• American Woman

    Catalog #: NV6659

    Release Date: October 4, 2024

    20th Century
    Romantic
    Chamber
    Cello
    Piano

    The cello-piano duo is justly hailed for its tremendous expressiveness. Cellist Juliana Soltis and pianist Ruoting Li remarkably demonstrate this setup's emotive power on AMERICAN WOMAN while championing a noble cause — highlighting underrepresented women composers. Featuring works by Mary Howe, Amy Beach, Margaret Bonds, Helen Crane, Dorothy Rudd Moore, and Florence Price, AMERICAN WOMAN sheds light on a treasure trove of rarely heard gems of cello-piano literature. The general tone is sweeping, romantic, expressive, at times fierce and energetic, then again tender and delicate. Soltis and Li show extraordinary ability not only in bringing out the unique style of each composer, but also in uniting them all in a great artistic effort.

  • Voices from the Other Side

    Catalog #: NV6662

    Release Date: September 6, 2024

    20th Century
    21st Century
    Chamber
    Vocal Music
    Cello
    Voice

    VOICES FROM THE OTHER SIDE is a collection of evocative chamber works performed by cello octet — several with soprano soloist Gabrielle Haigh. Included are Arvo Pärt’s tintinnabuli-style Fratres as well as his L’abbé Agathon, inspired by the remains of a 12th-century leper hospital near Beauvais, France; as well as the beloved Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 by Heitor Villa-Lobos. Two works by American composer Margi Griebling-Haigh are featured: the title piece is a setting of three otherworldly poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay, and a single-movement work called Cantilena allows the cellists to shine individually as well as together. Griebling-Haigh’s music has been praised for memorable melodies and strong rhythms; her colorful scoring and harmonic language have been compared to Barber, Ravel, and Poulenc.

  • Deep River

    Catalog #: NV6650

    Release Date: August 16, 2024

    20th Century
    Folk Music
    Chamber
    Vocal Music
    Strings
    Voice

    One might be tempted to think that there is no crossover in music that hasn't been done yet; and thankfully, one would be mistaken. DEEP RIVER presents a vibrant selection of 21 African American spirituals, interpreted by countertenor Michael Walker II and early music consort Alchymy Viols. A curious collaboration? Not at all, according to director Philip Spray. The viol consort's historical purpose was to arrange popular tunes of its day; so it appeared only logical to try this setup on America's first folk songs. It worked. Additional harmonies are provided by a distinctly anachronistic grand harp, and accompaniment by a small field pump organ. The effect is stunning: a music so utterly, distinctly American, one wonders why this hasn't been done before.

  • Basso Profundo

    Catalog #: NV6609

    Release Date: July 26, 2024

    20th Century
    Baroque
    Solo Instrumental
    Double Bass

    Edwin Barker’s playing is described as “timeless,” “vibrant,” and “compelling,” three descriptors that could not be better suited for his recording of J.S. Bach’s Suite No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011 and Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s Sonata Op. 108 for solo double bass. Elegantly capturing Bach’s suite in his arrangement for double bass, Barker navigates the challenging and unwieldy passages of the Prelude’s fugue with the same measured and tolerant musicality innate to the immortal tenderness of the Sarabande. Despite a grand leap in time and place, he inspires equal personality — and often spouts of well-placed capriciousness — in Weinberg’s Sonata, honoring the high technical demands of the work while carving out a unique appreciation for Weinberg’s stylistic traditions. BASSO PROFUNDO is a prime example of a master at work, a recording that will surely inspire another extensive list of descriptors risen in Barker’s praise.

  • Mother Tales

    Catalog #: NV6581

    Release Date: December 8, 2023

    20th Century
    21st Century
    Chamber
    Piano
    Violin

    Against the backdrop of the pandemic, violinist Sunmi Chang and pianist Clara Yang embarked on this meaningful project. MOTHER TALES is an album that pays tribute to four remarkable women composers – Florence Price, Gabriela Lena Frank, Liliya Ugay, and Amy Beach. Notably, the album shares the same title as Liliya Ugay’s commissioned work, an exquisite and heartwarming piece that reflects on motherhood. However, in this project, the concept of a “mother” transcends biological boundaries, encompassing all those who have had a profound influence and nurturing presence in the lives of others.

  • Let’s Tango!

    Catalog #: NV6568

    Release Date: December 8, 2023

    20th Century
    Chamber
    Cello
    Double Bass
    Piano

    On LET’S TANGO, Duo Cello e Basso with French double bassist Pascale Delache-Feldman and cellist Emmanuel Feldman invites listeners to experience some of the celebrated genre’s greatest masterpieces. Joined by pianist Victor Cayres, the centerpiece of the album is the duos’ arrangement of Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires that they perform in concerts around the United States including a recent appearance at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Other Piazzolla works with piano include Kicho, an original work for solo double bass and Le Grand Tango, written originally for cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. The album also includes a trio arrangement of Por una Cabeza and El Dia que me Quieras by famed 20th century tango composer Carlos Gardel. Full of the longing and passion characteristic of tango music and paired with the rich dynamic range of the bass and cello, LET’S TANGO offers fresh new interpretations of these classic works.

  • Chorinho

    Catalog #: NV6537

    Release Date: August 11, 2023

    20th Century
    Chamber
    Piano
    Viola

    Navona Records is proud to present CHORINHO, the new album by violist Georgina Rossi and pianist Silvie Cheng. Saturated with Brazil’s rich musical heritage, CHORINHO presents a slew of under-recognized works for viola, including world-premiere recordings of works by João de Souza Lima, Lindembergue Cardoso, and Ernani Aguiar. A solo piano interlude honors Heitor Villa-Lobos, the titan of Brazil’s 20th century musical scene. The concluding track, an arrangement of Chiquinha Gonzaga’s song Lua Branca by the two soloists themselves, hangs over the collection like a light. Vibrant, soulful, and expressive, CHORINHO offers a spectacular glimpse into a little-known area of Brazilian contemporary music.

  • Protest

    Protest

    Catalog #: NV6536

    Release Date: August 11, 2023

    20th Century
    Chamber
    Piano
    Violin

    Ukrainian violinist Myroslava Khomik highlights the eternal power of standing for freedom and defiance against oppression in PROTEST, an album featuring the music of four key representatives of 20th century composers from Ukraine and Poland. Expressing strength and resilience through the beauty and search for truth, PROTEST taps into the spiritual essence of human existence and vigilance in the midst of its disruption. This music is equally representative of the nation’s history of suffering and protest, as well as it is timely in the world of today.

  • Walton & Barber album cover

    Walton & Barber

    Catalog #: NV6530

    Release Date: July 14, 2023

    20th Century
    Concertos
    Orchestral
    Orchestra
    Violin

    WALTON & BARBER from famed British violinist Thomas Bowes celebrates the works of two early 20th century composers, William Walton and Samuel Barber. The album includes Walton’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra and Two Pieces for Strings from Henry V, as well as Barber’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra op. 14 and the touchstone Adagio for Strings op. 11. Throughout the album, Bowes’ breathtaking virtuosity is on full display. His playing, which has been characterized by Gramophone Magazine as “deeply human” and “unusually communicative,” teases out subtleties and rises to the challenge of the most technically-demanding passages. With the violin at centerstage, WALTON & BARBER brings the full power of the orchestra to bear.

  • The New Epoch

    Catalog #: NV6463

    Release Date: September 9, 2022

    20th Century
    Chamber
    Cello
    Piano
    Violin

    Artists are liminal figures — they cross thresholds and collapse boundaries between past, present, and future.  In THE NEW EPOCH, three musicians from the Boston Artists Ensemble interpret works by French composers Fauré, Debussy, Ravel, and Lili Boulanger, infusing these pieces with unprecedented freshness and clarity. Each celebrated in their own right, cellist Jonathan Miller, violinist Lucia Lin, and pianist Diane Walsh join forces in every duo setting possible from this assortment of instruments. Exploring works written at the threshold of the First World War — with the world crossing into the violent twentieth century and composers reacting with music that looked both nostalgically back and innovatively forward — they underline the commonalities between each composer’s unique voice and reinterpret this music for our turbulent present. Each celebrated in their own right, cellist Jonathan Miller, violinist Lucia Lin, and pianist Diane Walsh join forces in every duo setting possible from this assortment of instruments. Exploring works written at the threshold of the First World War –– with the world crossing into the violent twentieth century and composers reacting with music that looked both nostalgically back and innovatively forward –– they underline the commonalities between each composer’s unique voice and reinterpret this music for our turbulent present.

  • Between Us

    Catalog #: NV6432

    Release Date: June 24, 2022

    20th Century
    Chamber
    Cello
    Piano
    Violin

    Throughout her storied career, composer and music activist Mary Howe elevated the status of women composers and the Washington DC music scene and gained notoriety for her orchestral works. Many of her pieces for smaller ensembles, however, remain unpublished. On BETWEEN US, premiere recordings of Howe’s duos at last see the light of day and showcase her knack for drawing out the melodic qualities and dynamic timbres of the piano, voice, and stringed instruments. The pieces transcend time, simultaneously pulling from the sensibility and formal structures of romanticism and 20th-century idioms, spanning and bridging the gaps that typically pigeonhole music into a specific milieu.

  • Wild Blue Yonder

    Catalog #: NV6346

    Release Date: April 23, 2021

    20th Century
    21st Century
    Chamber
    Cello
    Oboe
    Violin

    Eleanor Alberga explores the whole gamut of the human experience in  WILD BLUE YONDER, an equally diverse and coherent set of four contemporary chamber music pieces. While written over the course of twenty-two years, these pieces burst the limits of both space and time. No-Man’s-Land Lullaby reaches back over a century to World War I; Shining Gate of Morpheus enters the realm of the mystical; Succubus Moon explores the dark sides of the  human psyche; and The Wild Blue Yonder offers a glimpse into a world that is at once alien and  wonderful. Undauntedly, positively unsettling album; perfect listening for these unsettling times and a worthy addition to the much hailed album of Alberga's three string quartets from 2019.

  • Cortege

    Catalog #: NV6305

    Release Date: August 28, 2020

    20th Century
    Romantic
    Chamber
    Piano
    Violin

    Violinist Véronique Mathieu and pianist Jasmin Arakawa present Navona Records’ CORTÈGE. The name cortège, or “solemn procession,” covers a vast expanse of meaning — while it most often describes a funeral procession, the term also refers to a joyful wedding procession, or a group that follows a person of importance in their honor. Mathieu and Arakawa balance the solemn and the celebratory in this sensitive, dynamic performance. Exploring the works of four French composers — Claude Debussy, Lili Boulanger, Nicolas Bacri, Francis Poulenc — the album is emotional, refined, and triumphant all at the same time.

  • Cantilena

    Catalog #: NV6293

    Release Date: June 26, 2020

    20th Century
    Romantic
    Chamber
    Vocal Music
    Cello
    Voice

    Since the late 18th century, art songs have combined poetic vocals and equally intricate instrumental accompaniments to delight listeners with intimate compositions across the globe. The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra Trio’s CANTILENA spans the centuries and continents to highlight the form’s enduring appeal.

  • Clarinet Quintets

    Catalog #: NV6193

    Release Date: November 9, 2018

    20th Century
    Romantic
    Chamber
    Clarinet
    Flute
    Violin

    The Phoenix Ensemble’s latest album JOHANNES BRAHMS / ELLIOTT CARTER: CLARINET QUINTETS is, of course, masterful. The Phoenix Ensemble now looks back on almost three decades of being a fixture in the national chamber music scene, focusing on performances and recordings of 20th- and 21st-century music. Indeed, it may be this particular specialization in complex musical structures that allows the musicians to explore Brahms' late quintet with the previously unheard thoroughness and careful reconnaissance displayed on this album.

  • Spectra II

    Catalog #: NV6188

    Release Date: October 12, 2018

    20th Century
    21st Century
    Chamber
    Solo Instrumental
    Piano
    Viola

    SPECTRA 2 unveils the works of six composers, each of whom tells a unique, memorable story. First up is Elizabeth R. Austin's B-A-C-HOMAGE, an intricately constructed tribute to the German Baroque composer. Based on Bach's name and his "Air on G" respectively, the first and second movement reflect upon the clarity of his work through the lens of Austin's decidedly modern tonal language.

  • Unexplored

    Catalog #: NV6171

    Release Date: August 10, 2018

    20th Century
    Romantic
    Chamber
    Cello
    Piano

    The four works on UNEXPLORED, offer an expansive variety of musical genres while introducing listeners to previously unrecorded cello repertoire. Premiere recordings of works by Tchaikovsky, Cassadó, Rudnytsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov are presented by cellist Nada Radulovich and pianist Cullan Bryant.

  • Parts to Play

    Catalog #: NV6165

    Release Date: June 8, 2018

    20th Century
    21st Century
    Chamber
    Solo Instrumental
    Piano
    Violin

    On PARTS TO PLAY, critically acclaimed violinist Moonkyung Lee turns from the symphonic environment of the critically lauded label debut, TCHAIKOVSKY, on which she performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, to a more intimate setting, with only pianist Martha Locker as her partner on a selection of works that include both stunning solo performances and intricate yet simple duets.

  • Argot

    Catalog #: NV6105

    Release Date: July 14, 2017

    20th Century
    Chamber
    Piano
    Violin

    Véronique Mathieu’s ARGOT is a spectacular demonstration of her abilities as a violinist, as well as the dramatic range of her instrument. The recording embodies the definition of its title – ‘argot’, which means the language of a particular group – in two meaningful ways. First, Mathieu has selected a unique array of violin-centric works that illuminate the creative strengths of twentieth century modernist composers. Second, as a result of the album’s daring program and Mathieu’s incredible talents, listeners enjoy the opportunity to hear every nuance of the violin’s expressive vocabulary executed at the highest possible level.

  • Twentieth Century Duos

    Catalog #: NV6046

    Release Date: June 10, 2016

    20th Century
    Chamber
    Piano
    Violin

    Yuriy Bekker, violinist on Navona Records release TWENTIETH CENTURY DUOS, is joined by renowned pianist Andrew Armstrong in some of the most beautiful and rarely-performed works of the twentieth century by Jewish composers Erich Korngold and Aaron Copland. Bekker says of the album, “The idea for this project finally came to fruition with the help of the rare 1686 Ex-Nachez Stradivarius violin.  This is the first sound recording of this violin and I believe these particular selections by Korngold and Copland highlight its most magical qualities.”