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 |
WAGNER / SMETANA / VERDI / KALMAN / etc
Summer Night Concert in Vienna 2024 (Blu-ray) Lise Davidsen (soprano) / Wiener Philharmoniker, Andris Nelsons [ Sony Classical DVD / DVD - released 19/Jul/2024 ] The Summer Night Concert 2024 with the Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by Andris Nelsons featuring soprano Lise Davidsen was performed this year on 7 June. It is an annual open-air event, which has been held since 2004 in the magical setting of... |
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. |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams:Complete Symphonies London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Hickox, Sir Andrew Davis [ Chandos Classics / 6 Hybrid SACD - released 27/May/2022 ] 'Impeccable playing' The Times |
ANTONIN DVORAK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Dvorak: Symphonies Nos 1-9 / Overtures / Scherzo Capriccioso London Symphony Orchestra, Istvan Kertesz [ Decca Collector's Edition / 6 CD Box Set - released 1/Jan/2002 ] "The CD transfers are of Decca's best quality, full-bodied and vivid...his readings give us fresh insights into these often inspired works...a magnificent memorial to a conductor who died sadly young" - Rosette (Highest Award). Penguin Stereo Guide |
LEOS JANACEK / BELA BARTOK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra / Janacek: Sinfonietta Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra / Andre Previn [ Telarc Classics / CD - released 1/Dec/2002 ] "The Telarc recording captures the full bloom of the orchestra. The coupling is unique." (Penguin Guide) |
RODRIGO / VIVALDI / FLAMENCO / TRADITIONAL
Los Romeros - The Mercury Masters Los Romeros, with San Antonio Symphony, Victor Alessandro [ Decca / Philips / Mercury / 10 CD Box Set - released 8/Dec/2023 ] Los Romeros was the first guitar quartet to achieve eminence across continents and on stages of the world. Their first recordings were made in January 1960 and released on Contemporary Records. |
Various Composers
Welcome Joy - A Celebration of Women's Voices Louise Thomson, Corvus Consort, Freddie Crowley [ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 16/Aug/2024 ] For their second album on Chandos, Freddie Crowley and his Corvus Consort - joined by the harpist Louise Thomson - turn their attention to a rich vein of choral music written for women's voices and harp. Gustav Holst was a champion of women's voices... |
ANTON BRUCKNER
Bruckner: Symphony No.1 (LP) Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Claudio Abbado [ Accentus / LP - released 14/Mar/2016 ] "Abbado uncovered the radical nature of the work with its fascinating accumulations of intensity and abrupt interruptions … Long and enthusiastic standing ovations at the end for the conductor and orchestra." (Die Welt) - The audience experienced... |
VERDI / PUCCINI / MOZART / DONIZETTI / LEONCAVALLO / DVORAK
Opera Gold: 50 Greatest Tracks Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, Kiri te Kanawa, Mario del Monaco, Placido Domingo, Marilyn Horne, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Renee Fleming, Jonas Kaufmann [ Decca Music Group / 3 CD Box Set - released 8/Oct/2021 ] Decca, the opera company, presents a premium collection of the most beautiful opera tracks on 3 CDs. Classic arias and preludes performed by the greatest opera stars of all time. |
ARENSKY / BUSONI / MOZART / POULENC / RACHMANINOFF
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Lyubov Bruk & Mark Taimanov Lyubov Bruk, Mark Taimanov (pianos) / Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Arnold Katz / Leningrad Chamber Orchestra, Lazar Gozman [ Philips Great Pianists Of The 20th Century Vol 15 / 2 CD - released 1/Jan/1998 ] Taimanov was a top concert pianist in the Soviet Union. With his first wife, Lyubov Bruk, he formed a piano duo, some of whose recordings were included in the Phillips and Steinway series Great Pianists of the 20th Century. |
ANTONIN DVORAK / LEOS JANACEK / BOHUSLAV MARTINU
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Dvorak/Martinu/Janacek: Love Songs Magdalena Kozena (soprano) Graham Johnson (piano) [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 30/Aug/2000 ] 2001 GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER - Vocal |
CHRISTOPH GLUCK / W. A. MOZART / JOSEF MYSLIVECEK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Magdalena Kozena - Le Belle Immagini Magdalena Kozena (soprano) / Prague Philharmonia / Michel Swierczewski [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 7/Feb/2002 ] "With good support from orchestra and conductor this is a disc which should be bought even by those who resist hype on principle." - MusicWeb Feb 2005 |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Operatic Arias Magdalena Kozena (soprano) / Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment / Sir Simon Rattle [ Archiv / Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 6/Sep/2006 ] "Here is a singer with both a rich, colourful and 'alive'-sounding voice and the musical intelligence to use that gift." Recording of the Month - Gramophone Magazine (September 2006) |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk (complete opera recorded in 2008) BLU-RAY Maggio Muiscale Florentino / Jeanne Michele Charbonnet, Vladimir Vaneev, Vsevolod Grivnov / James Conlon (cond) [ Arthaus Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Oct/2012 ] "New Orleans-raised Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet proves a powerful if one-dimensional actress in the title-role. The other key protagonists are authentically Russian. The most distinguished singing comes from Vladimir Vaneev... The main attraction of... |
PIETRO MASCAGNI
Mascagni: L'Amico Fritz (Complete Opera recorded in 2022) (Blu-ray) Maggio Musicale Fiorentino / Salome Jicia, Charles Castronovo, Teresa Iervolino, Massimo Cavalletti / Riccardo Frizza,(cond) [ Naxos / Dynamic Blu-ray / DVD - released 17/Feb/2023 ] "Cucchi evokes a lively society, never overstated, of friendship and good cheer...Frizza controls the ebb and flow in masterly fashion. The whole thing is very nicely done." Gramophone Blu-ray of the Month April 2023 |