GLASS / ADAMS / ten HOLT / EINAUDI / RICHTER / SAKAMOTO / PART / etc
Best of Minimal Piano Music Jeroen van Veen (piano) [ Brilliant Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 23/Oct/2020 ] Highlights from the award-winning, much-praised series of Brilliant Classics recordings by today's leading champion of minimalist piano repertoire. |
WAGNER / HAYDN / BERLIOZ / BRITTEN / R. STRAUSS
Jessye Norman - The Unreleased Masters Jessye Norman (soprano) / Gewandhauorchester, Kurt Masur, Berliner Philharmoniker, James Levine, Boston Symphony, Seiji Ozawa [ Decca / 3 CD - released 4/Aug/2023 ] Decca Classics presents Jessye Norman - The Unreleased Masters, showcasing never-before-heard recordings of one of the greatest classical singers of all time. |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams: A Vaughan Williams Anthology [8 CD set] Joan Rodgers (sop) Christopher Maltman (bar) Jennifer Pike (violin) / Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmon [ Naxos / 8 CD Box Set - released 8/Apr/2022 ] Ralph Vaughan Williams is one of Britain's most illustrious composers, and this specially curated selection of works demonstrates the sheer breadth of his achievement. |
ADAM / MASSENET / BIZET / BONONCINI / GRAUN / WAGNER / LEHAR / etc
Opera Gala Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Irma Kolassi, Janine Micheau, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Richard Conrad, Lisa della Casa, Kirsten Flagstad, etc [ Decca Eloquence / 20 CD Box Set - released 20/Nov/2020 ] From Adam to Zandonai, from 1954 to 1996, 20 CDs made up of no less than 28 Decca opera recordings, most of them recorded as highlights albums, many long unavailable, newly remastered and all featuring the greatest singers of their age. |
J. S. BACH
Bach: The Complete Secular Cantatas Joanne Lunn, Robin Blaze, Carolyn Sampson, Katsuhiko Nakashima, Hiroya Aoki, Makoto Sakurada, etc / Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki [ BIS SACD / 10 CD Box Set - released 6/Dec/2019 ] "The SACD sound is near ideal for such music, needing as it does to balance the intimate with a sense of public rejoicing. It catches the colours of the distinctive solo voices on display." MusicWeb |
JEAN-PHILIPPE RAMEAU
Rameau: Zoroastre 1749 Jodie Devos (Amélite), Véronique Gens (Erinice), Reinoud Van Mechelen (Zoroastre), Tassis Christoyannis (Abramane), Chœur de Chambre de Namur [ Alpha Classics / 3 CD - released 4/Nov/2022 ] Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) left two very different versions of his tragédie en musique Zoroastre: the first, in 1749, received a lukewarm reception and the work was withdrawn from the repertory. Rameau gave it a thorough revision in 1756. At... |
FRANZ LISZT
Liszt: Piano Works (nine CD set) Jorge Bolet (piano) [ Decca Budget Boxes / 9 CD Box Set - released 26/May/2001 ] All Bolet's solo Liszt recordings in one box at a special price |
DVORAK / TCHAIKOVSKY / SMETANA / STRAVINSKY / SHOSTAKOVICH / PROKOFIEV
The Karel Ancerl Edition Karel Ancerl conducting the Wiener Symphoniker, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, with Wolfgang Schneiderhan (violin) [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 9 CD Box Set - released 28/Jul/2023 ] A Czech maestro in his element: the complete Philips and Deutsche Grammophon albums of Karel AnĨerl collected as a single edition to mark the 50th anniversary of his death (3 July 1973). |
MOZART / BACH / SCHUBERT / HANDEL / DONIZETTI / TRADITIONAL / etc
Kathleen Battle Edition Kathleen Battle, with Jessye Norman, Christopher Parkening, Itzhak Perlman, etc [ Deutche Grammophon Australian Eloquence / 15 CD Box Set - released 28/Jul/2023 ] A Limited Edition, Original Jackets collection showcasing the artistry of the magnificent American soprano, Kathleen Battle. |
GRIEG / BRAHMS / SCHUBERT / MOZART / RACHMANINOV / SCHUMANN / etc
Leif Ove Andsnes - The Warner Classics Edition 1990 - 2010 Leif Ove Andsnes (piano), with Christian Tetzlaff, Sarah Chang, Artemis Quartet & Ian Bostridge [ Warner Classics / 36 CD Box Set - released 7/Mar/2011 ] Leif Ove Andsnes is a leading pianist of his time, known for his exceptional musicianship and subtle touch, his considerable technical flair being unfailingly put at the service of his interpretations. |
BEETHOVEN / BRAHMS / MOZART
Leon Fleisher Plays Beethoven & Brahms [5 CD set] Leon Fleisher (piano) / The Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell [ Sony Classical Masters / 5 CD Box Set - released 20/May/2012 ] "Fleisher has the ability to take the slow movement slowly, and the molto adagio cadenza near its end is for once as slow as the composer could wish, and very impressive. The finale has plenty of fire" (Gramophone on the Brahms Concerto No 1) |
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Claude Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande Julien Behr, Vannina Santoni, Alexandre Duhamel, Marie-Ange Todorovitch, etc / Les Siècles, Chœur de l'Opéra de Lille François-Xavier Roth [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 28/Jan/2022 ] 'I enjoyed the orchestral contributions of Les Siècles and the lucidity that period instruments bring to Debussy's score...there's an almost clinical clarity to their playing.' Gramophone Award Finalist 2022 - Opera |
BELA BARTOK
Bartók: String Quartets Nos. 1-6 Lindsay String Quartet [ Decca Eloquence / 3 CD Box Set - released 23/Jul/2021 ] "These players have their own kind of distinction in this music and should not be missed." Gramophone, December 1989 |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Theodora (complete oratorio) Lisette Oropesa, Joyce DiDonato, Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian, Michael Spyres, John Chest / Il Pomo d'Oro, Maxim Emelyanychev [ Erato / 3 CD Box Set - released 18/Nov/2022 ] BBC Music Magazine Award Nomination 2023 - Choral |
RODRIGO / VIVALDI / FLAMENCO / TRADITIONAL
Los Romeros - The Mercury Masters Los Romeros, with San Antonio Symphony, Victor Alessandro [ Decca / Philips / Mercury / 10 CD Box Set - released 8/Dec/2023 ] Los Romeros was the first guitar quartet to achieve eminence across continents and on stages of the world. Their first recordings were made in January 1960 and released on Contemporary Records. |
VERDI / PUCCINI / MOZART / DONIZETTI / LEONCAVALLO / DVORAK
Opera Gold: 50 Greatest Tracks Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, Kiri te Kanawa, Mario del Monaco, Placido Domingo, Marilyn Horne, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Renee Fleming, Jonas Kaufmann [ Decca Music Group / 3 CD Box Set - released 8/Oct/2021 ] Decca, the opera company, presents a premium collection of the most beautiful opera tracks on 3 CDs. Classic arias and preludes performed by the greatest opera stars of all time. |
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
Mozart: The Complete Piano Sonatas Mao Fujita (piano) [ Sony Classical / 5 CD Box Set - released 4/Nov/2022 ] "Despite his young years, Fujita is fully inside these works and makes an impressive job in imparting his vision. All the ingredients for outstanding Mozart performance are here." MusicWeb |
CESAR FRANCK
Franck: Hulda (complete opera original version) Meagan Miller, Joshua Kohl, Irina Jae-Eun Park, Anja Jung / Opernchor des Theater Freiburg, Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Fabrice Bollon [ Naxos / 3 CD Box Set - released 10/Oct/2021 ] "An intrepid cast led by Meagan Miller as Hulda and Joshua Kohl's Eiolf, her faithless lover, negotiates a top-heavy score that mixes Franck's thunderous organ chords with Berlioz and Wagner..all credit to Fabrice Bollon and the Freiburg Phil." BBC |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: Complete Piano Sonatas Michael Endres (piano) [ Capriccio / 6 CD Box Set - released 20/Apr/2011 ] "the Steck piano that Endres plays has a pleasing bloom, which has been recorded with satisfying natural presence, and his lyrical, lovingly shaped performances undoubtedly deserve a place among the very best alternatives." Gramophone |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas (14 CDs plus Book) Michael Houstoun (piano) [ Rattle / 14 CD Box Set - released 15/Oct/2014 ] NZ LISTENER BEST CLASSICAL Recordings 2014 |