JOE HISAISHI
Joe Hisaishi - A Symphonic Celebration: - Music From The Studio Ghibli Films Of Hayao Miyazaki (2LP set) Royal Philahmonic Orchestra, Joe Hisaishi (piano, conductor), with The Tiffin Choirs & Bach Choir [ Deutsche Grammophon LP / 2 LP - released 29/Sep/2023 ] For his first album on Deutsche Grammophon, Joe Hisaishi, the revered Japanese composer whose work has become synonymous with the magical Studio Ghibli animations of director Hayao Miyazaki has created an exciting series of symphonic arrangements.. |
ALEXANDER BORODIN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Borodin: Symphony No.2 / Polovtsian Dances / Prince Igor Overture / Steppes Central Asia Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Ole Schmidt (conductor) [ Regis Records / CD - released 17/Aug/2005 ] "Too long neglected on disc.. Ole Schmidt and the Royal Philharmonic offers an outstanding version of the second symphony - beautifully played and recorded and with excellent and ideal fillers. One of the very finest at any price.." Penguin Guide... |
EDVARD GRIEG
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Grieg: Peer Gynt / Symphonic Dance No.2 / In Autumn / etc. Ilse Hollweg (soprano) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Beecham Choral Society, Sir Thomas Beecham [ EMI Classics Studio Plus / CD - released 10/Oct/1993 ] "Beecham showed a very special feeling for this score and to hear (these excerpts) under his baton is a uniquely rewarding experience. Ilse Hollweg makes an excellent soloist." Rosette - Penguin Stereo Guide |
SIR GRANVILLE BANTOCK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bantock: Pagan Symphony / Fifine at the Fair / Two Heroic Ballads Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vernon Handley [ Hyperion / CD - released 4/Nov/2001 ] .'The performances are stunning, the recordings most sumptuous' (Gramophone) |
SIR GRANVILLE BANTOCK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bantock: The Cyprian Goddess Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vernon Handley (conductor) [ Hyperion / CD - released 10/May/2005 ] 'Outstanding. A sumptuous wallow for all unashamed Romantics' - BBC Music Magazine |
RICHARD ARNELL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Arnell: The Unnumbered Symphonies Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Martin Yates, with Catherine Edwards (piano) [ Dutton / CD - released 12/Nov/2012 ] "The Overture 1940 is given a suitably tense outing...a rewarding programme. It helps us once again to re-set our musical and historical compasses while at the same time providing stimulating musical experiences." MusicWeb |
ARTHUR BUTTERWORTH
Butterworth: Symphony No. 5 / Three Nocturnes / The Quiet Turn / etc Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Arthur Butterworth [ Dutton Epoch / CD - released 30/Aug/2010 ] "Throughout, Butterworth's confident orchestral touch never deserts him...the RSNO turns in an eminently respectable set of performances under the 86-year-old composer's sprightly baton. The extremely vivid engineering pulls no punches" Gramophone |
DANNY ELFMAN
Danny Elfman: Violin Concerto / Piano Quartet Sandy Cameron (violin) / Royal Scottish National Orchestra, John Mauceri [ Sony Classical / CD - released 4/May/2019 ] "Mostly these accomplished and entertaining pieces owe a lot (as do so many movie scores) to Elfman's self-confessed passion not just for the Romantic classical repertoire as a whole but specifically for the 20th-century Russians." Gramophone |
ALEXANDER GLAZUNOV
Glazunov: Complete Symphonies & Concertos Rachel Barton Pine (violin), Wen-Sinn Yang (cello), Alexander Romanovsky (piano) / Royal Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Jose [ Warner Classics / 8 CD Box Set - released 10/Sep/2018 ] "Clear and slightly reverberant recording maximises the textures and appeal of these works making the disc worthy of consideration as a benchmark recording" (MusicWeb on Symphony 5 & Seasons) |
SHAKESPEARE
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (recorded live in 2014) Royal Shakespeare Company / Mark Arends, Michael Marcus, Jonny Glynn, Pearl Chanda, Leigh Quinn / Simon Godwin (director) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 20/May/2015 ] Valentine and Proteus are best friends until they fall in love with the same girl. Having travelled to Milan in search of adventure, they both fall for the Duke's daughter Silvia. But Proteus is already sworn to his sweetheart Julia at home in... |
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (recorded live at Stratford-Upon-Avon in 2014) BLU-RAY Royal Shakespeare Company / Mark Arends, Michael Marcus, Jonny Glynn, Pearl Chanda, Sarah MacRae [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/May/2015 ] Valentine and Proteus are best friends until they fall in love with the same girl. Having travelled to Milan in search of adventure, they both fall for the Duke's daughter Silvia. But Proteus is already sworn to his sweetheart Julia at home in... |
SHAKESPEARE
Hamlet (recorded live in 2016) BLU-RAY Royal Shakespeare Company / Paapa Essiedu (Hamlet), Natalie Simpson (Ophelia), Cyril Nri (Polonius), Clarence Smith (Claudius), Tanya Moodie, Hiran Ab [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 18/Nov/2016 ] ... an arresting, accessible and entertaining production, with a shooting star of a central performance." (The Stage ★★★★) |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: The Golden Age (Complete Ballet) Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Gennady Rozhdestvensky [ Chandos Classics / 2 CD Box Set - released 21/Sep/2001 ] "..anyone with the least interest in Shostakovich, or ballet music, or Soviet music, or indeed Soviet culture as a whole, from investigating this weird and intermittently wonderful score. A really fascinating disc." Gramophone |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake (Complete ballet choreographed by Peter Wright) Royal Swedish Ballet / Nathalie Nordquist, Anders Nordstrom / Michel Queval (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 1/Apr/2009 ] 'outstandingly performed under Michel Queval's baton - and that's just the start. …staging, choreography and dancing (by both corps de ballet and soloists) are all excellent…yet another superb Opus Arte release.' DVD best buy Classic fM |
J. S. BACH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bach: St John Passion Sibylla Rubens, Andreas Scholl, Mark Padmore, Sebastian Noack / Collegium Vocale, Philippe Herreweghe [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD Box Set - released 12/Nov/2001 ] 2003 Grammy Award Nomination: Best Choral Performance "superbly conceived and excitingly performed production of Bach's 1725 score" - Classics Today |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: Complete String Quartets Rubio Quartet [ Brilliant Classics Quintessence / 5 CD Box Set - released 11/Oct/2019 ] "The Rubio performances are refreshing, emotionally satisfying within the parameters of their smooth-edged approach, and highly accomplished." Fanfare |
SAMUEL / BERG / MAHLER
Clytemnestra - Orchestral Songs Ruby Hughes (soprano) BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Jac van Steen [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 3/Jan/2020 ] "Her eloquence is always unfussy and direct. The instrumental fabric is equally strong, with beautiful playing from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, on the top of its top form, conducted by Jac van Steen" The Times Five Stars |
BEETHOVEN / BRAHMS / DVORAK / WAGNER / etc
Icon: Rudolf Kempe: The Genius of the Podium Rudolf Kempe conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, etc [ Warner Classics Icon / 11 CD Box Set - released 1/Feb/2011 ] The German conductor Rudolf Kempe (1910-1976) began his musical career playing the oboe in various symphony orchestras. The programme begins with recordings of four Beethoven Symphonies that Kempe made with the Munich Philharmonic in 1971-72. |
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Klavierkonzerte Nos. 9 & 17 Rudolf Serkin (piano), Claudio Abbado (conductor), London Symphony Orchestra [ Deusche Grammophon / CD ] Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 9 in E♭ major, K. 271, known as the Jeunehomme or Jenamy concerto was written in Salzburg in 1777 when the composer was 21 years old. Mozart completed the concerto in January 1777, nine months after his... |
J. S. BACH
Rudolf Serkin plays Bach Rudolf Serkin (piano) with Peter Serkin, Ruth Laredo, Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Pablo Casals, etc [ Sony Classical Masters / 3 CD Box Set - released 5/Jun/2019 ] Rudolf Serkin is rightly revered for his powerful interpretations of the Austro-German Classical and Romantic piano repertoire, but he was also an outstanding Bach player. In the 1920s he began a decades-long partnership with the great German... |