Recorded in Nashville’s beautiful Laura Turner Concert Hall, Naxos presents the latest recording from the Grammy®-winning Nashville Symphony. Joined by the Chicago and Nashville Symphony Choruses, the Chattanooga Boys Choir and conductor Alastair Willis, the Nashville Symphony performs Ravel’s 1925 opera L’Enfant et les sortilèges, and his beloved cycle for soprano and orchestra, Shéhérazade. Soloists include Julie Boulianne, Genevi ève Després Kirsten Gunlogson Philippe Castagner Ian Greenlaw, Kevin Short Agathe Martel Cassandre Prévost and Julie Cox.
Being released just in time for the 84th anniversary of its first performance, Ravel received the script for L’enfant et les sortilèges from French novelist Colette in 1917 but did not complete the work until 1924. The opera tells the story of an ill-behaved child who meets a rude awakening when the inanimate objects in his nursery and garden come to life and turn on him. The libretto offers many opportunities for the soloists to provide witty depictions of the various objects that seek their revenge on the young child, such as the damaged grandfather clock, the belligerent teapot, the Ragtime singing teacups, the personification of arithmetic (a crazed professor), and the duet by the amusing cats.
Ravel told his friend Hélène Jourdan-Morhange that L’enfant contained many musical styles: Massenet, Puccini, Monteverdi and American musical comedy. In creatively weaving these many moods, Ravel surely found a lighthearted way to convey that message that actions have consequences and that a civilized society would not exist without care for the world around us.
Shéhérazade is actually the title of two works by Ravel. The first is Shéhérazade, ouverture de féerie, written in 1898 for orchestra. The second (Shéhérazade), which is heard on this recording, was written in 1903 as a song cycle for orchestra after three poems by Tristan Klingsor: Asie, La flûte enchantée, and L’indifférent.
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.
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.
The just released Medici Arts DVD – Martha Argerich: Evening Talks has been featured in the August 3rd edition of the New York Times. Click the image below to read the entire story.
Martha Argerich: Evening Talks reviewed in the New York Times
The web magazine New Music Box has featured a video discussion with composer Gloria Coates that is certainly a must see. Click on the image below to view it.
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Recorded in Nashville’s beautiful Laura Turner Concert Hall, Naxos presents the latest recording from the Grammy®-winning Nashville Symphony. Joined by the Chicago and Nashville Symphony Choruses, the Chattanooga Boys Choir and conductor Alastair Willis, the Nashville Symphony performs Ravel’s 1925 opera L’Enfant et les sortilèges, and his beloved cycle for soprano and orchestra, Shéhérazade. Soloists include Julie Boulianne, Genevi ève Després Kirsten Gunlogson Philippe Castagner Ian Greenlaw, Kevin Short Agathe Martel Cassandre Prévost and Julie Cox.
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