NEWS FROM THE NAXOS MUSIC GROUP
May 2021
Label of the Month: Marco Polo
Marco Polo was the first label in the Naxos family to be launched, in 1982. It includes almost 1,000 recordings of works by both familiar and little known composers, light music, film music and world music – a veritable feast of new listening experiences.
With many rarities drawn from the period 1850–1940 as its hallmark, the Marco Polo catalogue boasts a discovery on every page – from Cimarosa to Chen Gang, plus all stops in between.
One of the many distinctions of the catalogue is the significant inclusion of the complete works of members of the Strauss family – Johann I, Johann II and Josef – in multi-volume editions, to which waltzes and polkas by Eduard Strauss have recently been added. The Marco Polo catalogue also features many works by other light classical composers such as Waldteufel and Suppé, and numerous British light music composers.
There’s a generous choice of album compilations, representing a rich tapestry of music in different styles and from a variety of countries. Chinese classics occupy a large portion of the catalogue, featuring traditional fare alongside classical works by both the older and contemporary generations of composers, with new releases added regularly.
![WAGNER, S.: Sonnenflammen [Opera] (PPP Music Theatre, 2020) (NTSC)](https://www.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/2.220007.jpg "WAGNER, S.: Sonnenflammen [Opera] (PPP Music Theatre, 2020) (NTSC)")
Siegfried Wagner’s eight opera, Sonnenflammen (‘Sun Flames’), portrays a deserter stranded in the decaying Byzantine Empire at the time of the Fourth Crusade. The tragedy reflects the mood in Germany at the time of the opera’s creation in 1912, just before the outbreak of the First World War. And, just as Constantinople was engulfed in flames in 1204, Wagner’s symbolic masterpiece is set ablaze with iridescent sounds, rhythmically gripping ensembles and passionate cantilenas.
This performance from the Bayreuth Festival in August 2020 is the first staged production of the work since the Second World War, using a new critical full score by conductor Ulrich Leykam, and staged by Peter P. Pachl with a celebrated young cast.
‘An enjoyable opera performance was achieved.’ – Pizzicato ★★★★
‘The barebones set is filled with energetic singers and musicians, who bring this tragic tale of a deserter during the Crusades to fleetingly vivid life.’ – The Flip Side
– International Piano
– Fanfare
– MusicWeb International
Composer of the Month – Siegfried Wagner
(1930, after a photograph of the composer)
www.siegfried-wagner.org
At first a pupil of Humperdinck, it was only after a journey to the Far East, ten years after his father’s death, that Siegfried Wagner, son of Richard Wagner, decided on a career as a musician. He served for many years at Bayreuth, from 1906 as director of the festival.
Operas
Siegfried Wagner’s operas are concerned with German traditions, but more akin to those of Humperdinck than of his father. They largely explore the mysterious and magical medieval world suggested by the Brothers Grimm.
Orchestral Music
The relatively small number of Siegfried Wagner’s orchestral works are led by his symphonic poem Sehnsucht (‘Yearning’), based on Schiller. He also left a Violin Concerto, a work for flute and orchestra, a Symphony, and a second symphonic poem, Glück.
![WAGNER, S.: An allem ist Hütchen schuld [Opera] (PPP Music Theatre, 2015) (NTSC)](https://www.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/2.220006.jpg "WAGNER, S.: An allem ist Hütchen schuld [Opera] (PPP Music Theatre, 2015) (NTSC)")
– Records International
![WAGNER, S.: Schmied von Marienburg (Der) [Opera]](https://www.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/8.225346-48.jpg "WAGNER, S.: Schmied von Marienburg (Der) [Opera]")
– International Record Review
– Fanfare
Naxos wins International Opera Award 2021
![THOMAS, A.: Hamlet [Opera] (Opéra Comique, 2018) (NTSC)](https://www.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/2.110640.jpg "THOMAS, A.: Hamlet [Opera] (Opéra Comique, 2018) (NTSC)")
Naxos is delighted to be among the recipients of this year’s International Opera Award, announced on 10 May. Naxos received the citation for Recording of the Year (Complete Opera) for Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet, an audiovisual production of the Opéra Comique, conducted by Louis Langree.
The #OperaAwards2021 Recording (Complete Opera) of the Year award goes to…
— The Opera Awards (@TheOperaAwards) May 10, 2021
Thomas's Hamlet at @Opera_Comique, released on DVD by @naxosrecords and conducted by Louis Langrée with @Stephdegout in the title role. #OperaAwards2021 #winners pic.twitter.com/cuEIG4uyoq
![GLANERT, D.: Oceane [Opera]](https://www.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/OC985.jpg "GLANERT, D.: Oceane [Opera]")
Additionally, Deutsche Oper Berlin received the World Premiere of the Year with the production of Detlev Glanert's Oceane. The recording was released on the Oehms Classics label. “Dramatically and musically, it’s all wonderfully assured and convincing.” (The Guardian)
And the #OperaAwards2021 World Premiere of the Year is… Detlev Glanert's Oceane, premiered at @deutsche_oper in April 2019 and conducted by Donald Runnicles. #winners pic.twitter.com/sDAMH8APgg
— The Opera Awards (@TheOperaAwards) May 10, 2021
See the complete list of winners on International Opera Award’s website
Fabio Banegas is joined by actor George Takei in a new, world premiere recording
This second volume of José Antonio Bottiroli’s complete piano music is performed by his award-winning protégé Fabio Banegas. The nocturnal themes heard in this album were inspired by the clear skies over the composer’s holiday home in Los Cocos, Cordoba Province, Argentina; the spellbinding works transcend earthly romantic concerns and venture into the stillness of the universe. Dedicated to Banegas, the Album Pages represent Bottiroli’s distinctive impressionist style, while the unique Five Piano Replies connects music with poetry written by the composer, and read on this recording by the renowned actor George Takei.
– American Record Guide
– Fanfare
Revival of Pier Luigi Pizzi’s staging of Handel’s Rinaldo
Handel’s masterpiece Rinaldo is based on Torquato Tasso’s epic La Gerusalemme liberata, which tells the tale of the attempted seduction of the hero by the enchantress Armida against the backdrop of the First Crusade. Musicologists agree that Handel carried out a major cut-and-paste exercise with Rinaldo, as more than two thirds of his 1711 score was taken from earlier works. This particular production by Pier Luigi Pizzi, conceived in 1985 for Teatro Romolo Valli in Reggio Emilia, has since travelled to some twenty major opera houses worldwide. Putting aside practical cuts and a few displacements of musical numbers, its durable attraction lies in the gorgeous costumes and scenery, a stylish paragon of 'hyperbaroque' that deliberately avoids both literalism and cheap provocation.
This lavish production was performed at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, which was the first Italian theatre to re-open after the lockdown in 2020. The set design and direction were perfectly tailored to the health and safety requirements in force during the pandemic.
![HANDEL, G.F.: Rinaldo [Opera] (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, 2020) (NTSC)](https://www.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/DYN-37896.jpg "HANDEL, G.F.: Rinaldo [Opera] (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, 2020) (NTSC)")
‘The Maggio Musicale orchestra under the experienced and clever direction of Federico Maria Sardelli, did an exceptional job… She [Carmela Remigio] gives an immediate sense of fiery sexual passion with her cavatina ‘Furie Terribili‘… Almirena, Rinaldo‘s fiancée, sung by Francesca Aspromonte, is sweet and tender…She enthralled the audience in the charming birdsong aria ‘Augeletti‘ with flute accompaniment.’. – Classical Music Daily
CAST
| Armida | Carmela Remigio |
| Goffredo | Leonardo Cortellazzi |
| Almirena | Francesca Aspromonte |
| Rinaldo | Raffaele Pe |
| Argante | Andrea Patucelli |
| A Herald | Shixun Li |
| A woman/Two mermaids | Marilena Ruta and Valentina Coro |
| A Christian magician | William Corro |
Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
| Conductor | Federico Maria Sardelli |
| Stage director, set and costume designer | Pier Luigi Pizzi |
| Assistant director and light designer | Massimo Gasparon |
| Theater | Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino |
| Video Director | Tiziano Mancini |
Recorded at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, 9 September, 2020
More full-length videos? NaxosVideoLibrary.com brings you an extensive streaming video library of classical music performances, opera, ballet, live concerts and documentaries. Watch the world's greatest opera houses, ballet companies, orchestras and artists perform on demand! NaxosVideoLibrary.com offers over 3,485 full-length videos, accessible anytime, anywhere.
Andreas Ihlebæk at the Norwegian Spellemann Awards
Norwegian pianist Andreas Ihlebæk recently received the nomination for Best Children’s Music at the annual Spellemann Awards (Spellemannprisen), also known as the Norwegian GRAMMYs, for his recording of Northern Lullabies on NXN Recordings. Check out this stunning video his performance at the ceremony.
‘Andreas Ihlebæk performs magic with his Instrument… taking you on a journey into another world.’ – Public Forum Magazine – Public Forum Magazine
Norwegian pianist Andreas Ihlebæk recently rece,d the nomination for Best Children's Music at the annual Spellemann Awards (Spellemannprisen), also known as the Norwegian GRAMMYs, for his recording of Northern Lullabies on NXN Recordings. Check out this stunning video his performance at the ceremony.
‘Andreas Ihlebæk performs magic with his Instrument… taking you on a journey into another world.’ – Public Forum Magazine – Public Forum Magazine
Andreas Ihlebæk – who was born in Oslo, but grew up in Hamburg and San Francisco – and who made his living as a writer/journalist travelling around the US, Asia, Spain and the Caribbean while composing his debut album The Guest – has seen himself as a global citizen since childhood. His new album I Will Build You A House grew out of the steadily growing concern about the world around him, and where we’re headed. As the pandemic hit, the title suddenly became all the more relevant, with the urgent need for safety as chaos rages outside. However, this music is not about the physical dimension of surrounding ourselves with walls: it is about building a good place for listeners to exist and/or escape to, wherever they may be.
THE 93RD ACADEMY AWARDS – 2021 OSCARS
The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony was held on 25 April. Naxos was honoured to have played a part in two of the awarded films, Soul and Another Round, by supplying recordings to the sound-tracks.
Although cinema began in silence, the moving pictures on the silver screen were soon accompanied by sound, attracting musicians and composers who were quick to grasp the new creative possibilities offered by this medium. Naxos has gathered an extensive list of classical music titles featured in films over the last century. Feel free to browse by movie title or by composer from the links provided below.
Need to license some music for a project and don’t know where to start? Visit Naxos Licensing to find out how!
Those Amazing Musical Instruments: Your colourful guide to the orchestra
From the cello to the bassoon, the tuba to the timpani, Those Amazing Musical Instruments! takes you on an exciting musical tour! In a revised edition, including access to a brand new, exclusive website, this vibrant, colourful, comprehensive and unique book is a rich exploration of orchestral instruments. Learn about the character of each instrument, how it is constructed and played, which instruments go well together, and hear how they all sound! With featured guide, conductor Marin Alsop, you’ll even know your heckelphone from your sackbut and your tom-tom from your tam-tam – all by spending hours of fun with words, pictures and music tracks.
– A WONDERFUL NEW RESOURCE FOR CHILDREN
‘It’s a terrific resource for kids – bravo!’ – Marin Alsop, conductor
‘A perfect way to introduce kids to music.’ – Creative Child
Naxos MusicBox is a new, carefully produced and Beautifully presented online music resource for youngsters. Developed to enhance the music education of children aged 4-12, the colourful, clear design and specially written texts are immediately appealing to a young audience. MusicBox offers a wealth of activities and resources that can be explored by young students on their own, or together with friends or adults. Having received the Online Music Education Product of the Year Award (2020) from Creative Child Magazine, parents, and other caregivers, can be assured that Naxos MusicBox will make a significant and entertaining contribution to any child's creative development.
Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff and Lars Vogt record Schubert
The magnificent, award-winning trio formed by violinist Christian Tetzlaff, cellist Tanja Tetzlaff and pianist Lars Vogt are in the studio recording chamber works by Franz Schubert, including works for piano trio, the Arpeggione Sonata and Rondo in B Minor.
– Gramophone
– Pizzicato ★★★★★
– San Francisco Chronicle
Playlists for May
Looking for new music? Our selection of curated playlists has you covered with music to complement the season, moment, or activity! Discover top new releases from the Naxos label family in New & Now Classical, listen to stunning piano works in Piano Sounds, and get in the zone with unCLASSIFIED’s Brain Fuel, and feel the northern ambiance in Grand Piano’s Nordic Piano playlist. Happy listening!
A guitar star rises: Mabel Millán’s Naxos debut recording
Acclaimed concert artist and laureate of numerous awards, Mabel Millán brings her stunning technique and remarkable musical expressiveness to this programme of some of the most spectacular and best-loved repertoire ever composed for the guitar. From the Andalusian rhythms and atmosphere of Turina and Malats, the Romantic expressiveness and national colours of Ponce and Mertz, to the lyrical beauty and dramatic virtuosity of Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Capriccio diabolico, every aspect of the guitar’s refined delicacy and explosive dynamism is explored here to the full.
– American Record Guide
– Fanfare
– Minor 7th
– ClassicsToday.com
Browse through the Solitary Refinement – Music for Lute and Guitar catalogue for more exciting releases.
Celebrate Beethoven
