Fischer hallmarks Haydn: the effect, not the sound.
Release Date: 08/16/2024
Bruckner's Symphonies. All Versions. Part 1
Naxos Classical Spotlight
Marking the 200th anniversary of Bruckner's birth, Raymond Bisha dips into the fruits of Naxos' project to record all 18 versions of the composer's 11 symphonies. Featuring movements performed by the Bruckner Orchester Linz and the ORF Radio Vienna Symphony Orchestra, plus annotations from conductor Markus Poschner and Bruckner scholar Professor Paul Hawkshaw, Raymond Bisha opens his 4-part survey with an introduction to Symphonies 0, 1 and 2. The Complete Symphonies Box Set is now available, Naxos catalogue number 8.501804
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Manual overdrive. American organ concertos.
Naxos Classical Spotlight
A recent new album of American organ concertos featuring multi-award-winning artists brought together the artistry of organist Paul Jacobs and the contemporary music pedigree of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Giancarlo Guerrero. The high expectations generated by such a rare programme were met with distinction and this podcast conversation between Raymond Bisha and Paul Jacobs reveals both the practical challenges and the musical rewards behind the making of the recording.
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Janna Gandelman: a recital of Catalan violin works
Naxos Classical Spotlight
In the first half of the 20th century, Catalan instrumental music was dominated by works for the piano and the cello. As a result, the importance of Catalan violin repertoire is often overlooked. Raymond Bisha introduces a new album of such works for violin and piano that's full of captivating contrasts, featuring twelve works by five composers that were written over the course of more than a century.
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Fischer hallmarks Haydn: the effect, not the sound.
Naxos Classical Spotlight
Conductor Adam Fischer and the Danish Chamber Orchestra have already persuaded audiences to absorb the symphonies of Brahms and Beethoven through their distinctive lens. Now they're midway through a series of recordings of Haydn's great late symphonies. Raymond Bisha's conversation with Fischer draws the curtain on just how he fathoms Haydn's essence: “He's hiding his ideas in the scores, and we have to discover them.”
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Castelnuovo-Tedesco's 3 String Quartets.
Naxos Classical Spotlight
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, perhaps best known for his numerous film scores and works for guitar, also composed in a variety of other genres, from transcriptions for cello to violin concertos, piano works and orchestral music. Raymond Bisha turns our attention in this podcast to his three string quartets, written respectively in 1929, 1948 and 1964, and heard in authoritative performances on a new album by Italy's noted Quartetto Adorno.
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An interview with pianist and composer Danilo Pérez
Naxos Classical Spotlight
Grammy winning Panamanian jazz musician Danilo Pérez is many things - pianist, composer, educator, humanitarian, organizer of the Panama Jazz Festival, UNESCO Artist for Peace and Panama's Cultural Ambassador. In this podcast he talks about his new album Lumen that he recorded with Sweden's Bohuslän Big Band.
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Margaret Brouwer. Orchestral colour, imagery and emotional power.
Naxos Classical Spotlight
In this podcast, Raymond Bisha talks with American composer Margaret Brouwer about the inspiration and compositional approach behind the orchestral pieces on the programme of her new album. Spanning a period of twenty-four years, the works are brilliantly performed by Marin Alsop and the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, vividly capturing the music's wide range of expression, from sparkling sonorities to virtuosic challenges and beautiful evocations of nature.
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The Music of Brazil. Oscar Lorenzo Fernández (1897-1948)
Naxos Classical Spotlight
Five years into the celebrated Naxos Music of Brazil series, we reach Vol. 21 and the music of Oscar Lorenzo Fernández (1897-1948), who was a key figure in the cultural life of Rio de Janeiro. Lorenzo Fernández’s two symphonies suffered neglect after the composer’s untimely death at the age of fifty. Raymond Bisha introduces the world premiere recording of the powerful First Symphony, and the first modern studio recording of the programmatic Second Symphony.
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The Muses Restor'd: a new album from violinist Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque
Naxos Classical Spotlight
Rachel Podger talks about the joys of consort music, the Brecon Baroque Festival, and "The Muses Restor'd", her new album with Brecon Baroque with music from George Frideric Handel, William Lawes, John Blow, Matthew Locke, Henry Purcell, John Jenkins and many others.
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Smetana, Susskind & St Louis. An Elite Recording
Naxos Classical Spotlight
Smetana's Má vlast is an unprecedented cycle of six related symphonic poems that evoke Czech legends and celebrate the beauty of the country’s landscapes. Received with “unending storms of applause” at its 1882 premiere, Má vlast reflects the unique characteristics that form the heart and soul of the Czech nation. Raymond Bisha introduces an acclaimed 1975 recording of the work by the St Louis Symphony under Walter Susskind, which has been given a new lease of life by returning to the original Elite Recordings master tapes and effecting a high-definition transfer of the...
info_outlineConductor Adam Fischer and the Danish Chamber Orchestra have already persuaded audiences to absorb the symphonies of Brahms and Beethoven through their distinctive lens. Now they're midway through a series of recordings of Haydn's great late symphonies. Raymond Bisha's conversation with Fischer draws the curtain on just how he fathoms Haydn's essence: “He's hiding his ideas in the scores, and we have to discover them.”