Catalog

The regions of Austria and Hungary have a rich history of music, art, and culture, where composers such as Beethoven, Artur Schnabel, and Emanuel Moór, among many others, developed their craft and influenced the traditions of European art music. On his debut release on Navona Records, CELLO MUSIC FROM AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, cellist Sam Magill presents works by Beethoven, Schnabel, and Moór that not only expand the cello repertoire and illustrate the cellist’s virtuosity, technical aplomb, conviction, and expressiveness, but enrich our understanding of these composers, their music, and their heritage.

Navona Records presents FIGMENTS, a compilation of eclectic contemporary works for chamber ensemble that highlight the dramatic, the mysterious, and the inventive through diverse instrument combinations and use of extended techniques. The album features music by composers Mark Dal Porto, Richard Campanelli, David Nisbet Stewart, Paula Diehl, Jason R. Lovelace, and Mel Mobley.

Navona Records presents PINNACLE, a compilation of contemporary chamber works by composers Hans Bakker, Steven Block, Peter Greve, Daniel Perttu, and Kevin M. Walczyk that highlight the melodic, emotive, and dramatic styles offered by some of today’s chamber music.

Navona Records presents ONYX, the 29th edition of the acclaimed Society of Composers, Inc. CD Series and the fifth SCI release on the label. Founded in 1965, SCI celebrates their 50 year anniversary with the release of this album, marking their continued dedication to the promotion, performance, understanding, and dissemination of new and contemporary music.

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.

Considered by American Record Guide as a composer who “approaches his pieces with respect and care,” Carl Vollrath presents the second volume of his clarinet and piano works on Navona Records, LINGERING LONGINGS: MUSIC FOR CLARINET AND PIANO VOL. 2. Expanding upon the first release in this collection, PAST RECOLLECTIONS: MUSIC FOR CLARINET AND PIANO VOL. 1, the composer continues to celebrate past events through musical narratives, tenderly and radiantly performed by clarinetist Michael Norsworthy and pianist Yoko Hagino.

On her debut release on Navona Records, VOIX SUPRÊME: MÉLODIES OF JULES MASSENET, coloratura soprano Shudong Braamse presents a selection of Romantic French art songs, illustrating Massenet’s arresting motives, graceful vocal lines, and well-placed accompaniments. Exhibiting Massenet’s meticulous style, Braamse creates tender and dynamic imagery, intertwining punctuated piano lines with her sensitive voice, which suggests the colors of a flute, while turbulent textures denote climactic moments of emotion.

On her Navona Records release PERSONAE, pianist Beth Levin presents works from Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849), Anders Eliasson (1947-2013), and Robert Schumann (1810-1856) that highlight each composer’s unique voice and style. Praised by Jeremy Eichler of the New York Times for her “boldly inflected readings and impressive ability to convey emotion without exhibition,” Levin animates the personalities of each composer with aplomb, passion, and elegance.

With an innate sense of curiosity and a drive for knowledge, humans constantly push the boundaries of their physical and psychological environments, attempting to break through and discover the unexpected. On his debut Navona Records release ASTRAL TRAVELS, composer and double bassist David Arend explores several frontiers, including perceived boundaries between musical genres, earth and outer space, humanity and nature, and perception and reality.

Trailblazer.  Advocate.  Innovator.  All of these descriptors apply to Grammy Award-winner Libby Larsen, but at the core is the most important title of all:  Artist.  As the first woman to serve as a resident composer with a major orchestra and one of the most performed and prolific composers of our time (she has over 500 works in her catalog, including 15 operas), Larsen has established a permanent place in the annals of American concert music.

Composer, pianist, teacher, poet, and writer, Robert Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943) is regarded as one of the most important musicians in American history, lauded in his lifetime as the first American composer to fuse African American folk idioms with the European art music tradition in a sophisticated way. On his debut album on Navona Records, MY CUP RUNNETH OVER, pianist Clipper Erickson presents the first complete collection of Dett’s piano works, a milestone for American music discography.

Navona Records’ compilation of contemporary works for orchestra, TURBULENT SKY, presents works by composers Fred Broer, William Coble, and Stephen Yip that explore and celebrate the dramatic fanfare, intricate textures, and variety of timbres possible with the orchestra.

The most recent recording of music by internationally renowned and critically acclaimed composer, Fredrick Kaufman, is a mystical journey through Kaufman's compositional explorations of the unknown, the natural order, and universal human experience. The two feature works are world premieres of his atmospheric choral & instrumental pieces that depict the cosmos in Stars & Distances and Seven Sisters.

Celebrate the joy and magic of Christmas with Czech composer Jan Jirásek’s debut Navona Records release CZECH AND MORAVIAN CHRISTMAS CAROLS. The composer presents a collection of original carols that highlight the spirit, peaceful contemplation, and mystery of Christmas, performed by the Czech children’s choir JITRO with accompaniments by traditional wind, percussion, and string instruments.

From Verdi and Mozart to Stravinsky and Britten, the requiem has been a musical tradition used by many composers to remind us of life's indeterminacy. American composer Arthur Gottschalk's momentous masterwork, REQUIEM: FOR THE LIVING, an 8-movement, 45 minute work for full orchestra, chorus, and four soloists, including tenor Alberto Mizrahi and Grammy-nominated soprano Lauren Snouffer, resigns the fear of uncertainty by celebrating the rich narrative of Western art and culture.

Capturing the viola's rich and haunting quality, composer Peter Vukmirovic Stevens' second release on Navona Records, FERAL ICONS, is a suite of six works for solo viola performed by the extraordinary violist Mara Gearman of Seattle Symphony. The album embodies the raw and expressive energy of Stevens' impassioned compositional style, inviting the listener on an emotional narrative.

On their debut Navona Records release, KOSTOV-VALKOV DUO: TRANSCRIPTIONS AND PARAPHRASES FOR CELLO AND PIANO, the Kostov-Valkov Duo - cellist Lachezar Kostov and pianist Viktor Valkov - present a powerful and invigorating program, showcasing their virtuosity and superior technique with commanding performances of works by Franz Liszt, Buxton Orr, Bohuslav Martinů, and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco.

On CRIMSON & LACE, Navona Records' compilation of modern works for voice and chamber ensemble, composers John G. Bilotta, David DeVasto, and Paula Diehl present works that depict the struggles as well as the rewards of human experience, such as heartache, death, love, hope, uncertainty, tragedy, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Follow three composers on a journey through early 20th-century Europe, reflecting on various experiences including the life of a student, the rush of bullfighting, and the folklore of Scandinavia on the debut Navona Records release by the Skyros Quartet, INTROSPECTIVE ODYSSEY. Consisting of Sarah Pizzichemi, violin; James Moat, violin; Justin Kurys, viola; and William Braun, cello; the quartet presents works by Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), Joaquín Turina (1882-1949), and Jean Sibelius (1865-1957).

The intersection of classical music and popular and folk music is where the journey begins for the Seattle-based Saint Helens String Quartet - consisting of Stephen Bryant, violin; Adrianna Hulscher, violin; Michael Lieberman, viola; and Paige Stockley, cello - exploring a sonic vision of American culture presented by four contemporary composers on their debut Navona Records release, AMERICAN DREAMS.