So here we are on the first of December and some people are just now getting in the mood for the holidays. I don't know about you but I am having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit this year; I have no idea why, as usually by now I am raring to go and have the Christmas music playing already. But not this year; the Christmas spirit hasn't moved me quite yet.
If you are in the same boat as I and still have people to buy for who are musically inclined, maybe I can help. My website, A Web of Fine Music, is at your service to provide you with music of every description from pop to classical, jazz to rock. Just let me know what you're looking for and I will do my very best to find what you're looking for in time for the big day. You can send your request through the order form on the website (www.finemusic.ca) or send me an email directly at music@vaxxine.com. Things get pretty busy this month so I would suggest not waiting too much longer to get your requests in, by the way.
In the spirit of the season, I am also offering a couple of suggestions here this week; a book and a CD both sent to me separately I think might interest the music lover on your list. The first is a new book by Nicholas Soames titled The Story of Naxos, dealing of course with the budget classical music label that has redefined the classical music industry since it arrived on the musical scene back in the late 80s.
Independent record labels have come and gone all the time in my musical career that has spanned almost twenty years now, but none has managed a strangle hold on the music industry quite like Naxos has. It began life as a label that recorded all the standard classical repertoire using primarily unknown artists looking for a big break and willing to forego the traditional contract and renumeration in favour of the Naxos model that gave you more exposure in exchange for less money.
Naxos was the brainchild of Klaus Heymann, a German businessman who simply loved classical music so much he pioneered a classical record label based in Hong Kong that brought digital recordings of classical music to the masses at affordable prices. Initially dismissed by the classical music establishment when the label debuted in 1987, Heymann quickly showed his business and artistic acumen, recruiting artists many of whom have come to be known far and wide for the quality of their recordings for the label. Eventually moving into opera, early music, contemporary music and more specialized repertoire, Naxos has recorded music by composers both well-known and little-known, with many world premiere recordings along the way.
Now, Naxos is probably the largest classical music label in the world and has branched out into distributing other labels' recordings as well, from Collegium and Chandos to many smaller outfits that otherwise would get no distribution whatsoever. I have found in my years selling classical music the label has gone from simply providing a number of recordings at an attractive price-point of under $10 initially to a music powerhouse it is impossible to ignore. The price has gone up over the years, of course, but the Naxos label is still very attractively priced and very comprehensive in what they offer in the marketplace.
Heymann at 75 is still at the helm of the company 25 years after he started it, and I can only hope there is a succession plan in place at Naxos for when the inevitable happens and Heymann cannot or doesn't want to lead the company any more. All his trials and tribulations, triumphs and pioneering efforts are all described in vivid detail in this new book written by Nicolas Soames, a former classical music and judo journalist, which is a rather odd combination I am sure you'll agree. For the past 18 years Soames has run the Naxos Audiobooks division, providing spoken word recordings of literary classics from Homer and Dante to James Joyce and many more.
The book is a good read and will be most welcome under the tree by any classical music lover on your list. While I don't offer books for sale through A Web of Fine Music, I could certainly get you a copy of this one in time for Christmas gift-giving if you are at all interested.
The CD I wanted to spotlight this week is actually a two-disc set of Haydn String Quartets, Op. 22 with the Eybler Quartet on the Analekta label, which incidentally is also distributed by Naxos! The Eybler Quartet is made up of Alsslinn Nosky and Julia Wedman on violins, Patrick Jordan on viola and Margaret Gay on violoncello. Based in Toronto and playing on instruments appropriate to the period of the music it performs, the group has a passion for exploring string quartet repertoire of the past century and a half, including lesser-known composers such as their namesake, Joseph Leopold Edler von Eybler.
Their last recording on Analekta featuring music by Mozart and Backofen was released a couple of years ago and I still vividly remember attending a CD release party for it at the Robertson Hall on Church Street. The music was quite simply exquisite on that disc, with the Backofen being of particular interest due to the relative lack of recordings of Backofen's music in circulation today.
No such problem here on this brand-new two-disc set of the String Quartets of Haydn, Op. 33. The set of six string quartets date from the summer and early autumn of 1781, with the first documented performance of the quartets in the chambers of the Russian Grand Duke Paul (later Tsar Paul I), to whom the works are dedicated and thus lending them the popular nickname the "Russian" Quartets.
The sound on this set is wonderfully warm and expressive and the Eybler Quartet have produced a fine new recording of these quartets for modern audiences on period instruments. There is a vivaciousness to the music and the playing here that is infectious, and you can't help but smile when you listen to the set. I find if I put it on while writing or reading, the Op. 33 Quartets provide a lovely backdrop to what I am doing. Listening more intently with the music front and centre increases the rewards considerably.
The Eybler Quartet's 2-CD set of the Haydn String Quartets, Op. 33 is available now through A Web of Fine Music and yes, there is still time to get your copy before Christmas if you hurry. You might even want to make one copy a gift and keep one for yourself!
Happy listening!
December 1st, 2012.
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