Naxos Classical Spotlight

In this week’s podcast, Raymond Bisha introduces a disc of Spanish guitar music that goes to the heart of that nation’s musical culture, presenting four works by the prolific Madrid-born composer Federico Moreno Torroba. This new release is the first of two volumes devoted to the composer’s complete works for guitar and orchestra. It features performances by Pepe Romero, one of the foremost figures in Spanish guitar royalty, and his star student Vicente Coves. Together, they blend classical and traditional flamenco styles with consummate artistry.

Raymond Bisha introduces the first instalment of the Naxos series of flute concertos by François Devienne, the 18th-century composer-performer who laid the foundations of the French school of flute playing. Performed and directed by fellow Frenchman Patrick Gallois, these two illustrious musicians hold hands across the centuries in a celebration of the true French spirit of music-making. 

This month’s release in the Naxos Canadian Classics series focuses on the string chamber music of Jacques Hétu (1938–2010). The theme of past and present links composer and performers, as Raymond Bisha surveys Hétu’s works dating from the 1960s (when the original Orford String Quartet was formed) to music written a few years before his death, coincidentally the time of the formation of the New Orford String Quartet, who perform here with distinguished guest players.