MONTEVERDI / COSTELEY / CHARPENTIER / JANEQUIN / RAMEAU / BRAHMS / etc
Nadia Boulanger - Icon: The American Decca Recordings Nadia Boulanger (harpsichord/piano/conductor) [ Deutsche Grammophon Decca Eloquence / 5 CD Box Set - released 20/Oct/2020 ] "Nadia Boulanger's control of the score is wholly magnificent, a great artist at work … wonderfully vivid" Philip Hope-Wallace, Gramophone, July 1954 (Charpentier) |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Requiem / Ave Verum Corpus / Masonic Funeral Music Nancy Argenta, Catherine Robbin, John Mark Ainsley, Alastair Miles / The Schutz Choir of London, London Classical Players, Roger Norrington [ Erato Classics Red Line / CD - released 15/Oct/2018 ] "Norrington's soloists are very good, so too the recorded sound, and this version of the Mozart Requiem can be enthusiastically welcomed, both as an edition and as a performance." MusicWeb |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Chamber Music [Piano Quartets, String Quintets, String Sextets, etc] The Nash Ensemble, with Richard Hosford (clarinet) [ Onyx / 4 CD Box Set - released 1/Dec/2012 ] "The splendid performance of the piano quartet shows the young Brahms's intellectual power and melodic abundance to magnificent advantage." (Sunday Times) |
Nat King Cole
The Christmas Song [ Capitol / CD - released 27/Nov/2020 ] A new reissue of the original 1962 collection of Christmas classics from Nat King Cole, featuring five bonus tracks including "The Christmas Song" duet with Natalie Cole. |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: Lieder Natalie Dessay (soprano), Philippe Cassard (piano) [ Sony Classical / CD ] "This inspired collection of songs could serve as a useful introduction to newcomers to this repertoire and Philippe Cassard's tender, balanced touch is a delight" BBC Music |
MICHEL LEGRAND
Between Yesterday and Tomorrow (The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary Woman) Natalie Dessay (soprano), London Studio Orchestra, Michel Legrand [ Sony Classical / CD - released 2/Dec/2017 ] Sony Classical presents Between Yesterday and Tomorrow, a truly unique album from the stunning Natalie Dessay alongside Michel Legrand and the London Studio Orchestra. Composed by multi-award-winning artist Michel Legrand and written by American... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Pictures of America: Natalie Dessay Natalie Dessay (soprano), Paris Mozart Orchestra, Claire Gibault [ Sony Classical / 2 CD - released 21/Dec/2016 ] Recorded with the Paris Mozart Orchestra and 2 Jazz Musicians, this is Natalie Dessay's exciting first album release for Sony Classical. The album is a journey through music (Great American Song Book, Broadway & Jazz) and Edward Hopper's art. The... |
TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20 (The Royal Swedish Ballet) Nathalie Nordquist, Anders Nordström, Marketta Kaila, Christian Rambe Royal Swedish Ballet, Royal Swedish Opera Orchestra, Michel Quéval [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 8/Nov/2002 ] This stunning production by The Royal Swedish Ballet, produced by Ross MacGibbon, stars Nathalie Nordquist as Odette/Odile and Anders Nordström as Prince Siegfried. Choreographer Peter Wright stages Swan Lake as a romantic Gothic tragedy. This... |
KIRCHNER / KILLMAYER / HARRISON / LEES / DENNY / ROSEN / etc
Fromm Music Foundation - Twentieth Century Composer Series Nathan Rubin, Ludwig Shapero (violins) George Neikrug (cello) Leon Kirchner (piano) / The New York Concert Choir & Orchestra, Juilliard String Quartet [ Sony Classical / 10 CD Box Set - released 20/May/2020 ] From January 1957 to March 1962 Columbia Masterworks in collaboration with the Fromm Music Foundation released a series of 9 highly acclaimed LPs in the Twentieth Century Composer Series with music by, then, contemporary composers. |
JOSEF HAYDN
Trumpet Concerto / Cello Concerto / Double Horn Concerto Georges Barboteu, Gilbert Coursier (horns) Andre Navarra (cello) Maurice Andre (trumpet) / Orchestre de Chambre Radiodiffusion Sarroise, Jean-Francois [ Warners Classical The Erato Story / CD - released 10/Apr/2012 ] |
Neil Diamond
The Classic Christmas Album [ Capitol / CD - released 2/Oct/2015 ] 2013 holiday collection from one of the most beloved names in the music business. Deck the halls, wrap those gifts, jingle those bells and usher in the holidays with this platter of joyful Christmas melodies that will make your season even brighter. |
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms: Complete Symphonies & Serenades Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden [ Brilliant Classics / 5 CD Box Set - released 25/Sep/2020 ] "This is an unfailingly warm-hearted, full-blooded Brahmsian sound and seems to represent a genuine attempt at redirecting the modern symphony orchestra towards the sort of sound-mix Brahms himself is likely to have heard." MusicWeb |
GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 / Five Ruckert-Lieder (LP) New Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli, Janet Baker (mezzo) [ Warner Classics Vinyl / 2 LP - released 5/Nov/2021 ] "… an interpretation of commitment and intensity and the recording is one of the finest I have heard from EMI." Gramophone |
MAHLER
Bruno Walter conducts Mahler [7 CD set] New York Philharmonic, Columbia Symphony, Bruno Walter [ Sony Classical Masters / 7 CD Box Set - released 20/May/2012 ] "This record comes to us so loaded with history and legend, and it carries its burden with such triumphant sure-footedness, that I have no hesitation in declaring it one of the greatest musical monuments of our time." (Gramophone on Symphony No 9) |
GERSHWIN / GROFE / HAYDN / BEETHOVEN / STRAVINSKY / BERNSTEIN / MAHLER
This is Leonard Bernstein: His Greatest Recordings Rudolf Serkin, Lukas Foss (pianos), Original Broadway Cast, Dietrich Fischer Dieskau (baritone) / New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein [ Sony Classical / 16 CD Box Set - released 1/Nov/2009 ] This special edition collects the conductor-composer's 15 most celebrated original albums from the 1950s and 60s on 16 CDs. The best selection of his benchmark recordings as a conductor, composer and pianist. |
WAGNER
Orchestral Music (Incls 'Good Friday Music') New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta [ Sony Classical Masters / CD - released 1/May/2011 ] "Zubin Mehta became the Philharmonic's Music Director in 1978. Mehta's 13-year tenure as the New York Philharmonic's Music Director - during which he conducted more than 1,000 concerts - was the longest in the Orchestra's history." (nyphil.org) |
New York Philharmonic/Bernstei
Liszt: A Faust Symphony [ Sony Classical / CD - released 6/Jun/2011 ] |
New York Po/Bernstein
Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue & A [ Sony Classical / CD - released 6/Dec/2010 ] |
LEOPOLD MOZART
Mozart, (L.): Symphonies New Zealand Chamber Orchestra. Donald Armstrong, conductor [ Naxos 18th Century Symphony / CD - released 18/Aug/2002 ] "Clean, vital playing" (BBC Music Magazine) |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: The Queen Of Spades & Voyevoda: Orchestral Suites arranged by Peter Breiner New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Peter Breiner [ Naxos / CD - released 29/Apr/2013 ] Slovak-born composer and conductor Peter Breiner has received considerable international acclaim for his adaptations, and his Tchaikovsky arrangements are particularly impressive examples of his art. He has already arranged The Seasons (8553510) and... |