Archive for the “Reviews” Category

Reviews of Naxos albums. Either by external parties or staff.

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Here is an article from Anne is a Man of Naxos Classical Music Spotlight Podcast Episode: Introducing Bright Sheng

This composer of Chinese descent is not easy to place, just as, host Raymond Bisha compares, the Belgian composer Olivier Messiaen…

… making orchestras is one thing, but developing a repertoire is much, much more difficult…

… he brings in his Chinese roots, he also learns from the western musical tradition. The result is profoundly Chinese…

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Here is a review from The Opinionated Arpeggist by Robert on Naxos Music Library

… It’s better than I could have imagined and, to quote Harrison Ford, I can imagine quite a lot…

… Head to the site and stream the BIS recordings of his piano music…

… You get my point. You want it, you can hear it. In a couple of clicks…

picture 15 300x181 Review: Naxos Music Libray   Feast for the Ears

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DVORAK - Symphony No. 9 album cover

Here is a review from Audiophile Audition by Charles T. Downey on DVORAK - Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”

We have been hearing Marin Alsop go through the Dvořák symphonies with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the eighth and the sixth this past season…

… once again Alsop puts an overly heavy mark on the score, tending to shave time off…

… By report — for example, Alsop’s podcast interview — she has studied the scores of these 19th-century composers very closely…

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COPLAND, A.: The City album cover

Here is a review from BaltimoreSun.com by Tim Smith on COPLAND, A.: The City

The film, made by Ralph Steiner and Willard Van Dyke and scripted by urban planner Lewis Mumford, examines the most unattractive aspects of modern metropolitan life and promotes an environmentally friendly, government-spearheaded alternative…

… with his usual care and expressiveness, comes through as vibrantly as the camerawork. This is particularly true in the brilliant urban scenes…

… extras include the complete 43-minute film with its original soundtrack and narrator, and a short film from 2000 about the development of Greenbelt. Among those interviewed in the latter is an original 1930s resident…

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MOZART, W.A.: The Magic Flute album cover Music for Bass Trombone and Wind Band album cover

TVEITT, G.: Sinfonia di soffiatori album cover

Here is a review from Dailypress.com by Raymond Jones on MOZART, W.A.: The Magic Flute, Music for Bass Trombone and Wind Band and TVEITT, G.: Sinfonia di soffiatori

… This type of transcription is known as “harmonie music” and is scored for pairs of oboes, clarinets, French horns and bassoons, and a double bass to add a little string flavor…

… Ewazen is writing some of the finest symphonic band music around today, and this concerto is a real tour de force. The wonderful cadenza in the finale brought a big smile to my face…

… What a treasure trove for the wind band enthusiast! Sinfonia di Soffiatori No. 3 and Sinfonia di Soffiatori, Opus 203 (soffiatori are wind instruments), are substantial and engaging works, extremely tonal, and well worthy of discovery by any wind band…

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TAVENER, J.: Ex Maria Virgine album cover

Here is a review from Varsity: The Independent Cambridge Student Newspaper by Andrew Browning on TAVENER, J.: Ex Maria Virgine

… Naxos have pulled off a fantastic record which music connoisseurs will find hard to sniff at…

… The atmospheric chanting of ‘Verbum Caro’ introduces us to the tonal landscape of the piece and the choir demonstrating an impressive clarity in their singing of the awkward melodic intervals…

… wonderful full range of sounds, from intimate piano passages to joyous proclamations of praise with the bass and soprano voices particularly impressive…

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