NEWS FROM THE NAXOS MUSIC GROUP
July 2022
Label of the Month – Altissimo! Recordings
Since its inception in 1991, Altissimo! Recordings has been dedicated to the continuing production and distribution of the vast array of music from the wonderful musicians of the United States military bands, orchestras, ensembles and choruses. Prior to the founding of Altissimo!, these phenomenal recordings were not available to the general public. But now, courtesy of the Altissimo! label, everyone can enjoy these recordings that are among the finest of their type in the world.
Artist of the Month – US Coast Guard Band
The United States Coast Guard Band is the premier band representing the United States Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security. The 55-member ensemble is based at the US Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut.
In addition to performing concert tours around the nation, the band has also played in the former Soviet Union, Canada, England, Japan and Taiwan. In 2008, the Coast Guard Band became the first premier American military band to perform a concert tour of Japan. Concerts are free and open to the public and include a broad spectrum of music, from wind ensemble classics to swinging jazz charts.
For the United States Coast Guard Band’s full discography, please visit naxos.com.
John Philip Sousa Complete Music for Wind Band
A Summer Night’s Home Session by Andreas Ihlebæk
It’s time to enjoy a calm, relaxing summer evening spent listening to Norwegian composer/pianist Andreas Ihlebæk’s new album that’s filled with summer vibes and magical summer light. A Summer Night’s Home Session is his fourth solo album, and a collection of some of his most beloved piano pieces. All the tracks were recorded at his home in beautiful Engelsviken south of Oslo, Norway. Being played on a treated upright piano and interpreted slightly differently gives a new insight and a warm new sound to familiar pieces streamed by millions and celebrated globally in the press.
Since his return to music, Andreas Ihlebæk has become one of the most internationally acclaimed Norwegian composer/pianists. His solo debut The Guest (2017) was immediately declared a genre- and mind-bending masterpiece in Europe’s biggest newspaper (Bild), a level of praise which was unanimously repeated by European music magazines and media outlets across the spectrum. The Guest was performed at the 40th anniversary of the Oslo Concert Hall, which Norwegian state radio NRK called “the musical highlight of the year”. Ihlebæk released his second album Northern Lullabies for NXN Recordings in 2020 (NXN8001) to great critical acclaim and a Spellemannprisen nomination (Norwegian GRAMMY). In the lead-up to his third album I Will Build You A House, all tracks have been released as singles and have been featured in playlists by Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and Amazon. He continues to be one of the most played composers of modern classical pieces globally.
– Apple Music
– Crescendo
– Jazzthetik
– Jazz Tokyo
Enjoy up to 20% off all Ondine titles on PrestoMusic!
Since its foundation in 1985, Ondine has remained true to its guiding principle: an uncompromising devotion to excellence in recorded music. By supporting new, creative efforts in the field of contemporary music, Ondine captures the finest new works by some of the world’s leading artists.
Over the past three decades, Ondine has become a prestigious international label. In collaborations with many well-known artists and orchestras, the label has received numerous prizes at the Cannes (MIDEM) Classical Awards, the Gramophone Awards and the BBC Music Magazine Awards, among others.
Until 9 August 2022, PrestoMusic is offering up to 20% off all recordings on the Ondine label
– Limelight ★★★★★
– Limelight ★★★★
April 2022
– MusicWeb International
– Gramophone
– Pizzicato ★★★★★
Naxos Group artists to adjudicate at Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition 2022
A compelling production of Weinberg’s Die Passagierin by Oper Graz
Mieczysław Weinberg’s powerful Holocaust drama Die Passagierin channels his and his family’s ordeals of wartime and Soviet persecution, applying them musically to Zofia Posmysz’s autobiographical novel. The score was praised by Shostakovich for its ‘beauty and greatness’, with a narrative that unfolds on an ocean liner bound for Brazil on which a former Auschwitz guard and one of her Polish prisoners confront impossible moral conflict and harrowing flashbacks in music that is sparse, dark, sardonic and intermittently tender. This acclaimed Oper Graz production draws us movingly into the raw, unimaginable madness of this imperishable moment in history.
![WEINBERG, M.: Passenger (The) [Opera] (Graz Opera, 2021) (NTSC)](https://www.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/2.110713.jpg "WEINBERG, M.: Passenger (The) [Opera] (Graz Opera, 2021) (NTSC)")
‘One of the most important and most brilliantly composed operas of the 20th century.’ – Online Merker
| Lisa | Dshamilja Kaiser |
| Walter | Will Hartmann |
| Marta | Nadja Stefanoff |
| Tadeusz | Markus Butter |
Grazer Philharmoniker
| Conductor | Roland Kluttig |
| Stage Director | Nadja Loschky |
| Set Designer | Etienne Pluss |
| Video Director | Axel Stummer |
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!
Our Flag Means Death Season 1
HBO Max’s series Our Flag Means Death was released early this year and has been renewed for a second season. The unique comedy is loosely based on the true adventures of the 18th-century would-be pirate, Stede Bonnet, played by Rhys Darby. After trading in his comfortable life for one of a buccaneer, Stede becomes captain of a pirate ship, but struggles to earn the respect of his potentially mutinous crew. Stede’s fortunes change after a fateful run-in with the infamous Captain Blackbeard, played by Taika Waititi.
Season 1 of Our Flag Means Death features excerpts from Schumann’s Kinderszenen, Mozart’s Symphony No. 34 and Debussy’s 2 Arabesques.
Need to license some music for a project and don’t know where to start? Visit Naxos Licensing to find out how!
Marking the 95th anniversary of Michael Gielen’s birth
20 July marks the 95th anniversary of the birth of German conductor Michael Gielen.
Born in Dresden in 1927, the son of the stage and theatre director Joseph Gielen, Michael Gielen studied with Erwin Leuchter in Buenos Aires from 1942 to 1949 and then with Josef Polnauer in Vienna from 1950 to 1953. He began his career as a choral répétiteur at the Teatro Colón and from 1950 at the Vienna State Opera, where he served as conductor from 1952 until 1960. Until 1965 he was principal conductor of the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm and in 1965 conducted the first performance of Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s opera Die Soldaten. After several years as principal conductor of the Belgian Radio Symphony Orchestra and work as a guest conductor, particularly for German radio, he took charge of the Netherlands Opera in 1972. From 1977 to 1987 he was music director of the Frankfurt-am-Main Opera and at the same time, from 1980 to 1986, served as music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. In 1979 he also took up the appointment of permanent guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London. From 1986 he took over the direction of the SWF Symphony Orchestra, Baden-Baden (which later became the SWR Symphony Orchestra of Baden-Baden and Freiburg) and until his emeritus appointment in 1995 directed the conducting class at the Salzburg Mozarteum. Michael Gielen gave many first performances of important contemporary works.
– Pizzicato ★★★★
– MusicWeb International
– Fanfare
– Classica
– Pizzicato ★★★★★
Transcriptions of Bach’s English Suite for two guitars
Bach’s keyboard works known as the English Suites offer a series of dance movements which, despite their name, owe more to earlier French and German models. This recording features the arrangements for two guitars by the distinguished Montenegrin Guitar Duo. Transcriptions of Bach for solo guitar have been popular since the nineteenth century and the emergence of the guitar duo extends still further the potential for exciting and revelatory performances.
– ClassicsToday.com
– The WholeNote
Naxos celebrates the launch of its latest initiative – Naxos for Education
At Naxos, we believe the power of music and words in enriching lives and deepening our understanding of humanity, art and culture. Naxos for Education is a new portal for educators and practitioners, students and music lovers alike to enjoy free resources and information about the wealth of our offerings.
Klaus Heymann, founding chairman of the Naxos Music Group: “Ever since our inception in 1987, broadening the accessibility of classical music has been a pillar in our philosophy. This has since expanded to the spheres of jazz and world music as well as literature. Naxos for Education is a signal of both our unwavering commitment and continuous investment to support the very community devoted to teaching and learning.”
Bookmark Naxos for Education and visit the website regularly to enjoy resources like the Naxos Dictionary of Music, the aural training course, LISTEN! and our Musicology section for free.
- With over 9,000 entries, and more added each month, the Dictionary covers musical terms as well as composers, work introductions and analysis, and more. It is a dictionary that can be listened to alongside notated examples. And the audio is often not just a track from the work, but a clipped and curated excerpt tied to an explanation in the notes.
- The ability to listen purposefully requires training and practice no less than the ability to perform. LISTEN! is an aural training course, developed as an aid to teaching aural perception skills in music. Over 1,000 exercises, graded by 9 levels of difficulty and using only authentic recordings, are available in the Resources section inside the Naxos Music Library for classroom and private use.
- Naxos Musicology International is an online platform for music scholarship in the broadest interdisciplinary sense. Much like a traditional journal, the platform seeks to advance and extend musicological work on a range of repertoires, genres, creative and scholarly approaches.
- With thousands of libraries already subscribing to our flagship Naxos Music Library, you may well be an eligible user already. Search our directory for your access!
New on the Naxos Blog
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK: WARPATHS
July 15, 2022
It’s maybe too convenient to restrict references to war to big anniversary dates, so this blog presents a small selection of musical works that paint the subject of conflict in tuneful reminders of how wearisome and worthless the daily pursuit is.
SOUNDS INTERESTING. YOU DITTY RATS!
July 29, 2022
This podcast from the Sounds Interesting series takes rats as its theme, a topic that, perhaps surprisingly, has caught the attention of composers across the world and down the ages.
2022 Opus Klassik Awards – Nominees Announced
Recordings from the Naxos label and its affiliated labels are among the recently announced nominations for the 2022 OPUS Klassik Awards, Germany’s most prestigious awards body for classical music. The Naxos Music Group received 65 nominations appearing in nineteen categories.
A full list of the nominations is shown below. The award winners will be announced at a ceremony to be held at the Konzerthaus Berlin on 9 October.
![CZERNOWIN, C.: Heart Chamber [Opera] (Deutsche Oper Berlin, 2019) (NTSC)](https://www.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/2.110673.jpg "CZERNOWIN, C.: Heart Chamber [Opera] (Deutsche Oper Berlin, 2019) (NTSC)")
Patrizia Ciofi, Noa Frenkel
Dietrich Henschel, Terry Wey
Johannes Kalitzke
Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin
![ZANDONAI, R.: Francesca da Rimini [Opera] (Deutsche Oper Berlin, 2021) (NTSC)](https://www.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/2.110711.jpg "ZANDONAI, R.: Francesca da Rimini [Opera] (Deutsche Oper Berlin, 2021) (NTSC)")
Sara Jakubiak
Jonathan Tetelman
Carlo Rizzi
Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin
Tianwa Yang
Jun Märkl
ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien
Gabriel Schwabe
Christopher Ward
ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien
Rostislav Krimer
East-West Chamber Orchestra
The Brahms Trio
Frank Dupree
Case Scaglione
Würtembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn
Frank Strobel
Gottlieb Wallisch
Sharon Kam
Daniel Cohen
hr-Sinfonieorchester
Daniel Müller-Schott
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Hila Fahima
![SCHREKER, F.: Ferne Klang (Der) [Opera]](https://www.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/OC980.jpg "SCHREKER, F.: Ferne Klang (Der) [Opera]")
Jennifer Holloway
Ian Koziara
Sebastian Weigle
Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester
Singer Pur
Playlists for July
Looking for new music? Our selection of curated playlists has you covered with music to complement the season, moment or activity! Discover a collection of American classical music with the Naxos American Classics playlist and boost your concentration with the Classical for Reading and Writing playlist from Naxos. Get creative in the kitchen with unCLASSIFIED’s Cooking with Classical playlist, discover a potpourri of French piano styles with the French Impressions playlist from Grand Piano, and enjoy calm and relaxing music from Naxos Mood’s Take It Easy playlist. Happy Listening!
Naxos Moods is an ecosystem of playlists curated by experts and musicologists to complement the wide range of feelings and activities people experience every day, with an emphasis on stress alleviation, relaxation, and inspiration. These playlists aim to create an exceptionally diverse listening experience, leveraging not only the Naxos classical catalogue, but also world and jazz music. Exciting developments in the Naxos Moods initiative are coming soon – stay tuned for more!
Royal rarities. Music by Brazil’s First Emperor.
This year marks 200 years since the proclamation of Brazil’s independence from Portugal by Dom Pedro I in September 1822. We are delighted to be releasing an album of the First Emperor’s large-scale choral compositions. A gifted musician, Pedro I is one of only a few monarchs to have become known as a composer. Here’s the teaser video performed by The Concentus Musicum de Belo Horizonte and Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra under Fabio Mechetti. The album will be available in September 2022.
Developed in collaboration with the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Naxos’ ‘The Music of Brazil’ series presents around 100 orchestral, chamber, choral and vocal works from the 19th and 20th centuries that will be recorded by the country’s top orchestras, ensembles and artists.
– MusicWeb International
– BBC Music Magazine ★★★★★
– Fanfare
– Classical Music Daily
– Gramophone
– ClassicsToday.com
– Choir and Organ
– Gramophone
– American Record Guide
Joseph Banowetz (1934–2022)
We were saddened to hear of the passing of pianist Joseph Banowetz on 3 July 2022.
Often referred to as one of the “Three Bs” for his performances of Liszt (the other two being Jorge Bolet and Alfred Brendel), this incredibly gifted and imaginative pianist’s career spanned over forty years.
Banowetz’s 2010 recording of Paul Kletzki’s Piano Concerto received a GRAMMY nomination, and his enormous discography contains a significant number of world premieres, including first recordings of Anton Rubinstein’s solo piano works, together with all eight of Rubenstein’s piano and orchestral works, music by Sergey Taneyev (with Vladimir Ashkenazy as narrator), and compositions by Mily Balakirev, Leopold Godowsky and Paul Kletzki.
Banowetz was also well-known as an author. His book The Pianist’s Guide to Pedalling (Indiana University Press) has been printed in seven languages.
– Fanfare
– Classical Lost and Found
– Fanfare
– Piano News
Ondine’s album of music by Grażyna Bacewicz receives Limelight’s Recording of the Year 2022 nomination
Limelight magazine has announced its nominations for Recording of the Year 2022. The magazine’s critics selected their 25 favourite recordings from the last 12 months’ releases. The Ondine label received a nomination in the Instrumental category for Peter Jablonski’s album of piano works by Grażyna Bacewicz (ODE1399-2), praised by Limelight as “dazzling, sympathetic performances.”
– Gramophone
– MusicWeb International
