GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Aida (Complete opera) Ruggero Raimondi, Elena Obraztsova, Katia Ricciarelli, Placido Domingo, Nicolai Ghiaurov / Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala / Claudio Abbado [ Deutsche Grammophon Opera House / 2 CD - released 1/Jul/2005 ] 'None is better or more thoroughly and thoughtfully conducted - and in Verdi, that is of the essence.' Gramophone |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart - Don Giovanni [Complete opera with libretto] Ruggero Raimondi, Kiri Te Kanawa, Edda Moser, Jose van Dam, Teresa Berganza / Theatre National de l'Opera de Paris, Lorin Maazel [ Sony Classical / 3 CD Box Set - released 25/Jun/1982 ] "Donna Anna sweeps in like a tornado: with Edda Moser all the furies, and a good many of the vowels as well, really are let loose." Gramophone |
PAGANINI / SARASATE / VIVALDI / KREISLER / SAINT-SAËNS / BACH / etc
Ruggiero Ricci - Complete American Decca Recordings Ruggiero Ricci (violin) with Leon Pommers, Brooks Smith (piano) / Stradivarius Chamber Orchestra / Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Max Rudolf [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 9 CD Box Set - released 29/Oct/2021 ] "His hand has never been surer, his tone never more beautiful than in these enchanting performances, which are aglow with spontaneity, wit, and sheer delight … a classic matching of interpreter and material." Stereo Review |
EMIL NIKOLAUS von REZNICEK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Reznicek: Ritter Blaubart [Knight Bluebeard] (complete opera recorded in 2002) David Pittman-Jennings, Arutjun Kotchinian, Robert Wörle, Celina Lindsley / Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra Berlin, Michail Jurowski [ CPO / 2 CD - released 2/Jun/2003 ] "..the musical result is impressive, and the performance here under Michail Jurowski utterly convincing. All the soloists are more than equal to the task, some of it as demanding as anything Wagner ever made of his singers." MusicWeb |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Brahms: Symphony No. 4 / Haydn-Variations / Nanie Rundfunkchor Berlin, Berlin Philharmonic, Claudio Abbado [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 1/Nov/2008 ] ".Haydn Variations is more searching, more illuminating than any other modern version I know. Each variation is richly characterized-the fifth, for example, is delivered in a tough, insistent fashion, while the sixth has a graceful, wistful quality." |
CARL MARIA von WEBER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Weber: Konzertstuck / Overtures Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 11/Oct/2002 ] "Mikhail Pletnev is a forceful personality, and force is the ruling characteristic of this record. He directs the Konzertstuck from the piano, of which he is a sensational master, and there is no lack of the virtuosity that is a crucial part of... |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tchaikovsky: Symphonic Poems (Incl Romeo & Juliet, Capriccio Italien, 1812 Overture & the Manfred Symphony Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev [ Deutsche Grammophon Trio / 3 CD Box Set - released 21/Jun/2004 ] "Whatever other versions you may have this issue is a must. Pletnev has quite a special feeling for Tchaikovsky's music...and essential purchase." (Rosette Penguin Stereo Guide) |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Shostakovich: The Young Lady and the Hooligan Op 124c (ballet) Russian Symphony Orchestra, Mark Gorenstein [ Harmonia Mundi Saison Russe / CD - released 10/Feb/1994 ] Shostakovich composed many ballet scores, which kept the income flowing in and also kept him in the good books of the increasingly brutal dictatorship of Josef Stalin as many of these ballets were little more than Soviet propaganda exercises. The... |
FAURÉ / POULENC / RAVEL / DEBUSSY
Chanson d'Amour Sabine Devieilhe (soprano), Alexandre Tharaud (piano) [ Erato Classics / CD - released 11/Sep/2020 ] GRAMOPHONE Award Nomination 2021 - Song BBC Music Award Nomination 2021 - Vocal |
ALLEGRI / VICTORIA / GUERRERO / POULENC / SCHUTZ / etc
Miserere (For Lent, Holy Week & Easter) Saint Cecilia Choir of St John Cantius Church, Daniel V Robinson [ Sony Classical / CD - released 26/May/2017 ] From the heart of Chicago, St. John Cantius presents the St. Cecilia Choir through the emotional depth of Holy Week from Chicago's St. John Cantius Church. The triumphal Ingrediente Domino of "Palm Sunday" marks Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem... |
CARL ORFF
Carmina Burana (recorded 31 December 2004 at the Philharmonie Berlin) BLU-RAY Sally Matthews (soprano) / Lawrence Brownlee (tenor) / Christian Gerhaher (baritone) / Berliner Philharmoniker / Sir Simon Rattle [ EuroArts Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 22/Dec/2010 ] Simon Rattle is a musical force of nature and the interaction between his unique, varied musical gifts and the great performing traditions of the Berliner Philharmoniker is one of the most exciting features of our present cultural life. |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: String Quartets K421 & k465 'Dissonance' Salomon String Quartet [ Hyperion / CD - released 10/Nov/1987 ] 'They strike me as the musical equivalent of a breath of fresh spring air' (Records & Recording) |
MAX BRUCH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bruch: Complete Works for Violin and Orchestra Salvatore Accardo (violin) / Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra / Kurt Masur [ Philips Silver Line Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 26/Jun/2004 ] "Throughout the set Accardo's playing is so persuasive in its restrained passion that even the less inspired moments bring pleasure." (*** Three Stars Penguin Stereo Guide) |
MAURICE RAVEL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Ravel: Alborada Del Gracioso / Tzigane / Shéhérazade Salvatore Accardo (violin) Margaret Price (soprano) / London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 1/Jan/2000 ] "There is much to admire in these performances under Abbado, who secures consistently polished and refined playing from the LSO." Gramophone |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: La Boheme (complete opera recorded in 2012) Salzburg Festival / Anna Netrebko, Nino Machaidze, Piotr Beczala / Daniele Gatti (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophone DVD / DVD - released 15/Nov/2012 ] The New York Times wrote, "You don't often hear Mimì sung with such vivid character and sheer charisma." |
LEOS JANACEK
Janacek: The Makropulos Case (complete opera recorded in 2011) BLU-RAY Salzburg Festival / Angela Denoke, Raymond Very, Peter Hoare, Jurgita Adamonyte, Johan Reuter / Esa-Pekka Salonen (cond) [ C Major Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jan/2017 ] "The vocal performances are nearly all compelling. The men - Janacek's usual weak and neurotic bunch - are entirely believable...Both the lead and female roles are remarkably complete." (BBC Music) |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Die Zauberflote [The Magic Flute] (complete opera recorded the Salzburg Festival in 2006) Salzburg Festival / Rene Pape, Genia Kuhmeier, Paul Groves, Diana Damrau / Vienna Philharmonic / Riccardo Muti (cond) [ Decca Classics / Mozart 22 DVD / 2 DVD - released 9/Nov/2006 ] Unsurpassed Mozartian Riccardo Muti conducts the Vienna Philharmonic and a superb cast in an outstanding performance of Pierre Audi's fantastic, colourful production of Mozart's sublime 'singspiel'. |
HANS WERNER HENZE
Hans Werner Henze: The Bassarids Salzburg Festival / Sean Panikkar, Russell Braun, Willard White, Nikolai Schukoff / Vienna Philharmonic, Kent Nagano [ Arthaus Musik DVD / 2 DVD - released 11/Oct/2019 ] The opera, inspired by Euripides' tragedy The Bacchae, is as seductive as it is topical: When Dionysus - is he a charlatan? is he a demigod? - bursts into the intact world of ancient Thebes, he plunges a city into chaos. In stark contrast to his... |
HANS WERNER HENZE
Hans Werner Henze: The Bassarids (Complete Opera) BLU-RAY Salzburg Festival / Sean Panikkar, Russell Braun, Willard White, Nikolai Schukoff / Vienna Philharmonic, Kent Nagano [ Arthaus Musik Blu-ray / 2 Blu-ray Disc - released 11/Oct/2019 ] The opera, inspired by Euripides' tragedy The Bacchae, is as seductive as it is topical: When Dionysus - is he a charlatan? is he a demigod? - bursts into the intact world of ancient Thebes, he plunges a city into chaos. In stark contrast to his... |
CHOPIN / DEBUSSY / FAURE / MOZART / RAVEL / PROKOFIEV
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Samson Francois Samson Francois (piano) [ Philips Great Pianists Of The 20th Century Vol. 28 / 2 CD - released 1/Jan/1999 ] Just as he lived his brief life on the edge, French pianist Samson François (1924-1970) brought unbridled passion, big technique, and a restless, creative mind to whatever music he touched. |