PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Mikhail Pletnev Mikhail Pletnev (piano) / The Philharmonia, Vladimir Fedoseyev [ BMG Philips EMI / 2 CD - released 20/Jan/2018 ] "Admirers of this pianist will count this Double an outstanding bargain." *** Three Stars Penguin Stereo Guide |
VERDI / DONIZETTI / BELLINI / CHARPENTIER / etc
Mina Foley - The Early Years Mina Foley [ Ode Records / CD - released 28/Nov/2001 ] These archival Mina Foley tracks were recorded in New Zealand, between 1949 and 1953. |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Songs For You (Incl Ave Maria & How Great Thou Art) Mina Foley [ Ode Records / CD - released 15/Apr/2003 ] "I have listened to opera in Rome, Budapest, in Berlin, in London and New York, but I can honestly say that I have never heard a finer technique" - Dr Ford (Sun Aria Contest, Melbourne) |
JOSEPH HAYDN
Haydn: Cello Concertos in D & C (LP) Mstislav Rostropovich (cello) / Academy St Martin in the Fields, Iona Brown [ Warner Classics / LP - released 22/Mar/2024 ] "A quite extraordinary achievement. Marvellously expressive cello playing. The orchestra gives splendid support and the sound is warm and ingratiating" (Gramophone) |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Der Fliegende Hollander [The Flying Dutchman] ( Alfred Muff, Ingrid haubold, Erich Knodt, Peter Seiffert / Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Pinchas Steinberg [ Naxos Opera Classics / 2 CD Box Set - released 2/Feb/1992 ] "The recording is both atmospheric and clear, and the set comes with libretto, translation, notes and detailed synopsis, an outstanding bargain." Penguin Guide |
EDWARD GRIEG / ROBERT SCHUMANN
Grieg / Schumann: Piano Concertos (Rec 1989) Murray Perahia (piano) / Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 20/May/2011 ] "Murray Perahia's 1987 Schumann and Grieg concertos with Colin Davis remain the most recommendable digitally recorded pairing of these war-horses, and they bloom even more via Sony's Expanded Edition remastering." (ClassicsToday) |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Brandenburg & Violin Concertos / Orchestral Suites Musica Amphion, P.J. Belder / Amsterdam Bach Soloists, Thomas Zehetmair (violin) / Netherlands Bach Ensemble [ Brilliant Classics Quintessence / 5 CD Box Set - released 25/Sep/2020 ] ."Zehetmair is by no means just a brilliant violinist; he is a very sincere musician...This is a most rewarding reissue. Even those lovers of baroque music who usually avoid modern instrument performances, should consider this disc." MusicWeb |
J. S. BACH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bach: Brandenburg Concertos 4 - 6 / Orchestral Suite BWV 1069 Musica Antiqua Koln, Reinhard Goebel [ Deutsche Grammophon Archiv / CD - released 15/Jun/1986 ] These uncompromising performances of the Brandenburg Concertos and the Orchestral Suites set new standards in the 1980s and remain a monument to the keen spirit of enquiry that Reinhard Goebel has always applied to his performances and recordings. |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Christmas a Cappella II Musica Sacra conducted by Indra Hughes [ Atoll Records New Zealand / CD - released 20/Nov/2007 ] This is the second programme of unaccompanied Christmas choral music performed by one of New Zealand's most successful choirs and includes a wide variety of pieces: the well known and the unfamiliar. |
RICHARD STRAUSS
Salome (complete opera recorded in 2009) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Nadja Michael, Michael Volle, Michaela Schuster, Thomas Moser / Philippe Jordan [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2010 ] "Nadia Michael… is an attractive Salome, moving like a dancer, as physically unafraid as she is vocally… Michael Volle is an imposing, rich-toned Narraboth" (Gramophone) |
JANET JENNINGS / GABRIEL FAURÉ
Jennings / Faure: The Earth Child Natasha Te Rupe-Wilson (soprano), Somi Kim (piano) [ Atoll / CD - released 6/Jan/2023 ] "Janet Jennings is a fine writer for voices, and her setting of five Mansfield poems gets its world premiere here, accompanied by the same composer's previously recorded Sit Down With Me Awhile and Fauré's La chanson d'Ève." NZ Listener |
HERRMANN / NEWMAN / KORNGOLD / TIOMKIN / ROZSA / WAXMAN
Charles Gerhardt conducts Classic Film Scores National Philharmonic Orchestra, Charles Gerhardt, with Kiri te Kanawa (soprano) & Norma Procter (contralto) [ RCA Red Seal / Sony music Masters / 12 CD Box Set - released 13/Mar/2020 ] In the 1970s, the Classic Film Scores series introduced a new generation to the sumptuous sound of music in Hollywood's "Golden Age." |
JOHN PSATHAS
Zeibekiko (The Greek Concert) Netherlands Blazers (Wind) Ensemble [ NBE Live / CD - released 29/May/2005 ] NEW ZEALAND composer John Psathas has received significant acclaim for his recent compositions, including the music which was performed at the recent opening ceremony for the Olympics in Athens. |
FRANCESCO CAVALLI
Ercole Amante (complete opera recorded in 2009) BLU-RAY Netherlands Opera / Luca Pisaroni, Veronica Cangemi, Anna Maria Panzarella, Marlin Miller / Concerto Koln, Ivor Bolton (cond) [ Opus Arte / BBC Blu-Ray / 2 Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2011 ] "The production, like the piece, is moving, funny and literally action-packed. Alden knows well when to fill or empty his stage....Bolton leads his large authentic-instrument forces with gusto...Hugely recommended." (Gramophone) |
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOSVKY
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture / Marche Slave / Romeo and Juliet / Capriccio Italien / Hamlet / Symphonies New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein [ Sony Classical / 5 CD Box Set - released 13/Mar/2020 ] "The 1812 Overture in particular (has) a freshenss and exultancy notable even among the best of the other high-powered versions...the sound is thrillingly vivid throughout." (High Fidelity) |
GARETH FARR
Farr: Warriors from Pluto New Zealand Chamber Orchestra. Strike. Deborah Wai Kapohe, Marc Decio Taddei [ Trust / CD - released 7/Dec/2001 ] New recording featuring two startlingly dramatic works for chamber orchestra |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Semele New Zealand Opera Chorus, Holy Trinity Cathedral Choir, New Zealand Opera Baroque Orchestra, Peter Walls [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 21/Jul/2023 ] "Amitai Pati is the pick of the bunch. The Samoan tenor is an outstanding Jupiter, bright-toned and fullvoiced, lyrical lines anchored by enough weight to make this reluctant smiter believable as both lover and thug." Gramophone |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Semele (Blu-ray) Emma Pearson, Amitai Pati, Sarah Castle, Paul Whelan / New Zealand Opera Chorus, Holy Trinity Cathedral Choir, NZ Opera Baroque Orchestra, Peter Walls [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 21/Jul/2023 ] "Amitai Pati is the pick of the bunch. The Samoan tenor is an outstanding Jupiter, bright-toned and fullvoiced, lyrical lines anchored by enough weight to make this reluctant smiter believable as both lover and thug." Gramophone |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: String Quartet No.15 in G Major D887 New Zealand String Quartet [ Trust / CD - released 18/Nov/2013 ] New Zealand String Quartet: Schubert represents a milestone in the Quartet's career of over 25 years with a recording of Franz Schubert's masterpiece, String Quartet in G Major, D.887. As Schubert's final and most epic string quartet, it is essential... |
CHRISTOPHER BLAKE
Blake: Symphony - Voices The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Bramwell Tovey [ Atoll Records New Zealand / CD - released 11/Jun/2019 ] A dramatic symphonic journey through T. S. Eliot's "The Waste Land", recorded live. |