Founded in 1945 by George Mendelssohn Bartoldy (1912–1988), VOX played a major role in recognising and launching the careers of talents such as Alfred Brendel, Ingrid Haebler, Walter Klien, Michael Ponti, Aaron Rosand, Ivry Gitlis, Michael Gielen and Rolf Reinhardt. It also (re)-acquainted American listeners with senior artists such as Otto Klemperer, Jascha Horenstein, Ionel Perlea, Hans Rosbaud, Clemens Krauss, Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Lili Kraus, Vlado Perlmutter, György Sandor and Friedrich Wührer. Other artists who recorded for Mendelssohn included Rugiero Ricci, Shura Cherhassky, Susanne Lauterbacher, Robert Firkusny and Simon Abbey.
Many of the VOX recordings – especially those of complete orchestral cycles with American orchestras – were realised by the GRAMMY award-winning production team of Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz from the Elite Recordings Studio, while many others were produced by the Südwest Tonstudio in Germany, founded by Heinz Jansen. Considered by audiophiles to be among the very finest sounding orchestral recordings ever made, those original analogue tapes have now been carefully restored and remastered in high-definition transcriptions, with stunning results, and released under the new Audiophile Edition.
This album’s Rachmaninov programme from 1978 was conducted by Leonard Slatkin, who himself has received six GRAMMY awards and 35 nominations. Aubort and Nickrenz recorded Rachmaninov’s entire symphonic output for VOX in the 1970s.
Sergey Rachmaninov’s orchestral works were composed between 1887 (when he was not yet 14) and 1940 (the beginning of his final years). While composing the Second Symphony he was plagued by self-doubt. In the end, however, not only did he complete the work, but he also received a Glinka Prize for the symphony that showcases his masterly writing for the orchestra, his subtle and evocative use of colour, and his sure sense of structural proportion. Vocalise was originally composed for soprano or tenor with piano accompaniment. This recording features the better-known arrangement for orchestra, which wonderfully conveys the the flowing theme that is characteristic of the composer’s most expressive symphonic slow movements.
Sergey Rachmaninov’s five works for piano and orchestra continue to be his most successful compositions, together with his Second Symphony. Rachmaninov dedicated the Third Piano Concerto to his lifelong friend Josef Hofmann, who was widely regarded as the greatest pianist of the time. Both the piano and the orchestral parts belong to the most demanding repertoire ever written for this genre. The composer himself cited it as his favourite.
Abbey Simon was a pianist in the great Romantic tradition. His repertoire centered on Chopin, Schumann, Rachmaninov and Ravel, and he had a virtuoso technique which he employed with effortless ease, coupled with a smooth, clear sound.
Much has been written about Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, formerly Leonore. Beethoven worked on it off and on for almost a decade. During that time the four different overtures included on this recording were composed. They are substantially different, not only in length but also thematically, with the Fidelio overture composed in a different key and using no material from the opera itself. The Ruins of Athens is a set of incidental music pieces composed for the opening of the Deutsches Theater in today’s Budapest. Even though only the Turkish March is often heard today, many listeners may be more familiar with Liszt’s fantasia for piano and orchestra which is based on themes from this score.
Stanisław Skrowaczewski began to play the piano and the violin at the age of four, composed his first symphonic work at seven, gave his first public piano recital when he was eleven and went on to become one of the best-known conductors in the world. He conducted several Polish orchestras before emigrating to the US where he was chief conductor of many leading orchestras. On the present recording he leads the GRAMMY award-winning Minnesota Orchestra.
Son of the well-known visual artist Erika Giovanna Klien, Walter Klien began playing the piano at the age of five. In 1946 he began studies with Josef Dichler at the Vienna Academy of Music and completed his piano studies with Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. Klien also took lessons in composition from Paul Hindemith.
By the time of his debuts in Britain and America, Klien was already known through his recordings. During the 1960s and 1970s Klien toured the world playing in North and South America, Europe, the Far East, the Soviet Union and at most of the major musical festivals. In 1972 Rudolf Serkin made him a faculty member of the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont. Klien worked with violinists Wolfgang Schneiderhan and Edith Peinemann and singers Julius Patzak, Hans Hotter and Hermann Prey. Klien’s style was one of coolness and precision with a clarity of technique. As Donald Manildi described him: ‘Tonally and technically he left little to be desired, and the quiet authority of his approach did not preclude ample vitality and wit where needed.’ His repertoire was based around the Austro-German classical works for which he became famous, but he also played 20th-century music.
From the mid-1960s he recorded for VOX. He was the first pianist to record the complete solo piano music of Brahms, and he also recorded the complete piano sonatas of Mozart, for which he received the Wiener Flötenuhr Prize in 1969. Ten years later, in June 1979, Klien finished his recording of the complete piano sonatas of Schubert. He did not, however, attempt to complete the unfinished sonatas: ‘You do not write third and fourth movements for the C major. I studied composition and I wrote symphonies and operas but I would not like to finish a Schubert sonata.’ With fellow VOX artist Alfred Brendel, Klien recorded duets by Dvořák, Brahms and Mozart, but he never seemed to attain the public adulation that Brendel received. Also for VOX, Klien recorded major works by Schumann, some Haydn piano sonatas, and a selection of Grieg’s works, including the Ballade Op. 24. There are not many concerto recordings, but one VOX disc includes Stravinsky’s Concerto for Piano and Wind, and Concertinos by Janáček and Honegger.
Mozart was at his consistent best in the piano concertos, in which he successfully combined elements of virtuosity and depth, chamber music and symphonic style, and regard for both his public audience and his personal expression. Pianist Walter Klien recorded for VOX all of Mozart’s works for piano, together with those by Schubert and many works of other important composers. The present recording was made in 1978 by the famous production team of Joanna Nickrenz and Marc Aubort, founders of the Elite Recordings studio.
Winning the Assorted Programmes category of the International Classical Music Awards (2022) for his recording of Nikolai Kapustin’s Piano Concerto No. 4, pianist Frank Dupree showcases the unique stylistic blend of Soviet composer Nikolai Kapustin in this new album. Morphing from classical to jazz, his music crosses fully notated scores with the free soul of improvisation.
This latest album offers a similar variety, featuring a solo concerto, one for two pianos and percussion, and the Sinfonietta for piano four hands, with pianist Adrian Brendle.
Gramophone’s Editor-in-Chief James Jolly caught up with Frank Dupree to talk about how he discovered Nikolai Kapustin’s music and how it perfectly plays to his strengths as both a classical and jazz pianist.
– Pizzicato ★★★★
– Gramophone
– Music & Vision
– Fanfare
– Pizzicato ★★★★
– American Record Guide
– The New Listener
– Pizzicato
For a limited period, the Guitar Chill playlist on Apple Music will be guest curated by the Swedish guitarist Mats Bergström, featuring highlights from his recordings plus tracks from the artists and composers that inspire him.
Mats Bergström was born in 1961 and is a graduate of the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and The Juilliard School in New York. He made his recital debut at London’s Wigmore Hall in 1983 and has since pursued a career as a soloist, accompanist and ensemble player in various genres. Bergström has arranged a large number of songs and instrumental works for guitar, including Schubert’s song cycle Die schöne Müllerin and Bach’s Three Sonatas and Three Partitas for Solo Violin, and has recorded extensively for the Proprius label. BBC Music Magazine praised his playing as ‘impeccable but never pedantic, sometimes intimate, sometimes imperious, and light on ornamentation.’
Since 2006 he has been a member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Music. In 2011, he was awarded the prestigious Litteris et artibus medal (Swedish royal medal) by King Carl XVI Gustaf.
This is a 4-disc set compiled from selected recordings made by Mats Bergström between 2005 and 2022, presenting music ranging from the Bach brothers and Carl Michael Bellman to Edda Magnason and Georg Riedel.
– Gapplegate Music Review
The new Schubert trio album by Lars Vogt, Christian Tetzlaff and Tanja Tetzlaff recently reached Billboard Top 1 in the ‘Traditional Classical Albums’ category. This is a historic milestone in Ondine’s 38--year history and the first time a Finnish record label has been recognised as Top 1 album in the Billboard charts.
This new double-album by pianist Lars Vogt, violinist Christian Tetzlaff and cellist Tanja Tetzlaff includes some of Franz Schubert’s greatest chamber music works, including his Piano Trios and the Arpeggione Sonata, in breathtaking interpretations.
‘There are, of course, already many fine performances of these works on disc, from every generation of performers, but among recent versions there are none better than these.’
– The Guardian
Pianist Lars Vogt tragically passed away on 5 September 2022 following a serious illness, before this album of Schubert’s chamber music was released. The album stands as a great testament to his outstanding chamber musicianship together with his long-time chamber music partners Christian Tetzlaff and Tanja Tetzlaff. ‘If not much time remains, then it’s a worthy farewell. - - Incomprehensible. Such expression. Such fragility, such love.’ (Lars Vogt)
– Gramophone
– San Francisco Chornicle
– Pizzicato ★★★★★
Accordionist Ksenija Sidorova has been chosen by TIDAL as one of the 20 rising artists featured on their ‘Classical Artists to Watch 2023’ playlist, performing Arturs Maskats’ Accordion Concerto.
Ksenija Sidorova became a prize-winning undergraduate and postgraduate at London's Royal Academy of Music studying under Owen Murray. Praised as ‘revelatory’ (New York Times) with ‘breathtaking virtuosity’ (The Observer), Ksenija Sidorova is the leading ambassador for the classical accordion. Both a unique and charismatic performer, Ksenija is passionate about showcasing the vast capabilities of her instrument. Her repertoire spans from Bach to Piazzolla, from Efrem Podgaits and Václav Trojan to Erkki-Sven Tüür and George Bizet, as well as new accordion concertos composed especially for her and a multitude of chamber projects.
Latvian composer Arturs Maskats (b. 1957) has been at the centre of Latvian cultural life for decades, especially in the field of theatre and opera. Besides operas, incidental music and film music, his catalogue of works includes several orchestral works and concertos, songs and choral works. This new album from the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and conductor Andris Poga includes one of Maskats’ latest creations in the field of orchestral music: his Accordion Concerto (2021) here performed by fellow Latvian, star-accordionist Ksenija Sidorova, one of the brightest names in classical music today.
– Lark Reviews
– Fanfare
This release concludes Boris Giltburg’s 0-5 edition of Beethoven’s Complete Piano Concertos. As on previous volumes in the series, he’s accompanied by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vasily Petrenko.
‘Of all Beethoven’s piano concertos, it was No. 3 in C minor which left the strongest and most immediate impression on me as a child. The tangible tension of the dark, taut opening was electrifying, the inevitable fortissimo explosions awesome, the irresistible energy of the tutti passages exhilarating, and the sepulchral entrance of the orchestra at the end of the first movement mesmerising and chilling.
The Fourth Concerto is the most poetic and possibly the least extrovert of the five. While hardly lacking in pianistic brilliance – in fact, I would rank it as the most challenging of Beethoven’s concerti in terms of sheer technical difficulty – it is the poetry, suffusing every note, which seems to me to leave the biggest mark on both listeners and performers.’
– Boris Giltburg
– The Sunday Times, London
– BBC Music Magazine ★★★★
– ClassicsToday.com
– Record Geijutsu
Marius Gjersø is a trumpeter, composer, conductor and artist based in Oslo, Norway. He’s been playing trumpet and working as a musician in all aspects of the industry for over a decade, after obtaining his degree at the highly acknowledged NMH in Oslo. He creates wonderful soundscapes combining trumpet sounds and electronica, and adding creative visuals to his live-concept.
Before Marius Gjersø started producing Yûgen, he traveled around Japan, where his encounter with Japanese culture, manners and aesthetics made a big impression. On his return to Norway, these impressions from the east remained very much alive for him, and became a major influence on the album. Nine soulful pieces of electroacoustic improvisation lay a perfect foundation for his exquisite trumpet lines. Combining improvisation with melodic, ambient and minimalistic electronics, he creates a musical space to really embrace. Yûgen is his debut album as a solo artist.
‘A fascinating mix of melody, mood and minimalism that sends us on an endless journey through space and time’
– Fazemag
‘It looks ethereal and has something very delicate about it. Great music for quiet hours’
– Beat Magazin
Building on the success of Cavalleria rusticana, Pietro Mascagni’s commedia lirica L’amico Fritz was given seven encores and thirty-five curtain calls at its premiere in Rome in 1891. Considered by critics to be one of Mascagni’s best operas, the story is that of a love triangle involving the wealthy Fritz Kobus and Suzel, daughter of one of his tenants, who together sing the famous ‘Cherry Duet’ in Act II. Returning to the Teatro del Maggio Musicale in Florence for the first time since 1941, this production was acclaimed for its superb cast and astonishingly effective modern setting.
![MASCAGNI, P.: Amico Fritz (L') [Opera] (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, 2022) (NTSC)](https://www.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/DYN-37960.jpg "MASCAGNI, P.: Amico Fritz (L') [Opera] (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, 2022) (NTSC)")
‘Riccardo Frizza’s reading was lovingly phrased … which inspired an instant and generous ovation from the audience … The Maggio strings gave us a deep pile carpet of string sound, and tuning throughout was impeccable.’
– Operatraveller.com
| Suzel | Salome Jicia, soprano |
| Fritz Kobus | Charles Castronovo, tenor |
| Beppe | Teresa Iervolino, alto |
| David | Massimo Cavalletti, baritone |
| Federico | Dave Monaco, tenor |
| Hanezò | Francesco Samuele Venuti, baritone |
| Caterina | Caterina Meldolesi, soprano |
| Conductor | Riccardo Frizza |
| Director | Rosetta Cucchi |
| Chorus Master | Lorenzo Fratini |
| Set and Costume Designer | Gary McCann |
| Light Designer | Daniele Naldi |
| Assistant Director | Davide Gasparro |
| Assistant Set Designer | Eleonora Peronetti |
| Assistant Costume Designer | Gabriella Ingram |
| Video Director | Matteo Ricchetti |
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!
Enjoy 15% off at Artaria.com on digital sheet music editions of new publications of concertos – including those by Joseph Martin Kraus, Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, and Leopold Hofmann – with the discount code “NEW2023”. In addition, a 20% discount on the digital sheet music version of all the Hofmann and Kraus Concertos (not including the new publications) will be applied at checkout with the discount code “HK2023”.
Both codes are valid until 28 February 2023.
We are pleased to roll out the all-new NML World and NML Jazz apps with many new features! Download now at the App Store or Google Play store!
Naxos Music Library Jazz is one of the most comprehensive collections of Jazz music available online. It offers over 252,000 tracks from more than 25,500 albums. Over 43,000 jazz artists are represented. The service includes recordings from the 22 labels that comprise Fantasy Records together with more than 540 other labels.
Naxos Music Library World makes world music available online. It offers over 197,000 tracks of world music from more than 200 countries and 930 cultural groups. The entire catalogues of renowned labels such as Smithsonian Folkways, ARC, Celestial Harmonies and many other independent labels are available. It is a perfect service for anyone with an interest in popular ethnic music.
Classical FINDS 4
February 17, 2023
Music from Finland brings our short survey of Nordic music over the past few weeks to a close. For most people, the country’s reputation for classical music is probably dominated by the name of Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), so this blog will try and turn the spotlight on works by other composers deserving of air-time.
Classical FINDS 3
February 3, 2023
It’s Norway that comes under the spotlight this week in our Nordic composers survey. Iceland + Sweden and Denmark featured in the first two instalments; Finland will take the finale spot. The seven Norwegian composers in this chapter will be heard in chronological order, with one exception.
Looking for new music? Our selection of curated playlists has you covered with music to complement the season, moment, or activity! Set a romantic mood with the Love and Romance playlist and discover new romantic favourites with the Wedding Essentials playlist from Naxos. Explore vibrant classical music by notable Black composers and performers with the Hues of Music: Black Voices playlist from unCLASSIFIED. Declutter your mind with Strings in the Background from Naxos Moods and enhance your ordinary date night into a special and romantic evening with Grand Piano’s Romantic Piano playlist. Happy Listening!
We’re excited to announce the launch of Naxos Moods! 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 world and jazz music as well. Exciting developments to the Naxos Moods initiative are coming soon – stay tuned for more!
Discover the Naxos Atmosphere playlist, a spatial experience from the Naxos world of classical music featuring Dolby Atmos technology.
The award-winning film Everything Everywhere All At Once, a twisty sci-fi adventure starring Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, Jenny Slate and Harry Shum Jr., together with James Hong and Jamie Lee Curtis, recently received 11 Oscar nominations.
The film licensed music from the Naxos recording of Mendelssohn’s Wedding March performed by Bertalan Hock.
Need to license some music for a project and don’t know where to start? Visit Naxos Licensing to find out how!
