Perceptions
Catalog #: NV5909
Release Date: April 1, 2013
21st CenturyChamberGuitarPianoString QuartetMusic represents a dialogue between composer and listener, channeled through performance and observation. Much like in spoken conversation, the works in PERCEPTIONS present us with the revealing perspectives of their composers as told through small ensembles. The listener is presented with music that entrances, enkindles, jars, lingers, connects, and engrosses–perceptions both highly incisive and deeply personal.
Pictures of the Hidden
Catalog #: NV6180
Release Date: September 14, 2018
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicString QuartetVoiceWind EnsembleKamyar 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.
Pinnacle Vol. 2
Catalog #: NV6368
Release Date: September 24, 2021
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalClarinetPianoString QuartetNavona Records presents PINNACLE VOL. 2, a collection of contemporary chamber works by composers John A. Carollo, Edmund Cionek, Sarah Wallin Huff, Santiago Kodela, Adnan Marafi, Amintas Silva, Joseph T. Spaniola, and Kong-Yu Wong, that highlight the melodic, emotive, and dramatic styles offered by today’s chamber music. Throughout the album, the composers explore the cyclicity of life and nature.
Pinnacle Vol. 3
Catalog #: NV6508
Release Date: March 10, 2023
21st CenturyChamberClarinetPianoString QuartetNavona Records presents PINNACLE VOL. 3, a collection of contemporary chamber works by composers Alla Elana Cohen, Andrew Schneider, Dušan Bavdek, and Richard E Brown that highlight the melodic, emotive, and dramatic styles offered by today’s chamber music. This diverse assortment of repertoire spans numerous influences and orchestrations, delivering a range of sounds from somber and moving to sprightly and energetic. Leveraging raw thematic material and colorful musical portraits, the composers and performers in this edition of PINNACLE keep the fire burning while bringing a fresh and unique tone to the series.
Playing on the Edge
Catalog #: NV6249
Release Date: September 27, 2019
21st CenturyChamberString QuartetDescribed as having “Versatility and flair with lively improvisations” by the New York Times and being “always compelling and always exhilarating” by Imperfect Fifths, NYC-based Sirius Quartet is only the most natural choice for showcasing the genius of five genre-bending contemporary composers. Navona Records’ PLAYING ON THE EDGE brings inspiration and experience from all walks of life into one string quartet collection with the music of composers Jennifer Castellano, Ian Erickson, Brian Field, Marga Richter, and Mari Tamaki.
Playing on the Edge 2
Catalog #: NV6315
Release Date: October 23, 2020
21st CenturyChamberString QuartetPLAYING ON THE EDGE 2 follows up Navona Records' first Gramophone-lauded album in this series for string quartet. Like the first installment, the award-winning Sirius Quartet plays the entire catalogue to perfection.
Playing on the Edge 3
Catalog #: NV6520
Release Date: July 14, 2023
21st CenturyChamberString QuartetThe Sirius Quartet returns with the long-anticipated PLAYING ON THE EDGE 3, adding to their ever-thrilling catalog with a fresh batch of imaginative compositions hailing from today’s composers. This installment of the acclaimed series dives into the concept of beauty, expressing itself in an extraordinary duality, with each work contributing its own unique take on the whole. PLAYING ON THE EDGE 3 offers up a vibrant and challenging selection, a verbose continuation of theme. From beginning to end, the Sirius Quartet proves that they’re not just playing on the edge — they’re living on it too.
Quadrants
Catalog #: NV5883
Release Date: September 25, 2012
21st CenturyChamberString QuartetWith QUADRANTS, Navona presents a collection of modern string quartets that meld the old with the new, combining traditional forms with contemporary influences to present expressive, emotional works that both make and break the mold. QUADRANTS features the contemporary works of Marie Incontrera, Michael Cunningham, Alan Beeler, Ulf Grahn, and Virgil Thomson performed by the Boston String Quartet, the New England String Quartet, the Moravian Philharmonic Chamber Players, and the Boston Composers String Quartet.
Quadrants Vol 3
Catalog #: NV6239
Release Date: July 12, 2019
21st CenturyChamberString QuartetThe works of the eight composers on QUADRANTS 3 display both the broad scope of styles and energies that the string quartet can produce, while also highlighting the individual talents of each artist. The resident ensemble for QUADRANTS 3, Altius Quartet, who take their name from the Olympic motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger), handles each piece with skill and flair.
Quadrants Vol. 2
Catalog #: NV6184
Release Date: September 14, 2018
21st CenturyChamberString QuartetWith QUADRANTS, Navona Records presents six of today’s best modern string quartets that meld the old with the new, combining traditional forms with contemporary influences to present expressive, emotional works that both make and break the mold. QUADRANTS VOLUME 2 seeks to bring the emotive works of six contemporary composers together, with each work communicating both deeply personal and universal messages. These messages are made all the more potent when expressed through the multifaceted voice and intimate setting of the string quartet -- in this case, the acclaimed Boston group, the Pedroia String Quartet.
Quadrants Vol. 4
Catalog #: NV6483
Release Date: January 13, 2023
21st CenturyChamberVocal MusicString QuartetVoiceQUADRANTS VOL. 4 comes as the fourth installment of Navona's acclaimed series of string quartet recordings by contemporary composers. This time, a variety of ensembles perform a selection of pieces by Daniel Gil, Jacob E. Goodman, John Summers, Sami Seif, and Judith Lang Zaimont. Like its predecessors, QUADRANTS VOL. 4 presents musical creations that are highly structured, thoroughly conceptualized and profoundly cerebral, drawing upon subject matters as diverse as Kabbalistic philosophy, English urban poetry, and Arabic cultural identity, among others. Often the result of years-long toil, these compositions are by no means easy to perform – but each ensemble masterfully succeeds with virtuosic panache.
Quadrants Vol. 5
Catalog #: NV6602
Release Date: March 15, 2024
21st CenturyChamberString QuartetThe award-winning Benda Quartet assembles on QUADRANTS VOL. 5 to deliver a stunning, razor-sharp collection of contemporary string works. Composers Christopher J. Hoh, Ferdinando DeSena, Christopher Brakel, Michael Murray, and Paul Halley offer a wide range of sounds and emotions in this body of work, ranging from warm, elegant expressions to high-octane passages and more. This Navona Records release is also available as a visual album, filmed at the historic Dul Michal mine in Ostrava, CZ. Eloquent, precise, and hypnotic, QUADRANTS VOL. 5 is a crystal-clear reflection of the musical and technical heights of the string quartet genre.
Rational Passions
Catalog #: NV5960
Release Date: July 1, 2014
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalPianoPiano TrioString QuartetRATIONAL PASSIONS, Greg Bowers' debut release on Navona Records, takes its listeners on a trip through the psychological world of music. Each piece explores the relationship between the notes played and the emotions experienced, suggesting that emotional meaning can be rationalized.
Resistance
Catalog #: NV6206
Release Date: February 8, 2019
21st CenturyChamberFlutePianoString QuartetComposer Garth Baxter calls his commitment to form and aesthetic "modern traditionalism." And indeed, his new album RESISTANCE may just offer the best of both worlds in one captivating experience. Each piece has certain features in common: they are immediately, intuitively accessible to the listening ear, and all of them draw upon Baxter's ability to evoke sincere emotions with every note.
Restless Nation
Catalog #: NV6397
Release Date: February 4, 2022
21st CenturyChamberOrchestralOrchestraString QuartetNavona Records is proud to present RESTLESS NATION: THE MUSIC OF ANDY TEIRSTEIN. A student of Leonard Bernstein and Henry Brant, Teirstein’s music has been described by The New York Times as “magically atmospheric” and “tumultuously exuberant,” with “shifts from dark, earthy urgency to floating purity.” Featuring master soloists Marco Ambrosini (nyckelharpa) and Yair Dalal (oud), this new collection takes inspiration from the composer’s many travels directing the global initiative Translucent Borders, with musical influences from Bedouin singing, Scandinavian folk music, and his roots as a folk fiddle and banjo player. Letter from Woody is an orchestral reimagining of a letter the iconic folk balladeer Woody Guthrie wrote to his lover and future wife, the dancer Marjorie Mazia, in the 1940s, with hints of Guthrie’s songs and an introduction for harmonica.
Retrograde
Catalog #: NV6588
Release Date: January 5, 2024
21st CenturyChamberString QuartetRETROGRADE by Sirius Quartet is a collection of innovative string works from Mari Tamaki. Tamaki, a Japanese cellist, composer, performer, and producer, conjures up drama through intense dissonances and delicate tonal harmonies throughout. The result is elegant and dynamic, drawing on Tamaki’s classical, improvisational, and avant-garde influences. The album features works like parallel realities, an ode to a cross-dimensional world that quite possibly exists. It also includes sneak into the Q-city, named after a work by Japanese painter Iori Mamiya depicting a psychedelic journey into one’s own mind. Contrary to what its title suggests, RETROGRADE is forward-thinking and intellectually captivating.
Ritornello
Catalog #: NV5956
Release Date: August 1, 2014
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalPianoString QuartetOn RITORNELLO composer and pianist Curt Cacioppo revisits the beloved country of Italy, recalling places, friends, Italian tales, Don Giovanni, and more to create a detailed sonic story about his experiences and Italian heritage.
Seasons
Catalog #: NV6407
Release Date: February 4, 2022
21st CenturyChamberString QuartetJust as each season brings its own sensations and expressions, so does composer John Mitchell’s SEASONS from Navona Records. Performed by the award winning Benda Quartet, the compositions envelop the various characteristics and hallmarks of each time of year, capturing both their beauty and the emotions they evoke. Autumn exudes the subtle warmth left from summer, Winter brings suspenseful chills and flurries of notes, Spring, a shedding of winter coats, and Summer, a regal and relaxing musical soundscape, all conjured from a dynamic and expressive string quartet performance.
Secrets For Free
Catalog #: NV6178
Release Date: August 10, 2018
21st CenturyChamberOrchestralFluteOrchestraString QuartetIt should be no secret that Miami-based composer Ferdinando De Sena is a tour de force amongst electroacoustic composers. Just listening to SECRETS FOR FREE is all the proof you need. The EP boasts adventurous yet accessible compositions that balance real instruments with computer-generated sound. SECRETS FOR FREE is a testament to fans of either subgenre that the two approaches to classical music do not have to be mutually exclusive.
Several Times
Catalog #: NV6179
Release Date: September 14, 2018
21st CenturyChamberSolo InstrumentalPianoString QuartetSEVERAL TIMES is an impressive collection spanning over four decades of the composer’s career. Though artistic development is present throughout the larger timeline of the album, each composition demonstrates innovative approaches to time and repetition. These innovations reflect a desire to not only learn and understand time, but master it.