestigious ECHO Klassik Best Up-and-Coming Artist 2014 Award and Instrumentalist of the Year (Violin) 2015 Award, plus the Annual Prize of the German Record Critics 2014. Tianwa Yang is referred to as ‘an unquestioned master of the violin’ by American Record Guide and ‘an artist of exceptional technique and musicianship’ by BBC Music Magazine.
In her latest release, she joins the Malmö Symphony Orchestra and conductor Marc Soustrot to present Saint-Saëns’ works for violin and orchestra. Her ‘stunning effortless virtuosity’ and ‘uncanny affinity for Spanish music’ (All Things Strings) make her the ideal advocate for the music presented on this recording. The Introduction et Rondo capriccioso is a glittering showcase imbued with the passion of Iberian dance, while the Havanaise in E major is a 
languorous habanera. Less frequently heard are the evocative Caprice andalou, the songful Romance in C major, the rhapsodic Morceau de concert, and the improvisatory La Muse et le Poète, which she performs with Naxos artist Gabriel Schwabe.
“Most of these concert pieces by Camille Saint-Saëns are rarely heard in live performance except the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso and Havanaise. I find them really beautiful musical gems – a perfect mixture of virtuosity, great musicality and French (sometimes Spanish) charm. It was such a joy to play and record them. This music makes one smile, it brings sunshine and an urge to dance. I hope the listeners will agree with me and feel the same!”
– Tianwa Yang
An interview of Tianwa Yang was broadcast on ARTE TV. In the following video, Tianwa Yang talks about her musical journey. (in German)
HIGHLY ACCLAIMED RECORDINGS FEATURING TIANWA YANG
– The Guardian ★★★★
– Fanfare
– BBC Music Magazine ★★★★★
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