Catalog

Dynamic pianistic playfulness and impressive orchestral sonority shine in PLETER from Croatian pianist and composer Matej Meštrović. The composer’s personal signature can be heard throughout the piece, equal parts majestic and jubilant with subtly suspenseful moments that cascade into grandiose beauty. An eclectic and versatile composer, Meštrović joins the acclaimed London Symphony Orchestra on this recording, unearthing immeasurable melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic opulence as both the composer and the featured pianist.

For decades, John Rojak has been a staple in American brass music, performing with a number of chamber ensembles and orchestras such as American Brass Quintet, Cleveland Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony; in Broadway shows including Les Misérables and The Producers; in big bands of Mel Lewis, Bob Mintzer, and Gerry Mulligan; and contributing to the pedagogy of the bass trombone as a faculty member of several institutions, including The Juilliard School, The Hartt School, and Aspen Music Festival and School. Needless to say he has taken the bass trombone and its repertoire to new heights in the classical, contemporary, jazz, and commercial genres.

Celebrating their 25th-anniversary concert season in 2016, the San José Chamber Orchestra conducted by Maestra Barbara Day Turner, presents a commemorative collection of contemporary works on Navona Records, showcasing the ensemble’s commitment to new music as well as their stylistic versatility.

Saxophone Concerto is the latest release from renowned composer Lee Actor, featuring five compositions: Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra (2009), which exploits the considerable dramatic and expressive possibilities of the saxophone; Dance Rhapsody (2010) for orchestra, which consists of several strongly rhythmic dance sections interspersed with two slower, nonrhythmic interludes; Concerto for Horn and Orchestra (2007), a work of compact dimensions, consisting of three movements; Opening Remarks (2009), a brisk, upbeat, 6-minute work for orchestra designed as a concert opener; and Celebration Overture (2007), a joyous and invigorating piece with instrumentation similar to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Actor's music is filled with rhythmic drive and shows a superb ear for orchestral color, and he is able to create music that catches the ear and draws the listener into a world of emotion and drama.

Since the late 1980s, Swiss Composer Schlumpf has been widely active in the borderlands between improvisation and composition. With STREAMS, the follow-up to his 2012 Navona Records release SUMMER CIRCLE, Schlumpf presents three concertos that are representative of a creative period in his career marked by the influence of minimalism and jazz, new tonal concepts, a strong emphasis on rhythm, and clear-cut formal designs.

Through his Argentinean tango-infused classical works, composer Alejandro Rutty has carved an original, unique niche in classical music, blending tango, electronic, and classical elements into a cohesive whole. On the multifarious THE CONSCIOUS SLEEPWALKER, his first album on Navona Records, Rutty presents works for saxophone quartet and orchestra that explore concepts ranging from explorations of tango within pop culture of the future to half-dreams versus fictional reality.

Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra | Vit Micka conductor

On his debut solo Navona Records release, THE REAL BEELER, composer Alan Beeler presents his refined and distinguishable orchestral voice, exploring various harmonic and melodic forms and structures as well as the serial techniques of the Second Viennese School. In Symphony No. 1 and No. 4, the composer creates intricate atmospheres and moving textural soundscapes, generally derived from the composer's preset tone rows.

Renowned composer Gustav Hoyer comes to Navona Records with an ambitious and harrowing seven-part orchestral setting of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER. Hoyer melds the spoken word and musical text-setting traditions into a hauntingly atmospheric narrative concerto, the Budapest Film Orchestra coming to life as supernatural forces and creatures in the text. Meanwhile, the narrator speaks of the Mariner’s eternal penance, a stark contrast to the roiling orchestral timbres that puts listeners in the shoes of the frightened wedding guest fated to hear the Mariner’s tale. An undoubtedly ghoulish but incredibly sophisticated musical illustration of Coleridge’s famed narrative, Hoyer is no-holds-barred in his talent for the narrative orchestra, producing a musical journey packed with all the intensity and horror of the text from which it hails.

On his Navona Records release THREE PASTELS FOR PIANO & ORCHESTRA, composer Carl Vollrath presents his three piano concerti, written between 2012 and 2015. Representing some of his most recent work, these concerti are connected to each other thematically, and in a way portray a different hue of the same color.

TRIPTYCH REVELATION, composer Sergio Cervetti’s seventh album with Navona, presents works from across four decades of his extensive career. Though a fair bit of time separates these pieces, the album’s three works all feature unique explorations of apocalyptic themes, inspired by themes drawn from the New Testament, nineteenth century French literature, and Flemish art of the sixteenth century.

The creation of VIOLIN CONCERTO by Alicia Terzian marked the beginning of her 65-year (and counting) compositional career. Originally composed in 1954/55, this important piece of her repertoire was brought to life thanks to a collaboration between Navona Records and the Siberian State Symphony Orchestra. This album also features Terzian's Three Pieces, which listeners can remember from their previous Navona release, OFF THE EDGE.

The violin concerto is a challenging setup to write for: it beckons with promises of both might and fragility. Composer Christopher Alan Schmitz is well-versed in both the theoretical and practical aspects of composition: his resulting VIOLIN CONCERTO AND SYMPHONY NO. 1 gets the balance just right. The tonal language is reminiscent of Bruckner and Mahler, as raw emotion mixes with splendor. The ultimate success of this precarious, heady concoction rests on the shoulders of conductor Stefan Sanderling and particularly, violinist Amy Schwarz Moretti, member of the acclaimed Ehnes Quartet. Stirringly written and performed to perfection, a success it is.

WARRIOR MONKS is a collection of two clarinet concerti and a trumpet concerto by Carl Vollrath that span topics of war, solace, fascination, and reverence among many others. “And Bugles Sang” drew inspiration from the unique juxtapositions in Benjamin Britten’s “War Requiem” and explores the many ways the trumpet is used as a symbol throughout human history. At times the trumpet is brash and lyrical, expressing ecstasy; in other instances it is strident and rhythmic perhaps reflecting charges into battle; and yet in an instant it reappears low and mellow in what could be heard as a faux-lullaby. The virtuosity in this piece is not to be understated.