Opinions of NAXOS label?

I really have not purchased anything from Naxos. The label seems to be more "budget" type compared to the more traditional labels (DG, Telarc, EMI, etc). However, I do not want to short change myself from some great recordings. What is the overall consensus of the Naxos releases? I have seen a couple of their SACDs in used stores, but avoided.

 

I think they're great, primarily because they offer recordings of music well beyond the usual limited repertory.

 

Lots of great recordings! Naxos was how I was able to get introduced to classical music. Tower Records in Cambridge, MA used to keep all their Naxos recordings in a separate section (nearly out of site) on their music floor. I think there was a stigma to buying these inexpensive cds when they initially came out. I was constantly steered away from them by Tower staff to the much more expensive "real" recordings. But for every "real" recording I could buy 3 Naxos titles and discover lots of terrific performances. Now, things have changed and Naxos is definitely not considered sub-par.

Some standout Naxos releases I own are:

TARTINI Violin Concertos (Daskalakis/Cologne Chamber Orchestra)
LECLAIR Violin Sonatas, Books 1-4 (Butterfield, et al.)
PAGANINI Centone di Sonate, Vols 1-3 (Hammer/Kraft)

 

I've bought many over the years and have never been disappointed.

 

Good to hear. Any current NAXOS artist that stand out that I should give a listen?

 

They've improved greatly over the years. Their Shostakovich run with Vasili Petrenko are worth a notice.

 

Any eras of the label one should avoid?

 

I really like Naxos. Lots of great titles at very reasonable prices. Great way to discover "new" composers.

 

On classicstoday.com you can search reviews by record label. There are several great recordings on Naxos.

 

I have a number of Naxos titles and have always been pleased with them. They may not feature the most recognizable players or conductors, but they are well played and recorded.

 

Thanks for the web site I will check it out

 

I recently wanted Shostakovich's Jazz Suite 2, but not being very knowledgable about classical music (but I know what I like!), I asked the shop assistant to help select a version. He chose the Naxos recording by the Russian State Symphony Orchestra/Dmitry Yablonsky on Naxos, and although I'm sure there's other versions preferred by critics, it sounds good enough to my ears. I subsequently looked for reviews of the disc and there's plenty of favourable ones, and for £7.00 it would be hard to complain.

 

Antoni Wit's Tchaikovsky cycle is good.

 

Most of their early music (from the middle ages to the baroque era) recordings are good. What's more, they tend to get off the beaten tracks and offer little known works.

I had no idea they'd released SACDs.

 

don't let the budget prices fool you!
NAXOS is the largest classical music label!
They carry a great variety of music.
A lot of good European ensembles.

the sound quality is stellar!
they also have a wonderful early music collection.

 

One of my first and still favorite Naxos CDs:

 

You can subscribe to their catalog on their website.

 

Not really. Like anything else, there's ups and downs. The more recent productions tend to have more sophisticated sound engineering, but many of the early productions are classics. As a general rule, solo and chamber are better represented by this label. As the more famous orchestras and conductors still have representation from major labels, Naxos never records the Berlin Philharmonics and Vienna Philharmonics of the world. I happen to really like the Marin Alsop/London Philharmonic recording of Brahms symphonies, but that sort of music is better represented by the megabox reissues from the majors these days. The Kodaly Quartet Haydn series and Nigel North complete Dowland for lute are standout issues.

 

I can second that recommendation for the Kodaly Haydns... Great stuff.

 

I appreciate them primarily as a historical reissue label. They have put out a large number of recordings from the 78 era in the best available sound, since they habitually hire first-rate technicians like Ward Marston and Marc Obert-Thorn to do the transfers. These guys know how to get the most music out the grooves of these old recordings without destroying their ambiance through overuse of noise reduction; their only consistent rival as far as I'm concerned is the Dutton label. Naxos's collections of Caruso, Arthur Schnabel, John McCormack, Gigli, and many, many others, are well worth seeking out.

 

Those Tower staffers were indeed snobs and not good business folk. We carried all available Naxos titles in a store the size of what would be considered Tower's clearance area. What Naxos did was give us a deep catalog,great terms on bill paying and profit margins better than getting major label titles from a one-stop(wholesaler who carried everything,hence the name "one-stop" for goods all things related to a record store). So the more Naxos Tower could sell, those snobs benefited by getting a paycheck and keeping the classical section viable. Those three CDs one could purchase for the price of a front line Sony title let canny classical fans the ability to try music from a composer they knew but didn't know the piece. I still have few promos around here,but one I purchased, solo piano music of Gershwin & Chick Corea by Philadelphian Leon Bates,is very good. They claim to be the #1 classical distributor in the world today and one can see why they have succeeded.

 

I do have the Schnabel Beethoven Piano Sonatas $1.99 download from Amazon. I love it and listen quite a bit. I do not believe it is the NAXOS or the EMI version. However, I figure with the recording so old (I belive 1930's) to begin with, I'm not certain if investment in a physical copy would offer much benifit. The Schnabel recordings, overall, are my favorites of the Beethoven sonatas. I do, however, like Helene Grimaud various recordings.

 

I have a couple of John Cage CDs on Naxos that sound pretty good, and if I remember correctly, were very inexpensive.

 

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I've bought a few titles from the Naxos Jazz line a while back and I found the quality of the performances and the recordings to be excellent. I did ask at Tower Records, Dublin about some titles on the label and the sales assistant kinda looked down his nose at me, saying that they didn't stock Naxos CDs