Critics Choice December 2023

This month brings you another bumper crop of great reviews from the leading music magazines, quality dailies and online review sites. There’s no doubt about it: Naxos releases and distributes some of the best music and audiovisual albums!

Highly Reviewed Albums of the Month
Orchestra New England • James Sinclair
ICMA Nominee
Want List | Fanfare

‘…immediately my record-of-the-year, perhaps of the decade, the most exciting Ives issue since Leonard Bernstein’s pioneering Second Symphony in 1958.’
Want List

‘The whole is bursting with imagination, freshness and surprises.’
Diapason ★★★★


RAI National Symphony • R. Treviño
Editor’s Choice | Gramophone
Editor’s Choice | Limelight
Recommended | MusicWeb International

‘This is an immensely enjoyable recording of Respighi’s ‘Roman Trilogy’, Robert Treviño capturing every element of the work’s intensity and atmosphere.’
Gramophone

‘Treviño serves up charismatic Respighi you won’t want to miss.’
Limelight

‘Conductor Robert Treviño paces the work superbly. …Percussion has a heyday, underpinned by the organ pedals giving a fine contrast to the quiet, beautifully delicate impressionism of the Villa Medici final movement.’
MusicWeb International

‘Pines of Rome is the most popular of the three, from its glistening opening to the inexorable march of the Roman army into the capital. Once more, Trevino shows his acute sense of pacing, not just in this final build-up, but in the shaping of the whole piece, with even the pre-recorded nightingale in the third movement emerging naturally out of the flow of the music.’
BBC Music Magazine ★★★★★

‘…this is absolutely infectious fun, and the performances are fully in the spirit of these evergreen favourites.’
AllMusic.com ★★★★


Audio Releases
Naxos Releases
Sofia Philharmonic • Salvi

‘…a magnificent account of a balletic rarity, which is all the more colourful for some superb playing by violinist Kalina Hristova and harpist Vesela Trichkova.’
Classical Lost and Found


Darvarova • M.A. and C. Mumm • S. Magill

‘The quartet play with dedication and commitment, and their engaging performances reveal a real love of the music.’
MusicWeb International


Naxos 8.574424–25
Miksch • Bándi • Szecsodi • Elek • Kassai

‘It’s a delightful experience from start to finish.’
Fanfare


Quynh Nguyen • Rieko Aizawa • London Symphony • S. Barlow

‘Both ingenious and richly evocative and beautifully and quietly played besides, this is a wonderful release.’
AllMusic.com ★★★★

‘Nguyen shows throughout a consistent and innate understanding of Chihara’s eclectic piano-writing, relishing its textural delicacy as much as its energy… Nguyen’s touch – in every sense – is pitch-perfect…’
Gramophone


Johan Smith

‘In this excellent recording, Smith makes the art of transcription seem easy – which it definitely is not. For a creative encounter with new repertoire for the classical guitar, listen to this!’
American Record Guide


P. Sheppard Skærved • ORF Vienna Radio Symphony • N. Thomson

‘…I’m glad to have heard this piece for its thrilling and imaginative moments.’
American Record Guide


Jarkovská • Reitmaier • Valderrama • Fons • Banegas • Anima Musicæ Chamber Orchestra • Varela

‘The soloists aren’t there to impress us with their incredible technique. Rather, Grau’s music demands they connect with the audience emotionally. And in that, they all succeed.’
WTJU


Naxos 8.660526–27
Borth • Gaul • Cantus Juvenum Karlsruhe • The Lily’s Project • Bollon

‘This recording…is terrific. I fell in love with this masterpiece of renewed love and humanity all over again.’
American Record Guide


Ensemble Origo • Rice
Want List | Fanfare

‘…this wonderful album will put a real spring in your step.’
Fanfare


Eichhorn • Say

‘…Thoughtfully and consistently musical performances that are wholly satisfying…’
Gramophone


Roma Tre Orchestra Ensemble • Bevilacqua

‘Matteo Bevilacqua on piano and the strings of the Roma Tre Orchestra Ensemble show with their interpretations what an entertaining and specific language Perosi has developed and how it can be presented in an exhilarating way with approached playing.’
Pizzicato ★★★★★


Rachmaninov • Philadelphia Orchestra • Stokowski • Ormandy
ICMA Nominee
Choc | Classica

‘Assured of enjoying the best possible conditions… infinitely superior to those previously offered by RCA, the music lover will be captivated at every moment by this piano that speaks more than it declaims, at once free and concise.’
Classica


São Paulo Symphony Choir and Orchestra • Neil Thomson
★★★★

‘These are gripping performances of both works. This is another great release from the “Music of Brazil” series and an important entry in Prado’s recorded legacy.’
American Record Guide


Bobby Mitchell

‘Bobby Mitchell performs superbly, with all the vibrance, technical facility, clarity, and emotional range one could hope for.’
Fanfare


Buffalo Philharmonic • Falletta
Nominee | GRAMMY Awards
Want List | Fanfare

‘Alexander Scriabin’s Second Symphony can be something of a vertiginous heave on heavy seas, but with JoAnn Falletta at the helm, it becomes a swift exciting ride in a motor boat, skipping the waves with effortless delicacy.’
Fanfare


Hong Kong Philharmonic • van Zweden
Recommended | MusicWeb International

‘I cannot imagine [the symphony] better delivered, given the expertise and virtuosity of the Hong Kong Philharmonic.’
MusicWeb International


Independent Label Releases (in alphabetical order)
Martynas Levickis
Instrumentalist of the Year | Opus Klassik
ICMA Nominee

‘…A marvellous arrangement of Five Lithuanian Folk Songs…raised to a high musical level…The interpretations are very atmospheric.’
Pizzicato ★★★★★


Fischer-Dieskau • M. Price • Seibel • Städtischer Musikverein zu Düsseldorf • Bavarian State Orchestra • Sawallisch
ICMA Nominee
Editor’s Choice | AllMusic.com

‘…it is first and foremost the attentive and expressive conducting of Wolfgang Sawallisch that makes this Elijah a reference. He shows himself to be a singer-conductor who carries his team in his hands.’
Pizzicato

‘A wonderful historical reissue that catches the intense drama in Mendelssohn’s oratorio.’
AllMusic.com


Bavarian Radio Symphony • Haitink
Recommended | MusicWeb International

‘It goes without saying that the BRSO is impeccable: sonorous brass, mellow woodwind, thunderous timpani, shimmering strings – they have it all.’
MusicWeb International

‘…this is a Bruckner performance in the classic Haitink mold, restrained, accurate in the smallest details, and beautifully shaped.’
AllMusic.com ★★★★


Bokun • Meccore String Quartet
ICMA Nominee
Diapason d’Or

‘The Meccore Quartet’s visceral commitment to Penderecki’s works for string quartet gives them a richness and stylistic inventiveness that are both extraordinary and exciting.’
Diapason


Barton Pine • Hege
Want List | Fanfare

‘This work, alternately dazzling and heart-warming, is an absolute gem.’
Fanfare


Norbakken • Schola Cantorum Reykjavicensis • Århus Sinfonietta • Áskelsson
Critic’s Choice | Opera News

‘Berit Norbakken is positively beatific as Mary. The Norwegian soprano possesses an instrument of aqueous transparency, enhanced by minimal use of vibrato. Her wide, heavenward leaps in descant passages above the choir are executed with seraphic purity.’
Opera News


Härenstam • Knudsen

‘Knudsen’s sense of melody and harmony is stellar.’
American Record Guide


Conspirare • Miró Quartet • C.H. Johnson
Nominee | GRAMMY Awards

‘…A wonderful choral release.’
AllMusic.com ★★★★


Günther Groissböck
ICMA Nominee
Choc | Classica

‘Günther Groissböck is a master of the graceful art of German Lieder, revealing infinite nuances right down to the most abysmal notes of nostalgia.’
Classica


Gottlieb Wallisch

‘The pieces are played with ravishing verve and much humour by the Viennese pianist Gottlieb Wallisch.’
Schweizer Musikzeitung


R. Hermann • Lorand • F. Uhl • J. Greindl • Engen • Bavarian Radio Chorus and Symphony • R. Kubelík
Diapason d’Or

‘At the head of an almost flawless cast, Rafael Kubelík exalts the power of Carl Orff’s tragedy after Aeschylus, sung in ancient Greek.’
Diapason


Petri • Perl • Esfahani
ICMA Nominee

‘Mahan Esfahani, Hille Perl and Michala Petri thus walk in the footsteps of Corellimania, and in interpretations of great virtuosity, the ensemble provides beautiful phrasing and ornamentation in this spontaneous performance.’
Pizzicato ★★★★★

‘…such a consistently gripping and gorgeous listen… This is a radiant reading, full of tight, sprightly dialogue… talk about an album to put a spring in one’s step.’
Gramophone


Leipzig MDR Radio Choir and Symphony • D.R. Davies
Want List | Fanfare

‘Dennis Russell Davies’s Leipzig release of Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony is the most exciting version yet recorded from the standpoint of sound and a more vivid than usual take on the composer’s brilliant and brassy orchestration.’
Fanfare


Anca Vasile Caraman
Want List | Fanfare

‘…Telemann’s 12 Fantasias for solo violin are gleamingly played by a newcomer, the Romanian violinist Anca Vasile Caraman.’
Fanfare


Various Artists

‘This is, musically speaking, a most nourishing collection, and the digital sound is excellent.’
Gramophone

Audiovisual Releases
Naxos Releases
Naxos 2.110750
Also available on Blu-ray Video
(NBD0161V)
Fritsch • Schmutzhard • Nigl • Boesch • Vistoli • Auvity • Arnold Schoenberg Chor • Il Giardino Armonico • Antonini • Carsen
ICMA Nominee

‘Robert Carsen renews the spirituality of history’s first sacred opera, in a musically stunning production directed by Giovanni Antonini.’
Diapason ★★★★★


Naxos 2.110759
Also available on Blu-ray Video
(NBD0171V)
Behle • Kulchynska • Wagner • Soffel • Dutch National Opera Chorus • Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra • Albrecht • Loy
ICMA Nominee
Editor’s Choice | Gramophone

‘A lesser-known Humperdinck opera receives the best possible advocacy in a film our critic Andrew Mellor found “utterly captivating – every single second of it’.”
Gramophone


Naxos 2.110761
Also available on Blu-ray Video
(NBD0173V)
Johansson • Strid • Laurenz • Deutsche Oper Berlin Chorus and Orchestra • Albrecht • Loy
ICMA Nominee
Editor’s Choice | Gramophone
★★★★★

‘Elisabet Strid is superb in the psychologically complex role of Els… Daniel Johansson brings amplitude, warmth and lyricism to his performance of Elis… Both the orchestral playing and choral singing in Berlin are beautifully prepared and expressive, and the sound is wide-ranging and superbly balanced.’
Gramophones


Naxos 2.110713
Also available on Blu-ray Video
(NBD0144V)
Kaiser • Hartmann • Stefanoff • Butter • Chor der Oper Graz • Grazer Philharmoniker • Kluttig • Loschky
Want List | Fanfare

‘…Nadja Loschky’s production for the Graz Opera of Mieczysław Weinberg’s The Passenger firmly establishes the work as a 20th-century masterpiece.’
Fanfare


Independent Releases (in alphabetical order)
C Major 763708
Also available on Blu-ray Video
(763804)
Camarena • Álvarez • Rancatore • Jerkunica • Kemoklidze • Gran Teatre del Liceu Chorus and Symphony Orchestra • Frizza • Wagemakers

‘…It’s a compelling performance.’
Gramophone


Dynamic DYN-37970
Also available on Blu-ray Video
(DYN-57970)
Werba • Koch • Glueckert • Pratt • Stoyanova • Maggio Musicale Fiorentino • Gatti • Hartmann
Critic’s Choice | Opera News

‘Krassimira Stoyanova remains one of the world’s most accomplished (and underrated) sopranos, with handsome, evenly produced tone and the superb phrasing afforded her by her string-player background.’
Opera News


Opus Arte OA1376D
Also available on Blu-ray Video
(OABD7314D)
Terfel • Smoriginas • White • Philip • Tomlinson • Royal Opera Chorus • Royal Opera House Orchestra • Pappano • Jones
ICMA Nominee

‘Ain Anger stands out as a superb Pimen, both in the resonant beauty of his voice and in his wonderfully expressive and natural inflections. John Tomlinson as Varlaam is an engaging, consummate singer-actor, ably carrying the opera’s only comedic interlude (the Inn scene).’
Gramophone


UNITEL Edition 809108
Also available on Blu-ray Video
(809204)
Winters • Herlitzius • Philip • Hulett • Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor • Wiener Philharmoniker • Hrůša • Kosky
ICMA Nominee
Editor’s Choice | Gramophone

‘Winters is utterly remarkable throughout, words and gestures always telling, emotions barely contained within a steady stream of glorious tone, unsparing in the way she digs deep into the raptures and anguish that war within Katya’s soul.’
Gramophone

AudioBooks
Adam Sims
Earphones Award

‘Adam Sims gives a tour-de-force performance, evocatively capturing Sinclair Lewis’s keenly observed satire of the evangelical Christian movement of the early- twentieth-century Midwest.’
AudioFile



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