This podcast looks at this music, and a new recording by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pietari Inkinen.

Album details…
Catalogue No.: Naxos 8.570763

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Last year this was true of Persuasion in the US, where PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre brought Austen again to the fore, and awakened fresh interest in Juliet Stevenson’s unabridged recording.

And over the Christmas/New Year just gone, the brave BBC Radio 3 decision to broadcast Anton Lesser’s peerless unabridged Naxos AudioBooks recording of Paradise Lost – the 12 Books over 12 days – threw a sharp spotlight on ‘the greatest epic poem in the English language’. Frankly, it was difficult to keep it in stock…

There is no doubt that Paradise Lost is a difficult poem. We recorded the 3 CD abridgement in 1994 – one of the launch titles in our very first season – and it has been one of our best-sellers ever since. People clearly wanted to get to grips with it and many found Anton’s performance mesmeric.

And, some ten years later, Anton and I went back into the studio to record it in its full glory. It was one of the most remarkable weeks in a decade of recording audiobooks. Anton prepares meticulously but questions and options inevitably arose as he read it with the green light on: what is the heart of this line? should we go with the metre in the pronunciation of this particular word? or would that, in our contemporary context, interrupt the flow of the meaning? After all, this is an audio book.

To be honest, when I tuned in to the radio (odd really, as I have the CD set sitting on my shelves!) I found myself choosing to listen through internet radio, so I could simultaneously read the words on screen… and I know that many people did the same, following Anton’s reading, or with an old battered paperback copy (or fine leather-bound heirloom) in hand.

All the way to the deeply moving close.

And just as we want to have – we should have – a print copy of our favourite classics on a shelf within easy reach, I think we can now see how enriching it is to have our very own recordings of them as well…

So though a correspondent to the Daily Telegraph, one of Britain’s leading broadsheet newspapers.

On the morning of the broadcast of the final Book, the letters pages carried the following:

Daily Telegraph
2 January 2008

Sir -
If they haven’t heard it already, I implore readers to ‘Listen Again’ to Anton Lesser’s evening readings of Paradise Lost on Radio 3.
It is the most extraordinary artistic achievement imaginable by one person, combining all the essentials – clarity, musicality, timing, judgement, character realisation, unflagging energy and perfect communication of those everlasting, sinuous, overlapping phrases.
Above all, it sustains a spine-chilling immediacy of vision which seems to travel from the poet’s mind to the listener’s ear like forked lightning.

Jilly Spencer,
Colyton Devon

I certainly couldn’t have put it better myself!

I spend many more hours listening to audiobooks and radio than I do watching television. This may be obvious, given my professional life running Naxos AudioBooks. But for me, it is a voyage of enrichment, not just diversion. Actually, I came home from London last night enjoying a BBC Radio play a friend had written – about a Scottish psychic detective – which was good fun. Don’t imagine it is always improving classics for me!

But as well as recording books on subjects I know about, every year brings an unexpected discovery. I am English, and I think that for the most of us (apologies, apologies!) Abraham Lincoln is a figure in history. American history. But listening to our new collection of biography, speeches and letters, I have become much more aware that he was a giant in world history, a man of immense determination, integrity and courage. I would almost say that of all the 50–60 new titles we will release in 2009, it is the one that you ought to listen to… to give perspective, vigour and hope to our lives in the twenty-first century, as he did to the nineteenth.

I can tell you, we have some real delights coming. You can rejoice in The Life and Works of Joseph Haydn in Jeremy Siepmann’s affectionate audiobiography (March); Don’t miss the fun of The Marvelous Land of Oz (the first of many sequels to The Wizard of Oz) read by Liza Ross (February); more great Dickens novels are coming, and more Great Poets (including, yes! yes! William McGonagall. With bagpipes); and we celebrate a certain detective…

Stay tuned!

… Listening to Haydn’s 52 surviving piano sonatas one apprehends his slow and steady development as a composer…

… Even their authenticity is open to speculation without a sure means of stylistic comparison with compositions definitely written during the period…

… The sound of these discs is uniformly excellent with the Naxos engineers providing a rich, full tone to the piano. They avoid the dryness and close-miking that often accompanies piano recordings…

Read more.

… I had not heard of Mario Pilati until I found the new Naxos disc of his orchestral music. He was 35 when he died in 1938, by which time his music was heard across Europe…

Three of his 10 Concertos show a romantic composer who wrote light tuneful music, but looked forward to the fireworks which were to come from Paganini…

… these Naxos discs, an exciting Sibelius programme from Pietari Inkinen and the New Zealand Orchestra, with a wild Night Ride and Sunrise, and some short orchestral pieces whose titles may not be familiar, but whose music certainly is…

Read more.

… Those who heard the Mozart did better on the test than those who hadn’t. The “effect” was apparently temporary but never mind. Eventually, parents were playing Mozart for their tots in an effort to turn them into geniuses…

These often include programmatic pieces (”The Flight of the Bumblebee,” “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” “Danse Macabre,” “Carnival of the Animals”) that tell stories through music. Naxos offers a fine series of recordings called “Listen, Learn and Grow” that includes many such pieces…

… These Naxos discs feature the same music that novice listeners have always enjoyed, music that, in former times, was the staple of Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops, or that served as soundtracks for Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry…

Read more.

In this podcast, Raymond Bisha looks at the long tradition of New Year’s concerts from Vienna, the conductors, the composers. Of course, in any discussion of Vienna and New Year’s, the music of Johann Strauss Jr. figures prominentaly.

Album details…
Catalogue No.: Naxos 8.553281

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… The main attraction is a pair of violin concertos, his first and third, performed by Peter Sheppard Skærved and the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra…

I can’t say I’m too familiar with serialism, but I wasn’t repulsed by the work or anything like that. On the contrary, I found it to be rather intriguing and interesting…

… which I am finding easier to get into - but only because I’ve discovered that I generally find works for smaller ensembles easier to get into….

Read more.

… filmed live at Nero’s bath house in Naples, I realised I had forgotten what a fine and compact tragic opera Cavalleria Rusticana is…

As this new Naxos CD shows, Weber wrote beautiful music and was an especially influential composer. His operas are rarely performed here, partly because they’re overshadowed…

… but the real gem here is Sousa’s homage to the Strauss waltz, “Intaglio Waltzes”…

Read more.

There are albums on Chamber Music, The Symphony, Opera, Choral Music and Music of the 20th Century…

There is both a general history of film music as well as specific details on each and every selection of film music and why it is in the collection…

… The performing orchestras are mostly of UK and eastern European origin. Some of these orchestras, such as the Moscow Symphony and the City of Prague Philharmonic, have recorded so many albums of film music…

Read more.

A mouth watering podcast, thanks to the recipes from The Old Foodie.

Album details…
Catalogue No.: Naxos 8.557099

	SCHUTZ: Christmas Story Naxos 8.553514		HANDEL: Messiah Naxos 8.553258
	TCHAIKOVSKY: The Nutcracker Naxos 8.550515		PONCE: Guitar Music Naxos 8.554199

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I have not been exposed to much by way of Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924), whose First Symphony (1876) has all the earmarks of the Dvorak style…

Violins and violas com sordino open the meditative proceedings, again all highly reminiscent of Dvorak’s temper…

… An appealing lyric piece, the Clarinet Concerto alternates vivacious figures with a sense of repose, and the last movement makes several allusions to the tumbler’s antics…

Read more.

Die Streaming-Service-Plattform NML wird von Scott Foglesong für Liebhaber der Klassischen Musik als die Nummer 1 unter allen netzweiten Anbietern bewertet. Scott Foglesong ist Vorsitzender der Fakultät für Musiktheorie am Konservatorium San Francisco. Er unterrichtet in Berkeley und berät als Fachmann auch das San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Bei seiner Expertise auf dem Portal www.examiner.com hebt Foglesong nicht nur die unübertroffene Breite und Tiefe des Repertoires 26,695 unterschiedliche CDs mit insgesamt 380,787 Tracks) von NML heraus, sondern lobt auch den edukativen Anspruch des Services und dessen Umsetzung.

Auch das Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis und die technische Umsetzung erhalten von Foglesong Höchstnoten. Geradezu ins Schwärmen gerät Klassik-Kenner Scott Foglesong jedoch bei der Erwähnung der Recherche-Möglichkeiten: Dort seien nicht nur 16 Komponisten mit dem Namen Bach aufgelistet, sondern sieben, die mit Q (ohne ein darauf folgendes U!) beginnen und gar 15, die auf den Namen Adams hören.

Die vielfältigen Möglichkeiten, die gute Soundqualität, die einfache Handhabung, das Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis, die Vielfalt bzw. Umfang des Repertoires sind für Scott Foglesong eindeutig ausschlaggebend dafür, das NML bereits jetzt von so vielen, aus allen Bereichen des Musikbusiness kommenden Fachleuten, aber auch von privaten Klassik-Liebhabern genutzt wird.

Den ganzen Artikel von Scott Folgelsong können Sie unter der Überschrift: „The classical listening library par excellence“.

Spanish composer who is considered one of the leading lights in contemporary Spanish classical music…… sense of development by allowing the soloist exceptional space in Spanish-like flavoring, leading the charge in the declaration of the melodic material…

… Personally I find it the most engaging piece on this disc, definitely the most personal…

Read more.

This podcast looks at a new CD of his orchestral music, including the Toy Symphony.

Album details…
Catalogue No.: Naxos 8.570499

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Here is a review from Anne is a Man! by Anne Frid de Vries on Naxos Classical Music Spotlight podcast

Naxos Classical Music Spotlight Podcast is more than a promotional podcast… valuable listening to the podcast even if you are not considering a purchase…

… when Naxos interviewed the conductor Sir Charles Mackerras, I rushed in to listen. Even though Mackerras is in his eighties…

… the interview receives the quality of a history podcast with his personal witness of the communist coup…

Read more.

Feel free to choose from one or all of the following ways to enjoy the podcast as Anne did:

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At the vanguard of this movement of crowdsourcing music and putting the fans in control is Nettwerk Music, a record label and band management service in Vancouver, BC… 

Where will all this be in five years, and will we be ready for it?’ There was a conscious decision made at that meeting to get out of the physical music business…

There’s a risk and reward to that. If an artist is signed to a major label, then the manager has no risk, but then you’re only getting a commission from publishing and master royalties combined …

Read More…

That service is the Naxos Music Library, coming to you from the same folks who run ClassicsOnline, an excellent download site mentioned several times in the past in this column, such as here and here…

… Although Naxos itself is the dominant label on the NML (as you would expect), many other independent labels join in, including such well-known classical companies such as Ondine, Capriccio, Hungaraton, Hänssler, Klavier, and many more…

… The fine folks at Naxos seem to have been aware that the NML would be a worthy subscription for almost any music library, and as a result, the service sports a strong educational component…

… the “Study Area” is directed towards secondary-school students, they are an invaluable resource for anyone who would appreciate a gracious look and listen through music history. I notice the beginnings of a World Music section as well — bravo!…

Read more.

So, here are some Christmas ideas:

FOR MOTHER

1. Little Dorrit – unabridged or abridged by Charles Dickens
   You saw/missed the TV drama - now listen to the original words read by Anton Lesser.
2. Villette – unabridged or abridged by Charlotte Brontë
   Why should Jane Eyre dominate the CB landscape?
3. The Lives of the Artists – abridged by Giorgio Vasari
   To inspire a visit to Florence and Rome and Italy generally.
   
4. Under Milk Wood – unabridged by Dylan Thomas
   The greatest radio play ever in the original recording with Richard Burton and the superb cast.
   
5. The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
   A new recording of an always challenging play.
   
6. The Great Poets – William Wordsworth
   A good selection of the best-known poems remind us of his quiet meaning.
   

FOR FATHER
   

1. Nostromo – unabridged or abridged by Joseph Conrad
   Conrad’s masterpiece about a silver mine in South America, read persuasively by Nigel Anthony.
2. Under Milk Wood – unabridged by Dylan Thomas
   The greatest radio play ever in the original recording with Richard Burton and the superb cast. For anyone!
   
3. The Essential Edgar Allan Poe – selections
   A compelling selection – Detective (Dupin) Horror (The Pit and the Pendulum) Poems (including The Raven) and a fascinating biography… to prepare for Poe’s 200th anniversary in 2009.
   
4. Our Mutual Friend – unabridged or abridged by Charles Dickens
   David Timson’s energetic reading of Dickens’ condemnation of legal tangles.
   
5. The Wealth of Nations – abridged by Adam Smith
   The classic look at world economics read by Sean Barrett.
   
6. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight – new verse translation, Anon
   Jasper Britton reads this important stepping stone in English literature, an accessible medieval Arthurian poem that has drama, vivid imagery, finely-drawn characters and some delicate pastoral passages.
   

FOR SON
   

1. The Lost World – unabridged by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
   The classic precursor of Jurassic Park has lost not one whit of its excitement and humour over the years, especially in the hands of Glen McCready.
2. Ivanhoe – abridged by Sir Walter Scott
   One of the great knight in armour tales.
   
3. Stories from Shakespeare – The Plantagenets retold by David Timson
   A very useful overview of the history plays from Richard II to Richard III (and the Henrys in between!) retold with the key speeches.
   
4. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Volume I – unabridged by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
   This includes The Speckled Band, one of the best stories. It is read by David Timson who has completed the whole Sherlock Holmes canon, a remarkable feat.
   
5. Great Scientists and their Discoveries by David Angus
   Short, entertaining portraits of eight important figures, from Galileo and Charles Darwin (2009 marks the 200th anniversary of his birth) to Einstein and James Crick.
   
6. Treasure Island – unabridged or abridged by Robert Louis Stevenson
   A classic tale of adventure and pirates brought to life by Jasper Britton.
   

FOR UNCLE/GRANDFATHER
   

1. The Rights of Man – abridged by Thomas Paine
   A key political work written at a time when the world was changing at the end of the eighteenth century… but still relevant today.
2. The Essential John Milton
   A special compilation to mark his quatercentenary, with selections fromParadise Lost ; Paradise Regained (unabridged); poetry, essays, and a short but direct biography. The ideal Milton overview.
   
3. The Good Soldier Švejk – abridged by Jaroslav Hasek
   If you don’t know this it will come as a wonderful discovery. One of the great satires of European literature, it tells the delightful story of Švejk, an innocent (or is he?) caught trying to survive as the Austro-Hungarian empire gets embroiled in the first world war. Administrators and officials do not know what has hit them!
   
4. The Great Poets – Gerald Manley Hopkins read by Jeremy Northam
   Many of the best-known works from the hand of the Jesuit poet.
   
5. The Odyssey – unabridged or abridged by Homer
   Anton Lesser tells the story of Odysseus working his way home to Penelope, surviving the Cyclops, the Sirens and many other adventures and temptations.
   
6. The Third Policeman – unabridged by Flann O’Brien
   A tale of murder, unlikely happenings, bicycles, love and fantasy… Irish! Especially in the hands of the incomparable Jim Norton.
   

FOR AUNT/GRANDMOTHER
   

1. To the Lighthouse – unabridged or abridged by Virginia Woolf
   Juliet Stevenson is incomparable in this breathtaking portrait of a family and a lighthouse.
2. The Woman in White – unabridged of abridged by Wilkie Collins
   Suspense and dangerous characters in the hands of a master author and in a strong cast.
   
3. Bliss, and other stories by Katherine Mansfield
   No apologies for choosing another recording by Juliet Stevenson.
   
4. Tess of the d’Urbervilles – unabridged or abridged by Thomas Hardy
   The abridgement is read by Imogen Stubbs, the unabridged novel by Anna Bentinck – both are compelling. And despite the television dramatisation, the original novel remains deeply moving.
   
5. Pride and Prejudice – unabridged or abridged by Jane Austen
   The abridged version is read by Jenny Agutter and the unabridged version by Emilia Fox.
   
6. The Great Poets – Emily Dickinson read by Teresa Gallagher
   A selection of the key works in idiomatic readings.

This seventh CD of Naxos’ very rewarding John McCormack recordings is a mixed bag of marvellous items representing the considerable range of the legendary Irish’s tenor art…

… building a tremendous reputation as a concert soloist and was soon unrivalled in this sphere. His reputation was certainly comparable with any of today’s musical celebrities…

… No tenor has ever eclipsed his rendition of Don Ottavio’s “Il Mio Tesoro Intanto” in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, where he sings the celebrated coloratura passages in one breath…

Read more.

The Naxos label is perhaps best serving the purpose of exposing generally unknown composers to broader audiences with their “Japanese Classics” series…

… The one comparison I will make is to Debussy, who just happens to be the only true romantic-era composer I have anything from in my collection…

… I’m not about to go recommend everyone check out Saburo Moroi immediately, though. Naxos put out a good collection with this disc, but I’m not convinced the composer brings much new to a table already filled with important names. An already seasoned classical music listener certainly couldn’t go wrong by digging deeper into this music…

Read more.

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.”

Comment from podcast listener: Christian C.
Why never any organ music?

I love the Classical Music Spotlight.

I have discovered a great variety of wonderful, interesting music that I otherwise would probably not have bothered with. As a professional organist, though, it bothers me that, in nearly three years of listening, there has never once (I believe) been a podcast introducing “us” to any repertoire for organ. If I enjoy finding new music through the podcast, often for instruments and ensembles not in my line of sight, why wouldn’t someone else? Contrary to some people’s beliefs, there ARE people out there who enjoy the pipe organ, and Naxos has a huge collection of music for organ, some of it poorly known. Toss us organ-lovers a bone, please, and maybe it will add to our ranks of aficionados.

He as a master of the memorable melody and the catchy rhythm. Over the years, he composed or arranged many pieces for the holiday season, including Sleigh Ride and A Christmas Festival.

This podcast looks at a new recording of his holiday music, featuring the BBC Concert Orchestra and Leonard Slatkin.

Album details…
Catalogue No.: Naxos 8.559621

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I have found that the Grammies are a point of reference for the “outside world” about classical artists, that is, a way to let people who haven’t heard of a certain artist know he or she is “that good”. Sometimes, I’ll meet someone and the conversation will go like this: 

What do you do? Classical music PR.

Oh, that’s cool. Name someone you work for. Is it? And…Hilary Hahn?

Mmmm…don’t know her. She’s a violinist. Mmm…. She played for the Pope’s 80th birthday. Weird, OK…. She played on ‘The Village’ soundtrack. I loved ‘Sixth Sense’. She won a Grammy. Oh! Cool, great, yeah.

Amanda continues:

… the Grammies are a cultural touchstone - is this the right use of that phrase? - or, perhaps more accurately, a popular culture mile marker of success. What is that worth, though, monetarily speaking, slash, what does winning a Grammy mean for an artist’s overall profile? 

Both The Kings Singers and Hilary have won Grammies before, so I already get to slap “Grammy Award-winning…” next to their names in their bios and pop-culture-mile-marker-of-success name-drop “Grammy” to folks outside the industry.** BUT - would Grammy wins this year result in, oh, what’s the word - “album sales”? Does a shiny Grammy sticker on an album make the difference (it might), or is there more we can do to channel the win of a mainstream award into recording and concert revenue?

You’ll notice that Amanda used her blog cleverly, not failing to mention that two of her private clients—Hillary Hahn and The King Singers—received nominations. Brava.

It is easy to complain about the relevance of an award that doesn’t have the prestige, in the “classical world,” of the Grawemeyer or Pulitzer; but the GRAMMY® Award, though still largely associated with pop music, is one of the most widely-recognized awards in the U.S. music business (and, I would even say, the world). And if we are attempting to reach new audiences with some of our artists and releases, having that award attached to their names is pretty important. Additionally, the award is a sales driver, which means a great deal to the music business even in bad times.

Naxos and our family of distributed labels saw many of our wonderful artists nominated this year, including the Pacifica Quartet, whose recording of Elliott Carter’s String Quartets Nos. 1 and 5 was nothing short of astonishing. It also was fitting that this nomination came just before Mr. Carter’s 100th birthday this Thursday, December 11. The Quartet was nominated in the category of Best Chamber Music Performance and also will be honored at this year’s Musical America Awards with the 2009 Ensemble of the Year Award. And for everyone who has been asking about Volume 2 of the Carter Quartets, here goes: FEBRUARY 2009. BTW: Legendary producer Judith Sherman also picked up a nomination for Producer of the Year for her work on the Carter String Quartets on Naxos and four additional albums.

John Corigliano’s Mr. Tambourine Man received a nomination for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. For this recording, Corigliano, a Pulitzer-, Oscar-, Grammy®-, and Grawemeyer award-winning composer (yes, there are all those award listings and they ALL are important), collaborated with conductor JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic. In addition, the recording’s superb soloist, Israeli soprano Hila Plitmann, received a nomination for Best Classical Vocal Performance. She has made recordings of works by David Del Tredici, including Vintage Alice and some of his songs. For Mr. Tambourine Man, because of the re-orchestration—the work was originally written for Sylvia McNair and scored for voice and piano—the vocal part was reconceived for “amplified soprano.” Plitmann is amazing.

Chorus master Henryk Wojnarowski and conductor Antoni Wit received a Choral Performance nomination 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, featuring conductor JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Our distributed labels also did amazingly well this year.

Artists from British-based label Chandos received five nominations in multiple categories. 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 received a nod in the Best Small Ensemble Performance category. Spotless Rose includes choral works by Stephen Paulus, Benjamin Britten, Cecilia McDowall, Herbert Howells, Javier Busto, Healey Willan, and Jean Belmont Ford. On a personal level, I need to add that this recording is a special favorite among many of us at Naxos.

Another Chandos choral recording, Rheinberger: Sacred Choral Works, with conductor Charles Bruffy leading 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 the 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, and the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra and Chorus, produced by Fred Vogler. (This is the first year DVD recordings of operas are eligible for Grammy Awards. Only the audio portion of the DVD is considered in the nominating process.”)

Nominations for Best Opera Recording also 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 Lully’s Thésée with the same ensemble.

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.

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.

Umso erfreulicher ist es, wenn Festivals wie das im englischen Glyndebourne sich eines solchen viel zu wenig beachteten Meisterwerks annehmen. Auf der Arthaus-DVD 101095 ist auch den Nichtbesuchern dieses Operngroßereignisses nun möglich sich von der Qualität dieser Oper zu überzeugen. Das Werk steigt in ganz erheblichem Maße mit der Qualität seiner Solisten. Vielen noch unvergessen ist die Aufnahme mit Fiorenza Cossotto als der – neben Maria Callas- ausdruckstärksten Lady Macbeth. Sie hat auf dieser Aufnahme mit Josephine Barstow eine Nachfolgerin gefunden, die einerseits die Machtgier und Umtriebigkeit andererseits in ihrer Arie „Quella Machia“ die erbarmungswürdige Jämmerlichkeit ihrer Figur blendend zu verdeutlichen vermag. In Kostas Paskalis hat sie musikalisch einen Partner an ihrer Seite, der ihr stimmlich das Wasser reichen kann und der schauspielerisch die Getriebenheit und psychische Abhängigkeit von seiner dominierenden Gattin blendend zu artikulieren vermag. Als wären der Superlative noch nicht genug, ist mit James Morris ein Banquo besetzt worden, der volltönend und trotzdem pronounciert der Rolle gerecht wird. Selbst die Nebenrollen- genannt sei an dieser Stelle der überzeugende Keith Erwen, als Macduff — sind mit Akteuren besetzt, die an mancher Staatsoper als blendende Solisten gelten dürften.

Mit dem London Philharmonic Orchestra entwickelt sich musikalisch ein Musikdrama , das, von John Pritchard mit unglaublichem Einfühlungsvermögen für die intellektuellen Tiefen der Partitur dirigiert, ein überzeugendes musikalisches Gemälde lebendig werden lässt. Dem steht auch die Regie nicht nach, die in Glyndebourne ein Machtdrama bester shakespearescher Couleur zur Aufführung brachte. Einfach ein audiophiles wie inszenatorischen Erlebnis sprechen können: Absolut empfehlenswert! (Christian Lindner)

Please see details on Naxos’ jobs page.

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.