W. A. MOZART
Sir Colin Davis conducts Mozart Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Colin Davisa, The Orchestra of St. Luke's, Sir Colin Davis [ Sony / RCA Classical Masters / 4 CD Box Set - released 10/Dec/2021 ] "Twelve of Mozart scintillating Overtures are given superlative performances with the justly famous Staatskapelle of Dresden conducted with great panache by Colin Davis on this marvellous CD." classical-music.com |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Peaceful Piano Moods Various Artists including Ludovico Einaudi, Vikingur Olafsson, Ola Gjeilo, Maria João Pires, Martha Argerich, Yuja Wang, Max Richter, Lang Lang, etc [ Deutsche Grammophon / 4 CD Box Set - released 15/Mar/2024 ] Immerse yourself in the most peaceful and chilled-out works written for the piano. Introducing Peaceful Piano Moods, a genre-dissolving compilation - a seamless blend of classical and contemporary piano repertoire. |
J. S. BACH
Walter Gieseking: Complete Bach Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon Walter Gieseking (piano) / Berliner Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler [ Deutsche Grammophon / 7 CD Box Set - released 10/Jul/2019 ] 'His tone is attractive (warmed by a little pedal) and subtly nuanced, his phrasing is musicianly, he gives the fugues (often long, in this book) control and cohesion; there is gentleness in the E flat major Prelude and lightness in that in G major.'... |
SCHUBERT / SCHUMANN / BEETHOVEN / KRENEK / BRAHMS / DUPARC / RAVEL / etc
Wolfgang Holzmair - The Philips Recitals Wolfgang Holzmair (baritone) Imogen Cooper, Gérard Wyss, Peter Stamm (piano) / San Francisco Symphony Orchestra [ Decca Austrailian Eloquence / 13 CD Box Set - released 11/Mar/2022 ] From Haydn to Eisler: the collected Philips recordings of WOLFGANG HOLZMAIR, a supreme art-song interpreter, including many long-deleted albums. |
PIAZZOLLA / JOBIM / BOLLING / PORTER / TRADITIONAL / etc
Yo-Yo Ma - Crossing Borders Yo-Yo Ma (cello) with Stephane Grappelli (violin) Sergio & Odair Assad (guitars) Claude Bolling (piano) Bobby McFerrin (vocals) Mark O'Connor (violin) [ Sony Classical Masters / 9 CD Box Set - released 10/Dec/2021 ] Yo-Yo Ma's multi-faceted career is testament to his continual search for new ways to communicate with audiences, and to his personal desire for artistic growth and renewal. This CD box set features nine of Yo-Yo's classic cross-over albums. |
JOSEPH HAYDN
Haydn: Symphonies Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 15 CD Box Set - released 22/Jan/2021 ] With the delightful original LP cover illustrations, this 'original jackets' presentation collects together for the first time the 33 Haydn Symphonies recorded by Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: La Pietra del paragone (complete opera) Agata Bienkowska (mezzo) / Alessandro Codeluppi (tenor) / Raffaele Constantini (bass) / Anna Rita Gemmabella (sop) / Anke Herrmann (sop) [ Naxos Opera Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 2/Jun/2004 ] "Polish mezzo Agata Bienkowska...here evinces a rich-toned flexible voice of considerable promise ..The conductor, Alessandro de Marchi, is well known in early music circles. He brings clear articulation to the ensembles." MusicWeb |
ALESSANDRO SCARLATTI
Scarlatti: Griselda Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, René Jacobs [ Harmonia Mundi / 3 CD Box Set - released 19/Jul/2019 ] Scarlatti's Griselda, premiered in Rome in 1721, received a single performance at the Teatro Capranica, and was never taken into the repertoire elsewhere, both for financial reasons and because of the changing tastes of the time. The tragic story of... |
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mendelssohn: Elias (Elijah) (Complete Oratorio in German) Alastair Miles, Jard van Nes, Helen Donath / Israel Philharmonic, Kurt Masur [ Teldec / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/May/1993 ] Contains comprehensive book and translations |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: String Quartets, Trout Quintet & String Quintet Alban Berg Quartet, Elisabeth Leonskaja (piano), Georg Hörtnagel (double bass) [ Warner Classics / 5 CD Box Set - released 17/Mar/2023 ] The Alban Berg Quartett approach Schubert with classical discipline while vividly conveying the mysterious fervent power that is so instantaneously unique in the composer's works. They capture the quintessentially Viennese spirit of Schubert, as... |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Complete String Quartets Alban Berg Quartett [ Warner Classics / 7 CD Box Set - released 24/Aug/2012 ] "The Alban Berg Quartet possess a wonderfully burnished tone, superbly blended ensemble and unanimity of attack as well as flawless intonation." (Gramophone) |
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Semiramide (complete opera) Albina Shagimuratova, Daniela Barcellona, Mirco Palazzi, Barry Banks, Gianluca Buratto / Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Sir Mark Elder [ Opera Rara / 4 CD Box Set - released 5/Oct/2018 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD NOMINATION 2019 TOP THREE - Opera |
ERIC SATIE
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Les Inspirations insolites Eric Satie Aldo Ciccolini, Michel Legrand, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Mady Mesple, Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, etc [ Erato / 2 CD Box Set - released 20/Nov/1990 ] The music of Erik Satie (1866-1925) remains as provocative, delightful - and surprising - as ever. These 2 CDs, featuring artists with impeccable credentials in French repertoire, draw together more unusual and rarely recorded repertoire. |
SERGEI RACHMANINOV
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rachmaninov: Complete Operas (Aleko; Francesca da Rimini; The Miserly Knight) Sergei Aleksashkin, Sergei Larin, Sergei Leiferkus, Ilya Levinsky, Anne Sofie von Otter / Gothenburg Opera Chorus & Orchestra. Neeme Jarvi [ Deutsche Grammophon Trio / 3 CD Box Set - released 21/Jun/2004 ] "Fine version" (Alexo)..."recording quality quite outstanding" (Francesca)..."A most desirable set" (Miserly Knight) (Penguin Guide) |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: The 9 Symphonies (complete) Soile Isokoski (sop), Rosemarie Lang (cont) Robert Gambill (ten) René Pape (bass) / Staatskapelle Berlin / Daniel Barenboim [ Warner Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 22/Aug/2017 ] "I waited a very long time to record the Beethoven symphonies," said Daniel Barenboim when this cycle was first released in 2000. |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Complete Piano Music Péchés de vieillesse (Sins of Old Age) Alessandro Marangoni (piano), with Giuseppina Bridelli (mezzo-soprano), Ars Cantica Choir & others [ Naxos / 13 CD Box Set - released 26/Nov/2021 ] Rossini drew a line under his hugely successful operatic career at the age of 37 and wrote little until his final years in Paris, where he became renowned for his musical salons. For these he wrote numerous short piano pieces. |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas & Concertos (12 CD set recorded 1970 - 77) Alfred Brendel (piano) / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bernard Haitink [ Decca / 12 CD Box Set - released 1/Oct/2019 ] He's a legend of the piano world, revered and applauded the world over. For long an exclusive Philips Classics artist, Alfred Brendel is the recipient of the 2010 Gramophone Lifetime Achievement Award. |
MANUEL de FALLA
Manuel de Falla - The Spanish Soul Alicia de Larrocha (piano), Turibio Santos (guitar), Victoria de los Angeles (soprano), Jean-Claude Gérard (flute), Orquesta Nacional de España, etc [ Warner Classics / 11 CD Box Set - released 12/Nov/2021 ] Manuel de Falla is regarded as the greatest Spanish composer of the twentieth century. Established in Paris from 1907 to 1914, he met Debussy, Ravel and Dukas and steeped himself in their works. |
JOSEPH HAYDN
Haydn: 27 String Quartets Amadeus Quartet [ Decca / 10 CD Box Set - released 6/Apr/2009 ] "This is poised and civilised music-making, much of which is familiar and all of it intensely thoughtful and revealing...the playing of slow movements especially seems to anticipate the profundity of Beethoven." Guardian |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Essential Beethoven - The New Complete Essential Edition Amadeus Quartet, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Emil Gilels, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Amadeus Quartet, Claudio Arrau, John Eliot Gardiner, Wilhelm Kempff, etc [ Deutsche Grammophon / 95 CD/DVD Box Set - released 22/Oct/2021 ] Deutsche Grammophon are proud to present the most modern and complete set of Beethoven's work ever issued. Assembled in cooperation with Decca and ten other labels, this New Complete Edition features over 250 legendary performers. |