June 2015 - Featured Playlist: Off to Neverland

Think back to when you were a kid. Magic was possible, the world was a beautiful discovery, and you could be a superhero or a superspy or a super cute puppy…something super, anyway. That sense of wide-eyed wonder was natural, and accepted—and then “life” happened, and it conspired to smother it all.

Of course that doesn’t mean we have to give in to that suffocation that some people call adulthood. In the midst of studying and working, paying tuition or paying rent, we can still escape to that mysterious, miraculous imagination we were born with, where we learn anew that anything is possible. Let this music be your soundtrack as you whisk Off to Neverland.

To hear the playlist, access NML as usual, go to the Playlists section, and select the Playlist of the Month folder under the Naxos Music Library Playlists tab. If you are on your institution's premises, you may also be able to access it if you CLICK HERE.


1. Moose Charlap, Carolyn Leigh – Peter Pan: I Won’t Grow Up – J.M. Barrie’s beloved story about a mischievous little boy who can fly was adapted as a hugely successful Broadway musical in 1954. It is a delightful tale that reminds us that even though we all have to grow up, we can still retain a childlike love for life that keeps us young in spirit.

2. John Morris Russell – Carnival of the Animals (after Saint-Saëns): Grand Finale – Saint-Saëns never intended for Carnival of the Animals to be anything more than a fun parlor piece for two pianos and a handful of other instruments, but it has since become one of his most popular works. This version is an arrangement that takes advantage of the many colors of the full orchestra.

3. Dmitry Kabalevsky – The Comedians: II. Comedians’ Gallop – Kabalevsky is primarily known in the West for this selection, the "Comedians’ Gallop", but in Russia he is probably best-known for his vocal music. He was also a major contributor to music education, setting up pilot programs in more than two dozen Soviet schools and even for a time teaching a class of seven-year-olds.

4. Sergei Prokofiev – Peter and the Wolf: The Procession to the Zoo – Of course Prokofiev’s enduring Peter and the Wolf has to be included here, and we’ve got none other than David Bowie himself to narrate. Composed in only four days, the work’s 1936 debut was poorly attended and, in Prokofiev’s words, “failed to attract much attention”, but it would go on to become one of the most beloved works of all time.

5. Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov – The Snow Maiden Suite: IV. Danse des bouffons – Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera about a snow maiden who acquires the capacity to love only to have its warmth destroy her is one of his best-known works, and his personal favorite. From it was derived an orchestral suite, which includes the colorful "Dance of the Clowns".

6. Paul Dukas – The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – It might not be fair to call Dukas a one-hit wonder, but there’s no getting around the fact that The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is far and away his most beloved work, due especially to its use in Disney’s Fantasia (1940). Already quite popular at the time, the piece became ingrained in the general consciousness thanks to Mickey Mouse’s big come-back portrayal of a hapless apprentice magician.

7. John Williams – Star Wars, Episode VI, “Return of the Jedi”: Parade of the Ewoks – John Williams may wear his influences on his sleeve, but he’s done it well, composing some of the most memorable film music of all time. His Star Wars score especially is truly iconic, and no matter how old we get, those famous melodies instantly transport us back to fond childhood memories.

8. Benjamin Britten – The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra: Fugue: Allegro molto – As the title states, this piece was composed to be a demonstration of the various instruments of the orchestra. Each instrument takes its turn with a variation of the theme, one borrowed from Purcell, and then they all come together for a fugue at the end.

9. Scott Joplin – The Entertainer – If you’ve ever spent much time at the piano, you’ve probably learned at least a portion of Joplin’s enduring rag The Entertainer. The recording included here was released in late 1970 and became Nonesuch Records’ first million-selling record. A couple years later The Entertainer was used in the hit film The Sting, completing its ascent into the popular consciousness.

10. Herbert Baumann – Alice In Wonderland: Final Dance – Herbert Baumann is primarily known as a prolific composer for theater and television, but in 1984 he completed music for a ballet based on Lewis Carroll’s timeless tale Alice In Wonderland. He followed this up a year later with the ballet Rumpelstiltskin, which went on to receive over 200 performances.

11. Harold Arlen – The Wizard of Oz: If I Only Had A Brain – One of the most beloved films of all time, The Wizard of Oz was not that big of a commercial success upon its initial release, drawing box office totals that only barely exceeded its budget. But it received several Oscar nominations, and subsequent re-releases were massively successful. “If I Only Had A Brain” was one of several songs on the soundtrack to achieve continual popularity.

12. Daly/Traditional – American Hoe Down Medley – “Chicken Reel” and “Turkey in the Straw” are two popular hoedown tunes that often serve as novelty songs for children. Many lyrics exist for these melodies, but while some are nonsense, others unfortunately reflect their popularity with blackface singers in bygone days. These two songs are performed in this medley (without lyrics) by the United States Air Force Strings.

13. Leopold Mozart – Cassation in G Major, “Toy Symphony”: I. Allegro – It is unknown with full certainty who the composer of the Toy Symphony is, but the piece is popularly attributed to Leopold Mozart. Composed for strings, woodwinds, and an assortment of toys, it is a piece often programmed for children, sometimes at Christmas.

14. Ellen Taaffe Zwilich – Peanuts Gallery: VI. Peppermint Patty and Marcie Lead the Parade – Charles Schulz was a fan of Zwilich, even incorporating her into a Peanuts strip. In it, Marcie notes at a concert that the next piece is by Ellen Zwilich, who “just happens to be a woman.” Peppermint Patty then climbs up on her chair and shouts out “Good going, Ellen!”

15. Elisabetta Brusa – Merlin – Contemporary Italian composer Elisabetta Brusa had always loved the stories about Merlin and King Arthur, and in 2004 she endeavored to compose a symphonic poem describing the beloved wizard. It’s a fantastic work all around, but it’s the ending that really wins the listener over, as it is a perfect musical depiction of Merlin disappearing into thin air.


16. Gioachino Rossini – La Cenerentola: Nacqui all’affanno e al pianto – Composed when he was 25, Rossini’s version of the Cinderella story was completed over a three-week period in the year following the great success of The Barber of Seville. Like its predecessor, it has remained a staple of the operatic repertoire and a showpiece for its soloists. This version is performed by Maria Callas.

17. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Die Zauberflöte, Act I: Aria: Der Vogelfanger bin ich ja – Mozart mastered the art of composing for his performers, tailoring the arrangements and difficulty levels to the skills of the expected singers. For example, the character of Papageno was first performed by a less-skilled singer, so those melodies are often doubled in the orchestra to aid the singer in finding his pitch.

18. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky – The Sleeping Beauty, Act. I: Waltz – The second of Tchaikovsky’s three great ballets, The Sleeping Beauty was a considerable success, receiving over 200 performances within 10 years of its completion. It was based on the Brothers Grimm’s version of the story, but it also incorporated other fairy tale characters, including Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Puss in Boots, and Beauty and the Beast.

19. John Walter Bratton – The Teddy Bears’ Picnic - John Walter Bratton was a popular composer of the Tin Pan Alley around the turn of the twentieth century. A number of his songs were quite successful in his day, but today he is remembered primarily for “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic”, a melody that has appeared in everything from Looney Tunes cartoons to Pretty Little Liars to Peter Greenaway’s A Zed & Two Noughts.

20. Robert Schumann – Kinderszenen: No. 7 Traumerei – In 1838 Schumann composed thirty simple pieces for piano, then selected thirteen of them to make up his Kinderszenen. The pieces each are meant to depict an adult reminiscence of different aspects of childhood. “Traumerei (Dreaming)” is perhaps the best known of these pieces.



Each month, Naxos Music Library presents a themed playlist for our subscribers to enjoy. We know that a database of over 1.6 million tracks can be a bit daunting, so we'd like to highlight some of the amazing music that is available to you. Let it kickstart discovery!

Graduating? You Don't Have To Lose NML Access!

Naxos Online Libraries would like to congratulate the graduating class of 2015 for a job well done! It’s certainly a momentous occasion in your life, the end of one chapter and the beginning of another in your story. We wish the best of good fortune in your future, wherever it takes you!

While graduation means losing many of the perks of college life, we’d like to let you know that it doesn’t have to mean the end of your access to all the tremendous music we have to offer. Consider subscribing to NML on your own. We're offering a special discount to graduating seniors who would like a personal subscription: $100 per year for standard streaming quality, or $150 per year for premium streaming quality. That's over 50% off the full price for an individual subscription! Just let us know from which school you are graduating. We can even help you retrieve the playlists you created in your student account! Contact us here for more information or to subscribe.

In addition, there are three other ways you can continue to enjoy Naxos Music Library:

An increasing number of public libraries are now making NML available to their patrons, and this could include yours! Check with your local library to see if they include NML among their online streaming resources. And if not, be sure to let them know it’s missed; libraries are always open to adding online resources they know their patrons will use.

Also, if you live in a city lucky enough to feature a quality symphony orchestra, they may offer NML access as a perk for purchasing a season pass. If you’re already on the fence about buying one, this could well be the deciding factor. It’s a fantastic way to enjoy incredible music both live at the concert hall and through our massive collection online.

Finally, if your local public library or orchestra doesn’t make it available to members, our friends over at InstantEncore offer access to Naxos Music Library at a great low monthly rate, one perfect for a fresh-out-of-college budget. Find out more here!

The end of school doesn’t have to mean the end of all this wonderful music. Whether through your local library, orchestra, or InstantEncore, Naxos Music Library remains available to you. Venture forward into your exciting future, and know that we are there to help provide the soundtrack!

May 2015 - Featured Playlist: Twice As Bright

Not one of us is promised our next breath, and to be aware of this is not something that should incite fear, but should encourage us to make each moment count. History is full of composers who left us early, but rather than mourn the music lost with them, we should celebrate what we’ve received because they lived at all. Featured here are magnificent selections from promising composers who did not survive past the age of 35; to paraphrase Lao Tzu, these men and women may have lived half as long, but they burned Twice As Bright.

To hear the playlist, access NML as usual, go to the Playlists section, and select the Playlist of the Month folder under the Naxos Music Library Playlists tab. If you are on your institution's premises, you may also be able to access it if you CLICK HERE.


1. Lili Boulanger – D’un matin de printemps – A prodigy whose talent became apparent when it was discovered that she had perfect pitch at the age of 2, Lili Boulanger became the first female composer to win the prestigious Prix de Rome when she was 19. Despite her lifelong battle with Crohn’s disease, she worked tirelessly as a performer and composer, and even poured herself into supporting the French troops with her sister Nadia during World War I.

2. William Hurlstone – The Magic Mirror Suite: VII. The Witch’s Death-Dance – Of all his students, a group that included Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst, composition teacher Sir Charles Villiers Stanford considered William Hurlstone to be the most talented. Hurlstone’s Magic Mirror Suite sparkles with genuine creative life, and The Witch’s Death-Dance crackles with an energy that is more merry than morbid.

3. Hans Rott – Symphony in E Major: III. Frisch und lebhaft – His Symphony in E Major twice rejected by Brahms, 21-year-old Hans Rott went into a tailspin of mental and physical illness that led to an early death. Despite the enthusiastic support of Bruckner and of Rott’s younger classmate Mahler (whose early symphonies bear clear similarities to Rott’s work), this piece went unperformed for over a century, finally premiering in 1989.

4. W.A. Mozart – Symphony No. 41 in C Major, “Jupiter”: IV. Molto Allegro – With his symphonic writing, Mozart saved his best for last. The final movement of his 41st Symphony features an astounding quintuple fugue that combines all the melodic ideas from earlier in the movement into one grand finale.

5. Juventino Rosas – Sobre las olas – You might not be familiar with his name, but you’ll certainly recognize Mexican composer Juventino Rosas’ iconic melody for its use in everything from trapeze acts to Disney’s The Three Caballeros to the classic James Bond film Octopussy. He was primarily a composer of salon music, much of which was popular in Latin America in his time, and his music was first recorded as early as 1898.

6. Vincenzo Bellini – Norma, Act I Scene I: Ah! Bello a me ritorna – Bellini’s Norma is considered to be one of the finest examples of bel canto opera, with its title character notorious as one of the most challenging roles for soprano. The track selected here features the tremendous bel canto specialist Montserrat Caballé in the title role.



7. Franz Schubert – Winterreise: No. 24 Der Leiermann – Baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sings the final tune in Schubert’s famous song cycle Winterreise, a work notable for its gloomy, resigned tone. Composed the year before his death from syphilis, it reflects the composer’s growing melancholy as he struggled to come to terms with the slow progression of his illness.

8. Carl Filtsch – Das Lebewohl von Venedig – Filtsch was Chopin’s most talented student, of whom he once exclaimed “Nobody has ever understood me as this child has…It is not imitation, it is the same sentiment, an instinct that makes him play without thinking as if it could not have been any other way.” Filtsch’s compositions are quite lovely too, especially coming from one who didn’t live to see his 15th birthday.

9. Charles Griffes – Three Tone Pictures: The Night Winds – Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s The Lake, "The Night Winds" was originally composed for solo piano before being expanded for orchestra. It is a fine example of why Griffes is likely the best American representative of Impressionism, and he created a significant body of work in his short lifetime despite holding down a full-time job.

10. Rentarō Taki – Kōjō no Tsuki – One of the earliest Japanese composers to incorporate Western musical styles into his work, Taki initially composed his most famous piece, which translates as “The Moon Over the Ruined Castle”, as part of a songbook aimed at young students. It has gone on to become a very popular melody in Japan. The arrangement selected here features cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

11. Giovanni Battista Pergolesi – Stabat Mater: Stabat Mater Dolorosa – Pergolesi completed his magnificent Stabat Mater in 1736 as he was dying of tuberculosis in a Franciscan monastery near Naples. This selection, which opens the work, was described by philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau as “the most perfect and touching duet to come from the pen of any composer.”

12. George Butterworth – Requiescat – A promising young composer and friend of Ralph Vaughan Williams, Butterworth joined the British Army during World War One. He became a respected platoon leader and was awarded the Military Cross for his bravery, though he was killed by a sniper before he was able to receive it. His brigade commander later described him as “a brilliant musician in times of peace, and an equally brilliant solder in times of stress.”

13. Jeremiah Clarke – Suite in D Major: V. The Prince of Denmark’s March: Rondeau – Also called Trumpet Voluntary, this piece has become internationally popular as wedding music. Ironically, the story goes that, inconsolable over a hopeless crush on a lady above his rank, Clarke flipped a coin to decide if he would commit suicide by hanging or drowning. The coin lodged on its side in the mud, so he shot himself.

14. Mieczysław Karłowicz – Eternal Songs: III. Song of Eternity – Karłowicz, born into a noble Polish family in what is now Belarus, was a promising composer who is notable for his very colorful orchestration, which reflects his admiration for both Tchaikovsky and Wagner. He died in an avalanche while skiing in the Tatra Mountains, though there is some conjecture that this wasn’t entirely accidental, as he had spoken previously of suicide over an unrequited love.

15. Vasily Kalinnikov – Symphony No. 2: III. Allegro scherzando – While many composers came from well-to-do families, thus allowing them the financial freedom to indulge in musical interests, Kalinnikov was an exceptional talent who came from considerable poverty, something which likely contributed to the consumption that eventually took him. However, he did leave us two marvelous and very Russian symphonies, plus a few other colorful pieces.

16. Ernst Mielck – Symphony in F Minor, “Fairy Tale Symphony”: IV. Finale: Allegro – Before his death just shy of his 22nd birthday, Mielck managed to compose a number of orchestral works of remarkable quality. While his German ancestry inspired much of his music, he was from Finland, and it was the success of his Symphony in F Minor that helped motivate Sibelius to begin composing symphonies.

17. Alexandre Levy – Suite Brésilienne: IV. Samba – The earliest member of the notorious 27 Club, Levy died suddenly and of unknown causes in 1892. While much of his training and ancestry was French, he was born and raised in Brazil, and his work was instrumental in the development of a distinctly Brazilian nationalist style.

18. Thomas Linley – Violin Concerto in F Major: II. Adagio – English prodigy Thomas Linley the younger was the same age as Mozart, and indeed the two became good friends. In fact, following Linley’s death in a boating accident at the age of 22, Mozart himself stated that he “was a true genius” who “had he lived, would have been one of the greatest ornaments of the musical world.”

19. Julian Scriabin – Prelude in C Major: Lento – Presto – Another young composer lost in a boating accident (under mysterious circumstances in this case) was Alexander Scriabin’s youngest son Julian, only 11 years old when he died. But he left behind a few short piano pieces that are remarkably well-developed, and that hint at his potential to have been a worthy successor to his father.

20. Maria Malibran – Les brigands – Maria Malibran was an operatic superstar of her day who was adored by Rossini. A notoriously stubborn personality, she refused to see a doctor and continued to perform following a fall from a horse, and she died of complications from the accident in between performances at a music festival just three months later.

21. Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga – O Salutaris Hostia – Born on what would have been Mozart’s 50th birthday, Arriaga seemed destined to follow in that great composer’s footsteps, having received Cherubini’s grand endorsement of “Amazing—you are music itself.” Much was made very quickly of this wunderkind, and it’s possible that the sudden demands and attention contributed to the illness that took him just short of his 20th birthday.

Each month, Naxos Music Library presents a themed playlist for our subscribers to enjoy. We know that a database of over 1.6 million tracks can be a bit daunting, so we'd like to highlight some of the amazing music that is available to you. Let it kickstart discovery!

April 2015 - Featured Playlist: Old Made New

So many developments in music are forward-looking, with composers searching for new outlets for expression, or unique techniques that will help them stand out. Yet other times composers will turn to the distant past for inspiration, taking instruments or forms from bygone eras and giving them new voice in the present. Whether creating modern music for the harpsichord or lute, or providing fresh facelifts for centuries-old church traditions, composers continue to mine the past for revelation relevant today, a sort of resurrection that reveals the Old Made New.

To hear the playlist, access NML as usual, go to the Playlists section, and select the Playlist of the Month folder under the Naxos Music Library Playlists tab. If you are on your institution's premises, you may also be able to access it if you CLICK HERE.

1. Caroline Shaw - Partita for 8 Singers: II. Sarabande - Caroline Shaw’s Partita for 8 Singers claimed the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Music, instantly elevating this lesser-known composer to exclusive company. The work takes a Baroque form and adapts it for a small a capella ensemble, then incorporates a little bit of everything from “improper” vowel diction to Tuvan throat singing, creating something stunningly original.

2. Ned Rorem - Spiders - Jory Vinikour picked up a Grammy nomination in 2014 for his album Toccatas, an enjoyable collection of contemporary American harpsichord works. One piece sure to elicit a reaction is Ned Rorem’s Spiders; arachnophobes beware—it will make you shiver, its skittery depiction is so palpable.

3. Philip Glass - Harpsichord Concerto: III. – - Welsh harpsichordist Christopher D. Lewis released his first album for Naxos Records in 2013, featuring works by Philip Glass, John Rutter, and Jean Françaix. Glass’s minimalist leanings find a natural residence in the harpsichord, though as he says himself, “Concertos always are a tricky affair… The best result is always when the soloist and the orchestra both have had the chance to shine.” In this recording, both surely do.

4. Jocelyn Pook – Desh: VI. Ave Maria – You’ve heard many works based on or inspired by the traditional Catholic Ave Maria text, but probably not one quite this out-of-the-box. Composed for dancer/choreographer Akram Khan, Jocelyn Pook’s version combines these words with a small string ensemble and a sample from a classical Persian song to create a striking blend of two very different cultures.

5. Osvaldo Golijov – St Mark Passion: XI. Judas, XII. El Cordero Pascual – Here’s another tremendous example of classical tradition expanding to include folk elements not often integrated into the Western art music paradigm. Purists might recoil, but Golijov’s version of the St Mark Passion welcomes South American vocal styles and percussion into the concert hall, creating an astonishing work of cultural breadth and emotional depth.

6. John Tavener – The Protecting Veil: V. Christ Is Risen! – Tavener’s Russian Orthodox faith informed much of his work, and the church’s ancient music was a prominent influence on his style. The Protecting Veil was composed as a musical ikon to commemorate a vision of Mary, the Mother of God, in the early 10th century, an event celebrated by the Orthodox Church as the Feast of the Protecting Veil.

7. Richard Einhorn – Voices of Light: Pater Noster – Voices of Light is based on Carl Dreyer’s 1928 silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc and features a libretto based on ancient writings mostly from medieval female mystics. Throughout this gorgeous work, vocal group Anonymous 4 and a viola da gamba represent Joan of Arc herself with music based on medieval plainchant and polyphony, while the larger ensemble and choir utilize more modern elements to portray her inquisitors.

8. Ronn McFarlane – Cathedral Cave – While the lute is primarily seen as a medieval or Renaissance instrument, it enjoyed a revival of interest in the 20th century. Lutenist Ronn McFarlane’s solo album Indigo Road picked up a Grammy nomination in 2009, and featured here is the opening track “Cathedral Cave”, composed for lute, flute, bass, and percussion.

9. Howard Skempton – Lamentations: IV. For oughtest thou, O Lord – The theorbo is a larger, lower-pitched variation of the lute, and one nicely suited to accompany a vocalist. Here Howard Skempton sets lyrics taken from John Donne’s translation of the Lamentations of Jeremiah to a moving melody for baritone soloist.

10. Peter Croton – Searching for Dalza – Here’s modern music for the lute from a different perspective, an example of how well the lute can paint a different color to pair with a guitar. This piece is an attractive canon composed and performed by lutenist Peter Croton.

11. Wojciech Kilar – König der letzten Tage (King of the Last Days): Gloria – While he did compose much “traditional” classical music, Wojciech Kilar is best known for his film scores, including that for Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula. Fresh off that success, he scored the German miniseries König der letzten Tage. The series told of 16th-century Anabaptist leader John of Leiden, so Kilar incorporated elements of chant, medieval music, and the mass into his dramatic score.

12. John Rutter – Magnificat: I. Magnificat anima mea – The Magnificat is one of the most ancient Christian hymns, and its text is taken from the words of the Virgin Mary in the Gospel of Luke. John Rutter used this traditional canticle as the inspiration for his 1990 work of the same name, opting to incorporate elements of Latin music in recognition of the Spanish-speaking world’s special regard for Mary.

13. Henryk Górecki – Harpsichord Concerto: II. Vivace marcatissimo – Górecki’s Harpsichord Concerto, composed in 1980, is a representation of his efforts to embrace a more minimalist style in his work, what he called a “new simplicity”. As is typical of the minimalist style, the piece is quite repetitive, and its clangor unfolds gradually through to the end.

14. Avner Dorman – Concerto Grosso: I. Adagio – Allegro dramatico – Adagio – Israeli composer Avner Dorman burst quickly out the gate in his career, winning a number of prestigious awards before reaching the age of 30. His Concerto Grosso employs a string quartet and harpsichordist as the counterpart to the orchestra, and it blends Baroque influence with minimalist techniques.

15. Sofia Gubaidulina – St John Easter: Christ’s Third Appearance to His Disciples – Gubaidulina composed St John Easter in 2002 as a sequel to her St John Passion, written two years previously. The two works together she considered her “opus summum”, with the Easter portion naturally carrying a more jubilant tone than the bleak Passion setting.

16. Arvo Pärt – Collage uber B-A-C-H: I. Toccata: Preciso – Collage uber B-A-C-H was composed at a time when Pärt was moving away from more avant-garde techniques like serialism and pointillism to incorporate elements of Renaissance and Baroque music. This piece, as the name suggests, is built around the B-A-C-H motif, and is an important moment in his development as a composer.

17. David Loeb – Utagumi: IV. Matsuri – Composer David Loeb is noted for his works for both older instruments and traditional Asian instruments. His work Utagumi, composed for solo viola da gamba, combines Baroque, Japanese, and contemporary elements to expert effect.

18. Sten Sandell – Gods and Men III – Swedish composer Sten Sandell has drawn much of his influence from free improvisation, contemporary composers like Cage and Xenakis, world music, and Scandinavian folk music. This selection, taken from music composed for a stage play, is performed by a lute over an organ drone.



Each month, Naxos Music Library presents a themed playlist for our subscribers to enjoy. We know that a database of over 1.5 million tracks can be a bit daunting, so we'd like to highlight some of the amazing music that is available to you. Let it kickstart discovery!