Period: 21st Century

Australian Bruce Crossman blends East and West in his new release HEAVEN TO EARTH BORDER HOUSE on Navona Records. With his modernist approach to musical construction and style, he effortlessly integrates traditional Western, Korean, and Chinese instruments and philosophies into a coherent, enlightening whole.

Navona Records presents PINNACLE VOL. 2, a collection of contemporary chamber works by composers John A. Carollo, Edmund Cionek, Sarah Wallin Huff, Santiago Kodela, Adnan Marafi, Amintas Silva, Joseph T. Spaniola, and Kong-Yu Wong, that highlight the melodic, emotive, and dramatic styles offered by today’s chamber music. Throughout the album, the composers explore the cyclicity of life and nature.

Inspired by traditional melodies and cultural flavors, A GRAND JOURNEY gives us contemporary chamber works by Richard E Brown, Ovidiu Marinescu, and Mark G. Simon. Performed by internationally acclaimed Trio Casals, these distinct works immerse listeners in varying motifs drawn from diverse cultures, simulating a journey of melodic Korean folk patterns, Greek mythological icons, Irish fiddling, tango, and sensations garnered from the Black Sea and English countryside.

Composer George Kieffer and Navona Records are proud to present THE AMBASSADOR'S WIFE, a collection of stories and dialectical thought conveyed through the sounds of the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Featured on this album is Kieffer’s Fanfare for the Olympics, a piece dedicated to the sacrifices made and triumph achieved by athletes, which premiered at the 2015 Special Olympics.

With Gregory Brown’s FALL AND DECLINE on Navona Records, the composer chronicles the heights to which humanity can soar—but also the depths to which it may come crashing down. Scored for the solo voices of virtuosic vocal sextet Variant 6 and electronics, the sounds range from typical choral textures (though peppered with microtones) to angular and aggressive electronic soundscapes.

Throughout his ever-evolving career, Brian Field has penned music for everything from orchestra and chamber settings to ballet and television, sprinkling in influences of post-romanticism, minimalism, and jazz. On his album VOCAL WORKS on Navona Records, the human voice takes center stage, and Field doesn’t shy away from his brand of compositional diversity. Field brings six pieces springing from the page, including a traditional Sephardic lullaby, musical interpretations of Pablo Neruda's and E. E. Cummings’ poetry, and works with texts written by the composer himself. Throughout the album, the Budapest Chorus conducted by Martón Tóth brings dynamism and emotion to every note.

Monika Gurak certainly is no ordinary songwriter: not just because of her academic background, but also because of her love of foreign cultures. Her linguistic fluency in English, Spanish, and Polish heavily influences her work on I LOVE YOU LIKE SPAIN from Navona Records: the songs are sung in English, but the music comes with a generous helping of both Iberian exoticism as well as Polish sensibility.

Navona Records presents DIVISION OF MEMORY, a comprehensive collection featuring a variety of sound production methods displayed on the cello by Thomas Mesa. The works of composers Lydia Jane Pugh, George Holloway, Ben Yee-Paulson, Jonathan Chenette, and Elizabeth Start are featured on this album, each with their own compositional personality and a repertoire dedicated to the multifaceted soundscape of the cello.

MODERN MUSES is an entirely new presentation of captivating music in its first commercial recording and release, showcasing works composed by women and works representing female perspective. Inspired by Greek and Roman mythology, Josefien Stoppelenburg’s arresting soprano is juxtaposed with Jean Hatmaker’s poetic cello in this recording, fostering a rich musical dichotomy that blends together in a refreshingly powerful way.

Paul Paccione and Navona Records are pleased to present Paccione’s latest album, MUSIC FOR PIANO. This collection of solo piano pieces was composed especially for noted pianist Jenny Perron. Paccione’s compositions are carefully crafted to highlight and build upon Perron’s unique gifts as a musician. The music featured on the album moves freely among various shades of coloristic harmonies, with a through line of lyricism running throughout.

Carl Vollrath’s OLD AND NEW POETRY from Navona Records is a lovingly-prepared setting of the works of seminal poets William Blake and Sara Teasdale, as well as the contemporary writer John Gracen Brown. The verses chosen by Vollrath—including such varied selections as Blake’s “The Fly,” Teasdale’s “Dusk In War Time,” and Brown’s “The Coming of a Summer Rainstorm”—all reflect the composer’s belief in the interdependency of all life on earth. Employing piano, saxophone, and mezzo-soprano, Vollrath thoughtfully pushes tonal boundaries in response to the poetic language.

Bedřich Smetana’s Má vlast is a cornerstone of the Czech Republic’s musical culture, heard in everything from celebrations and funerals to advertisements and fireworks shows. On MY COUNTRY, six composers—Petr Kofroň, Marek Piaček, Miloš Štědroň, Pavel Zemek Novák, Miroslav Tóth, and Daniel Forró—pay homage to country and Smetana’s iconic symphonic poems. Rather than presenting an album of simple interpretation, each composer takes one poem and adds their own flair, reimagining each piece and drawing from their individual styles.

An eclectic collection of cultural themes, WOVEN IN TIME is grounded in connections made through distant timestamps. Each piece weaves culture and ideas of the past with a modern approach to composition, revitalizing and repurposing the popular culture and literature of yesterday into contemporary music for our enjoyment today.

One does not have to be religious to appreciate the depth, inspiration, and melodiousness of PSALMS, Eloise Hynes Stowe's new album from Navona Records. Scored for voice and piano, and occasionally supplemented by flute and violin, these psalms and hymns immediately demonstrate the literary and emotional grasp of the biblical texts and ecclesiastical interpretations.

From online performances to benefit albums, musicians kept their art alive throughout the most dire days of the coronavirus pandemic. Among them are composer Stanley Grill and violist Brett Deubner, who collaborated via remote recording sessions to transform Grill’s multi-instrumental chamber pieces into an intimate collection of multilayered works for viola. The resulting album, TRANSFIGURATION, showcases a singular connection between composer and performer.

The Grammy-winning professional chamber choir The Crossing, Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, and Navona Records present WORDS ADORNED. Conducted by Donald Nally, with Takht musical direction by Hanna Khoury, the combined forces interpret lush scores from Kinan Abou-afach and Kareem Roustom; the music is at times driven and passionate, at others mystical and lyrical, responding to ancient Andalusian poetry in the Muwashshah tradition. The takht – masterfully handling the oud, qanun, violin, cello, and percussion – guides the kaleidoscopic sounds and colors in these poems of love, revelry, and war, with additional solo work by the virtuosic singer Dalal Abu Amneh. True to their commitment to honor tradition while constantly blazing new ground, The Crossing’s latest offering is steeped in history, deeply relevant to modern listeners, and bridges cultures seamlessly.

From yin and yang to public debate, much in the world revolves around opposing forces. POLARITIES VOL. 2, an album of new presentations in classical music, documents the intricacies of these forces, expressing the emotions, sensations, and scenes associated with the extreme ends of conversation and change.

Acclaimed pianist Inna Faliks breaks new ground with REIMAGINE on Navona Records, an homage to Beethoven and Ravel which manages to do the impossible: be breathtakingly innovative while remaining respectful to the source material.

Navona Records presents A NATIVE HILL from Philadelphia’s professional chamber choir, The Crossing. This monumental unaccompanied work is the result of a collaboration with composer Gavin Bryars, whose previous work for The Crossing won them their first of two recent Grammy awards. With intimate knowledge of the individual voices and art of each singer, Bryars composed A NATIVE HILL to capitalize on the group’s unique sound, personality, and esprit de corps.

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.