SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 (LP) Itzhak Perlman (violin) / BBC Symphony Orchestra, Gennady Rozhdestvensky [ Warner Classics / LP - released 24/Mar/2023 ] The distinctive character of each of Prokofiev's Violin Concertos seems rooted in its genesis: the first, nervy and iconoclastic, coincided with the Russian Revolution; the second, more sober and expansively lyrical, dates from 1935, when Prokofiev... |
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons (LP) Itzhak Perlman (violin) / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Rodney Friend [ Warner Classics / LP - released 22/May/2020 ] Itzhak Perlman is the supreme violinist of his time, adored by audiences around the world and a musician whose powerful but sympathetic artistic personality provides a model for the players who have followed him. |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto / Serenade Melancolique (LP) Itzhak Perlman (violin) / The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ornandy [ Warner Classics / LP - released 22/May/2020 ] In Perlman's words, Tchaikovsky "wears his heart on his sleeve" and his violin concerto is a work of "unabashed Romanticism". While bringing sensitivity and substance to his interpretation, Perlman never slips into sentimentality, and he leads an... |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Violin Sonatas [complete] Itzhak Perlman (violin) Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano) [ Decca Ovation / 4 CD Box Set - released 1/Dec/2010 ] "The recording boasts unusually truthful violin sound capturing all the colour of Perlman's playing." (Gramophoen Classical Music guide) |
TCHAIKOVSKY / SIBELIUS / RAVEL / BLOCH / PAGANINI / etc
The Essential Itzhak Perlman [2 CD set] Itzhak Perlman (violin) with Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, Jorge Bolet. the Boston Symphony Orchestra, etc [ Sony Classical / 2 CD - released 1/Jun/2011 ] All the best of Itzhak Perlman on a special double CD collection. |
Itzhak Perlman/Tan Dun
O.S.T. - Hero [ Sony Classical / CD - released 20/Sep/2004 ] |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos 22 7 24 (with Rachmaninov: Piano Sonata No 2) Ivo Pogorelich (piano) [ Sony Classical / CD - released 13/Sep/2019 ] After a 20 year break from releasing music, the legendary classical pianist Ivo Pogorelich returns with his breathtaking new album featuring piano sonatas by Beethoven and Rachmaninoff. Hailed for his virtuosity, technical mastery and evocative... |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Cello Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2 (LP) Jacqueline du Pre (cello) Daniel Barenboim (piano) [ Warner Classics / LP - released 20/May/2022 ] Renowned as a great interpreter of Brahms, Jacqueline du Pré, here at the peak of her art and technical abilities, delivers the latest version recorded with her husband Daniel Barenboim in May-August 1968. |
EDWARD ELGAR / LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Elgar: Cello Concerto / Beethoven: The Ghost... Jacqueline du Pre in Portrait Jacqueline du Pre (cello) / Daniel Barenboim / Pinchas Zukerman / Sir John Barbirolli / Philharmonia Orchestra [ Opus Arte / BBC DVD / DVD - released 1/Sep/2004 ] Jacqueline du Pré's extraordinary career was cut cruelly short by illness in 1973 when she was only 28 years old. When she died 14 years later, she remained as vibrant a figure in the public mind as she had been at the pinnacle of her career. |
JAN ANTONIN LOSY
Losy: Note d'oro - Lute Music Jakob Lindberg (lute by Sixtus Rauwolf, Augsburg c. 1590) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 2/Jan/2020 ] "The quality of Losy's music and the superb interpretations by Jakob Lindberg are further enhanced by a third factor - the instrument he plays. He employs a unique instrument with a beautiful and distinctive sound." MusicWeb Recommended |
CAVALLI / BORETTI / BONONCINI / Orlandini / HANDEL / etc
Jakub Józef Orliński: Facce d'Amore (LP) Jakub Józef Orliński (counter-tenor) / Il pomo d'oro, Maxim Emelyanychev [ Warner Classics Vinyl / LP - released 1/Jun/2020 ] "It's music by Luca Antonio Predieri (a nearcontemporary of Handel's) that really hits the mark. Predieri's gentle lyricism and clean lines suit Orliński's soft-grained voice well." Gramophone |
PIAZZOLLA
Song of the Angel James Crabb (classical accordian) Benjamin Martin (piano) Australian Chamber Orchestra. Richard Tognetti [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 8/Dec/2003 ] 'Accordion wizard and company delight in a seductive and exuberant sound world.' Gramophone |
MERCADANTE / MOZART / DEVIENNE / CIMAROSA / BACH / VIVALDI / etc
James Galway plays Flute Concertos [12 CD set] James Galway (flute) / I Solisti Veneti, Claudio Scimone / The Academy of St Martins in the Fields. Sir Neville Marriner, with Marisa Robles (harp) [ Sony Classical Masters / 12 CD Box Set - released 20/May/2011 ] The Man With the Golden Flute, Sir James Galway, is featured in these classic recordings, with harpist Marisa Robles and clarinetist Sabine Meyer. |
James Heather
Stories From Far Away on Piano (LP) [ Ahead of Our Time / LP - released 4/May/2018 ] Contemporary pianist James Heather presents his debut album - 'Stories From Far Away On Piano'. On the surface 'Stories From Far Away On Piano"s solo minimal piano pieces have a simple, innate beauty, but there's also a stark intensity simmering... |
James Horner
Ost: The Amazing Spider-Man [ Sony Classical / CD - released 2/Jul/2012 ] |
James Last
Classical Collection (2CD) [ 2 CD ] |
James Newton Howard
Ost: After Earth [ Sony Classical / CD - released 10/Jun/2013 ] |
MARTIN LODGE
Toru: chamber music James Tennant, Richard Nunns, Peter Scholes, William Dowdall, Edward King, Jeremy Mayall, etc [ Atoll Records / CD - released 1/Apr/2012 ] Brilliantly performed chamber works by Martin Lodge |
C.P.E. BACH / GRAF / HASSE / M. HAYDN
Concerti Brillanti Jan Vogler (cello) / Munchener Kammerorchester / Reinhard Goebel [ Sony Classical Vivarte / CD - released 17/Jun/2011 ] "Vogler's playing is technically assured and sturdily lyrical throughout all four works." (Gramophone) |
FRANK BRIDGE
Bridge: Complete Songs Janice Watson (soprano), Louise Winter (mezzo soprano), Jamie MacDougal (tenor), Gerald Finley (baritone), Roger Vignoles (piano) [ Hyperion / 2 CD Box Set - released 10/Aug/2014 ] "These two CDs, finely recorded and thoughtfully presented, are a most timely and valuable addition to the catalogue" Gramophone Magazine |