• Chinoiserie

    Catalog #: NV6417

    Release Date: April 8, 2022

    21st Century
    Chamber
    East Asian
    Guitar

    A true melding of Eastern and Western cultures, Duo Chinoiserie’s CHINOISERIE combines the Chinese guzheng and European classical guitar to create an inspired new canon of classical repertoire. A bold and carefully handpicked selection of compositions—including new arrangements of Granados, de Falla, and Debussy alongside a transcription of Goss and new works by Assad, Duplessy, and Nakanishi—explores the instruments’ dialogue and complementary textures while uniting contrasting musical styles into a cohesive, well-defined whole. As the guzheng’s crisp, plucky clarity interplays with the guitar’s chords, even the most well-known classical pieces become fresh and energized, born anew with a unique and visionary sound.

  • Heaven to Earth Border House

    Catalog #: NV6364

    Release Date: September 24, 2021

    21st Century
    Chamber
    East Asian
    Percussion
    Voice

    Australian Bruce Crossman blends East and West in his new release HEAVEN TO EARTH BORDER HOUSE on Navona Records. With his modernist approach to musical construction and style, he effortlessly integrates traditional Western, Korean, and Chinese instruments and philosophies into a coherent, enlightening whole.

  • Flux

    Catalog #: NV6252

    Release Date: October 11, 2019

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Cello
    East Asian
    Flute

    The Society of Composers, Inc. is a “professional society dedicated to the promotion, performance, understanding and dissemination of new and contemporary music.” Having brought dozens of unique and compelling compositions to Navona Records over the years, they are now back with the latest in SCI’s series: FLUX, a collection of striking, innovative, and altogether unignorable music.

  • 3 Rhapsodies

    Catalog #: NV6219

    Release Date: March 22, 2019

    21st Century
    Concertos
    Orchestral
    East Asian
    Orchestra
    Piano

    It is tempting to compare Matej Meštrović's compositional style to his great predecessors in the late-Romantic tradition. After all, much of the Croatian composer's style and techniques would be right at home in Rachmaninoff’s concertos, Tchaikovsky's works, or Prokofiev's neoclassicism; and the name of the album's first work, Danube Rhapsody, naturally evokes associations with Smetana's similarly river-themed Vltava. Add to all of this that Meštrović, like most of his great musical ancestors, is a talented virtuoso pianist, and it's easy to see why 3 RHAPSODIES is bound to meet with enthusiasm.

  • 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.

  • Scattering Light, Scattering Flowers

    Catalog #: NV5933

    Release Date: February 1, 2014

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Clarinet
    East Asian
    Flute

    SCATTERING LIGHT, SCATTERING FLOWERS, the third release by composer Marty Regan in the Selected Works for Japanese Instruments series was recorded in Japan, and features large ensemble works for traditional Japanese instruments, including two concertos. Composed for female voice, shakuhachi, and the relatively rare 25-string koto, the title track is based on a deeply poetic text written by Japanese poet Haruka Nakanashi that echoes with references to traditional Japanese noh theater.

  • Magic Mirror

    Catalog #: NV5876

    Release Date: June 1, 2012

    21st Century
    Chamber
    East Asian

    MAGIC MIRROR, the second volume of composer Marty Regan's series of Selected Works for Japanese Instruments, presents a collection of works composed for traditional Japanese instrumentation with a Western-trained ear. Through the combination of his traditional classical education and intensive studies of Japanese music and culture, Regan explores the cross-cultural exchange between Eastern and Western traditions, blending the two into a dynamic sound that pushes the Japanese instruments to the very brink of their musical boundaries.

  • Forest Whispers

    Catalog #: NV5831

    Release Date: July 1, 2010

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Clarinet
    East Asian
    String Quartet
    Violin

    Forest Whispers features works by Marty Regan that combine Western classical with the instrumentation and theory of traditional Japanese music, where musical time relies on the natural patterns of human breath to create a free, airy rhythm. With instruments from the shakuhachi to the koto, Forest Whispers delivers classical music with a distinctively Japanese aesthetic.