Catalog

Navona Records proudly presents PRISMA VOL. 2, an epic journey into the world of the large ensemble with five of today’s top contemporary composers. This collection demonstrates the diversity of the orchestral and concerto composition, both in instrumentation and emotion.

Navona Records’ exhilarating PRISMA VOL. 3 unveils the diverse faces of contemporary orchestral music. Featuring the works of seven composers, PRISMA VOL. 3 follows up the success of the first two PRISMA installments with symphonic music that is both innovative and deeply alluring.

Navona Records proudly presents PRISMA VOL. 4, the fourth installment in the acclaimed PRISMA series showcasing the best of American contemporary composition.

Navona Records’ acclaimed PRISMA series continues with a fifth installment, again showcasing the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra’s riveting take on contemporary composition. With a focus on innovation and imaginative performance, the orchestra brings a breath of fresh air to a repertoire that’s all-too-often dominated by mainstream works.

REASON AND REVERENCE represents an aural exploration of our world’s complexities. By comparing and contrasting present triumphs with past regrets, the composers on this album develop a compelling, philosophical reflection of the world we live in. Conducted by Petr Vronský, the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra delivers a master class in cohesiveness while tackling a wildly diverse, yet wholly complete set of compositions.

Composer and pianist Jeffrey Jacob returns to Navona Records with REAWAKENING, a collection of varied works for orchestra and chamber ensembles. Jacob’s lush, mystical style pervades the album, often blending his piano’s sound with orchestral arrangements to create rich musical imagery, as in The Loch Before Sunrise and A Mirror Upon the Waters.

RELIVE, from Navona Live features live performances of the music of three composers from around the world. This latest edition of the Navona Live series is inspired by an eclectic blend of world topics, literature,  landscapes, and seascapes. Corrina Bonshek’s Dreams of the Earth is a reworking of a large scale piece for string and percussion inspired by the sight of a swirling flock of birds amidst the backdrop of climate change.

Navona 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.

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.

It 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.

Australian composer, music educator, and pianist Margaret Brandman presents her debut Navona release SENSATIONS, featuring several of her celebrated compositions, each one presenting a unique musical experience and sensation. The Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra skilfully performs the orchestral portion, opening with the joyful Love Brings Change (Adagio for Strings). Pianist Lucie Kaucká joins the orchestra for Lyric Fantasy, an emotional and accessible two-movement work with contrasting moods for piano and strings.

Timothy Kramer has recorded and released a full album of his orchestral works with Navona Records. The result: SENTINELS, an evocative representation of Kramer’s compositions that span several decades, with influences ranging from Baroque to rock.

The clichéd trope of the isolated artist toiling over their work in a virtual vacuum, alone and against the trends of the day, is not a new one. But in the case of Paula Diehl, it is as true as it comes. It isn’t an easy task to be a composer, a job which (to paraphrase Aaron Copland) holds few material rewards, and often even fewer good notices in the paper the next morning – it requires an inner strength and conviction in order to persevere through the challenges, be they artistic, financial, or social.

SEQUOIAS from composer Jeffrey Jacob and Navona Records is an ode to the entrancing qualities of the natural world, echoing through music an appreciation for its transcendental beauty and concern for the devastating impact of climate change. Inspired by what he calls “cathedral-like sentinels of nature,” Symphony No. 6 meditates on the magnificence and grandeur of the tall trees towering in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. With other pieces inspired by the limitless reverberations conjured from the forest and the natural light that illuminates it, SEQUOIAS showcases the composer’s creative ambition and commitment to the environment.

Composer and double bassist Peter Paulsen presents SHANGHAIED PAISANO, featuring the contemporary music ensemble TurksHeadKnot joined by The Dali Quartet. TurksHeadKnot, which includes Paulsen on double bass and as director, Chris Hanning on percussion, and Chris Bacas on saxophones, incorporates the discipline and precision of modern classical composition with the expressive flow of jazz improvisation. The ensemble is accompanied on this album by The Dali Quartet, a string ensemble known for mixing Latin American, Classical, and Romantic repertoire. SHANGHAIED PAISANO features Paulsen’s Shanghaied Paisano, a four-movement work inspired by Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s Americus IV, as well as Paulsen’s arrangement of Chega De Saudade by Antonio Carlos Jobim.

A protégé of Rogers, Carter, Sessions, Britten, and Finney, Sydney Hodkinson emerged as a highly regarded composer and professional in his own right early on, serving as artist-in-residence, director, and educator across the United States and Canada, including at the Eastman School of Music where he catapulted the renowned Musica Nova into the public spotlight through innovative artistic direction and programming.

Belgian-native Jan Van der Roost leads a prolific career as a composer, writing works that span a variety of genres and styles, from oratorios and symphonies to lieder cycles and wind band chamber pieces. Van der Roost's unique style has ushered international renown, with his works recorded and performed worldwide, in addition to his guest professorships across four continents.

SOUND SPECTRUM features works for piano, soprano, and orchestra by composer Allen Bonde. Bonde draws from his personal experiences and feelings to craft beautiful pieces with a wide range of styles: Fantasia for Piano and Orchestra, a cohesive work cast in traditional harmony; Three Elizabethan Songs and Three Elizabethan Songs Revisited, a set of works blending simplicity and sophistication; Symphony No. 1, a kaleidoscopic orchestral piece with astounding instrumental color; Rose Window, a musical representation of the breathtaking Rose Window at Mount Holyoke Chapel; Sonus I, a 12-tonebased and freely composed piece in variation form; Four Shakespeare Songs, a fresh take on the Bard's work stylistically reflective of the 1920s; You Were The One, based on the sensitive poetry of Mary Jo Salter; and Encore Blues, a one-take improvised celebration of the recording sessions. Often performing the works himself as pianist, and in collaboration with the "Bonde Family," his oeuvres provide warmth, intimacy and compositional diversity with each piece.

Navona Records presents SOUNDTRACK OF THE AMERICAN SOLDIER, an album of contemporary works for wind band performed by The United States Army Field Band. Led by Colonel Jim R Keene, the Army Field Band is the U.S. Army’s premier touring musical organization. In SOUNDTRACK OF THE AMERICAN SOLDIER, the Army Field Band presents music of classic American films and video games, and in doing so celebrates the stories they portray and the men and women who inspired them. Monitored and mixed in IMMERSIVE DOLBY ATMOS® (5.1.4), SURROUND (5.1), and STEREO, the album immerses the listener in a multi-dimensional soundscape that creates a deeply meaningful connection to the music and the stories it portrays.

On SOURCE GROUND, Hans Bakker’s second full-length release on Navona Records, the composer once again probes music’s ability to, as Leonard Bernstein said, “name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.” Rhythmically rigorous pieces for solo piano, organ works that fill every nook and cranny of the aural spectrum, powerful orchestral works, and pieces for the rare and haunting lame-sonore draw listeners towards a sense of infinite oneness connected by music.