Petrassi / Tamayo - Petrassi: Chamber Music - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

I have had one student here, a promising talent and a very good young man, I sincerely recommend him to you, put in a good word for him when he comes back, take him to your class; he is your namesake, I think you have played some of his pieces in Prague. His name is Novák, I am full of hope, since he is not only talented but also sensitive... This is a fragment of a letter from Bohuslav Martinu to Karl Novák of 14 February 1948 in which he mentions his student Jan Novák. Jan Novák (born on 8 April 1921 in Nová Ríše, died on 17 November 1984 in Ulm) was a Czech composer and pianist who would combine various influences in his music, including Classical period, Czech folklore, dodecaphony, and jazz inspirations. The composer's out-put is very varied in terms of instrumental selection. Apart from solo pieces for such instruments as guitar, organ, harpsichord, flute, violin, or piano, we find therein works for two, three, or more instruments. He also com-posed cantatas, film, ballet, theatre music, music for solo voice with accompaniment, and orchestral works.

As one of the leading Italian composers of the twentieth century, Bruno Bettinelli occupies a significant place in his country's musical lineage. An inheritor of the traditions o fRespighi, Casella, and their contemporaries, he employed contemporary techniques to fashion music of structural clarity, inventiveness and considerable communicative power. The Improvvisazione and Due movimenti are two of his greatest smaller-scaled works, and the Trio a masterful embodiment of his musical principles. Bettinelli's complete works for solo guitar, performed by Davide Ficco, can be heard on Naxos as well.

Sophie Tucker - Red Hot Mama All The Hits And More 1911-37 / This 49-track 2-CD collection comprises all her twenty career hits. - Sophie Tucker was one of the innovative female stars of the early recording era, a Russian-born immigrant who became a hugely popular singer, comedian, actress and radio personality, and was a natural on the vaudeville stage. She became a movie actress, as well as building a parallel career in the UK, and remained active and visible well into the post-war decades. She became famous for her risqué material and performed extrovert songs that brought her the nicknames of InchRed Hot MamaInch and InchLast Of The Red Hot MamasInch. This 49-track 2-CD collection comprises all her twenty career hits, plus selected releases on the Okeh, Columbia, Columbia UK, Vocalion UK 'Broadcast Twelve' series, Parlophone and Decca labels from this era. It features her classic best-known hit InchSome Of These DaysInch, along with InchRed Hot MamaInch, InchMy Yiddishe MommeInch, InchI'm The Last Of The Red-Hot MamasInch, InchAfter You've GoneInch, InchI Ain't Got NobodyInch, InchThe Man I LoveInch and InchThe Lady Is A TrampInch - those hits obviously include early versions of songs that became enduring standards, and there are plenty more of those in the set as well. She was a highly distinctive larger-than-life personality and this collection is an entertaining showcase for the qualities that made her such a popular artist across several decades.