Naxos Chamber

In 2017, Naxos Records celebrates its 30th anniversary. Founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, the label now boasts a catalogue of over 9,000 albums spanning every genre of classical music. This limited edition anniversary boxed set comprises thirty CDs spanning the wide range of the label's repertoire. Featuring releases from 1987 to 2016 and a host of stellar artists, every one of these discs has received critical acclaim and has contributed towards the huge success of Naxos: the world's largest independent classical record label. Naxos was launched in 1987 as a budget classical CD label, offering CDs at teh price of an LP when CDs cost about three times more than LPs.

Mieczysaw Weinberg was familiar with the clarinet from his youth, given its prominent place in klezmer bands and theatre ensembles, and he wrote three works specifically for the instrument. In the Clarinet Concerto he draws a wide range of textures from the accompanying strings, over which the soloist explores the clarinets extremes of register in virtuosic fashion. Despite having been written when Weinberg was still in his mid-twenties, the Clarinet Sonata is a mature work with Romantic and folkloric elements. His last completed work was the Chamber Symphony No. 4, an impassioned piece with a wrenching chorale theme and role for obbligato clarinet.

Described as having ‘natural genius’, John Abraham Fisher (1744–1806) was a significant figure in London during the second half of the 18th century. A virtuoso violinist, he also wrote admired stage works for the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden. His orchestral works are largely forgotten today, but his symphonies display a surprising awareness of contemporary continental trends in their use of dynamic variations, revealing the influence of the Mannheim School. Possessing a richness of colour, contrast and surprise, these symphonies typify Fisher’s expanding Classical style.

Alkan’s chamber music deserves much more attention: It’s a crime that terrific works like his Sonate de concert for cello and piano have almost no chance to be heard. Naxos once again has raided the Marco Polo archives and resurrected this 1991 recording. There isn’t much competition available anymore, and only the 1992 Timpani recording has the same three works together in worthwhile performances. These pieces are all excellent chamber music, not to mention very difficult to play, and the Trio Alkan certainly is up to the challenge. These performers obviously appreciate the music in a way that brings out Alkan’s lyrical and whimsical qualities, which often are overlooked (or overpowered) in his piano works.

These four flute concertos, here recorded for the first time, span the fascinating half century that saw the emergence of Romanticism from the Classical style of the preceding decades. Each requires different forces, reflecting the growth of the orchestra during this time, while giving a prominence to the solo instrument which would decline as the 19th Century progressed. They are, therefore, rare treasures to enjoy for their diversity and unique position in musical history.