Naxos Classical Spotlight

Naxos Classical Spotlight

Naxos of America

Naxos Classical Spotlight explores the world of classical music. Along the way host Raymond Bisha shares the stories about the music, and the musicians who make it.

Pade, Krek, Batič. Denmark meets Slovenia to inspirational effect.

Pade, Krek, Batič. Denmark meets Slovenia to inspirational effect.

In this podcast, Raymond Bisha discusses a new album from the Danish National Vocal Ensemble with their chief conductor, Slovenian Martina Batič. The programme similarly melds the two nations in a programme of choral music by Slovenian composer Uroš Krek (1922-2008) and Danish composer Else Marie Pade (1924-2016), the latter a pioneer in electronic music whose greatest religious work Maria is scored for coloratura soprano, bass baritone, speaking choir, 7 trombones and electronic sounds.

Feb 21, • 26:09

Johann Sebastian Bach meets the Theorbo, Lutenist Yasunori Imamura plays transcriptions of Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach meets the Theorbo, Lutenist Yasunori Imamura plays transcriptions of Bach

Yasunori Imamura, whose recording of Bach’s complete lute works has been described as a ‘magnificent interpretation’ (Naxos 8.573936–37), turns his attention to the Cello Suites. Imamura has chosen to perform these iconic suites on the theorbo, the most important plucked instrument in the lute family, with a range very similar to the cello. Certain technical elements, such as the playing of arpeggios are, in fact, easier on the theorbo whose unique timbres and resonances bring a new sonic quali

Feb 14, • 29:53

Sir Simon Rattle looks at Haydn’s Oratorio The Creation

Sir Simon Rattle looks at Haydn’s Oratorio The Creation

To mark his inauguration as Chief Conductor of the Bavarian Radio Chorus and Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle chose Joseph Haydn's oratorio The Creation. After two concerts on September 21 and 22, 2023 in Munich's Herkulessaal, the work was performed on September 24 in the historic basilica of Ottobeuren in Upper Swabia, together with the three outstanding soloists Lucy Crowe (soprano), Benjamin Bruns (tenor) and Christian Gerhaher (baritone). This album comes from these inaugural concerts.

Feb 12, • 22:12

Bach to Notre-Dame, Olivier Latry plays Bach

Bach to Notre-Dame, Olivier Latry plays Bach

When Notre-Dame de Paris caught fire in 2015 the organ was not damaged - some would call it a miracle.  In this podcast I talk to Olivier Latry, organist at Notre-Dame, about his album Bach to Notre-Dame which was the last album recorded at Notre-Dame before the fire.  Latry was also organist when Notre-Dame reopened in 2024.

Feb 7, • 37:33

Giovanni Sollima explores the Bach Cellos Suites

Giovanni Sollima explores the Bach Cellos Suites

Giovanni Sollima has been exploring Bach for as long as he has been playing the cello, and the journey continues with his new album dedicated to the Bach cello suites and pieces by other composers who were inspired by Bach.  In this podcast Sollima talks about the Bach Suites, and his ongoing investigation of Bach’s music

Jan 28, • 38:40

An introduction to Christian Sinding's four symphonies

An introduction to Christian Sinding's four symphonies

What to make of Norwegian composer Christian Sinding, who is chiefly remembered only by ambitious amateur pianists for his Rustle of Spring? He was a more important figure in the music of his native Norway than this might suggest; there, in his time, he was second only to Grieg. Raymond Bisha introduces us to Sinding's four symphonies that reveal the composer not as an innovator, but as someone whose music can be readily enjoyed on its own merits. Editor, translator and journalist Jens F. Laurso

Jan 24, • 20:46

A Brazilian discovery. Francisco Mignone's late violin sonatas

A Brazilian discovery. Francisco Mignone's late violin sonatas

Developed in collaboration with the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Naxos' Music of Brazil series is part of the Brasil em Concerto project, presenting around 100 orchestral, chamber, choral and vocal works from the 19th and 20th centuries, many of which were previously unpublished or simply undiscovered. Such was the case of Francisco Mignone's (1897-1986) three late violin sonatas that lay dormant for fifty years. Hear how they were brought to life by violinist Emmanuele Baldini and pia

Jan 17, • 20:03

Sir Simon Rattle probes Mahler's Seventh Symphony

Sir Simon Rattle probes Mahler's Seventh Symphony

This podcast features conductor Sir Simon Rattle in conversation with Raymond Bisha as they reference his new recording of Mahler's Seventh Symphony with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Sir Simon outlines his personal history with the work, from being overwhelmed at hearing it for the first time as a young schoolboy to his mature understanding of the symphony as “the point at which Mahler decided to start writing the music of the future.”

Jan 10, • 27:38

Regaining recognition. Paul Wranitzky's orchestral works.

Regaining recognition. Paul Wranitzky's orchestral works.

A student of Haydn, a masonic brother of Mozart and a fine composer in his own right, Paul Wranitzky (1756-1808) left behind 45 symphonies that are at long last stepping out of the shadows thanks to ongoing recordings and increased access to published scores. Raymond Bisha introduces Vol. 8 in Naxos' series of Wranitzky's orchestral works, which includes the Grand Characteristic Symphony for Peace with the French Republic, completed in Vienna with eager anticipation in 1797. The symphony happily

Jan 3, • 29:59

Christmas fizz. Black Dyke presents John Rutter.

Christmas fizz. Black Dyke presents John Rutter.

John Rutter is the most acclaimed composer of Christmas carols alive today, while the Black Dyke Band occupies the highest rank in the worldwide brass band community. Raymond Bisha introduces a new album that bridges these two pinnacles in arrangements for brass of Rutter's celebrated seasonal works, together with three in their original choral versions, representing a span of some sixty years of Rutter's captivating output.

Dec 20, 2024 • 20:01

Apollo’s Fire perform Israel in Egypt

Apollo’s Fire perform Israel in Egypt

George Frederic Handel was one of the leading composers of the baroque, especially known for his Italian operas.  When he presented his dramatic oratorio Israel in Egypt in 1739 it flopped.  It has since returned to favour, and this recording by Apollo’s Fire shows why this turnaround has happened.  Put simply, the music is stunning.

Dec 17, 2024 • 21:01

Composer Kenneth Fuchs. The latest recordings.

Composer Kenneth Fuchs. The latest recordings.

American composer Kenneth Fuchs discusses the programmes of his two most recent albums in conversation with Raymond Bisha; both recordings feature the Sinfonia of London and soloists under conductor John Wilson. Fuchs describes the unusual conception of his Concerto for Bass Trombone (a commissioning consortium of 21 bass trombonists was involved!) and the formative inspiration and sustained friendship he derived from abstract artist Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011).

Dec 13, 2024 • 20:01

Naxos Classical Spotlight meets the Military Music Appreciation Society

Naxos Classical Spotlight meets the Military Music Appreciation Society

The Military Music Appreciation Society was founded in 2008 by Roger Kennedy so he could share his passion for this music with other like-minded individuals.  The Society now has more than 5000 members, with new people joining every day.  In this podcast, Roger talks with host Raymond Bisha about the society and about his love for this music. This podcast includes performances by the Royal Marine Band, the Royal Artillery Band, the US Army Band, the Black Dyke Mills Band and the Band of the Cold

Dec 10, 2024 • 20:05

Two into one does go. The music of Nikolai Kapustin.

Two into one does go. The music of Nikolai Kapustin.

“As soon as I started playing jazz, I understood it was something for me. I understood that I had to combine the two musics.” These were the words of composer Nikolai Kapustin, born in Ukraine in 1937 and a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, the “two musics” being classical and jazz. From Kapustin's pen came an impeccable fusion of the two genres, with no trace of shallow crossover. Raymond Bisha introduces the programme on a recent recording that includes Kapustin's Second and Sixth Piano C

Dec 6, 2024 • 20:01

Convention defied. Beethoven defined. The final three cello sonatas.

Convention defied. Beethoven defined. The final three cello sonatas.

Raymond Bisha introduces a new album featuring Beethoven's final three cello sonatas that are full of unexpected shifts of harmony and mood, virtuoso flourishes and experimental surprises, all of which defy convention. The cellist is Gabriel Schwabe, one of the leading cellists of his generation and a laureate of several national and international competitions; the exceptionally sympathetic pianist is Nicholas Rimmer. The first of their two volumes of Beethoven's complete cello sonatas (8.5745

Nov 22, 2024 • 20:03

Conductor Vahan Mardirossian, Armenian roots, global reach.

Conductor Vahan Mardirossian, Armenian roots, global reach.

Vahan Mardirossian grew up in Armenia surrounded by music, an upbringing that has given him a broad musical perspective and a desire to explore all kinds of music.  In this podcast he talks about everything from his musical roots to his new position with the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Pardubice with whom he now has an ongoing recording program that guarantees we can look forward to many more recordings.

Nov 19, 2024 • 21:25

Dale Kavanagh & Friends

Dale Kavanagh & Friends

Renowned both as a distinguished soloist with some 1,800 concerts worldwide to her credit and as a member of the Amadeus Guitar Duo, Dale Kavanagh is one of the most prominent classical guitarists of her generation. Raymond Bisha discusses her latest Naxos album that features a programme of her own compositions, both solos and duos in which she is joined by an octet of acclaimed, award-winning colleagues and friends.

Nov 15, 2024 • 27:36

Latin Landscapes

Latin Landscapes

Raymond Bisha's latest podcast introduces the twenty-four strings and forty fingers of the Guitalian Quartet in a programme from a new album featuring music from Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and beyond. Effortless guitar technique combines with folksy wit and lyrical introspection in performances that will have your feet tapping and your ears purring.

Nov 8, 2024 • 20:03

Sheer Bliss

Sheer Bliss

Knighted in 1950, Sir Arthur Bliss was Master of the Queen’s Music in Great Britain from 1953 until his death in 1975. Raymond Bisha introduces a new album comprising both original works for brass band and arrangements of others for the ensemble that represent the breadth of the composer's output, from pieces of royal association (Welcome the Queen) to music for the concert hall (Kenilworth), the ballet stage (Adam Zero and Checkmate) and the cinema (Things to Come). John Wilson conducts th

Oct 25, 2024 • 20:03

Maria Herz (1878-1950). An overdue renaissance of an extraordinary musician.

Maria Herz (1878-1950). An overdue renaissance of an extraordinary musician.

Raymond Bisha introduces the world premiere recordings of remarkable orchestral works by Maria Herz. Born in Germany, a resident of England and, her final resting place, the United States, her life was beset not only by two World Wars and ravages of the Spanish Flu, but also the attendant anchors of being a female, Jewish composer. Only two of her works were published in her lifetime. Now that her estate of manuscripts has been replanted in the Zurich Central Library, the renaissance of her en

Oct 18, 2024 • 20:01

Rebeca Omordia and African Pianism

Rebeca Omordia and African Pianism

Join Rebeca Omordia as she continues her exploration of African piano music with her new album African Pianism, volume 2.  It is a collection of music that combines European music with the traditional music of many different countries in Africa.  The results are by turns joyous, beautiful and challenging as this music shows how classical music can be enriched by embracing other cultures. This multicultural heritage is also part of Rebeca’s own background, raised in Romania by a Romanian mother

Oct 15, 2024 • 35:02

The VOX Elite Recordings: Susskind and Semkow conduct Rimsky-Korsakov and Smetana

The VOX Elite Recordings: Susskind and Semkow conduct Rimsky-Korsakov and Smetana

Raymond Bisha's podcast spotlights two classic recordings in the Vox Audiophile Edition that were first released in the mid-1970s and feature two former music directors of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in their prime – Walter Susskind, who directs orchestral extracts from Smetana's opera The Bartered Bride, and Jerzy Semkow, who leads a performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, one of the most popular suites in the entire orchestral canon.

Oct 11, 2024 • 20:23

Bruckner's Symphonies. All Versions. Part 4.

Bruckner's Symphonies. All Versions. Part 4.

Marking the 200th anniversary of Bruckner's birth, this is the final podcast in Raymond Bisha's four-part survey of Naxos' project to record all 18 versions of the composer's 11 symphonies. With movements performed by the Bruckner Orchester Linz under conductor Markus Poschner, together with observations from Bruckner scholar Paul Hawkshaw, this instalment features movements from Symphonies 8 and 9.

Oct 4, 2024 • 50:35

Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, celebrating 45 years.

Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, celebrating 45 years.

For all who have heard it, the sound of the choral ensemble The Sixteen, conducted by Harry Christophers is unforgettable and beautiful.  This podcast features an interview with Harry Christophers, and music by William Byrd, Thomas Tallis and Arvo Pärt, from their album The Deer’s Cry.  On the eve of their US tour, this podcast celebrates their 45th anniversary.

Oct 1, 2024 • 31:09

Bruckner's Symphonies. All Versions. Part 3.

Bruckner's Symphonies. All Versions. Part 3.

Marking the 200th anniversary of Bruckner's birth, this is the third podcast in Raymond Bisha's four-part survey of Naxos' project to record all 18 versions of the composer's 11 symphonies. With movements performed by the Bruckner Orchester Linz and the ORF Radio Vienna Symphony Orchestra, plus annotations from music scholar Robert Simpson, this instalment features movements from Symphonies 6 and 7.

Sep 27, 2024 • 40:12

Bruckner's Symphonies. All Versions. Part 2

Bruckner's Symphonies. All Versions. Part 2

Marking the 200th anniversary of Bruckner's birth, this is the second podcast in Raymond Bisha's four-part survey of Naxos' project to record all 18 versions of the composer's 11 symphonies. Featuring movements performed by the Bruckner Orchester Linz and the ORF Radio Vienna Symphony Orchestra, plus annotations from conductor Markus Poschner and Bruckner scholar Professor Paul Hawkshaw, this installment features movements from Symphonies 3, 4 and 5.

Sep 20, 2024 • 52:00

Bruckner's Symphonies. All Versions. Part 1

Bruckner's Symphonies. All Versions. Part 1

Marking the 200th anniversary of Bruckner's birth, Raymond Bisha dips into the fruits of Naxos' project to record all 18 versions of the composer's 11 symphonies. Featuring movements performed by the Bruckner Orchester Linz and the ORF Radio Vienna Symphony Orchestra, plus annotations from conductor Markus Poschner and Bruckner scholar Professor Paul Hawkshaw, Raymond Bisha opens his 4-part survey with an introduction to Symphonies 0, 1 and 2. The Complete Symphonies Box Set is now available, N

Sep 13, 2024 • 38:51

Manual overdrive. American organ concertos.

Manual overdrive. American organ concertos.

A recent new album of American organ concertos featuring multi-award-winning artists brought together the artistry of organist Paul Jacobs and the contemporary music pedigree of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Giancarlo Guerrero. The high expectations generated by such a rare programme were met with distinction and this podcast conversation between Raymond Bisha and Paul Jacobs reveals both the practical challenges and the musical rewards behind the making of the recording

Sep 6, 2024 • 20:01

Janna Gandelman: a recital of Catalan violin works

Janna Gandelman: a recital of Catalan violin works

In the first half of the 20th century, Catalan instrumental music was dominated by works for the piano and the cello. As a result, the importance of Catalan violin repertoire is often overlooked. Raymond Bisha introduces a new album of such works for violin and piano that's full of captivating contrasts, featuring twelve works by five composers that were written over the course of more than a century.

Aug 30, 2024 • 20:01

Fischer hallmarks Haydn: the effect, not the sound.

Fischer hallmarks Haydn: the effect, not the sound.

Conductor Adam Fischer and the Danish Chamber Orchestra have already persuaded audiences to absorb the symphonies of Brahms and Beethoven through their distinctive lens. Now they're midway through a series of recordings of Haydn's great late symphonies. Raymond Bisha's conversation with Fischer draws the curtain on just how he fathoms Haydn's essence: “He's hiding his ideas in the scores, and we have to discover them.”

Aug 16, 2024 • 20:01

Castelnuovo-Tedesco's 3 String Quartets.

Castelnuovo-Tedesco's 3 String Quartets.

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, perhaps best known for his numerous film scores and works for guitar, also composed in a variety of other genres, from transcriptions for cello to violin concertos, piano works and orchestral music. Raymond Bisha turns our attention in this podcast to his three string quartets, written respectively in 1929, 1948 and 1964, and heard in authoritative performances on a new album by Italy's noted Quartetto Adorno.

Aug 2, 2024 • 20:01

An interview with pianist and composer Danilo Pérez

An interview with pianist and composer Danilo Pérez

Grammy winning Panamanian jazz musician Danilo Pérez is many things - pianist, composer, educator, humanitarian, organizer of the Panama Jazz Festival, UNESCO Artist for Peace and Panama's Cultural Ambassador.  In this podcast he talks about his new album Lumen that he recorded with Sweden's Bohuslän Big Band.

Jul 24, 2024 • 20:01

Margaret Brouwer. Orchestral colour, imagery and emotional power.

Margaret Brouwer. Orchestral colour, imagery and emotional power.

In this podcast, Raymond Bisha talks with American composer Margaret Brouwer about the inspiration and compositional approach behind the orchestral pieces on the programme of her new album. Spanning a period of twenty-four years, the works are brilliantly performed by Marin Alsop and the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, vividly capturing the music's wide range of expression, from sparkling sonorities to virtuosic challenges and beautiful evocations of nature.

Jul 19, 2024 • 27:05

The Music of Brazil. Oscar Lorenzo Fernández (1897-1948)

The Music of Brazil. Oscar Lorenzo Fernández (1897-1948)

Five years into the celebrated Naxos Music of Brazil series, we reach Vol. 21 and the music of Oscar Lorenzo Fernández (1897-1948), who was a key figure in the cultural life of Rio de Janeiro. Lorenzo Fernández’s two symphonies suffered neglect after the composer’s untimely death at the age of fifty. Raymond Bisha introduces the world premiere recording of the powerful First Symphony, and the first modern studio recording of the programmatic Second Symphony.

Jul 5, 2024 • 20:01

The Muses Restor'd: a new album from violinist Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque

The Muses Restor'd: a new album from violinist Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque

Rachel Podger talks about the joys of consort music, the Brecon Baroque Festival, and "The Muses Restor'd", her new album with Brecon Baroque with music from George Frideric Handel, William Lawes, John Blow, Matthew Locke, Henry Purcell, John Jenkins and many others.

Jun 28, 2024 • 27:25

Smetana, Susskind & St Louis. An Elite Recording

Smetana, Susskind & St Louis. An Elite Recording

Smetana's Má vlast is an unprecedented cycle of six related symphonic poems that evoke Czech legends and celebrate the beauty of the country’s landscapes. Received with “unending storms of applause” at its 1882 premiere, Má vlast reflects the unique characteristics that form the heart and soul of the Czech nation. Raymond Bisha introduces an acclaimed 1975 recording of the work by the St Louis Symphony under Walter Susskind, which has been given a new lease of life by returning to the origina

Jun 21, 2024 • 20:05

Paul Chihara's complete piano works. Quynh Nguyen's complete absorption

Paul Chihara's complete piano works. Quynh Nguyen's complete absorption

Pianist Quynh Nguyen discusses her recording of the complete piano works of Paul Chihara, the distinguished American composer whose output includes the scores for over 100 motion pictures and television series. Past exchanges between performer and composer about the items on the programme reflect an intensely deep and detailed collaboration, with AllMusic.com warmly welcoming the album as “ingenious and richly evocative and beautifully and quietly played … this is a wonderful release.” Raymon

Jun 7, 2024 • 22:02

Forgotten Sounds – the Loeffler Octet rediscovered.

Forgotten Sounds – the Loeffler Octet rediscovered.

During his lifetime, Charles Martin Loeffler was one of the most performed American composers.   His octet was completed in 1896, played twice the following year and then forgotten. Clarnetist Graeme Steele Johnson rediscovered the manuscript in the Library of Congress, took a year to create a performing edition from the score, and recorded the work for Delos, DE3603.  In this podcast, he talks about that journey.

May 31, 2024 • 19:59

Lukas Foss. A composer on the podium

Lukas Foss. A composer on the podium

JoAnn Falletta, conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, discusses a programme of orchestral works by composer/conductor Lukas Foss, who was both a predecessor of hers in Buffalo and a mentor to her. Highlighting his eclecticism as a composer, who went wherever his mind took him, Raymond Bisha discusses the performers' latest album, which features four works that colourfully reflect Foss' wide embrace and expert craftsmanship.

May 24, 2024 • 28:29

Gerald Peregrine. A truly mobile music machine.

Gerald Peregrine. A truly mobile music machine.

Irish cellist Gerald Peregrine introduces his latest album of early 20th-century British works for cello and piano, interweaving the classical and folk-based music with a personal narrative of community engagement, in which his live music-making initiatives have achieved truly significant and touching results.

May 10, 2024 • 21:00

Plucked and perfectly prepped. Alon Sariel's Bach transcriptions for mandolin

Plucked and perfectly prepped. Alon Sariel's Bach transcriptions for mandolin

This podcast spotlights Israeli mandolinist Alon Sariel, who provides an entree into the engaging world of the mandolin, an instrument that perhaps enjoys a relatively low profile but commands a fascinating global reach. Alon Sariel's second album of transcriptions of works by J. S. Bach for mandolin blends technical precision with nuanced artistry and masterly adaptations. The presenter is Raymond Bisha.

Apr 26, 2024 • 20:01

Alsop + Adams + The Groove

Alsop + Adams + The Groove

Marin Alsop discusses her latest release – an album of orchestral works by John Adams – with Raymond Bisha, exploring just what it is about Adams' music that makes him the leading nominee for  the title of America's greatest living composer, not least for scores that inhabit 'the groove' with conspicuous relish.

Apr 19, 2024 • 20:01

Standing with Eagles. The music of Louis Wayne Ballard

Standing with Eagles. The music of Louis Wayne Ballard

Louis Wayne Ballard (1931-2007) – also known as 'Honganozhe', which means 'Stands with Eagles' in the Quapaw language – was the first indigenous North American composer of art music, and his extensive knowledge of the music, dance and mythology of this culture informed his compositions. This podcast reviews a new album of his works that are eclectic in style, uniquely varied and thoroughly engaging. The presenter is Raymond Bisha. The guests are conductor John Jeter and Jerod Impich-chāachaaha T

Apr 12, 2024 • 27:21

Rameau meets the accordion

Rameau meets the accordion

In January 2024, Finnish accordionist/conductor Janne Valkeajoki released a captivating album of music by French Baroque composer Jean-Philippe Rameau, which Valkeajoki himself arranged for his instrument. Raymond Bisha's conversation with the performer delves into the various musical transformations and performance mechanics that were involved in the masterly transfer from harpsichord strings to accordion reeds.

Mar 29, 2024 • 20:01

Breathing new life into Orfeo Vecchi's motets for six voices.

Breathing new life into Orfeo Vecchi's motets for six voices.

Orfeo Vecchi was held in high regard by his contemporaries for the sacred music he produced towards the end of the 16th century. Raymond Bisha introduces a new recording of the twenty pieces that comprise his third book of Motets for Six Voices. The works form a rich, eclectic programme, and the performances by Cappella Musicale Eusebiana directed by Don Denis Silano elegantly express the pictorial aspects of the texts that Vecchi achieved through subtle dialogue, antiphony and counterpoint.

Mar 15, 2024 • 20:01

Florence Price and Leo Sowerby String Quartets

Florence Price and Leo Sowerby String Quartets

Raymond Bisha introduces a new album of works for string quartet by Florence Price and Leo Sowerby, who were both prominent members of the Chicago music community in the 1930s and 1940s. Most of Florence Price’s compositions remained unpublished at her death, and her String Quartet in A minor was not performed in her lifetime. Her Five Folksongs in Counterpoint entwine and enrich the famous melodies with African American vernacular idioms and colourful harmony, while Sowerby’s String Quartet in

Mar 8, 2024 • 20:01

Bach-Rheinberger - The Goldberg Variations

Bach-Rheinberger - The Goldberg Variations

Raymond Bisha's latest podcast introduces the world premiere recording of Joseph Rheinberger's arrangement for two pianos of Bach's Goldberg Variations. Composed by Bach in 1741, the work fell into oblivion before re-emerging as part of a movement of discovery generations later. In order to breathe new life into them, such masterpieces might undergo arrangements, transcriptions and other manipulations. In this case, Rheinberger's 1883 version adds new parts to Bach's original score.

Feb 23, 2024 • 20:01

Introduction to Peter Boyer's Rhapsody in Red White and Blue

Introduction to Peter Boyer's Rhapsody in Red White and Blue

George Gershwin's ever popular Rhapsody in Blue was first performed in February 1924. To mark the centenary of that celebrated event, pianist Jeffrey Biegel commissioned composer Peter Boyer to write a work for piano and orchestra that would be a 21st-century partner to Gershwin's original. Raymond Bisha talks to both composer and soloist about the gestation of this celebratory new work that captures a similar propulsive energy, while interweaving allusions to blues influences and lyrical evocat

Feb 19, 2024 • 25:01

Abbey Simon plays Chopin

Abbey Simon plays Chopin

Raymond Bisha introduces a programme of works for piano and orchestra by Chopin, performed by legendary pianist Abbey Simon. Once hailed by renowned critic Harold C. Schonberg of The New York Times as a “supervirtuoso”, Simon was a great American pianist in the great Romantic tradition, who imbued his effortless virtuoso technique with a uniformly clear sound. Having passed away in 2019 at the age of ninety-nine, most of his recorded output was for the VOX label. This album includes Chopin's Pia

Feb 9, 2024 • 20:01

Same River Twice

Same River Twice

Raised in Medellín, Colombia, Billy Arcila has lived in the United States for over 40 years, where he teaches and performs as one of California’s foremost guitarists. In this podcast, Raymond Bisha presents the first album to be made of his music. Performed by the composer himself, it contains works written across Ancila's entire compositional life, from his first published work to his most recent. Interspersed with the music of other admired composers, Arcila’s autobiographical guitar music emb

Jan 26, 2024 • 20:03

The Valencia Baryton Project plays Haydn

The Valencia Baryton Project plays Haydn

A podcast featuring the Valencia Baryton Project and their new recording of music by Franz Joseph Haydn.  Haydn was music director of the Esterházy Court at Eisenstadt for twenty-five years. It was where Prince Nikolaus commissioned him to write trios for the baryton, a bowed, stringed instrument similar to the viol but with extra plucked strings that enabled performers to accompany themselves. Haydn wrote string trios (baryton, viola, cello) of elegance, refinement and poise that encapsulate a

Jan 12, 2024 • 20:03

Leopold Godowsky Complete Piano Works with Konstantin Scherbakov finally finished!

Leopold Godowsky Complete Piano Works with Konstantin Scherbakov finally finished!

Raymond Bisha introduces the fifteenth and final volume in Konstantin Scherbakov's recordings of the complete piano works of Leopold Godowsky, on the Marco Polo label, in which the programme comprises a number of the arrangements Godowsky made of Chopin's Études. Reflecting on his mammoth undertaking, the virtuoso pianist notes that “this project to record Leopold Godowsky's complete piano works began in 1997 and has taken me 26 years to complete. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this

Dec 22, 2023 • 20:01

VOX Audiophile Edition: Stanisław Skrowaczewski and the Minnesota Orchestra

VOX Audiophile Edition: Stanisław Skrowaczewski and the Minnesota Orchestra

Conductor Stanisław Skrowaczewski spent 19 years as music director of the Minnesota Orchestra, from 1960 to 1979, during which time he developed it into one of the finest orchestras in North America. They made many recordings together, mostly for the VOX and Mercury labels, from which Raymond Bisha has selected two remastered albums from the VOX catalogue that demonstrate their distinguished achievements. The programmes of music by Beethoven and Mozart include Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos. 17 an

Nov 17, 2023 • 20:01

Music of Brazil • Villa-Lobos • Works for Cello and Orchestra

Music of Brazil • Villa-Lobos • Works for Cello and Orchestra

Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos was also an accomplished guitarist and cellist, and his wonderful music for the latter instrument takes full advantage of the lyrical and dramatic capabilities of the instrument. In this episode of Naxos Classical Spotlight, Raymond Bisha explores a new recording of his two Cello Concertos, together with his Fantasia for Cello and Orchestra, that features solo cellist Antonio Meneses and the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Isaac Karabtchevsky.

Nov 7, 2023 • 20:01

Celebrating Delos Productions and pianist Carol Rosenberger

Celebrating Delos Productions and pianist Carol Rosenberger

As the record label Delos Productions turns 50, we celebrate with an interview with pianist Carol Rosenberger who, with her friend Amelia Haygood, helped create the Delos label for which Carol also did many recordings.  As a concert pianist, record executive and also as polio survivor, Carol's story is one of courage, determination and grace.

Oct 29, 2023 • 44:37

United at Last, 2 Operas by James P Johnson.

United at Last, 2 Operas by James P Johnson.

This podcast features Raymond Bisha in conversation with conductor Kenneth Kiesler about the rediscovery, rescue and reconstruction of two operas by James P. Johnson (1894–1955), De Organizer with a libretto by Langston Hughes, and The Dreamy Kid, with words by Eugene O'Neill. JP Johnson was renowned as an influential jazz pianist but was largely unknown as a composer of opera.  It was Johnson’s express hope that two of his short stage works, written in the late 1930s, would one day form a doubl

Oct 22, 2023 • 29:32

VOX The Legacy of Maurice Abravanel and the Utah Symphony

VOX The Legacy of Maurice Abravanel and the Utah Symphony

Another podcast featuring historic recordings on the VOX label, this one explores the recordings of Tchaikovsky’s music by the Utah Symphony Orchestra under Maurice Abravanel, who was the ensemble’s music director for more than 30 years. From the performances, to the production team of Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz, the liner notes by Richard Freed, and of course Tchaikovsky’s music itself, there are many reasons why these  from the 1970s are still so popular.

Oct 6, 2023 • 27:15

Jennifer Higdon. 2 Spectacular Concertos • 1 Sizzling Recording

Jennifer Higdon. 2 Spectacular Concertos • 1 Sizzling Recording

This podcast features American composer Jennifer Higdon in a wide-ranging conversation with Raymond Bisha, during which she describes the long swathe of influences on her composing career. The musical spotlights comprise extracts from her latest recording for Naxos of two powerfully engaging works: the Concerto for Orchestra, written in 2002 and demanding virtuosity from principal players, individual sections and the entire orchestra alike; and her pyrotechnic Duo Duel, a concerto for two percus

Sep 17, 2023 • 37:08

VOX Recording, Restoring a Unique Voice

VOX Recording, Restoring a Unique Voice

In this episode of Naxos Classical Spotlight, Raymond Bisha presents the first in a series of podcasts that explore newly remastered recordings on the VOX label dating from the 1970s. This episode features four albums by the St Louis Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin, in which the orchestra and solo pianists Abbey Simon and Jeffrey Siegel variously perform works by Rachmaninov and Gershwin. The ‘silent stars’, however, are Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz, the albums’ original, legendary r

Aug 26, 2023 • 23:56

Claudio Santoro:  Orchestral Explorations of the 1960's

Claudio Santoro: Orchestral Explorations of the 1960's

Brazilian composer Claudio Santoro (1919–1989) proved a dynamic force for his country’s classical music scene. His life was both intertwined with, and deeply influenced by, the political and social events playing out around him, from the building of the Berlin Wall in Europe to political upheavals in his homeland. Through it all, his compositions reflected a life of distinctive musical exploration.  This album is part of Naxos's ongoing Music of Brazil series.

Jul 20, 2023 • 23:01

Jonathan Leshnoff - Recent Orchestral Works

Jonathan Leshnoff - Recent Orchestral Works

Raymond Bisha introduces Naxos’ fifth album devoted to the music of leading American composer, Jonathan Leshnoff. The themes of this mixed programme of his recent works are remembrance, memorialisation and hopefulness. The works on this album are Elegy, Second Violin Concerto, and Of Thee We Sing. As the 25th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing was approaching, conductor Alexander Mickelthwate reached out to Leshnoff to propose a memorial commission, a piece for chorus and orchestra “that t

Jul 2, 2023 • 20:54

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. A polymath in Paris.

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. A polymath in Paris.

Naxos Classical Spotlight looks at the life of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745–1799) – a brilliant swordsman, athlete, violin virtuoso and gifted composer – might well lay claim to being the most talented figure in an age of remarkable individuals. Raymond Bisha gives an overview of this remarkable life, binding the disparate elements of his career with the constant beauty of his violin concertos.

Jun 10, 2023 • 20:01

John Corigliano's complete works for solo piano

John Corigliano's complete works for solo piano

In this eposode of Naxos Classical Spotlight Raymond Bisha introduces Naxos’ new album of the complete works for solo piano by leading American composer John Corigliano. During their conversation together, the composer gives insight into the creative genesis of all the works on the programme, which span a period of some fifty years: from the 1968 Piano Concerto (“The first piece I ever wrote for orchestra”) to Prelude for Paul, written in 2021 with an unusual conception. The solo pianist is Phil

Jun 10, 2023 • 25:36

One genius through the eyes of another, an interview with Marin Alsop

One genius through the eyes of another, an interview with Marin Alsop

Conductor and Naxos artist Marin Alsop discusses Robert Schumann’s four symphonies in the wake of her recordings of the works as reorchestrated by Mahler (8.574429 and 8.574430). Following observations about instrumental developments of the time, Mahler’s myriad tweaks to the score, and the somewhat bipolar flavour of the music (with counterpoint always at hand as a periodic stabiliser), she moves on to a detailed appreciation of each symphony, demonstrating Schumann’s distinctive contribution t

May 25, 2023 • 39:39

A forgotten treasure. Marin Alsop discusses Hindemith.

A forgotten treasure. Marin Alsop discusses Hindemith.

"A forgotten treasure. Marin Alsop discusses Hindemith. This podcast features Marin Alsop in conversation with Raymond Bisha following the release of her first album for Naxos as chief conductor of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. She assumed the post in 2019 and the programme reflects that of her first public appearance in the role. Marin's advocacy of Hindemith's music is rooted in her days as a violin student and her subsequent period of tutelage under Leonard Bernstein. The education

Nov 12, 2021 • 28:59

Paired to perfection. Tianwa Yang plays Prokofiev’s violin concertos.

Paired to perfection. Tianwa Yang plays Prokofiev’s violin concertos.

Violinist Tianwa Yang marks her fifteenth year as one of Naxos’ leading artists with a new album featuring Prokofiev’s two violin concertos. The works’ stylistic contrasts reflect the fact that they were written some twenty years apart, but they receive the same scrupulous attention to technical and musical details that hallmark every one of Tianwa’s performances. Little wonder that they consistently attract accolades and awards. Fellow Naxos artist Jun Märkl conducts the ORF Vienna Radio Sympho

Oct 22, 2021 • 20:01

Un Mexicano en Nueva York, música de Samuel Zyman

Un Mexicano en Nueva York, música de Samuel Zyman

El compositor mexicano Samuel Zyman junto a la flautista Marisa Canales nos hablan en este podcast acerca de su nueva grabación bajo el sello Urtext en donde interpretan las dos sonatas para flauta y piano Zyman.

Oct 22, 2021 • 56:06

Malcolm Arnold:  Complete Symphonies and Symphonic Dances

Malcolm Arnold: Complete Symphonies and Symphonic Dances

An introduction to the Symphonies and Dances of composer Malcolm Arnold featuring conductor Andrew Penny who recorded all these works for Naxos. Arnolds orchestral works are a study in contrasts, from his optimistic and tuneful dance suites to his deeply personal symphonies.

Oct 7, 2021 • 33:01

Mapping a musical monument. Giltburg’s Beethoven 32.

Mapping a musical monument. Giltburg’s Beethoven 32.

Raymond Bisha presents an overview of Boris Giltburg’s project to learn and record all of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas, which are now released in a 9-CD box set edition following their inception as critically acclaimed digital releases. The recordings reflect only one facet of Giltburg’s gem of an undertaking, in that performances were also filmed and subsequently fleshed out by his extended and informative notes that accompany the albums. Giltburg’s personal exploration and Beethoven’s panoply

Sep 24, 2021 • 23:03

Versatilité sans frontières. Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint–Georges (1745–1799).

Versatilité sans frontières. Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint–Georges (1745–1799).

Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, was a brilliant swordsman, athlete, violin virtuoso and gifted composer, with a claim to being the most talented figure in an age of remarkable individuals. He was an early and important exponent of the hybrid symphonie concertante, a genre that draws on both the symphony and concerto traditions. In this podcast Raymond Bisha talks with Dr Allan Badley, co-founder of Artaria Editions, the music publishing house that has created performance editions fo

Sep 10, 2021 • 36:41

String Quartets from Jurgis Karnavicius

String Quartets from Jurgis Karnavicius

Lithuanian composer Jurgis Karnavičius was born in 1884, and became one of the early classical music leaders in his country. His 3rd and 4th string quartets were composed and first performed in the 1920's, and then ignored for decades. This podcast, and the new recording by the Vilnius String Quartet show why Karnavičius deserves to be remembered.

Aug 27, 2021 • 20:11

Jazz idioms, classical structures. Symphonic works by Nikolai Kapustin (1937–2020).

Jazz idioms, classical structures. Symphonic works by Nikolai Kapustin (1937–2020).

Significantly influenced by his experience of playing in some of the earliest Soviet jazz bands, Nikolai Kapustin trained as a pianist at the Moscow Conservatory but subsequently devoted himself to composition. His output includes many works for piano, two of which are featured on this new album — the Fourth Piano Concerto and the Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra, along with his Chamber Symphony, Op. 57. Raymond Bisha introduces both the music and the propulsive energy of Frank Dupree wh

Aug 13, 2021 • 20:01

Music of Brazil. The Villa-Lobos violin sonatas.

Music of Brazil. The Villa-Lobos violin sonatas.

Raymond Bisha prefaces his latest podcast with this introduction: “Heitor Villa-Lobos, the prolific Brazilian composer of some 2,000 works, conductor, cellist, guitarist and music educationalist, wrote his three violin sonatas between 1912 and 1920. When he wrote the first sonata, he was still a struggling young composer trying to make a name for himself, while playing all kinds of gigs to pay the bills. By the time he wrote the third sonata in 1920, he was a much more assured composer, and well

Jul 23, 2021 • 20:01

Camille Saint-Saëns. A symphonic collection.

Camille Saint-Saëns. A symphonic collection.

French composer Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) is remembered as someone who could spin melodies as easily as he breathed. Naxos is marking the centenary of his death with a 3-CD box set that comprises all his symphonies and a sequence of atmospheric and dramatic symphonic poems, including Phaéton and the ever-popular Danse macabre. Raymond Bisha presents an overview of these recordings by the Malmö Symphony Orchestra and conductor Marc Soustrot, a noted French music specialist.

Jul 16, 2021 • 25:21

The Power of Tower

The Power of Tower

With multiple GRAMMY nominations and wide critical acclaim to her credit, Joan Tower’s latest album in the Naxos American Classics series demonstrates why she is so often performed, and why she is such a respected person among American composers. Raymond Bisha presents the programme on her new release that comprises four world premiere recordings. Soloists Dame Evelyn Glennie (percussion) and Blair McMillen (piano) feature alongside David Alan Miller and the Albany Symphony Orchestra.

Jul 9, 2021 • 20:05

Anne-Louise Brillon de Jouy (1744-1824). Piano sonata premieres.

Anne-Louise Brillon de Jouy (1744-1824). Piano sonata premieres.

Anne-Louise Brillon de Jouy ran one of the finest salons in pre-revolution Paris. She was well educated and well connected, with a circle of friends that ran from Luigi Boccherini to Benjamin Franklin. She was also a fine composer. Because of the social norms of the day, however, her role within Parisian culture was restricted, and none of her music was published during her lifetime. Raymond Bisha presents the world premiere recordings of her piano sonatas by Nicolas Horvath.

Jun 18, 2021 • 20:01

Dancing elegance, melodic flow. Overtures by Daniel-François-Esprit Auber.

Dancing elegance, melodic flow. Overtures by Daniel-François-Esprit Auber.

Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (1782-1871) was one of the most famous composers of the 19th century. Working with his lifelong collaborator, the renowned dramatist and librettist Eugéne Scribe, he gave definitive form to the uniquely French genres of grand historical opera (La Muette de Portici) and opéra-comique (Fra Diavolo). His overtures were famous all over the world, as much for their engaging titles (The Bronze Horse, The Black Domino, The Crown Diamonds) as for their dancing elegance and f

May 28, 2021 • 20:01

Introducing guitarist Mabel Millán. From lyrical beauty to dramatic virtuosity.

Introducing guitarist Mabel Millán. From lyrical beauty to dramatic virtuosity.

Raymond Bisha introduces Spanish guitarist Mabel Millán in her debut album for Naxos. A fast-rising star in the guitar world, she has already appeared at international festivals and prestigious Spanish venues, and gained numerous awards at international competitions. Her combination of nuanced musicality and technical ease illuminate her programme, from the Andalusian rhythms and atmosphere of Turina and Malats and the Romantic expressiveness and national colours of Ponce and Mertz, to the lyric

May 14, 2021 • 20:01

Music networking on the Inca Trails.

Music networking on the Inca Trails.

In this podcast, Raymond Bisha takes us on a journey across South America, making musical stops in the countries of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina and Colombia. The Inca Trails that connected these lands and their people produced a sharing of ideas and cultures: ancient traditions of indigenous sounds and rhythms fused with cultural influences of European colonisers. The composers of the works on this new album — a number of which are receiving their first commercial recording — were a

Apr 23, 2021 • 20:01

Archivo de Guatemala. Where indigenous styles meet courtly life.

Archivo de Guatemala. Where indigenous styles meet courtly life.

Raymond Bisha’s latest podcast finds him in conversation with world-renowned guitarist and lutenist Richard Savino who introduces his debut recording for Naxos that also features his renowned ensemble El Mundo. The focus of the album is a programme compiled from the remarkably fine music held in the archive of Guatemala City Cathedral, works that reflect the essence of Spanish colonies in Central and South America as wellsprings of cultural activity throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. While

Apr 9, 2021 • 27:39

Colour-contrast-surprise. The symphonies of John Abraham Fisher (1744-1806)

Colour-contrast-surprise. The symphonies of John Abraham Fisher (1744-1806)

Described as having ‘natural genius’, John Abraham Fisher was a significant figure in London during the second half of the 18th century. A virtuoso violinist, he also wrote admired stage works for the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden. His orchestral works are largely forgotten today, but his symphonies display a surprising awareness of contemporary continental trends in their use of dynamic variations, revealing the influence of the Mannheim School. Raymond Bisha introduces a selection of his sympho

Mar 26, 2021 • 20:01

Colour-contrast-surprise. The symphonies of John Abraham Fisher (1744-1806)

Colour-contrast-surprise. The symphonies of John Abraham Fisher (1744-1806)

Described as having ‘natural genius’, John Abraham Fisher was a significant figure in London during the second half of the 18th century. A virtuoso violinist, he also wrote admired stage works for the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden. His orchestral works are largely forgotten today, but his symphonies display a surprising awareness of contemporary continental trends in their use of dynamic variations, revealing the influence of the Mannheim School. Raymond Bisha introduces a selection of his sympho

Mar 26, 2021 • 20:01

Piano music by Aram Il’yich Khachaturian (1903-1978), ‘mouthpiece of the entire Soviet Orient’.

Piano music by Aram Il’yich Khachaturian (1903-1978), ‘mouthpiece of the entire Soviet Orient’.

Aram Il’yich Khachaturian once described how he “grew up in an atmosphere rich in folk music, popular festivals, rites joyous and sad, events in the lives of people always accompanied by music… deeply engraved in my memory, that determined my musical thinking.” He remains the most renowned of 20th-century Armenian composers, whose unmistakable style came with an urge to invent new forms that reconciled Western practice with Eastern idiom. Raymond Bisha introduces a new album of his piano works p

Mar 12, 2021 • 20:01

Villa-Lobos and the art of choral transcription.

Villa-Lobos and the art of choral transcription.

Raymond Bisha introduces a new album of choral transcriptions by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) that forms part of Naxos’ Music of Brazil series. The programme represents part of Villa-Lobos’ efforts to create a body of music education resources, following his invitation in 1932 to set up an ambitious programme in the public school system in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The result was an amazing body of music for the benefit of both students and teachers, with choral music play

Feb 26, 2021 • 20:01

Orchestral works by Žibouklé Martinaityté – a textural magician.

Orchestral works by Žibouklé Martinaityté – a textural magician.

Raymond Bisha introduces a new album of orchestral works by Žibouklé Martinaityté (b. 1973). Born in Lithuania and now based in New York City, she was awarded both a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Lithuanian Government Award in 2020. The four works on the programme were written between 2013 and 2019 and employ a fascinating use of orchestral colour, leading New York’s classical music radio station WQXR to describe her as “a textural magician.”

Feb 12, 2021 • 20:03

Hit and bliss. Dame Evelyn Glennie performs mallet percussion concertos.

Hit and bliss. Dame Evelyn Glennie performs mallet percussion concertos.

Raymond Bisha introduces a new album of 21st-century mallet percussion concertos performed by virtuoso percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie and the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong under Jean Thorel. The works by Alexis Alrich and Karl Jenkins put the marimba in the solo spotlight, while Ned Rorem’s 7-movement Mallet Concerto — written in 2003 and presented here in its world premiere recording — features Dame Evelyn in dynamic displays on both marimba, vibraphone, glockenspiel and xylophone.

Jan 22, 2021 • 20:01

The art and craft of John Adams.

The art and craft of John Adams.

Raymond Bisha introduces a programme of orchestral music by the Pulitzer and Erasmus Prize-winning American composer John Adams. The two works on this new album from the Nashville Symphony under Giancarlo Guerrero demonstrate why Adams is one of today’s most widely performed and recorded composers. Adams describes My Father Knew Charles Ives as “an homage and encomium to a composer whose influence on me has been huge”, while Harmonielehre expands his trademark minimalist style, retaining its ene

Jan 8, 2021 • 20:01

Bruckner’s Latin motets. Devotions of distinction.

Bruckner’s Latin motets. Devotions of distinction.

Choral music formed an important part of Anton Bruckner’s output throughout his career, even though the genre was widely underappreciated by a public more inclined to large-scale symphonic and operatic works. Although the big-boned structure of such music also made its presence felt in Church masses and oratorios, there was always a need for smaller sacred choral works, not only because of listeners’ preferences but also because of pragmatic performance considerations. Raymond Bisha introduces a

Jan 1, 2021 • 20:01

Vítězslav Novák. Orchestral Works Vol. 1

Vítězslav Novák. Orchestral Works Vol. 1

Czech composer Vitězslav Novák (1870-1949), who was one of Dvořák’s composition students, rose to prominence with a series of increasingly ambitious orchestral works that fused elements of folk music, impressionism and late-Romanticism. Raymond Bisha introduces Vol. 1 of his orchestral works performed by Marek Štilec and the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra. The programme pairs the heady intensity of Toman and the Wood Nymph with the subtle folk song undertones of the South Bohemian Suite.

Dec 25, 2020 • 20:02

Bernard Herrmann in the round

Bernard Herrmann in the round

Raymond Bisha discusses a release of music by the American composer Bernard Herrmann with Joseph Horowitz, co-founder of PostClassical Ensemble, a group dedicated to stepping across normal repertoire boundaries. The album’s programme showcases Herrmann’s talents not only as a composer of film scores, but also as a consummate provider of music for the forgotten genre of radio plays, and a composer of consequence in his legacy of concert works.

Dec 11, 2020 • 19:57

Simply unmissable

Simply unmissable

Once in a while you hear such incredibly beautiful music for the first time that you just can’t understand why it has remained under wraps for so long. The Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 by the Italian-born composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco are a case in point. Originally championed in the 1920s and 30s by no less an artist that Jascha Heifetz, they now have a 21st-century advocate in the brilliant Beijing-born violinist Tianwa Yang. Raymond Bisha introduces us to these hugely attractive concert

Nov 23, 2020 • 19:17

From elegance to wild abandon. Corelli & Co.

From elegance to wild abandon. Corelli & Co.

Raymond Bisha introduces a new release of Baroque violin sonatas by 18th-century Italian violinists trained in the tradition of Arcangelo Corelli, spreading his elegant, expressive and virtuosic style on their travels throughout Europe. Giovanni Mossi’s sonatas retain Corelli’s dramatic contrasts and structure, while Giovanni Stefano Carbonelli also incorporates features found in music by Vivaldi. Both composers’ works combine formal elegance with wild abandon, lyrical charm and virtuosity along

Oct 23, 2020 • 20:03

New medium. Same magic. Bach’s cello suites transcribed.

New medium. Same magic. Bach’s cello suites transcribed.

Raymond Bisha introduces recordings of J. S. Bach’s cello suites, transcribed for guitar and performed by Jeffrey McFadden. Bach himself made arrangements of other composers’ works, as well his own, recycling them for new uses, a practice that continues with these two new volumes. Pablo Casals (1876–1973), the eminent cellist who was pivotal in resurrecting the practice of giving complete performances of the original suites, summed up their importance: “They are the very essence of Bach; and Bac

Oct 9, 2020 • 20:03

Found in Translation.

Found in Translation.

Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds (b. 1977) has demonstrated his versatility by writing in a variety of genres, from orchestral and film scores to electronic and multi-media works. Choral music, however, features in much of what he does. The richness of texture and variety of colour in his music for choirs reflects his practice of dividing the vocal parts into as many as sixteen parts. This complexity in construction is counterbalanced, however, by the simplicity and beauty of the music’s express

Oct 2, 2020 • 20:03

Music by Hans Rott (1858-1884). A legacy of powerful potential.

Music by Hans Rott (1858-1884). A legacy of powerful potential.

No lover of classical music from the Romantic period should miss an opportunity to become acquainted with the music of Hans Rott, a little known composer (even in his day), but one who made a significant impact before his untimely death at the age of 25. Improbable though it may seem, it’s likely that not a single one of Rott’s works was performed in public during his lifetime. When Gustav Mahler is on record as having said that “It simply cannot be gauged what music has lost with him”, people c

Sep 25, 2020 • 20:01

Peter Breiner’s Slovak Dances, Naughty and Sad

Peter Breiner’s Slovak Dances, Naughty and Sad

Peter Breiner is one of the world’s most performed composer/arranger/conductors with record sales in the millions and over 200 CD titles to his credit. Slovak Dances, Naughty and Sad, the latest of his many releases for Naxos, consolidates his outstanding reputation as an arranger. It features Breiner’s typically colourful orchestrations that include a wide variety of tuned and untuned percussion. It’s also an extraordinary mix of world music, improvisation and symphonic composition, enhanced by

Sep 11, 2020 • 20:01

Music for wind band by Kenneth Fuchs.

Music for wind band by Kenneth Fuchs.

Considering the size of the wind band industry in the United States, the occasion of an established classical composer writing for the medium comes as a rare but highly welcome treat. Raymond Bisha introduces a programme of wind band music by Kenneth Fuchs, during which the American composer describes the progression of his experience and opportunities, from high school through college, and acknowledges the people who inspired and guided him along the way.

Sep 4, 2020 • 20:33

Kastalsky’s Requiem for Fallen Brothers receives a poignant Resurrection.

Kastalsky’s Requiem for Fallen Brothers receives a poignant Resurrection.

Alexander Kastalsky’s Requiem for Fallen Brothers was written between 1914 and 1917, during World War I, a conflict that killed more than 20 million people and injured even more. Kastalsky achieved poignancy in his memorial by using melodies and texts from many of the countries involved in the war — Russia, Serbia, Italy, England, Japan, India and even the United States. By combining all these sources he created a beautiful, moving and truly global Requiem for those who lost their lives, and a p

Aug 28, 2020 • 20:01

Ludwig van Beethoven. Works for chamber ensemble.

Ludwig van Beethoven. Works for chamber ensemble.

Raymond Bisha introduces a selection from the rich and varied catalogue of chamber works that Beethoven wrote throughout his life. It includes the ‘Archduke’ piano trio, examples of his violin and cello sonatas, and extracts from both his Octet for Wind Instruments and the Septet in E flat major, Op. 20, a work so popular that Beethoven himself arranged it in a trio version, no doubt to make it more accessible to a wider public eager to perform it. Beethoven wrote 16 string quartets over a perio

Jul 24, 2020 • 20:01

Orchestral works by Christopher Rouse. Intensely active. Wonderfully lyrical.

Orchestral works by Christopher Rouse. Intensely active. Wonderfully lyrical.

Raymond Bisha introduces a new release of orchestral music by American composer Christopher Rouse, who died in September 2019. It’s a fitting tribute to one who led the revitalisation of contemporary orchestral music with works that ranged from intensely active to wonderfully lyrical. As both a Pullitzer Prize and GRAMMY Award winner, his personal mission “to be of use: to sing you a song, to paint you a picture, to tell you a story” has resonated with audiences all over the world. The engaging

Jul 10, 2020 • 20:03

 Johan Smith performs his dream guitar recital program

Johan Smith performs his dream guitar recital program

Raymond Bisha introduces Johan Smith, winner of the 2019 Guitar Foundation of America Competition, in a recital that the Swiss artist has described as his dream programme: “It’s an exceptional album in many ways: the music is engaging, the playing is outstanding, and the recorded sound is first-rate. And the artist himself is uniquely intriguing, having some of his roots in the heavy metal band Stortregn, both as a founder member and its graphic designer.”

Jun 12, 2020 • 20:01

Ludwig van Beethoven. Works for solo piano.

Ludwig van Beethoven. Works for solo piano.

Raymond Bisha introduces a programme of Beethoven’s music for solo piano that contains some of his most visionary, groundbreaking and memorable works. Drawn from the Complete Edition boxed set (Naxos 8.500250), the selected movements from Beethoven’s best-known piano sonatas illustrate his dynamism as a composer/pianist, his gift for flowing melodic beauty, and the range of his emotional variance. The smaller pieces highlight the composer’s command of variation form and, in the case of the Rondo

May 29, 2020 • 20:01

Unpacking the unusual, unfamiliar and unknown. French piano rarities.

Unpacking the unusual, unfamiliar and unknown. French piano rarities.

Raymond Bisha introduces a new release from Dutch pianist Ralph van Raat of French piano rarities by Boulez, Debussy, Messiaen and Ravel: “I heard Ralph play this same repertoire at a concert in Carnegie Hall a couple of years ago, and it was amazing. Ralph says his aim is to convince people of the ‘immense beauty and diversity of contemporary music’. Both on this album, and when you hear him live, the music simply springs to life.” The programme includes Boulez’s hitherto unknown student work,

May 22, 2020 • 20:01

A 20th-century troubadour. A 21st-century tribute.

A 20th-century troubadour. A 21st-century tribute.

Raymond Bisha introduces Michael Daugherty’s This Land Sings: Inspired by the Life and Times of Woody Guthrie. The work celebrates The Dust Bowl Troubadour’s folk songs of love, wandering and social justice through Daugherty’s own original songs and instrumental music. These were composed after he drove for several weeks along the desolate, barren and dusty back roads of Texas and Oklahoma, where Woody once roamed, while listening to everything that he recorded during his brief lifetime. Woody G

May 8, 2020 • 24:08

Ludwig van Beethoven. Music from his late compositional period.

Ludwig van Beethoven. Music from his late compositional period.

Raymond Bisha introduces the latest release in the Naxos Beethoven anniversary digital album series. Ranging from a solo piano to the huge resources required for his final symphony, the programme comprises ten works that define the last ten years of Beethoven’s creative life, exemplifying his ever more technically challenging pieces, their novel structures, and the frequent incorporation of contrapuntal music that had been a hallmark of giants of the Baroque period.

Apr 24, 2020 • 26:45

The resurrection of a requiem. Randall Thompson’s choral masterpiece.

The resurrection of a requiem. Randall Thompson’s choral masterpiece.

Join Raymond Bisha in a podcast of artistic discovery as he unveils yet another American classic—Randall Thompson’s Requiem. Reckoned by many to be his most ambitious work, the composer himself considered it to be his masterpiece, yet it has languished for decades on the periphery of the choral performance repertoire. This world premiere recording from Naxos serves notice that the work’s rehabilitation is overdue, with an outstanding performance by the Philadelphia Singers directed by David Haye

Apr 10, 2020 • 20:01

Ludwig van Beethoven–the concertos

Ludwig van Beethoven–the concertos

Beethoven’s concertos enjoy the spotlight in this podcast from Raymond Bisha. It serves as a companion resource to the latest digital album in our series marking the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth. The technical and musical demands Beethoven makes of his concerto soloists shine centre-stage in this compilation of wonderful performances of movements from his five piano concertos, his violin concerto, and the triple concerto for violin, cello and piano. The line-up of soloists is world-

Mar 27, 2020 • 22:11

Richard Danielpour’s oratorio The Passion of Yeshua.

Richard Danielpour’s oratorio The Passion of Yeshua.

Raymond Bisha introduces Richard Danielpour’s oratorio The Passion of Yeshua, a 105-minute work for large chorus, six soloists and orchestra that takes the listener back to Jesus’ final day on earth, removing as much as possible the accretions of history since that moment in an attempt to provide a fuller understanding of the connection of Jesus of Nazareth to the Jewish tradition. It does this through both the Hebrew and English languages. Danielpour’s gift for vocal writing and astonishing orc

Mar 13, 2020 • 22:01

Ludwig van Beethoven. Works from his middle years.

Ludwig van Beethoven. Works from his middle years.

Raymond Bisha presents an overview of works written by Beethoven during his middle years period. It’s a companion resource to the latest release in Naxos’ monthly digital album series featuring the music of Beethoven in this 250th anniversary year of his birth. February’s compilation album (9.30206) presents a programme of works written between 1802 and 1815, those dates marked respectively by performances of his ‘Kreutzer’ Violin Sonata and his Fourth Cello Sonata by major Naxos artists violini

Feb 28, 2020 • 27:50

Black History Month. Some musical notes.

Black History Month. Some musical notes.

The guest host of this podcast is Ashley Jackson. She is an accomplished musician, who has studied the music of both Margaret Bonds and Florence Price, who composed and worked during the civil rights movement in the United States. In this podcast, Dr. Jackson gives us both an historical and a personal perspective on how the struggles of these composers, and those of her grandmother, helped make possible what she does today.

Feb 14, 2020 • 22:23

The symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven.

The symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven.

Raymond Bisha presents an overview of Beethoven’s nine symphonies as a companion resource to the first of Naxos’ monthly digital albums presenting the music of Beethoven in this 250th anniversary year of his birth. January’s compilation album (9.30209) spotlights the symphonic journey and stylistic progression from Beethoven’s Second Symphony to his Ninth Symphony, ‘Choral’. The majority of the works were written during Beethoven’s 40s and are interspersed with engaging examples of his other acc

Feb 13, 2020 • 32:27

Nino Rota’s works for solo piano. A magical melting pot.

Nino Rota’s works for solo piano. A magical melting pot.

Raymond Bisha introduces this new release from the Grand Piano label. It’s the opening volume in what is to be the first complete series of recordings of Nino Rota’s works for solo piano, performed by Eleanor Hodgkinson. Nino Rota embraced neo-Classical, neo-Romantic and even neo-Baroque affiliations. His music prized melodic directness and communicative generosity, so it’s not surprising that he should be best-known for his 150-plus film scores, pre-eminently the music for The Godfather. The pr

Jan 17, 2020 • 20:01

Write It - Reflections on Sanctuary Road

Write It - Reflections on Sanctuary Road

On January 10, 2020, Naxos releases Sanctuary Road, the world-premiere recording of composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell’s incisive, deeply moving tribute to the men and women of the Underground Railroad and to one heroic man in particular, conductor William Still, a chronicler of the inspiring stories of its “passengers” and their valiant flights north from slavery to freedom. Naxos Classical Spotlight presents  a 20-minute audio documentary featuring interviews with the oratorio’

Jan 9, 2020 • 20:33

A merry, musical Christmas buffet.

A merry, musical Christmas buffet.

You’ll find it hard to resist joining in with the magical performances of popular Christmas repertoire on the latest release from the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir and Chamber Orchestra. From eternal classics to cracking new carols, this is an irresistible seasonal spread presented in a tempting tasting menu by your host Raymond Bisha.

Dec 20, 2019 • 20:02

Cherished Christmas Classics

Cherished Christmas Classics

Raymond Bisha summons the seasonal spirit with a comprehensive 5-CD collection of music for Christmas on the Capriccio label. He makes his selection from the release’s one hundred classical Christmas titles, many featuring world-renowned choirs and orchestras from musical centres located throughout Europe, and notably Germany, including Dresden, Cologne, Vienna, Leipzig, Berlin and Regensburg. From Christmas oratorios by J. S. Bach and Camille Saint-Saëns to traditional favourites and all stops

Dec 6, 2019 • 20:01

The Music of Brazil Vol. 3. Villa-Lobos in full color.

The Music of Brazil Vol. 3. Villa-Lobos in full color.

This latest release in Naxos’ ongoing series The Music of Brazil features chamber works and concertos by Heitor Villa-Lobos, one of Brazil’s best known and most prolific composers. He wrote more than two thousand pieces and was a major figure in the development of classical music in Brazil. Raymond Bisha introduces a colorful program that includes two works for chamber ensemble, in which new and daring sonic combinations enhance the composer’s seductive lyricism. Two larger-scale works provide m

Nov 15, 2019 • 20:01

Beethoven’s Harmoniemusik

Beethoven’s Harmoniemusik

Beethoven certainly has the wind in his sails with this tremendous release of music for wind ensemble, a genre that formed a regular part of entertainment in the composer’s day. Included on the recording, for example, is his Sextet for winds in E flat major that was well received by a critic at the time for its “splendid melodies, leisurely harmonic flow, and wealth of new and surprising ideas.” The works on the programme have never before been recorded by such a distinguished line-up of players

Nov 1, 2019 • 20:01

Magna Sequentia II. A quick step through J. S. Bach’s keyboard dances.

Magna Sequentia II. A quick step through J. S. Bach’s keyboard dances.

If playlists had been available in the 18th century, Magna Sequentia IIwould undoubtedly have enjoyed an enthusiastic reception, with its varied track list embodying a theme of music by association. In her second of three Magna Sequentias, pianist Sonia Rubinsky leads with J. S. Bach’s Overture in the French Style and follows by building around it a grand suite of Bach’s dances for keyboard. The programme of 17 movements illustrates the different styles and expressive moods of Bach’s dance writi

Oct 18, 2019 • 20:01

Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2

Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2

The internationally respected artists on this release are well known to Naxos followers: pianist Boris Giltburg (whose recordings of Beethoven, Liszt, Schumann and Rachmaninov have been universally acclaimed); and conductor Vasily Petrenko (whose edition of the complete Shostakovich symphonies has been recognised as a historic recording milestone). They come together now in Beethoven’s first two piano concertos with their exuberant energy and abundance of lyric and virtuosic qualities. Raymond B

Oct 4, 2019 • 20:01

From movie house to concert hall. Music by Hanns Eisler.

From movie house to concert hall. Music by Hanns Eisler.

Raymond Bisha introduces a new recording of music by Austrian composer Hanns Eisler who, in his late years, concentrated increasingly on adapting his film scores for the concert hall. He also began his Leipzig Symphony during this period, but it was left unfinished at the time of his death. Thilo Medek, a young composer at the time, stepped in to complete the symphony with a number of extracts from Eisler’s film scores. The compilation of Funeral Pieces of Motion Picture Scores was realised by T

Sep 20, 2019 • 20:01

Brazilian Violin Sonatas

Brazilian Violin Sonatas

Leopoldo Miguez and Glauco Velásquez were both leading figures in Brazil’s classical music scene at the turn of the 20th century, bringing back influences from Europe to a homeland in a state of enormous social upheaval. The lyrical character of Miguez’s ambitious Violin Sonata, Op. 14 is developed in a far more sophisticated and contrapuntal manner to anything previously experienced in Brazil, while Velásquez’s two sonatas are even richer in nuance. The tropical Romanticism of these three works

Sep 4, 2019 • 20:01

Beethoven’s piano solo version of his ballet The Creatures of Prometheus.

Beethoven’s piano solo version of his ballet The Creatures of Prometheus.

The Creatures of Prometheus was Beethoven’s only full-length ballet score. The work premiered in March 1801 and the composer’s own version for piano solo was published later the same year. The work relates the story from Greek mythology of Prometheus, a lofty spirit who endeavoured to lift human beings from a state of ignorance into ways of right conduct; correspondingly, two statues in the ballet are brought to life through a state of harmony. Raymond Bisha presents pianist Warren Lee’s new rel

Aug 23, 2019 • 20:01

Migration through a musical prism.

Migration through a musical prism.

Raymond Bisha and composer Derek Bermel discuss the latter’s Migrations, a 3-work programme that observes the universal phenomenon of human transit through an eclectic mix of styles: Migration series depicts the movement of African Americans from the south to the north of the United States in search of a better life during the first half of the 20th century; Mar de Setembrounites the composer’s experiences of Brazil and Portugal through settings of melancholy poems reflecting the countries’ sea

Aug 9, 2019 • 26:00

Marching in true step: Sousa sounds through expert ears.

Marching in true step: Sousa sounds through expert ears.

As Naxos reaches Vol. 19 of its 23-volume edition of the music of John Philip Sousa, Raymond Bisha talks with the musical director of the project, Keith Brion, a world authority on Sousa’s music, who conducts throughout.

Jul 22, 2019 • 30:01

Myaskovsky’s 27 symphonies: An introduction.

Myaskovsky’s 27 symphonies: An introduction.

For those unfamiliar with the name of Nikolay Yakovlevich Myaskovsky, Raymond Bisha’s podcast presents the composer’s calling card as the ‘father of the Soviet symphony’. Having lived from 1881 to 1950, Myaskovsky spent all his life under the restrictive influence of Joseph Stalin, yet managed to produce 27 symphonies that preserved his individual voice. This release contrasts the Symphony No. 1 (1908), that earned Myaskovsky the Glazunov Scholarship at the St Petersburg Conservatory, with his S

Jul 12, 2019 • 20:01

The notation is not the music.

The notation is not the music.

Raymond Bisha talks with Barthold Kuijken about the historical perspective and informed interpretation behind a new release of Baroque flute concertos that feature Kuijken as soloist, accompanied by the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra.

Jul 5, 2019 • 30:01

A foundation for finesse.

A foundation for finesse.

Raphaël Feuillâtre, winner of the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America’s 2018 International Concert Artist Competition, shares his success with the public through this attractively varied programme; a recording contract with Naxos forms part of the winner’s bundle of opportunities each year. Raymond Bisha presents his selection of intimate compositions.

Jun 21, 2019 • 20:01

Kabalevsky. A Soviet sparkler.

Kabalevsky. A Soviet sparkler.

There are scintillating sounds aplenty in our new release of orchestral works by Dmitry Kabalevsky (1904-1987). Raymond Bisha introduces a programme of two overtures and a pair of symphonies by the Russian composer who endeavoured to position himself as both a progressive and a conservative during his country’s difficult Soviet era. The performances are by familiar Naxos artists: the Malmö Symphony Orchestra and conductor Darrell Ang already have some 40 highly successful recordings for the labe

Jun 7, 2019 • 20:01

A fervent expression of hope. Jonathan Leshnoff’s Fourth Symphony.

A fervent expression of hope. Jonathan Leshnoff’s Fourth Symphony.

Complementing the artist line-up of Giancarlo Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony on this recording are the Violins of Hope, a poignant collection of restored instruments that survived the Holocaust. Jonathan Leshnoff wrote his Symphony No. 4 with this unique set of orchestral voices in mind; Raymond Bisha introduces the performance and the background to its conception. Leshnoff is one of America’s most frequently performed living composers and the programme on this new recording also includes S

May 17, 2019 • 20:00

The musical alchemy of Manuel de Falla

The musical alchemy of Manuel de Falla

Manuel de Falla is renowned as the greatest Spanish composer of the early 20th century, whose genius rested in part on his ability to meld diverse stylistic, folk or literary influences into distinctive new musical languages, forging masterworks that would ultimately become cultural emblems of his homeland. Raymond Bisha presents a new release of a 2-work programme that embodies this principle of synthesis: Falla’s heartfelt representation of Gitano or Roma (the preferred term for people commonl

May 3, 2019 • 19:59

From soundtrack to centre stage. Björk’s Vespertine.

From soundtrack to centre stage. Björk’s Vespertine.

The Icelandic singer/composer Björk released her concept album Vespertinein 2001. Raymond Bisha introduces a new audio recording of an opera that was born of that release. The inherent theatricality of Björk’s original was the inspiration for an expert creative team to effect the transition from studio to stage, from sound tracks to symphonic support. Scored for four soloists and two choirs, and with all the original electronic sounds re-imagined on an array of acoustic instruments, Vespertine t

Apr 26, 2019 • 19:56

Tangos for Yvar

Tangos for Yvar

Yvar-Emilian Mikhashoff (1941–1993) was an American pianist who collaborated with the publishing house Quadrivium Press to commission composers from all over the world to write piano pieces based on the tango dance form. An intriguing selection of those 100-plus commissions are performed on this Grand Piano release by Hanna Shybayeva, the works’ eclecticism reflected in some dangerous cheese, Japanese fathers flying kites with their sons, and an appearance by Janet Jackson. Raymond Bisha takes t

Apr 12, 2019 • 20:01

Berlioz and the Shakespeare effect.

Berlioz and the Shakespeare effect.

Berlioz left us a number of Shakespeare-inspired works, chief among them his masterpiece Roméo et Juliette. The work took a decade to complete and is cast in an innovative form, a kind of ‘super-symphony’ that incorporates elements of symphony, opera and oratorio. Raymond Bisha introduces this new recording by Leonard Slatkin and the Orchestre National de Lyon, an impeccable pairing for Berlioz’s music as demonstrated by their two previous, highly acclaimed recordings of his works. Also on the p

Apr 5, 2019 • 20:00

Copland's Grohg and other strange things...

Copland's Grohg and other strange things...

Aaron Copland did as much as anyone in establishing American concert music on the world stage, and his ballet scores proved to be among his most important and influential works. Grohg is the most ambitious example of his Parisian years, a precociously brilliant one-act ballet scored for full orchestra, inspired by the silent film expressionist film Nosferatu. The first example of Copland’s new ‘Americanized’ music of the 1930s was Billy the Kid, based on the life of the 19th-century outlaw and h

Mar 15, 2019 • 20:01

Respighi’s Roman Trilogy: A musical prism. Featuring JoAnn Falletta

Respighi’s Roman Trilogy: A musical prism. Featuring JoAnn Falletta

Conductor JoAnn Falletta talks with radio host Peter Hall about her recording of Respighi’s Roman Trilogy, her 24th release for Naxos with the Buffalo Philharmonic. Respighi’s tone poems employ a large symphony orchestra and use a myriad of effects to take the listener through time, space and musical styles. The resultant portraits of Roman festivals, fountains and pine trees are both brilliant and unprecedented. Colour and imagination are central to the cinematic vibrancy that underpins Respigh

Feb 8, 2019 • 43:14

Alberto Nepomuceno - A herald of Brazilian musical nationalism

Alberto Nepomuceno - A herald of Brazilian musical nationalism

Alberto Nepomuceno was a herald of Brazilian musical nationalism. He was one of the first composers in his country to employ elements of folklore in his compositions, he encouraged younger composers such as VillaLobos, and his music was conducted by Richard Strauss. The Prelude to O Garatuja, an incomplete opera, is one of his best-known works and an example of a truly Brazilian lyric comedy. Série Brasileira is a vivacious suite that employs maxixe rhythms and ends with the feverish batuque dan

Feb 1, 2019 • 20:01

Introducing the music of Florence Beatrice Price.

Introducing the music of Florence Beatrice Price.

Born in 1887, Florence Beatrice Price went on to become one of the first prominent African-American composers. Following a move to Chicago in 1927, her career as a composer took off, not least following the award of several prizes intended to support black composers. This success brought her to the attention of the director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, who agreed to give the premiere of her First Symphony in 1933. This represented the first time a major American orchestra had ever performe

Jan 18, 2019 • 20:00

Liszt’s Transcendental Studies.

Liszt’s Transcendental Studies.

Franz Liszt was one of music history’s first superstars, whose stunning technique and charismatic stage presence facilitated his development of the solo piano concert format. This release puts his 12 Transcendental Studies centre stage, where they share the spotlight with award-winning pianist Boris Giltburg, an emerging superstar in his own right whose pianism clothes Liszt’s music with impeccable artistry. While many series of studies succeed in developing technique, they are rarely very excit

Jan 4, 2019 • 20:00

Romuald Twardowski. A masterly blend of tradition and modernity.

Romuald Twardowski. A masterly blend of tradition and modernity.

Romuald Twardowski was born in Lithuania in 1930. He pursued post-graduate studies in Poland before becoming a student of Nadia Boulanger in Paris. The works on this new release, for violin and orchestra, cover a fascinating spectrum of styles. From his Spanish Fantasy, to music written for young performers (not that you’d guess it from the impact it makes), the ‘new simplicity’ (Twardowski’s words) of his Violin Concerto, Niggunim with its roots in Poland’s ancient Jewish music, and Capriccio i

Dec 21, 2018 • 20:01

Four centuries of music for guitar ensemble.

Four centuries of music for guitar ensemble.

Guitar Gala Night comprises performances by the Amadeus Guitar Duo and the Duo Gruber & Maklar in a programme that’s a veritable variety show, combining original compositions with arrangements for one, two and four guitars. Ranging from the abstract to the descriptive, the earliest piece (1612) represents dance music by Michael Praetorius, while the most recent (1998) is a portrait of performer Dale Kavanagh’s own daughter, Melissa. Music by Boccherini, Borodin, de Falla and Giuliani make up the

Dec 7, 2018 • 19:58

Rossini’s Sins of Old Age.

Rossini’s Sins of Old Age.

Raymond Bisha introduces us to the flip-side of Rossini the opera composer, who spent the last 40 years of his life in operatic retirement, instead composing some 200 vocal and solo piano pieces (his Sins of Old Age) whilst also indulging in the pleasantries of life as a gourmand and amateur chef. The final release in Naxos’ 11-volume edition of the Sins of Old Age again presents the mastermind of the project, pianist Alessandro Marangoni. He features solo on the lion’s share of the series’ reco

Nov 30, 2018 • 20:01

Chamber music by Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895–1968). World premiere recordings.

Chamber music by Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895–1968). World premiere recordings.

The three newly published pieces on this recording were written in the decade following Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s flight to the United States in 1939 in the wake of the proclamation of anti-Jewish laws by Italy’s fascist regime. The programme includes his Concerto No. 3 for Violin and Piano (1939–40), written for no less a figure than Jascha Heifetz; the String Trio for violin, viola and cello (1950); and the Sonata for Violin and Cello (1950) with its “diabolically difficult” finale, consider

Nov 16, 2018 • 20:00

Relishing the realism. Orchestral music by Alfred Bruneau.

Relishing the realism. Orchestral music by Alfred Bruneau.

Raymond Bisha introduces a programme of orchestral music by Alfred Bruneau (1857-1934), a composition student of Jules Massenet and one of the most important yet overlooked figures in turn-of-the-century French musical life. Bruneau’s desire for theatrical realism in his operas mirrored the literary aspirations of his friend Émile Zola. Conductor Darrell Ang and the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra perform music drawn from two of Bruneau’s operas, Messidor and Naïs Micoulin, and his ‘drame lyrique’

Oct 26, 2018 • 20:00

3 orchestral works by Franz Schreker (1878-1934)

3 orchestral works by Franz Schreker (1878-1934)

The last decade in the life of Austrian composer Frank Schreker (1878-1934) proved a tragic conclusion to his hitherto highly successful career as a teacher, conductor, administrator and composer. In the mid-1920s critics were bearing down on him for failing to step in line with developing compositional styles; by the 1930s his work had come to the attention of the Nazis who arranged his removal from teaching duties at the Berlin Hochschule; two strokes followed, with death coming shortly after.

Oct 5, 2018 • 20:00

Discover Tanya Ekanayaka's Piano Prisms

Discover Tanya Ekanayaka's Piano Prisms

Host Raymond Bisha presents a exclusive first look at Sri Lankan-British pianist Tanya Ekanayaka's Piano Prisms, featuring music influenced by classical traditions, as well as music from her Sri Lankan homeland. The resulting music and performances are full of imagination and beauty.

Sep 14, 2018 • 20:01

The Lully effect. Going to the heart of the French Baroque orchestra.

The Lully effect. Going to the heart of the French Baroque orchestra.

Raymond Bisha introduces a new release of music by three Baroque titans: Lully, Telemann and Rameau. The latter two were hugely influenced by the music of Lully, who was powerfully positioned as the chief musician of King Louis XIV of France. Lully left a rich legacy of dramatic music scored for orchestra. It left an indelible impression on all who heard it, with its masterly balance of grandeur and finesse. Yet, unlike the manuscripts of solo and chamber works of the time, Lully left us little

Sep 7, 2018 • 20:00

Contemporary Danish works for accordion.

Contemporary Danish works for accordion.

Invented during the early part of the nineteenth century, the accordion’s popularity soon soared and has been sustained ever since by its adaptability to many styles of music, from folk to heavy metal. Virtuoso performer Hanzhi Wang presents an intriguing compilation of classical works from Denmark, where numerous composers have followed the example of Per Nørgård in creating some of their most personal expressions for this instrument. Raymond Bisha takes us through a unique programme that explo

Aug 17, 2018 • 20:01

A quartet of world premieres. Falletta conducts Fuchs.

A quartet of world premieres. Falletta conducts Fuchs.

Kenneth Fuchs celebrates a 15-year association with conductor JoAnn Falletta and the London Symphony Orchestra upon the release of these world premiere recordings of three concertos (respectively for piano, electric guitar and alto saxophone) and a song cycle for countertenor and orchestra. Variety is the hallmark of the works’ scoring, while an easy-sounding mastery is the hallmark of Fuchs, one of the finest composers in the United States today. Raymond Bisha samples this brilliant buffet of a

Aug 3, 2018 • 20:01

Orchestral music by Eugene Zádor (1894-1977)

Orchestral music by Eugene Zádor (1894-1977)

Born in Hungary in 1894, Eugene Zádor moved to the USA in 1939 and remained there as a naturalised citizen until his death. He left a sizeable catalogue of works that includes more than 120 film scores, 13 operas and a wide variety of concert music. Zádor has been described as a classicist, a romantic and a modernist all rolled into one, demonstrated by Naxos’ ongoing series of his orchestral music. This now reaches Volume 5 with a programme of works that were all written later in the composer’s

Jul 20, 2018 • 20:01

Lindpaintner’s 4-act opera Il vespro siciliano (1843) enjoys a revival.

Lindpaintner’s 4-act opera Il vespro siciliano (1843) enjoys a revival.

Peter Joseph von Lindpaintner (1791–1856) was a much admired figure in his day, referred to glowingly by such distinguished musicians as Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn, who acknowledged respectively his gift for composing operas and his skill as an orchestral conductor. Like the 21 operas he wrote, Lindpaintner himself has since been virtually forgotten, which makes this month’s release of the world premiere recording of one of his operas particularly notable. Raymond Bisha introduces us

Jul 6, 2018 • 20:01

Three American Classics

Three American Classics

Raymond Bisha introduces a new release of three American orchestral triumphs in stunning performances by the youthful ranks of the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic under GRAMMY Award-winning conductor David Alan Miller. Carl Ruggles’ Sun-treader, Steven Stucky’s Concerto for Orchestra No. 2 and John Harbison’s Symphony No. 4 constitute the programme’s towering trio of symphonic masterpieces.

Jun 15, 2018 • 20:01

Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Cello Concerto. A radiant rediscovery.

Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Cello Concerto. A radiant rediscovery.

The composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco moved from Italy to the US during the turmoil of the Second World War. That he should have been immediately befriended by such musical giants as violinist Jascha Heifetz and cellist Gregor Piatigorsky speaks reams about the respect the Italian engendered. His Cello Concerto was commissioned by Piatigorsky, who premiered the work in 1935. This recording captures the first ever performance since that occasion. The programme is completed by transcriptions that

Jun 1, 2018 • 20:00

‘Rach 3’. The Mount Everest of piano concertos.

‘Rach 3’. The Mount Everest of piano concertos.

Raymond Bisha helps turn the pages of Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto, following the release of Boris Giltburg’s fine performance of the work with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto. Noted for its length and technical difficulty, ‘Rach 3’ (its popular moniker) is reckoned to have more notes than all of Mozart’s piano concertos put together. Boris Giltburg shows how Rachmaninov’s gift as a story-teller in music reaches a high point in the work, unfolding a

May 18, 2018 • 20:02

Robert Schumann’s works for cello

Robert Schumann’s works for cello

Although storm clouds were starting to gather over Robert Schumann’s mental health in the years 1849–50, it proved a remarkably fertile period for his musical output, not least as reflected in works featuring the cello. The majority of the pieces on this new release were composed during that period, some with the instrumentation as originally conceived, others in arrangements by the soloist and Naxos artist Gabriel Schwabe, who comments: “Each piece develops its own unmistakable character, givin

May 4, 2018 • 20:01

Airs of authority. Concertos for guitar duo.

Airs of authority. Concertos for guitar duo.

The combined gifts of the extraordinary Brasil Guitar Duo and two eminent Latin American composers produce a depth of experience and rare musical beauty in two concertos for guitar duo. Cuban composer Leo Brouwer has written ten concertos for guitar, but The Book of Signs is his first for guitar duo. Paulo Bellinati’s Concerto Caboclo pays specific tribute to the music of São Paulo State in Brazil. The work was commissioned by the São Paolo Symphony Orchestra specifically for the Brasil Guitar D

Apr 20, 2018 • 20:00

A final flourish.

A final flourish.

The new Naxos edition of Saint-Saëns’ works for piano and orchestra reaches its final volume with a recording of the composer’s Piano Concertos Nos. 4 and 5, works described by soloist Romain Descharmes as “brilliant music that opens doors to a new world”. The Fourth Concerto showcases virtuosic music written by one of history’s most amazing keyboard prodigies. The Fifth was written when Saint-Saëns was aged 60 for his own jubilee concert marking the 50th anniversary of his debut appearance in P

Apr 6, 2018 • 20:01

Every step of the play. Prokofiev’s score for the ballet Romeo and Juliet.

Every step of the play. Prokofiev’s score for the ballet Romeo and Juliet.

As was often the case, bringing performances of classical music to fruition in Russia’s Soviet era was more challenging than the actual composition. Responding to a commission from the Bolshoi Ballet in 1935, Prokofiev quickly completed the task of writing a score for Romeo and Juliet, but the first performance had to be postponed owing to dark political moves (many staff at the Bolshoi were removed from their posts; some were shot); the public subsequently had to make do with suites from the s

Mar 18, 2018 • 20:01

3 new concertos. 1 original composer. Michael Daugherty.

3 new concertos. 1 original composer. Michael Daugherty.

Michael Daugherty is one of today’s leading American composers. Previous Naxos recordings of his works have received no fewer than seven GRAMMY® awards. His latest release features three recently completed concertos, respectively for flute, tuba and percussion. The programme boasts a rare line-up of female soloists and a release date that coincides with Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day (March 8). Trail of Tears describes the five-month forced march of the Cherokee in 1838-39

Mar 2, 2018 • 20:00

Burgess meets Bach.

Burgess meets Bach.

Anthony Burgess wrote The Bad-Tempered Electronic Keyboard in 1985 to mark the 300th anniversary of the birth of J. S. Bach. It was also the year he took receipt of a new electronic synthesiser that offered Piano, Organ, Frog and Funny among its pre-set sounds. The musical homage that resulted sports an intriguing mix of styles that oscillate between Bach’s classicism and the modernity of Shostakovich, with splashes of romanticism and elements of music hall. And if you’re thinking the composer

Feb 23, 2018 • 19:58

All in the family. 3 concertos. 1 orchestra.

All in the family. 3 concertos. 1 orchestra.

Principal players from the Nashville Symphony Orchestra step up to the solo spotlight in world premiere recordings of 3 wind concertos. Frank Ticheli’s Clarinet Concerto pays homage to a different American composer in each of its three movements; Brad Warnaar’s Horn Concerto attests to the composer’s own professional mastery of the instrument; while Behzad Ranjbaran’s Flute Concerto is imbued with the rhythms, melodies and instrumental colours of his native Iran. Raymond Bisha introduces this l

Feb 2, 2018 • 20:01

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