• Unholy Sonnets

    Catalog #: NV6578

    Release Date: November 10, 2023

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Vocal Music
    Piano
    Voice
    Wind Ensemble

    Few forms in classical music are as underrated as the song cycle. It is easy to be betrayed by the seemingly-modest set-up – piano and solo voice – requiring well-calculated finesse from a composer to seize its minimalist power and bring it into full bloom. UNHOLY SONNETS, a collection of songs by German-born American Samuel Adler, succeeds greatly in this effort. Although all works presented are in English and the tonal language is decidedly modern, there is much that harks back to the German art song tradition of the 19th century. Despite the title, these are largely quiet, pensive pieces, confidently resting in a tranquil serenity.

  • Joe’s Tango

    Catalog #: NV6572

    Release Date: November 10, 2023

    21st Century
    Concertos
    Trombone
    Trumpet
    Wind Ensemble

    There is something very special about the symbiosis of a great composer and a talented performing musician: many of the great moments in musical history were born of such collaborations. This rare joy is now to be felt in our time: JOE’S TANGO features the world premiere recording Concerto for Trombone by none other than jazz legend Chick Corea, tailor-made for virtuoso solo trombonist Joseph Alessi. It's a riveting, marvelous work — classical in scope, but contemporary in rhythm and feeling. Conductor Thomas G. Leslie, his University of Nevada Las Vegas Wind Orchestra, and the Boston Brass Quintet empathetically frame this centerpiece with works by Hugo Montenegro and the young Jorge Machain, who offers the world premiere recording of his Five Cities to the mix. The resulting album — as one might expect — is altogether outstanding.

  • Mythical Creatures

    Catalog #: NV6566

    Release Date: October 27, 2023

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Vocal Music
    Clarinet
    Flute
    Wind Ensemble

    Treat yourself to the fantastical, whimsical, and sometimes mischievous nature of Paul Kopetz’s MYTHICAL CREATURES, featuring a song cycle on the poetry of Svyetlana Hadgraft and a variety of inspired portraits. Each of the 10 movements is a musical impression of a mythical creature that has existed in the folklore of various cultures around the world since the beginning of time. With an emotionally broad music that highlights Kopetz’s remarkable compositional range, there’s something for everyone in this release, especially for those with a penchant for the characteresque vocal works of the 20th century.

  • American Scenes

    Catalog #: NV6446

    Release Date: August 12, 2022

    21st Century
    Orchestral
    Wind Ensemble

    AMERICAN SCENES, from composer Samuel A. Livingston is, as its title suggests, a painterly tribute to America. The album’s title piece, Three American Scenes, is a three-movement suite that expresses the grandeur of the American west, the serenity of a mountain lake at dawn, and the bustle of a busy day in a large city. The album opens with Celebrating the Fourth, which depicts an American Fourth of July celebration. The final two selections feature works for concert band with a solo instrument – the flute, in Silvertube Variations, and the clarinet, in Balkan Dance. In that last selection, Livingston turns his attention beyond our shores, to the harmonies and rhythms of the folk music of the Balkan countries, especially Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Altogether, AMERICAN SCENES is thoughtfully-crafted and unabashedly jubilant, expressing appreciation for America and the world beyond with refreshing sincerity.

  • High Voltage Chamber Music

    Catalog #: NV6366

    Release Date: September 24, 2021

    21st Century
    Chamber
    String Quartet
    Wind Ensemble

    Navona Records proudly presents HIGH VOLTAGE CHAMBER MUSIC, the latest album from composer Jan Järvlepp. Following close on the heels of CONCERTO 2000 and FLIGHTS OF FANCY, Järvlepp carries forward the momentum with this newest release. Featured on the album is String Quartet No. 1, the composer’s first full-length string quartet—an important milestone for any composer.

  • Lock & Key Vol. II

    Catalog #: NV6335

    Release Date: February 12, 2021

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Clarinet
    Piano
    Wind Ensemble

    LOCK & KEY VOL II is the second presentation of five composers drawing from the well of inspiration – in highly heterogeneous ways and from a plethora of sources, yet all united by a common theme: the profound depths of the human experience. The pieces all revel exuberantly: in the natural beauty of Iceland, the nostalgia evoked by a distantly familiar melody, the random augury of a deck of tarot cards, late 19th Century anthems adapted for woodwind quintet, or the kinetic energy of musical gestures.

  • Drift

    Catalog #: NV6318

    Release Date: November 13, 2020

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Clarinet
    Electroacoustic
    Wind Ensemble

    The Society of Composers, Inc. continues its decades-long mission to promote and disseminate contemporary music on DRIFT, the 34th installment of the SCI Composers’ Series. DRIFT marks the 10th album in the series to release on Navona Records, and SCI continues to curate new works by luminaries that span generations.

  • Three Theatre Pieces and Chopin

    Catalog #: NV6272

    Release Date: April 24, 2020

    21st Century
    Orchestral
    Stage Works
    Orchestra
    Saxophone
    Wind Ensemble

    Longtime Navona Records artist Michael G. Cunningham showcases his penchant for storytelling on THREE THEATRE PIECES AND CHOPIN, an album rife with theatrical wonders that delight both the ears and the imagination.

  • The River of Time

    Catalog #: NV6261

    Release Date: November 8, 2019

    21st Century
    Orchestral
    Cello
    Flute
    Wind Ensemble

    THE RIVER OF TIME, Navona Records’ latest release, is a captivating tour de force by conductor Mike Fansler and the Western Illinois University Wind Ensemble. Recorded by legendary engineer Bruce Leek – whose recording portfolio includes the President’s Own Marine Band – this album captures the full emotive intensity of one of America’s finest collegiate ensembles.

  • Windswept

    Catalog #: NV6245

    Release Date: August 9, 2019

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Wind Ensemble

    Throughout Navona Records’ WINDSWEPT, the wind quintet makes up the characters of collective stories written by five unique composers. In each piece, the Boston-based Arcadian Winds project a storytelling experience that is joyful, moving, and meaningful to hear.

  • Peace, Nature, & Renewal

    Catalog #: NV6220

    Release Date: March 22, 2019

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Orchestral
    Choir
    Orchestra
    Wind Ensemble

    Composer Mark Dal Porto's award-winning, neo-Romantic Song of Eternity for Orchestra starts off THE MUSIC OF MARK DAL PORTO in epic fashion. If Mahler and Prokofiev had collaborated on a composition, it would probably have sounded a lot like this: pensive, evocative, and nostalgic. Song of Eternity describes the eternal renewal of nature with cinematic impact. It is inspired by an ancient Chinese poem, as is the next piece, I Seek Rest for My Lonely Heart for A-Cappella Choir. This work continues the subject of nature, albeit in a more individualized fashion, capturing the sentiment of a distressed soul in search of peace in a pastoral setting.

  • Pictures of the Hidden

    Catalog #: NV6180

    Release Date: September 14, 2018

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Vocal Music
    String Quartet
    Voice
    Wind Ensemble

    Kamyar Mohajer’s PICTURES OF THE HIDDEN honors the composer’s “four Grand Masters:" Johann Sebastian Bach, Persian poet Hafez, and his parents. In this album, Mohajer shares his artistic upbringing by combining his roots in Persian modality with his love of Western classical music.

  • Light & Shadows, Waves & Time

    Catalog #: NV6154

    Release Date: April 13, 2018

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Solo Instrumental
    Clarinet
    Saxophone
    Wind Ensemble

    An exploration of the unique timbral characteristics and technical extensions of wind instruments, Gregory Wanamaker’s LIGHT AND SHADOWS, WAVES AND TIME is comprised of eight compositions that collectively illustrate the composer’s ability to integrate various genre influences into a distinctive whole. His music has been lauded as “pure gold, shot through with tenderness and grace” by the San Francisco Chronicle and “achingly beautiful” by the Palm Beach Daily News.

  • Formika

    Catalog #: NV6129

    Release Date: February 9, 2018

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Piano
    Saxophone
    Wind Ensemble

    Mexican composer Felipe Pérez Santiago introduces the follow up to his 2013 album, Mantis with his first Navona release, FORMIKA, an album of chamber music. Pérez Santiago continues his series with a vast notational layering and timing propelled by traditional instrumentation. Masterful playing by choice ensembles like Tamayo and Onix, create a particularly kaleidoscopic nostalgia in this pitching album.

  • Music for Woodwinds

    Catalog #: NV6127

    Release Date: November 10, 2017

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Piano
    Wind Ensemble

    Navona Records proudly presents MUSIC FOR WOODWINDS from composer Scott Pender, his fourth appearance on the label. On this album, Pender showcases his chamber works for woodwinds from the last thirty years in ensemble combinations both common and unfamiliar.

  • Back Before Bach

    Catalog #: NV6106

    Release Date: July 14, 2017

    Renaissance
    Chamber
    Liturgical
    Wind Ensemble

    BACK BEFORE BACH, the latest Navona Records release from the Philadelphia-based ‘Renaissance band’ Piffaro, is an exceptional compendium of sixteenth and early seventeenth century German and Franco-Flemish music. As the album’s title suggests, the group of composers Piffaro features can be seen as the precedent for the luminaries of the German baroque era, specifically Johann Sebastian Bach. With BACK BEFORE BACH simultaneously drawing from a wide variety of genres, yet also focusing on a geographically and temporally limited group of composers, Piffaro succeeds wildly in presenting the musical foundation from which Bach and his contemporaries emerged.

  • Pheonix Ensemble

    Catalog #: NV6076

    Release Date: February 10, 2017

    20th Century
    Chamber
    Clarinet
    String Quartet
    Wind Ensemble

    Navona Records is proud to present PHOENIX ENSEMBLE: CHAMBER WORKS OF HENRI MARTEAU AND ALEXANDER ZEMLINSKY. The Phoenix Ensemble is a mixed instrument chamber music ensemble. Founded in 1991 by New York-based clarinetist Mark Lieb, the Phoenix Ensemble aims to “inspire a new and diverse audience for classical music.” They undertake this challenge by presenting two works by late romantic French composer Henri Marteau, who is relatively unknown in the music world, as well as presenting one work by Austrian composer Alexander Zemlinsky. Both composers were active at the turn of the 19th century.

  • Between The Echoes

    Catalog #: NV6057

    Release Date: September 9, 2016

    21st Century
    Chamber
    Solo Instrumental
    Guitar
    Wind Ensemble

    Navona’s latest compilation release, BETWEEN THE ECHOES, showcases selected recent chamber works, expressing the common theme of recollections and interpretations of past experiences. Moving across the spectrums of moods and dramatics, each piece brings a harmonic resolution to its soulful journey. This album joins multiple personalities in a collection of propulsive musical expression.

  • Aleksander Sternfeld-Dunn: Fireworks

    Catalog #: NV5997

    Release Date: April 14, 2015

    21st Century
    Orchestral
    Saxophone
    Wind Ensemble

    What do you get when you cross a composer, a bassist, and a conductor? It's no joke, and neither is Aleksander Sternfeld-Dunn. It is, however, a piece called Joker's Wild which opens up Sternfeld-Dunn's debut Navona Records release FIREWORKS, and it's a doozy, a crackerjack double concertino expertly crafted and written to showcase the talents of the Cameradschaft Duo. The piece won Best in Show from the Global Music Awards in 2012.

  • Convergence

    Catalog #: NV5892

    Release Date: November 1, 2012

    20th Century
    Concertos
    Orchestral
    Orchestra
    Piano
    Wind Ensemble

    Observing the landscape of contemporary classical, one might assume that the art music community has shifted its focus away from the melodic, harmonious, and accessible. CONVERGENCE, an album of works by David Nisbet Stewart and George Gershwin, presents just the opposite: imaginative, expressive works that appeal to performers and audiences alike.