This programme spotlights Gabriel Fauré’s orchestrated songs and his music for the stage. The latter includes his highly attractive incidental music for Pelléas et Mélisande, his most popular symphonic work, while the extracts from Prométhée represent a genuine recording rarity. The orchestrated songs and other vocal tracks are performed in her Naxos debut by leading mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught. She has starred in productions at the Opéra de Paris, the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Hamburg State Opera, New York’s Metropolitan Opera, and just about every other prestigious venue throughout Europe and the US. Many will already know of conductor Jean-Luc Tingaud and the fine reviews he’s received for his Naxos recordings of French repertoire, including an album of orchestral works by Paul Dukas (8.573296), placed by Fanfare ‘at the head of the pack. We seem to have before our ears a French George Szell in the making. Tingaud’s performance of La Péri would sweep the field.’

Although he began his career relatively late in life, Paul Wranitzky rose to become one of the most important symphonists in Vienna in the 1790s. Yet, despite the high regard of his peers and later connoisseurs and critics, his prolific output was destined to be overshadowed by the towering achievements of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. This edition of Wranitzky’s orchestral works has already done much to address that reputational imbalance, both in terms of cornering the market for recordings of his works and for considerably raising the profile of an undeservedly neglected composer. The sources for many of these recordings are the result of exhaustive research amongst numerous European archives by leading Wranitzky scholar Daniel Bernhardsson, who has also written the booklet notes for this series. The programme for this latest album in our series includes the dramatic Grande sinfonie caractéristique pour la paix avec la République françoise, a portrait of the French Revolution and war with Austria and one of Wranitzky’s most famous works.

Donizetti’s L’aio nell’imbarazzo is a melodramma giocoso which was first performed to considerable acclaim in 1824. Its subject is the belated attempt by the elderly Marquis Giulio to keep his sons innocent of the ways of the world and the comedy of errors that results. Two years later Donizetti drastically revised the opera, which then duly appeared under the new title Don Gregorio. That title role is taken in this Donizetti Festival performance by the charismatic bass-baritone Alex Esposito, who was judged ‘masterful… heroic in his effort to make the humour shine through... diction and coloratura were perfect.’ (bachtrack) The production uses the critical edition of the opera, prepared by Maria Chiara Bertieri, that largely returns the work to Donizetti’s original conception, restoring excised arias and emphasising the sparkling orchestration.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2023, the Händelfestspielorchester Halle marked the occasion with a performance of Handel’s Lotario, an opera seria in three acts that was written and staged in London in 1729, after which it remained unperformed for centuries. Rarely found in catalogues, this new recording certainly fills a gap for such an unjustly neglected work. With a fine cast and crisp period-instrument sonorities, this live performance is sure to attract collectors. The excellent singers include renowned mezzo-soprano Anna Bonitatibus (Matilde), who was awarded the 2023 Handel Prize of the City of Halle for her outstanding 30-year career, and soprano Francesca Lombardi Mazzulli (Adelaide), who has played leading roles in historically informed performances devoted to the rediscovery of 17th- and 18th-century repertoire. Conductor Attilio Cremonesi is one of today's most renowned specialists in rarely performed Classical and Baroque repertoire.

This recording is a fine addition to our extensive catalogue of the complete solo piano music of Franz Liszt, whose prolific output as a composer was maintained during a stormy life and performing career. As a result, many works were revised before they became the popular pieces we know and love today. This wonderful selection of earlier and lesser-known versions of Liszt’s masterpieces includes the majestic Paralipomènes à la Divina Commedia, alongside other pieces that shed light on spiritual aspects of the final version of Années de pèlerinage. The pianist is Sergio Gallo, a Steinway artist and specialist in Romantic period repertoire who has already recorded several acclaimed albums for Naxos: ‘Gallo’s performance is beautifully nuanced …[He] exquisitely unfolds the thoughts with delicate discernment. Brilliant.’ (ConcertoNet.com on 8.574300, works by Anton Rubinstein)

Although complete editions of Domenico Scarlatti's 555 keyboard sonatas can be found in other catalogues, the Naxos edition distinguishes itself in being the only one to feature a veritable panoply of leading pianists, as opposed to a single artist, all performing on modern instruments. Vol. 29 in our series is performed by Emanuil Ivanov, who attracted international attention after receiving First Prize at the 2019 Ferruccio Busoni Piano Competition in Italy. In 2022, he was the recipient of both the honorary silver medal of the Musicians’ Company, London, and the generous Carnwath Piano Scholarship. Emanuil has given critically acclaimed recitals, concerto performances and tours in Japan, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Poland, with his performances also featuring on BBC Radio 3, Italy’s Rai Radio 3 and Japan’s NHK Radio.

Ever since its triumphant premiere in 1841, Adolphe Adam’s Giselle has been considered a masterwork in the canon of classical ballet. This new Dutch National Ballet recording of the work combines Marius Petipa’s original choreography with additional choreography by producers Rachel Beaujean and Ricardo Bustamante, breathing new life into Giselle while remaining true to the original, and combining stunning sets with costumes of ethereal beauty. The production’s distinguished cast includes Olga Smirnova (Giselle) and Giorgi Potskhishvili (Hilarion), who are both recent recipients of the Alexander Radius Prize, an award given by the Dutch National Ballet to its most outstanding performers.

Also available on Blu-ray Video (BAC525)

Dmitri Shostakovich’s symphonies arguably represent the most significant symphonic cycle of the 20th century, and certainly so if one excludes those by Gustav Mahler. The depth and variety of these fifteen symphonies, so closely tied to Shostakovich’s personality and the times in which he lived, make it particularly rewarding to listen to varying interpretations of the works, not least those featured in this edition, which initially received high critical praise: ‘Immensely satisfying. A traversal to treasure!’ (MusicWeb International) Now brought together in a 12-disc box set, Dmitrij Kitajenko’s recordings of the symphonies, made between 2002 and 2004, have found a place among the great cycles, both for their artistic merit, the benchmark audio qualities and wide dynamic range, plus the impassioned playing that Russian conductor Kitajenko draws from the musicians of the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne.

These two orchestral works by Karl Weigl both date from the early 1930s. As a student of Zemlinsky and with his works rooted in tonality, Weigl drew stylistically on the sound world of late Romanticism, never abandoning this aesthetic in favour of more progressive, contemporary trends. Weigl’s skill in orchestration can be heard throughout this programme, from the hymnic climaxes to the chamber music-like passages. Weigl never lived to hear a performance of either his Third Symphony or the Symphonic Prelude and, like so many of his larger works, the scores were not rediscovered until interest in his music made a welcome resurgence decades later. This release represents the world premiere audio recordings of both works.

Dmitri Shostakovich's significant output of symphonies and string quartets naturally define him as a very earnest composer. But he was also one of the most prolific film composers of the 20th century, producing the scores for 36 films which span virtually his entire professional career. It’s a fascinating panoply that reveals an aspect of Shostakovich that sometimes gets obscured when thinking of him only as a rather tormented, dark composer. In this 7-disc box set of his film music we witness Shostakovich's truly unburdened humour and delight in quirkiness, which is often taken for irony in his concert works. Shostakovich, however, never took composing lightly, and whether penning music for a cartoon or for symphonic icons, the musical merits are always impeccable.

Teeming with comedy, wit and an abundance of bravura choreography, Carlos Acosta’s production of Don Quixote brings the Spanish heat and romance of Cervantes' classic novel to sparkling life. Originally choreographed in the 19th century by Marius Petipa and enlivened by Minkus’ spirited score, this Royal Ballet production is a wonderful showcase for the virtuosity of the company’s principal dancers, with its joyous ensemble dances and brilliant solo roles making for ‘a full evening of glorious, transporting entertainment.’ (Culture Whisper ★★★★★)

Also available on Blu-ray Video (OABD7279D)