JOPLIN / LEFEBURE-WELY / BACH / BOELLMANN / ROSSINI / FAULKES / J. STRAUSS / etc
Stormin' Norma 2 Kemp English (at the organ of the Dunedin Town Hall) [ Ode Records / CD - released 1/Dec/2005 ] "Once again the mighty 'Norma', under the masterful hands and feet of Kemp English peals forth its glorious sounds to delight your ear and put a smile on your face - and also test the limits of your stereo system!!" (Barry Brinson) |
TOSHIO HOSOKAWA
Toshio Hosokawa: Stilles Meer (Silent Sea) [Complete opera recorded in 2016] Hamburg State Opera / Susanne Elmar, Mihoko Fujimura, Bejun Mehta, Viktor Rud, Marek Gasztecki / Kent Nagano (cond) [ EuroArts DVD / DVD - released 1/Oct/2017 ] Statement by Toshio Hosokawa: My fourth opera, Stilles Meer, was commissioned by the Hamburg State Opera. The text on which the work is based was written by Oriza Hirata, and the resulting libretto by Hannah Dübgen - who was also the librettist for... |
GARY DAVERNE
The Journey Kevin Friedrich (accordion), New Zealand Symphony Orchestra [ Viscount / CD - released 2/Oct/2020 ] Accordionist Kevin Friedrich plays the music of New Zealand composer Gary Daverne, with the NZSO, the Moravian Philharmonic and guests. Features the Anzac trilogy. |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Opera Arias (Zaide, La Clemenza di Tito, Idomeneo, Zauberflote, Idomeneo, etc) Kiri te Kanawa, London Symphony Orchestra, Colin Davis [ Philips / CD - released 25/Jan/2001 ] "Kiri te Kanawa's is one of the loveliest collections of Mozart arias on record, with the voice at its most ravishing." (Penguin Stereo Guide) |
CILEA / PUCCINI / CHARPENTIER / MASSENET / R. STRAUSS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Kiri Te Kanawa: Diva Kiri te Kanawa (soprano) / London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Staatskapelle Dresden [ EMI Classics / CD - released 17/Oct/1996 ] The best of Kiri in one package! |
MOZART / CANTELOUBE / HANDEL / MAHLER / STRAUSS / BERNSTEIN / etc
Kiri Te Kanawa - Complete Philips & Decca Recordings Kiri Te Kanawa (soprano), with Elizabeth Bainbridge, Roger Vignoles, André Previn, José Carreras, Georg Solti, etc [ Decca / 23 CD Box Set - released 7/Jun/2024 ] Released to celebrate Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's 80th birthday, this set features her complete recital recordings for Decca and Philips, filled out with excerpts from the large number of complete recordings of sacred music and opera she made for these... |
HANDEL / CANTELOUBE / J. STRAUSS / RACHMANINOV / PUCCINI / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: The Essential Kiri te Kanawa Kiri te Kanawa (soprano), various orchestras and conductors [ Decca Records / CD - released 25/Jan/2001 ] A great selection of Kiri's classical favourites all drawn from her many Decca recordings. Includes such popular favourites as 'The Nun's Chorus', 'Let the Bright Seraphim' and the entire 'Willow Song' and 'Ave Maria' from Otello. |
CESAR FRANCK / CLAUDE DEBUSSY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Franck/Debussy: Sonatas for violin and piano (with Ravel-Introduction & Allegro for flute, viola and harp / Ravel: Introduction Kyung Wha Chung (violin) Radu Lupu (piano) Osain Ellis (harp) / Melos Ensemble [ Decca / CD - released 12/Jan/2008 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1901-1950) - "Osian ellis and the melos Ensemble provide all those qualities in spades, and Decca's recording captures their interpretation in warm, clear sound." (AFC 1001 Classical) |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Don Giovanni, K527 (complete opera recorded in 2011) BLU-RAY La Scala Milan / Anna Netrebko, Bryn Terfel, Anna Prohaska, Barbara Frittoli / Daniel Barenboim (conductor) [ Deutsche Grammophon Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 6/Dec/2015 ] Recorded live at the opening of the 2011-12 La Scala season, Don Giovanni was released in honour of Bryn Terfel's 50th birthday which was on 9 November 2015. It also tied in with the traditional opening of the new season at La Scala - 7 December. |
ANTON BRUCKNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bruckner: Latin Motets Latvian Radio Choir, Sigvards Klava [ Ondine / CD - released 6/Nov/2020 ] GRAMOPHONE Award Nomination 2021 - Choral |
ANTONIN DVORAK
Dvorak: Poetic Tone Pictures, Op.85 Leif Ove Andsnes (piano) [ Sony Classical / CD - released 11/Nov/2022 ] "Andsnes is the first big name to champion the Poetic Tone Pictures. We need more highprofile pianists on major labels to show the same initiative and introduce their fans to piano music beyond the safe, predictable and over-recorded." Gramophone |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart Momentum - 1785 Leif Ove Andsnes (piano), Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Matthew Truscott (violin), Joel Hunter (viola), Frank-Michael Guthmann (cello) [ Sony Classical / 2 CD - released 28/May/2021 ] 'Socially distanced they may have been but the camaraderie that was so evident in their groundbreaking Beethoven cycle with Leif Ove Andsnes is, if anything, even more apparent here.' Gramophone Recording of the Month June 2021 |
GRIEG / BRAHMS / SCHUBERT / MOZART / RACHMANINOV / SCHUMANN / etc
Leif Ove Andsnes - The Warner Classics Edition 1990 - 2010 Leif Ove Andsnes (piano), with Christian Tetzlaff, Sarah Chang, Artemis Quartet & Ian Bostridge [ Warner Classics / 36 CD Box Set - released 7/Mar/2011 ] Leif Ove Andsnes is a leading pianist of his time, known for his exceptional musicianship and subtle touch, his considerable technical flair being unfailingly put at the service of his interpretations. |
LEN LYE
Len Lye: Composing Motion Len Lye [ Atoll Records New Zealand / CD - released 5/Jan/2006 ] A fascinating document of the sounds made by the kinetic sculptures made by legendary NZ artist Len Lye who said "if there was such a thing as composing music, there could be such a thing as composing motion. After all, there are melodic figures, why... |
MARC-ANTOINE CHARPENTIER
Charpentier: A Christmas oratorio (Un Oratorio de Noel) Les Arts Florissants, William Christie [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 5/Nov/2021 ] Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed some of the most important works of seventeenth-century French music on the subject of the Nativity and its tutelary figure, the Virgin Mary, from dramatic oratorios in Latin to secular cantatas in the vernacular.... |
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Claude Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande Julien Behr, Vannina Santoni, Alexandre Duhamel, Marie-Ange Todorovitch, etc / Les Siècles, Chœur de l'Opéra de Lille François-Xavier Roth [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 28/Jan/2022 ] 'I enjoyed the orchestral contributions of Les Siècles and the lucidity that period instruments bring to Debussy's score...there's an almost clinical clarity to their playing.' Gramophone Award Finalist 2022 - Opera |
BELA BARTOK
Bartók: String Quartets Nos. 1-6 Lindsay String Quartet [ Decca Eloquence / 3 CD Box Set - released 23/Jul/2021 ] "These players have their own kind of distinction in this music and should not be missed." Gramophone, December 1989 |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms; Double Concerto / works by Tchaikovsky & Liszt Lisa Batiashvili (violin), Gautier Capuçon (cello) / Staatskapelle Dresden, Christian Thielemann [ C Major DVD / DVD - released 25/Jan/2020 ] "The real highlight of this well-produced DVD is the Tchaikovsky, which is a winner from start to finish." Gramophone |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Theodora (complete oratorio) Lisette Oropesa, Joyce DiDonato, Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian, Michael Spyres, John Chest / Il Pomo d'Oro, Maxim Emelyanychev [ Erato / 3 CD Box Set - released 18/Nov/2022 ] BBC Music Magazine Award Nomination 2023 - Choral |
IGOR STRAVINSKY
Stravinsky: The Firebird - Complete Ballet (LP) London Symphony Orchestra, Antal Doráti [ Mercury / LP - released 25/Feb/2022 ] Revolutionary in its time, 'The Firebird' is a story in musical textures and dynamics perfectly suited to the Mercury technique. Dorati and The LSO present each nuance in perfect scale and balance. |