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. |
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 |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Der Fliegende Hollander [The Flying Dutchman] ( Alfred Muff, Ingrid haubold, Erich Knodt, Peter Seiffert / Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Pinchas Steinberg [ Naxos Opera Classics / 2 CD Box Set - released 2/Feb/1992 ] "The recording is both atmospheric and clear, and the set comes with libretto, translation, notes and detailed synopsis, an outstanding bargain." Penguin Guide |
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 |
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. |
LEROY ANDERSON
Anderson: Orchestral Works (Complete) BBC Concert Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin, with Kim Criswell (soprano) & William Dazeley (baritone) [ Naxos / 5 CD Box Set - released 12/Nov/2021 ] Leroy Anderson etched out his own unique place in American music - a composer rigorously trained in the classical tradition whose records could top the pop charts, a reclusive personality whose compositions became household words. |
JOHN FIELD
Field: Piano Concertos, Nocturnes, Sonatas Benjamin Frith (piano), Northern Sinfonia, David Haslam [ Naxos / 6 CD Box Set - released 25/Jan/2019 ] 'Benjamin Frith has done a stellar job in bringing these concertos into the sunlight, brilliantly supported by the Northern Sinfonia under David Haslam' (Pianist magazine). |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas Boris Giltburg (piano) [ Naxos / 9 CD Box Set - released 24/Sep/2021 ] Boris Giltburg is lauded worldwide as a deeply sensitive, insightful and compelling interpreter, with critics praising his impassioned approach to performance. |
RICHARD STRAUSS
Strauss, (R.): Ariadne auf Naxos (Complete Opera recorded in 1969) Gundula Janowitz, James King, Peter Schrier, Hermann Prey / Straatskapelle Dresden, Rudolf Kempe [ EMI Classics / 2 CD Box Set - released 20/Sep/1992 ] "Gundula Janowitz sings the role of Ariadne with incomparable line and style. Her knowledge of Strauss singing has never been bettered." (review) |
JOSEPH HAYDN
Haydn: String Quartets (complete) Kodaly Quartet [ Naxos / 24 CD Box Set - released 1/Jan/2009 ] "This is fine, traditional (in a good sense) quartet-playing, and unlike other complete quartet cycles currently available (Tatrai, Angeles), this set is REALLY complete." (ClassicsToday) |
ALWYN / BAX / BERKELEY / BRITTEN / MOERAN / RAWSTHORNE / etc
British String Quartets Maggini Quartet, with David Campbell (clarinet), Peter Donohoe (piano) [ Naxos / 20 CD Box Set - released 4/Dec/2019 ] "Another British string quartet rarity from the Maggini Quartet. Fine performances of two superbly confident chamber works." Editor's Choice - Gramophone |
BEETHOVEN / ELGAR / BRAHMS / SAINT-SAENS / FAURE / POPPER / etc
Maria Kliegel - Anniversary Edition Maria Kliegel (cello) / with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Camerata Transsylvanica, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland [ Naxos / 3 CD Box Set - released 11/Nov/2022 ] "Her playing has great virtuosity, but it is her phrasing especially in the Elgar, which suggests a great musical intelligence" - Classic CD |
J. S. BACH
Bach: St.Matthew Passion Jozef Mukk, Istvan Gati, Judit Nemeth, Ibolya Verebits / Hungarian Festival Choir, Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra, Gerza Oberfrank [ Naxos / 3 CD Box Set ] "A refreshingly lithe and young sounding Evangelist, Jósef Mukk, leads a team of Hungarian soloists with fresh clear voices" Penguin Guide |
MALCOLM ARNOLD
Arnold: Symphonies (Complete) / Dances Ireland National Symphony Orchestra; Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Penny [ Naxos / 6 CD Box Set - released 29/Oct/2021 ] "These performances have the composer's imprimatur (he was present at the recording sessions) and can be cordially recommended." Penguin Guide |
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Debussy: Complete Orchestral Works (9CD) Orchestre National de Lyon, Jun Märkl [ Naxos / 9 CD Box Set - released 10/Apr/2012 ] This collection contains all Debussy's works for orchestra as well as many orchestral arrangements of his piano music. Together these display a rich panorama of Debussian sound and a remarkable insight into the composer. Established arrangements by... |
VERDI / BIZET / MOZART / PUCCINI / HANDEL / STRAUSS / WAGNER
150 Years Of Wiener Staatsoper: Great Opera Evenings (Limited Edition) Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Carlos Álvarez, Johan Botha, Angelika Kirchschlager, Brigitte Fassbaender, Wiener Staatsopernorchester [ Arthaus DVD / 11 DVD Box Set - released 2/Aug/2019 ] Limited Edition - Experience four decades of opera history from the Wiener Staatsoper on 11 DVDs. 150 Years Vienna State Opera means 150 years of impressive opera events featuring the greatest conductors of all time, and, high-class opera stars. |
HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS
Villa-Lobos: Complete Symphonies São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Isaac Karabtchevsky [ Naxos / 6 CD Box Set - released 13/Nov/2020 ] Villa-Lobos's symphonies well reflect the composer's status as the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music, from the early works that challenge European traditions through to his twelfth and final symphony |
ERICH KORNGOLD
Korngold: Die Tote Stadt (complete opera) Katarina Dalayman, Lars-Erik Jonsson, Hilde Leidland / Royal Swedish Opera Chorus and Orchestra [ Naxos / 2 CD Box Set - released 26/Jul/1999 ] "This set from Naxos really does him [Korngold] proud....The result is addictive music, certainly when performed with this degree of loving care. Leif Segerstam has the measure of this idiom." Classic CD |
FERDINAND RIES
Ries: Complete Piano Sonatas & Sonatinas Susan Kagan and Vassily Primakov (pianos) [ Naxos / 6 CD Box Set - released 28/Oct/2022 ] "Well recorded with an excellent booklet by the pianist." Gramophone 'Ries could not have asked for a better pianist and proponent than he has found in Susan Kagan' (Fanfare) |
BEETHOVEN / HANDEL / von BINGEN / PART / HAYDN / DVORAK / etc
The Choral Collection Tonus Peregrinus, Camerata Bach Choir, Musica Ficta, Oxford Camerata, Choir of the Golden Age, TOWER Voices New Zealand, Simon Mayr Choir, etc [ Naxos / 30 CD Box Set - released 25/Oct/2019 ] "There's plenty to celebrate here, not least sterling performances by Oxford Camerata under Jeremy Summerly (including Bach's Magnificat, Vivaldi's Gloria, Fauré's Requiem and other choral pieces, and a fine Hildegard CD). |