OFFENBACH / FLOTOW / GIORDANO / PUCCINI / MASCAGNI / VERDI / etc
Opera Recital Rolando Villazon (tenor) / Bayerischer Rundfunkchor / Munchner Rundfunkorchester / Michel Plasson [ Erato / CD - released 25/Feb/2006 ] "If you want play the comparisons game, then Villazón has some of the breathy tone of Neil Shicoff, the phrasing and attack of Domingo and occasionally some of the lovelier crooning effects (without the scooping) of José Cura. But Villazón is clearly... |
SAINT-SAENS / FAURE / BERLIOZ / MASSENET etc
Sandrine Piau - Si j'ai aimé Sandrine Piau (soprano) / Le Concert de la Loge, Julien Chauvin [ Alpha Classics / CD - released 24/May/2019 ] Gramophone Awards 2020 WINNER - Recital BBC Music Award Finalist 2020 |
BERLIOZ / DUPARC / KOECHLIN / DEBUSSY / RAVEL / BRITTEN
Reflet Sandrine Piau (soprano), Orchestre Victor Hugo, Jean-Francois Verdier [ Alpha Classics / CD - released 15/Mar/2024 ] "It almost goes without saying that the performances are magnificent...Warmly supported by the Orchestre Victor Hugo under Jean-François Verdier and captured in glowing sound, Piau has created another sublime album." 5/5 BBC Music Magazine |
VINCI / BONONCINI / HASSE / STING / ALBINONI / etc
Simone Kermes - Inferno e Paradiso Simone Kermes (soprano), Amici Veneziani [ Sony Classical / CD - released 15/May/2020 ] Simone Kermes releases her latest album, which features arias by baroque composers that have long numbered among her favorites, including Handel, Hasse, and Caldara. |
BYRD / van WILDER / de MONTE / TABAKOVA / CLEMENTS
The Sixteen - A Watchful Gaze The Sixteen, Harry Christophers [ Coro / CD - released 3/Mar/2023 ] "Christophers's juxtapositions are always rewarding, and The Sixteen is on ravishing form. There's an unmannered generosity to the singing whose wide-eyed freshness enables Christophers to keep the counterpoint buoyant and uncongested." BBC Music |
ROBERT SCHUMANN
Sol Gabetta - Schumann Sol Gabetta (cello), Bertrand Chamayou (piano), Kammerorchester Basel, Giovanni Antonini [ Sony Classics / CD - released 25/Mar/2019 ] "The microphones focus intently on Gabetta's Guadagnini in the Concerto, intimately capturing the instrument's rich, throaty tone…Chamayou is beautifully responsive in the chamber works." Gramophone |
KREISLER / PENDERECKI / PROKOFIEV / REGER / SCHNITTKE etc
Journey Through A Century: Solo Violin Works Sueye Park (violin) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 2/Jul/2021 ] "This is sensational!...at no point in the programme do you feel that the technical and intellectual demands are in any way compromising her interpretations, which are wholly excellent." Recording of the Month - Gramophone September 2021 |
CESAR FRANCK
Franck: Piano Trio & Quintet, Violin Sonata - Louis Vierne: Piano Quintet Trio Wanderer & Vierne Quintette [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 26/May/2023 ] The Trio Wanderer follows up its multi-award-winning Schumann set with an exploration of the fascinating world of César Franck. The gulf between his youthful trios and the prodigious works of his maturity reveals a fundamental turning point in the... |
PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Piano Sonatas opp.37 & 80 Vadym Kholodenko (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 25/Jun/2021 ] "[Op. 37] whatever can be done to bring out the sonata's beauty and variety, along with genuine feeling, Kholodenko does it. this disc came as one of the nicest surprises of the year, and I can warmly recommended it as a first choice for the Grande |
BIZET / BOITO / DONIZETTI / VERDI / GOUNOD / etc
Duets - Rolando Villazón & Ildar Abdrazakov Rolando Villazón (tenor) Ildar Abdrazakov (bass) / Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal, Yannick Nézet-Séguin [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 13/Dec/2017 ] Three exceptional artists join forces for an operatic treat! Star tenor Rolando Villazón, who was just named artistic director of Salzburg Mozart week, Ildar Abdrazakov, one of the most sought-after young basses in the operatic world (Vanity Fair),... |
VERDI / DONIZETTI / PUCCINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Vittorio Grigolo - The Italian Tenor Vittorio Grigolo (tenor) with Danila Rigosa & Maria Cioppi / Coro e Orchestre del Teatro di Parma, Pier Giorgio Morandi [ Sony Classical / CD - released 4/Oct/2010 ] "Now and then there are hints of another great Italian-style tenor, the stylish Alfredo Kraus. It's there in the hushed tone Grigolo adopts for the 'Favorita del re!...Spirto gentil' from La Favorita and Manrico's elegant swagger in 'Di quella pira' |
BRUNEAU / FRANCK / GODARD / MASSENET / BIZET / etc
Véronique Gens - Visions Véronique Gens (soprano), Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Hervé Niquet [ Alpha Classics / CD - released 23/Jun/2017 ] "Gens and Niquet throw themselves into all this with an engrossing mix of abandon and restraint. Gens's trademark combination of purity of utterance and smoky tone speaks volumes." Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice, July 2017 |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
The Salzburg Concerts - Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 "Pathetique" (and works by Mozart, Beethoven and Schoenberg) West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim [ C Major DVD / DVD - released 1/Aug/2011 ] "captures the sense of music-making on the wing...rarely has the final coda erupted with such overwhelming joy. The same electrifying concentration informs performances of Schoenberg's Variations and Tchaikovsky's Pathetique Symphony, which find Bare |
STRAUSS FAMILY / etc
New Year's Concert in Vienna 2020 Wiener Philharmoniker, Andris Nelsons [ Sony Classical DVD / DVD - released 31/Jan/2020 ] The New Year's Concert, one of the world's most famous and spectacular classical music events, returns for the 81st time to present to viewers a sensational programme made up of the vast repertoire of the family of Johann Strauss and its... |
JOHN WILLIAMS
Yo-Yo Ma - A Gathering of Friends Yo-Yo Ma (cello) / New York Philharmonic Orchestra, John Williams [ Sony Music / CD - released 20/May/2022 ] The 40-year friendship between two musical titans, John Williams & Yo-Yo Ma, reaches a new peak with 'A Gathering of Friends.' The incredible warmth & brilliance of composer/conductor John Williams is felt throughout this album. |
SCHUBERT / CHOPIN / LISZT / STRAVINSKY
Schubert / Chopin / Liszt / Stravinsky: Four Pianos - Four Pieces Alexander Melnikov (pianos) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 9/Apr/2018 ] "Melnikov gives thrilling performances of four cornerstones of the repertoire." Sunday Times |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Angela Gheorghiu: Verdi Heroines Angela Gheorghiu (soprano) / Orchestra Sinfonica Di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, Riccardo Muti [ Decca / CD - released 8/Aug/2000 ] "Not only is Angela Gheorghiu in resplendent voice, the tone richer than for some time, but the beauty of her high notes is floated with Elysian, transcendental beauty." MusicWeb |
KALMAN / LEHAR / SUPPE / STRAUSS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: My Heart Alone: Favourite Operetta Arias and Duets Angelika Kirchschlager / Simon Keenlyside / Tonkunstler Orchestra / Alfred Eschwe [ Sony Classical / CD - released 1/Nov/2008 ] "What impresses is not only the natural brilliance of the singers' vocal production but also the way in which pure display is subordinated to expression of true feeling." Gramophone Magazine, Editor's Choice September 2008 |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: The Mozart Album - All-new recordings of Mozart's most popular opera arias and duets Anna Netrebko (soprano) Thomas Quasthoff, Bryn Terfel (baritones) Rene Pape (bass) / various orchestras and conductors [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 1/Aug/2006 ] A celebratory vocal feast to honour one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time: that's the aim of this gala of international stars. |
JACQUES OFFENBACH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Offenbach: Arias and Scenes Anne Sophie von Otter (soprano) / Les Musiciens du Louvre, Marc Minkowski [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 15/Oct/2002 ] Recording of the Month: Gramophone Magazine (March 2003) GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER 2003 - recital |