Instrumentaion: Ensemble

On SOUND AND LIGHT, Demondrae Thurman wields the euphonium to further expand its repertoire and cement its graceful power into the minds of composers of solos and orchestral works alike. Playing works written by five close friends, Thurman wholly dedicates himself to unlocking the musical mysteries of every measure and fully exploring the instrument’s potential.

Even the briefest moments can burn themselves into memory, inspiring feelings that last a lifetime. On FLEETING REALMS VOL 2, works in chamber settings tap into our innermost thoughts and emotions, stirring the senses and sparking imagination.

LOCK & KEY VOL II is the second presentation of five composers drawing from the well of inspiration – in highly heterogeneous ways and from a plethora of sources, yet all united by a common theme: the profound depths of the human experience. The pieces all revel exuberantly: in the natural beauty of Iceland, the nostalgia evoked by a distantly familiar melody, the random augury of a deck of tarot cards, late 19th Century anthems adapted for woodwind quintet, or the kinetic energy of musical gestures.

Newly released from Navona is CONVERSATIONS WITH MY SOUL, a collection of new chamber works from acclaimed composer-pianist Bun-Ching Lam. The music sets in different languages the poetry of Shelley, Heine, Rimbaud, and Lasker-Shüller, as well as the poems of 9th Century Chinese mystic Han Shan and contemporary writer Etel Adnan. In a compositional voice The New York Times has called “alluringly exotic,” Lam incorporates baritone voice, piano, viola, flute, French horn, and harp to elucidate timeless works concerning life’s fundamental questions.

Internationally-renowned Serbian-Austrian classical accordionist Jovica Ivanović has released his newest album — PIAZZOLLA & GALLIANO — with Navona Records. The program features concertos from Astor Piazzolla and Richard Galliano, both legends in their own rights. Recorded with the Ukrainian Chamber Orchestra, Ivanović’s performances bring these masterworks to life with persuasive passion.

The Society of Composers, Inc. continues its decades-long mission to promote and disseminate contemporary music on DRIFT, the 34th installment of the SCI Composers’ Series. DRIFT marks the 10th album in the series to release on Navona Records, and SCI continues to curate new works by luminaries that span generations.

New from Navona Records and Craig Morris comes CHAMBER MUSIC FOR OUR TIMES, a stirring album of original chamber works. Following DREAMS, which was released in 2011 to critical acclaim, CHAMBER MUSIC FOR OUR TIMES is the work of a master craftsman with an ear for poignant lyricism. The album features four pieces, each of which exhaustively explores the colors and timbres available to the chamber ensembles.

PLAYING ON THE EDGE 2 follows up Navona Records' first Gramophone-lauded album in this series for string quartet. Like the first installment, the award-winning Sirius Quartet plays the entire catalogue to perfection.

MUSIC TO HEAR, Joseph Summer’s follow up to WHO IS SYLVIA from Navona Records off his Shakespeare Concerts set, is the result of the composer’s lifelong obsession with poetry. The album pairs the works of contemporary poets as well as Shakespeare with Summer’s music in order to express deeper significance than either words or music are capable of on their own.

Zephyr Quartet's new release, EPILOGUE, betrays expectations in the best manner possible. Listeners expecting to hear traditional (or even contemporary) classical music from this Australian string quartet will be in for a big surprise when they find tracks that resemble those of – wait for it – a great modern pop or rock group instead. But there is more: the immediate accessibility of their music almost instantly reveals a great depth, profundity and musical richness, to the point where it will find only few rivals in contemporary composition.

Navona Records presents European/American composer Svjetlana Bukvich’s latest masterpiece: EXTENSION, a multifaceted collection of pieces that use technology, music, and the motions of dance to both deconstruct and reimagine ideas of genre and cultural division. In EXTENSION, listeners traverse ten innovative pieces that are both deeply personal and universal.

New from Navona Records comes AND THE SNOW DID LIE, composed by Hilary Tann and performed by Sirius Quartet. Tann, a Welsh-born composer living in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains was inspired to write this commissioned work by a series of illustrations from the classic French-Canadian novel, Le Survenant. These images are included with the release of this digital single.

Joseph Summer’s WHO IS SYLVIA, new from Navona Records, is a collection of Shakespeare’s works set to music that will make you question everything you thought you learned in high school English. Summer believes that the famous playwright’s true identity is not William Shakespeare but rather Edward De Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford. Many of the songs found on WHO IS SYLVIA come from Summer’s aptly-named The Oxford Songs, a collection of scenes, sonnets, songs, and Summer’s original opera version of Hamlet. These are paired with music from the likes of Schubert and Schumann to create a dynamic and colorful musical experience worthy of the Bard himself.

The creation of VIOLIN CONCERTO by Alicia Terzian marked the beginning of her 65-year (and counting) compositional career. Originally composed in 1954/55, this important piece of her repertoire was brought to life thanks to a collaboration between Navona Records and the Siberian State Symphony Orchestra. This album also features Terzian's Three Pieces, which listeners can remember from their previous Navona release, OFF THE EDGE.

Longtime Navona Records artist Michael G. Cunningham showcases his penchant for storytelling on THREE THEATRE PIECES AND CHOPIN, an album rife with theatrical wonders that delight both the ears and the imagination.

On LINES AT DUSK, acclaimed hornist John McGuire presents seven pieces, written by a variety of composers, with performances that are at once deep and expansive. The three movements of Landscapes, Series II, inspired by Japanese landscape paintings and woodcuts, travel from the dangerous mountains through the tranquility of the countryside and the bustling energy of a large city. It closes with an extended coda, with longer note values and a more sustained piano part that indicates a return to a calmer, more serene environment.

Peter Greve may be seen as a prime example for music as a late vocation – though it's hard to believe when one hears how deeply his creations root in the bon ton of contemporary musical academia. THE PALACE OF THE DREAMKING offers a cross-section through Greve's eclectic and wildly experimental body of compositional work.

Multi-award-winning composer Anthony Brandt makes his Navona Records debut with MATERNITY / ULYSSES, HOME. The album includes two very distinct compositions with equally distinct inspirations.

FIGMENTS 2, which follows the success of 2016’s FIGMENTS, is a compendium of chamber music that sparks the imagination. The album features the works of Yuan-Chen Li, Peter Dayton, Hans Bakker, Navid Bargrizan, and Charles Corey—innovative composers whose works draw inspiration from the world around them, be it the tribal dances of indigenous peoples, art history, 16th-century keyboard music, the science of acoustics, or the idiosyncrasies of language.

On Navona Records’ WITHIN EARTH, Houston string quartet Apollo Chamber Players, described as “...infectious... intimate... provocative... fun…” (Gramophone Magazine) presents an album that demonstrates the contemporary possibilities in string music, continuing Apollo's innovative 20x2020 project. The album contains three new multicultural commissions, as well as a contemporary work by Alexandra Du Bois.