FREDERIC CHOPIN / ALEXANDER SCRIABIN / AKIO YASHIRO
Mao Fujita - 72 Preludes Mao Fujita (piano) [ Sony Classical / 2 CD - released 13/Sep/2024 ] Following his 'consistently impressive' (Gramophone) traversal of Mozart's complete Piano Sonatas for Sony Classical - winner of an Opus Klassik Award - Japanese pianist Mao Fujita has recorded a similarly ambitious project. |
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
Mozart: The Complete Piano Sonatas Mao Fujita (piano) [ Sony Classical / 5 CD Box Set - released 4/Nov/2022 ] "Despite his young years, Fujita is fully inside these works and makes an impressive job in imparting his vision. All the ingredients for outstanding Mozart performance are here." MusicWeb |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich: Piano Concertos (LP) Marc-André Hamelin, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Andrew Litton [ Hyperion / LP - released 13/Sep/2024 ] The two piano concertos of Shostakovich, though strikingly different from each other, have both become twentieth-century classics. The first has long been one of Marc-Andre Hamelin's party pieces and we are delighted to have paired him with Andrew... |
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mendelssohn: On wings of song Margaret Price (soprano) Graham Johnson (piano) [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 14/Apr/2004 ] "Mesmerising... as is usual, the Hyperion recording is perfectly balanced" - Classic CD |
CANTATE DOMINO
Cantate Domino - A most euphonious selection of Christmas music! Marianne Mellnas (soprano) Alf Linder (organ) / Oscar's Motet Choir / Torsten Nilsson [ Proprius / CD - released 1/Dec/2004 ] Cantate Domino, recorded by Bertil Alving 1976, is famous for it's incredible sound quality. The CD starts with Enrico Bossi's "Cantate Domino" for choir, organ, trumpets and trombones. A wonderful piece with a stunning organ introduction. Included... |
J. S. BACH
Bach: St Matthew Passion BLU-RAY Mark Padmore (Evangelist), Peter Harvey (Christus), Maria Espada (Soprano), Ingeborg Danz (Mezzo) / Royal Concertgebouw & Netherlands Radio Choir, Iva [ Arthaus Musik Blu-Ray / Blu-ray - released 10/Oct/2012 ] This 2012 recording of the most influential and wide spread oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach features the Hungarian conductor Iván Fischer, a visionary in his field, with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. The double choir is the... |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Prokofiev: Violin Sonatas Nos 1 & 2 / 5 Melodien Martha Argerich (piano) Gidon Kremer (violin) [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 1/Jul/2008 ] "these performances are mercurial and provocative. Kremer and Argerich find expectedly dark resonances in the lyrical Second Sonata whilst projecting a radiant beauty in the Five Melodies." BBC Music Magazine, August 2008 ***** |
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Martin Fröst - Vivaldi Martin Fröst (clarinet), Concerto Köln [ Sony Classical / CD - released 22/May/2020 ] Martin Fröst is an internationally renowned clarinettist and conductor. 'Vivaldi' is a baroque adventure based on the question: What might Vivaldi have composed for the clarinet if it had been more fully developed? |
ALFVEN / BACH / JENKINS / PURCELL / RAMEAU / SCARLATTI / etc
Martin Fröst - Night Passages Martin Fröst (clarinet), Sebastien Dube (double bass), Roland Pöntinen (piano) [ Sony Classical / CD - released 20/May/2022 ] Martin Fröst's latest album for Sony Classical brings the extraordinary alchemy of a specially formed ensemble to the public with highly original arrangements for the first time on record. |
Martin Riseley & Diedre Irons
Stradivariazioni [ Rattle Records / CD - released 3/May/2013 ] Martin Riseley (violin) Diedre Irons (piano) The variation form is at the foundation of many forms of music, and was of particular importance in the classical period. Stradivariazioni demonstrates various elements of the form: a central unifying... |
NICOLA PORPORA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Porpora: Opera Arias Max Emanuel Cencic (countertenor) / Armonia Atenea, George Petrou [ Decca Records / CD - released 15/Aug/2018 ] "Porpora's gift for characterisation pales beside Handel's, but his vocal fireworks bring modest delight, especially when backed by the bustling musicians of George Petrou's Armonia Atenea" The Times |
CESAR FRANCK
Franck: Hulda (complete opera original version) Meagan Miller, Joshua Kohl, Irina Jae-Eun Park, Anja Jung / Opernchor des Theater Freiburg, Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Fabrice Bollon [ Naxos / 3 CD Box Set - released 10/Oct/2021 ] "An intrepid cast led by Meagan Miller as Hulda and Joshua Kohl's Eiolf, her faithless lover, negotiates a top-heavy score that mixes Franck's thunderous organ chords with Berlioz and Wagner..all credit to Fabrice Bollon and the Freiburg Phil." BBC |
VINCENZO BELLINI
Bellini: I Puritani (complete opera recorded in 2007) Metropolitan Opera / Anna Netrebko, Eric Cutler, Franco Vassallo / Patrick Summers (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 28/Feb/2008 ] "Netrebko has perhaps the most appealing stage presence among contemporary sopranos. She is a natural stage animal who can sing as she moves around the stage and interacts with her colleagues. Her sheer physicality on stage is awesome." (MusicWeb) |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Rigoletto (Complete opera recorded in 1977) The Metropolitan Opera / Placido Domingo, Ileana Cotrubas, Cornell MacNeil / James Levine (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / DVD - released 27/May/2004 ] "Yes, Rigoletto is a singer's opera, but Verdi also poured into it some of his most dramatic as well as melodic music. That said, the vivid colours of the production have come up amazingly well and the sound is clear." (MusicWeb Dec 2006) |
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOSVKY
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin (complete opera recorded in 2007) Metropolitan Opera / Renee Fleming, Elena Zaremba, Ramon Vargas, Dmitri Hvorostovsky / Valery Gergiev (cond) [ Decca DVD / 2 DVD - released 28/Feb/2008 ] 'Miss Fleming's sympathetic, exquisitely sung Tatiana was a major achievement.' The New York Times |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: Complete Piano Sonatas Michael Endres (piano) [ Capriccio / 6 CD Box Set - released 20/Apr/2011 ] "the Steck piano that Endres plays has a pleasing bloom, which has been recorded with satisfying natural presence, and his lyrical, lovingly shaped performances undoubtedly deserve a place among the very best alternatives." Gramophone |
MICHAEL WILLIAMS
The Juniper Passion Stepanie Acraman, Julia Booth, Lilia Carpinelli, James Loelu, etc, with orchestra & chorus [ Atoll Records / 2 CD - released 25/Jun/2012 ] Three worlds collide in this moving tale of conflict, passion and betrayal. |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas (14 CDs plus Book) Michael Houstoun (piano) [ Rattle / 14 CD Box Set - released 15/Oct/2014 ] NZ LISTENER BEST CLASSICAL Recordings 2014 |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: The Last Five Piano Sonatas (28-32) Includes 'Hammerklavier' Michael Houstoun (piano) [ Trust / 2 CD Box Set - released 2/Feb/2001 ] The most difficult of piano sonatas played by our Michael |
BEETHOVEN
The Middle Period Sonatas includes 'Waldstein' 'Moonlight' 'Appassionata' and 'Pastoral' Sonatas Michael Houstoun, piano [ Trust / 3 CD - released 13/Apr/2006 ] The middle period piano sonatas of Beethoven played by Michael Houstoun. Unavailable for a long time but available now! |