BERLIOZ / HAYDN / MUSSORGSY-RAVEL / DVORAK / STRAVINSKY / BEETHOVEN
Colin Davis: The Concertgebouw Legacy Arthur Grumiaux, Salvatore Accardo (violin) Heinrich Schiff (cello) / Concertgebouw Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis [ Decca Eloquence / 18 CD Box Set - due 25/Oct/2024 ] Colin Davis's complete Concertgebouworkest recordings for Philips, collected together for the first time CD premieres of Haydn's Symphonies Nos. 84, 86, 87, 88 (on Decca), and the Dvořák Romance with Accardo (first international CD release). |
DEBUSSY / FELDMAN / DAHL / BERNSTEIN / TCHAIKOVSKY / COSTELLO / GRIEG / SCHUMANN
Michael Tilson Thomas - Complete Deutsche Grammophon & Argo Recordings Jean-Marc Luisada (piano), Paul Zukofsky (violin), Frederica von Stade; Thomas Hampson / London Symphony, Boston Symphony, etc, Michael Tilson Thomas [ Deutsche Grammophon Eloquence / 14 CD Box Set - due 25/Oct/2024 ] Michael Tilson Thomas's complete recordings for Deutsche Grammophon (1970-2003) and Argo (1992-1995) encapsulate the conductor's restlessly exploratory nature and masterful handling of the modern orchestra. The recordings in this collection... |
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY / FELIX MENDELSSOHN
Tchaikovsky & Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos (LP) Nathan Milstein (violin) / Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado [ Deutsche Grammophon / LP - due 26/Aug/2026 ] "This recording has a sweetness, warmth and seemingly effortless virtuosity that produce deeply satisfying results." International Record Review |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich Symphonies 4, 5 & 6 Oslo Philharmonic, Klaus Mäkelä [ Decca / 2 CD Box Set - due 13/Sep/2024 ] "...the account of the Sixth Symphony is beautifully controlled and paced, the Oslo strings radiant as the first movement steadily intensifies, the woodwind fabulously agile in the scherzo second, and the finale a joyous, witty romp." The Guardian |
PUCCINI / GOUNOD / MASSENET / MASCAGNI / VERDI / BERLIOZ
Nessun Dorma (LP) Pene Pati (tenor) / Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Emmanuel Villaume [ Warner Classics / LP - due 20/Sep/2024 ] Taking its title, Nessun Dorma, from the greatest tenor hit of them all, Pene Pati's second album balances favourite numbers with operatic rarities - one of them in world premiere recording. In addition to Puccini, the Italian composers are Verdi,... |
GERARD SCHURMANN
Schurmann: Piano Concerto Xiayin Wang (soloist), BBC Philharmonic featuring Ben Gernon BBC Philharmonic, Ben Gernon [ Chandos / Hybrid SACD - due 16/Sep/2024 ] The composer, pianist, and conductor Gerard Schurmann (1924 - 2020) was born in Kertosono, Java, which was then part of the Dutch East Indies. The family lived within earshot of the resident gamelan orchestras at the Sultan's Palace, and hearing the... |
Academy Of St Martin-In-The Fields, with Felicity Lott (soprano), Westminster Abbey Choir, Ivan Moravec (piano), etc
Amadeus [soundtrack] [ Fantasy / 2 CD Box Set - released 6/Aug/2007 ] Amadeus is a 1984 American period biographical drama film directed by Miloš Forman, and adapted by Peter Shaffer from his 1979 stage play of the same name, in-turn inspired by the 1830 play Mozart and Salieri by Alexander Pushkin. Set in Vienna,... |
GAO PING / WOJCIECH KILAR / ANTHONY RITCHIE / JACK BODY / etc
Adrianna Lis: Rozmowa / Dialogue Adrianna Lis (flute) / Sarah Watkins (piano) [ Atoll Records New Zealand / CD - released 10/Jun/2012 ] "Modern virtuoso music for flute from Poland and NZ" |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: Il Campanello di Notte (complete opera recorded in 1983) Agnes Baltsa, Enzo Dara, Biancamaria Casoni, Angelo Romero / Wiener Symphoniker, Gary Bertini [ Sony RCA Classical Opera / CD Box Set - released 20/Mar/2017 ] "One of Donizetti's most charming short operas, with a Don Pasquale-like plot, and gorgeously performed by Agnes Baltsa and Enzo Dara, this is a nice way of spending 55 minutes." BBC Music |
GUSTAV MAHLER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mahler: Symphony No 3 / Kindertotenlieder Agnes Baltsa (mezzo-soprano) / Wiener Sangerknaben, Wiener Staatsoper Damenchor, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Lorin Maazel [ Sony Classical / 2 CD Box Set - released 16/Feb/1992 ] Original recording from 1986/1987 |
GEORG PHILIPP TELEMANN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: A Telemann Companion Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, René Jacobs & Georg Kallweit, with Dorothea Roschmann, Roman Trekel, Ruth Ziesak, etc [ Harmonia Mundi / 7 CD Box Set - released 7/Jul/2017 ] "Altogether, this tribute to Telemann can be heartily endorsed for both newcomers and feinschmeckers alike...For those who are willing to dive into the big vocal scores, this is a supreme delight." AudAud.com |
LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Bernstein: Mass (A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers) Alan Titus (baritone) / The Norman Scribner Choir, The Berkshire Boy Choir, Leonard Bernstein [ Sony Classical / 2 CD - released 24/Sep/2021 ] This is a remastered 2-CD edition, which includes a 140-page booklet created in collaboration with The Leonard Bernstein Office with numerous previously unreleased photos and facsimiles, synopsis and libretto, and new liner notes. |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Aleksandra Kurzak - Desire Aleksandra Kurzak (soprano) [ Sony Classical / CD - released 29/May/2020 ] The incredible soprano Aleksandra Kurzak presents 'Desire', her first solo album on Sony Classical! With this new release, Kurzak ventures into heavier territory, as she reveals both the new roles she is already singing and those she is working on. |
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. |
BACH / CHOPIN / DEBUSSY / PROKOFIEV / STRAVINSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Alexis Weissenberg Alexis Weissenberg (piano) [ EMI / BMG / Philips / Sony / Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD - released 1/Jun/2000 ] In 1947, Weissenberg made his New York City debut with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and George Szell in Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 and with Philadelphia Orchestra and Eugene Ormandy, with which Weissenberg won the Leventritt... |
GILBERT and SULLIVAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gilbert & Sullivan: Princess Ida Ambrosian Opera Chorus with Frank Gorshin, Nan Christie, Laurence Dale, Anne Collins & others [ BBC / Umbrella DVD / DVD - released 10/Aug/2014 ] Music by the London Symphony Orchestra, the Ambrosian Opera Chorus and a host of stars including Frank Gorshin, Bernard Dickerson, Anne Collins and Claire Powell. 114 minutes. For more than 100 years the operas of Gilbert & Sullivan have played to... |
GILBERT and SULLIVAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gilbert & Sullivan: Patience & The Sorcerer [2 DVDs] Ambrosian Opera Chorus with Sandra Dugdale, Donald Adams, Derek Hammond-Stroud, John Fryatt, Clive Revill, David Kernan & Nana Christie [ BBC / Umbrella DVD / DVD - released 10/Aug/2014 ] For more than 100 years the operas of Gilbert & Sullivan have played to packed audiences around the world. These two names have become synonymous with classic light opera - music that is timeless and tuneful lyrics that are witty, scathing and memorable. |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (complete ballet recorded in 2011) BLU-RAY Amsterdam Music Theatre / Anna Tsygankova, Matthew Golding, James Stout / Ermanno Florio [ Arthaus Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Oct/2012 ] Choreographers Toer van Schayk and Wayne Eagling created a Nutcracker for the children and adults of today. It is more dynamic and exciting, and less sweet than usual. |
André Rieu
Silver Bells [ Polydor / 2 CD/DVD - released 18/Nov/2022 ] It's the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas trees are warming, treats are the sweetest and anyone under the mistletoe gets a kiss. But the holiday season wouldn't be perfect without the delightful music of André Rieu! The CD & Bonus DVD is... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Jolly Holiday [CD/DVD] Andre Rieu [ Universal / CD/DVD - released 13/Nov/2020 ] It has long been a dream of André Reu to perform a Christmas concert in his hometown. And that dream came true! |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Parsifal (complete opera recorded at the Bayreuth Festival in 2023) Andreas Schager, Elīna Garanča, Georg Zeppenfeld / Bayreuther Festspielorchester, Bayreuther Festspielchor, Pablo Heras-Casado [ Deutsche Grammophon / 4 CD Box Set - released 5/Jul/2024 ] The acclaimed new production of Wagner's final opera "Parsifal" is "a musical godsend" (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). The successful partnership between Deutsche Grammophon and the Bayreuth Festival continues, and what was started with the 2015... |
ANTONIO VIVALDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Vivaldi: Nisi Dominus / Salve Regina / etc Andreas Scholl (counter-tenor) / Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Paul Dyer [ ABC Classics / CD - released 9/Jun/2000 ] "Yet another superb disc from the honey-toned countertenor Andreas Scholl, partnered here by a fine baroque ensemble from Australia. Voluptuously packaged" Recording of the Month - Gramophone Magazine (October 2000 |
BACH / PROKOFIEV / RAVEL / CHOPIN / STRAVINSKY / SCHUBERT / GRIEG / BRITTEN
Andrei Gavrilov - Complete Recordings On Deutsche Grammophon Andrei Gavrilov (piano) [ Deutsche Grammophon Eloquencce / 10 CD Box Set - released 2/Dec/2022 ] Several long-deleted albums reissued in this comprehensive survey of Andrei Gavrilov's DG career: superbly engineered recordings of a pianist in the great Russian tradition. |
BRAHMS / DVORAK / HAHN / STRAUSS / etc
Morgen: Songs For Cello & Piano Andrew Joyce (cello), Rae de Lisle (piano) [ Atoll Records / CD - released 28/Feb/2020 ] The return of one of New Zealand's favourite pianists. This is a special album for Rae de Lisle, who has created it with her son-in law Andrew (NZSO's Principal Cello) and daughter Julia (Principal Viola with the NZSO). |
VERDI / BELLINI / MASSENET / PUCCINI / DONIZETTI / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Angela Gheorghiu - Arias Angela Gheorghiu (soprano) / Orchestra del Teatro Regio di Torino, John Mauceri [ Decca / CD - released 8/Aug/1996 ] "Gheorghiu displays her Verdian skills, her formidable technique and expressive power pushed to their limits but ultimately convincing." BBC Music Magazine, May 2013 ***** |
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 |
Anja Lechner and François Couturier
Lontano (LP) [ ECM / LP - released 12/Feb/2021 ] After their highly acclaimed 2014 debut album as a duo, Moderato cantabile, Anja Lechner and François Couturier widen the scope of music even further. The duo sings in a voice of its own, be it with original compositions, free improvisations, drawing... |
GRAUN / HANDEL / PERTI / PORPORA / ORLANDINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Agrippina Opera Arias Ann Hallenberg (mezzo) / Il Pomo d'Oro, Riccardo Minasi [ Deutsche Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 1/Mar/2016 ] "there's an equally dazzling vengeance aria by Orlandini, in which Riccardo Minasi's orchestra, Il Pomo d'Oro, really lets fly. Hallenberg is as convincing in these as she is in the more reflective numbers...very classily done" (The Guardian) |
BIZET / RACHMANINOV / SARASATE / RAVEL / de FALLA / BRAHMS
New Year's Concert 1997 (recorded in 2007) Anne Sofie von Otter, Bryn Terfel, Roberto Alagna, Gil Shaham, Mikhail Pletnev / Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado [ EuroArts DVD / DVD - released 10/Jul/2008 ] The Berliner Philharmoniker's annual New Year's Eve concert is one of the highlights in the calendar of every classical music fan. The program of the New Year's Eve Concert 1997 bore the title "Dances of Life, Love, and Death", and was meant as a... |
EDWARD GRIEG
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Grieg: Lieder [Songs] Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano), Bengt Forsberg (piano) [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 13/Feb/2007 ] "A 'must' for any collection of songs…Don't miss it" - Gramophone |
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 |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Violin Concertos Nos. 3 & 5 (LP) Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin) / Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan [ Deutsche Grammophon Vinyl / LP - released 25/Feb/2022 ] "...no one can deny the sheer beauty that this pair lovingly conjures." ClassicalNet |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Complete Violin Sonatas Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin) & Lambert Orkis (piano) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 3/Apr/2001 ] Includes :- -'A Life With Beethoven' - a documentary film written and directed by Reiner E. Moritz |
JOHANNES BRAHMS / CLARA SCHUMANN
Brahms: Double Concerto & Clara Schumann: Piano Trio Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin), Pablo Fernandez (cello), Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Manfred Honeck, Lambert Orkis (piano) [ Sony Classical / CD - released 4/Nov/2022 ] An aristocrat of the string world is united with one of its most exciting newcomers - this is the first joint album by Anne-Sophie Mutter and Pablo Ferrández. |
TCHAIKOVSKY / RACHMANINOV / MUSSORGSKY / DELIBES / BARTOK / etc
Antal Doráti: The Mercury Masters - The Stereo Recordings Antal Doráti, Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra [ Australian Eloquence Mercury Living Presence / 30 CD Box Set - released 21/Jul/2023 ] "With beautiful original album covers, a generous sampling of spectacular performances, and an immediate and bold recorded sound, there is so much to enjoy in this collection. Highly recommended." Fanfare |
GIOVANNI BATTISTA PERGOLESI
Pergolesi: Il Prigionier Superbo / La Serva Padrona (complete operas recorded 2009 & 2011) Antonio Lozano, Maria Rodrìguez Cusì, Marina de Liso, Alessandra Marianelli, Carlo Lepore / Accademia Barocca de I Virtuosi Italiani, Corrado Rovaris [ Arthaus DVD / 2 DVD - released 10/Nov/2012 ] "Marianelli is a sharp-witted, pert-voiced Serpina...Lepore is a suitably blustery Uberto, the playing of Accademia Barocca is exemplary, with some particularly splendid trumpet playing" International Record Review |
ANTHONY RITCHIE
Ritchie: Survivors Aquarius Choir, Marc Michael de Smet [ Atoll Records New Zealand / CD - released 5/Sep/2018 ] Moving a cappella settings of contemporary poems - music composed by Anthony Ritchie and performed by the superb Aquarius Choir of Belgium. |
J.S. BACH / C.P.E. BACH / J.C. BACH
The Bach Family: Magnificats Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen (conductor) [ Hyperion / CD - released 16/Feb/2018 ] "You would be hard-pressed to find a more illuminating disc than this latest offering from Arcangelo" BBC Music Choral & Song Choice March 2018 |
CHARLES GOUNOD
Gounod: Romeo et Juliette [Romeo and Juliet] (complete opera recorded in 2011) BLU-RAY Arena di Verona / Nino Machaidze, Ketevan Kemoklidze, Cristina Melis / Fabio Mastrangello (cond) [ Bel Air Classiques Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Apr/2013 ] "[Machaidze] seems to be the Juliette of choice today and this video makes clear why that's the case: lovely singing and a demeanour that manages to be sensual and innocent at once." (International Record Review) |
CHOPIN / GRIEG / TCHAIKOVSKY / SCHUMANN / SAINT-SAENS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Artur Rubinstein II Artur Rubinstein (piano) / RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Symphony of the Air [ Philips / RCA / 2 CD - released 9/Oct/2006 ] Few soloists have owned composers as definitively as Artur Rubinstein could claim |