There Will Be Rainbow
Catalog #: NV6551
Release Date: August 25, 2023
21st CenturySolo InstrumentalPianoTHERE WILL BE RAINBOW is an elegant and captivating collection of 12 piano pieces composed by pianist Tamas Szigyarto over the past decade. Not originally planned as a complete work, it has unfolded over time as a full-length suite that shares the same overall theme of harmony and reflection. This set of 12 interconnected pieces leads a continuous narrative from beginning to end, closing with the eponymous title track. All original compositions (except for Naima, a paraphrase of the acclaimed piece by John Coltrane), it seeks to illuminate and embolden the listener. The rainbow is used as a symbol, a metaphor for a glimmer of hope that drives us forward in the times of sadness and sorrow. The themes from THERE WILL BE RAINBOW are a perfect reflection of the project's core musicality and concept.
The Well-Tempered Clavier Book I
Catalog #: NV6645
Release Date: July 12, 2024
BaroqueSolo InstrumentalPianoChristopher O'Riley's THE WELL-TEMPERED CLAVIER BOOK I delves into the subtle intricacies of Bach's famous masterwork, revealing the composer's nuanced craftsmanship through an exploration of the spaces between notes. Inspired by Bach's profound lyricism and informed by historical insights, O'Riley's interpretation transcends conventional keyboard traditions. Embracing the expressive potential of articulation and texture, he illuminates counterpoint with dynamic contrast, unveiling hidden dialogues within Bach's compositions. Through meticulous attention to intonation and rhythmic flexibility, O'Riley uncovers layers of meaning, echoing the Japanese concept of “Ma” — the significance of space and silence. This album invites listeners to immerse themselves in Bach's universe, where every pause resonates with depth and possibility.
The Spectra Series
Catalog #: NV6077
Release Date: January 13, 2017
21st CenturySolo InstrumentalVocal MusicChoirOrchestraPianoIn 2008, PARMA Recordings acquired Capstone Records, the highly respected New York-based classical label founded by composer Richard Brooks in 1986, with the intent of shepherding the company and its music into the digital era. This album was originally released on Capstone and is being re-released by PARMA Recording's Navona Records.
The People United
Catalog #: NV6654
Release Date: September 20, 2024
20th CenturySolo InstrumentalPianoKevin Lee Sun delivers an electrifying call to action in THE PEOPLE UNITED, a monumental set of 36 variations by the late American composer Frederic Rzewski. Derived from a global lineage of inspiration, the theme originated in Chile when the composer Sergio Ortega heard the soul-stirring chant of a street singer in Santiago, months before the 1973 Chilean coup d’etat. Inspired in turn by Ortega’s music and Chile’s upheavals, Rzewski combined the chant with revolutionary songs from various cultures to deliver a clear message of solidarity in his 1975 hour-long masterpiece, eponymously named The People United Will Never Be Defeated! Recorded in 2023, fifty years after Chile’s coup d’etat, Sun’s interpretation reckons with the historical weight of Rzewski’s variations. His strikingly dynamic and empathetic playing seeks to re-center the suffering and heroism of the Chilean people at the core of the musical narrative. Rather than pooling the lived experiences of the Chilean people into a blanket revolutionary statement, Sun invokes the voices of the chanting street singers, the people at the very start of it all.
The PARMA Sessions: Karolina Rojahn
Catalog #: NV5925
Release Date: August 1, 2013
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalOrchestraPianoPiano TrioTHE PARMA SESSIONS: KAROLINA ROJAHN presents a series of recordings featuring longtime PARMA collaborator and pianist Karolina Rojahn. Showcasing the artist's skill, adaptability, and dedication, this digital compilation features Rojahn performing works by a diverse set of composers with myriad influences and styles.
The Music of Sparky Davis
Catalog #: NV5897
Release Date: January 1, 2013
21st CenturyOrchestralSolo InstrumentalOrchestraPianoAbout 100 years ago, classical music made a jagged turn away from the harmonic structures that had comprised its underpinnings for several centuries. This departure was early-on dubbed atonalism, and opposed the functional harmony that prevailed during the great musical flourishing of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Composer Sparky Davis, who takes a "modern, not modernistic" approach to writing his music, continues this forward movement, expanding the vocabulary of music to include non-traditional elements and adding to the functional uses of long-established note combinations.
The John Psathas Percussion Project Vol. 1
Catalog #: NV6204
Release Date: January 25, 2019
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalPercussionPianoThe idea for THE JOHN PSATHAS PERCUSSION PROJECT: VOLUME ONE began in 2013 with John Psathas’ piano and gamelan piece Waiting: Still which Omar Carmenates arranged for percussion trio. While unknown at the time, this arrangement launched a five-year-long relationship that culminates in Carmenates’ debut for PARMA Recordings. For THE JOHN PSATHAS PERCUSSION PROJECT: VOLUME ONE, Carmenates acts as arranger, director, and performer, and is joined by a roster of talented musicians including pianist Daniel Koppelman and drum set soloist Justin Alexander.
The Human Condition
Catalog #: NV6501
Release Date: February 10, 2023
20th Century21st CenturySolo InstrumentalHarpsichordPianoNothing has ever gripped intellectuals as firmly as reflections about the conditio humana, with all the perceptions, joys and miseries it entails. Israeli pianist and prolific recording artist Hagai Yodan sounds the depths of existence on his new release, THE HUMAN CONDITION, and with great panache. Featuring both piano and the harpsichord, Yodan skillfully navigates through the seas of Being as described by no fewer than six international composers. There is a persistent sense of melancholy, but also of truculence and a certain rage de vivre – an indomitable will to live. In this, THE HUMAN CONDITION isn't merely another contemplation; it's a self-assured declaration.
The Golden Galaxy
Catalog #: NV5971
Release Date: September 1, 2014
21st CenturySolo InstrumentalOrganPianoTHE GOLDEN GALAXY, Navona Record's fourth release of works by the late French composer Yves Ramette (1921-2012), presents works for organ, an instrument which Ramette found to be expressive, dynamic, and warm in color, especially after his position as organist at Église Saint Ferdinand de Ternes in Paris, where he played the church's now replaced Cavaillé-Coll organ. This album is particularly significant in the catalog of this prolific composer since it is the first to feature Ramette both as the composer and the performer.
The Composers
Catalog #: NV6489
Release Date: January 13, 2023
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalPianoViolinNavona 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.
The Chamber Works of Allen Brings
Catalog #: NV6090
Release Date: April 14, 2017
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalCelloFlutePianoThis triple re-release contains a collection of works for small ensembles comprised of a diverse selection of instruments. Along with two albums from Allen Brings, this reissue includes a compilation titled CONTRA-PUNCTUS (1994).
Textures In Classics
Catalog #: NV6448
Release Date: August 12, 2022
ClassicalRomanticChamberSolo InstrumentalOboePianoTEXTURES IN CLASSICS from renowned pianist and music scholar Sang-Hie Lee explores the rich musical possibilities offered by the piano. To do so, Lee performs works from some of the seminal composers in Western music including Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms. The album captures Lee’s unique pianism at the height of her maturity as an artist. While contemporary performers often place an outsized emphasis on virtuosic technical skill, Lee’s performances examine the notion of texture in piano music; this ranges from the clean, crisp soundscape of Mozart’s early pianoforte to Beethoven’s exacting technique and lush harmonies. There is little doubt that TEXTURES IN CLASSICS will cement Lee’s legacy as a scholarly-artistic pianist.
Tetrahedron Dreams
Catalog #: NV5947
Release Date: April 1, 2014
21st CenturySolo InstrumentalVocal MusicChoirPianoDrawing from a diverse set of genres and stylistic sources including atonal, folk, chant, dance, and more, Alexandra Ottaway's solo Navona Records debut TETRAHEDRON DREAMS presents a singular and striking listening experience.
Tableau Tempest & Tango
Catalog #: NV6170
Release Date: July 13, 2018
20th CenturySolo InstrumentalPianoNavona Records artist Clipper Erickson presents a solo piano album of works by composers Richard Brodhead (1947- ), David Finko (1936-), and Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) entitled TABLEAU TEMPEST & TANGO. The mostly Russian-themed album climaxes with Erickson’s masterful interpretation of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. The original version for solo piano precedes the iconic orchestrations by many composers, most notably Maurice Ravel. For Erickson, the piano is his orchestra, and he conducts it marvelously through every movement, down to the famed finale, The Great Gate of Kiev.
Sustain Vol. 3
Catalog #: NV6466
Release Date: September 23, 2022
21st CenturySolo InstrumentalOrganPianoNavona Records presents SUSTAIN VOL. 3, an exploration of the capabilities of piano and organ highlighting the varied compositional approaches of today's composers. Influenced by the classical canon and moving in new directions, the latest edition in the SUSTAIN series pays homage to the classical composers of yesterday, while thoughtfully expressing modern personalities and ideals in a dynamic presentation of new piano repertoire. From the suspenseful passages of Sydney Hodkinson’s Organmusic, to the turbulent times reflected in Bruce Babcock’s Alternative Facts, and Hayg Boyadjian’s delicate variations on Bach, SUSTAIN once again gives it all, and everything in between.
Sustain Vol. 2
Catalog #: NV6345
Release Date: April 23, 2021
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalPianoPiano TrioSaxophoneTwo years after the release of SUSTAIN comes the long-anticipated follow-up, SUSTAIN VOL. 2. This fresh collection of works centered around the piano includes a range of contemporary compositional styles: tonal, atonal, and everything in between. This volume features a new cast of composers and performers, with contributions by Sarah Wallin-Huff, Karen Tarlow, Chen-Hsin Su, Bill Sherrill, Jim Puckett, Ron Nagorcka, Gordon Monahan, Kenneth A. Kuhn, Santiago Kodela, John Craven, and John A. Carollo. The album’s varied soundscapes and arrangements—including solo piano, piano and saxophone, and piano and strings—constantly surprise and delight the ear. A fitting sequel to the first installment, SUSTAIN VOL. 2 is steeped in the dynamic complexity piano music offers.
Sustain
Catalog #: NV6207
Release Date: February 8, 2019
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalPercussionPianoWithin their varied appearances and sounds, the piano, vibraphone, and marimba make up a unique family. Nonetheless, key similarities bind them together, and SUSTAIN explores just that. The latest multi-composer release by Navona Records, SUSTAIN presents works for various keyboards that explore not only the abilities of each instrument, but the varied approaches from five different composers.
Sursum
Catalog #: NV6062
Release Date: November 18, 2016
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalPianoString QuartetWith his new album SURSUM, composer Michael Slayton presents six compelling compositions, each performed by a different ensemble or solo performer. Despite the album’s varied & esteemed assemblage of performers, there lies a common thread throughout in both the form of Slayton’s distinguished composing style – dreamy but focused, and equal parts smooth and dissonant – as well as the imagery that the music conjures.
Sunlight & Storms
Catalog #: NV5951
Release Date: May 1, 2014
21st CenturySolo InstrumentalPianoSUNLIGHT AND STORMS, composer and pianist Lionel Sainsbury's debut solo release on Navona Records, illustrates emotions from the peaceful to the tempestuous, and many more besides. A retrospective of the composer's piano music, spanning almost 20 years of his career, the album ranges from tangos to toccatas, character pieces to ostinatos.