RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Vaughan Williams: Concertos & String Music Howard Shelley (piano) David Theodore (oboe) Kenneth Sillito (piano) / London Symphony Orchestra, Bryden Thomson [ Chandos / 2 CD Box Set ] The perfect introduction to the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Tokyo String Quartet plays Beethoven [9 CD set] Tokyo String Quartet [ Sony Classical Masters / 9 CD Box Set - released 1/Nov/2012 ] "I doubt whether quartet playing comes much better than in this Tokyo set of the Op. 18. Quite frankly I don't think that you can go far wrong with this set: the playing is unfailingly alive, sensitive and poised." (Gramophone) |
BEETHOVEN / HANDEL / von BINGEN / PART / HAYDN / DVORAK / etc
The Choral Collection Tonus Peregrinus, Camerata Bach Choir, Musica Ficta, Oxford Camerata, Choir of the Golden Age, TOWER Voices New Zealand, Simon Mayr Choir, etc [ Naxos / 30 CD Box Set - released 25/Oct/2019 ] "There's plenty to celebrate here, not least sterling performances by Oxford Camerata under Jeremy Summerly (including Bach's Magnificat, Vivaldi's Gloria, Fauré's Requiem and other choral pieces, and a fine Hildegard CD). |
JOACHIM RAFF
Raff: Complete Piano Works Tra Nguyen [ Grand Piano / 6 CD Box Set - released 19/Jan/2024 ] "excellent Nguyen playing with intelligence and devotion - especially the ambitious Grande Sonate." BBC Music (Vol 5) |
J. S. BACH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bach: Partitas Nos. 1-6 BWV 825-830 / Italian Concerto BWV 971 / French Overture BWV 831 / Goldberg Variations BWV 988 Trevor Pinnock (harpischord) [ Archiv Trio / 3 CD Box Set - released 26/May/2003 ] "captures every sound (musical and otherwise) of the Ruckers instrument with the utmost fidelityis pure pleasure." Gramophone, 08/1995 reviewing the Goldberg Variations |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Complete Piano Trios Trio Élégiaque [ Brilliant Classics Quintessence / 5 CD Box Set - released 25/Sep/2020 ] The young French Trio Elegiaque has already received great critical acclaim for their recording of Messiaen and Dusapin (Diapason d'Or!). They played the Beethoven trio cycle several times in concert series. |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Symphonies 4 - 6 Wiener Philharmoniker [Vienna Philharmonic], Valery Gergiev [ Philips / 3 CD Box Set - released 3/Oct/2005 ] "Opulent, dramatic and powerful performances. This well recorded Philips set would be a welcome addition to any collection" MusicWeb |
BEDRICH SMETANA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Smetana: Libuse (Festive Opera In 3 Acts) Eva Urbanová, Vratislav Kriz, Ludek Vele, Helena Kaupová / Prague National Theatre Chorus & Orchestra, Oliver Dohnanyi [ Supraphon / 2 CD Box Set - released 20/Oct/2009 ] "The cast is splendid, reflecting that the extraordinary musical traditions of the Czech's (Europe's most musical nation?) are alive and well. The whole performance captures the sense of occasion." MusicWeb |
ARVO PART
Part: The Collection Ulster Orchestra, Hungarian State Opera, Leeds Cathedral Choir, Elora Festival Singers, Benjamin Hudson (violin, viola) Jurgen Kruse (piano), etc [ Brilliant Classics / 9 CD Box Set - released 17/Dec/2021 ] The most comprehensive collection ever issued of Arvo Pärt's music, surveying the full range of an output from one of the most distinctive voices in late 20th-century music. |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Der Ring Des Nibelungen (recorded live in 1957) Hans Hotter, Birgit Nilsson, Otakar Kraus, Wolfgang Wingassen, Peter Klein / Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Rudolf Kempe [ Testament / 13 CD Box Set - released 20/Feb/2018 ] "The glory here is Birgit Nilsson's gleaming Brünnhilde, already 39 years old, but sounding youthful, touching and tireless. The set is a reminder of the strengths of the company at this period, with Joan Sutherland leading the Rhinemaidens." Sunday |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: The Great Operas - From the Bayreuth Festival Theo Adam, Gerd Nienstedt, James King, Leonie Rysanek, Wolfgang Windgassen, Erwin Wohlfahrt, Birgit Nilsson, Victoria de los Angeles, Christa Ludwig [ Decca / 33 CD Box Set - released 15/Feb/2016 ] As part of the Wagner year 2013 celebrations Decca Classics released a limited edition re-press of the successful 2008 set of Wagner Operas recorded live at the Bayreuth Festival. Stock is very limited. |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
MARBECKS COLELCTABLE: 111 Classic Tracks [6 CD package limited edition at a special price] Various artists from the vast Deutsche Grammophon catalogue [ Deutsche Grammophon / 6 CD Box Set - released 20/Dec/2009 ] Ever since Beethoven wrote his last piano sonata and called it opus 111, the number 111 has enjoyed certain kudos in musical circles - of which we are proud to take advantage, as Deutsche Grammophon celebrates its 111th anniversary in 2009. |
ALWYN / BRITTEN / BUTTERWORTH / FINZI / IRELAND / VAUGHAN WILLIAMS / etc
English Song Collection Various Artists including Philip Langridge, Frank Lloyd, Felicity Lott, Christopher Maltman, Andrew Matthews-Owen, Ivan McCready, Thomas Allen, etc [ Naxos / 25 CD Box Set - released 21/May/2021 ] "Keenly priced, this set will surely provide many hours of listening pleasure." Gramophone |
BEETHOVEN / SIBELIUS / HAYDN / DEBUSSY / BERNSTEIN
Leonard Bernstein Vol 1 Various orchestras conducted by Leonard Bernstein, with James Taylor, Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin), Peter Serkin, Emanuel Ax (pianos), Yo-Yo Ma (cello) [ C Major DVD / 6 DVD Box Set - released 20/Sep/2017 ] A box set celebrating Leonard Bernstein's upcoming 100th birthday including concerts with the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia as well as the prizewinning documentary Leonard Bernstein: Larger than... |
BIZET / VILLA LOBOS / DEBUSSY / RAVEL / ROSSINI / PUCCINI / etc
Victoria de los Angeles - The Warner Classics Edition Victoria de los Angeles (soprano) with Nicolai Gedda, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Alicia de Larrocha, Gerald Moore, Sir John Barbirolli, Sir Thomas Beecham [ Warner Classics / 59 CD Box Set - released 20/Oct/2023 ] A singer who inspired the greatest admiration and affection, Victoria de los Ángeles was, in the words of Opera magazine, "one of the supreme vocal artists of the 20th century". |
PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Complete Piano Works Viktoria Postnikova (piano), with Gennady Rozhdestvensky (piano) [ Warner Classics / 7 CD Box Set - released 5/Mar/2018 ] "A highly desirable library acquisition for all Tchaikovskians and serious lovers of the piano repertoire,' was Gramophone's verdict on this collection. "In every cycle of shorter pieces there are items to be treasured." Viktoria Postnikova, a... |
SERGEI RACHMANINOV
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos / Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini / Piano Sonata 2 Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano) / London Symphony Orchestra / Andre Previn [ Decca Trio / 3 CD - released 29/Nov/2002 ] These recordings quickly established themselves as reference recordings at the time of their original release and have been a part of the Decca catalogue ever since. |
SERGEI RACHMANINOV
Rachmaninov: Complete Works for Piano Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano) with André Previn (piano), with Vovka Ashkenazy (piano), Dody Ashkenazy (piano), Alastair Mackie (trumpet), Royal Concertge [ Decca / 11 CD Box Set - released 3/Feb/2014 ] "Perhaps the 1980s digital cycle of the concertos, with Bernard Haitink conducting, is not as instinctively sharp in its musical responses as Ashkenazy's earlier cycle with Previn, but his performances of the other major works would be hard to match... |
JOHANN STRAUSS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Strauss, (J.): Die Fledermaus (complete operetta) Werner Hollweg, Edita Gruberova, Christian Boesch, Barbara Bonney / Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Nikolaus Harnoncourt [ Teldec / 2 CD Box Set - released 4/May/2009 ] "..the cast is strong too, with Marjana Lipovtek's Orlovsky particularly impressive...he men, including Josef Protschka as Alfred, are very good and so are the lively Netherlands Opera Chorus and the Concertgebouw Orchestra." (Gramophone) |
ANTON BRUCKNER
Bruckner: The Nine Symphonies Wiener Philharmoniker, Sir Georg Solti, Horst Stein, Karl Böhm, Lorin Maazel, Claudio Abbado [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 9 CD Box Set - released 22/Mar/2024 ] The Vienna Philharmonic's distinguished Bruckner tradition, documented through a series of superb Decca recordings from the 1960s and 70s on a Limited Edition 9-CD box set, with Original Jackets. |