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GRIEG / SHOSTAKOVICH / SCHUMANN / SIBELIUS / BRAHMS / PART / TUUR / FAURE / etc
Paavo Järvi: The Complete Erato Recordings Peter Mattei, Camilla Tilling, Nicholas Angelich, Renaud Capuçon, Christian Tetzlaff, Evelyn Glennie, Natalie Dessay, Truls Mork, Solveig Kringelborn [ Erato / 31 CD Box Set - released 15/Nov/2024 ] Born in Tallinn in 1962, Paavo Järvi is renowned for his dynamic interpretations and innovative programming. He has held prominent positions with leading orchestras, including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, NHK Symphony... |
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BRITTEN / SCHUMANN / SCHUBERT / HANDEL / BACH / etc
Anniversary Tribute [6 CD set] Peter Pears (tenor) with various orchestras & accompanists [ Decca Records / 6 CD Box Set - released 1/Dec/2012 ] "All in all, a superb tribute to one of the most characterful and important singers of the twentieth century." Penguin Guide, 2011 edition. |
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GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: L'equivoco stravagante (Complete opera) Petia Petrova, Marco di Felice, Marco Vinco / Czech Chamber Chours / Alberto Zedda [ Naxos Opera Classics / 2 CD Box Set - released 29/Jul/2002 ] "The cast is accomplished...with incisive diction and alert musicality. The one standout is the recording's Ernestina, the young Bulgarian mezzo Petia Petrova. She's a lively, vivid vocal presence, with the technique " - Opera News |
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SERGEI RACHMANINOV
Rachmaninov: Pianist and Conductor - Legendary Recordings, 1919-1942 Sergei Rachmaninov (piano) / Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski & Eugene Ormandy [ Naxos Historical / 9 CD Box Set - released 6/Dec/2010 ] In every recording by Rachmaninov, whether it be of his own compositions or not, one is immediately aware of his complete control. This is combined with acute clarity, sparse use of the sustaining pedal and an orchestral conception of sound. |
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TCHEREPNIN / RIMSKY-KORSAKOV / STRAVINSKY / SATIE / PROKOFIEV / BALAKIREV / etc
Diaghilev - Ballets Russes Pierre Boulez, André Cluytens, Igor Markevitch, Seiji Ozawa, André Previn, Sir Simon Rattle, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Jean Martinon, Charles Dutoit, et [ Warner Classics / 22 CD Box Set - released 11/Mar/2022 ] The Ballets russes was founded in Paris in 1909 by the visionary impresario Serge Diaghilev. Innovative and flamboyant, he had a genius for bringing together the most brilliant composers, dancers, choreographers and designers. |
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JACQUES OFFENBACH
Offenbach: Le voyage dans la lune (complete operetta) Violette Polchi, Sheva Tehoval, Matthieu Lécroart, Pierre Derhet / Chœur et Orchestre national Montpellier Occitanie, Pierre Dumoussaud [ Bru Zane / 2 CD/Book - released 27/May/2022 ] "With Offenbach's opéra féerie - Le Voyage dans la Lune Bru Zane has come up trumps." MusicWeb |
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ANTONIN DVORAK
Dvorak Edition: The Slavonic Soul Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano) Lucia Popp (soprano) Jacqueline du Pré (cello) Alban Berg Quartett, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, etc [ Warner Classics / 27 CD/DVD Box Set - released 11/Jun/2021 ] This box provides an illuminating and enriching survey of Dvorak's works, including his complete symphonies. A number of the celebrated performers have Slavonic roots themselves; all their interpretations draw on a deep affinity with the composer. |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Complete Fitzwilliam Virginal Book Pieter-Jan Belder (harpsichord) [ Brilliant Classics / 15 CD Box Set - released 20/Nov/2020 ] This landmark set gathers all seven volumes of Pieter-Jan Belder's exhaustive exploration of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book in recordings spanning the current decade. |
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ARCANGELO CORELLI
Corelli: Complete Edition Pieter-Jan Belder (harpsichord), Musica Amphion [ Brilliant Classics / 10 CD Box Set - released 15/Nov/2010 ] "The Concerti grossi, Op. 6 are full of verve here; there's a real sense of enjoyment in the playing and the same enthusiasm is to be found throughout. At its most zestful the set is excellent, and the disappointments are few." Penguin Guide |
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J. S. BACH
Complete Concertos Pieter‐Jan Belder (keyboard), Thomas Zehetmair (violin), Christine Schornsheim (harpsichord), Andrius Puskunigis (oboe) / Amsterdam Bach Soloists, etc [ Brilliant Classics / 9 CD Box Set - released 6/May/2016 ] This 9 CD set contains the complete solo concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach: the Brandenburg Concertos, violin concertos, keyboard concertos for one, two, three and four harpsichords and the triple concerto. As an attractive "bonus" two CD's are... |
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LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: The Symphonies Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg [ Deutsche Grammophon / 5 CD Box Set - released 15/May/2020 ] In 1952, William Steinberg and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra embarked on a Beethoven symphony cycle which utilized the new and sonically advantageous process of recording on 35mm film. |
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CHARLES GOUNOD
The Gounod Edition: Operas, Choral Works, Symphonies Placido Domingo, Regine Crespin, Alfredo Kraus, Nicolai Gedda, Mirella Freni, Marilyn Horne, Rolando Villazon, etc [ Warner Classics / 15 CD Box Set - released 25/Jun/2018 ] "Anyone wanting a share in these darling old steeds at a tempting price will be amply satisfied." Opera |
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GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Complete Symphonies Lynda Russell (soprano) / Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, Warsaw Boys' Choir, Antoni Wit, Michael H [ Naxos / 15 CD Box Set - released 10/May/2017 ] "The excellent quality of the Katowice Orchestra of Polish Radio is impressively demonstrated...it stands comparison with any rival" Penguin Guide on No 6 |
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HENRY PURCELL
Purcell: Complete Chamber Music Rémy Baudet (violin), Sayuri Yamagata (violin), Elisabeth Ingenhousz (violin) Rainer Zipperling (viola da gamba), Johannes Boer (viola da gamba), etc [ Brilliant Classics / 7 CD Box Set - released 10/Mar/2008 ] A rare treat: no less than 7 CDs with instrumental chamber music by Henry Purcell. In spite of his past and present international fame too little attention has been paid to this part of his oeuvre. |
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J. S. BACH
Bach: St Matthew Passion Julian Prégardien, Stéphane Degout, Sabine Devieilhe, Hana Blažiková, Tim Mead / Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon [ Harmonia Mundi / 3 CD Box Set - released 29/Apr/2022 ] "With its glowing inner vitality and penetrating observations, this is a Passion that makes a very definite statement about what this work can communicate in our times." Gramophone Award WINNER 2022 - Choral |
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DEBUSSY / BEETHOVEN / PROKOFIEV / SCHUMANN / MOZART / BRAHMS / etc
Quartetto Italiano: Prima la musica - The Complete Warner Recordings Quartetto Italiano [ Warner Classics / 14 CD Box Set - released 11/Jun/2021 ] "The finest string quartet, unquestionably, that our century has known." In 1951, when the Quartetto Italiano first visited the USA, composer Virgil Thomson's was enthused: "Perfection is the only word to describe this playing." |
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CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Claude Debussy: The Complete Works Quatuor Ebene, Martha Argerich, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Samson François, Renaud Capuçon, Natalie Dessay, André Cluytens, François-Xavier Roth, etc [ Warner Classics / 33 CD Box Set - released 13/Feb/2018 ] This 33-CD set, comprising outstanding recordings selected by Debussy experts, exemplifies the depth and breadth of the Warner Classics catalogue and the label's commitment to producing comprehensive landmark editions of the highest quality. |
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BRAHMS / BEETHOVEN / SCHUBERT / SCHUMANN
The Complete Decca Solo Recordings (special price 10 CD set) Radu Lupu (piano) [ Complete Decca Recordings / 10 CD Box Set - released 1/Aug/2012 ] "This is playing of quite exceptional insight and naturalness...and this set as a whole is well worth seeking out." (Penguin Guide) |
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REINHARD KEISER
Keiser: Croesus René Jacobs [ Harmonia Mundi / 3 CD - released 30/Aug/2019 ] Keiser is one of the most astonishing early German composers to have been brought to light in recent years. The composer of a good sixty operas, all of them for the Hamburg Opera, during his lifetime he was regarded as 'the greatest and most... |
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WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail / Die Zauberflöte René Jacobs, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, RIAS Kammerchor Berlin [ Harmonia Mundi / 5 CD Box Set - released 10/Mar/2023 ] The alpha and omega of Mozart! With Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1782), probably his first absolute masterpiece, and Die Zauberflöte (1791 - the year of his death), René Jacobs penetrates to the heart of Mozartian singspiel. Featuring singers, a... |