AMERICAN CLASSICS

Our highly-acclaimed American Classics series boasts a unique catalogue of both well-known and rarely recorded masterpieces. This landmark series features the greatest American composers both familiar and unfamiliar: Romantics like Louis Moreau Gottschalk and Edward MacDowell; visionary modernists such as Charles Ives and John Cage; buoyant spirits like Sousa, Joplin, Ferde Grofé; figures at today’s cutting edge such as John Adams, Philip Glass, John Corigliano, Paul Moravec, William Bolcom and Michael Torke.

APPS

Naxos now produces interactive apps for mobile devices—Apple’s iPhone, iPod and iPad, as well as Android smart-phones and tablets. It has been building on the huge success of My First Classical Music App to create further products both for children and for adults.

AUDIOVISUAL PERFORMANCES

Representing almost all periods of musical history, the Naxos DVD list ranges from electric emotional dramas in early music masterpieces by Cavalli and Monteverdi, moves through the high romance of Donizetti and heroics of Verdi, right up to compelling contemporary productions such as Petitgirard’s The Elephant Man. Populated with a multitude of acclaimed musicians, remarkable productions and unique events, each title in the Naxos DVD catalogue is a richly rewarding highlight in its own right.

BALLET

The Naxos catalogue contains a wealth of music for ballet throughout history. These riches have their roots in the Italian Renaissance and 17th-century French theatre, but ballet in the form we know today commenced in the 19th century, coinciding with the Romantic era in music. Renowned scores can be found alongside new discoveries, all performed to world-class standards, and all capable of bringing the excitement and atmosphere of the stage into your music collection.

BLU-RAY AUDIO RECORDINGS

Always at the forefront of technological advances, Naxos is proud to present the audiophile circle with the Blu-ray Audio disc: a combination of spectacular audio fidelity with convenient usage. Each high-definition audio disc contains both stereo and surround versions of the programme, originally recorded at 24-bit 88.2/96kHz native resolution, thereby presenting exactly what the producers and recording engineers intended. Each programme can be played and navigated without a video monitor using the remote control, just like playing a CD. Users can select the preferred audio format at any time, by pressing the coloured buttons on their remote.

BRASS MUSIC

Renowned equally for their versatility as for the volume with which they can dominate the largest symphony orchestras, brass instruments are able to both pack a punch and soothe the senses. From battlefields to bluesy night-clubs, bells lifted high or muted into new personalities, brass bands and chamber groups have always found their niche in society and fans in performance. From novelty items to serious concertos, solo sonatas and scintillating septets, this segment catalogue has a surprise at every turn. We hope you will enjoy all the fun, fanfare and frisson it has to offer.

BRAZILIAN MUSIC

This collection of albums featuring Brazilian music reflects the range of stylistic influences – European, African, Amerindian – that helped generate the country’s distinctive character. The catalogue includes both Naxos releases and recordings from other labels within the Naxos Music Group, with programmes ranging from sambas to symphonic works. You’ll find household names such as Heitor Villa-Lobos alongside many less well-known figures, not least in the albums featuring Naxos’ ground-breaking Music of Brazil series, undertaken in collaboration with the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Browse either by label or alphabetically by composers’ names, and don’t forget to explore the many albums from ARC, the original world music label!

CELEBRATE BEETHOVEN

Beethoven’s monumental contribution to Western classical music is celebrated here in this definitive collection marking the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth. This CELEBRATE BEETHOVEN catalogue contains an impressive collection of works by this master composer across the Naxos Music Group labels.

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CELEBRATING ALEXANDER ZEMLINSKY

Alexander Zemlinsky was born in Vienna in 1871 and was of importance in the Viennese musical world at the beginning of the 20th century. Johannes Brahms was a staunch supporter of Zemlinsky; and he taught Alma Mahler, who discussed with her husband, with reference to Zemlinsky, the relationship between physical ugliness and spiritual beauty. He was also a teacher, friend and brother-in-law of Arnold Schoenberg. His earlier career was at the Vienna Volksoper, in Prague and in Berlin. However, being part ethnic Jewish, the Nazi-regime’s ascent to power in the 1930s forced his return to Vienna, and further on to the US. He died three in 1942, leaving behind an extensive output of eight operas, a number of choral and orchestral works, as well as vocal works with orchestra or piano; chamber music; and piano works.

Alexander Zemlinsky Biography & Discography Page

CELEBRATING ASTOR PIAZZOLLA

Born in the Argentine, the composer, conductor and bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla spent much of his childhood and adolescence in New York, where he was taken by his family in 1925. He established himself in Buenos Aires from 1937 as a player of the bandoneon (a German-invented form of concertina popular in Argentinian tango bands) and came to enjoy an international reputation with the various ensembles that he established and led.

Astor Piazzolla Biography & Discography Page

CELEBRATING CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS

Once described as the French Mendelssohn, Camille Saint-Saëns was talented and precocious as a child, with interests by no means confined to music. He made an early impression as a pianist. Following established French tradition, he was for nearly 20 years organist at the Madeleine in Paris and taught briefly at the École Niedermeyer, where he befriended his pupil Gabriel Fauré. He was a co-founder of the important Société Nationale de Musique with the patriotic aim of promoting contemporary French music in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870/1, in which he had served in the Garde Nationale de la Seine. Prolific and versatile as a composer, he contributed to most genres of music, but by the time of his death in 1921 his popularity in France had diminished considerably, as fashions in music had changed.

Camille Saint-Saëns Biography & Discography Page

CELEBRATING CLAUDE DEBUSSY

A unique voice in classical music, Claude Debussy (1862–1918) exercised widespread influence over later generations of composers, both in his native France and elsewhere, including Messiaen, Cage and Bartók. Debussy’s highly characteristic musical language, thoroughly French in inspiration, extended the contemporary limits of harmony and form. He had a remarkably delicate command of nuance, whether in piano-writing or in the handling of a relatively large orchestra.

His music combines late nineteenth-century Romanticism with a soundscape that exudes evocative imagery. This catalogue contains an impressive collection of works by this master composer: piano music, ranging from his ever-popular Clair de lune to the light-hearted Children’s Corner Suite (8.553291); examples of his influential orchestral music, including Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and La Mer (8.550262); the exquisite opera Pelléas et Mélisande (8.660047–49), and much more.

Claude Debussy Biography & Discography Page

CELEBRATING GIOACHINO ROSSINI

Gioachino Rossini occupied an unrivalled position in the Italian musical world of his time, winning considerable success relatively early in his career. He was the first of the great 19th-century Italian opera composers and brought opera into the public consciousness and even today his music still rings true.

Naxos has an amassed a comprehensive and growing catalogue of Rossini’s operas, as well as his instrumental compositions, including our complete edition of Péchés de vieillesse (“Sins of Old Age”) series by Alessandro Marangoni.

Gioachino Rossini Biography & Discography Page

CHORAL MUSIC (SACRED)

Of all music genres, sacred choral music enjoys the greatest historical reach and the richest range of styles. During the centuries preceding the Baroque period, unaccompanied gems would have rolled around the vaulted expanses of majestic cathedrals. Thereafter, accompanied music became the norm for masses, cantatas, oratorios and other works central to the religious experience, with standouts that include the Requiem Masses of Mozart, Fauré and Verdi. From Renaissance rites to the popular vernacular of modern religious works, the Naxos catalogue has the full overview.

CHORAL MUSIC (SECULAR)

The Naxos catalogue for choral secular music is a delightful collection spanning a wide range of periods, themes and styles, from Adam de la Halle’s medieval romp Le Jeu de Robin et Marion, the earliest known opera, to the extraordinary fusion of ethnic and avant-garde styles in Leonardo Balada’s María Sabina. Core repertoire includes JS Bach cantatas, Beethoven’s glorious Symphony No 9, and a “must have” (Classic FM) version of Carl Orff’s famous Carmina Burana. Explore national styles and traditions from the British clarity of Elgar, Finzi, Britten and Tippett, to the stateside eloquence of Eric Whitacre’s “superb” (Gramophone) choral program, William Bolcom’s GRAMMY-award winning songs, and Samuel Barber’s much loved choral music.

CHRISTMAS CATALOGUE

Christmas is one of the most richly celebrated seasons around the world. While its focus rests on just a few days of the year, the wealth of music that has been written to mark its spirit and story is astonishingly plentiful and varied.

Musicians continue to be inspired by the message of Christmas: in the following catalogue you will find examples of contemporary choral works by British composers John Tavener, James MacMillan and Sasha Johnson Manning alongside the established masterpieces of composers such as JS Bach, Handel and Berlioz.

CLASSICAL MUSIC FOR CHILDREN

We hope this catalogue will help parents in their selection of music for younger members of the family. Taking first steps in life always benefits from guidance, which this catalogue is designed to provide. You will find a wealth of vocal and instrumental works that will immediately engage younger listeners, either through the directness of their enchanting sounds or the absorbing subject matter on which they are built.

CZECH MUSIC

In this segment catalogue, you’ll find the works of established favourites—Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana, Bohuslav Martinů, Josef Suk—alongside less familiar names from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries that invite you to explore unknown treasures from the country’s rich heritage—Johann Baptist Vaňhal, Jiří Antonín Benda, Zdeněk Fibich and Erwin Schulhoff, among many others.

DIGITAL EXCLUSIVES

The Naxos Digital Exclusives collection is a unique catalogue of albums not available for CD, but accessible exclusively through download and streaming. With titles ranging from popular Baroque masterpieces and Romantic gems to exciting modern music which will appeal to and satisfy a wide audience on many levels.

EARLY MUSIC

While the chronology of early music may resist an exact definition, the advancement of European musical styles portrayed in this catalogue takes us on a fascinating journey from the emergence of gregorian chant (c. 750) up to the development of early Baroque music (c. 1600). Vocal, instrumental, sacred and secular works are gathered either in discrete discs of the more celebrated composers from the mediaeval and Renaissance periods, such as Leonin, Perotin, Byrd and monteverdi, or appear in themed compilations: French chansons, german lute songs, Italian dramatic laments, for example.

EASTER

In this Naxos Easter catalogue, you will find masterpieces representative of all musical styles: from Bach’s St Matthew Passion to the Requiems of Mozart and Verdi, plus the more contemporary utterances of works such as Penderecki’s St Luke Passion and Thierry Lancino’s Requiem.

The catalogue comprises choral works intended both for the church and the concert hall, while not forgetting purely instrumental music.

FEMALE CLASSICAL COMPOSERS

We hope you will enjoy exploring this catalogue that has not only historical depth but a truly international voice, as exemplified in the works of the significant number of 21st-century women composers: be it the highly colourful and accessible American chamber music of Jennifer Higdon, the Asian hues of Vivian Fung’s imaginative scores, the ancient-and-modern syntheses of Sofia Gubaidulina, or the hallmark symphonic sounds of the Russian-born Alla Pavlova.

FILM MUSIC CLASSICS

This segment list contains the Naxos Film Music Classics, which is a series devoted to re-recordings of the finest original orchestral film scores, often painstakingly reconstructed by film music experts such as John Morgan. Other recordings include the classical composers who occasionally worked in cinema, such as Dmitry Shostakovich, Benjamin Frankel, Jacques Ibert and Arthur Honegger.

HARP MUSIC 

You will find something for all preferences in this Naxos catalogue, both in arrangements and original works. There are collections specifically reflecting the music of different countries; others that showcase a variety of works with a span of styles, from the Baroque to 20th-century sounds; there’s also a selection of discs featuring music by living composers; plus a wealth of chamber music waiting to be explored.

HISTORICAL MUSIC

The Naxos Historical series offers a wealth of golden age recordings from the early 1900s up to the 1960s, featuring some of the most celebrated musical talents of the last century. Skilfully restored by award-winning producers Ward Marston, Mark Obert-Thorn and other experts, the series now amounts to almost 600 titles. Recent releases include Stravinsky conducting his great ballets, Die Götterdämmerung featuring Kirsten Flagstad, and Kathleen Ferrier performing songs and arias.

ITALIAN OPERA

This segment catalogue presents audio and audiovisual recordings of Italian opera released by Naxos and its affiliated labels. The contents help explain why Italy is known as both the cradle of opera and an ongoing contributor to the art form. The full range of musical styles of generations of Italian composers is listed: from the early Baroque works of Monteverdi and Cavalli, to bel canto masterpieces by Rossini and Donizetti, Puccini’s searing verismo statements and noted contemporary works such as Luca Mosca’s Signor Goldoni.

JAZZ LEGENDS & NOSTALGIA

Naxos Jazz Legends plots a course through the most vibrant period in the history of jazz from the swinging ’20s to the innovative ’40s. Naxos Jazz Legends takes a close look at the true giants of jazz, from the fathers of early jazz, via the queens of jazz singing to the great innovators of the 1940s and 1950s. Naxos Nostalgia presents a similarly stunning line-up. Taking in the biggest stars of the stage and screen performing some of the best-loved hits from the first half of the 20th century, there is a true treasure trove to explore on Naxos Nostalgia.

All Naxos Jazz Legends and Naxos Nostalgia titles are not available in the United States and some titles may not be available in Australia and Singapore because these countries have copyright laws that provide or may provide for terms of protection for sound recordings that differ from the rest of the world.

LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC

The rich cultural heritage and dramatic landscapes of Latin America, the pulsing rhythms and ecstatic melodies of its folk-music, and the cross-fertilisation between influences from the Old and New Worlds all find expression in the music of composers from Meso- and South America, and have inspired countless composers from other nations as well.

LUTE & GUITAR MUSIC

Welcome to the intimate, colourful and versatile world of music for lute and guitar, instruments with an ancestry tracing back thousands of years.

Collectors wishing to assemble recordings by composer will find noted representatives of successive historical periods, including John Dowland, Silvius Leopold Weiss, Mauro Giuliani, Fernando Sor, Francisco Tarrega Joaquín Rodrigo, Leo Brouwer and Hans Werner Henze.

There are also regional collections of guitar music not only from the instrument’s native Spain, but also from South American countries, Australia and Britain.

MOZART, HAYDN & THEIR CONTEMPORARIES

The Classical era was a time of extraordinary creativity which saw the creation of masterpieces by two classical giants, Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791). We hope you will enjoy not only browsing the catalogue for its consolidated recordings of music by the giants, but also discovering new names, their winning works and some memorable music.

MUSICAL JOURNEYS FROM EUROPE TO CHINA

Naxos Musical Journeys are virtual tours to the world’s cultural heritage sites accompanied by classical music skilfully chosen and synchronised with the footage. From fjords and Viking churches in Norway to the Rome Colosseum; from bull fights at Plaza del Toros in Seville to the Palaces of St Petersburg; each journey is a pleasure for the eyes as well as the ears. The music follows the great composers’ footsteps both at home and abroad, such as Mozart’s travels in Italy and Beethoven’s visit to Paris. In addition to Europe, discover also the spirit of China, a land where old cultural traditions are kept alive in a rapidly changing modern society; all within the reach of your television.

‘MY FIRST’ SERIES

The ‘My First’ series from Naxos is the ideal springboard for a lifelong journey through classical music. Each selection is carefully tailored for younger listeners and includes famous tracks as well as unexpected gems. From CDs and books to mobile apps, these titles are full of interesting information about music and musical instruments. Unique and imaginative, the ‘My First’ series will open a door to a wonderful world that children and parents can discover together.

NORDIC AND BALTIC MUSIC

Naxos’s vast store of Nordic and Baltic repertoire is combined here for the first time with that of the major independent labels of the Nordic region: Dacapo, Ondine, Proprius and Simax (with their labels) and Swedish Society. The result is an encyclopaedic resource serving as a comprehensive introduction to the fascinating and rewarding music of these northern lands, which surely must have more composers and musicians per capita than anywhere else.

OPERA & OPERETTA

With its synthesis of sight and sound in splendid variety, opera has every right to its claim as one of the highest art forms.

This catalogue opens the door onto four centuries of superb musical stage works. Trading off a panoply of emotions and supported by musical craftsmanship of the highest order, they have entertained people at every level of society since the genre was first conceived – from kings to commoners, from opera seria to Singspiel.

PERCUSSION MUSIC

Percussion instruments have always been a feature of traditional music and, more recently, as the backbone for popular and world music cultures. The recordings in this catalogue present a mix of styles and roles for the prolific sounds of the percussion family, from chamber music to concerto platforms, with a seemingly inexhaustible range of expression.

PIANO CONCERTOS

Naxos’ Piano Concerto catalogue presents a fine selection of virtuoso showpieces by Mozart, Beethoven, Rachmaninov, which are widely performed, to the hidden gems by Busoni, Beach, Glazunov to name but a few. The catalogue also features some of the finest pianists from Naxos’s extensive roster, including Jenő Jandó, Idil Biret, Peter Donohoe, Benjamin Frith, Stefan Vladar, Romain Descharmes, Eldar Nebolsin and more.

RUSSIAN & UKRAINIAN SYMPHONIES AND ORCHESTRAL WORKS

The Russian Symphonies and Orchestral Works segment catalogue throws us onto that huge, colourful canvas that is Russian orchestral music, stretching from the cosmopolitan foundations laid by the ever-popular, lyrical works by Tchaikovsky, right through to the contemporary landscape occupied by the symphonies of Alla Pavlova. Between those points in time, the boundless imagination of ancient folklore and the blunt realism of emerging political regimes are comprehensively represented in works that grew respectively against the backcloths of the Russian Empire and the Soviet era.

SPANISH CLASSICS

From polyphonic chants and masses; through the harpsichord virtuoso music of Soler; and to the unmistakably Iberian and evocative music of Granados, Mompou and Rodrigo; Spain has rich and multifaceted musical heritage. Spanish music has often connections with the country’s bright sunlight and culture of dance and fiesta; the rhythmic energy of dances such as the flamenco and fandango complimenting unforgettable evocations of landscape and shimmering horizons. From Alfonzo X “El Sabio” to Victoria, and Albeniz to Villa-Rojo, the Naxos catalogue of Spanish music speaks to us with a unique passion which will enrich and delight.

UKRAINIAN MUSIC

The music of Ukraine is a unique blend of elements of Western and Eastern music, with strong ties to Slavic and Christian influences. We are pleased to shine a light on the richness and depth of Ukrainian music from across the Naxos Music Group labels. From traditional Ukrainian folk music to Classical works by such composers as Kapustin, Stankovych and Silvestrov, there is much here to discover and to explore.

VOCAL MUSIC

This segment catalogue features vocal music in all its variety of styles, accompaniments and historical settings, from complete editions of songs with intimate piano accompaniment to exuberant large-scale orchestral song cycles. Sacred and secular repertoires are both well represented, and you’ll find works that are in turn reassuringly well-known and intriguingly unfamiliar among the collection of some five hundred albums. Scroll through the entries, from Anonymous to Zemlinsky, and begin your exciting survey of that most versatile of instruments—the human voice.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

William Shakespeare, the English poet, playwright and actor, is widely regarded as the greatest contributor to English literature and one of the world’s greatest dramatists. Writing prolifically during the English Renaissance, his contribution to the English language still resonates today, witness the frequent references to his works in daily use around the world. While his plays might count as his most enduring legacy, his poetry also continues to be immensely popular. This catalogue details the different formats in which his output can be enjoyed, including audiobooks, audio albums and audiovisual products. The recordings are drawn from catalogues across the entire Naxos Music Group and feature a number of albums of works by composers who were inspired by Shakespeare’s oeuvre.

WIND ENSEMBLE MUSIC

Wind band, concert band, wind ensemble, symphonic band – whatever the nomenclature, the glorious sound of massed woodwind, brass and percussion instruments today lies at the heart of educational and military music departments. The wind band concept took root more than three centuries ago and has been evolving ever since: following the French Revolution in 1789, the establishment of the Paris National Guard band gave considerable impetus to the development of the ensemble into its modern form; a century later, John Philip Sousa’s renowned American band toured the US and Europe, spreading the ensemble’s popularity; the first half of the 20th century saw established English classical composers such as Vaughan Williams and Hoist championing its cause; and contemporary composers worldwide continue to provide the genre’s catalogue with a modernistic edge.

We hope you will enjoy exploring the sheer variety and vitality that’s on offer in the Naxos Wind Band Classics and American Classics series that fill the following pages.