JULIAN ORBON
Orbon: Symphonic Dances / Concerto Grosso / Three Symphonic Versions Hector Corpus Aguilar (violin) Vladimir Atapin (cello) Oleg Lev (viola) Alexandre Vassiliev (violin) / Asturias Symphony Orchestra / Maximiano Valdes [ Naxos Spanish Classics / CD - released 27/Jan/2004 ] Julián Orbón was born in Avilés in the northern Spanish region of Asturias, on 7th August 1925, and he spent most of his childhood in that region, with the exception of a year's visit to Cuba. |
KAROL SZYMANOWSK
Szymanowski: King Roger (Krol Roger), Op. 46 (Complete Opera) plus Prince Potemkin (Kniaz Patiomkin): Incidental Music to Act V Henryk Grychnik (tenor), Andrzej Hiolski (baritone), Anna Malewicz Madej (contralto) / Polish National Radio Symphony / Wit [ Naxos Opera Classics / 2 CD - released 6/Jan/2004 ] "The recorded sound surpasses the others. Perspective is good; voices aren't drowned, but the delicacy of the orchestration is not lost" - American Record Guide |
LONG ZHOU / YI CHEN
Symphony, "Humen 1839" / The Rhyme of Taigu / The Enlightened New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Darrell Ang [ Naxos / CD - released 5/May/2015 ] "This is thrilling, cinematic music that, although challenging at times, is always gripping." The Kansas City Star |
LOUIS MOREAU GOTTSCHALK
Gottschalk: Orchestral Works (Complete) Hot Springs Festival Symphony Orchestra, Richard Rosenberg [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 9/Oct/2007 ] "As good an introduction to Gottschalk's œuvre as any." (MusicWeb Oct 2007) |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 (with Schumann-Introduction and Concert-Allegro) Idil Biret, Jeno Jando (pianos) / Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra / Antoni Wit (conductor) [ Naxos Super Budget Series / CD - released 30/Jun/2008 ] "Jeno Jando and his Polish colleagues strike me as getting the balance just about right" - Classic CD |
ANTONIN DVOARK / ALEXANDER GLAZUNOV
Dvorak/Glazunov: Violin Concertos Ilya Kaler (violin) / Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Camilla Kolchinsky [ Naxos / CD ] "Kaler's playing of these Romantic sweetly-tuned works is excellent" BBC Music Magazine "Ilya Kaler has great romantic warmth and natural Slavonic feeling....In short this is first class in every way" Penguin Guide |
VALENTIN SILVESTROV
Silvestrov: Ode to a Nightingale / Piano Concertino / Symphony No. 7 Inna Galatenko, Oleg Bezborodko, Marija Grikevičiūtė / Lithuanian National Symphony, Christopher Lyndon-Gee [ Naxos / CD - released 14/Aug/2020 ] Valentin Silvestrov's elusive post-modern style is rich in nostalgia for the lost music of a barely remembered past filled with beauty and spiritual aspiration. |
WALTER PISTON
Piston: Violin Concertos / Fantasia for Violin and Orchestra James Buswell (violin) / National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine / Theodore Kuchar [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 15/Feb/2001 ] Rosette (Highest Rating) Penguin Stereo Guide / * * * * * 5 Stars - BBC Music Magazine (Sept 99) / Editor's Choice - Gramophone Magazine (Oct 99) / Critic's Choice Gramophone Magazine 1999 |
LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Bernstein: Symphonies Nos 1 'Jeremiah' & 2 'The Age of Anxiety' Jennifer Johnson Cano (mezzo-soprano) Jean-Yves Thibaudet, (piano) / Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop [ Naxos American Classics / CD - released 17/Dec/2016 ] "It's great to see this music being played with such conviction. I don't think that Bernstein could have done better...the engineering is also rock solid and brilliant by turns. A marvelous release by any standard." ClassicsToday 10/10 Jan 2017 |
MAURICE RAVEL
Ravel: L'Enfant et les sortileges (complete opera) / Sheherazade Julie Boulianne / Genevieve Despres / Kirsten Gunlogson / Chattanooga Boys Choir / Nashville Symphony Orchestra / Alastair Willis [ Naxos Opera Classics / CD - released 1/Apr/2009 ] "raucous humour with heartfelt tenderness... Julie Boulianne's child has wide-eyed wonder... She can be heard in grown-up, and decidedly seductive mode in the accompanying Shéhérazade." BBC Music |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Jussi Bjorling: Opera Arias Jussi Bjorling (Tenor) / Stockholm Royal Opera Orchestra, Stockholm Symphony Orchestra, Nils Grevillius [ NAXOS HISTORICAL GREAT SINGERS / CD ] Recorded in the small auditorium of the Stockholm Concert Hall |
WILHELM STENHAMMAR
Stenhammar: Serenade in F Major / Florez and Banzeflor / Ithaca Karl-Magnus Fredriksson (baritone) / Gävle Symphony Orchestra / Hannu Koivula [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Dec/2010 ] "The performances, with Hannu Koivula conducting the Gävle Symphony, make up in atmosphere for what they occasionally lack in refinement, and the ballads are sensationally sung by Karl-Magnus Frederiksson." (The Guardian) |
HENRYK GORECKI
Gorecki: Symphony No.2 'Copernican' / Beatus Vir Zofia Kilanowicz, soprano / Andrzej Dobber, baritone / Polish Radio Choir / Silesian Phil Choi [ Naxos / CD - released 15/May/2001 ] " Antoni Wit has an admirable track record with Naxos, and this recording is another win for him. The sound is excellent: very focused and rich." (10/9 ClassicsToday 2001) |
GIAN CARLO MENOTTI
Menotti: Amahl and the Night Visitors / My Christmas Kirsten Gunlogson (soprano) Ike Hawkersmith (treble) Todd Thomas (baritone) / Chicago Symphony Chorus / Nashville Symphony Orchestra / Alastair Willis [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Dec/2008 ] "Naxos have done well to bring such a strong performance to the catalogue at budget price. It all adds up to a fine seasonal treat to be enjoyed with a cup of mulled wine and a mince pie." (MusicWeb Jan 2009) |
SIR EDWARD ELGAR
The Best of Elgar (Incls 'Nimrod' variation & 'Pomp and Circumstance' March Nos 1 & 4) Maria Kliegel (cello) Dong-Suk Kang (violin) / BBC Philharmonic Orchestra / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra / etc [ Naxos / CD - released 10/May/2008 ] Edward Elgar was arguably the leading English composer of his generation and a significant figure among late Romantic European musicians. Born in the West of England in 1857, the son of a piano-tuner and owner of a music shop, he earned his earlier... |
NIKOLAY KARLOVICH MEDTNER
Medtner: Piano Concertos 1 and 3 Konstantin Scherbakov (piano) / Moscow Symphony Orchestra / Vladimir Ziva, conductor [ Naxos Romantic Piano Concertos / CD - released 15/Feb/2002 ] "He and his partners are entirely sympathetic to freely associating ideas that sprout wings of the spirit and evolve into endlessly changing hues and patterns contained within a disciplined if idiosyncratic sense of form." - Gramophone |
NIKOLAY KARLOVICH MEDTNER
Medtner: Piano Concerto No. 2 / Piano Quintet Konstantin Scherbakov (piano) Zuzana Bourova (viola) Ewald Danel (violin) Jozef Podhoransky (cello) Konstantin Scherbakov (piano) / Moscow Symphony Or [ Naxos Romantic Piano Concertos / CD - released 29/Oct/2005 ] "virtuosic and brilliant playing from Konstantin Scherbakov" (Penguin Guide) |
TELEMANN / BARTOK / MOZART / HINDEMITH / BRAHMS / etc
Vivid Viola: Best loved classical viola music Ladislav Kyselák, Hong-Mei Xiao, Roger Chase, Roberto Díaz, Tabea Zimmermann, Heinrich Koll (Violas) [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Nov/2019 ] The viola is only slightly larger than the violin but possesses a middle range that is richly expressive and full of pathos. It has been played by some of the greatest composers, including JS Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Dvorak. |
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Saint-Saëns: Ascanio - Ballet: Andromaque / Overtures / etc Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Jun Märkl [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Nov/2019 ] "This disc is a mandatory acquisition for anyone who cares about either the composer or good French theater music." 9/9 ClassicsToday |