2025 Summer Classics & Jazz Catalog

Classics & Jazz

Summer 2025

Beethoven String Quartets Opp. 74 & 130 see page 3

Twin Spirits see page 45

Bach: Complete Edition see order form

Tangorama – Anthology of 20th Century Tango see page 26

Holiday Classics see page 42

HBDirect SALE Catalog

HBDirect is pleased to present our Summer 2025 Classics & Jazz SALE catalog, with savings up to 50% for our valued customers! Whether you are new to classical music or a serious music collector, you’ll appreciate the breadth and depth of these selections. The catalog features an extensive selection of Classical recordings for every taste, as well as selections of World Music and Holiday releases. Also, be sure to check the order form for special offers from Brilliant Classics!

We thank you for your continued support and remind you to keep our catalogs handy. An online version of this catalog is also available at www.hbdirect.com. Our order line (800-222-6872) is available 24/7 for new orders in both English and Spanish. To check order status, or for other customer service questions, please call us at 629-899-9316 between 10:00am – 4:30pm ET Monday – Friday.

on the mailing list for our

In addition to this specialty Classical & Jazz catalog, HBDirect regularly publishes a Mixed-Genre Catalog featuring World Music, Folk, Roots of American popular music, Retro and Stage & Screen – in addition to classical and jazz favorites!

Sales tax obligation changes

HBDirect is obligated by law to collect sales tax on merchandise and shipping from residents of FL, KY, NJ, PA, & VT (6%) and TN (9.725%)

Payment Methods

HBDirect accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express credit cards, as well as personal checks and money orders. Please make sure your payment is in U.S. funds and make your check or money order out to HBDirect. Paypal is also available when purchasing from our website.

Catalog Summer 2025

Beethoven: String Quartets, Op. 74 & Op. 130

After the six Op. 18 quartets, the much-acclaimed Chiaroscuro Quartet now turns to two masterpieces from Beethoven’s middle and late periods. String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major, Op. 74, nicknamed ‘Harp’ because of the abundant pizzicati in its first movement, comes across as a genial and unproblematic work that was very well received immediately upon publication and has remained one of the composer’s best-loved quartets. Despite its evocation of an archaic dance, the Alla danza tedesca is typically Beethovenian, with its original treatment of dynamics. (BIS)

1SACD# BIS-2668 $21.99 $10.99

Romantic Music for Harp

The harp is often said to be the Romantic instrument par excellence, and for this recording the award-winning young harpist Pauline Haas takes the listener on a journey through the repertoire, from the melancholic balladry of John Thomas’s The Minstrel’s Adieu to his Native Land to the stunning virtuosity of Albert Zabel’s Fantasy. Alongside Smetana’s perennial favorite Die Moldau she presents her own arrangements, which include the apotheosis of romantic longing, the ‘Liebestod’ from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. (Naxos)

1CD# 8579015 $19.99 $9.99

What the World Needs Now (The Music of Burt Bacharach)

Burt Bacharach is one of the most prolific, inventive and celebrated pop composers of all time, responsible for a staggering fifty-two Top 40 hits throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Bacharach’s songs have been hugely successful while challenging the norm of what a popular song should be. In this new album the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra celebrates the genius of Bacharach, performing specially written arrangements of favorite Bacharach songs and joined by leading vocalists from London’s West End. (RPO)

1CD# RPOSP040 $18.99 $9.49

Vivaldi: Sacred Music, Vol. 4

Although for many, Antonio Vivaldi’s contemporary renown may rest primarily with The Four Seasons, his legacy is steadily achieving greater and richly deserved recognition today with the help of collections such as this one abetted by the Aradia Ensemble, a fine period instrumental ensemble with an impressively robust discography. The works on this recording dedicated to his sacred music range from the virtuosic to the simple, but Vivaldi’s vivid musical imagination is in full force throughout. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573324 $19.99 $9.99

Easy-Listening Piano Classics: Beethoven [2 CDs]

A serene two-CD collection showcasing Ludwig van Beethoven’s most charming piano works — bagatelles, minuets, and beloved sonatas like “Pathétique,” “Moonlight,” and “Tempest” — gracefully performed by Jenö Jandó and Balázs Szokolay. Expertly curated under Naxos’s “Easy-Listening Piano Classics” series, this album offers a perfect blend of familiarity and finesse, ideal for both newcomers and longtime admirers of classical piano. (Naxos)

2CD# 8578073-74 $29.99 $14.99

Renée Fleming in Concert [DVD]

Gloriously affirming the Salzburg Festival’s long-standing reputation as a supreme musical event, this concert honors one of its founding fathers, Richard Strauss. Renée Fleming, Christian Thielemann and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra unite for a program of song, opera and tone poem, genres central to the composer’s extraordinarily fruitful career. Fleming interprets four of his songs with orchestra, including the deeply moving Befreit, and provides a substantial taste of perhaps her finest operatic role, Arabella. (Opus Arte)

1DVD# OA 1069D $21.99 $10.99

Marvellous Mezzo-soprano And Contralto

For anyone new to opera, the first question is often: where to start? The ‘Best Loved’ series offers an easy answer to that question with a perfect introduction to the wonderful, varied world of operatic music. Featured here are popular mezzo-soprano and contralto works. This series demonstrates why opera as an art form remains as relevant and entertaining today as it was at its inception 400 years ago. (Naxos)

Spectacular Soprano

The soprano voice occupies the highest-sounding line of music (in Italian ‘sopra’ means ‘over’ or ‘above’) and it is subdivided into various types. Puccini’s Mimì (La Bohème) is an example of the lyric soprano, full of drama and well-rounded sound. This quintessential collection of best-loved arias confirms that the soprano, in all her variety, sits at the very heart of the operatic experience. (Naxos)

Thrilling Tenor

It is only since the bel canto era in the 19th century that the tenor voice really took off as a leading character in operatic roles, often playing the heroic figure against a love-interest soprano and a villain baritone. This collection of some of opera’s most iconic arias takes us from the dark emotional crises of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci and Puccini’s Tosca, to the seductive Rodolfo in La Bohème. (Naxos)

A beautifully curated single-disc showcase of Joseph Haydn’s timeless classics, featuring spirited performances of his iconic Symphony No. 100 “Military,” the tender Cello Concerto in C, energetic excerpts from the London symphonies, and intimate chamber works like the “Emperor” and “Lark” quartets. This album is a masterful introduction to Haydn’s wit, warmth, and compositional genius. (Naxos) 1CD# 8556668 $19.99 $9.99

Best of Chamber Music / Idil Biret [4 CDs]

Idil Biret’s chamber music performances are relatively rare. Most importantly, she played Beethoven’s violin Sonatas Nos. 5, 7 and 9 with Yehudi Menuhin at the Istanbul Festival in July 1973. In 1975, she played all the five Beethoven cello sonatas with Maurice Gendron. These are some of the memorable chamber music performances of her career. (IBA)

4CD# 8504057 $32.99 $16.49

A Choral Reflection on the Lord’s Prayer / The King’s Singers

GRAMMY-Award winners in 2009, The King’s Singers are one of the world’s most celebrated ensembles. Built upon the individual clauses of The Lord’s Prayer, beginning and ending in plainchant, this disc ranges over the centuries to explore the spiritually charged text. Chant is at the heart of the program, and each composer’s setting illuminates the others, shedding interpretative light on the poetic and devotional aspects of the prayer. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572987 $19.99 $9.99

Early Music for Meditation

Busoni: Works for 2 Pianos

A captivating single-disc recital featuring Ferruccio Busoni’s masterful works for two pianos, including the monumental Fantasia contrappuntistica (1921 version), alongside transcriptions and original duo pieces. Performed with elegance and precision by Aldo Ciccolini, Aldo Orvieto & Marco Rapetti, this release highlights Busoni’s genius as both composer and transcriber. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574086 $19.99 $9.99

Breiner: Caressing Your Soul –Calm Romantic Piano Music

The tranquil and serene pieces for Caressing Your Soul meld melodic substance with musical expression to provide solace, relief and peace of mind in an oasis of calming music. Peter Breiner is one of the world’s most recorded musicians, with over 200 albums released and multiple streams and downloads. His blend of melodic charm and emotional depth has created an album perfect for relaxation and reflection. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574256 $19.99 $9.99

A vibrant single-CD program featuring orchestral reworkings of Sousa’s most beloved marches and concert pieces –like The Irish Dragoon, Nymphalin, and an uplifting Stars and Stripes Forever – arranged and conducted by Keith Brion with the Razumovsky Symphony Orchestra. This recording captures the spirit of Sousa’s band, delivering crisp, exuberant performances full of patriotic flair. (Naxos)

1CD# 8559013 $19.99 $9.99

This diverse collection of pre-Classical (medieval to Baroque) era works was, if taken literally, tied together with a purpose; music for meditation. This is a lovely single-disc collection of peaceful music to simply enjoy and experience some quietude. (Naxos)

1CD# 8557652 $19.99 $9.99

The Best of Haydn

Sousa: At the Symphony

Classical Titles

Bernstein: Symphony No. 2; West Side Story

A thrilling single-disc tribute to Bernstein’s American legacy, featuring the introspective Symphony No. 2

“The Age of Anxiety,” followed by the electrifying Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, and capped by the exuberant Candide Overture. This vibrant program showcases Bernstein’s dual brilliance as composer and conductor, balancing deep emotional reflection with Broadway-inspired brilliance. (Naxos)

1CD# 8559099 $19.99 $9.99

Beatles Go Baroque, Vol. 2

Mahler:

Symphony No. 9 / Minnesota Orchestra

For the latest installment in their Mahler series, the Minnesota Orchestra under the direction of Osmo Vänskä presents what many consider to be the pinnacle of the Austrian composer’s entire work, the Ninth Symphony, his last completed symphony. Often regarded as the composer’s monumental, the Ninth Symphony can also be understood as a memorial to Vienna, and a homage to a vanishing European cultural world. (BIS)

1SACD# BIS-2476 $21.99 $10.99

Classical Chill [2 CDs]

This set has hours of the most relaxing classical music you can find. The wide variety of composers include Debussy, Elgar, Grieg, Handel, Mozart, Prokofiev, Sibelius, Ravel and Philip Glass. Pieces are performed by world class orchestras such as The European Union Baroque Orchestra, Northern Symphonia, The Royal Ballet Sinfonia, and The Royal Scottish National Orchestra. (Naxos)

2CD# 8520101 $29.99 $14.99

Gershwin: An American In Paris; Porgy And Bess Suite

A vibrant single-disc orchestral portrait of Gershwin’s brilliance – featuring the colorful tone poem An American in Paris, the spirited Cuban Overture, the lush Symphonic Picture from Porgy and Bess, and the rarer vignette Gershwin in Hollywood. Conducted by James Judd with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, this recording balances bright jazz-inflected flair with cinematic sweep. (Naxos)

1CD#

TITLES IN BRIEF

Classical musicians have always recognized the musicality and originality of The Beatles’ songs, Leonard Bernstein declaring the Lennon-McCartney composing team ‘the Schuberts of our time’. This recording keeps 18th-century masterpieces such as Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and Bach’s famously stylish and beautiful Violin Concerto No. 1 largely intact, elegantly combining them with The Beatles’ most enduring melodies. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574078 $19.99 $9.99

Handel: Messiah – Famous Choruses

A splendid single-disc highlights collection featuring the radiant choral jewels from Messiah, including the uplifting “For Unto Us a Child Is Born,” majestic Glory to God, and the transcendent Hallelujah chorus. Performed with Baroque vitality by the Scholars Baroque Ensemble, this release captures the spiritual grandeur and jubilant spirit of Handel’s masterpiece in a concise, approachable format. (Naxos)

1CD# 8571031 $19.99 $9.99

Beethoven: Complete Symphonies, Vol. 1 [2 CDs]

This Orchid Classics release presents the first volume, consisting of the first four symphonies, of the Copenhagen Philharmonic’s new and complete traversal of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 1–9 with their chief conductor, Lan Shui. The modern timpani and brass instruments are changed for copies of instruments from Beethoven’s time, resulting in a unique and compelling sound. (Orchid Classics)

2CD# ORC100045 $26.99

Paul Anka: Live In Switzerland

A lively concert DVD/Blu-ray capturing Paul Anka and his big band performing swing-style versions of classics like Diana, My Way, Put Your Head on My Shoulder, Puppy Love and New York, New York live from the 2011 AVO Session in Basel. Celebrating over 50 years of his career, Anka delivers charismatic vocals and timeless charm in this polished, entertaining stage performance. (C Major) 1DVD# INAK6189 $21.99 $10.99

INAK7189

Divine Redeemer / Christine Brewer; Paul Jacobs

Two of America’s most celebrated musicians, both GRAMMY Award-winners, join for a program that ranges across the sacred vocal and organ repertoire. (Naxos)

Rutter: Anthems, Hymns and Gloria for Brass Band

This release coincided with the John Rutter’s 75th birthday in 2020 – a perfect moment to celebrate one of Britain’s most successful and internationally well-known composers of choral music. (Naxos)

8574130 $19.99 $9.99

Kuhnau • Zelenka • Bach: Magnificat

A captivating single-disc exploration of the Magnificat tradition, pairing Kuhnau’s richly textured C-major setting with Zelenka’s radiant C-major version and Bach’s majestic D-major Magnificat (BWV 243). (BIS) 1CD# BIS-CD-1011 $21.99 $10.99

Tower: String Quartets Nos. 3–5; Dumbarton Quintet

Widely regarded as one of America’s pre-eminent living composers, pianist Joan Tower is particularly devoted to chamber music and presents three string quartets alongside her Dumbarton Quintet. (Naxos) 1CD# 8559795 $19.99 $9.99

1CD# 8559798

$19.99 $9.99

1CD# 8559792

$19.99 $9.99

1CD# 8559805

$19.99 $9.99

1CD# 8559777

$19.99 $9.99

1CD# 8559289

$19.99 $9.99

1CD# 8559824

$19.99 $9.99

1CD# 8559888

$19.99 $9.99

1CD# 8559071

$19.99 $9.99

1CD# 8559714

$19.99 $9.99

3CD# 8559832-34

$35.99 $17.99

1CD# 8559831

$19.99 $9.99

1CD# 8559892

$19.99 $9.99

1CD# 8559871

$19.99 $9.99

Michael Daugherty: Tales of Hemingway

Richard Danielpour: Songs of Solitude • War Songs

Bruce Adolphe: Piano Music

Dvořák and America

Daron Hagen: 21st-Century Song Cycles

Gloria Coates: Symphonies Nos. 1, 7 and 14

Kenneth Fuchs: Piano Concerto ‘Spiritualist’

Three American Violin Sonatas

Walter Piston: Chamber Music

Derek Bermel: Migrations

Arthur Foote: Piano Quintet, Op. 38; String Quartets Op. 32 and Op. 70

1CD# 8559009

$19.99 $9.99

William Bolcom: Piano Music [3 CDs]

Living Music: New Chamber Music for Flute

Jake Runestad: Sing, Wearing the Sky

Claude Baker: Piano Concerto 1CD# 8559804

$19.99 $9.99

Leonard Bernstein: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2

1CD# 8559790

$19.99 $9.99

Leroy Anderson: Orchestral Music, Vol. 4

1CD# 8559381

$19.99 $9.99

Bernard Herrmann: Whitman (reconstructed by C. Husted, 2019)

1CD# 8559883

$19.99 $9.99

Gershwin • Weill • Schwartz: Classic American Love Songs 1CD# 8559314

$19.99 $9.99

1CD# 8559029

$19.99 $9.99

for Orchestra from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue 1CD# 8559813

$19.99 $9.99

1CD# 8559753

$19.99 $9.99

1CD# 8559328

$19.99 $9.99

Charles Ives: Songs, Vol. 4

1CD# 8559272

$19.99 $9.99

1CD# 8559789

$19.99 $9.99

1CD# 8559306

1CD# 8559854

$19.99 $9.99

1CD# 8559687

$19.99 $9.99

Jack Gallagher: Symphony No. 2 ‘Ascendant’ 1CD# 8559768

$19.99 $9.99

1CD# 8559906

John Philip Sousa: On Wings of Lightning

Leonard Bernstein: Suite

Kenneth Fuchs: Falling Man

Joan Tower: Made in America / Tambor

Randall Thompson: Requiem

John Corigliano: Music for Violin and Piano

$19.99 $9.99

John Adams: My Father Knew Charles Ives

Peter Schickele: A Year in the Catskills

William McClelland: Where the Shadow Glides

$19.99 $9.99

Arnold: Complete Symphonies and Dances [6 CDs]

Recorded in the presence of the composer, Andrew Penny’s survey of the Complete Symphonies and Dances by Sir Malcolm Arnold has long been considered to contain benchmark recordings. Born in 1921, Sir Malcolm Arnold quickly established himself as a fluent and versatile composer, a gifted tunesmith and a brilliant orchestrator. His music is typically lucid in texture, rich in melody and clear in draughtsmanship. (Naxos)

Norrington: The Romantics [10 CDs]

A grand 10-CD box set led by Roger Norrington featuring the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra in a sweeping panorama of Romantic era masterpieces – from Schubert’s “Great” C-major Symphony and Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, to heartfelt symphonies by Mendelssohn, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Elgar. Norrington’s historically informed approach brings fresh clarity and dramatic nuance to this rich orchestral journey. (SWR Music)

Complete OehmsClassics Recordings / Benjamin Schmid [20 CDs]

This 10-CD set collects Austrian violinist Benjamin Schmid’s complete OehmsClassics recordings, spotlighting his remarkable versatility across violin concertos by Korngold, Reger, and Szymanowski, dazzling jazz-inflected works, and chamber collaborations with pianist Ariane Haering and others. Schmid’s warm tone and fearless technique shine throughout this expansive portrait of a genre-crossing virtuoso. (OehmsClassics)

20CD# OC019 $47.99 $33.59

A Vaughan Williams Anthology [8 CDs]

Ralph Vaughan Williams is one of Britain’s most illustrious composers, and this specially curated selection of works demonstrates the sheer breadth of his achievement. As a major 20th century symphonist he is represented by four of his nine symphonies, all in critically acclaimed recordings (‘A clear top recommendation’ wrote Gramophone of A Sea Symphony). (Naxos)

8CD# 8508021 $56.99 $28.49

Great Chamber Music [10 CDs]

Spanning nearly four centuries, this 10-CD compilation presents landmark chamber works by Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, Debussy, Shostakovich, and more, performed by acclaimed artists such as the Beaux Arts Trio, Emerson Quartet, and Isabelle Faust. A thoughtfully curated journey through the intimate and expressive heart of classical music. (Naxos)

10CD# 8501064 $74.99 $52.49

Great Italian Operas (Live) [6 CDs]

This 6-disc collection features two classic performances from the golden age of the Covent Garden Opera Company. and a sparkling Falstaff from the Edinburgh Festival. Includes Puccini’s Tosca, Rossini’s Il Barbiere Di Siviglia, and Verdi’s Falstaff –with legendary performances by Renata Tebaldi, Tito Gobbi, Ferruccio Tagliavini, Teresa Berganza, Ivo Vinco, and more. (ICA Classics)

6CD# ICAB 5131 $42.99 $30.09

Great Piano Concertos [5 CDs]

Baroque [25 CDs]

This 12-CD collection showcases vibrant Baroque masterpieces from composers like Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, and Telemann, performed by leading ensembles such as the Academy of Ancient Music and Les Arts Florissants, capturing the period’s elegance and energy with period instruments and stylistic precision. (Brilliant Classics)

25CD# BRI95886 $85.99 $60.19

20th-Century Italian Piano Music, Vol. 1 [20 CDs]

This release is a substantial anthology of piano music written by Italian composers in the 20th century. In an era dominated by opera, several Italian composers chose a radically different path, concentrating on purely instrumental music, influenced by widely varying sources such as Wagner, Impressionism, Neo-Classicism and Dodecaphony. (Brilliant Classics) 20CD# BRI9470 $79.99 $55.99

Lecuona: The Piano Music [6 CDs]

Mention “Maleguena” to anyone and the chances are better than average that the name Lecouna will be the response. This universally popular piece is, however, far from atypical of the substantial body of work penned by Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona (1895–1963), which achieved widespread crossover popularity long before that term was heard. (BIS)

This 5-CD set features iconic piano concertos by Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, and Grieg. The Piano Concerto is one of the most popular genres in classical music, and this set comprises some of the best-known and most popular examples, delivering virtuosic brilliance and emotional depth. (Naxos)

Sets

Schubert: String Quartets (Complete) [7 CDs]

Including 7 discs, this exhaustive set contains the complete string quartets by Franz Schubert, including two unfinished movements which have been completed for this release by Christian Starke. Schubert composed his string quartets throughout his entire life. Performing these works is The German Diogenes Quartet The ensemble has been exploring Schubert’s quartets more deeply for the last few years. (Brilliant Classics)

7CD# BRI94468 $37.99 $26.59

Great Symphonies (Live) [5 CDs]

The Great Symphonies set is a 5-CD collection released by ICA Classics. It features a selection of renowned symphonic works performed by esteemed orchestras and conducted by legendary maestros. Works are included from such composers as Debussy, Brahms, Prokofiev, Smetana, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, and Mussorgsky. (ICA Classics)

5CD# ICAB 5132 $40.99 $28.69

Michael Gielen Edition, Vol. 3: Brahms [5 CDs]

This third volume of our Michael Gielen Edition is devoted to music by Johannes Brahms, with all the recordings taken from the archives of the Southwest German Radio. These recordings were made between April 1989 and January 2005. Michael Gielen enjoyed a felicitous involvement with Brahms’ chamber music, particularly the late piano works where, in Schoenberg’s words, the “progressive Brahms” is most evident. (SWR Music)

5CD# SWR19022CD $47.99 $33.59

Three Centuries of Female Composers [10 CDs]

Ranging from the 18th century to the music of our time, this collection of critically acclaimed recordings explores the significant contribution to solo piano repertoire made by a wide variety of women composers. These rare and important pieces include the works of the celebrated pianist Anne-Louise Brillon de Jouy and of Hélène de Montgeroult. (Grand Piano)

10CD# GP897X $69.99 $34.99

BOX SETS IN BRIEF

Rosenblatt Recitals, Vol. 1 [6 CDs]

This 6-CD set launches the Rosenblatt Recitals series with captivating live performances by Lawrence Brownlee, Ailyn Pérez, Francesco Meli, and others in a vibrant mix of arias, art songs, and spirituals. With Iain Burnside and fellow pianists accompanying, the collection highlights works by Hahn, Fauré, Obradors, Donizetti, Liszt, Britten, and more in stylish, heartfelt interpretations. (Opus Arte)

6CD# OA CD9027BD $42.99 $30.09

Passion-Resurrection [7 CDs]

Wagner:

With this set, Ricercar begins the re-release of one of the jewels in its catalogue: the large collection devoted to German Baroque sacred music. Each set will group pieces by theme, the first being devoted to music for Passiontide, Easter and funeral cantatas. (Ricercar)

7CD# RIC344 $42.99 $30.09

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, WWV 96 [4 CDs]

A dynamic 4-CD live recording featuring Franz Hawlata as Sachs, Michael Volle as Beckmesser, Klaus Florian Vogt, Michaela Kaune, the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra under Sebastian Weigle. David McVicar’s vivid staging and Jurowski/Weigle’s taut conducting bring fresh clarity and theatrical insight to Wagner’s grand comic masterpiece. (Opus Arte)

4CD# OA CD9031D $42.99 $30.09

Rodrigo: Complete Piano Music [3 CDs]

The Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo enriched Spanish music through his well-known concertos for guitar. This collection ranges from solo works for both piano and guitar, through chamber music to largerscale orchestral music, and offers a lively, colorful atmosphere drenched in Mediterranean sunshine. (Brilliant Classics)

3CD# BRI9159 $18.99 $9.49

Rossino, Mozart, Strauss: Love, Passion & Deceit [6 DVDs]

3 complete operas (6 DVDs) for the price of one DVD! The Glyndebourne Festival is a quintessentially English summer event. ‘This is a performance that meets the Glyndebourne gold standard…’ – Daily Telegraph (Opus Arte) 6DVD# OA 1074BD $32.99 $16.49

Goldmark: Die Königin von Saba, Op. 27 [3 CDs]

Die Königin von Saba (‘The Queen of Sheba’) was Karl Goldmark’s first opera. This production of the opera was recorded at Theater Freiburg, and stars vocalists Katerina Hebelkova and Nuttaporn Thammathi. (CPO) 3CD# 555013-2 $53.99 $26.99

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde, WWV 90 [4 CDs]

This production stars leading Wagner exponents Robert Dean Smith and Iréne Theorin in the title roles.

“Musically everything is fine under the super-experienced Peter Schneider... absolutely unmissable.’’ – Gramophone (Opus Arte)

Zarębski: Piano Works [4 CDs]

$30.09

Behind these virtuosic pieces, Julius Zarębski invents a new pianistic language that would herald in the age of Szymanowski. This release contains his complete extant works. (Dux) 4CD# DUX1181-4 $37.99 $26.59

Great Choral Classics [5 CDs]

This 5-disc set features four outstanding 20th-century conductors, William Steinberg, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Igor Markevitch and Gennadi Rozhdestvensky thrillingly directing several Great Choral Classics of the 19th century, including Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and Verdi’s Requiem Sopranos Galina Vishnevskaya and Dame Janet Baker feature prominently in these performances. (ICA Classics)

Perfect Moods – Contemplative Piano Miniatures [6 CDs]

This six album boxed set comprises Tanya Ekanayaka’s Twelve Piano Prisms performed by the composer; works by Valentin Silvestrov performed by Elisaveta Blumina; Philip Glass’ piano music played by Nicholas Horvath; and Haro Stepanian’s Preludes and Baal HaSulam’s Melodies of the Upper Worlds performed by Mikael Ayrapetyan, alongside the pianist’s own A Whole in 12 (Grand Piano)

The Golden Age of Pianist-Composers [6 CDs]

This collection spotlights six legendary pianist-composers from the 19th and 20th centuries. These six towering superstars represent the summit of the piano’s Romantic golden age, heard here in critically acclaimed performances by award-winning pianists. (Grand Piano)

The Best of Turkish Piano Music [4 CDs]

This 4-CD anthology from the Idil Biret Archive – performed by the legendary pianist İdil Biret – celebrates the Turkish Five and other major Turkish composers such as Saygun, Cemal Erkin, Kodallı, Usmanbaş, Reşit Rey, Pars, and Fırat.

Spanning recordings from 1958 to 2021, it showcases vibrant piano concertos, preludes, sonatas, and folk-inspired pieces, offering nearly five hours of stylistic breadth and historical depth. (IBA)

4CD# 8504058 $32.99 $16.49

National Anthems of the World (Complete 2019 Edition) [10 CDs]

A comprehensive 10-CD collection performed by the Razumovsky Symphony Orchestra and Slovak ensembles under Peter Breiner, featuring full and alternate versions of national anthems, regional hymns, Olympic renditions, and historical variants from Abkhazia to Zimbabwe. Released in 2019, it’s the definitive anthology of global ceremonial music spanning continents and traditions. (Marco Polo)

10CD# 8201002 $89.99 $44.99

Virtuoso Horn Concertos [3 CDs]

Virtuoso Horn Concertos, featuring standout horn solos by János Tylšar and Ralf Capelistrop, accompanied by distinguished orchestral ensembles in masterfully performed showpieces. A single-CD showcase of technical brilliance and lyrical warmth for horn aficionados and concerto lovers alike. (Naxos)

3CD# 8503288 $13.99 $6.99

Wagner: Parsifal [4 CDs]

Minimal Piano Collection: Volume XXI–XXVIII [8 CDs]

This release brings the listener back to the roots of Minimalism, all works were written in the seventies of the 20th century, a time when the new aesthetics and perception of music, sound, repetition and time experience were creating a new chapter in music history. Composers in this set include Philip Glass, Tom Johnson, Peter Garland, Terry Riley, Harold Budd and La Monte Young. (Brilliant Classics) 8CD#

$42.69

Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 1–9 [9 CDs]

An epic 9-CD cycle performed by the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg under Ivor Bolton with awe-inspiring symphonic depth. This classic interpretation captures the grandeur and spiritual intensity of Bruckner’s towering masterpieces. (OehmsClassics)

9CD# OC031 $31.99 $22.39

Sir Thomas Beecham (Live) [4 CDs]

This 4-CD set offers a curated selection of masterpieces by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms, showcasing their enduring contributions to classical music. Performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Thomas Beecham, the collection spans a wide range of symphonic works, providing a comprehensive overview of these composers’ legacies. (ICA Classics)

4CD# ICAC5148 $44.99 $31.49

Following their acclaimed previous Wagner opera releases, Halle presents the remastered recording of their 2013 Prom performance, recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall. This release was recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall, London at the 2013 BBC Proms, featuring dramatic spatial placing of off-stage choruses and musicians. (Halle)

Sets

Beethoven: 30 of the Best [3 CDs]

Beethoven is considered one of the greatest composers who ever lived, and this collection presents 30 essential recordings of his most well-known works. From the beautiful moods of lamentation in the ‘Moonlight’ Sonata to the amorous sophistication of Für Elise, every significant facet of Beethoven’s monumental achievement is represented in this collection of exemplary performances. (Naxos)

3CD# 8578350-52 $35.99 $17.99

Mozart: Symphonies (Essential), Vols. 1–6 [6 CDs]

Roger Norrington leads the SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra in this 6-CD collection spanning Mozart’s early and mature periods, including the Haffner, Linz, Prague, and Jupiter. With brisk tempos, lean textures, and period-informed phrasing, Norrington reveals the symphonies’ structural brilliance and expressive contrasts in vivid detail. (SWR Music)

6CD# 93230 $74.99 $52.49

Telemann: Les plaisirs de la table [7 CDs]

Roger Norrington’s SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra brings Telemann’s Les Plaisirs de la Table to life in this expansive 7-CD box set, featuring overtures, concertos, trio-sonatas, quartet arrangements, and banquet music full of wit and Baroque charm. With lively performances by the Ricercar Consort along with La Pastorella ensemble, the program spans nearly 8 hours of festive texture and stylistic variety. (Ricercar)

7CD# RIC270 $54.99 $38.49

Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas [9 CDs]

Boris Giltburg is lauded worldwide as a deeply sensitive, insightful and compelling interpreter, with critics praising his impassioned approach to performance. This project to record all of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas is a personal exploration for Giltburg, whose exceptional performances received widespread critical acclaim. (Naxos)

9CD# 8509005 $58.99 $29.49

BOX SETS IN BRIEF

Satie: Complete Piano Music [9 CDs]

J.S. Bach: Complete Works

for Violin [5 CDs]

Benjamin Schmid delivers a sweeping, 5-CD exploration of Bach’s complete violin oeuvre – from the solo Sonatas & Partitas through both his concertos and the Oboe d’amore and double-violin works – with spirited support from the Cis Collegium Mozarteum Salzburg. Schmid’s articulate technique, nuanced phrasing, and stylistically informed approach make this a compelling and comprehensive Bach portrait. (Oehms Classics).

5CD# OC013 $31.99 $22.39

Spontini: L’opera vocale da camera completa [5 CDs]

A complete edition of all Gaspare Spontini’s vocal chamber-music pieces currently known is presented here for the first time. This recording includes the collections, the independent tunes and, in the appendixes, the modified or translated pieces, the drafts and sketches, and the original contemporary arrangements. (Tactus)

5CD# TC771960 $53.99 $37.79

French Impressions –A Potpourri of French Piano Styles [6 CDs]

The range and variety of French piano music in the 19th and 20th centuries is exemplified in these critically acclaimed albums bringing together rarely encountered pieces, a number of which are performed on period instruments. (Grand Piano)

6CD# GP900X $51.99 $25.99

Tosti: The Song of a Life, Vol. 2 [4 CDs]

With this second volume of Tosti’s songs, Brilliant Classics takes listeners just half-way through a prodigious, career-long output, in which the key-notes are unfailingly memorable melody, lively charm and a gift for story-telling that rivals the very greatest song-writers past and present, from Schubert to Dylan. Many of his songs have never been recorded, so this set makes a unique contribution to the catalogue. (Brilliant Classics)

4CD# BRI95429 $26.99 $18.89

This outstanding nine-disc set includes Erik Satie’s complete works for piano, including his works for piano 4 hands. This release includes outstanding liner notes by a musicologist as well as Van Veen. (Brilliant Classics)

9CD# BRI95350 $45.99 $32.19

Carl Schuricht Collection II [10 CDs]

Spanning 10 CDs of historic live performances, this portrait of conductor Carl Schuricht features symphonies by Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Schumann, and Debussy, along with concerti and overtures. (SWR Music) 10CD# 93292 $93.99 $65.79

Wagner: Die Walküre, WWV 86b (Live) [4 CDs]

Launched by its prologue Das Rheingold, Der Ring des Nibelungen (‘The Ring of the Nibelung’) – one of the supreme works in the history of music – continues with Die Walküre. (Naxos) 4CD# 8660394-97 $42.99 $21.49

The Brandenburg Project [3 CDs]

This boxed set provides a unique opportunity to experience six very different musical minds and idioms entering into conversation with Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. (BIS) 3SACD# BIS-2199 $64.99 $32.49

Choral Music – Beyond Chant: Mysteries of the Renaissance

Dennis Keene leads the Voices of Ascension Chorus in this luminous single-CD collection of 24 sacred motets and chants by Palestrina, Josquin, Tallis, Victoria, Byrd, and others, showcasing pristine ensemble clarity and nuanced Renaissance phrasing. A masterfully articulated and heartfelt survey that brings early sacred music vividly to life. (Delos)

DE 3165 $18.99 $13.29

Unicorns and Castles – Medieval and Renaissance Music [2 CDs]

This 2-CD set offers a vivid journey through medieval and Renaissance music, featuring works by Hildegard von Bingen, Guillaume de Machaut, and others. Performed by Ensemble Unicorn and soloists like Carmen Cano and Thomas Riquier, the collection includes sacred chants, courtly dances, and evocative instrumental pieces, capturing the rich tapestry of early European soundscapes. (Naxos)

A Renaissance Christmas / Harry Christophers; The Sixteen

Following The Sixteen’s hugely successful album, Song of the Nativity, which featured Christmas music from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, this new seasonal offering explores a stunning selection of festive works from the Renaissance. This album provides a perfect alternative to traditional carols for those looking for something a little different at Christmas. (Coro)

1CD# COR16167 $20.99 $14.69

Weiss: Lute Sonatas, Vol. 11

This 2-CD set presents a selection of lute sonatas by Sylvius Leopold Weiss, performed by renowned lutenist Robert Barto. Weiss, a contemporary of J.S. Bach, was celebrated as the greatest lutenist of his age, and his music reflects a blend of Italian and French styles. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572680 $19.99 $9.99

Purcell: Theatre Music, Vol. 2

Despite his immersion in the composition of sacred music, Purcell retained a lifelong interest in the theatre – an aspect of his ouvre that has been neglected. Among the authors of the five works on this recording were two of the most celebrated of the age – John Dryden and William Congreve – and for their ‘semi-operas’ Purcell produced incidental music and songs of vitality and wit. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573280 $19.99 $9.99

Percival’s Lament

Capilla Antigua de Chinchilla, under José Ferrero, presents a 53-minute journey through the Arthurian legends and the quest for the Holy Grail in this release. The ensemble performs a mix of vocal and instrumental works from 12th–13th-century Europe, including pieces by Wolfram von Eschenbach, Chrétien de Troyes, and Hildegard von Bingen. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572800 $19.99 $13.99

Cabezón: Complete Tientos and Variations [2 CDs]

Cabezón: Glosas

Selected from the 1578 Obras de Música published by blind keyboard master Antonio de Cabezón’s son Hernando, these glosas enrich the vast resource of Renaissance vocal music through variation and elaboration. This collection highlights the Spanish Renaissance tradition of improvisation and ornamentation, offering a blend of sacred and secular pieces that demonstrate the depth and complexity of the era’s music. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572477 $19.99 $13.99

Glen Wilson presents a definitive 2-CD set of Antonio de Cabezón’s complete Tientos and variations, showcasing the Spanish Renaissance master’s intricate keyboard works. Wilson’s meticulous research and expressive performances breathe new life into these 16th-century compositions. This collection is a significant contribution to the understanding and appreciation of early keyboard music. (Naxos)

2CD# 8572475-76 $29.99 $20.99

Sacred Garland – Renaissance and Baroque Music

The Gonzaga Band presents a collection of Renaissance and Baroque music, featuring works by Monteverdi, Rossi, and Corradini. This album showcases the ensemble’s expertise in early music, offering a rich tapestry of compositions that highlight the expressive depth and stylistic diversity of the period. (Chandos)

1CD# CHAN 0761 $20.99 $14.69

Philips: Cantiones Sacrae Quinis et Octonibus Vocibus

Peter Philips was the most famous English composer of his time, and only Byrd, a generation older, had more compositions published. Much of Philips’s life was spent on the Continent, where he wrote music of intricate, text-conscious colour, both deeply expressive and architecturally powerful. His motets and anthems, whether celebratory, meditative or dramatic, embrace the widest range of feeling and texture. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572832 $19.99 $13.99

Psalms and Motets for Reflection

1CD# 8572540

$19.99 $9.99

Tavener: Ex Maria Virgine

1CD# 8572168

$19.99 $9.99

Carmina Predulcia

1CD# 8551440

$19.99 $13.99

Hakenberger: 55 Motets [2 CDs]

2CD# 8573743-44

$29.99 $20.99

Cavazzoni: Complete Works

1CD# 8572998

$19.99 $13.99

Exaltation

1CD# 8573980

$19.99 $13.99

Monteverdi: Madrigals, Book 8 [4 CDs] 4CD# 8573755-58

$42.99 $30.09

The Guerra Manuscript, Vol. 4 1CD# 8573678

$19.99 $13.99

Latino Ladino: Songs of Exile and Passion

1CD# 8573566

$19.99 $13.99

1CD# 8573305

$19.99 $13.99

The Berlin Gamba Book [2 CDs] 2CD# 8573392-93

$29.99 $20.99

Missa Conceptio tua –Medieval and Renaissance Music for Advent 1CD# 8573260

$19.99 $13.99

The Guerra Manuscript, Vol. 3

1CD# 8573312

$19.99 $13.99

Palestrina: Cantica Salomonis [2 CDs] 2CD# 8573096-97

$29.99 $20.99

Passacaglia della Vita

1CD# 8551439

$19.99 $13.99

Milán: El Maestro. Libro 1 (1536)

J.S. Bach: Sonatas & Partitas, Vol. 2

Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 2 showcases Frank Peter Zimmermann’s masterful performances of BWV 1001, 1002, and 1005, illuminating the solo violin’s expressive power with refined tone, structural clarity, and interpretive depth. His thoughtful phrasing and technical poise reveal the profound lyricism and architectural brilliance at the heart of Bach’s writing. (BIS)

Telemann: Twelve Fantasies for Solo Flute

Telemann wrote a portfolio of fantasies for unaccompanied instruments, and in addition to those for violin, keyboard and viola da gamba was the set of Twelve Fantasies for Solo Flute, dating from 1732/33. With their eloquent melodies, frugal writing, and contrasts of register and phrasing they make an enchanting set, played here by Giovanni Roselli on a conical ring-key flute. (Naxos)

La Magnifique: Flute Music for the Court of Louis XIV

This program portrays the ‘birth’ of the flute in France in the late 17th century and the following 40 years of its life as a new and fashionable instrument. A famous patron of the arts, King Louis XIV gathered elite composers and musicians to create the refinement, elegance and good taste that was demanded at his Paris Court. (Naxos)

Handel: Keyboard Suites, Vol. 1

In this inaugural volume of Handel’s Eight Great Suites, pianist Philip Edward Fisher delivers a compelling interpretation of the first four suites (HWV 426–429). The recording captures the music’s lively dance movements, intricate fugal passages, and lyrical airs with clarity and warmth, offering a fresh perspective on these Baroque masterpieces. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572197 $19.99 $9.99

Telemann: Complete Violin Concertos, Vol. 7

Each of the three violin concertos by Telemann on the seventh volume of CPO’s complete series merits separate consideration in view of its singular musical character and special transmission history. These works make it possible to participate in a fascinating journey back in time to European music culture around 1720. (CPO) 1CD# 777881-2 $18.99 $9.49

Telemann: Pimpinone

Georg Philipp Telemann’s intermezzo Pimpinone celebrated its premiere at the Gänsemarkt Opera in Hamburg on 27 September 1725 and turned out to be a major public draw that continued to find its place in the Hamburg performance program until 1740. Without exaggeration it may be said that this CPO new production with the Akademie für Alte Musik represents a benchmark recording. (CPO)

1CD# 555394-2 $18.99 $9.49

Scarlatti: Complete Keyboard Sonatas, Vol. 27

From the virtuoso Essercizi (K.12 and 15) to the touching cantabile eloquence of the Sonata in G major, K.144, most of the repertoire on this album consists of lesser-known works incorporating elements of dance forms from Spain and Portugal, with the Sonata (Fuga) in D minor heard here in its world premiere recording. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574374 $19.99 $9.99

Handel: Total Eclipse – Music for Handel’s Tenor

John Beard was a young tenor who came to George Frideric Handel’s attention when still a teenager. He inspired the great composer to give new focus to the tenor voice within his English oratorios. GRAMMY Awardwinning tenor Aaron Sheehan steps into John Beard’s shoes equipped with a voice of ‘shining quality and deep sensitivity’ (The New York Times). (Naxos)

1CD# 8573914 $19.99 $9.99

J.S. Bach: Secular Cantatas, Vol. 10

Bach: Secular Cantatas, Vol. 10 features Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan in two contrasting works, including the festive Angenehmes Wiederau and the intimate solo cantata Ich bin in mir vergnügt, highlighted by Carolyn Sampson’s expressive soprano. The performances blend dynamic orchestration with refined vocal nuance, revealing Bach’s versatility and emotional depth. (BIS)

BIS-2351 $21.99 $10.99

J.S. Bach: Toccatas, BWV 910–916

Very little is known about the origin of J.S. Bach’s seven Toccatas (BWV 910–916) or of their use. They are believed to have been written before 1717 or the end of Bach’s Weimar period – but it is quite possible that at least some of them were drafted before he arrived there in 1707. With this disc, Masaaki Suzuki takes on some of the earliest of Bach’s extant harpsichord compositions. (BIS)

Era

The Best of Vivaldi

The Best of Vivaldi gathers some of the composer’s most popular works, including movements from The Four Seasons, Gloria, and various concertos, performed with energy and stylistic flair. This well-rounded introduction highlights Vivaldi’s melodic charm and rhythmic vitality across sacred and instrumental genres. (Naxos)

1CD# 8556655 $19.99 $9.99

The Grand Mogul: Virtuosic Baroque Flute Concertos

The solo concerto emerged in Northern Italy in the first quarter of the 18th century and rapidly became popular across Europe. The five works here demonstrate how concertos for the flute differ in Germany, Italy, and France. Outer movements usually retain the virtuosic elements that characterize the concertos of Vivaldi, but the Frenchman Michel Blavet infiltrates an exquisite Gavotte into his work. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573899 $19.99 $9.99

L.A. Dornel: Six Suittes en Trio

Six Suittes en Trio features LouisAntoine Dornel’s refined and expressive trio sonatas, brought vividly to life by Musica Barocca in performances that balance elegance, clarity, and rhythmic verve. Blending French dance forms with Italianate flair, these six suites explore a rich variety of textures and moods, offering a rewarding glimpse into early 18thcentury chamber style. (Naxos)

1CD# 8570826 $19.99 $9.99

Handel: 6 Concerti Grossi, Op. 3

The Opus 3 contains some of Handel’s best-loved music, in instrumental combinations that are colorful and often unexpected – aspects that Martin Gester and his musicians in the Tasmanian period band Van Diemen’s Band make the most of. (BIS)

1SACD# BIS-2079 $21.99 $10.99

BACH IN BRIEF

Vivaldi: Recorder Concertos

Vivaldi: Recorder Concertos features a colorful selection of works showcasing the composer’s inventive textures and spirited interplay between winds, strings, and continuo. Performed with crisp articulation and stylish phrasing by I Musici, these concertos highlight Vivaldi’s flair for contrast, lyricism, and rhythmic drive. (Naxos)

1CD# 8557215 $19.99 $9.99

Handel: Keyboard Suites, Vol. 2

First published in 1720, the ‘eight great suites’, immensely popular in their time, contain some of Handel’s most beautiful music. These final four suites illuminate not only his melodic gifts and dramatic flair but also his ability to unify a variety of forms and styles into a complete and magnificent whole. The first of this two volume set, was acclaimed by Fanfare magazine for ‘its often assured and inspired playing.’ (Naxos)

1CD# 8573397 $19.99 $9.99

Bach: Orchestral transcriptions by Respighi & Elgar

The powerful sense of orchestral colour acquired during his training under Rimsky-Korsakov is heard to bold yet subtle effect in the Three Chorale Preludes. The Prelude and Fugue in D major is even more gloriously lavish, drawing on the full resources of the modern symphony orchestra, as does the brilliantly realized Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572741 $19.99 $9.99

G.F. Handel, Apollo e Daphne

J.S. Bach: Concertos for Harpsichord and Strings

Handel: Apollo e Daphne captures the dramatic intensity and lyrical beauty of this early cantata, performed with vibrant detail and expressive nuance by Baroque specialists Nuria Rial and Laurence Zazzo. The ensemble’s spirited playing and sensitive phrasing bring out the emotional contrasts in Handel’s richly scored pastoral scene. (Phoenix Edition) 1CD# 192 $12.99 $6.49

Bach: Concertos for Harpsichord and Strings features Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan delivering vibrant performances that balance technical precision with expressive warmth. (BIS)

J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2 [2 CDs]

When Luc Beauséjour recorded Book I of the Well-Tempered Clavier, he was hailed by International Piano for ‘his instinct for discovering exactly the right tempo; his playing is so natural’. (Naxos)

J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations (arr. for 10-string guitar) [2 CDs]

Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations is a contrapuntal tour de force, and one of the pinnacles in the history of the variation genre. (Naxos)

J.S. Bach: Cello Suites Nos. 1–6, BWV 1007–1012 [2 CDs]

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote his six Suites for unaccompanied cello around the year 1720. These six works remain the ultimate measure of a cellist’s musical comprehension, technical facility and interpretive acumen. (Naxos)

8557280-81 $29.99 $14.99

The Classical

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 8, 21 & 32

Ludwig van Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas form an unparalleled canon, remaining one of the greatest and most rewarding challenges for pianists to this day. These three sonatas represent Beethoven’s Early, Middle and Late periods but are united in the key of C-minor, for the dramatic and stormy intensity of mood in the Pathétique, and major for the radiant and poetic Waldstein sonata. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573400 $19.99 $9.99

Mozart: Violin Concertos Nos. 3, 4 and 5

Mozart wrote his Violin Concertos in 1775 while still living in his home town of Salzburg and in service to Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo. The finely sustained melodic expression of each concerto’s slow center provides the perfect foil for inventive sparkle in outer movements that include a cheeky reference to the opera Il re pastore in K.216 to an exotic ‘Turkish’ moment in the finale of K. 219. (Naxos)

1CD#

Haydn: String Quartets Nos. 1–3, Op. 33

“Gut strings and classical bows are also the tools of a captivating quest for sonority”, French magazine Diapason recently wrote to describe the Chiaroscuro Quartet. After Op. 20, Joseph Haydn’s first major string quartet cycle, and Op. 76, his last, the internationally renowned ensemble is now embarking on the Quartets Op. 33, dubbed the “Russian Quartets” and dedicated to the Russian Grand Duke Paul, the future Tsar Paul I. (BIS)

1SACD# BIS-2588 $21.99

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 ‘Choral’

Mozart: Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol. 4 presents a thoughtful and nuanced interpretation of Mozart’s later sonatas, with crisp articulation and lyrical phrasing that highlight the composer’s classical elegance and emotional depth. Performed by pianist Christopher Hinterhuber, the recording captures the clarity and charm of these essential keyboard works. (Naxos)

1CD# 8553478 $19.99 $9.99

Cimarosa: Overtures, Vol. 6

Domenico Cimarosa’s operas were remarkably successful, being staged and re-staged in opera houses all over Europe. Success in his hometown of Naples led to court appointments and royal commissions, including his best-known work Il matrimonio segreto (‘The Secret Marriage’) composed for Austrian emperor Leopold II. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574046 $19.99 $9.99

Mozart himself saw the advantages of creating more accessible versions of his concertos in reduced instrumentation. Ignaz Lachner followed common 19th-century practice by leaving the piano parts of these concertos intact and making splendid transcriptions of the orchestra parts using only a string quartet with added bass. These chamber versions throw an intense and intimate new light on familiar music. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573736 $19.99 $9.99

Beethoven: Mass in C Major;

Haydn: Symphonies, Vol. 34 (Nos. 62, 107 and 108)

Haydn: Symphonies Vol. 34 presents lively and polished performances of symphonies 62, 107, and 108, showcasing Haydn’s inventive orchestration, structural mastery, and playful wit. The Toronto Chamber Orchestra delivers clear articulation and dynamic contrasts that illuminate the classical style with vibrant energy and refined elegance. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572130 $19.99 $9.99

Beethoven:

Folk Songs

Beethoven: Folk Songs offers a fresh perspective on the composer’s arrangements and original compositions inspired by folk melodies, performed with warmth and sensitivity. Featuring vocal and instrumental interpretations, the album highlights Beethoven’s ability to blend popular tunes with classical sophistication and emotional depth. (Naxos) 1CD# 8574174 $19.99 $9.99

Chamber Music [2 CDs]

In his first decade in Vienna, Beethoven seems to have been preoccupied with music for wind instruments. The best-known example is his Quintet in E flat major, Op. 16, which he arranged at the same time for piano quartet. He also wrote music for dances and settings of folk songs, and reflected the public’s interest in automata by writing for musical clock. (Naxos)

2CD# 8574040-41 $29.99 $14.99

Vestas Feuer

The custom of marking the name-day of Princess Esterhazy with a newly composed Mass began in the 1790s and for many years was carried out by Joseph Haydn. In 1807 Beethoven was commissioned and responded with his Mass in C major. Coolly received at court, it is a celebratory work of large-scale brilliance. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574017 $19.99 $9.99

8573513 $19.99 $9.99

Beethoven:

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 23 and 24 (arr. I. Lachner)

Era

Mozart: 30 of the Best [2 CDs]

Mozart will always be a key figure in classical music, his signature style with its clarity, balance and transparency matched by the exceptional power of his finest masterpieces, 30 of which are represented in this great value 2-album collection. The aim of such a collection is to deliver an attractive and entertaining program with highlights from this great composer’s prolific output. (Naxos)

2CD# 8578353-54 $29.99 $14.99

Haydn: Soprano Cantatas / Miseri Noi

Haydn: Soprano Cantatas features a compelling selection of vocal works showcasing Haydn’s melodic inventiveness and expressive clarity. Performed with elegance and warmth by a distinguished soprano and period ensemble, the album reveals the charm and emotional nuance of these rarely heard pieces. (Phoenix Edition)

1CD# 176 $12.99 $6.49

Beethoven: Ta Ta Ta Taaa –13 Times the Same and 13 Times Different [2 CDs]

Three Gs and an E flat, declaimed Ta-ta-ta-taaa!, is perhaps the best known phrase in all of classical music. The notes form the opening motif of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, a work that has enjoyed enduring popularity since its first performance in 1808. This album presents various interpretations the symphony’s opening movement has received from a number of conductors. (Naxos)

2CD# 8551451 $29.99 $14.99

Haydn: Keyboard Trios, Vol. 7

Much of Joseph Haydn’s musical life was spent in service at the palace of Eszterháza on the Hungarian plains, a complex of buildings to rival Versailles in magnificence. Haydn’s reputation abroad was, however, already considerable by 1790, and he was invited to travel to London where the delightfully lively and at times brilliantly virtuosic trios Hob. XV:16 and 19 were published. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574385 $19.99 $9.99

BEETHOVEN IN BRIEF

Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6

Mozart: Requiem

Mozart: Requiem presents a compelling interpretation of Mozart’s final masterpiece, featuring the Leipzig Chamber Orchestra and Gewandhaus Kammerchor under Morten SchuldtJensen. The performance is noted for its clarity and expressive depth, capturing the emotional intensity of the Requiem. This recording offers a fresh perspective on the Requiem, making it a valuable addition to any collection. (Naxos)

1CD# 8557728 $19.99 $9.99

Haydn: Keyboard Trios, Vol. 5

Haydn worked during a period that witnessed a great deal of stylistic change, including the evolution of keyboard instruments from the harpsichord to the pianoforte with its hammer action and greater dynamic flexibility. These rarely heard but influential early Piano Trios include music originally conceived for piano solo or baryton trio. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574361 $19.99 $9.99

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 15, 24, 25 and 27 [2 CDs]

This release features the 7th and 8th volumes in the Naxos Idil Biret Concerto Edition. Idil Biret is one of the few female pianists who has been able to assert her position on the world stages for decades. Biret plays here the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with these recordings proves once again that she belongs among the greatest pianists of her time. (IDA)

8571349-50 $26.99 $13.49

Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 features Mario Galeani as the soloist, performing with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Grzegorz Nowak. This recording offers a polished and expressive interpretation of Beethoven’s early piano concertos. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra provides a supportive and dynamic accompaniment, enhancing the overall impact of the performance. (RPO)

Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6 features Erich Kleiber conducting the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne in a live 1955 performance. The recording is noted for its clarity and expressive depth. (Medici Masters)

MM002-2 $18.99 $9.49

Beethoven: 6 Bagatelles & Piano Sonatas Nos. 31 & 32

For his first disc featuring solo works by Beethoven, Yevgeny Sudbin has chosen the two final sonatas and the Six Bagatelles, Op. 126 – late works written between 1821 and 1824. (BIS)

BIS-2208 $21.99 $10.99

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9

Bach Collegium Japan and Masaaki Suzuki now give us their rendering of Beethoven’s last and greatest symphony, joined by a fine quartet of vocal soloists. (BIS)

BIS-2451 $21.99 $10.99

Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2

Beethoven’s first two piano concertos share an abundance of lyric and virtuosic qualities. Concerto No. 1 in C major is expansive and richly orchestrated with a sublime slow movement that is tender and ardent. (Naxos)

Strings

Raff: Complete Violin Sonatas, Vol. 2

Joachim Raff enjoyed enormous prestige with a reputation as Germany’s leading symphonist of his time. He also wrote music for the violin, an instrument he had mastered when young, and for which he wrote with great sympathy. The enduring success of his first two sonatas prompted him to write three more. (Naxos)

Nordic Violin Favourites

There was a particularly rich vein of Nordic writing for the violin between the years 1910 and 1930. In this recital Henning Kraggerud explores this memorable repertoire. It ranges from Halvorsen’s folk-flecked Norwegian Dance to Stenhammar’s passionate Sentimental Romances. Late Romanticism floods Sinding’s Abendstimmung whilst Sibelius’s Six Humoresques remain a masterpiece of the genre. (Naxos)

Elgar • Bridge: Cello Concertos

These two masterpieces are shadowed by the events of the First World War. Elgar’s Cello Concerto, an intensely poignant, reflective and individual musical statement, has enjoyed unflagging popularity among musicians and listeners for over 100 years. By contrast, Frank Bridge’s Oration (Concerto elegiaco) remained unperformed for decades after its early hearings. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574320 $19.99 $9.99

Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 116

Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, one of his greatest works, was written in the United States after the composer was forced to flee Hungary during World War II. It is not only a brilliant display vehicle for each instrumental section but a work of considerable structural ingenuity that unites classical forms and sonorities with the pungency of folk rhythms and harmonies. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572486 $19.99 $9.99

Sarasate: Violin & Piano Music, Vol. 4

The finale to this critically-acclaimed series contains some of Sarasate’s greatest and rarest transcriptions and arrangements. Violinist Tianwa Yang recorded Paganiniʼs Caprices at thirteen, the youngest artist to have recorded these works. Ms. Yang is here accompanied by German-born pianist Markus Hadulla. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572709 $19.99 $9.99

Lalo: Symphonie espagnole • Manén: Violin Concerto No. 1

These two concertos – one a staple of the repertoire, the other almost unknown – share melodic richness and a Spanish influence. Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole reflects the quicksilver technique of its dedicatee, Pablo de Sarasate, in its ingenious and virtuosic passagework, with its moods and rhythms indelibly Iberian in feel. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573067 $19.99 $9.99

In an album celebrating the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninoff’s birth, cellist John-Henry Crawford and pianist Victor Santiago Asuncion explore the voice-like qualities of the composer’s melodies. The cello’s expressive timbres are often likened to the human voice, making it the perfect vehicle to showcase this aspect of Rachmaninoff’s output. (Orchid Classics)

Fazil Say is one of the world’s most prominent pianists but he is also a much-admired composer with a substantial catalogue of works. He combines both these accomplishments in his two Violin Sonatas, the first of which is suffused with Turkish motifs and dances, such as the horon. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574085 $19.99 $9.99

Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1–2 –Sonata for Solo Violin

In the Moment: Short Pieces for String Quartet

Prokofiev first became fascinated by the violin upon hearing the playing of his private teacher, Reinhold Glière. A dozen years later Prokofiev wrote his Violin Concerto No. 1 – a work of contrasting open-hearted lyricism and whimsical playfulness that features a wild central Scherzo with dazzling technical gymnastics. By contrast, the Violin Concerto No. 2 is emotionally reserved. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574107 $19.99 $9.99

Time, place and mood are explored in this unusual program that reveals the inventive curiosity of the Arabella Quartet, lauded by the Boston Musical Intelligencer for its “freedom, drive, and risk-taking”. The geographical span is wide, from Spain to Russia, and traditional staples by Schubert sit alongside meditative statements on human themes by Puccini, Turina, Webern and Nielsen. (Naxos)

1CD# 8579013 $19.99 $9.99

Voice of Rachmaninoff

Say: Complete Violin Works

British Composers

Walton: The Complete Facades

Edith Sitwell’s verses conjure a satirical and poignant world of bourgeois late-Victorian England, while Walton’s settings unfailingly enhance and enrich the texts in a work in which words and music are unquestionably of equal importance. This release includes the first recording of Small Talk (1922) and three numbers first performed in 1977 but subsequently rejected by the composer. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574378 $19.99 $9.99

Coates: Springtime Suite

Eric Coates was a master of refined and beautiful melodies, making him a household name during the golden years of British light music in the first half of the 20th century. The Four Ways Suite takes us to all four points of the compass, including exotic China and the jazz rhythms of America, while Springtime evokes both sweeping optimism and soulful memories of a lost age. (Naxos)

1CD# 8555194 $19.99 $9.99

British Guitar Music, Vol. 2

The iconic guitarist Julian Bream commissioned music from a number of British composers with international reputations, thus creating a whole new repertoire of guitar music. John Dowland’s beautiful Pavanis followed by Britten’s Nocturnal after John Dowland, one of the most significant guitar works of the 20th century. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573692 $19.99 $9.99

Sullivan: Victoria and Merrie England

Feted for his Savoy operas with librettist W.S. Gilbert, Sir Arthur Sullivan also regularly produced music for important royal or national occasions. In 1897, to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, he was commissioned to write a ballet for the Alhambra Theatre in London. Significant research and reconstruction of the score has made this recording possible. (Naxos)

1CD# 8555216 $19.99 $9.99

TITLES IN BRIEF

Delius: Appalachia; Sea Drift

Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 5 and 9

Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 5 and 9 features Kees Bakels conducting the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. The Fifth is praised for its “bright-eyed reading” and commendable orchestral refinement, though some find the finale’s tempo a bit brisk. Meanwhile, the Ninth’s “visionary splendour” shines in the solemn Andante sostenuto, even if its finale feels less emotionally grounded. (Naxos)

1CD# 8550738 $19.99 $9.99

Barry Wordsworth conducts Elgar

Sir Edgar Elgar is one of Britain’s finest composers, and presented here are brand new recordings of his works by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. These Elgar compositions are conducted by former principal conductor for the BBC Concert Orchestra, the distinguished British conductor Barry Wordsworth, at London’s Cadogan Hall. Included are the complete five Pomp and Circumstance Marches, and Cockaigne Overture. (RPO) 1CD# RPOSP035 $18.99 $9.49

British Music for Harpsichord

British Music for Harpsichord highlights Christopher D. Lewis’s masterful performances of 20th-century British works by Lennox Berkeley, Herbert Howells, Gavin Bryars, and John Jeffreys, recorded at Belvedere Estate in March 2015. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573668 $19.99 $9.99

Britten: The Music for String Quartet [3 CDs]

Between 2010 and 2014, the British Emperor Quartet released the three discs gathered here, with all of Benjamin Britten’s published music for string quartet – as well as his one work for string quintet, the Phantasy in F minor. Their performances of the three numbered quartets, undisputed masterpieces of 20th-century chamber music, were variously described by the critics as ‘stupendous.’ – Classic FM Magazine. (BIS) 3SACD# BIS-2640 $64.99 $32.49

Sea Drift, one of the most telling of all the many musical settings of Whitman’s verse, was composed just after Appalachia. “The orchestra and chorus perform superbly.” – MusicWeb International (Naxos)

1CD# 8572764 $19.99 $9.99

Sullivan: Incidental Music

The music for The Merry Wives of Windsor has a joviality and lightness that matches its pantomime mood, while the concert suite for Macbeth weaves together nervous tension and impending tragedy. (Naxos)

Chilcott: Everyone Sang; A Little Jazz Mass

This program includes première recordings of favourites such as A Little Jazz Mass, songs and carols on a variety of texts, and the wit, wisdom and drama of Aesop’s Fables in which Chilcott makes musical references to Brahms and Schubert. (Naxos)

Flowers of the Field

These composers were all affected by the carnage of World War I, and their elegiac music expresses regret and lost innocence, love won and lost, sacrifice and death. (Naxos)

The Romantic

Mahler: Symphony No. 6 in A Minor “Tragic”

Osmo Vänskä leads the Minnesota Orchestra in a crisply disciplined, SACD recording praised for its vivid soundstage – especially the hammer-blow climaxes and transparent orchestral textures – though some critics find the emotional intimacy somewhat restrained compared to more passionate renders. Most famous of these are possibly the hammer strokes in the Finale, falling like ‘blows of fate’ on the ‘hero’ of the symphony. (BIS)

Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 2

and 3

Alan Gilbert conducts the New York Philharmonic in live SACD performances, delivering fresh, dynamic readings: the Second’s pastoral melodies and energetic finale feel exhilarating, while the Third features superb woodwind solos and confident orchestral precision throughout. In this interpretation, Maestro Gilbert’s personal passion for the music of Carl Nielsen shines through every note. (Dacapo)

Liszt: Schubert Transcriptions / Dominic Cheli

Dominic Cheli tackles Liszt’s Schubert transcriptions with expressive phrasing and thoughtful restraint – about three minutes slower than approaches like Hamelin – offering clarity without sacrificing virtuosic brilliance across demanding concert repertoire. Many years later Liszt did much to introduce Schubert’s music to a wider audience, not least through his prodigious transcriptions. (Naxos)

Schubert: String Quint; String Trio

Tchaikovsky:

The Aviv Quartet and Amit Peled deliver emotionally resonant, impeccably balanced performances: reviewers note “spot-on intonation” and moving phrasing, especially in the Quintet’s Scherzo, calling it a deeply insightful culmination of Schubert’s late chamber work. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573891 $19.99 $9.99

Piano Concerto No. 2 & Concert Fantasia

Mendelssohn:

Tchaikovsky has long maintained his position as among the most popular of all composers, his unequalled gift for melody and colorful orchestration given added depth through a rich Russian soulfulness. The Second Piano Concerto has always lived under the shadow of the famous First but, played here in the composer’s original version, is full of life-enhancing character and emotion. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573462 $19.99 $9.99

Violin Concertos; Violin Sonata in F minor

Following on from her recent highly acclaimed recording of the complete works for violin and piano of Wolfgang Rihm, Tianwa Yang turns her attention to one of the great 19th century violin concertos, coupled with two of Mendelssohn’s youthful yet astonishingly mature works. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572662 $19.99 $9.99

Dvořák: Spirit of Bohemia

Wagner: Das Rheingold, WWV 86A [2 CDs]

The opening salvo of Wagner’s tetralogy, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), Das Rheingold establishes immediately the epic nature of Wagner’s intentions in a epochal tale that owes much to Old Norse and Icelandic sagas. Featuring the acclaimed conductor Jaap van Zweeden with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. (Naxos)

2CD# 8660374-75 $29.99 $14.99

Fauré: Requiem; Messe Basse

Jeremy Summerly leads Schola Cantorum of Oxford and Oxford Camerata in a 1994 Naxos recording that reviewers commend for its pure, devotional tone and historically informed restraint – highlighted by warm ensemble blending and expression that feels lovingly considered. (Naxos)

1CD# 8550765 $19.99 $9.99

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition is a famous suite of ten pieces for piano, inspired by the paintings and architectural designs of his friend Viktor Hartmann. It’s widely known for its imaginative musical depiction of these various “pictures” and a recurring “Promenade” theme that represents the composer walking through the exhibition. (Naxos)

1CD# 8570716 $19.99 $9.99

Antonín Dvořák’s music, imbued with the spirit of Bohemia, reflects a love of his native land. His String Sextet, written in the distinctive style which brought him international fame, was an immediate success at its premiere. Composed just eight years earlier, his String Quartet No. 4, unpublished until 1968, features pioneering, wild outer movements, highly unusual for the time. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574205 $19.99 $9.99

Johann Strauss, Jr.: Famous Overtures

The waltzes of Johann Strauss II (‘The Waltz King’) remain de rigueur concert fare for the annual New Year’s Eve celebrations occurring throughout the world. Opera overtures number far less in his oeuvre but are of equal attraction and popularity. Bookending this nine-track Naxos CD overture selection conducted by Alfred Walter are the openers to Die Fledermaus and Die Zigeunerbaron. (Naxos)

1CD# 8553936 $19.99 $9.99

Franck: Hulda (original version) [3 CDs]

César Franck’s Hulda was never performed in his lifetime. The narrative is set in 14th-century Norway, and Franck’s music portrays raging clans, bloodthirsty murderers and shattered lives, but also moments of exquisite tenderness in this acclaimed revival of a forgotten masterpiece that places the role of Hulda among the great tragic stage heroines. (Naxos)

3CD# 8660480-82 $35.99 $17.99

Dvořák: Slavonic Dances

Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances burst with rhythmic vitality and folk-inspired melodies, captured here with lively precision and warmth, bringing to life favorites such as No. 1 in C Major and No. 8 in G Minor in a spirited, authentic performance. John Farrer leads the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for this recording. (Brilliant Classics)

1CD# BRI93847 $8.99 $4.49

Liszt Complete Piano Music, Vol. 36: Transcriptions of Wagner

Liszt Complete Piano Music, Vol. 36 offers dazzling transcriptions of Wagner’s operatic themes, showcasing virtuosic flair and deep emotional intensity in works like Lohengrin Prelude, performed with brilliant technical mastery and expressive nuance. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572895 $19.99 $9.99

ROMANTIC ERA IN BRIEF

Brahms: A German Requiem (1871 London version)

Brahms’ fascination with music of the 16th to the 18th centuries was nurtured during his appointment in Vienna as conductor of the Singakademie. His own choral compositions had gradually moved from an almost pastiche Renaissance style towards a fully mature, Romantic approach, culminating in his large-scale choral masterpiece Ein deutsches Requiem. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573952 $19.99 $9.99

Saint-Saëns: Music for Wind Ensemble

Camille Saint-Saëns wrote few works for winds, but the grand biblical themes of Samson et Dalila, patriotic military traditions and the dignity of a British coronation all lend themselves perfectly to arrangement. In The Carnival of the Animals, the roaring lions are superbly evocative; while his perspectives on English and Scottish dances in ballet movements from Henry VIII are brilliantly imaginative. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574234 $19.99 $9.99

Mahler: Symphony No. 5

Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 is a powerful journey through profound emotions and dramatic contrasts, highlighted by the famous Adagietto and intense finales, rendered with passionate intensity and rich orchestral detail that reveal the work’s sweeping grandeur. (Naxos)

1CD# 8557990 $19.99 $9.99

Tchaikovsky: Piano Music

Tchaikovsky wrote music for the piano throughout his life, many of these pieces being dedicated to family members or close friends and musical associates. Rich in variety, the Douze morceaux range from playful dances to a substantial Marche funebre, as well as lyrical jewels such as the Chanson triste and a Danse russe that found its way into the ballet Swan Lake. (Naxos) 1CD# 8573543 $19.99 $9.99

Lachner: Symphony No. 6; Concertino for bassoon and orchestra

The premiere of Franz Lachner’s Symphony No. 6 was held in Munich on 19 April 1837 with the composer as the conductor. The Munich press termed it a “magnificent work” and an “outstanding masterpiece.” (CPO) 1CD# 555210-2 $18.99 $9.49

Tchaikovsky: None But the Lonely Heart

Tchaikovsky’s None but the Lonely Heart showcases his lyrical depth and heartfelt melancholy, performed with tender expression and nuanced phrasing that bring out the song’s intimate beauty and emotional resonance. (Naxos) 1CD# 8555332 $19.99 $9.99

Berlioz: Roméo et Juliette, Op. 17, H 79 [2 CDs]

Of all Berlioz’s Shakespeare-inspired works, Romeo et Juliette is unquestionably his masterpiece. It is also cast in an innovative new form, a kind of ‘super-symphony’ that incorporates elements of symphony, opera and oratorio. (Naxos)

2CD# 8573449-50 $29.99 $14.99

Bruckner: Symphony No. 3, Wab 103 (1877 and 1889 Versions) [2 CDs]

Bruckner’s Symphony No. 3 features both the 1877 and 1889 versions, offering a fascinating comparison of his evolving style with monumental themes and rich harmonies, performed with powerful orchestral forces. (Naxos)

2CD# 8555928-29 $29.99 $14.99

The Romantic

Mendelssohn: String Quartets Nos. 2 & 3

In 1827, when writing his Quartet in A minor, Op.13, the 18-year-old Felix Mendelssohn was especially interested in Beethoven’s late quartets – at a time when these works were generally written off as ‘confused fantasies of a deaf musician’. Mendelssohn’s debt to Beethoven is evident in the important role of polyphonic techniques, particularly in the focus on cyclical connections between movements. (BIS)

Ravel: Orchestral Works, Vol. 6

Composed between 1929 and 1931, Ravel’s two piano concertos reflect his enthusiasm for jazz, though one that was thoroughly absorbed into his own idiom. The Concerto in G major, originally conceived as a Basque rhapsody, is lightly scored but sports a vivacious percussion section, galvanizing motor rhythms and a slow movement of astonishing beauty. (Naxos)

Schubert: Rarities and Short Piano Works

Among Schubert’s compositions are rare and overlooked works for solo piano that reflect staging posts of his short compositional life. Schubert’s admiration for Mozart is clear in the Fantasy in C minor, while the substantial Two Scherzi, D. 593 show early mastery. Also included is the Allegro in E major, Schubert’s first, unfinished attempt at a piano sonata. (Naxos)

Schumann: Lied Edition, Vol. 9 –Romances, Ballads and Melodramas

Robert Schumann’s literary background and cultivated taste is revealed in his choice of texts for musical setting. The emphasis in this collection is on songs with a narrative character, such as the tragic tale of Die feindlichen Bruder in which two brothers kill each other in a duel for love of the same girl. Further stories are drawn from those by Hans Christian Andersen. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574029 $19.99 $9.99

Brahms: Complete Songs, Vol. 1

This first volume of Brahms’ complete songs spans a period of nearly 25 years. A prolific composer of Lieder, Brahms’ adherence to traditional form was accompanied by a modern approach to compositional style. Thematically, most songs explore ideas of love, loneliness and solitude, perfectly exemplified by the Vier Gesänge, Op. 43. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574268 $19.99 $9.99

Dvořák: Symphony No. 6 – Janácek: Idyll

Dvořák’s was a strong voice in the re-establishment of Czech musical identity, and the noble themes, open landscapes and dancing Scherzo of the Symphony No. 6 bear the stamp of a genius at his height. The work can also be heard as a tribute to Brahms, who had helped him earlier in his career. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572698 $19.99 $9.99

Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra –Four Symphonic Interludes

This is “as good a performance and interpretation – and technical recording – of Also sprach Zarathustra as one would expect to find” (Gramophone). Inspired and inspiring, Richard Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra is one of a series of tone poems which pushed the form to its limits. Based on an incident in Strauss’s own life, the suite from Intermezzo distills domestic strife and misunderstanding into four jocular vignettes. (Naxos)

1CD# 8571215 $19.99 $9.99

Liszt: Piano Works

Liszt’s Études d’execution transcendante enshrine the spirit of High Romanticism, embodying extremes of expressive drama and technical virtuosity. His encyclopedic approach to technique is shown at its most dazzling in this cycle, heard here in the 1852 revision which Liszt himself declared ‘the only authentic one.’ (Naxos)

1CD# 8573981 $19.99 $9.99

Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3

Shostakovich’s Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3 capture his early genius and bold experimentation, blending youthful energy and political tension with striking contrasts and memorable motifs, delivered with vivid orchestral precision and compelling emotional intensity. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572396 $19.99 $9.99

Ries: Three Sonatas for Violin and Piano Ferdinand Ries was Beethoven’s student, close friend and biographer. He was a gifted and prolific composer whose works, like those of many other composers of his time, were largely overshadowed by Beethoven’s presence. Ries’s music was widely known and admired in his lifetime, and his 18 Violin Sonatas are models of the Viennese Classical style established by Mozart. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573193 $19.99 $9.99

Brahms:

The Five Sonatas for Violin & Piano, Vol. 2

Ulf Wallin and Roland Pöntinen made their first duo-recording for BIS in 1991 and have released acclaimed recital albums ranging from Schumann and Liszt to Alfred Schnittke, by way of Schoenberg and Hindemith. With the present disc they bring their most recent project to a close: a recording of all the works by Johannes Brahms for violin and piano. (BIS)

1SACD# BIS-2419 $21.99 $10.99

Liszt: Symphonic Poems, Vol. 1

Liszt’s Symphonic Poems, Vol. 1 features dramatic and evocative works like Les Préludes and Tasso, showcasing his pioneering orchestral writing and vivid programmatic storytelling performed with energetic intensity and refined orchestral color. (Naxos)

1CD# 8550487 $19.99 $9.99

Liszt Complete Piano Music, Vol. 44: Transcriptions of Vocal Works

Canadian-born Joel Hastings was the winner of the 2006 8th International Web Concert Hall Competition and the 1993 International Bach Competition at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. His discography includes live recordings of Liszt’s song and operatic transcriptions and Chopin’s 24 Etudes. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573557 $19.99 $9.99

Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14, H. 48

Immensely influential, the remarkable Symphonie fantastique was composed while Hector Berlioz was suffering an intense and unreciprocated passion for the Irish actress Harriet Smithson. Its autobiographical tale describes a young musician’s opium-poisoned nightmares of jealous despair and fatal justice following the murder of his beloved. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572886 $19.99 $9.99

TITLES IN BRIEF

Mendelssohn: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3

Mendelssohn’s Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3 highlight his youthful brilliance and mature Romantic vision, featuring vibrant themes and lyrical passages performed with clarity and dynamic energy that capture the spirit of early Romanticism. (BIS)

1SACD# BIS-2469 $21.99 $10.99

Schubert: Lied Edition 28 – Schubert’s Friends, Vol. 3

Schubert’s Lied Edition 28 –Schubert’s Friends, Vol. 3 offers a richly expressive collection of intimate songs filled with warmth and poetic nuance, including beloved favorites like Die Forelle and An die Musik, brought to life through nuanced vocal performances and sensitive piano accompaniment that capture the emotional depth and lyrical beauty of these timeless masterpieces with remarkable clarity and heartfelt artistry. (Naxos)

1CD# 8557567 $19.99 $9.99

Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem (‘A German Requiem’), Op. 45

Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem was initially conceived as a ‘cantata of grief’ – it was the death of his mother and the desire to create a memorial to his friend Robert Schumann that makes this music so intensely personal. With its radiant messages of humanity, consolation and comfort, the Requiem caused a sensation and made Brahms famous virtually overnight. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574273 $19.99 $9.99

Bruckner: Symphony No. 4

Schumann: Scenes from Goethe’s Faust [2 CDs]

After acclaimed recordings of the Third and Sixth, Thomas Dausgaard and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra now present Anton Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony, ‘Romantic’ in its second version (1878–1880), the one with which this work has become widely known. (BIS)

1SACD# BIS-2534 $21.99 $10.99

Schumann’s Scenes from Goethe’s Faust is a dramatic and emotionally charged work that vividly portrays key moments from the legendary drama, featuring powerful vocal performances and lush orchestral textures. (Naxos)

2CD# 8572430-31 $29.99 $14.99

Brahms: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 4 [2 CDs]

Hailed as “Four of the Best” by the British press after their Wigmore Hall debut, the Philharmonia Quartet Berlin have long been acknowledged as ranking among the world’s premier string quartets. (Thorofon) 2CD# CTH2623/2 $37.99 $18.99

R. Schumann: Lied Edition, Vol. 10 – Romances and Ballads

The Zweistimmige Lieder, Op. 43 were the first that Schumann composed after his marriage to Clara Wieck, and many of the songs from this time set texts on the subject of love. (Naxos)

8574119

Mahler: Songs (arr. A. Schoenberg)

Mahler had been an early supporter of Arnold Schoenberg’s music, and Schoenberg repaid the favor by arranging Mahler’s orchestral works for chamber ensemble and including them at the society’s concerts. (Naxos)

Russian Easter Festival Overture

Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Festival Overture bursts with vibrant colors, energetic rhythms, and vivid orchestration that brilliantly capture the spirit and grandeur of the Easter festival, featuring dynamic contrasts, sweeping melodies, and rich harmonic textures that combine to create a thrilling and immersive listening experience full of festive drama. (Medici Masters)

1CD# MM009-2 $18.99 $9.49

Ravel: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1

Ravel orchestrated his piano pieces Alborada del gracioso and Pavane pour uneinfante défunte to great effect; the former gains in suggestive colour, and the latter evokes nostalgic pathos. Rapsodie espagnole, Ravel’s first major orchestral work, shimmers with expectancy and bursts into Spanish dance rhythms,themes he pursued in Pièce en forme de habanera (Naxos)

1CD# 8572887 $19.99 $9.99

Janáček: Taras Bulba; Lachian Dances

Leoš Janáček was an authority on his native folk-music, and the Lachian and Moravian Dances preserve and celebrate culture and traditions which were vanishing even in his own lifetime. Based on Gogol’s historical novel, Janáček’s inspired orchestral rhapsody on Taras Bulba depicts three moving and dramatic episodes in the violent life of the Cossack leader. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572695 $19.99 $9.99

Ravel: Orchestral Works, Vol. 4

Composed for Sergey Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, Ravel’s ‘symphonie chorégraphique’ Daphnis et Chloé is based on a classical GrecoRoman love story set on the island of Lesbos. He described the work as ‘a vast musical fresco’, and with its extraordinarily passionate music, lush harmonies and orchestration, is considered both his masterpiece and the epitome of Impressionism in music. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573545 $19.99 $9.99

Stravinsky: The Soldier’s Tale

This album, featuring violinist Tianwa Yang and the Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players, contains one of Igor Stravinsky’s small-scale theatrical works, The Soldier’s Tale (1918). Stravinsky wrote this work in collaboration with author CharlesFerdinand Ramuz, and artist ReneVictor Auberjonois. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573537 $19.99 $9.99

Late & Post

Béla Bartók: The Wooden Prince; The Miraculous Mandarin

The Wooden Prince and The Miraculous Mandarin are – together with the earlier opera Bluebeard’s Castle – the only stage works by Béla Bartók. They stand apart from the more abstract and often more explicitly folk-related character of the music that we primarily associate with the composer. They are nevertheless major achievements that in different ways highlight Bartók’s imaginative use of the modern orchestra. (BIS)

1SACD# BIS-2328 $21.99 $10.99

Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 1

& 4

Raised in the Danish countryside as the son of a poor folk musician, Carl Nielsen’s indomitable courage and infinite curiosity helped him develop into one of the greatest symphonists of the 20th century. This acclaimed series has now reached the 1st and 4th symphonies, the former of which has never previously been performed – not to say recorded –by the New York Philharmonic. (Dacapo)

1SACD# 6220624 $16.99 $8.49

Bersa: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 2

As with the first volume in this series, Blagoje Bersa’s piano works are organized according to their character and tonality rather than chronologically. They include elements of transcription drawing on Mozart and Beethoven but also characterful barcarolles that evoke Italian music. (Grand Piano)

1CD# GP832 $19.99 $9.99

Bartók: Kossuth, 2 Portraits & Orchestral Suite No. 1

All three of the works in this program reveal a young composer on the threshold of greatness, serving as his passport to the vast new world of orchestral music prevailing at the beginning of the 20th century. Inspired by the tone poems of Richard Strauss, Bartók’s Kossuth dramatically commemorates the struggle for Hungarian independence in 1848 with an alluring and provocative orchestration. (Naxos) 1CD# 8573307 $19.99 $9.99

Ravel: L’enfant et les sortilèges, M. 71 & Ma mère l’oye

Ravel’s opera L’Enfant et les sortilèges captures an imaginative child’s world in which the creatures and objects around him come to life. Wittily portrayed in Colette’s inventive libretto and by Ravel’s meticulous orchestration, furniture, crockery and animals alike are at first provoked by the child’s behavior. The unforgettably enchanting Mother Goose translates well-known fairytales into music. (Naxos)

1CD# 8660336 $19.99 $9.99

Romantic Titles

Debussy: Orchestral Works, Vol. 2

Debussy’s Orchestral Works, Vol. 2 features shimmering interpretations of pieces like Images and Printemps, revealing his impressionistic brilliance through delicate textures, fluid rhythms, and radiant colors that transport the listener into vivid sonic landscapes of atmosphere and emotion. (Naxos)

1CD# 8570993 $19.99 $9.99

A. Webern: Vocal and Orchestral Works

Webern’s Vocal and Orchestral Works offers a compelling look at his concentrated, expressive style in pieces such as Five Pieces for Orchestra and Five Sacred Songs, performed with striking precision and clarity that illuminate the spiritual depth and structural innovation of his early 20th-century voice. (Naxos)

1CD# 8557531 $19.99 $9.99

Wolf-Ferrari: Dreams and Drama –Violin Sonatas Nos. 1–3

Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s reputation rests largely on his operas, but the instrumental music he composed at the beginning and end of his career deserves a wider currency. The influence of Brahms can be detected in the First and Second Violin Sonatas, though Wolf-Ferrari’s distinctive long-breathed melodies and chromatic flow are clearly present. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574297 $19.99 $9.99

R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, TrV 190

Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben and Magnard’s Chant funèbre make a striking pairing, with Strauss’s sweeping, autobiographical tone poem unfolding in bold gestures and vivid orchestration, while Magnard’s lesser-known work offers solemn lyricism and rich harmonic color in a powerful and deeply moving performance. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573563 $19.99 $9.99

Scharwenka: Piano Concerto No. 4; Polish National Dances

Scharwenka’s Piano Concerto No. 4 and Polish Dances showcase his virtuosic flair and melodic invention, blending Romantic fire and nationalistic charm in a performance full of energy, elegance, and expressive detail that brings renewed attention to this underappreciated composer. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572637 $19.99 $9.99

Puccini: Complete Songs for Soprano and Piano

Through Puccini represents the late-Romantic apex of the Italian operatic tradition, his songs are much less well known and, in their pared simplicity and emotional restraint, could hardly be more different from his stage works. The nineteen complete songs for soprano (two in duet with a mezzo) and piano cover themes typical of lyric poetry including life, death, personal resolution, love, nature, home and religious faith. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573501 $19.99 $9.99

Rachmaninov: Vespers, Op. 37

Rachmaninov’s Vespers, Op. 37 (All-Night Vigil) is a deeply spiritual and sonorous masterpiece of Russian Orthodox choral tradition, performed here with reverent depth, warm resonance, and rich vocal blend that captures the work’s meditative stillness, radiant mysticism, and soaring, timeless beauty in one of his most profoundly moving creations. (Naxos)

1CD# 8555908 $19.99 $9.99

Prokofiev:

Alexander Nevsky; Lieutenant Kije Suite

Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky and Lieutenant Kijé Suite deliver cinematic drama and satirical charm, with robust choral and orchestral forces giving epic weight to Nevsky’s battlefield grandeur and dry wit to Kijé’s vivid character sketches, all brought to life in a thrilling, sharply articulated performance full of color and momentum. (Naxos)

1CD# 8557725 $19.99 $9.99

Debussy: Orchestral Works, Vol. 5

Debussy’s Orchestral Works, Vol. 5 offers luminous and atmospheric readings of works like La boîte à joujoux and Khamma, revealing his late-career mastery of tone color and mood through shimmering orchestration, subtle harmonic shading, and nuanced phrasing that conjure entire dreamscapes in sound. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572568 $19.99 $9.99

Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Songs for Lena Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy was the grandson of Felix Mendelssohn. These ardent love songs were inspired by his student Magdalene ‘Lena’ Schoch who, soon after her graduation, became the composer’s indispensable and trusted colleague and confidante. (Naxos)

1CD# 8579093 $19.99 $9.99

Prokofiev:

Moravec: Sanctuary Road

After the success of his opera The Shining, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec has once again collaborated with librettist Mark Campbell to create the second of his “American historical oratorios.” Sanctuary Road draws on the astonishing stories to be found in William Still’s book The Underground Railroad. (Naxos)

Tangorama – An Anthology of 20th Century Tango, Vol. 1

This panoramic survey of Argentine tangos shows the genre in all its rich variety of moods and virtuosity. It salutes Angel Villoldo, the father of tango, whose El choclo (‘The Corncob’) is one of the most famous tangos of all time, and charts the music’s evolution towards the romanticism and lush harmonies of Augustín Bardi. This survey is the first in a series that will document around one hundred rare and classic tangos. (Grand Piano)

Slatkin conducts Slatkin

Leonard Slatkin celebrated his 75th birthday in September 2019. Many of the selections in this program come from a concert given in his honor and are also a tribute to his remarkable musical family, both past and present. Historical recordings include Leonard’s cellist mother, Eleanor Aller, being conducted by Korngold in the Haydn concerto. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574352 $19.99 $9.99

Symphony No. 6, Op. 111 & Waltz Suite, Op. 110

Prokofiev started work on his Sixth Symphony in 1945 and, unlike the victorious mood of the Fifth, it reveals a darker response to war and its consequences. The work was condemned by the “Zhdanov decree” but composer and critics regarded the symphony highly, the noble yet anguished threnody of its central largo balanced by the painful violence of the outer movements. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573518 $19.99 $9.99

Castérède: Complete Works for Flute, Vol. 2

Jacques Castérède was one of many composers who refused to abandon tonality and traditional forms amid the stormy avant-garde of the 20th century. The Quintette for winds was written in 1953, the same year that Castérède won the Prix de Rome, and touches of Gershwin appear among its witty colors. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573950 $19.99 $9.99

Fusing traditional and contemporary elements, Leonardo Balada’s Caprichos Nos. 6 and 7 engage intimately with Spanish culture and history, while the virtuoso Double Concerto, heard here in an arrangement for flute, clarinet and piano, blends well-known Mexican folk tunes with the composer’s distinctive avant-garde style. (Naxos)

1CD# 8579056 $19.99 $9.99

Sessions: Divertimento for Orchestra

Sessions’s Divertimento for Orchestra is a tightly constructed, rhythmically intricate work filled with vivid contrasts and bold orchestral gestures, performed here with clarity and drive that highlight its angular lyricism, structural rigor, and the unique American modernist voice Sessions developed across his career. (First Edition)

1CD# FECD-0012 $13.99 $6.99

Each of these five contemporary American pieces for wind band, performed by one of the country’sleading ensembles, explores its own very personal soundscape. Paul Dooley delves into the world of Drum & Bass with electronically inspired orchestrations, whilst for Steve Danyew the exploration of counterpoint is paramount. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573334 $19.99 $9.99

Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Cello Concerto & Transcriptions

Martinu: Symphony No. 5; Oboe Concerto

Inspired by the personality, prodigious technique and musicality of the cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, CastelnuovoTedesco’s Cello Concerto is a work of imposing scale and demanding virtuosity, but also with a rare beauty and warmth of expression. This live recording documents the first professional performances of the concerto in more than 80 years. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573820 $19.99 $9.99

Martinu’s Symphony No. 5, Oboe Concerto, and Estampes reveal his luminous orchestration and melodic invention, blending rhythmic vitality and expressive lyricism in performances that showcase the composer’s distinctive fusion of neoclassicism and Czech folk idioms with vibrant color and confident precision. (First Edition)

1CD# FECD-0018 $13.99 $6.99

Point Blank

Balada: Works for Clarinet

Century Era

Copland, Dallapiccola, Carter, Ives: Variations for Orchestra

Variations for Orchestra presents four visionary 20th-century composers –Copland, Dallapiccola, Carter, and Ives – each exploring form and expression through tightly wrought, contrasting sound worlds, performed with clarity, power, and an impressive sensitivity to the shifting textures and ideas within each work. (First Edition)

1CD# FECD-0001 $13.99 $6.99

Prokofiev: The Year 1941 – Symphony No. 5

Written in 1944, Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony is one of his greatest and most complete symphonic statements. At its première he himself called it “a symphony of the grandeur of the human spirit”. The Year 1941 is another wartime work, a symphonic suite written in response to the German invasion of the Soviet Union. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573029 $19.99 $9.99

Castérède: Complete Works for Flute, Vol. 1

Jacques Casterede’s distinguished career was centered in Paris.

The balletic Flutes en vacances has become one of his most popular pieces, while Ciels (‘Skies’) was a competition piece for the Conservatoire. The colors in Trois moments musicaux d’apres Corot depict paintings in sound while the Sonatine de Mai is more neoClassical in mood. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573949 $19.99 $9.99

Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra / Helsinki PO

On two highly praised albums, Susanna Mälkki and her players in the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra have released recordings of Béla Bartók’s three scores for the stage –The Miraculous Mandarin, The Wooden Prince and Bluebeard’s Castle, all written before 1918. The team now takes on two of his late orchestral masterpieces. (BIS)

1SACD# BIS-2378 $21.99 $10.99

TITLES IN BRIEF

Kodaly: Symphony in C; Summer Evening; Hary Janos Suite

Zoltán Kodály’s orchestral output is relatively small but brimming with Hungarian spirit. JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic (BPO) present one of the composer’s most popular works, the Háry János Suite, alongside Summer Evening and the Symphony in C major. Falletta and the BPO’s acclaimed previous Kodály album. (Naxos)

Kraft: Contextures II: The Final Beast; Interplay

William Kraft’s Contextures II: The Final Beast, Interplay, and Of Ceremonies, Pageants and Celebrations explore bold, texturally complex terrain, performed with rhythmic intensity and sonic imagination that reveal Kraft’s command of color, drama, and the architectural shaping of modern orchestral form. (First Edition)

1CD# FECD-0044 $13.99 $6.99

Harris: Kentucky Spring; Violin Concerto; Symphony No. 5

Roy Harris’s Kentucky Spring, Violin Concerto, and Symphony No. 5 evoke broad American landscapes and ideals through muscular orchestration, lyrical strength, and expansive melodic lines, brought to life in vivid, heartfelt performances that celebrate Harris’s unique contribution to 20th-century symphonic writing. (First Edition)

1CD# FECD-0005 $13.99 $6.99

Part: Music for Unaccompanied Choir

Kodály: Sonata for Solo Cello – Duo for Violin & Cello

Pärt’s Music for Unaccompanied Choir offers a deeply spiritual and emotionally transcendent listening experience, featuring works like Magnificat and The Beatitudes, rendered with stunning purity, luminous harmonic balance, and meditative stillness that embody his signature tintinnabuli style. (Naxos)

1CD# 8570239 $19.99 $9.99

Zoltán Kodály’s later years were dominated by a series of choral works but his early reputation centered upon chamber music, notably two string quartets, a Cello Sonata and the two masterpieces heard on this recording. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574202 $19.99 $9.99

Weinberg: Symphony No. 17, Op. 137 “Memory”

With it’s eloquent themes and ready climaxes, the Suite is one of Weinberg’s most intriguing scores to have survived the difficult early 1950’s. This performance is thought to be both the first of the work and the first recording. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573565 $19.99 $9.99

Picker: Symphony No. 2; String Quartet No. 1

Tobias Picker’s Symphony No. 2 and String Quartet No. 1 display his emotionally charged, tonally rich style, with the symphony unfolding in sweeping gestures and luminous orchestration. (First Edition) 1CD# FECD-0029 $13.99 $6.99

Piazzolla: Time of Life

Astor Piazzolla’s name is synonymous with Nuevo Tango, and this recording offers a bouquet of his finest music in wholly original arrangements for classical accordion and piano. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573896 $19.99 $9.99

Contemporary

Tower: Violin Concerto, Stroke & Chamber Dance

Joan Tower creates music which is bold, colorful and communicative, her list of commissions and awards providing ample evidence of her ability to engage performers and audiences alike. The deceptively titled Chamber Dance alternates huge blocks of sound with intimate solos and duets in an ever-evolving riot of colors. Joan Tower’s Made in America won three GRAMMY awards. (Naxos)

1CD# 8559775 $19.99 $9.99

Clarke: Earthrise • Turnbull: Girot • Santandreu

Clarke’s Earthrise, Turnbull’s Girot, and Santandreu’s Sortes Diabolicae offer a vibrant and varied program of contemporary wind ensemble works, each piece showcasing bold rhythmic vitality, rich instrumental color, and inventive textures in performances that bring out the dynamic energy and imaginative spirit of these modern composers. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573184 $19.99 $9.99

Dubugnon: Klavieriana; Chamber Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2

Born in 1968, the Swiss composer Richard Dubugnon writes music that has been described as ‘driven by a playful modern sensibility’ (New York Times). His work list includes all genres, from solo pieces to large orchestral works. The album is a first on BIS from Musikkollegium Winterthur under its conductor Thomas Zehetmair, with Noriko Ogawa as the soloist in Klaveriana. (BIS)

1SACD# BIS-2229 $21.99 $10.99

Gompper: Cello Concerto; Double Bass Concerto

David Gompper is an award-winning composer and the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2020. His luminously orchestrated and expressive works have attracted admiration throughout the US, Europe and beyond. Opening with relentless energy, the second movement of the Cello Concerto is spectral and dreamlike, while the Double Bass Concerto explores the light effects of a solar eclipse. (Naxos)

1CD# 8559855 $19.99 $9.99

Ešenvalds: Translations

The multi-award-winning Latvian composer Eriks Esenvalds’ 21st-century choral sound is both exquisite and angular, and in this album he explores ideas of ‘translation,’ legend and the divine. With his expanded tonality and employment of shimmering singing hand bells in ‘Translation,’ and the angelic use of the viola and cello in ‘In paradisum’ he creates music of ravishing refinement. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574124 $19.99 $9.99

Scott: Westland – Works for Saxophone & Piano Award-winning composer/ saxophonist Andy Scott presents works including Three Letter Word and Fujiko, performed here by the virtuoso Timothy McAllister. The admired English author Lemn Sissay narrates his own poem on My Mountain Top. With the exception of My Mountain Top all of the works on this release are world premiere recordings. (Naxos)

1CD# 8579076 $19.99 $9.99

Sinfonias Nos. 3 & 4

Salvatore Di Vittorio is seen as heir to the Italian neo-Classical orchestral tradition with a narrative style notable for its colorful orchestration and ‘swelling lyricism’ (American Record Guide). This second volume of his orchestral works includes a vivid portrayal of the cultural and historical diversity of his home city in Overtura Palermo. (Naxos)

1CD# 8579033 $19.99 $9.99

Leshnoff: Elegy; Violin Concerto No. 2; Of Thee I Sing

This is Naxos’s fifth album devoted to the music of leading American composer, Jonathan Leshnoff. He was GRAMMY-nominated for his album Violins of Hope and is among the most frequently performed of living composers. The themes of these recent works are remembrance, memorialization, and hopefulness. (Naxos)

1CD# 8559927 $19.99 $9.99

Bollon: Your Voice Out of the Lamb; Four Lessons of Darknes

Internationally acclaimed and award-winning conductor Fabrice Bollon has in recent years attracted attention as a composer with a keen ear for unique and unusual timbres. Your Voice Out of the Lamb is one of the most spectacular and virtuosic works written for recorders, ranging from the sub-bass to the miniature garkleinflotlein, also using live electronics for a variety of expanded effects. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574015 $19.99 $9.99

Danielpour: 12 Etudes for Piano; Piano Fantasy

Richard Danielpour is one of the most decorated, frequently performed and recorded composers of his generation. The variations in the Piano Fantasy are based on the final chorale of Bach’s St Matthew Passion. All of these world premiere recordings were made in close collaboration between the composer and acclaimed pianist Stefano Greco. (Naxos)

1CD# 8559922 $19.99 $9.99

Di Vittorio:

Era

Beal: House of Cards Symphony [2 CDs]

Jeff Beal’s House of Cards Symphony is a compelling orchestral work inspired by the political thriller series, blending cinematic textures, driving rhythms, and evocative themes that capture suspense and intrigue, performed with vivid energy and nuanced expression that highlight Beal’s skillful fusion of modern classical and film music elements. (BIS)

2SACD# BIS-2299 $42.99 $21.49

Mohammed Fairouz: No Orpheus

Mohammed Fairouz has rapidly become one of the most highly regarded composers of his generation, receiving wide acclaim for works such as Native Informant and his Symphony No. 4 “In the Shadow of No Towers”. Setting texts from ancient times to World War II, the songs on this new album represent a decade of writing for the human voice. (Naxos)

1CD# 8559783 $19.99 $9.99

Kernis: Color Wheel; Symphony No. 4, ‘Chromelodeon’

Pulitzer Prize recipient and GRAMMY award-winner Aaron Jay Kernis is one of America’s most performed composers. Both works on this album exemplify his creative approach to orchestral composition, sharing elements in common, such as virtuoso percussion writing and the use of variation form. (Naxos)

1CD# 8559838 $19.99 $9.99

Sierra: Sinfonía No. 4, Fandangos & Carnaval

Over the last decade the music of the Puerto Rican composer Roberto Sierra has become internationally admired, and this has led to prestigious commissions and performances around the world. Fandangos was heard at the BBC Proms in London and employs a harpsichord work attributed to Antonio Soler as a departure for a richly inventive orchestral fantasy. (Naxos)

1CD# 8559738 $19.99 $9.99

Estrellita / Elena Urioste; Tom Poster

In their liner notes for this string of estrellitas (‘small stars’), Elena Urioste and Tom Poster admit to a shared love for ‘an old-world, golden sound and for melodies that tug at the heartstrings’. This has resulted in a deeply personal collection of miniatures full of winks, sighs and tears aimed at transporting the listener to bygone eras of fireside salon concerts. (BIS)

1SACD# BIS-2428 $21.99 $10.99

Solitary Poems for Soprano Saxophone

The project ‘Solitary Poems for Soprano Saxophone’ is a creative response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequent obliteration of livelihoods for freelance musicians. The 23 world premières presented on this album were all composed specifically for Anders Paulsson so that he and they could keep growing artistically during the pandemic when all concerts and touring came to a standstill. (BIS)

1SACD# BIS-2644 $21.99 $10.99

Lokumbe: Dear Mrs. Parks

Hannibal Lokumbe’s Dear Mrs. Parks is a powerful oratorio honoring Rosa Parks, blending classical, jazz, and gospel influences in a deeply personal and emotionally charged tribute, performed with stirring solo vocals, impassioned choral writing, and vivid orchestration that together evoke resilience, reverence, and the enduring spirit of the civil rights movement. (Naxos)

1CD# 8559668 $19.99 $9.99

Ešenvalds: The Doors of Heaven

The Latvian composer Eriks Esenvalds has rapidly become one of the world’s most performed choral composers. His ability to bring a dramatic text to life through textures that are lush yet permeated with a more stringent and angular aesthetic has ensured a steady steam of commissions from leading orchestras and choral forces. (Naxos)

1CD# 8579008 $19.99 $9.99

Chopin’s Ghosts; Works for Cello & Piano

Multi-award-winning composer Paul Reale has a distinctly American voice, enriched and given touches of familiarity through references to folk idiom and musical ancestors such as Bartok and Kodaly. This program brings together Reale’s works for cello and piano. His earliest, Séance, is a haunting combination of modernist sounds and Baroque melodies. (Naxos)

1CD# 8559820 $19.99 $9.99

Mendonça: Step Right Up

Portuguese composer Vasco Mendonça regards this portrait album as a letter to himself – written over time and with different chapters that throw light on his long-standing obsessions with drama, ritual and precision mechanism. Group Together, Avoid Speech highlights the string and woodwind principals of the wonderful Gulbenkian Orchestra to create ‘a Baroque concerto grosso on steroids’. (Naxos)

1CD# 8579025 $19.99 $9.99

American Composers

Sousa: Music for Wind Band, Vol. 21

This current volume of Sousa’s music for wind band presents three exceptional examples of Sousa’s musical creativity. Keith Brion, one of the world’s most knowledgeable and most-recorded Sousa conductor leads his own New Sousa Band and is a frequent conductor of light music orchestral concerts throughout America and internationally. (Naxos)

1CD# 8559863 $19.99 $9.99

Riegger: Variations • Symphony No. 4

Riegger’s Variations and Symphony No. 4 reveal a striking blend of American modernism and rhythmic vitality, with bold orchestral writing and taut structures performed here with crisp articulation and dynamic power that highlight Riegger’s innovative voice in mid-century symphonic music. (First Edition)

1CD# FECD-0007 $13.99 $6.99

Daugherty: This Land Sings

In ‘This Land Sings,’ GRAMMY Award-winning composer Michael Daugherty has created an original musical tribute to the singersongwriter and political activist Woody Guthrie (1912–1967). Daugherty has composed his own original songs and instrumental interludes that give haunting expression, ironic wit and contemporary relevance to political, social and environmental themes from Guthrie’s era. (Naxos)

1CD# 8559889 $19.99 $9.99

Percurama – American Percussion Works

American Percussion Works is a rare collection of seldom heard works each with specific rules or themes as a basis for the compositions. In John Cage’s First Construction the principle is based on the figure 16. Alberto Ginatera’s work Cantata para America Magica, uses preColumbian texts based on the conditions of human life, with war, natural phenomena, daybreak, night and love. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574244 $19.99 $9.99

The Best of Gershwin

The Best of Gershwin presents a lively and wide-ranging survey of the composer’s most iconic works, including favorites like Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris, performed with infectious swing, lyrical warmth, and orchestral flair that celebrate Gershwin’s enduring genius and cross-genre brilliance. (Naxos)

1CD# 8556686 $19.99 $9.99

This selection of works by Gottschalk, Barber, Wild and Gershwin give vivid insights into the diversity of American music written during a period spanning almost two centuries, a diversity shaped by a uniquely American musical idiom. The young Georgian-German pianist Catherine Gordeladze’s has established herself as one of the most remarkable and versatile musicians of her generation.

(Antes Edition)

1CD# BM319292

$24.99 $12.49

Bowles:

Complete Piano Works, Vol. 2

The American writer and composer Paul Bowles spent much of his life in Morocco. His is internationally remembered for his novel The Sheltering Sky but excelled as a composer in many forms. His piano music covers an impressive stylistic variety and reflects his wide cultural interests. (Naxos)

1CD# 8559787 $19.99 $9.99

Bolcom: Trio for Horn, Violin & Piano

Recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Pulitzer Prize, and a GRAMMY Award, William Bolcom is one of America’s most senior and internationally acclaimed composers. Commissioned to expand upon the under-represented horn trio repertoire, Bolcom has written a modern counterpart to Brahms’ Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano, Op. 40, in which he incorporates multiple styles into a substantial composition. (Naxos)

1CD# 8579102 $19.99 $9.99

Moravec: Violin Concerto, Shakuhachi Quintet

Paul Moravec has become one of the most acclaimed and admired composers of our time. The plaintive Shakuhachi Quintet integrates the shakuhachi – a classical bamboo flute – with the Western string quartet. Equilibrium was written specifically for this album. It recalls the B-A-C-H motive that is also heard in the Violin Concerto Evermore was composed as a wedding gift for Maria Bachmann. (Naxos)

1CD# 8559797 $19.99 $9.99

Bernstein: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2

Bernstein’s Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 are deeply expressive works that blend personal narrative with bold orchestral drama – Jeremiah unfolding with spiritual gravity and vocal intensity, while The Age of Anxiety fuses jazz-inflected rhythms and introspective piano passages in performances that highlight Bernstein’s emotional candor, stylistic range, and theatrical brilliance. (BIS)

1SACD# BIS-2298 $21.99 $10.99

American Rhapsody

Naxos Composer Collections

The Best of Mendelssohn

The Very Best of Beethoven

The Very Best of Shostakovich

The Best of Schumann

The Best of Schubert

The Best

The Best of Bartók

The Very Best of Dvořák [2 CDs]

$14.99

The Best of Lutosławski

The Best of Saint-Saëns

The Best

Britten

Puts: Silent Night [2 CDs]

Kevin Puts is one of America’s most exciting and important composers. His first opera, Silent Night, with a libretto by Mark Campbell, was commissioned by Minnesota Opera. It premiered in 2011 and went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. A work propound and sweeping emotional power, it has since entered the modern operatic repertoire with remarkable speed, enjoying world-wide performances. (Naxos)

Handel: Acis and Galatea, HWV 49 [2 CDs]

The soloists and ensembles of the Boston Early Music Festival have joined forces with successful soloists like Aaron Sheehan and Teresa Wakim for this production of Handel’s opera Acis and Galatea in the version of 1718, which was composed for the landed estate of the Earl of Carnarvon. (CPO)

Wagner: Götterdämmerung, WWV 86D [4 CDs]

‘Gotterdammerung’ (Twilight of the Gods) is the epic fourth and final opera of Wagner’s great Ring cycle, with a plot that depicts the fall of heroes, gods, and the entire world. Containing all of the Ring’s essential elements, ‘Gotterdammerung’ possesses a profoundly satisfying sense of inevitability that makes it both a towering climax and a unified summation of the Ring’s abundant variety. (Naxos)

Menotti: Amahl and the Night Visitors

Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, the first opera written for television, enjoys more than five hundred performances annually around the world and is immensely popular. Sung in English, brimming with tuneful melodies for both soloists and chorus, the opera is a humorous and poignant Christmas classic beloved by people of all ages. (Naxos)

1CD# 8669019 $19.99 $9.99

Hagen: Orson Rehearsed

Friedheim Award-winning composer, with a catalog of internationally performed work spanning four decades. His opera film Orson Rehearsed is the psychological, emotional, and spiritual journey taken by the American actor, polymath, and creator of Citizen Kane Orson Welles, as he finds himself on the threshold between life and death. (Naxos)

1CD# 8669049 $19.99 $9.99

Fagerlund: Höstsonaten [2 CDs]

Ingmar Bergman’s 1978 chamber drama Höstsonaten (Autumn Sonata) tells of the celebrated pianist Charlotte Andergast, and how she is confronted by her daughter Eva, who accuses her of neglect and self-absorption. Bergman’s screenplay has been used as basis for numerous stage productions, but this is the first adaptation for opera. (BIS)

2SACD# BIS-2357 $42.99 $21.49

Mayr: Gioas [2 CDs]

Nyman: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

Michael Nyman’s one-act chamber opera The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat takes as its subject Dr. P, a man suffering from visual agnosia, or “mental blindness”, and is adapted from the neurological study in the book of the same name by Oliver Sacks. For Nyman, Dr. P “requires music as a lifeline, cue, clue, cure”, living as he does in a world lacking visual meaning. (Naxos)

8660398 $19.99 $9.99

Weinberg: The Passenger [Blu-ray Video]

Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s powerful Holocaust drama Die Passagierin channels his and his family’s ordeals of wartime and Soviet persecution, applying them musically to Zofia Posmysz’s autobiographical novel. The score was praised by Shostakovich for its ‘beauty and greatness’, with a narrative that unfolds on an ocean liner bound for Brazil. (Naxos)

Shining Brow [Opera] [2 CDs]

Daron Hagen’s Shining Brow is a gripping opera based on the life of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, weaving together lyrical vocal writing, dramatic pacing, and rich orchestration across two discs, with a compelling cast and vibrant ensemble work that bring out the emotional complexity, artistic ambition, and personal turmoil at the heart of this uniquely American story. (Naxos) 2CD# 8669020-21 $29.99 $14.99

Bavarian-born Johann Simon Mayr achieved renown as an Italianate opera composer, his earlier work taking the form of sacred oratorios. Gioas is acombination of both forms, being a parody-oratorio closely following Mayr’s operaI misteri eleusini, which was considered by Stendhal to be “among [the] most powerful musical works of the age.” (Naxos)

2CD# 8572710-11 $29.99 $14.99

Hagen:

Releases

Johann Strauss II at the Opera

Johann Strauss II the ‘Waltz King’ was the most famous and enduringly successful of 19th-century light music composers, captivating not only Vienna but the whole of Europe and America with his tuneful dances and marches. Of these dances none was more of a ‘snapshot’ of contemporary musical life than the quadrille. (Naxos) 1CD# 8578287 $19.99 $9.99

Lully: Armide (Opera Lafayette, 2007) [2 CDs]

Lully’s Armide, performed by Opera Lafayette, captures the grandeur and elegance of French Baroque opera with refined vocal performances, stylish ornamentation, and graceful pacing, bringing out the psychological depth and tragic majesty of this 17th-century masterpiece across two beautifully realized discs. (Naxos)

2CD# 8660209-10 $29.99 $14.99

Verdi: Otello [2 CDs]

After the success of Aida in December 1871, and despite his enormous popularity, Verdi retired as an operatic composer. It took the young publisher Giulio Ricordi a number of years to entice him to embark on what was originally called Jago, and only later known as Otello. With Otello, he created a masterpiece from a play that, as Bernard Shaw noted, had all the ingredients of an Italian opera. (Naxos)

2CD# 8660357-58 $29.99 $14.99

Gounod: Faust (1864 version) (Sung in French) [3 CDs]

The international success of Faust after its premiere in 1859 completely overshadowed all of Gounod’s subsequent operas. He had known Goethe’s masterpiece for two decades and brought to the text his gifts for memorable melody and rich orchestration. (Naxos)

3CD# 8660456-58 $35.99 $17.99

OPERA IN BRIEF

Mayr: Alfredo il Grande [2 CDs]

The Best of Opera, Vol. 2

The Best of Opera, Vol. 2 offers a sweeping collection of iconic arias and scenes from the operatic canon, featuring standout performances and beloved selections by Verdi, Puccini, Mozart, and others, presented with vivid orchestral support and expressive vocalism that make this an ideal introduction or essential refresher to operatic greatness. (Naxos)

1CD# 8553167 $19.99 $9.99

Hasse: Didone abbandonata [3 CDs]

Hasse’s Didone abbandonata is an exquisite example of 18th-century opera seria, presented in this threedisc set with elegant vocal artistry, expressive recitatives, and richly textured orchestral accompaniment that bring to life the passion, betrayal, and nobility of Metastasio’s famed libretto in a production full of dramatic flair and historical insight. (Naxos)

3CD# 8660323-25 $35.99 $17.99

Rossini: Il viaggio a Reims (Live) [3 CDs]

The great writer Stendahl wrote of Il viaggio a Reims that “this opera is a feast”. The plot is a contemporary farce tailor-made for a particular occasion – the coronation festivities of Charles X – though Rossini valued the music so highly that he preserved at least part of the score three years later in the opera Comte Ory. (Naxos)

3CD# 8660382-84 $35.99 $17.99

Schurmann: Jason oder die Eroberung des Goldenen Vliesses [2 CDs]

Following the success of its recording of Georg Caspar Schürmann’s opera Die getreue Alceste, the barockwerk hamburg ensemble very much wanted to discover more music by this wrongly neglected Hamburg composer. This recording presents a considerably abridged version of this bilingual stage work containing elements of the Italian and German Baroque opera and lasts about two hours. (CPO)

2CD# 555339-2 $36.99 $18.49

Medieval England exerted a strong influence on Johann Simon Mayr, especially during his final proto-Romantic period. Alfredo il Grande was to be one of his last operas. (Naxos)

Dodgson: Margaret Catchpole: Two Worlds Apart [3 CDs]

Among Stephen Dodgson’s portfolio of more than 250 works are chamber operas, of which Margaret Catchpole: Two Worlds Apart is a most striking example. (Naxos)

Massenet: Werther [2 CDs]

Massenet’s Werther is a heart-wrenching portrait of unrequited love and emotional turmoil, brought to life in this two-disc recording with passionate vocal performances, richly colored orchestration, and sensitive pacing. (Naxos)

8660072-73 $29.99 $14.99

Lori Laitman: The Scarlet Letter (Live) [2 CDs]

David Mason’s beautiful verse-adaptation of Hawthorne’s classic novel, The Scarlet Letter, astutely portrays its characers amid the Puritan society of 17th century New England. (Naxos)

2CD# 8669034-35 $29.99 $14.99

Choral & Voice

Into the Night: Contemporary Choral Music

The richness of contemporary choral music is explored on this recording of works by some of today’s leading composers from across three continents. Eric Whitacre’s dramatic setting of Lorca’s poetry is contrasted with Frank Ticheli’s serene setting of There Will Be Rest, in which he attempts, in his own words, to “capture [the poem’s] purity of spirit and delicate lyricism.” (Naxos)

Hawes: Revelation, Beatitudes & Quantia Qualia

Patrick Hawes has emerged in recent years as one of England’s most popular and inspirational choral composers. “Another of my favorite New Testament texts is the Beatitudes from St. Matthew’s Gospel – these are quite simply, some of Christ’s most comforting and beautiful words.” Quanta Qualia had such a profound impact on the audience at the 2015 Elora Festival. (Naxos)

8573720 $19.99

Poulenc: Choral Music

Poulenc’s Choral Music captures his unique blend of sacred devotion and modern elegance, featuring radiant settings like Gloria and Quatre motets pour un temps de pénitence, performed with crystalline clarity, dynamic shading, and refined choral blend that bring out both the spiritual fervor and playful charm of his vocal writing. (Naxos)

Tavener: Lament for Jerusalem

Tavener’s Lament for Jerusalem is a deeply spiritual and hauntingly beautiful meditation that fuses spiritual texts, performed with solemn grandeur and transcendent stillness, featuring solo voices, chorus, and ensemble in a work that radiates sacred intensity and Tavener’s signature contemplative mysticism. (Naxos)

John Rutter: Psalmfest

1CD# 8557826 $19.99 $9.99

The psalms of David have been a source of inspiration to composers for centuries, each text forming a poetic shape the equivalent of a gothic arch, and expressing a broad range of timeless emotions. Recorded here for the first time in its complete form, John Rutter’s Psalmfest is a collection of nine settings for full orchestra as rich and varied as the original texts. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573394 $19.99 $9.99

Beethoven: Secular Vocal Works

Viennese chamber choir Cantus Novus Wien draws on an extensive repertoire of Baroque, Classical, and contemporary music, including a cappella choral music, oratorios by Handel and Haydn, and requiems by Mozart, Brahms, Verdi, and Fauré. Contemporary music is one of the choir’s focal points, including regular world premieres of commissioned pieces. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574175 $19.99 $9.99

Birds of Love and Prey

Vocal & Chamber Works

This recording, completing Mr. Craft’s second Webern cycle, is rounded off with the powerful Cantata, Op. 29 and Webern’s 1923 arrangement of Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphony, Op. 9. Throughout his career, Robert Craft (b. 1923) has conducted symphonic, orchestral, operatic and large ensemble performances, including world premiere works by leading 20th c. composers. (Naxos)

1CD# 8557516 $19.99 $9.99

The Italian operatic repertoire offers some of the most passionate and much-loved music in the classical canon. In this outstanding collection, Azer Zada has selected music of moving intensity, dramatic power and spiritual resolve in works by Donizetti, Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Puccini and Verdi. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573499 $19.99 $9.99

Mahler, Ives: Songs for New Life and Love

After appearing on a quartet of very different BIS releases, ranging from early Baroque arias to orchestral songs by Alban Berg and Mahler’s ‘Resurrection Symphony’, the British soprano Ruby Hughes has devised a song recital, together with her regular Lieder partner Joseph Middleton. Completing the programme is Charles Ives with a selection of love songs, prayers and lullabies. (BIS)

1SACD# BIS-2468 $21.99 $10.99

Soprano Deborah Sternberg brings together three song cycles themed on birds, each with its own unique flavour and expressive vocabulary. Andrew Earle Simpson’s eloquent skills as a composer and pianist are united in Birds of Love and Prey, in which both antique and modern textual sources contrast songbirds and predators in a variety of ways. (Naxos)

Webern:

Italian Tenor Arias

Piano & Organ

Bach: Organ Works, Vol. 4

The fourth volume of Masaaki Suzuki’s Bach works for organ series features one of the most important surviving instruments of Bach’s time, made by the German organ builder Christoph Treutmann the Elder. Presenting chorales for different periods of the church year, this collection serves as a general guide to text-based composition focusing on content-specific musical expression. (BIS)

1SACD# BIS-2541 $21.99 $10.99

Ukrainian Piano Quintets

Boris Lyatoshynsky was a leading member of a new generation of Ukrainian composers that emerged in the 1920s. Dedicated to Lyatoshynsky, Valentin Silvestrov’s Piano Quintet dates from the start of his Modernist odyssey of the 1960s, while Victoria Poleva’s withdrawn and secretive Simurgh-quintet is part of a style that embraces spiritual themes and musical simplicity defined as ‘sacred minimalism’. (Naxos)

1CD# 8579098 $19.99 $9.99

Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

In 2005 Igor Levit and Xiaohan Wang performed, together with the Kolner Kammerorchester under Helmut Müller-Brühl, as outstanding talents of the semi-final of the “International Beethoven Competition for Piano Bonn”. On this recording, Igor Levit performs the First Concerto, and Xiaohan Wang the Second. (Naxos)

1CD# 8551447 $19.99 $9.99

20th Century Foxtrots, Vol. 4

Gottlieb Wallisch continues his acclaimed survey of jazz-influenced piano literature. In this volume we explore le tumulte noir (‘the Black craze’) in the French-speaking countries after the First World War, taking us to Paris and Brussels where the mood was hot for dancing. The fashionable status of this new craze attracted writers, composers, intellectuals and artists from all over the world. (Grand Piano)

1CD# GP855 $19.99 $9.99

TITLES IN BRIEF

Dutilleux: Piano Works

The music in this album spans a forty-year period from 1948 to 1988 and reflects Dutilleux’s stylistic development as a composer. He considered the Sonata to be the first main work in his catalogue and it represents a turning away from tradition and embraces the transformative musical explorations of the day. (Grand Piano)

1CD# GP790 $19.99 $9.99

Tchaikovsky & Babadjanian: Piano Trios

In Russian chamber music, a rather special tradition evolved around the piano trio, with a number of composers turning to the genre to write ‘instrumental requiems’. First out was Tchaikovsky with his Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50, ‘à la mémoire d’un grand artiste’, and he was followed by composers such as Rachmaninov, Arensky and Shostakovich. (BIS)

1SACD# BIS-2372 $21.99 $10.99

Sowerby: Works for Organ and Orchestra

Sowerby’s Works for Organ and Orchestra showcase his grand, American symphonic voice with rich harmonies, sweeping melodies, and powerful organ writing, performed here with commanding authority and lush orchestral support that highlight the dramatic scale, spiritual depth, and architectural beauty of these rarely heard gems. (Naxos)

1CD# 8559028 $19.99 $9.99

Chukhajian: Piano Works

Tigran Chukhajian is highly significant in the history of Armenian music: he was the first composer to combine Western and Eastern cultures, and was referred to as the ‘Armenian Verdi’ amongst his contemporaries. Persecution under the repressive Ottoman Turkish regime led to his music being suppressed, but these piano works are a sophisticated testament to Chukhajian’s Romantic inclinations.

(Grand Piano)

Beethoven: Piano Concertos No. 5 “Emperor”

1CD# GP859 $19.99 $9.99

The radiant ‘Emperor’ Concerto shows the 38-year-old Beethoven at the peak of his creative powers, and remains a glorious example of his spirit triumphing over life’s adversities. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574153 $19.99 $9.99

Scriabin: Piano Music

Tolstoy described Alexander Scriabin’s music as “a sincere expression of genius” while Scriabin described himself as “all impulse, all desire.” (Naxos)

1CD# 8573527 $19.99 $9.99

Rossini: Complete Piano Music, Vol. 1 [2 CDs]

Rossini’s Complete Piano Music, Vol. 1 unveils a playful and charming side of the composer often overshadowed by his operas, with two discs of witty, elegant, and sometimes eccentric miniatures performed with finesse. (Naxos)

Maček: Complete Piano Works; Sonata for Violin and Piano

2CD# 8570590-91 $29.99 $14.99

Ivo Maček’s 1985 Sonata is the most elaborate and imposing of his solo piano works, whereas the 1980 Violin Sonata typifies the increasing sophistication and poise of his later style. (Grand Piano)

1CD# GP681 $19.99 $9.99

Widor: Organ Symphonies, Vol. 2

Charles-Marie Widor was a hugely influential and venerated musician in his day, and his innovative organ symphonies are both a pinnacle of the repertoire and a testament to his creative and technical mastery of the instrument. These spectacular works are in the grand Romantic manner, but Widor was keenly aware of his musical ancestry. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574195 $19.99 $9.99

Rossini: Complete Piano Music, Vol. 5

Rossini’s Péchés de vieillesse or ‘Sins of Old Age’ is a series of thirteen volumes of piano works which were the main musical occupation of his last decade. The 24 pieces of volume twelve are of breathtaking variety, including flavours from Bach and Chopin, opera and the music-hall. (Naxos)

8573050 $19.99 $9.99

Liszt Complete Piano Music, Vol. 38: Transcriptions

Volume 38 in the Liszt Complete Piano Music series consists of transcriptions and arrangements. Korean-American pianist Soyeon Kate Lee was first prize winner of the prestigious 2010 Naumburg International Piano Competition. “A huge, richly varied sound, a lively imagination and a firm sense of style”. – The New York Times (Naxos)

Solitude – Piano Works by Florent Schmitt

Florent Schmitt was a strikingly original composer whose influences were as varied as his own restless and imaginative music. A number of his solo piano works are little known and offer an important insight into his compositional development. Internationally renowned pianist, Biljana Urban, presents a selection of neglected gems of French piano literature including many world première recordings. (Grand Piano)

1CD# GP850 $19.99 $9.99

Medtner: Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol. 3

This new release is the penultimate volume in this acclaimed series of Medtner’s Complete Piano Sonatas performed by series pianist Paul Stewart. Medtner’s 14 piano sonatas, the most significant achievement in this genre by any major composer since Beethoven, span his career. (Grand Piano)

1CD# GP888 $19.99 $9.99

J. Ireland: Piano Works, Vol. 3 –Piano Sonata; Preludes

John Ireland’s Piano Works, Vol. 3 features his commanding Piano Sonata alongside lyrical Preludes and character pieces, performed with sensitivity and tonal richness that capture the music’s shifting moods, impressionistic textures, and the quiet intensity at the heart of Ireland’s deeply personal, early 20th-century voice. (Naxos)

1CD# 8570461 $19.99 $9.99

Honggi Kim, winner of the 2018 Jaen Prize International Piano Competition, has chosen a fascinating recital program for his Naxos recording debut. Both Scarbo and Los requiebros are pillars of the piano repertoire, brimming with expressive and technical challenges for any performer, as is Carl Vine’s beautifully written but rarely heard Piano Sonata No. 1. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574232 $19.99 $9.99

Elmas: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 1

Armenian pianist and composer Stephan Elmas was a child prodigy who met Franz Liszt and became closely acquainted with Rubinstein and Massenet. Elmas’s life was darkened by illness and the tragedy of his homeland, but his music reflects the ease and facility of his technique, harking back to the Romanticism of Chopin, Liszt and Schumann. (Grand Piano)

1CD# GP914 $19.99 $9.99

Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 5

Kuhlau: Piano Sonatinas, Opp. 55, 88

Ignaz Lachner’s superb arrangements of Mozart’s piano concertos are well known, but his brother Vinzenz Lachner’s arrangements of Beethoven’s concertos are a rarity, though equally as valuable. This volume completes the cycle of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos in Vinzenz Lachner’s transcriptions for piano and string quintet. (Naxos)

1CD# 8551452 $19.99 $9.99

Kuhlau’s Piano Sonatinas, Opp. 55 and 88 offer a delightful mix of Classical clarity and early Romantic charm, performed with crisp articulation and graceful expressiveness that bring out the melodic elegance, balanced phrasing, and pedagogical brilliance that have made these sonatinas enduring favorites for students and audiences alike. (Naxos)

Piano Recital: Honggi Kim

Organ

Ravel: Piano Music

Stewart Goodyear, of British and Trinidadian heritage, is one of Canada’s foremost pianists and this is his debut recording on Orchid Classics. His discography includes Beethoven’s Complete Piano Sonatas His Rachmaninov recording received a Juno nomination for Best Classical Album for Soloist and Large Ensemble Accompaniment. (Orchid Classics)

1CD# ORC100061 $13.99 $6.99

20th Century Foxtrots, Vol. 3: Central & Eastern Europe

Gramophones and radios brought the voice of America, its fashion, its carelessness and joie de vivre into every corner of Europe during the Roaring Twenties, and no composer could remain immune to the hot jazz influences of the Foxtrot, Shimmy and Charleston. This third volume of jazzy piano dances features composers from nine Central and Eastern European countries. (Grand Piano)

1CD# GP854 $19.99 $9.99

Persichetti: Organ Works

Vincent Persichetti’s organ music holds an important place in 20thcentury repertoire. Steeped in tradition and yet open to the currents of modernity, he developed a thoroughly distinctive musical language. The selections from his Hymns and Responses for the Church Year, Op. 68 explore traditional form with a refreshing harmonic palette. (Naxos)

1CD# 8559887 $19.99 $9.99

Schumann: Arrangements for Piano Duet, Vol. 1

Schumann’s Arrangements for Piano Duet, Vol. 1 presents richly textured transcriptions of orchestral and vocal works, performed with unity and expressive nuance that highlight the depth, lyricism, and rhythmic vitality of Schumann’s writing in a form that brings new intimacy and clarity to his larger-scale compositions. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572877 $19.99 $9.99

TITLES IN BRIEF

Valentina Lisitsa Piano Recital

Mendelssohn: Piano Works

This album of rarely heard piano music by Mendelssohn displays the composer’s wide emotional range and features two youthful sonatas, composed when he was just eleven years old. Pianist Christopher Williams has previously recorded acclaimed albums of music by Semyon Barmotin for Grand Piano and makes his Naxos label debut with this album. (Naxos) 1CD# 8574509 $19.99 $9.99

Tchaikovsky: Opera and Song Transcriptions for Piano

Tchaikovsky wrote over 100 lyric art songs or Romances, a sequence of diaries of the soul that embrace moods from euphoria to despair. They were unusually important to him, and he, or his editors, commissioned piano transcriptions by eminent musicians such as Laub and others, all of which were revised by Tchaikovsky. (Grand Piano)

1CD# GP795 $19.99 $9.99

Lutosławski: Complete Piano Music

Witold Lutosławski’s few surviving apprentice works are suffused with the elegance of Ravel and the lush effusiveness of Szymanowski, and this is particularly true of the early Piano Sonata, heard here in Giorgio Koukl’s new and corrected edition based on the original manuscript. Further premieres include the wistful ‘A Kiss of Roxanne’ and the technically complex ‘Invention.’ (Grand Piano)

1CD# GP768 $19.99 $9.99

Widor: Organ Symphonies, Vol. 3

Charles-Marie Widor’s ten organ symphonies sit at the heart of his extensive oeuvre. They reveal Widor’s mastery of the form with their profundity, technical difficulty and sonorous color. Symphony No. 7, Op. 42, No. 3 inaugurated a new, orchestral approach to the genre and encompasses dreamlike sonorities, Chopinesque melancholy and majestic bravura. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574206 $19.99 $9.99

Described by critics as a ‘bona fide angel playing’ and an ‘electrifying pianist’, the young Ukrainian-born, North Carolina-based Valentina Lisitsa has been receiving rave reviews ever since her début at the Mostly Mozart Festival. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572491 $19.99 $9.99

Schumann: Piano Trios, Vol. 1

Schumann’s Piano Trios, Vol. 1 offers impassioned performances of the Piano Trios Nos. 1 and 2, capturing their sweeping Romantic lyricism, intricate interplay, and emotional contrasts. (BIS)

BIS-2437 $21.99 $10.99

Prokofiev: Piano Sonatas Nos. 3, 8 and 9

Prokofiev’s Piano Sonatas Nos. 3, 8, and 9 are performed here with electrifying virtuosity and emotional insight, revealing the contrasting characters of these works. (BIS) 1SACD# BIS-2390 $21.99 $10.99

Schifrin: Piano Works

Lalo Schifrin, renowned composer of classic film and TV scores such as Bullitt, Dirty Harry and Rush Hour, has collaborated with fellow Argentinian pianist Mirian Conti for this collection of his complete works for solo piano to date. (Grand Piano)

1CD# GP776 $19.99 $9.99

Kromos: 21st-Century Guitar Music

Kromos: 21st-Century Guitar Music presents a diverse collection of contemporary works that push the boundaries of guitar technique and expression, performed with precision and imaginative flair that reveal the instrument’s evolving voice in modern classical music through vibrant rhythms and innovative textures. (BIS)

Rodrigo: Complete Guitar Music [3 CDs]

Rodrigo’s Complete Guitar Music offers an authoritative survey of the composer’s iconic and lesser-known works, including the celebrated Concierto de Aranjuez and intimate solo pieces, performed with lyrical warmth, technical brilliance, and stylistic authenticity across three discs that celebrate Rodrigo’s lasting influence on the guitar repertoire. (Brilliant Classics)

21st Century Spanish Guitar, Vol. 3

The third of this four-volume series unites distinguished composers of the older generation with some of the most promising voices in Spain today, amply justifying claims for a modern Spanish renaissance of the classical guitar. Performing works dedicated to and commissioned by himself, award-winning guitarist Adam Levin puts his flawless technique and gorgeous tone to the service of music. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573760 $19.99 $9.99

Dowland: Lessons – Lute Music

In English Renaissance collections of music, the term ‘lessons’ is often used to describe instrumental pieces, even though they aren’t pedagogical exercises as such. John Dowland is one of the composers whose music was a driving force of the Early Music revival already at the beginning of the 20th century. (BIS)

1SACD# BIS-2627 $21.99 $10.99

Rebay: Complete Sonatas for Violin / Viola and Guitar

Ferdinand Rebay was born in Vienna where he studied piano and composition, winning the Brahms Prize. He wrote operas, a symphony, concertos and many songs, but was increasingly drawn to writing for the guitar for which he wrote 600 pieces of various kinds. The three sonatas recorded here are little known and reflect Rebay’s immersion in Romantic neo-Classicism. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573992 $19.99 $9.99

Rodrigo: Guitar Works, Vol. 2

Rodrigo’s music for solo guitar is not extensive but represents an important pillar of the repertoire, ranging from vignettes to sonatas over a six-decade period. The 1933 Toccata was rediscovered in 2005 and has since provided an ambitiously virtuosic vehicle for today’s guitarists. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572984 $19.99 $9.99

Guitar Recital: Vojin Kocić

Delicate Delights –Best Loved Classical Mandolin and Lute

The ‘Best Loved’ series of albums covers a wide range of popular instruments, each bringing together a substantial selection of works from the vast Naxos catalogue. With a spotlight on the mandolin and lute, this album features works by Vivaldi, Beethoven, Bach, Weiss, Albéniz and Febonio. (Naxos)

1CD# 8578183 $19.99 $9.99

Rodrigo: Spanish Night

Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo (1901–1999) was one of the foremost guitar composers of the 20th century. His 1939 Concierto de Aranjuez, with its evocative Andalusian color, indelible melody and subtle and effective orchestration, is assuredly one of the genre’s best-loved works. The passionate and vital Concierto Andaluz is scored for guitar quartet and orchestra. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573441 $19.99 $9.99

Villa-Lobos: The Guitar Manuscripts, Vol. 3

The genesis of Heitor Villa-Lobos’s Études goes back to his first meeting with the Andrés Segovia, at which the legendary guitarist asked for one étude and the composer ended up writing twelve. Andrea Bissoli returns to the original 1928 manuscript, restoring elements lost in later publication and reliving the magic of those times on an instrument almost identical to Segovia’s. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573117 $19.99 $9.99

Representing three generations of Spanish composers, these works reveal the diversity and depth of the Iberian musical imagination. Albeniz’s Suite is a perennial evocation of Iberian Romanticism that transcribes naturally from piano to guitar, and Jose’s original and inventive Sonata revives a reputation cut short by the Spanish Civil War. (Naxos)

& Lute

Giuliani: Music for two Guitars, Vol. 1

Mauro Giuliani was regarded in his day as “perhaps the greatest guitarist who has ever lived”, making his name in Vienna and mixing with the likes of Beethoven. On his return to Italy in 1820, he consorted with Paganini and Rossini which resulted in his arranging four of the latter’s overtures for two guitars. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572445 $19.99 $9.99

Moreno Torroba: Guitar Concertos, Vol. 2

Federico Moreno Torroba composed about one hundred works for the guitar, thereby reinforcing his status as one of Spain’s great twentiethcentury composers. Homenaje a la seguidilla pays lively tribute to that characteristically Spanish song and dance, while the Tonada concertante is in turns playful and introspective. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573503 $19.99 $9.99

Dale Kavanagh plays Rodrigo

Spaniard Joaquin Rodrigo is probably the most outstanding composer of guitar music of the 20th century. He composed numerous works for solo guitar and guitar duo, including some of the most substantial pieces in the classical guitar repertoire. This release from Dale Kavanagh and the State Philharmonic of Arad presents several of his works for guitar and orchestra and solo guitar. (Naxos)

1CD# 8551388 $19.99 $9.99

Ruiz-Pipó: Works with Guitar, Vol. 2

Antonio Ruiz-Pipó became an essentially Parisian artist, but his music always retained the historical roots and warmth of expression of his Spanish origins. Volume 1 of this edition focused on chamber music with guitar, and this programme presents four solo cycles. As with many of Ruiz-Pipó’s works, the Otoñales are dedicated to and inspired by figures amongst his own circle of friends and colleagues. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574167 $19.99 $9.99

GUITAR & LUTE IN BRIEF

Baroque Moments

Beethoven on Guitar

Beethoven lived in a time when the popularity of the guitar was vastly growing, especially in Vienna. For the present recording Volker Hoh Volker Höh combined two Beethoven arrangements by Carulli and Matiegka with Beethoven’s own mandolin pieces, played on historical Viennese guitars. Parts of the repertoire are world première recordings. (Naxos)

1CD# 8551409 $19.99 $9.99

Guitar Recital: Tengyue Zhang

Tengyue Zhang won the 2017 Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) International Concert Artist Competition, one of the world’s most prestigious events. His debut recital illustrates the moods, colors and techniques of the concert classical guitar from baroque transcriptions to masters of the twentieth-century genre such as Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Tansman, and Brouwer. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573905 $19.99 $9.99

Brouwer: Guitar Music, Vol. 5

Leo Brouwer is universally acclaimed as an innovative composer, and this fifth volume of his complete guitar works contains some of his longest and most ambitious pieces. Danzas Rituales y Festivas Vol. 2 covers the gamut of virtuosic techniques and includes a movement dedicated to Pedro Mateo Gonzalez. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574016 $19.99 $9.99

J.S. Bach: Cello Suites, Vol. 2 (arr. J. McFadden for guitar)

J.S. Bach’s Cello Suites are believed to have been written in the Saxon town of Cöthen between 1717 and 1723. They stand near the apex of Bach’s compositions for a single instrument and contain some of his most beautiful and vivid writing. Jeffrey McFadden’s guitar arrangements augment these elements with their own harmonic complexity. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573626 $19.99 $9.99

Baroque Moments showcases a vibrant selection of Baroque instrumental works featuring lively dances, intricate counterpoint, and elegant melodies, performed with stylistic finesse and spirited energy. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573440 $19.99 $9.99

Rodrigo: Guitar Works, Vol. 1

Rodrigo’s Guitar Works, Vol. 1 presents a compelling introduction to his guitar compositions, including expressive solo pieces and intimate chamber works performed with lyrical warmth, rhythmic vitality, and technical brilliance. (Naxos)

1CD# 8570286 $19.99 $9.99

Music from the Promised Land

This selection of pieces for mandolin and guitar represents the rich variety of music from Israel. Styles range from the diaspora of Babylonian Jewry through European klezmer traditions to contemporary influences from America. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573962 $19.99 $9.99

Dedications – New Music for Mandolin and Guitar

Dedications – New Music for Mandolin and Guitar offers an inventive collection of contemporary compositions that explore the rich interplay and tonal possibilities of these plucked instruments. (Thorofon)

1CD# CTH2613 $24.99 $12.49

Relaxation

Classical Music for the Home

Classical Music for the Home offers a soothing collection of familiar favorites and gentle masterpieces, carefully curated to create a relaxing atmosphere with warm melodies and elegant orchestration that provide a perfect soundtrack for everyday moments. Works are included from composers including Rossini, Dvořák, Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Haydn, and more. (Naxos)

1CD# 8555360 $19.99 $9.99

Chill with Debussy

Chill with Debussy presents a dreamy selection of Debussy’s most atmospheric works, blending impressionistic textures and flowing melodies performed with shimmering clarity, subtle expression, and delicate nuance. Works include Arabesque No. 1, Serenade for the Doll, Danse profane, La plua que lente, The Little Shepherd, Pour le piano: Sarabande, and more. (Naxos)

1CD# 8556788 $19.99 $9.99

Adagio Chillout

Adagio Chillout features a carefully curated mix of slow, lyrical pieces from various classical composers, performed with refined dynamics that create a peaceful, reflective mood ideal for relaxation, unwinding, and creating a calm, restorative atmosphere after a busy day. Works include Barber’s Adagio for Strings, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Greensleeves, and more. (Naxos)

1CD# 8556783 $19.99 $9.99

Bach for Meditation

Bach for Meditation offers serene and introspective performances of Bach’s solo and chamber works, providing a calming and focused soundtrack for meditation, study, or quiet moments. Works include Ave Maria, Concerto in D Minor, Italian Concerto in F Major, BWV 971, Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068, Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248, and more. (Naxos)

Mozart for Meditation

Chill with Beethoven

1CD# 8557650 $19.99 $9.99

Mozart for Meditation gathers Mozart’s most lyrical and serene compositions, performed with graceful elegance, warm tonal balance, and subtle emotional shading that emphasize the refined simplicity of his music. Works include Ave Verum Corpus, K. 618, Andante in C Major, K. 315, Adagio in E Major, K. 261, Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, and more. (Naxos)

1CD# 8557651 $19.99 $9.99

Chill with Beethoven showcases a mellow and intimate side of Beethoven’s oeuvre, featuring slow movements and lyrical themes performed with nuanced dynamics, and expressive phrasing that bring out the composer’s profound expressive depth in a soothing, relaxed setting designed to calm and inspire. Includes Fur Elise, Romance No. 2 in F Major, and Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 (Naxos)

1CD# 8556790 $19.99 $9.99

Chill with Vivaldi

Chill with Mozart offers a gentle collection of Mozart’s calming and melodic works, performed with sparkling clarity, graceful phrasing, and balanced tone that capture the elegance, charm, and peaceful spirit of the composer’s lighter repertoire in a refreshingly relaxed mood perfect for quiet enjoyment and contemplation. Works include Serenade in B-Flat Major, K. 361 “Gran Partita,” Ave Verum Corpus, K. 618, and more. (Naxos)

Chill with Bach

1CD# 8556780 $19.99 $9.99

Chill with Bach presents tranquil and meditative selections from Bach’s vast output, performed with precise articulation, warm tone, and subtle dynamic shading that highlight the serene beauty, spiritual depth, and timeless craftsmanship of his music, inviting listeners to experience moments of peaceful retreat and focused calm. Includes Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, Harpsichord Concerto, BWV 974, and more. (Naxos)

Chill with Tchaikovsky

1CD# 8556786 $19.99 $9.99

Chill with Tchaikovsky features the composer’s most lyrical and reflective pieces, performed with expressive warmth, rich orchestral color, and sensitive phrasing that reveal Tchaikovsky’s tender side in a soothing, emotionally nuanced program designed for relaxation, introspection, and gentle emotional comfort. Includes works from The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and more. (Naxos)

1CD# 8556785 $19.99 $9.99

Chill with Vivaldi gathers Vivaldi’s graceful and melodic works performed with bright energy, elegant phrasing, and refined baroque stylistic detail that emphasize the lively yet gentle character of his music in a collection that refreshes, relaxes, and delights listeners with timeless charm and vitality. Works include Gloria in D: Et in terra paz, Guitar Concerto in A: Larghetto, The Four Seasons, Spring, and more. (Naxos)

8556779

Chill with Mozart

World Music

Andre Toussaint: Bahamian Ballads

André Toussaint was a native Haitian who made his home in Nassau, Bahamas, for most of his singing career. Known for his golden voice, he was a regular at the popular Bay Street bistro Blackbeard’s and the famous La Fin, where one of his live shows was recorded. Several selections from that performance are featured on this collection. (Naxos World)

1CD# 76029-2 $12.99 $6.49

Folk Music of China, Vol. 7

This album features songs from the Qiang and the Yi tribes, who both mainly live in the mountainous regions of southwestern China, specifically in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. Many of the Yi folk songs make reference to the mountains in this region, especially in love songs and group dance songs, as heard in tracks 19 and 23.

(Naxos World)

1CD# NXW76094-2 $16.99 $8.49

Folk Music of China, Vol. 6

This album features folk songs from the Tajik and Russian ethnic minority groups living in the western and northwestern areas of Xinjiang, China. Many of the Tajik songs featured here are accompanied by the Rewap – an ancient stringed instrument made from mulberry trunks. Many of the Russian songs feature the Bayan (a type of accordion) and the Balalaika. (Naxos World)

1CD# NXW76093-2 $16.99 $8.49

Kwetu / Fadhilee Itulya

Fadhilee Itulya is from Kenya. He began his professional music career in 2008 when he was featured on the Nairobi Alliance Française compilation album “Spotlight on Kenyan Music”. He draws inspiration from a style of Kenyan guitar music called omutibo from the Luhya people of Western Kenya that is driving, syncopated, and gets people to dance like nothing else. (Naxos World)

1CD# NXW76125-2 $16.99 $8.49

WORLD TITLES IN BRIEF

Noukilla: Soley

Noukilla’s Soley is a mix of sega and seggae music, with a touch of jazz: a tribute to their home country of Mauritius. Created by Creole slaves, sega music was publicly shunned in Mauritius until the 1960s, when it was embraced nationally. In the 1990s, a Mauritian Rastafari, known as Kaya after the Bob Marley classic, infused it with reggae, creating seggae.

(Naxos World)

1CD# NXW76151-2 $16.99 $8.49

Folk Music of China, Vol. 4

This series explores China’s rich and diverse musical heritage. The songs featured in this recording are folk songs of four of the minority ethnic groups of Guangxi province – Zhuang, Bouyei, Mulao, Maonan. Aside from pentatonic scales, the folk music of the Dong-Tai language speakers also incorporates the scales of three or four notes.

(Naxos World)

1CD# NXW76091-2 $16.99 $8.49

Milégé is a group of young talented musicians who derive inspiration from the diverse cultural musical traditions of the different tribes of Uganda, which they fuse with contemporary elements. The group writes: “We derive our name Milégé from the ankle rattle, a bell worn round the ankle to create rhythmic sounds that compliment dance performances.” (Naxos World)

1CD# NXW76108-2 $16.99 $8.49

Good People: Rainbow Dream

Originally formed in the early 1970s to play Afro-inspired music, Good People has maintained a consistent lineup since the early 1990s. The band has evolved to be a repertoire of original material with some traditional tunes with new arrangements. Drawing inspiration from both traditional West African music and Western pop-based music, the group combines these distinctive styles for a special ‘Good People’ sound. (Naxos World)

1CD# 76007-2 $12.99 $6.49

Authentic Light Orchestra: The Sky is Cloudy

The Authentic Light Orchestra was founded in 2009 by the Swiss multi-instrumentalist with Armenian roots, Valeri Tolstov. (Naxos World)

In the Moment

Jon Hemmersam & Asal Malekzadeh had never met prior to the recording of this album, but they had the deep desire to create something beautiful together in an improvisatory setting. (Naxos World)

Boris Grebenshikov: Russian Songwriter

The singer-songwriter tradition of any country reflects the hearts and thoughts of the people, and in Russia this is no different. Boris Grebenshikov sings of themes central to Russian life, performed with heartfelt passion. (Naxos World) 1CD# 76039-2 $12.99 $6.49

Folk Music of China, Vol. 3: Folk Songs of Yunnan

This series explores China’s rich and diverse musical heritage. The songs featured on this recording are folk songs of three of the minority ethnic groups of Yunnan province – Wa, Blang, and De’ang. (Naxos World)

1CD# NXW76090-2 $16.99 $8.49

Milégé: Afwoyo

The Many Moods of Christmas

The Many Moods of Christmas delivers a festive and heartwarming collection of holiday favorites arranged for concert band and chorus, performed with vibrant energy, rich harmonies, and joyful spirit that capture the full emotional range of the season. Four suites are presented, containing songs including “The First Nowell, “What Child is This,” “Deck the Halls,” and more. (Altissimo)

1CD# ALT55572 $18.99 $9.49

O Holy Night / London Choral Sinfonia

The young professional singers of Michael Waldron’s London Choral Sinfonia open fresh perspectives on the music of Christmas. Within the span of twenty tracks, the London Choral Sinfonia embraces everything from the radiant beauty of Gabriel Jackson’s Tomorrow go ye forth and Thomas Wilson’s There is no rose to the exuberant energy of Sir Christèmas by William Matthias. (Orchid Classics)

Christmas Concerts

These special concerts with the award-winning SWR Vokalensemble represent two Christmas gifts from the Gaisburg Church, considered to be one of the most beautiful churches in Stuttgart. Michael Praetorius’ In dulci Jubilo exemplifies an ancient European tradition for Advent music that has inspired composers to express seasonal beauty and joy from medieval times to the present. (Naxos)

Festival of Carols

This collection of best-loved Christmas repertoire was recorded live at the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir Festival of Carols concerts in 2015 and 2016. Award-winning vocalist Sylvia McNair adds her own unique beauty and warmth, and as ever, the program celebrates the joys of the season with sparkling versions of family favorites. (Naxos)

1CD# 8579065 $19.99 $9.99

Roderick Elms: Festive Frolic –A Celebration of Christmas

Holiday Classics

Roderick Elms’s Festive Frolic –

A Celebration of Christmas offers a lively and colorful suite of original holiday works and inventive arrangements, featuring festive gems like “Gabriel’s Message,” “We Three Kings,” and “Away In a Manger,” blending sparkling orchestration, cheerful melodies, and a playful sense of tradition. (Naxos)

1CD# 8570793 $19.99 $9.99

Holiday Classics gathers a wide selection of beloved seasonal favorites in elegant arrangements for orchestra and chorus, including “Silent Night,” “Coventry Carol,” and “Variations on Greensleeves,” performed with lush textures, expressive phrasing, and a festive spirit. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572673 $19.99 $9.99

Christmas with Septura

A Christmas Choral Spectacular

A Christmas Choral Spectacular presents a rousing lineup of classic carols and choral showpieces, with stirring performances of “O Little Town on Bethlehem,” “Ding Dong! Merrily on High,” and “Deck the Halls,” all rendered with rich vocal blend, radiant energy, and brilliant orchestral support that capture the majesty, warmth, and communal joy of a traditional Christmas concert on a grand scale. (Naxos)

1CD# 8557585 $19.99 $9.99

Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Highlights)

Ondrej Lenard leads the CzechoSlovak Radio Symphony Orchestra through highlights of Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece. Highlights include the Overture, Decorating the Christmas Tree, Children’s Gallop & Arrival of Guests, Waltz of the Flowers, among many others. “The playing has plenty of zest and vitality.” – Gramophone (Naxos)

1CD# 8550515 $19.99 $9.99

The First Nowell –Christmas Carols Through the Ages

The Christmas carol has its origins in the Middle Ages but it has since embraced a wide variety of musical backgrounds. In this album, religious sentiment is set in many different contexts – from the mystery plays to an African American spiritual, from its origins in Gregorian Chant and 16thcentury secular dance to traditional examples rooted in poetry. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574475 $19.99 $9.99

With this recording Septura answers the question, “what if the greatest Christmas music had been written for brass?” In arrangements that go far beyond Yultide clichés, Septura has carefully crafted a program that explores virtuosity and festive celebration in pieces such as the Christmas Suite with music by J.S. Bach, and nostalgic favourites such as the ravishingly polyphonic The Three Kings. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573719 $19.99 $9.99

Titles

Christmas Concertos

Christmas Concertos offers a luminous collection of Baroque instrumental works written for the season, including Corelli’s beloved Concerto grosso in G minor “Fatto per la notte di Natale”, Torelli’s Christmas Concerto, and Manfredini’s festive Concerto in C Major, all performed with crisp ensemble playing, elegant phrasing. (Naxos)

1CD# 8550567 $19.99 $9.99

Music on Christmas Morning

Vasari Singers is one of the UK’s leading chamber choirs with a series of acclaimed albums released on Naxos. Music on a Christmas Morning presents an uplifting seasonal programme including the world premiere recording of Helena Paish’s beautiful setting of words by the youngest of the Brontë sisters. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574542 $19.99 $9.99

My Playlist for the Nativity / John Rutter

Can you hear the music? Do you hear it play? It’s telling you the story of the first Christmas Day… Perfect for children of all ages, this album of classical and traditional works is a charming and engaging retelling of the nativity through music, song, and rhyme. Well-known composers like Mozart, Rutter, Lutosławski and Brahms are included here, alongside traditional Christmas carols. (Naxos)

1CD# 8578348 $19.99 $9.99

Stille Nacht – Christmas Carols for Guitar

Rossini Hayward, one of the most creative guitarists of his generation, has written a sequence of Christmas carol arrangements that range across the centuries and over continents. These beautiful pieces respect the original carols while bringing to them ingenious new features. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574269 $19.99 $9.99

TITLES IN BRIEF

Lullabies and Carols for Christmas

The Wonder of Christmas

The Toronto-based Elora Festival

Singers are one of the most exciting of contemporary choirs. Now, they turn to the art of the Christmas carol, a genre covering a variety of styles, both popular and refined, each piece expressing religious sentiments and beliefs. The music ranges from much-loved settings to new works, from polyphony to more straightforward melodies. (Naxos)

1CD# 8573421 $19.99 $9.99

Home

for the Holidays / Eaken

Piano Trio

The Eaken Piano Trio (piano, cello & violin) present 18 songs of holiday cheer! Tracks include “Sleigh Ride,” “The Christmas Song,” “Silver Bells,” “Rudolph Up on the Housetop,” “Waltz of the Flowers,” “Sheep May Safely Graze,” “White Christmas,” and more. (Naxos)

1CD# 8554099 $19.99 $9.99

Christmas Proclamation:

The Choral Music of John Tavener

John Tavener is one of contemporary music’s most distinctive and recognizable voices, writing deeply felt compositions of instant magnetism and lyrical intensity inspired by a strong Greek Orthodox faith. On this recording, Tavener deploy an unusual combination of musical forces to powerful and moving effect. Performance by Choir of St. John’s College, Cambridge, one of England’s finest traditional choirs. (Naxos)

1CD# 8555256 $19.99 $9.99

Per la Notte di Natale: Italian Christmas Concertos

Per la Notte di Natale: Italian Christmas Concertos features festive Baroque concertos by Corelli, Manfredini, and Locatelli, including Corelli’s Concerto grosso in G minor, Op. 6 No. 8, Locatelli’s Concerto in F minor, and Manfredini’s Concerto in C Major, all performed with stylistic flair, radiant tone, and elegant phrasing that capture the spiritual warmth and celebratory brilliance of the Italian Christmas tradition. (Naxos)

1CD# 8574264 $19.99 $9.99

Soprano Monica Whicher joins one of the world’s foremost harp virtuosos Judy Loman, to interpret carols both old and new, beloved and unfamiliar, many in Ms. Loman’s expert arrangements. (Naxos)

1CD# 8572510 $19.99 $9.99

Christmas from the Royal Opera House [3 DVDs]

Settle down and enjoy Christmas fun and fantasy for all the family with these magical classics from the Royal Opera House. All-time ballet favorite The Nutcracker comes to life in this stunning and captivating production! (Opus Arte)

That Christmas Feeling / Reta Watkins

Presenting a sure fire, perennial classic, the debut Christmas album by Reta Watkins, That Christmas Feeling, features big band orchestration and fresh, hypnotic arrangements of holiday standards and original songs. (Suite 28)

1CD# STE016 $18.99 $9.49

Wolf: Four Christmas Cantatas

Ernst Wilhelm Wolf’s Four Christmas Cantatas offer a delightful glimpse into the festive sacred music of late 18th-century Germany. (CPO) 1CD# 555524-2 $18.99 $9.49

Camilla Nylund Sings Masterpieces from the Great American Songbook [DVD]

Finnish opera star Camilla Nylund sings masterpieces from the Great American Songbook in this unique collaboration with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra under their music director Marin Alsop. The classic songs in this film were specially arranged to suit Nylund’s performance style, vocals and personality, as if they had been written for her. (Naxos)

1DVD# 2110747 $32.99 $16.49

Beethoven, Liszt & Wagner: The Zurich Affair [DVD or Blu-ray Video]

An exile from his native land following the failed revolution of 1848, the impoverished Richard Wagner is in Zurich working on his opera Tristan und Isolde. There he meets Otto and Mathilde Wesendonck, ardent admirers of his music. Wagner’s passionate and scandalous affair with Mathilde, whose poems he set to music, is explored in this feature film by director Jens Neubert. (Naxos)

2110758

Glenn Gould: The Russian Journey [Blu-ray Video]

A look at the acclaimed pianist’s 1957 trip to the Soviet Union, Gould was the first North American to perform behind the Iron Curtain. The film features previously unheard recordings of his concerts in Moscow and Leningrad, including his recital and lecture at the Leningrad Conservatory. It also includes unreleased documents, photos and statements from Rostropovich, Ashkenazy and more. (C Major)

1BLURAY# 714204 $37.99 $18.99

Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro [2 DVDs]

Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, presented in this acclaimed two-DVD Opus Arte production, captures the wit, elegance, and emotional complexity of one of opera’s greatest masterpieces, featuring standout performances all brought to life with stylish period staging, expressive singing, and vibrant orchestral support. (Opus Arte).

2DVD# OA MO6004D $23.99 $11.99

Lucas Debargue – To Music [DVD or Blu-ray Video]

A performer of fierce integrity and dazzling communicative power, young French pianist Lucas Debargue became the most talked-about artist of the 15th International Tchaikovsky Competition. This film offers unique insights into Debargue’s life as a musician at the beginning of a remarkable career, revealing talents as a composer and jazz improvisor and his first-time entry into a world of recording studios. (Naxos)

1DVD# 2110639

Global Wagner – From Bayreuth to the World [DVD & Blu-ray Video]

Global Wagner – From Bayreuth to the World is a revealing feature-length study of life with Wagner’s legacy from one Bayreuth Festival to the next, and we travel the world to meet devoted Wagnerians and those most intimately involved in commenting on and producing his work today. (Naxos)

Beethoven: Missa solemnis (Documentary and Performance) [Blu-ray Video]

Beethoven’s Missa solemnis is the one work the composer admired above all his compositions. It was written for his great patron and friend Archduke Rudolf of Austria. This insightful documentary follows Frieder Bernius on a journey of discovery as he immerses himself in Beethoven’s monumental masterpiece in preparation for a recording. (Naxos)

NBD0116V

Springtime in Amsterdam [DVD or Blu-ray Video]

Springtime in Amsterdam is a joyful feature film created by director Christof Loy, world renowned for his work in international opera houses. A richly varied musical score that includes Viennese operetta, Dutch and French chansons, and songs from the American song book, is performed by a renowned cast of singers and conducted by Marko Letonja. (Naxos)

2110757 $29.99 $14.99

NBD0169V $26.99 $13.49

Salzburg Festival 2011 Opening Concert [DVD]

The opening concert of the Salzburg Festival, for many regarded as the world’s most renowned music festival, is by tradition a high-profile event and the 2011 gala presented here was one of the best in memory. Pierre Boulez assembled a cast of tremendous destinction to join the Vienna Philharmonic for this prestigious concert. (C Major) 1DVD# 710908 $26.99 $13.49

Verdi: Macbeth [DVD]

Commissioned in 1846, Macbeth offered Verdi the opportunity to make a qualitative leap in his career and its premiere was triumphantly received by audiences. This production preserves the preferred 1865 revision of the work, sung in Italian and retaining the original 1847 finale. (Naxos) 1DVD# 2110578 $29.99 $14.99

Blu-ray Video

Twin Spirits – Sting Performs [2 DVDs]

Twin Spirits is a moving theatrical portrait of the passionate relationship between Robert and Clara Schumann, featuring Sting as Robert and Trudie Styler as Clara, with musical performances of works like Widmung, Träumerei, and Piano Trio in G minor, blending readings from their letters with live chamber music and song in an intimate, emotionally resonant two-DVD presentation. (Opus Arte)

2DVD# OA 0994D $42.99 $21.49

Stravinsky in Hollywood [DVD or Blu-ray Video]

Stravinsky in Hollywood tells the story of an “old school” European artist knocking heads with the brash New World. The documentary uses a combination of existing archival footage (some never before seen), interviews with Stravinsky and his assistant Robert Craft, and premieres several big studio film scenes of the 40s with the music Stravinsky wrote for them. (C Major)

716308 $26.99 $13.49 1BLURAY# 716404 $37.99

All-Star Orchestra: Visions of New York –1001 Arabian Nights [DVD]

All-Star Orchestra: Visions of New York –1001 Arabian Nights features a dazzling live performance of works inspired by the city’s vibrant cultural tapestry, including Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, performed by a world-class ensemble with a dynamic energy that brings these vivid musical stories to life in an immersive and captivating DVD experience. (Naxos)

1DVD# 2110370 $21.99 $10.99

Anne-Sophie Mutter – Vivace [Blu-ray Video]

Anne-Sophie Mutter is one of the greatest musicians of our age and for the last five decades has appeared at the world’s leading concert venues. In this documentary, she talks candidly about her personal life and the demands of her international career. This unprecedented portrait of a socially active artist is supplemented by archive material from her stellar career. (Naxos)

1BLURAY# SWR19133BD $24.99 $12.49

Beethoven and his Contemporaries, Vol. 1 [DVD or Blu-ray Video]

The award-winning Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin has become one of the world’s leading chamber orchestras on period instruments. These concerts reveal some of the foundations of Beethoven’s genius, and capture vital performances from the 2020 SWR Schwetzingen Festival, the biggest radio festival for classical music in the world. (Naxos)

Dvorák’s Prophecy DVD Series

A Lens on the American Experience of Race [DVD]

A Lens on the American Experience of Race (Dvořák’s Prophecy –Film 1) explores how Dvořák’s vision of an American national music was deeply shaped by the country’s complex racial history, blending insightful interviews, historical context, and performances that illuminate the cultural forces behind his groundbreaking New World Symphony and its enduring significance. (Naxos)

1DVD# 2110703 $13.99 $6.99

‘The Souls of Black Folk’ and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music [DVD]

The Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music (Dvořák’s Prophecy – Film 3) examines the challenges and contributions of Black composers in America, tracing their struggle for recognition alongside Dvořák’s influence, featuring expert commentary and performances that highlight the rich but often overlooked heritage of African American classical music. (Naxos)

1DVD# 2110700 $13.99 $6.99

Aaron Copland – American Populist [DVD]

Aaron Copland – American Populist (Dvořák’s Prophecy – Film 4) profiles the iconic composer’s role in shaping a distinctly American sound, showcasing his accessible yet sophisticated works like Appalachian Spring and Billy the Kid. (Naxos)

1DVD# 2110698 $13.99 $6.99

Beyond Psycho – The Musical Genius of Bernard Herrmann [DVD]

The Musical Genius of Bernard Herrmann (Dvořák’s Prophecy –Film 5) offers a detailed look at Herrmann’s innovative contributions to film and concert music, highlighting his collaborations with Hitchcock and his unique orchestral voice, accompanied by insightful analysis and compelling excerpts that celebrate his lasting impact on 20thcentury music. (Naxos)

1DVD# 2110702 $13.99 $6.99

Lou Harrison and Cultural Fusion [DVD]

Lou Harrison and Cultural Fusion (Dvořák’s Prophecy – Film 6) explores Harrison’s groundbreaking integration of Western and non-Western musical traditions, emphasizing his use of gamelan, just intonation, and multicultural influences in works that reflect a broad, inclusive vision of American music, presented through interviews, historical footage, and vivid performances. (Naxos)

1DVD# 2110699 $13.99 $6.99

All-Star Orchestra: Russian Treasures – Northern Lights [DVD]

All-Star Orchestra: Russian Treasures – Northern Lights features a captivating program of Russian masterworks, including Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, performed by a stellar ensemble with vivid orchestral color, dramatic intensity, and expressive detail that bring the rich textures and evocative storytelling of Russian music vividly to life in this immersive DVD presentation. (Naxos)

All-Star Orchestra: British Enigmas – Mysterious Mountain [DVD]

All-Star Orchestra: British Enigmas – Mysterious Mountain offers a compelling exploration of British orchestral music, spotlighting Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending and Arnold Bax’s The Merman, performed with lyrical warmth, nuanced phrasing, and vibrant tonal palette that reveal the mystique, pastoral beauty, and emotional depth characteristic of 20th-century British repertoire. (Naxos)

All-Star Orchestra: Relationships in Music – The Living Art [DVD]

All-Star Orchestra: Relationships in Music – The Living Art presents a diverse program exploring musical dialogues and influences, featuring works by composers such as Dvořák, Brahms, and Copland, performed with exceptional ensemble cohesion, dynamic interplay, and insightful interpretations. (Naxos)

Charles Dickens [3 DVDs]

Charles Dickens is a richly detailed threeDVD documentary series that delves into the life, works, and enduring legacy of the beloved Victorian author, combining expert analysis, dramatic readings, and archival material to paint a vivid portrait of Dickens’s impact on literature and society. (Opus Arte)

3DVD# OA 0877D $42.99 $21.49

Best of Verdi Arias [DVD or Blu-ray Video]

Fuoco Sacro –

Best of Verdi Arias offers a thrilling collection of signature moments from Verdi’s greatest operas, featuring powerful performances of La donna è mobile, Sempre libera, and Casta Diva by leading vocalists, accompanied by lush orchestral playing and dynamic staging that showcase Verdi’s dramatic intensity and melodic genius in this captivating DVD and Blu-ray presentation. (C Major)

1DVD# 718508

$21.99 $10.99

1BLURAY# 718604 $21.99 $10.99

A Search for the Sacred Fire of Song [DVD]

Opera confronts us with extremes of emotion, sometimes delivering unforgettable, lifechanging experiences. Fuoco Sacro (‘Sacred Fire’) seeks out singers who have the power to pierce our hearts, presenting three of them at work in the most intimate details of their rehearsals and preparations. (Naxos)

1DVD# 2110710 $24.99 $12.49

Beethoven & Contemporaries, Vol. 2 [DVD or Blu-ray Video]

The award-winning Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin has become one of the world’s leading chamber orchestras on period instruments. These concerts reveal some of the foundations of Beethoven’s genius, and capture vital performances from the 2020 SWR Schwetzingen Festival, the biggest radio festival for classical music in the world. (Naxos)

1DVD# 2110705 $24.99 $12.49

1BLURAY# NBD0136V

Thielemann conducts Faust [DVD]

Under the musical direction of their chief conductor designate, Christian Thielemann, the Sachsische Staatskapelle performed this special concert to celebrate Franz Liszt and his bicentenary. At the prestigious Semperoper in Dresden, the orchestra presented a Faust-themed concert with two works by Wagner and Liszt inspired by Goethe’s drama. (C Major) 1DVD# 707708 $26.99 $13.49

Haydn: Die Schöpfung [DVD or Blu-ray Video]

Written on Water [DVD or Blu-ray Video]

Haydn’s oratorio The Creation is one of the greatest masterpieces in the repertoire. In this radical and compelling staging by the ground-breaking Catalan theatre collective, La Fura dels Baus, and internationally acclaimed stage director Carlus Padrissa, the oratorio is seen through the prism of a stream of refugees expelled from Paradise. (Naxos)

$14.99

$13.49

Written on Water is a dance feature film about an artist whose happy and comfortable married life is upended when she unexpectedly falls in love with someone else. Featuring Paris Opera Ballet’s Aurélie Dupont, Ballet Zurich principal dancer Alexander Jones, and choreographer, dancer, writer and director Pontus Lidberg, Written on Water conveys the drama of desire and the turmoil of the creative process. (Naxos)

$10.99

NBD0128V $21.99 $10.99

Blu-ray Video

Home Music Berlin [2 DVDs]

When lockdown was imposed in 2020 many artists began streaming performances from their own homes. In response, pianist Francesco Piemontesi and director Jan Schmidt-Garre launched a concert series to showcase artists living in Berlin. Fourteen concerts were held, without audiences, under the name Home Music Berlin featuring some of the world’s leading instrumentalists and singers. (Naxos)

2DVD# 2110681-82 $29.99 $14.99

Mozart: Violin Concertos Nos. 3, 4, and 5 [DVD]

Mozart: Violin Concertos Nos. 3, 4, and 5 – Adagio in E, K. 261 presents radiant performances of these beloved works, highlighting Mozart’s lyrical elegance and youthful brilliance, with the Adagio in E major, K. 261 offering a tender interlude, all captured on DVD with graceful solo playing, stylish orchestral support, and clear, vibrant sound that bring out the music’s charm and emotional depth. (Naxos)

1DVD# 2110368 $26.99 $13.49

Paths Through the Labyrinth [DVD]

Paths Through the Labyrinth is a powerful documentary exploring the life and music of composer Krzysztof Penderecki, featuring rare interviews, rehearsal footage, and performances of works like Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima and St. Luke Passion, offering an illuminating and intimate portrait of one of the 20th century’s most innovative and visionary musical voices. (C Major)

1DVD# 715408 $26.99 $13.49

Opera and Ballet Highlights [Blu-ray Video]

Opera and Ballet Highlights is a visually stunning Blu-ray showcase of standout moments from acclaimed Royal Opera House and Royal Ballet productions, featuring scenes from operas like Carmen and La Traviata and ballets including The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, all captured in high definition with spectacular performances. (Opus Arte)

TITLES IN BRIEF

Strauss: Arabella [2 DVDs]

Puccini: La Boheme [DVD or Blu-ray Video]

Set in the artistic but impoverished milieu of early 19th-century Paris, the tragic love of the poet Rodolfo and seamstress Mimì is one of the most affecting in all opera. La Bohème’s arias are also some of the most intensely passionate Puccini ever wrote, making it is one of the best-loved of all his works. (Naxos)

Revueltas: Redes [DVD]

An iconic product of the Mexican Revolution, Redes (1935) combines the talents of a master composer, Silvestre Revueltas, and a master cinematographer, Paul Strand. Its marriage of music and the moving image attains heights of epic grandeur. This DVD is the world premiere recording of Revueltas’s full score, one of the highest achievements in the history of film music. (Naxos)

Schubert: Eine Winterreise [DVD]

In Eine Winterreise, renowned director Christof Loy has created a memorable evening of music theatre in which Schubert’s tragically short life is depicted by and extended through his immortal music and songs from Winterreise, Die schöne Müllerin and Schwanengesang. The soul of the composer is brought to life by the internationally celebrated mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter. (Naxos)

Donizetti: Don Pasquale (Sung in German) [DVD]

Donizetti’s Don Pasquale represents the high point of the Italian buffa tradition, a sparkling comedy using characters from commedia dell’arte in ways that are entertaining, witty and playful. It was the work selected by the Vienna State Opera for its 1977 tour through Austria. (Naxos)

Strauss’ Arabella delivers a visually elegant and vocally rich performance of Strauss’s bittersweet romantic comedy, captured in a stylsh two-DVD set. (C Major)

Menotti: Amahl & the Night Visitors [Blu-ray Video]

Menotti’s Amahl & the Night Visitors brings warmth and wonder to this beloved Christmas opera with heartfelt performances and intimate Blu-ray visuals. (Naxos)

Rimsky-Korsakov: Christmas Eve [Blu-ray Video]

Rimsky-Korsakov’s Christmas Eve offers a vibrant, magical staging of this rarely performed opera, blending fantasy, folklore, and festive charm on Blu-ray. (Naxos)

Lokumbe: Can You Hear God Crying? [DVD]

Lokumbe’s Can You Hear God Crying? is a moving oratorio blending narration, solo voices, and spirituals to trace one man’s journey from enslavement to liberation. (Naxos)

1DVD# 2110357 $21.99 $10.99