News from the Naxos Music Group
May 2018
Label of the Month – Orfeo
ORFEO was founded in 1979 in Munich. After starting as a pure license label at RCA and EMI, ORFEO began releasing its own recordings in 1982. Thanks to the close cooperation with the best singers, instrumentalists, orchestras and conductors of the past three decades, ORFEO was able to realise many world premiere recordings and to build up an extraordinarily fine catalogue, which to date contains more than 1,000 recordings.
The most famous series, ORFEO D’OR, features legendary historic performances at the Bayreuth and Salzburg festivals, and from the Vienna and Munich State Operas.
ORFEO D’OR – RECENT AND UPCOMING RELEASES
![WAGNER, R.: Tristan und Isolde [Opera]](https://www.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/others/C951183D.gif "WAGNER, R.: Tristan und Isolde [Opera]")
In memoriam Birgit Nilsson (b. May 17th, 1918)
Live Recording on July 26th, 1958 at Bayreuth Festival Theatre
Nobody mastered and shaped the great roles of high drama in the post-war period as effortlessly as Birgit Nilsson. This is her stupendous breakthrough as Isolde at Bayreuth with the musical colleagues she so highly respected.
Before the great wave of Bruckner conducting that has taken place since the 1970s, it was Hans Knappertsbusch (1888–1966) who stood out as unquestionably one of the most important Bruckner exponents, and Bruckner was part of his core repertoire.
ORFEO – RECENT RELEASES
The highly acclaimed Swiss pianist Francesco Piemontesi is a pianist of exceptional refinement of expression, which is allied to a consummate technical skill. This album presents a full recording of Franz Liszt’s Années de pèlerinage, Première Année – Suisse and the Légende 2. The release also includes a bonus documentary DVD filmed by Bruno Monsaingeon.
This is an intriguing juxtaposition of two major German musical voices: Jörg Widmann as composer, conductor, and clarinettist alongside Felix Mendelssohn in Scottish mood. One of the strengths of Widmann’s conducting is the way he brings a composer’s ear to tempo relationships and their flow, making for a very satisfying listen. The Hebrides Overture is flexible and atmospheric while the symphony has great strength, revealing some fine playing by the Irish Chamber Orchestra. Widmann’s “180 Beats per Minute” is an energetic study in rhythm while his Fantasie for solo clarinet finds the composer as soloist in truly virtuoso form.
(1747–1818)
Leopold Koželuch (1747–1818)
This year marks the 200th anniversary of the death of Leopold Koželuch on 7 May, 1818. He was an esteemed contemporary of Mozart, and in many circles considered the finer composer. He was an early champion of the fortepiano and his keyboard sonatas are a treasure trove of late eighteenth-century Viennese keyboard style, including perfect examples of the form and foreshadowing Beethoven and Schubert.
Naxos and Grand Piano have recently released two world premiere recordings of music by Koželuch:
The coronation of Leopold II in Prague in 1791 came at a difficult time for European monarchs, although Leopold himself enjoyed a reputation as an enlightened ruler. Two musical works were commissioned for the occasion: Mozart’s opera La clemenza di Tito and Koželuch’s cantata Heil dem Monarchen. The cantata, by turns celebratory, serene and darkly dramatic, was well received and enhanced Koželuch’s reputation in royal circles. It almost certainly played a part in his appointment in 1792 to the court of Leopold’s son and successor, the last Holy Roman Emperor Franz II.
This is the final volume of Kemp English’s pioneering world première recording of Leopold Koželuch’s complete solo keyboard sonatas. It is played, once again, on appropriate authentic instruments and charts just how profoundly Koželuch’s style changed over the decades, from the charming early Sonata No. 47 for harpsichord to the three late romantic sonatas. The virtuosic Sonata No. 49, with its pedal effects and extended compass, shows techniques derived from the English Piano School and in the final sonata he encapsulates to perfection the sound world of early nineteenth-century Vienna.
“This is entertaining music, especially when played with English’s panache and vitality…there is a satisfying forthrightness about English’s style, and his playing positively fizzes with brilliance.”
– Early Music
More recordings of music by Leopold Koželuch
classical albums in May 2018
Gramophone’s best new classical albums in May 2018
Several newly released recordings from Naxos and its affiliated label Ondine rank among Gramophone's top new classical albums for this month. Make sure to add these albums to your music and video library!
“Tetzlaff’s account of the [Bartok’s] First Concerto elevates this work to a whole new level of musical excellence, so much so that I’m inclined to place his expertly recorded CD of the two concertos ahead of all rival versions. It’s that good!” – Gramophone
“…given that Vogt is currently Music Director of the Royal Northern Sinfonia, the rapport between the soloist and this highly accomplished band of musicians is everything it should be, and more. These are marvellous performances, and the recordings, derived from live performances at Sage Gateshead, serve them well.” – Gramophone
“The video shows Copland as a precise, energetic and alert conductor, smiling happily at the orchestra after each piece and enjoying himself enormously in the performance of the Hoedown from the ballet Rodeo. It’s a great watch, and a rewarding listen as well.” – Gramophone
Giltburg plays
Rachmaninov's
Piano Concerto No. 3
An epic narrative – Giltburg plays Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3
Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 is a complex, epic narrative that moves from a simple opening melody to the triumphant apotheosis at its conclusion. The composer ingeniously links motifs, melodies and at times whole sections between the movements, unifying the concerto into a single overarching storyline. In Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Rachmaninov reworks the original theme using his unique harmonic language until there is no trace left of its Baroque or Renaissance origins.
In the following videos, Boris Giltburg explains his approach to performing Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto.
BORIS GILTBURG’S NAXOS RECORDINGS
– Gramophone
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– Gramophone
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in-your-face performances that find a wider range of expression in both works than you might have believed possible.”
– ClassicsToday.com
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– Pizzicato ★★★★
– Schumann-Journal
by Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky
Get “wrapped” up in music by Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky
Hungry? Check out the two new Subway ® Signature Wraps advertisements featuring Naxos tracks that will for sure have your mouth watering!
Need to license some music for a project and don’t know where to start? Visit Naxos Licensing to find out how!
to mothers by
Anderson & Roe
A musical tribute to mothers by Anderson & Roe
The latest album from the American piano duo Anderson & Roe features a wide-ranging programme – from Schubert to Freddy Mercury – and pays tribute to the diverse aspects of motherhood. The following music video presents Puccini’s Humming Chorus from Madame Butterfly, in honour of one of opera’s most heartrending maternal roles, Cio-Cio-san. This is a special arrangement for piano duo and vocal ensemble, featuring the young vocal group Accent.
The Anderson & Roe Piano Duo has been described as “the most dynamic duo of this generation” (San Francisco Classical Voice), “rock stars of the classical music world” (Miami Herald), “exhilarating” (Gramophone), and “the very model of complete 21st-century musicians” (The Washington Post). Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe are revolutionising the piano duo experience for the 21st century. They also aims to make classical music a relevant and powerful force around the world. Their Emmy-nominated, self-produced music videos have been viewed by millions on YouTube and at international film festivals.
This album features works that pay tribute to the diverse aspects of motherhood, from the sacred (Ave Maria) to the saucy (Mrs. Robinson), and everything in between. Motherhood, perhaps the prototype of creation, has compelled the duo to utilise their full creative potential as arrangers and interpreters. Queens and saints, homemakers and lawmakers, scientists and artists, goddesses and mortals: the rich complexity of motherhood has inspired this musical tribute.
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Check out our playlist that includes an exclusive selection of tracks for Mother’s Day.
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“Father of Film Music” – Max Steiner
May 10th marked the 130th anniversary of the birth of Maximilian Raoul Walter Steiner, who is universally acknowledged as “the father of film music". Steiner was born in Vienna on 10 May, 1888. Classified as an enemy alien while working in London at the outset of the first World War, Steiner was befriended by the Duke of Westminster and given exit papers to travel to America in December, 1914.
After spending 15 years as an arranger, orchestrator and conductor of musical productions written by Herbert, Kern, Youmans and Gershwin, Steiner went to Hollywood to adapt Rio Rita for RKO Radio Pictures. Although in those early years at RKO, the scores mostly consisted of a main title, perhaps a snippet or two during the film, and then the end title, the score that brought Steiner to everyone’s attention was King Kong.
His peak year was 1939, in which he worked on 12 films, including Gone With The Wind for Selznick International. Steiner’s career at Warner Bros. spanned almost 30 years and included the scores of around 150 films. Outstanding among them are Dodge City, They Died With Their Boots On, Now Voyager, Casablanca and Since You Went Away (for Selznick), Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Adventures of Don Juan, The Glass Menagerie, The Searchers and A Summer Place.
RECORDINGS FEATURING WORKS BY STEINER
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Browse through our Film Music segment catalogue to see all the titles from the series. This catalogue contains the Naxos Film Music Classics, plus other recordings that feature classical composers who occasionally worked in cinema, such as Dmitry Shostakovich, Benjamin Frankel, Jacques Ibert and Arthur Honegger. |
Bright & Beaser – Creating a Legacy
Hailed by the Financial Times as a festival with a “finely hewn sense of craft,” this year’s Intimacy of Creativity was held from April 23rd to May 6th in Hong Kong. The event is a first-of-its-kind, annual partnership devoted to promoting an intimate dialogue between composers and performers. Distinguished composers, together with selected composer fellows from Hong Kong and around the world, present and revise their compositions after in-depth discussions with world-renowned performers during open sessions with the public. The revised compositions are presented at preview concerts on the campus of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and world premiere concerts in central Hong Kong.
Founder and artistic director Bright Sheng was joined by distinguished guest composer Robert Beaser, chair of the composition department of The Juilliard School. After an international call-for-scores that generated nearly 130 applications, works from the following composer fellows were featured this year: Nick DiBerardino (USA), Jordan Kuspa (USA), Nicole Murphy (Australia), Meilina Tsui (Kazakhstan/Hong Kong), and SiHyun Uhm (South Korea).
The premiere concerts that showcased works by this year's composer fellows can now be heard online. Completing the programmes is music by Bright Sheng, Robert Beaser and Stravinsky, performed by a line-up of international artists.
Naxos has previously released an album in 2016, celebrating the 25th anniversary of HKUST. The album features an exciting range of music, from the string orchestra version of Schönberg’s Verklärte Nacht to a sequence of invigorating contemporary scores. They provide a perfect opportunity to showcase the individual and collective talents of the distinguished principals of the Hong Kong Philharmonic orchestra. Two works, by Ming-Hsiu Yen and Matthew Tommasini, focus on Hong Kong’s landscape, whether majestically natural or manically urban, and the selection ends with Arvo Pärt’s modern classic, Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten.
“An interesting idea for a program.” – Audiophile Audition ★★★★
RECORDINGS FEATURING SHENG’S MUSIC
RECORDINGS FEATURING BEASER’S MUSIC
works for cello
His Instruments
Paganini – His Music, His Instruments
This exceptional recording with an all-Paganini programme features three instruments that belonged to the composer himself: the powerful 1743 Guarneri del Gesù violin; a six-string guitar by Ory, Paris, dated 1797; and a magnificent 1736 Stradivari cello, property of the Nippon Music Foundation and entrusted to Clemens Hagen, cellist of the Hagen Quartet. Hagen is joined here by violinist Giulio Plotino, professor of violin at the Niccolò Paganini Conservatory of Music in Genova, and guitarist Matteo Mela. Uniquely, the three instruments are heard together for the first time on this release.
This unique recording would not have been possible without Giulio Plotino, who conceived the project and took upon himself the difficult task of reuniting the three instruments. The following video features the third movement of Paganini’s Terzetto from this release.
For the first time on this recording, Il Cannone is played using Paganini’s original setup, without chin and shoulder rests, with the original bridge, and unwound gut strings. Watch Plotino’s performance of the popular Nel cor più non mi sento on the following video.
MORE DYNAMIC RECORDINGS OF PAGANINI’S MUSIC
For more recordings of Paganini’s music, please visit dynamic.it.
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This album reunites all the compositions written by Paganini for violin and guitar, featuring renowned artists Luigi Alberto Bianchi and Maurizio Preda. Listen to the music now on Apple Music and Spotify.
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May
Music for May
With April coming to a close, turn April showers into May flowers with our new selection of classical playlists. If you’re planning your big day for the warm summer months, our Wedding Music Essentials playlist has a wealth of selections that will help set the tone for a beautiful and romantic celebration of your nuptials. Finals are also around the corner for many students, and our Music for Studying playlist will boost brain power and help you focus and de-stress to assure top performance on your exams. Finally, celebrate the films of Star Wars with our A Celebration of Star Wars and John Williams playlist, recognising International Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you!) and the release of a new Star Wars film on May 25! A versatile collection, this month’s playlist group is sure to have something for everyone. Remember to add these playlists to your library to enjoy whenever and wherever you would like.
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the Month
Daniel Müller-Schott
Artist of the Month – Daniel Müller-Schott, cello
“In today’s fast-moving media world ORFEO International is a dynamic partner for me, one that holds dear my own values and ideals in music. That attribute is of inestimable value and drives my decision to continue working with the label in the future.” – Daniel Müller-Schott
Daniel Müller-Schott ranks among the world’s best cellists of his generation and can be heard on all of the foremost international concert stages. He has made his mark by delighting audiences for two decades, as “a fearless player with technique to burn.” (New York Times)
In addition to performances of the great cello concertos, Daniel Müller-Schott has a special interest in discovering unknown works and extending the cello repertoire, for example with his own adaptations and through cooperation with contemporary composers. His latest CD (C920171A) fully reflects this passion. In collaboration with L' Arte del Mondo, Daniel Müller-Schott prepared works for cello by Haydn, C.P.E. Bach, J.S. Bach and Mozart for this recording.
“Expert and stylish performances from Müller-Schott and the period orchestra L’Arte del Mondo present a magical partnership, tasteful playing coupled with judiciously elegant shaping of phrases.” – The Strad
ORFEO’S RECORDINGS FEATURING DANIEL MÜLLER-SCHOTT
OCT 2018
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For more recordings featuring Daniel Müller-Schott, please visit to www.orfeo-international.de.
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