Godzilla Minas

Minas Borboudakis has explored much mythology, philosophy, technology and the natural sciences, and the compositions in this collection reflect this. The CD includes the percussion concerto Archégonon: written for Peter Sadlo, it is a work dealing with “very beginnings”. Also included are two works written for the ensemble spectral: Tetraktys (a string quartet on the number 4) and Krámata (a sextet on alloys).

Minas Borboudakis has explored much mythology, philosophy, technology and the natural sciences, and the compositions in this collection reflect this. The CD includes the percussion concerto Archégonon: written for Peter Sadlo, it is a work dealing with “very beginnings”. Also included are two works written for the ensemble spectral: Tetraktys (a string quartet on the number 4) and Krámata (a sextet on alloys).

Vol. 21 in the Naxos Music of Brazil series showcases the music of Oscar Lorenzo Fernández (1897–1948), who was a key figure in the cultural life of Rio de Janeiro. He gained international fame with Batuque, a piece championed by conductors such as Toscanini, Koussevitsky and Bernstein. It became something of a stand-alone hit, but it's heard on this new release in the context of the entire Reisado do Pastoreio suite. Fernández’s two symphonies suffered neglect after the composer’s untimely death at the age of fifty. These recordings of both those works are premieres: there's the world premiere recording of the powerful First Symphony, and the first modern studio recording of the programmatic Second Symphony.

Vol. 21 in the Naxos Music of Brazil series showcases the music of Oscar Lorenzo Fernández (1897–1948), who was a key figure in the cultural life of Rio de Janeiro. He gained international fame with Batuque, a piece championed by conductors such as Toscanini, Koussevitsky and Bernstein. It became something of a stand-alone hit, but it's heard on this new release in the context of the entire Reisado do Pastoreio suite. Fernández’s two symphonies suffered neglect after the composer’s untimely death at the age of fifty. These recordings of both those works are premieres: there's the world premiere recording of the powerful First Symphony, and the first modern studio recording of the programmatic Second Symphony.

Carlos Gomes was not only Brazil’s leading operatic composer, but he also helped pave the way for Italian verismo during the latter part of the 19th century. The preludes and overtures from his operas chart a course from early experimentation with orchestral sonority to a new conception of atmosphere and tension in his historically based dramas. In Alvorada (‘Dawn’) from Lo schiavo his descriptive writing comes close to the status of a symphonic poem. The music from his greatest artistic triumph, Il Guarany, weaves themes into an organic whole, while his final opera, Condor, is reminiscent of French orchestral music in its employment of whole-tone scales.

Vol. 21 in the Naxos Music of Brazil series showcases the music of Oscar Lorenzo Fernández (1897–1948), who was a key figure in the cultural life of Rio de Janeiro. He gained international fame with Batuque, a piece championed by conductors such as Toscanini, Koussevitsky and Bernstein. It became something of a stand-alone hit, but it's heard on this new release in the context of the entire Reisado do Pastoreio suite. Fernández’s two symphonies suffered neglect after the composer’s untimely death at the age of fifty. These recordings of both those works are premieres: there's the world premiere recording of the powerful First Symphony, and the first modern studio recording of the programmatic Second Symphony.