Label in the Spotlight: K&K Verlagsanstalt

K&K Verlagsanstalt, founded in 1995, is the publishing house of German artists and producers Josef-Stefan Kindler and Andreas Otto Grimminger, specializing in acoustic music, concert recordings, and visual art.

"For us, publishing music entails capturing and recording outstanding concerts and performances for posterity. The audiences and performers enter into an intimate, unique dialogue that is unrepeatable in its atmosphere, expression, and form. Our aim is to enable the listener to acutely experience every facet of this symbiosis. The results are unparalleled interpretations of musical and literary works – simply audiophile snapshots of permanent value." - Josef-Stefan Kindler & Andreas Otto Grimminger

To hear the K&K Verlagsanstalt sampler, access NML as usual, go to the Playlists section, and select the Label in the Spotlight folder under the Themed Playlists tab. If you are on your institution's premises, you may also be able to access it if you CLICK HERE.

Opening Notes: January 2016 - New Release Playlist

We've sifted through all the new releases for January 2016, and we're highlighting our favorites. Some of these are obscure works that may be unknown to you, while others are fresh takes on standard repertoire. If you're like us and are constantly craving something new to enjoy, take a spin through these tracks to get a taste of what is now available to you in NML. And if you hear something you love, click on the cover art in the player window to be taken directly to the full album!

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

Aaron Copland

Rodeo: Buckaroo Holiday
Colorado Symphony Orchestra; Andrew Litton
BIS - BIS-2164

Keith Emerson
Piano Concerto No. 1: III. Toccata con fuoco

Jeffrey Biegel; Brown University Orchestra

Naxos - 8.573490

Paul Moravec

Amorisms: I. Love Is A Spirit
Portara Ensemble; ALIAS Chamber Ensemble
Delos - DE3470

Camille Saint-Saëns

Cello Concerto No. 1: I. Allegro non troppo

Truls Mørk; Bergen Philharmonic; Neeme Järvi

Chandos - CHSA5162

Béla Bartók

Rhapsody No. 1 for Violin and Piano: I. Lassu
Tanja Becker-Bender; Peter Nagy
SWR Klassik - SWR19003CD

Franz Joseph Haydn
String Quartet No. 30, "The Joke": IV. Presto

Spektral Quartet

Dorian Sono Luminus - DSL-92198

Roberto Sierra
Sinfonía No. 3, "La Salsa" - I. Tumbao

Puerto Rico Symphony; Maximiano Valdés
Naxos - 8.559817

Alberto Ginastera
Estancia: Scene 5: Danza Final (Malambo)

BBC Philharmonic; Juanjo Mena

Chandos - CHAN10884

Jan Van Der Roost
Sinfonietta, "Suito Sketches": II. Sword Dance
Philharmonic Winds OSAKAN; Jan Van Der Roost
Naxos - 8.573486

Bedřich Smetana
Má vlast: No. 2 Vltava

Hradec Králové Philharmonic; Marek Štilec

ArcoDiva - UP0180

George Frideric Handel
Acis and Galatea: Must I My Acis Still Bemoan
Boston Early Music Festival Chorus and Orchestra
CPO - 777877-2

  Domenico Scarlatti (arr. Uri Caine)
Keyboard Sonata in B Minor

Jenny Lin; Uri Caine

Steinway & Sons - Steinway30044

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Piano Sonata No. 11: III. Alla Turca: Allegretto

William Youn

Oehms Classics - OC1830

Felix Mendelssohn
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Act V: Finale

Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Radio Chorus

BIS - BIS-2166

Ottorino Respighi
La Boutique Fantasque Suite: II. Tarantella
Wurzburg Philharmonic; Enrico Calesso
Naxos - 8.573382

Victor Young

The Uninvited: End of Ghost

Moscow Symphony; William Stromberg

Naxos - 8.573368

Philip Glass
Metamorphosis V
Nicolas Horvath
Grand Piano - GP691

Nicolaus Bruhns
Praeludium in E Minor

Bine Katrine Bryndorf

Dacapo - 6.220636

Krzysztof Meyer
Piano Trio: I. Impetuoso
Poznan Piano Trio
Naxos - 8.573500

Charles Ives
Orchestral Set No. 1: II. Putnam's Camp

Melbourne Symphony; Andrew Davis

Chandos - CHSA5163

 

Sergey Prokofiev
Symphony No. 7: I. Moderato
St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra
Mariinsky - MAR0577

Henk Badings

Symphony No. 4: IV. Allegro

Bochum Symphony; David Porcelijn

CPO - 777669-2

Orlando Di Lasso
Magnificat secundi toni O s'io potessi
Die Singphoniker
CPO - 777957-2

Antonin Dvořák
Stabat Mater: Virgo virginum praeclara

Bavarian Radio Sym. & Chorus; Mariss Jansons

BR Klassik- 900142

Each month, Naxos Music Library presents a new release playlist for our subscribers to enjoy. We know that a database of over 1.7 million tracks can be a bit daunting, so we'd like to highlight some of the amazing music that has become available to you just this month. Let it kickstart discovery!

January 2016 - Featured Playlist: A Winter Waltz

The holidays are over and the long winter is here in full force. It’s easy to go into social hibernation to await kinder weather, but that doesn’t have to be so. Winter is the perfect time to fill up your dance card for a magnificent ball, to gather with friends in a brightly lit space and twirl across the floor all night long.

Ladies, put on your finest faux fur, and gents, break out the top hats and tails. Or the other way around—it’s the 21st century after all. Either way, let these merry melodies carry you and your loved one around the dance floor all night long, borne on the splendid sounds of A Winter Waltz.

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

1. William Perry – 6 Title Themes in Search of a Movie: I. Wild Nights in Toronto: Dance Overture – William Perry’s credits as a composer include music for PBS’ award-winning Mark Twain Series films and a staged biography called Mark Twain: The Musical. He also composed a Broadway musical called Wind in the Willows which starred Nathan Lane and earned the composer Tony nominations.

2. George Gershwin – Promenade – This piece for orchestra was originally a portion of Gershwin’s soundtrack for the 1937 film Shall We Dance starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The film score version was titled “Walking the Dog”, as it accompanied a scene where a character took a dog out for a stroll on a luxury cruise liner.

3. Dmitry Shostakovich – Jazz Suite No. 2: VI. Waltz 2 – Shostakovich composed his Jazz Suite No. 2 in 1938, but the score was lost during World War II. However, piano scores for three movements surfaced in 2000 and were orchestrated for Last Night of the Proms. The remainder of the suite has since been found.

4. Ignatz Waghalter – New World Suite: VII. City Dance - Besides his music, Jewish composer Ignatz Waghalter is remembered for his efforts in promoting racial equality. Forced to flee Germany during World War II, he took up residence in New York City and established a classical orchestra made up of African-American musicians, though the ensemble had to fold due to financial problems brought about by the Depression and political hostility.

5. Ernst Mielck – Finnish Suite in D Minor: II. Allegretto grazioso – Mielck’s Finnish Suite would prove to be his final extended work, as he would contract tuberculosis that same year, leading to his death two days shy of his twenty-second birthday. But what little work he left us is of excellent quality, demonstrating the boundless potential that was cut short too soon.

6. Aram Khachaturian – Masquerade Suite: III. Mazurka – Khachaturian derived this suite from incidental music he composed for Mikhail Lermontov’s play of the same name. The play was produced at the Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow, and it debuted the day before the Germans invaded the USSR in 1941, leading to the early end of its run.

7. Richard Rodgers – The Sound of Music, Act I: Ländler – The Sound of Music is one of the greatest Broadway musicals and films ever made. This tune, of course, was the accompaniment as Maria and the Captain demonstrated the ländler to the children—and as they realized that they might be falling in love with each other.

8. Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky – Swan Lake, Act I The Terrace in Front of the Palace of Prince Siegfried: No. 2 Valse – No winter ball would be complete without a Tchaikovsky waltz, and this selection from Swan Lake will fit the bill quite nicely. Swan Lake is one of Tchaikovsky’s three timeless ballets, each of which overflow with glorious music for whisking your partner across the dance floor.

9. Franz Joseph Haydn – Symphony No. 104, “London”: III. Menuet. Trio: Allegretto – Haydn’s final twelve symphonies (which is certainly not a phrase one can use for very many composers) were composed while he was in London, and it was the last of them that was rather arbitrarily given the “London” nickname. This lovely minuet and trio makes for a fine twirl across the room.

10. Teresa Carreño – Little Waltz – Venezuela-born Teresa Carreño’s talent was recognized when she was very young; when she was nine she even got to perform for President Abraham Lincoln. Nicknamed “The Valkyrie of the Piano”, she is also remembered for being offered piano lessons by none other than Franz Liszt—and turning him down. The track selected here is taken from a piano roll she recorded in 1905.

11. Kurt Atterberg – Suite No. 3: III. Vision: Allegro moderato – Atterberg derived his Suite No. 3 from music he composed for a mystery play by Maurice Maeterlinck called Sœur Béatrice. The story tells of a nun who has to choose between earthly and spiritual love, and Atterberg’s vivid depiction of this emotional conflict is expertly rendered in this suite.

12. Joseph Hellmesberger, Jr. – Danse Diabolique – Hellmesberger came from a noted musical family in 19th-century Austria; his father, grandfather, uncle, and brother were all major figures in the Viennese music scene. He made his name primarily as a violinist and conductor, but he also composed operettas, ballets, dance music, and lieder.

13. Hector Berlioz – Symphonie fantastique: II. Un bal - Premiering in 1830, Symphonie fantastique called for 90 musicians, the largest orchestral force ever required in-score at the time. The second movement depicts the symphony’s protagonist as he glimpses the woman he loves across the ballroom, providing a sweeping, romantic moment before all hell pretty much literally breaks loose in the final movements.

14. Richard Strauss – Schlagobers Suite: IV. Schlagoberswaltzer (Whipped Cream Waltz) – You knew this playlist had to include a Strauss waltz, right? Well, we got tricksy and picked one by Richard Strauss, rather than a waltz by a member of the famed lite-music family. This ballet is set in a Viennese cake shop and features various dancing confections and a sugar-induced hallucination sequence.

15. Maria Szymanowska – 18 Danses: No. 4 Polonaise – Szymanowska was renowned in her day as a concert pianist, entering the history books as one of the first great virtuoso pianists of the 19th century. While her compositions are limited to piano pieces, songs, and some chamber music, she is remembered as the first notable female composer from Poland and a prominent figure in that nation’s pre-Chopin music scene.

16. Émile Waldteufel – Les Patineurs, “The Skater’s Waltz” – Okay, so we left the Strauss family out, but we still wanted to include a nod to some of the classic lite waltzes. Waldteufel was as lite as they came, and his Skater’s Waltz has become a staple in film and television whenever a sweet, graceful waltz is required.

17. Franz Lehár – Gold und Silber – Franz Lehár was an Austro-Hungarian composer of the early 20th century who is primarily remembered for his operettas. His music was well-loved by Adolf Hitler, a fact that ultimately saved his wife, a Jew who’d converted to Catholicism upon their marriage, from being deported to the concentration camps.

18. Amilcare Ponchielli – La Gioconda: Dance of the Hours – Originally composed to close Act 3 of his opera La Gioconda, Ponchielli’s "Dance of the Hours" has since gained popularity as a short standalone ballet. Its melody has become a part of the general consciousness outside musical circles, thanks to its inclusion in Disney’s Fantasia in 1940 and its use in the 1963 hit novelty tune “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh”.

19. Ludwig Minkus – La Bayadère: Andante – Minkus’ ballet La Bayadère was first performed in St Petersburg in 1877 and quickly gained status as a classic in Russia, but it remained almost completely unknown to the West until passages were staged in Rio de Janeiro and Paris in 1961. Two years later it was performed at the Royal Ballet by Rudolf Nureyev to tremendous acclaim.

20. Fryderyk Chopin – Waltz No. 9 in A-flat, “L’adieu” – Chopin composed this waltz as a good-bye present to Maria Wodzińska, to whom he would soon become engaged. In the same year (1835), she painted what would end up being one of the best portraits of him. However, their engagement would be called off in 1837, due at least in part to her father’s objections over Liszt’s poor health.


Each month, Naxos Music Library presents a themed playlist for our subscribers to enjoy. We know that a database of over 1.7 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! 

And the Nominees Are...

The 2016 Grammy nominees have been announced, and naturally Naxos Music Library has just about all of them available for you to hear. We've included below links that will work in most cases if you are on your institution's property. If you are not, simply access NML as you normally would, then enter the provided catalog ID into the keyword search field to pull the specific album up.

In addition, we've put together a playlist highlighting a track off of each of the nominated albums. Think of it as a sampler to whet your appetite for exploring further these excellent releases. If you are on your institution's property, CLICK HERE to hear it. If you are not, you can find it in NML by clicking Playlists > Naxos Music Playlists > Grammy Nominees > 2016 Grammy Highlights.

Enjoy!

Best Orchestral Performance

Bruckner: Symphony No. 4
Manfred Honeck, conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
Reference Recordings - Catalog ID: FR-713SACD

Dutilleux: Métaboles; L'Arbre Des Songes; Symphony No. 2, 'Le Double'
Ludovic Morlot, conductor (Seattle Symphony)
Seattle Symphony Media - Catalog ID: SSM1007

Shostakovich: Under Stalin's Shadow - Symphony No. 10
Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra)
Deutsche Grammophon - Catalog ID: 00028947950608

Spirit of the American Range
Carlos Kalmar, conductor (The Oregon Symphony)
Pentatone - Catalog ID: PTC5186481

Zhou Long & Chen Yi: Symphony 'Humen 1839'
Darrell Ang, conductor (New Zealand Symphony Orchestra)
Naxos - Catalog ID: 8.570611


Best Opera Recording

Monteverdi: Il Ritorno D'Ulisse In Patria
Martin Pearlman, conductor; Fernando Guimarães & Jennifer Rivera; Thomas C. Moore, producer (Boston Baroque)
Linn Records - Catalog ID: CKD451

Mozart: Die Entführung Aus Dem Serail
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Diana Damrau, Paul Schweinester & Rolando Villazón; Sid McLauchlan, producer (Chamber Orchestra Of Europe)
Deutsche Grammophon - Catalog ID: 00028947940685

Ravel: L'Enfant Et Les Sortilèges; Shéhérazade
Seiji Ozawa, conductor; Isabel Leonard; Dominic Fyfe, producer (Saito Kinen Orchestra; SKF Matsumoto Chorus & SKF Matsumoto Children's Chorus)
Decca - Catalog ID: 00600406516923

Steffani: Niobe, Regina Di Tebe
Paul O'Dette & Stephen Stubbs, conductors; Karina Gauvin & Philippe Jaroussky; Renate Wolter-Seevers, producer (Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra)
Erato - Catalog ID: 825646343539


Best Choral Performance

Beethoven: Missa Solemnis
Bernard Haitink, conductor; Peter Dijkstra, chorus master (Anton Barachovsky, Genia Kühmeier, Elisabeth Kulman, Hanno Müller-Brachmann & Mark Padmore; Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks; Chor Des Bayerischen Rundfunks)
BR Klassik - Catalog ID: 900130

Monteverdi: Vespers Of 1610
Harry Christophers, conductor (Jeremy Budd, Grace Davidson, Ben Davies, Mark Dobell, Eamonn Dougan & Charlotte Mobbs; The Sixteen)
Coro - Catalog ID: COR16126

Pablo Neruda - The Poet Sings
Craig Hella Johnson, conductor (James K. Bass, Laura Mercado-Wright, Eric Neuville & Lauren Snouffer; Faith DeBow & Stephen Redfield; Conspirare)
Harmonia Mundi - Catalog ID: HMU807637

Paulus: Far In The Heavens
Eric Holtan, conductor (Sara Fraker, Matthew Goinz, Thea Lobo, Owen McIntosh, Kathryn Mueller & Christine Vivona; True Concord Orchestra; True Concord Voices)
Reference Recordings - Catalog ID: FR-716

Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil
Charles Bruffy, conductor (Paul Davidson, Frank Fleschner, Toby Vaughn Kidd, Bryan Pinkall, Julia Scozzafava, Bryan Taylor & Joseph Warner; Kansas City Chorale & Phoenix Chorale)
Chandos - Catalog ID: CHSA5148



Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance

Brahms: The Piano Trios
Tanja Tetzlaff, Christian Tetzlaff & Lars Vogt
Ondine - Catalog ID: ODE1271-2D

Filament
Eighth Blackbird
Cedille - Catalog ID: CDR90000-157

Flaherty: Airdancing For Toy Piano, Piano & Electronics
Nadia Shpachenko & Genevieve Feiwen Lee
Reference Recordings - Catalog ID: FR-711

Render
Brad Wells & Roomful Of Teeth
New Amsterdam - Catalog ID: NWAM065


Best Classical Instrumental Solo

Dutilleux: Violin Concerto, L'Arbre Des Songes
Augustin Hadelich; Ludovic Morlot, conductor (Seattle Symphony)
Seattle Symphony Media - Catalog ID: SSM1007

Grieg & Moszkowski: Piano Concertos
Joseph Moog; Nicholas Milton, conductor (Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern)
Onyx Classics - Catalog ID: ONYX4144

Mozart: Keyboard Music, Vol. 7
Kristian Bezuidenhout
Harmonia Mundi - Catalog ID: HMU907531

Rzewski: The People United Will Never Be Defeated!
Ursula Oppens (Jerome Lowenthal)
Cedille - Catalog ID: CDR90000-158


Best Classical Solo Vocal Album

Beethoven: An Die Ferne Geliebte; Haydn: English Songs; Mozart: Masonic Cantata
Mark Padmore; Kristian Bezuidenhout, accompanist
Harmonia Mundi - Catalog ID: HMU907611

Joyce & Tony - Live From Wigmore Hall
Joyce DiDonato; Antonio Pappano, accompanist
Erato - Catalog ID: 825646107537

Nessun Dorma - The Puccini Album
Jonas Kaufmann; Antonio Pappano, conductor (Kristīne Opolais, Antonio Pirozzi & Massimo Simeoli; Coro Dell'Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia; Orchestra Dell'Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia)
Sony Classical - Catalog ID: 886445512724

Rouse: Seeing; Kabir Padavali
Talise Trevigne; David Alan Miller, conductor (Orion Weiss; Albany Symphony)
Naxos - Catalog ID: 8.559799

St. Petersburg
Cecilia Bartoli; Diego Fasolis, conductor (I Barocchisti)
Decca - Catalog ID: 00028947878018


Best Classical Compendium

As Dreams Fall Apart - The Golden Age Of Jewish Stage And Film Music (1925-1955)
New Budapest Orpheum Society; Jim Ginsburg, producer
Cedille - Catalog ID: CDR90000-151

Ask Your Mama
George Manahan, conductor; Judith Sherman, producer
Avie Records - Catalog ID: AV2346

Handel: L'Allegro, Il Penseroso Ed Il Moderato, 1740
Paul McCreesh, conductor; Nicholas Parker, producer
Signum Classics - Catalog ID: SIGCD392

Paulus: Three Places Of Enlightenment; Veil Of Tears & Grand Concerto
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Tim Handley, producer
Naxos - Catalog ID: 8.559740

Woman At The New Piano
Nadia Shpachenko; Marina A. Ledin & Victor Ledin, producers
Reference Recordings - Catalog ID: FR-711


Best Contemporary Classical Composition

 
Barry: The Importance Of Being Earnest
Gerald Barry, composer (Thomas Adès, Barbara Hannigan, Katalin Károlyi, Hilary Summers, Peter Tantsits & Birmingham Contemporary Music Group)
NMC Recordings - Catalog ID: NMCD197

Paulus: Prayers & Remembrances
Stephen Paulus, composer (Eric Holtan, True Concord Voices & Orchestra)
Reference Recordings - Catalog ID: FR-716

Tower: Stroke
Joan Tower, composer (Giancarlo Guerrero, Cho-Liang Lin & Nashville Symphony)
Naxos - Catalog ID: 8.559775

Wolfe: Anthracite Fields
Julia Wolfe, composer (Julian Wachner, The Choir Of Trinity Wall Street & Bang On A Can All-Stars)
Cantaloupe - Catalog ID: CA-21111