Updates from the world's leading classical music label
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745–1799) – a brilliant swordsman, athlete, violin virtuoso and gifted composer – might well lay claim to being the most talented figure in an age of remarkable individuals. Raymond Bisha gives an overview of this remarkable life, binding the disparate elements of his career with the constant beauty of his Read More …
In English, the word ‘sinister’ suggests a touch of evil, taking its cue from the Latin, in which it denotes the adjective ‘left’ and a perception that the left hand is weaker than the right. As a left-hander myself, I prefer the view that we’re noted for being more artistic than right-handers! But, as a Read More …
A reference to sighing in music often reflects the emotional state of the person involved rather than the sound of the sigh itself. Song texts might simply encourage people to refrain from sighing, or probe further the possible reasons behind someone’s weary expression. Other works have more eccentric representations and references. This blog presents a Read More …
Raymond Bisha introduces Naxos’ new album of the complete works for solo piano by leading American composer John Corigliano Jnr. During their conversation together, the composer gives insight into the creative genesis of all the works on the programme, which span a period of some fifty years: from the 1968 Piano Concerto (“The first piece Read More …
Raymond Bisha introduces Naxos’ fifth album devoted to the music of leading American composer, Jonathan Leshnoff, who was GRAMMY-nominated for his album Violins of Hope (Naxos 8.559809) and is amongst the most frequently performed of living composers. The themes of this mixed programme of his recent works are remembrance, memorialisation and hopefulness. The soloist in Read More …
I know they’re out there somewhere… people who don’t run a mile when confronted with an arachnid’s bulbous body and hairy projections, stoically putting your average blogger to timorous shame. It would seem that some classical composers weren’t afraid of getting up close and personal with spiders, either, judging from the number of pieces spun Read More …
Not long ago, when I was living in Hong Kong, there was a curious surge of interest among students in playing the ukulele, an instrument that has many cousins around the world in different cultures: banjo, mandolin, lute, balalaika, and so on. They all have their distinctive sounds and body shapes: banjos are circular, balalaikas Read More …
Conductor and Naxos artist Marin Alsop discusses Robert Schumann’s four symphonies in the wake of her recordings of the works as reorchestrated by Mahler (8.574429 and 8.574430). Following observations about instrumental developments of the time, Mahler’s myriad tweaks to the score, and the somewhat bipolar flavour of the music (with counterpoint always at hand as Read More …
This blog visits a new album scheduled for release on April 14 that features works for piano and orchestra by Sergei Rachmaninov (2023 marks the 150th anniversary of his birth). The solo pianist is Boris Giltburg, a seasoned Naxos artist noted not only for his outstanding musicianship and technical finesse (witness the numerous glowing reviews Read More …
When I was a teenager, I would occasionally try and bash through Poulenc’s Thème varié on my long-suffering upright piano. I loved the lilt of the original theme on which the variations are based. Here it is: Thème (8.553931) But what engaged me more was how the subsequent variations went beyond the usual melodic and Read More …
