December 13, 2024 New Releases from Navona and Albany Records

Composer Michael K. Slayton continues his quest of lending a musical voice to the paintings of 20th century artists with KLEEMATION, the second single from his upcoming Navona Records album, SAGE BRUSHES. Commissioned by oboist Jared Hauser, this piece features responses to the highly imaginative and evocative work of the Swiss-German artist Paul Klee (1879–1940).

Titled for composer Scott Gendel’s setting of forensic scientist Lori Baker’s spoken grief for those lost at the Mexican-American border, HOPE EATS YOU ALIVE, recorded by the Madison Choral Project, loudly proclaims: “something has to be done.” The graphic and heart-breaking story of Baker’s mission to identify the bodies buried in shallow graves at the border reveals several issues at the center of the immigration debate.

Blending vocal and orchestral elements across several movements, cantatas are notoriously difficult to compose. Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg has accepted the challenge with ANY OF THOSE DECEMBERS, setting poems by Jeanne Minahan to music. The result is intimate, aesthetic, and wistful — a tender embrace of lyrics and sound.

The Portland Youth Philharmonic debuts two new symphonies by acclaimed contemporary composers Lera Auerbach and Polina Nazaykinskaya on FIRST SYMPHONIES – PREMIERE RECORDINGS.

VIOLA FANTASIES from virtuoso Misha Galaganov presents the groundbreaking solo works Fantasies for Bass Viol (1735) by Baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann. Essential and pleasant listening for all audiences, these works also offer a study in polyphony, ornamentation, bow technique, and more.

Trumpet virtuoso Paul Neebe is the rare kind of musician destined to be a soloist: commanding a characteristic, recognizable sound full of determination and expression, yet never sacrificing precision or clarity. Who better, then, to champion UNDISCOVERED TRUMPET CONCERTOS by four contemporary composers?