VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Airs & Dances from Dublin Castle Spackling Band [ Atoll Records / CD - released 9/Oct/2015 ] The halls of 18th Century Dublin resounded with this music, much of it now rediscovered and recorded for the first time. In the 18th Century Dublin was the second city of the Empire with a population only slightly less that London's, and was... |
SIR EDWARD ELGAR
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Elgar: Part-Songs The Finzi Singers, Paul Spicer [ Chandos / CD - released 1/Jan/1994 ] "Among Paul Spicer's many recordings with the Finzi Singers, this recording stands out as a highlight...Spicer delivers finely tuned, crisp and intense readings of all these pieces, and the Chandos sound is both vivid and warmly atmospheric." Penguin... |
JOHN TAVERNER / THOMAS TALLIS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Taverner: Western Wynde / Tallis: Missa Salve Intemerata Virgo St. John's College Choir Cambridge, George Guest [ EMI Eminence / CD - released 5/Nov/1989 ] "Listening in, the individual vocal strength of various singers, particularly in the back rows, came as no surprise - John's have long been a powerful crew... What did take me aback, though is just how much everyone seemed to be enjoying things ...... |
PRAISE TO THE LORD
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Praise to the Lord: Favourite Hymns from St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral Choir / John Scott, conductor (with the English Brass Ensemble) [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 20/May/2008 ] 'Exemplary' (Gramophone) |
ANTON BRUCKNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bruckner: Symphony No 8 (with Strauss: Metamorphosen) Staatskapelle Dresden, Giuseppe Sinopoli [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 CD - released 17/May/1996 ] "It is Sinopoli's amazingly exact calibration of dynamics and dynamic levels and the extraordinarily precise realization of this by the Dresden players." (Gramophone) |
MARTINU / SMETANA / JANACEK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Martinu / Smetana / Janacek - Complete String Quartets (Rec 1988, 1990) Stamitz Quartet [ Brilliant Classics / 5 CD - released 14/Aug/2005 ] "A warm welcome to this disarmingly cheap set...Bargain of the Month" (MusicWeb June 2003) |
BEDRICH SMETANA
Smetana Collection Stamitz Quartet, Joachim Trio, Roberto Plano (piano), Antonin Kubalek (piano) Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Theodore Kuchar [ Brilliant Classics / 8 CD - released 1/May/2023 ] Bedřich Smetana was a Czech composer born in Bohemia and later became a national symbol of Czech culture. Smetana's musical style was influenced by Czech folk music, classical traditions and romanticism. He is best known for his cycle of six... |
Margot Fonteyn & Michael Somes
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: The Royal Ballet [ Via Vision / DVD - released 9/Apr/2015 ] Margot Fonteyn leads the Royal Ballet in this 1960 showcase which was filmed at the Royal Opera House. This acclaimed 1960 film is considered the best captured ballet performance on celluloid. Digitally remastered. Includes a bonus interview with... |
NICOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
MARBECKS CLASSICAL: Rimsky-Korsakov: Symphonies Nos 1 & 2 "Antar" State Symphony Orchestra of Russia, Evgeny Svetlanov [ RCA Victor Red Seal / CD - released 2/Feb/1994 ] Recorded in July 1993. Metz, France |
VIVALDI / MOZART / MARCELLO / BACH / RIMSKY-KORSAKOV / etc
Outstanding Oboe - Best loved classical oboe music Stefan Schilli, Max Artved, Elise Batnes, Charles "Chip" Hamann, József Kiss, Lisa Stewart (oboes) [ Naxos / CD - released 27/Feb/2019 ] With its roots in ancient Greece and Rome, the oboe has evolved from the rustic medieval shawm and the French Baroque hautbois to become the modern instrument we know today. Italian composers provided the first works befitting of its expressive... |
TOMASO ALBINONI
Albinoni: Complete violin and oboe concertos Stefan Schilli (oboe) / Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra under Nicol Matt [ Brilliant Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 12/Dec/2005 ] "There is an abundance of enticing music, well performed by all the soloists. The orchestral sound is beautifully blended and well recorded." (MusicWeb) |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Beethoven: Songs Stephan Genz (baritone) Roger Vignoles (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 19/Sep/2003 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER 1999 PREIS DER DEUTSCHEN SCHALLPLATTENKRITIK |
HUGO WOLF
Wolf: Eichendorff-Lieder Stephan Genz (baritone), Roger Vignoles (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 1/Apr/2014 ] Wolf's Eichendorff songs have never enjoyed the popularity of his more substantial collections: the Mörike-Lieder, the Italienisches Liederbuch, the Goethe-Lieder and the Spanisches Liederbuch. |
MICHAEL WILLIAMS / ALAN RIACH
The Prodigal Child - A Chamber Opera Stephanie Acraman / Joanne Cole-Rosser / Paul Whelan / Ogen Plus [ Atoll Records New Zealand / CD - released 1/Sep/2006 ] Michael Williams' chamber opera in three scenes to a libretto by Alan Riach explores three souls in crisis - the setting is New Zealand but the story is universal. |
JACQUES OFFENBACH
Offenbach: La Pericole (Complete Operetta recorded in 2022) Stephanie D'Oustrac, Philippe Talbot, Tassis Christoyannis, Eric Huchet / Orchestre de chambre de Paris, Julien Leroy [ Naxos DVD / DVD - released 10/Feb/2023 ] La Perricholi - in reality, Micaela Villegas - was Lima's leading theatrical l lady in the 1770s when Peru was a Spanish colony. Her life was fictionalised in a one-act play by Prosper Mérimée and a libretto was fashioned on which Offenbach created... |
ALEXANDER GLAZUNOV
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Glazunov: Piano Music - Volume 1 Stephen Coombs (piano) [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 1/Dec/2005 ] 'Coombs is clearly equipped to face the most prodigious demands. This is a most impressive and highly enjoyable release' - BBC Music Magazine |
DARIUS MILHAUD
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Milhaud: Music for two pianists (Incls 'Scaramouche') Stephen Coombs (piano), Artur Pizarro (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 20/Aug/2008 ] 'A hugely entertaining new disc from Hyperion and a superb introduction to the work of a currently rather underrated composer' (BBC Record Review) |
CZERNY / LEVITZKI / LIADOV / QUILTER / GODOWSKY / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: The Piano Album Vol 2 Stephen Hough (piano) [ Virgin Classics / CD - released 28/Oct/2005 ] "Beyond feats of dexterity, Stephen Hough offers a demonstration of other skills that are less obviously technical but require equal mastery, for example in tone-colour and texture." Gramophone |
MacDOWELL / CHOPIN / DOHNANYI / SAINT-SAENS / GABRILOWITSCH / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: The Piano Album Vol 1 Stephen Hough (piano) [ Virgin Classics / CD - released 28/Oct/2005 ] "I rarely make recommendations like this, but you absolutely must hear this recording." (Amazon.com) |
MOZART / LISZT / CHOPIN / BRITTEN / MacDOWELL / QUILTER / GODOWSKY / etc
Stephen Hough: The Erato Years 1987-1998 Stephen Hough (piano) [ Erato / 9 CD Box Set - released 19/Nov/2021 ] Some of Stephen Hough's most exquisite recordings come from his collaborations with EMI and Virgin Classics during this early period. |