• Imagining Worlds

    Catalog #: NV6592

    Release Date: January 5, 2024

    21st Century
    Solo Instrumental
    Violin

    Praised for her “incisive technique and an exceptionally rich and beautiful tone,” violinist Wanchi Huang performs a diverse range of compositions written by living composers on IMAGINING WORLDS from Navona Records. Huang’s virtuosic performance takes listeners on a dynamic voyage through the elegant grandeur of the baroque era to the historic hilltops of Italy, passing through reflections on our darkest moments and soaring towards the brighter days that lie ahead. Featuring new music by composers Adolphus Hailstork, Jeffrey Mumford, John Corigliano, Judith Shatin, and Meira Warshauer, IMAGINING WORLDS is a stunning showcase of Huang’s artistry and the compelling voices in contemporary American music.

  • Comme Bon Lui Semble

    Catalog #: NV6560

    Release Date: October 27, 2023

    21st Century
    Orchestral
    Solo Instrumental
    Orchestra
    Piano
    Violin

    Composer Sophie Dupuis presents dazzling, profoundly eclectic compositions inspired by visual art on COMME BON LUI SEMBLE. Dupuis' musical language is measured, almost minimalist, but the colors she weaves into bright tapestries of sound certainly aren't. Pop culture or high culture, she draws inspiration from numerous sources — leading to compositions that are at once highly abstract, yet highly descriptive. It's a tightrope to walk, and at dizzying heights, but thankfully, Dupuis is not susceptible to musical vertigo.

  • The Composers

    Catalog #: NV6489

    Release Date: January 13, 2023

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Solo Instrumental
    Piano
    Violin

    Navona Records and pianist Gerry Bryant are proud to present THE COMPOSERS, an album consisting solely of music by exceptionally talented and prolific Black classical music composers who have been overlooked throughout history. Featured within are the works of Thomas “Blind Tom” Wiggins, a slave who was perhaps the first Black American classical music composer, and Florence Price, whose music has so moved Bryant that he has included her in his list of favorite composers. Violinist Mark Cargill joins Bryant on select works throughout the album, a perfect addition to Bryant’s passionate approach to the keys.

  • Toccata Miami

    Catalog #: NV6433

    Release Date: June 10, 2022

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Solo Instrumental
    Guitar
    Piano
    Violin

    Composer Ferdinando DeSena is no stranger to variation; from his previous electro-acoustic concoctions to this dynamic blend of chamber orchestrations in TOCCATA MIAMI, a world of enticing conversation between tonal opposites begs to be uncovered in these expressive compositions. Oboe and piano dance in an ominous sonata soundscape, harps and flutes seek to sooth in Three Attitudes, and solo piano works shine with a latin flair in the album’s titular track.

  • Earl Kim & Isang Yun

    Catalog #: NV6387

    Release Date: November 12, 2021

    21st Century
    Solo Instrumental
    Violin

    On EARL KIM & ISANG YUN, violinist Chi Young Song presents complete works for solo violin by the titular composers, each of whom are of Korean heritage. Blurring the lines between Western musical heritage and traditional Korean music, each piece exhibits the crosscultural and borderless qualities of music. On 12 Caprices for Solo Violin, Chi Young tackles technical, intimate passages rooted in Western standards. The three works by Yun—written after his exile to Germany—make apt use of ornamental gestures, Korean folk music, and Taoist principles to harken back to the composer’s heritage.

  • Telemann Fantasias

    Catalog #: NV6378

    Release Date: October 22, 2021

    Baroque
    Solo Instrumental
    Violin

    Pondering the Baroque violin repertoire, one would be forgiven to think of Johann Sebastian Bach’s works and little else. Acclaimed English violinist Thomas Bowes courageously sets out to change this preconceived notion with TELEMANN FANTASIAS, a rare and remarkable full performance of all of Georg Philipp Telemann’s solo violin fantasias.

  • Six Sonatas for Solo Violin

    Catalog #: NV6281

    Release Date: April 10, 2020

    Romantic
    Solo Instrumental
    Violin

    Acclaimed English violinist Thomas Bowes seems to have a penchant for thoroughness and completion. Known and praised for his complete recording of all J. S. Bach’s sonatas and partitas, the European virtuoso has now taken it upon himself to embark on another quest for totality. This time, it is the six sonatas by Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931), presented on Bowes' new album, EUGÈNE YSAŸE: SIX SONATAS FOR SOLO VIOLIN. As one would expect from Bowes, they are played to passionate perfection.

  • Memory

    Catalog #: NV6268

    Release Date: January 10, 2020

    21st Century
    Solo Instrumental
    Violin

    The music on MEMORY, the Navona Records debut by acclaimed violinist Patrick Yim, is linked together by the themes of memory, culture, and identity. The album’s title track was composed by the Chinese-born composer Chen Yi who searched for a harmonious marriage of centuries-old Western and Chinese musical traditions as she remembered her beloved violin teacher, Lin Yaoji. In the liner notes for this bittersweet and poignant piece, the composer addresses her mentor directly, saying “…I expressed my deep sorrow in the music, to remember your fatherly mentorship.”

  • Resonating Colours 5

    Catalog #: NV6242

    Release Date: July 26, 2019

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Solo Instrumental
    Brass Ensemble
    Piano
    Violin

    Wong Hok-yeung opens the Hong Kong Composers’ Guild’s RESONATING COLOURS 5 with Night Poem, a composition for cello and piano. Rhapsodic and ambling, the piece conjures nightly thoughts, welling up and vanishing with lifelike authenticity. Chan Chin-ting features with two pieces for solo violin: Cross-Currents, an exploration of the violin's full tonal range, and Postcards, an assortment of, in the composer's words, "six miniatures/musical gifts," which, quite like the name suggests, can be played as standalone pieces, but also feature a common theme that unites them.

  • In Tandem

    Catalog #: NV6227

    Release Date: May 24, 2019

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Solo Instrumental
    Clarinet
    Piano
    Violin

    Introducing the album is Lee Actor’s Duo for Violin and Cello. The track, which won the Eva Thompson Phillips Award for Composition in 1979, is a short, textured, and powerful piece. In ABA form, the energy of the stringed instruments swings like a parabola from the height of sharp, angular rhythms down into deep and gentle expressions and builds up to a sharp, explosive climax.

  • From the Valley of Baca

    Catalog #: NV6208

    Release Date: February 8, 2019

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Solo Instrumental
    Piano
    Violin
    Voice

    Composer David Carpenter’s PARMA debut, FROM THE VALLEY OF BACA, features three works that illustrate the expansive scope of his compositional style. From the lyrical Trio, to the powerfully poetic title work for baritone and piano, to the romantically-inclined Sonata, FROM THE VALLEY OF BACA demonstrates the composer’s ability to express his artistic vision in a wide variety of musical genres.

  • Whispering Fragrance

    Catalog #: NV6175

    Release Date: August 10, 2018

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Solo Instrumental
    East Asian
    Piano Trio
    Violin

    On WHISPERING FRAGRANCE, his first solo album with Navona Records, composer Stephen Yip merges serenity with agitation, earthiness with sophistication and the mundane with the sublime. The result is an original creation that is unapologetically post-modern, yet deeply rooted in Chinese traditionalism.

  • Parts to Play

    Catalog #: NV6165

    Release Date: June 8, 2018

    20th Century
    21st Century
    Chamber
    Solo Instrumental
    Piano
    Violin

    On PARTS TO PLAY, critically acclaimed violinist Moonkyung Lee turns from the symphonic environment of the critically lauded label debut, TCHAIKOVSKY, on which she performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, to a more intimate setting, with only pianist Martha Locker as her partner on a selection of works that include both stunning solo performances and intricate yet simple duets.

  • Sei Solo

    Catalog #: NV6159

    Release Date: June 8, 2018

    Baroque
    Solo Instrumental
    Violin

    Thomas Bowes' SEI SOLO shines the spotlight on the sonatas and partitas for solo violin composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1720. Bowes believes that these six stand-alone compositions, while each individually offering insight into Bach's genius reveal more when taken as one epic work - and especially when set against the tragedy in Bach’s life in the year of composition.

  • Music from the Ethereal Side of Paradise

    Catalog #: NV6148

    Release Date: March 9, 2018

    21st Century
    Orchestral
    Solo Instrumental
    Flute
    String Orchestra
    Violin

    John A. Carollo’s fourth PARMA release, and follow up to 2017’s THE TRANSFIGURATION of GIOVANNI BAUDINO, is a wondrous musical journey through the world of desire. With MUSIC FROM THE ETHEREAL SIDE OF PARADISE, Carollo makes an impassioned plea for the power of romance.

  • The Sea Knows

    Catalog #: NV6111

    Release Date: July 14, 2017

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Solo Instrumental
    Cello
    Viola
    Violin

    Michael Kurek’s PARMA Recordings debut, THE SEA KNOWS, is a charming collection of works written with an emphasis on that which is beautiful and emotive. Composing in a tonal idiom reminiscent of the great melodists of the early 20th century, Kurek creates music that tugs at the heartstrings without ever pandering, that is rich in emotive content without feeling sugary. The works on THE SEA KNOWS plumb the depths of musical sensitivity and will appeal to anyone who listens to music seeking intimacy and an emotionally-grounded experience.

  • Chiaroscuro

    Catalog #: NV6097

    Release Date: May 12, 2017

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Solo Instrumental
    Clarinet
    Guitar
    Violin

    Global guitarist and composer Giovanni Piacentini’s talents as a dual-threat musician are on full display on CHIAROSCURO, his debut album. He wrote all these works themed around his instrument of choice, and his playing appears on two pieces – Miniatures, for guitar and chamber ensemble, and a solo guitar performance on the title track. Yet, even on the tracks where he does not perform, the composer’s voice remains ever-present, namely in each work’s reverberant use of space.

  • Shadowing

    Catalog #: NV6080

    Release Date: March 10, 2017

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Solo Instrumental
    Piano
    Viola
    Violin

    Navona Records proudly presents renowned composer Ruth Lomon’s SHADOWING, her debut album on the label. The release showcases her remarkable skill in writing for the piano, pushing the instrument’s timbre and color to its limits to create animated sound worlds such as those of the title work, Shadowing. Lomon writes of the colors in the piece: “’Shadowing’ means to have such a light touch, such a light tread, that one can move freely through the forest, observing without being observed… It is the equivalent of manifesting and then becoming like smoke, and then manifesting again…”

  • The Passing Sound of Forever

    Catalog #: NV6068

    Release Date: January 13, 2017

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Solo Instrumental
    Flute
    String Quartet
    Violin

    Sound and space are two elements that emerge at the heart of Jane O’Leary’s THE PASSING SOUND OF FOREVER. The collection showcases O’Leary’s compositional gifts through a variety of her chamber compositions. O’Leary’s string writing soars in THE PASSING SOUND OF FOREVER, and demonstrates her remarkable sensitivity to the instruments’ sonic palette and expressive potential. Every color, from ethereal natural harmonics to frenetic bowing, is at O’Leary’s disposal, and is exploited beautifully to produce evocative and compelling soundscapes.

  • Early Musings

    Catalog #: NV6063

    Release Date: November 18, 2016

    21st Century
    Solo Instrumental
    Violin

    EARLY MUSINGS presents a comprehensive collection of new works for solo violin composed by American and American-based composers, almost all of whom were born after 1990. Though young, these composers’ music speaks to the core strengths of solo violin repertoire, a genre that has represented a prominent pillar in the Western chamber music canon since the seventeenth century.