Naxos congratulates two of its most distinguished recording artists-conductor Marin Alsop, Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and the Pacifica Quartet-who recently were named as two of Musical America’s 2009 honorees. Ms. Alsop and the Quartet share this honor with renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma (Musician of the Year), mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe (Vocalist of the Year), and Christopher Rouse (Composer of the Year).
Marin Alsop, Musical America’s Conductor of the Year, has an extensive recorded legacy for Naxos, including an ongoing series of live recordings with the Baltimore Symphony of music by Antonin Dvořák (Naxos 8.570714), the complete symphonies of Brahms with the London Philharmonic, and three discs of works by Béla Bartók. Additionally, Ms. Alsop has made numerous recordings devoted to music by American composers, including her mentor Leonard Bernstein (Chichester Psalms; Serenade), as well as Samuel Barber, John Adams, Philip Glass, Michael Daugherty, and Michael Torke. Her upcoming releases will include John Adams’ Nixon in China with Opera Colorado, and Leonard Bernstein’s Mass, a work she has championed this season.
Hailed by Gramophone as “one of the finest and most energetic quartets of the younger generation, The Pacifica Quartet, named 2009 Ensemble of the Year by Musical America, was just honored with a Grammy® nomination for Best Chamber Music Performance for its acclaimed Naxos recording of Elliott Carter String Quartets Nos. 1 & 5 (Naxos 8.559362). The Quartet has won numerous accolades for its recording; Steve Smith of The New York Times deemed it “a stunning disc of Quartets No. 1 and No. 5 … on Naxos.” The Times of London also praised the album, saying “The Pacificas, who have given all five works in a prodigious single programme, play magnificently.” The second volume of Carter quartets is due for release in February 2009.
The annual Musical America Awards recognize artistic excellence and achievement and coincide with the publication of the 2009 Musical America International Directory of the Performing Arts, which, in addition to its comprehensive industry listings, pays homage to each of its awardees in its editorial pages. Musical America will present its awards in a special ceremony at Lincoln Center on December 15.
Hailed as one of the world’s leading conductors for her artistic vision and commitment to accessibility in classical music, Marin Alsop made history with her appointment as the 12th music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. With her inaugural concerts in September 2007, she became the first woman to head a major American orchestra. She also holds the title of Conductor Emeritus at the Bournemouth Symphony in the United Kingdom, where she served as the principal conductor from 2002-2008 and is music director of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in California.
In 2005, Ms. Alsop was named a MacArthur Fellow, the first conductor ever to receive this prestigious award. In 2007, she was honored with a European Women of Achievement Award, in 2008 she was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 2009 Musical America named her “Conductor of the Year.” A regular guest conductor with the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ms. Alsop appears frequently as a guest conductor with the most distinguished orchestras around the world. In addition to her performance activities, she is also an active recording artist with award-winning cycles of Brahms and Barber orchestral works. She is currently recording the Dvořák symphonies with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Marin Alsop attended Yale University and received her master’s degree from The Juilliard School. In 1989, her conducting career was launched when she won the Leopold Stokowski International Conducting Competition in New York.
The Pacifica Quartet, in residence at the University of Chicago, garnered international attention in 2002 when it performed all five of American composer Elliott Carter’s quartets in a single evening. Of that groundbreaking performance, The New York Times wrote: “That [the Quartet] played more than two hours of the most difficult music ever conceived with such technical assurance and keen musicianship was impressive enough. But they did more, bringing out the music’s volatile emotions, delicacy and even, in places, plucky humor.”
Garnering two nominations this year, the Naxos world premiere recording of John Corigliano’s Mr. Tambourine Man picked up a Best Classical Contemporary Composition nomination for the Pulitzer, Oscar, Grammy®, and Grawemeyer award-winning composer. The album, which features conductor JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic, also brought in a nomination for the recording’s soloist, Israeli-born soprano Hila Plitmann, who received a nomination for Best Classical Vocal Performance.
The Pacifica Quartet, recently named 2009 Ensemble of the Year by Musical America, was honored with a nomination for Best Chamber Music Performance for its acclaimed Naxos recording of Elliott Carter String Quartets Nos. 1 & 5. The second volume of this series is due for release in February 2009. Renowned producer Judith Sherman picked up a nomination for Producer of the Year for her work on the Carter String Quartets on Naxos and 4 additional albums.
A Choral Performance nomination went to chorus master Henryk Wojnarowski and conductor Antoni Wit for the Naxos recording of Karol Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater with the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir. A Best Engineered Album (Classical) nomination went to engineer John Newton for his work on the Naxos recording Respighi: Church Windows, Brazilian Impressions, Rossiniana, which featured conductor JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
NAXOS OF AMERICA DISTRIBUTED LABEL ARTISTS NOMINATED FOR GRAMMYS®
Artists from British-based label Chandos received 5 nominations in multiple categories this year. Spotless Rose: Hymns to the Virgin Mary featuring the Phoenix Chorale, conductor Charles Bruffy, and produced by Blanton Alspaugh, was nominated for Best Classical Album (Awards to Artists and Producer). Additionally, Mr. Bruffy and the Phoenix Chorale were nominated in the Best Small Ensemble Performance category for this recording. Another Chandos choral recording, Rheinberger: Sacred Choral Works, conductor Charles Bruffy (with the Kansas City Chorale and Phoenix Bach Choir) earned nominations for Best Surround Sound Album and Best Choral Performance. Finally, a Best Orchestral Performance nomination went to conductor Rumon Gamba and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra for their Chandos recording D’Indy Orchestral Works, Volume 1.
A EuroArts production earned two nominations in the categories of Best Classical Album (Award to Artists and Producers) and Best Opera Recording (Award to Conductor, Producer, and Principal Soloists) for their DVD recording of Kurt Weill’s Rise and Fall of The City of Mahagonny. The performance featured conductor James Conlon, soloists Anthony Dean Griffey, Patti LuPone and Audra McDonald; the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra and Chorus; and was produced by Fred Vogler. This is the first Grammy® Awards in which DVD recordings of operas are eligible for nomination. Only the audio portion of the DVD is considered in the nominating process.
Also in the category of Best Opera Recording nominations went to conductors Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs for their CPO recording of Jean Baptiste Lully’s Psyché with the Boston Early Music Festival (Mr. O’Dette and Mr. Stubbs also were nominated last year for their CPO recording of Jean Baptiste Lully’s Thésée with the Boston Early Music Festival).
Renowned Italian conductor and Baroque-specialist, Rinaldo Alessandrini was nominated for his Naïve classique recording of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo.
Finally, violinist Elmar Oliveira earned a nomination for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra for his Artek recording of Violin Concertos by Ernst Bloch and Benjamin Lees with John McLaughlin Williams conducting the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine.
“To have the freedom to decide what kind of repertory to record is a most exhilarating feeling a musician can experience. The establishment of the Idil Biret Archive label with worldwide distribution by Naxos is simply the realization of a wish, a dream coming true for me.”
-Idil Biret
The Idil Biret Archive contains all of the pianist’s professional recordings and many of her radio and television recordings
In December 2008 the Idil Biret Archive (IBA) will join the Naxos family of labels, IBA recordings will be distributed worldwide as well as digitally on major websites including Naxos Music Library, ClassicsOnline, iTunes, eMusic and Amazon.
Biret is a prolific recording artist whose repertoire includes mastery of music from the classical to modern era. Since she began her recording career in 1949 she has made over 80 recordings for nine labels, as well as countless radio and television recordings. Many of these recordings have never been available commercially and will debut on IBA.
First four recordings will be released in December 2008. Four volumes from the 19 volume Beethoven Edition will be released first. The Beethoven Edition includes the 32 Piano Sonatas, Five Piano Concertos, Choral Fantasia, and Liszt’s transcriptions of the Nine Symphonies. The Sonatas and Piano Concertos (with the Bikent Symphony Orchestra conducted by Antoni Wit) are new recordings. The Liszt transcriptions were originally issued by EMI in 1986.
Starting in February 2009, remaining recordings in the Beethoven Edition will be released on a monthly basis. Biret is the only pianist to have performed all of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, Concertos and Liszt transcriptions of the Nine Symphonies in public concerts. She is now the first pianist to have recorded them all. A DVD film, “The Making of the Beethoven Recordings” will also be available shortly.
Major Concertos Newly Recorded
For future release, Biret has also recorded new versions of concertos by Tchaikovsky, Liszt, Grieg and Schumann. In addition to the newly recorded CDs, the legendary and long unavailable recordings Biret made for Atlantic/Finnadar in the 1970s will be released.
Awards and Publications
In 2006, “Idil Biret, A Turkish Pianist in France,” a book about Biret’s life and musical philosophy, was published by the French publisher Buchet-Chastel. Turkish and German language versions of the book are now available. English, Polish, Russian and Greek translations will be available shortly. In 2007, Biret was awarded the Distinguished Service Order - Cavalry Cross by the Polish President for her service to Polish culture through her Chopin recordings. Biret is now preparing a new edition of Chopin’s piano music for the New York publisher IMC.
“Thanks to a superb cast and impeccable playing under Antonio Pappano, the evening is a glittering success. … What Birtwistle has done is give us one opera inside another. The outer one is strident and earthbound; the inner one-ending with the Minotaur’s Caliban-like dying aria-burns with visionary fire.”
-The Independent
On November 18, Opus Arte releases the world-premiere DVD of Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s latest opera, The Minotaur, recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on April 25 and 30 and May 30, 2008. Also included is a bonus documentary film, Myth is Universal.
This gripping new work by Birtwistle and librettist David Harsent brings the monstrous creature from Greek mythology to the operatic stage. The Minotaur, part man, part beast, trapped in his labyrinth and constrained by his bloodthirsty existence, longs to discover his true identity and his own voice. Athens must pay a blood sacrifice to Crete, and among the innocents is Theseus, who has come to challenge the violent Minotaur. He attracts the attention of Ariadne, half-sister and keeper of the monster, and it is with her help that he succeeds.
Winner of the Grawemeyer Award for his opera The Mask of Orpheus, Birtwistle’s inspiration for The Minotaur goes back over two decades; he felt that “the mythic beast was lurking” in his orchestral work Earth Dances (1985). David Harsent, who had provided the libretto for Birtwistle’s 1990-91 opera Gawain, was charged with the task of “[finding] a language for the characters.” The Minotaur received its premiere at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in April 2008.
Born in 1934, British composer Harrison Birtwistle studied clarinet and composition at the Royal Manchester College of Music. His 1968 opera Punch and Judy, together with his Verses for Ensembles and The Triumph of Time, firmly established him as a leading voice in British music. Among Birtwistle’s many works are Exody, premiered by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Daniel Barenboim, Panic, and The Shadow of Night, commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra and Christoph von Dohnányi. His work The Last Supper received its first performances at the Deutsche Staatsoper in Berlin and at Glyndebourne in 2000. Pulse Shadows, a meditation for soprano, string quartet, and chamber ensemble on poetry by Paul Celan, was released on disc by Teldec and won the 2002 Gramophone Award for best contemporary recording. Birtwistle has received many awards and honors, including the Grawemeyer Award (1986), the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (1986), a British knighthood (1988), the Siemens Prize (1995), and a British Companion of Honour (2001). He is currently Director of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
‘The opulent new version of the seasonal classic, launched spectacularly by the San Francisco Ballet, is every parent’s dream of a holiday treat. It looks scrumptious, tastes delicious, offers substantial nourishment and won’t cause cavities.’
- San Francisco Examiner
On November 18, just in time for the holiday season, Opus Arte presents the 2007 San Francisco Ballet production of Tchaikovsky’s beloved holiday favorite, Nutcracker. Recorded live at the War Memorial Opera House on December 19 and 20, 2007, the production features choreography by SF Ballet artistic director Helgi Tomasson, scenic design by Tony Award-winner Michael Yeargan, costume design by Tony Award-winner Martin Pakledinaz, lighting design by James F. Ingalls, and projections by Wendall K. Harrington. PBS stations across the country will air this production on December 17 on “Great Performances”.
This visually-stunning all-new production of Nutcracker is set in early-20th-century San Francisco and includes more than 200 colorful characters, larger-than-life scenery, and magical surprises that will mesmerize and delight adults and children alike. Each breath-taking scene from the Waltz of the Flowers to the Snowflake Waltz is a reminder that this adored ballet offers a nostalgic musical journey while transcending all generations. Bonus features include an illustrated synopsis and cast gallery, interviews with Tomasson, Yeargan and Pakledinaz and a documentary on the 1915 World’s Fair.
As America’s oldest professional ballet company, San Francisco Ballet has enjoyed a long and rich tradition of artistic “firsts” since its founding in 1933, including performing the first American productions of Swan Lake and Nutcracker, as well as the first 20th-century American Coppélia. San Francisco Ballet is one of the three largest ballet companies in the United States. Guided in its early years by American dance pioneers and brothers Lew, Willam and Harold Christensen, San Francisco Ballet currently presents more than 100 performances annually, both locally and internationally. Under the direction of Helgi Tomasson for more than two decades, the Company has achieved an international reputation as one of the preeminent ballet companies in the world. In 2005, San Francisco Ballet won the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award, its first, in the category of “Outstanding Achievement in Dance,” for its 2004 London tour. In 2006, San Francisco Ballet was the first non-European company elected “Company of the Year” in Dance Europe magazine’s annual readers’ poll. This year, San Francisco Ballet celebrates its 75th anniversary.
469 titles from Nettwerk’s catalog, featuring artists such as Sarah McLachlan,
Barenaked Ladies, and Sixpence None the Richer will be available on Naxos Music Library.
NEW YORK/LONDON/HONG KONG: On November 13, 2008, Naxos Music Library (www.naxosmusiclibrary.com), the world’s largest collection of streaming classical, jazz, wind band, choral, and world music- owned by the world’s leading classical label-welcomes Canada’s top independent record label, Nettwerk Music Group (www.nettwerk.com) , to its roster of more than 75 premiere performing arts labels, thereby expanding its offerings to include more independent popular music.
Nettwerk Music Group’s extensive catalog features artists such as Barenaked Ladies, Datarock, Delerium, Griffin House, Jars of Clay, Josh Rouse, Junkie XL, Ladytron, Old Crow Medicine Show, The Submarines, Sixpence None The Richer, The Weepies, and many others.
Nettwerk’s Founder and CEO Terry McBride has commented:”Naxos is at the forefront of a new way of thinking that allows the consumer the choice they want.” Klaus Heymann, Naxos’ founder and CEO, said “All of us at Naxos are proud to welcome Nettwerk Music Group to the Naxos Music Library roster of labels. Over the past two decades, Nettwerk Music Group has shown itself to be one of the most diverse, trendsetting, and forward-looking labels in the industry, often going against the grain to stay a few steps ahead of the rest. It is that same innovative, entrepreneurial spirit and vision (of Nettwerk Music Group CEO Terry McBride) that drives Naxos, and so we are extremely happy to be working together with such a world-renowned label.”
Founded in 1984 by Terry McBride, Nettwerk Music Group is Canada’s leading privately-owned record label and artistic management company, responsible for managing some of Canada’s biggest artists, including Sarah McLachlan, Avril Lavigne, and Barenaked Ladies. In 2000, Nettwerk Management expanded its roster to include producers, mixers, and DJs, and now boasts a roster of 40+ world-renowned professionals, including Howard Benson (POD), Cliff Magnus (Avril Lavigne), Randy Staub (Nickelback, Metallica) and Mark Trombino (Blink 182, Jimmy Eat World). Since its inception, Nettwerk Productions has been responsible for 400+ releases that have amassed worldwide sales in excess of 100 million albums. With multiple #1 albums and singles throughout the world, Nettwerk has grown from a small Vancouver record label into an international musical powerhouse, with offices in cities around the world, including New York, Los Angeles, and London, and a headquarters next to Granville Island in Vancouver, B.C.
About Naxos Music Library:
Created by pioneers of the value-priced CD industry-the independent classical music label Naxos and its Chairman Klaus Heymann-Naxos Music Library is a streaming audio music education resource that features recordings from 75+ prestigious independent performing arts labels, including Avie Records, BIS, Bridge, Chandos, Delos, Dacapo, Haenssler Classics, Hungaroton, New Albion, Opera Rara, PentaTone, Phoenix Edition, V2, Wigmore Hall Live, and others. Naxos Music Library launched in 2004 with only a handful of titles and labels, but it quickly grew under the Naxos philosophy.
With over 345,000 tracks of music, powerful tools to stimulate music education and research, the daily addition of new releases, and remote access, Naxos Music Library continues to set the industry standard in streaming classical music education.
About Naxos:
Naxos has focused on maintaining its value- and customer-focused philosophy since Klaus Heymann founded it in 1987. It is the world’s leading classical music label, garnering awards from major music publications like Gramophone, numerous Editor’s Choice awards, GRAMMY™ nominations and awards, nominations and wins from the Cannes Classical Awards, and AFIM nominations and awards. Naxos offers music lovers a veritable encyclopedia of music at an affordable price. With offices in 12 countries, the company’s properties include www.Naxos.com, www.classicsonline.com, www.NaxosMusicLibrary.com, www.NaxosRadio.com, and www.NaxosSpokenWordLibrary.com.
To listen to the episodes from the respective Podcast you will need to have Adobe's FLASH player installed. Please use Adobe's web page to choose the appropriate version to install for your platform.
Entries (RSS)