3

ROSSINI, G.: Cenerentola (La) [Opera] (Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, 2016) (NTSC) (752408)




3

ROSSINI, G.: Cenerentola (La) [Opera] (Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, 2016) (Blu-ray, HD) (752504)




3

VIENNA JOHANN STRAUSS ORCHESTRA: Musical Journey Across Austria (A) (NTSC) (753008)




3

VIENNA JOHANN STRAUSS ORCHESTRA: Musical Journey Across Austria (A) (Blu-ray, HD) (753104)




3

NEUMEIER, J.: Beethoven Project [Ballet] (Hamburg Ballet, 2019) (NTSC) (753608)




3

NEUMEIER, J.: Beethoven Project [Ballet] (Hamburg Ballet, 2019) (Blu-ray, HD) (753704)




3

OFFENBACH, J.: Contes d'Hoffmann (Les) [Opera] (DNO, 2018) (NTSC) (752808)




3

OFFENBACH, J.: Contes d'Hoffmann (Les) [Opera] (DNO, 2018) (Blu-ray, HD) (752904)




3

BRAHMS, J.: Deutsches Requiem (Ein) (Farcas, Goerne, State Choir Latvija, Bremen German Chamber Philharmonic, P. Järvi) (NTSC) (753208)




3

BRAHMS, J.: Deutsches Requiem (Ein) (Farcas, Goerne, State Choir Latvija, Bremen German Chamber Philharmonic, P. Järvi) (Blu-ray, HD) (753304)




3

WAGNER, R.: Fliegende Holländer (Der) [Opera] (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, 2019) (NTSC) (753808)




3

WAGNER, R.: Fliegende Holländer (Der) [Opera] (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, 2019) (Blu-ray, HD) (753904)




3

LARCHER, T.: Jagdgewehr (Das) (The Hunting Gun) [Opera] (Bregenz Festival, 2018) (Blu-ray, HD) (754304)




3

LA PHIL 100 - The Los Angeles Philharmonic Centennial Birthday Gala (Dudamel, Mehta, Salonen) (NTSC) (753408)




3

LA PHIL 100 - The Los Angeles Philharmonic Centennial Birthday Gala (Dudamel, Mehta, Salonen) (Blu-ray, HD) (753504)




3

Piano Recital: Kim, Honggi - GRANADOS, E. / RAVEL, M. / SÁNCHEZ-VERDÚ, J.M. / SCHUMANN, R. / VINE, C. (8.574232)

Honggi Kim, winner of the 2018 Jaén Prize International Piano Competition, has chosen a fascinating recital programme for his Naxos recording debut. Both Scarbo and Los requiebros are pillars of the piano repertoire, brimming with expressive and technical challenges for any performer, as is Carl Vine’s beautifully written but rarely heard Piano Sonata No. 1. Sánchez-Verdú’s Jardín de espejos (‘Garden of Mirrors’) is influenced by the multiple layers in Islamic art, the ‘mirrors’ of the title lending shape to a tradition of listening, silence and echoes. The programme concludes with Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E flat major, an outstanding work in the chamber-music literature.




3

Piano Recital: Józsa, Peter - HAYDN, J. / SCHUBERT, F. / CHOPIN, F. / LISZT, F. / BRAHMS, J. (Portrait) (Gramola99213)




3

MOZART, W.A.: 30 of the Best (8.578353-54)

Mozart was a childhood prodigy, composing from the age of five and performing at royal courts by the age of 10, becoming famous throughout Europe. As an immensely influential composer, his music sits at the very centre of Western musical culture and today casts its spell over the hearts and minds of music lovers throughout the world. This substantial collection presents the cream of Mozart’s imperishable contribution to music through his piano concertos, symphonies, chamber music, operas and choral works.




3

MARTINI, G.B.: Azione teatrale / Richiami degli ambulanti al mercato di Bologna (Contro, Troilo, Coro da Camera Euridice, Circe, Scattolin) (TC701307)




3

MAGNARD, A.: Orchestral Works - Ouverture / Chant funèbre / Hymne à la justice / Hymne à Vénus (Freiburg Philharmonic, Bollon) (8.574084)

Although Albéric Magnard’s oeuvre is relatively small, the uncompromising perfectionism with which he worked created a catalogue that is filled with expansive, complex and beautifully crafted music. Composed while he was still a student of Vincent d’Indy, the Suite d’orchestre dans le style ancien follows 18th-century models and is simultaneously solemn and joyful in mood, while the Chant funèbre is seen as his first true masterpiece. The importance of justice in Magnard’s life is expressed in the Hymne à la justice, while the Hymne à Vénus reflects every aspect of love, from tenderness to elation.




3

KORNGOLD, E.W.: Opera Highlights and Orchestral Works - Das Wunder der Heliane / Märchenbilder / Die tote Stadt (Linz Bruckner Orchestra, C. Richter) (C7350)




3

HERNÁNDEZ, S.: Piano Music Initiation to the Shadow / Terra Santa / Fantasia for Piano / Don't Forget About That (S. Hernández) (8.579072)

The distinguished Spanish composer and pianist Sira Hernández is known especially for her involvement with multi-discipline arts projects at major international festivals and cultural events. Many of her works are inspired by Italian artists as can be heard on this album. Minimalist techniques and the significance of tonality and timbre in communicating darkness and light are heard in Iniciación a la sombra and the sewing-machine ostinatos of Fantasía para piano. The presence of God amidst the bleak spaces of madness are expressed in Terra Santa, and the intensity of Don’t Forget About That invites us to resist oblivion.




3

HANDEL, G.F.: Messiah (1742 version) (Mields, Schachtner, Kristjánsson, Berndt, Gaechinger Cantorey, Rademann) (ACC-30499)




3

GIULIANI, M.: Choix de mes fleurs chéries / Le Giulianate (Le Bouquet Emblématique) (Khouri) (CDS7855)




3

GAVRILIN, V.A.: Russian Notebook (The) / Anyuta (excerpts) (Shkirtil, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Symphony, Serov) (8.573883)

Valery Gavrilin was one of the most colourful and significant Russian composers of the second half of the 20th century. He was only 25 when he composed The Russian Notebook, a ‘poem of love and death’ crafted in a new musical language that doesn’t employ folk melodies but does use folkloric texts, and with a virtuosic vocal part. These stylised tunes are combined with rich melodies to form a haunting cycle heard here in a 2018 orchestration. The ten numbers from the ballet Anyuta are lively, melodious and touchingly beautiful.




3

DOHNÁNYI, E.: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 (Gülbadamova, Rheinland-Pfalz State Philharmonic, Matiakh) (C5387)




3

COUPERIN, F.: Harpsichord Music (L'Unique) (Vinikour) (CDR90000-194)




3

CLASSICAL MUSIC - 30 of the Best (8.578355-56)

This introduction to the exciting world of classical music will take you on a voyage of discovery as you experience the beauty and drama of some of the most famous music ever written. This essential collection presents something for every moment: excitement, relaxation, elation and more, with critically acclaimed recordings selected from the vast Naxos catalogue. Let your mind and emotions be transported by the greatest music from the greatest composers.




3

CLARKE, N.: Mysteries of the Horizon / Dial 'H' for Hitchcock / Swift Severn's Flood (Vanhoorne, Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Thornton, Clarke, S.Smith) (8.574097)

Nigel Clarke has always been fascinated by virtuosity and timbre—it is the brass band genre that has lent itself most to his passion for musical athleticism. Dial ‘H’ for Hitchcock is an imaginary film score in the film noir vein, complete with classic and chilling sound effects, while the heroic, brooding and violent Swift Severn’s Flood was inspired by a line from Shakespeare. Cornet concerto Mysteries of the Horizon examines the atmosphere of paintings by René Magritte, and Earthrise celebrates one of the most iconic photographs in history and the drama of the Apollo 8 mission.




3

ČIURLIONIS, M.K.: Sea (The) / In the Forest / Kęstutis Overture (Lithuanian National Symphony, Pitrėnas) (ODE1344-2)




3

CHOPIN, F.: Scherzos Nos. 1-4 / Impromptus Nos. 1-3 / Fantasy-Impromptu / Allegro de concert (Mao Fujita) (8.574052)

Chopin turned the Scherzo into a new form of piano composition: an independent virtuoso work which he laced with drama, Polish folk song, tranquillity and nuance. With their rhythmic lilt and filigree ornamentation the Impromptus are infused with Romantic freedom, while the Allegro de concert, Op. 46 was originally conceived as a movement for a projected piano concerto but was instead revised for solo piano.




3

Cello, Soprano and Piano Recital: Ruh, Janina / Kusnezow, Boris - POULENC, F. / DEBUSSY, C. / FRANCK, C. (Dialogues) (SWR19030CD)




3

CATHER, W.: My Ántonia (Unabridged) (NA0457)

Orphaned at the age of 10, Jim Burden moves to Nebraska to live with his grandparents. There he meets Ántonia Shimerda, the daughter of an immigrant family from Bohemia, who have come to carve out a life for themselves in the harsh and bountiful Nebraskan landscape. At the urging of her father, Jim teaches Ántonia English and together they share adventures that will bind them throughout their lives, despite the vicissitudes of time and fate, and years of separation. The final book in Willa Cather’s Great Plains trilogy, My Ántonia is a lyrical tribute to the bygone pioneer life and the struggles and successes of America’s early settlers.




3

BRAHMS, J.: Piano Concerto No. 2 / Handel Variations (Vogt, Royal Northern Sinfonia) (ODE1346-2)




3

BOLIVIA Ruphay (Los): Music of the Andes - Jach'a Uru (The Great Day) (EUCD2893)




3

BEETHOVEN, L. van: String Quartets Nos. 13 and 15 / Grosse Fuge (Tetzlaff Quartet) (ODE1347-2D)




3

BEETHOVEN, L. van: Celebrate Beethoven - Music from His Late Compositional Period (c.1815–1827) (9.30207)




3

BEETHOVEN, L. van: 30 of the Best (8.578350-52)

Beethoven is regarded by many to be the greatest composer who ever lived, and this collection presents 30 essential recordings of his most well-known works. From the beautiful moods of lamentation in the ‘Moonlight’ Sonata to the amorous sophistication of Für Elise, and from the heroism of Fidelio to the mighty finale of the ‘Choral’ Symphony, every significant facet of Beethoven’s monumental achievement is represented in this collection of exemplary performances from the Naxos catalogue.




3

VITALI, G.B.: Sonate, Op. 5 (Italico Spendore) (TC623305)




3

Violin Recital: Arnoldi, Roberto - ANZAGHI, D. / ARNOLDI, N. / GARBARINO, G. / SPINOSA, R. / VACCHI, F. (New Music for Solo Violin) (TC940003)




3

VERDI, G.: Attila [Opera] (I. D'Arcangelo, Monastyrska, S. La Colla, G. Petean, Bavarian Radio Chorus, Munich Radio Orchestra, Repušić) (900330)




3

TCHAIKOVSKY, P.I.: Sacred Choral Works - Vesper Service / Hymn in honour of SS Cyril and Methodius (Latvian Radio Choir, Kļava) (ODE1352-2)




3

SINIGAGLIA, L.: String Quartet Works (Complete), Vol. 1 - String Quartet, Op. 27 / Brahms Variations / Hora Mystica (Archos Quartet) (8.574183)

The renowned Italian composer and mountaineer Leone Sinigaglia wrote a fascinating series of pieces for string quartet that reflect his powers of characterisation and elegance. Flowing melodies can be heard throughout, not least in the Concert-Étude, Op. 5, while the more substantial Variations on a Theme of Brahms, Op. 22 display his technical skill and expressive variety, whether reflective, sombre or exuberant. His String Quartet in D major, Op. 27 exemplifies his dual inheritance: a commanding central European facility, combined with a natural Italian lyricism.




3

SIERRA, R.: Cantares / Loíza / Triple Concierto (Trío Arbós, Cornell University Chorus and Glee Club, Xalapa Symphony, Marcelletti) (8.559876)

Roberto Sierra’s refined compositional voice is subtly combined with contemporary musical techniques and his Puerto Rican heritage in the three works recorded here. Cantares, commissioned by the Cornell University Chorus and Glee Club to celebrate the university’s sesquicentennial anniversary, evokes ancient Peruvian, Aztec and Afro Caribbean voices lost in time. The virtuoso Triple Concierto transforms the popular Caribbean rhythms of salsa, bolero and merengue into complex contemporary expressions, while the polyrhythmic layers of Loíza conjure a Puerto Rican town known for its strong African traditions.




3

SCRIABIN, A. / PASTERNAK, B.: Piano Works (Samson-Primachenko) (UP0213)




3

SCHARWENKA, P.: Piano Trio, Op. 121 / Duo for Violin and Viola / Viola Sonata / 4 Concert Pieces (Breuninger, Berthaud, Triendl) (C5391)




3

PROKOFIEV, S.: Symphonies Nos. 3 and 6 (German Radio Saarbrücken-Kaiserslautern Philharmonic, Inkinen) (SWR19086CD)




3

PROKOFIEV, S.: Songs and Romances (Gritskova, Prinz) (8.574030)

Sergey Prokofiev is acknowledged as one of the 20th century’s greatest composers, and his enduring popularity today rests on a rich legacy of orchestral and chamber works. Less well-known are his songs, which display a lyrical component that suited his liking for clear and simple forms. This can be heard particularly in Five Poems of Anna Akhmatova, but all of these pieces show Prokofiev to be a worthy successor of the great 19th-century tradition of art songs. Margarita Gritskova’s voice was described by Opera News as ‘a spectacular instrument’ in her recording of Russian Songs on Naxos 8.573908.




3

Piano Recital: Choni, Dmytro - DEBUSSY, C. / GINASTERA, A. / LIGETI, G. / PROKOFIEV, S. (8.574136)

The Ukrainian pianist Dmytro Choni, winner of the 2018 Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition, has selected a programme that spans the 20th century. The first book of Debussy’s Images offers poetic evocation and virtuoso caprice, whereas Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 6, completed in 1940, is the first of his ‘War Sonatas’, characteristically contrasting rhythmic vitality with rich lyricism. Ginastera, too, supplies vivid intensity in his Piano Sonata No. 1 suggesting the sound of the guitar, while Ligeti’s Étude is a Debussyian evocation of a rainbow.




3

Piano Music (French) - BOULEZ, P. / DEBUSSY, C. / MESSIAEN, O. / RAVEL, M. (Rare French Piano Music) (van Raat) (8.573894)

This album of French piano rarities features seldom-heard and recently discovered works by composers who had an influence on Pierre Boulez, as well as the premiere recording of Boulez’s Prélude, Toccata et Scherzo. This large-scale early work looks back on virtuosic Romantic music, while at the same time exploring the new compositional styles that Boulez would subsequently embrace. Among the rarities is a posthumously discovered piano study by Debussy, a reconstructed birdsong work by Messiaen, and a tiny masterpiece by Ravel found in a notebook.