Catalog

Throughout an individual's life, certain experiences, places, and people remain fundamental to his or her identity. As in a memoir, composer and conductor Paul John Stanbery depicts some of the experiences that have substantially influenced his character in SYMPHONY NO. 2, FOUNDATIONS, his digital-only release on Navona Records.

Navona Records presents Michael Kurek’s SYMPHONY NO. 2: TALES FROM THE REALM OF FAERIE, a rich musical tapestry intertwining the colors and characteristics of many fantastical worlds the composer has entered and loved. Performed by the European Recording Orchestra, a certain spirit of unspoiled beauty, innocence, nobility, hope, and heroic goodness stretches across four movements, each giving the listener creative control of the worlds they conjure. With a well-balanced lineage of traditional compositional techniques running throughout his symphony and other works for choir to follow, Kurek presents a dynamic assortment of work that keeps the spirit and heritage of classical music alive.

Quite surprisingly, Symphony No. 3 had humble beginnings. Back in the late 2000s, composer John A. Carollo connected on MySpace (!) with English soprano Sharon Selman, who was deeply involved in the preservation of trees and forests. She suggested that Carollo use the poetry of William Blake as a starting point to create a piece about nature. Carollo didn't think twice; and a song cycle named Awake Humanity to Nature’s Beauty! was composed, then reworked, resulting in two different instrumentations.

Navona 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.

Alicia Terzian is a world-recognized, award-winning composer, conductor, and musicologist. She is on the faculty of the Fine Arts Academy of Chile and Spain and is the conductor of Grupo Encuentros, the official group of the International Encounters for Contemporary Music Foundation and the only permanent group in Latin America.

TAPESTRY OF VOICES from Navona Records showcases the versatility and elegance of the human voice woven with grand orchestral statements, colorful choral arrangements, and intimate settings with piano. Eight contemporary composers offer settings of poetry and stories from various cultures throughout human history, from Africa to Europe, North America, and beyond. Threading modern takes on Greek mythology, meditations on concepts of loss, morality, and more, TAPESTRY OF VOICES is exactly as its title suggests — an intricate and artistic convergence of ideas that’s sure to entrance those who experience it.

What do you get when you tailor both music and lyrics to a tenor of brilliant clarity? A profound, cerebral, sensuous and at times even mystical experience, as demonstrated by vocalist Timothy Stoddard on his riveting new album TAROT. Born out of a year-long, close-knit collaboration between Stoddard, pianist Ellen Fast, and a diverse assortment of composers and librettists, TAROT proves the Aristotelian assertion that the whole is even more than the sum of its parts. These scintillating new vocal compositions all touch upon the vast mysteries of the great unknown wherever it overlaps with the human condition – be it in love, in death or in the occult. TAROT conjures an enchanting, dizzying, dreamlike universe – and Stoddard’s crystal-clear tenor is the effervescent guide.

While speaking on Édouard Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, Op.21, Pyotr Tchaikovsky posited that his colleague “does not strive after profundity, but carefully avoids routine, seeks out new forms, and thinks about musical beauty more than observing established traditions.” Acclaimed violinist Moonkyung Lee endeavors to emulate this approach on her Navona debut TCHAIKOVSKY – WORKS FOR VIOLIN AND ORCHESTRA, in which she presents several performances of beloved Tchaikovsky alongside the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Miran Vaupotić.

The lineage of Western concert music is one which brims with tradition and history, through teachers and pupils, listeners and performers, spanning centuries and continents alike. But one of the common threads which runs through this lineage is the urge by composers, performers, and audiences to all be part of a transcendent emotional experience through music itself.

Pondering the Baroque violin repertoire, one would be forgiven to think of Johann Sebastian Bach’s works and little else. Acclaimed English violinist Thomas Bowes courageously sets out to change this preconceived notion with TELEMANN FANTASIAS, a rare and remarkable full performance of all of Georg Philipp Telemann’s solo violin fantasias.

The compositions of Byron Petty, Peter Homans, and Robert Stewart draw from a wide variety of influences, from Haydn to the Second Viennese School and Brahms to Stravinsky. Tendrils showcases the influences and skills of these three composers and highlights their ability to remain classical while utilizing modern concepts such as rotation, continuous development, and lyricism.

Drawing 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.

TEXTURES 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.

On his seventh release on Navona Records, THE ADVENTURES OF FLORIAN, Michael J. Evans presents an epic, modern adaptation of Henry Beston’s fairytale of the same name. Over the course of four orchestral acts, Evans reframes the story as a tale of trans heroship, with Prince Florizel marrying Florian himself presenting as a boy, rather than revealing Florian as Isabella.

Composer George Kieffer and Navona Records are proud to present THE AMBASSADOR'S WIFE, a collection of stories and dialectical thought conveyed through the sounds of the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Featured on this album is Kieffer’s Fanfare for the Olympics, a piece dedicated to the sacrifices made and triumph achieved by athletes, which premiered at the 2015 Special Olympics.

Multiple Grammy Award-winning chamber choir The Crossing moves listeners with their new release THE ARC IN THE SKY, a breathtaking performance of the eponymous work by accomplished choral composer Kile Smith. Based on texts by Robert Lax (1915–2000), it constitutes an American pilgrimage into spirituality.

Frank Felice, an eclectic composer celebrated for his postmodern mischievousness, explores his own brand of “consonant adiatonicism” in THE BEAUTY OF INNUENDOS. Throughout the album, Felice sets a variety of texts to music, ranging from the antiphons of 9th century Christian mystic Hildegard of Bingen to the modernist poetry of Wallace Stevens. Felice’s compositions explore the given text while also demonstrating the virtuosic skill of the singer and the pianist; the latter, far from a mere accompaniment, joins with the voices equally to lend even great profundity to the poetic text. Featured in these recordings is mezzo-soprano Mitzi Westra, who commissioned two of the works. Above all, THE BEAUTY OF INNUENDOS solidifies Felice’s reputation as a dauntless and innovative composer.

The Navona Records debut from chamber-jazz group Douglas Detrick's AnyWhen Ensemble features composer and trumpeter Douglas Detrick's ten-movement suite, The Bright and Rushing World, commissioned by Chamber Music America. This work, which George Grella called "impressively clear, inventive and compelling," (Big City Blog, 2.4.14) is not a pastiche of styles, but a thoughtfully-constructed hybrid of music with a unique and personal sensibility inspired by sources as diverse as Duke Ellington, Gil Evans, Benjamin Britten and Igor Stravinsky.

This 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).

Navona 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.