Updates from the world's leading classical music label
The Creatures of Prometheus was Beethoven’s only full-length ballet score. The work premiered in March 1801 and the composer’s own version for piano solo was published later the same year. The work relates the story from Greek mythology of Prometheus, a lofty spirit who endeavoured to lift human beings from a state of ignorance into Read More …
I’m going to select from this month’s crop of new Naxos releases the names of nine composers that might be new to many readers. Introducing audiences to little–known music and its creators is just one of the reasons that Naxos has earned its worldwide reputation, so here goes in putting flesh on the bones of Read More …
Raymond Bisha and composer Derek Bermel discuss the latter’s Migrations, a 3-work programme that observes the universal phenomenon of human transit through an eclectic mix of styles: Migration series depicts the movement of African Americans from the south to the north of the United States in search of a better life during the first half of the 20th Read More …
I was at a party recently, celebrating a friend’s 60th birthday. There was plenty of Bollinger chilling, popping and fizzing to set the amiable mood that soon took hold. But the birthday boy and one if his guests were soon sounding a little exasperated by the way in which their conversation kept hitting the buffers. Read More …
Last month’s New on Naxos list of recordings enabled a look at the various roles an orchestra plays in its repertoire. This month, we go small-scale and dip into programmes for both solo keyboard and chamber ensemble; we’ll follow them roughly in chronological order to give a historical and musical perspective. There’s no better place Read More …
As Naxos reaches Vol. 19 of its 23-volume edition of the music of John Philip Sousa, Raymond Bisha talks with the musical director of the project, Keith Brion, a world authority on Sousa’s music, who conducts throughout.
For those unfamiliar with the name of Nikolay Yakovlevich Myaskovsky, Raymond Bisha’s podcast presents the composer’s calling card as the ‘father of the Soviet symphony’. Having lived from 1881 to 1950, Myaskovsky spent all his life under the restrictive influence of Joseph Stalin, yet managed to produce 27 symphonies that preserved his individual voice. This Read More …
Raymond Bisha talks with Barthold Kuijken about the historical perspective and informed interpretation behind a new release of Baroque flute concertos that feature Kuijken as soloist, accompanied by the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra. View album details of The Grand Mogul – BLAVET, M. / LECLAIR, J.-M. / PERGOLESI, G.B. / TELEMANN, G.P. at naxos.com Catalogue No.: Read More …
Working with a small selection from this month’s new releases, I’ve forged a theme of the orchestra as a scene-setter, story-teller, support artist, symphonic duettist, and stand-alone protagonist. Many orchestral concerts begin with a warm-up act, a few minutes of attention-grabbing music in which the orchestra flexes its facility for colour and impact. Such concert Read More …
Raphaël Feuillâtre, winner of the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America’s 2018 International Concert Artist Competition, shares his success with the public through this attractively varied programme; a recording contract with Naxos forms part of the winner’s bundle of opportunities each year. Raymond Bisha presents his selection of intimate compositions. View album details of Guitar Recital: Read More …