J. S. BACH
Bach Organ Works, Volume 3 Masaaki Suzuki (organ) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 9/Aug/2019 ] Gramophone Magazine October 2019 Editor's Choice |
NICOLO PAGANINI
Paganini: Complete Edition (40 CDs) Massimo Quarta (violin/director), Salvatore Accardo (violin), Franco Mezzena (violin), Franco Traverso (horn), Rino Vernizzi (bassoon), Luigi A. Bianc [ Dynamic / 40 CD Box Set - released 28/Sep/2018 ] It is practically impossible to speak of the violin without mentioning Paganini. He represented a veritable milestone in the history of the instrument, in that what came before him is without doubt different from what came after him. Paganini was... |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Arianna in Creta (complete opera) Mata Katsuli (soprano) Mary-Ellen Nesi (mezzo) Irini Karaianni (mezzo) (Marita Paparizou (mezzo) Petros Magoulas (bar) / Orchestra of Patras / George [ MDG / 3 CD Box Set - released 15/Jul/2006 ] "One of Handel's underrated works ... never less than interesting ... a strong performance where vivid, dramatic values are to the fore" (MusicWeb June 2006) |
ROBERT SCHUMANN
Schumann: Dichterliebe & Selected Songs Mauro Peter (tenor), Helmut Deutsch (piano) [ Sony Classical / CD - released 26/Aug/2017 ] "Mauro Peter has the kind of Dichterliebe voice I hear in my mind's ear: fresh, youthful, evenly produced, with mellifluousness balanced by a touch of metal." Gramophone Award Nomination 2017 - Solo Vocal |
MAX RICHTER
Richter: Three Worlds: Music From Woolf Works (2 LP) Max Richter, Louisa Fuller, Natalia Bonner, John Metcalfe, Ian Burdge, Chris Worsey [ Deutsche Grammophon / 2 LP - released 2/Mar/2018 ] Max Richter explores time and memory in his latest Deutsche Grammophon album, Three Worlds: Music from Woolf Works Virginia Woolf's sharp eye for the detail of life guided her work as a writer, its presence felt in everything from pioneering... |
Mayuko Kamio
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto [ Sony Classical / CD - released 28/Feb/2011 ] |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Otello (complete opera recorded in 2015) BLU-RAY Metropolitan Opera / Aleksandrs Antonenko, Sonya Yoncheva, Željko Lučić, Chad Shelton, Dimitri Pittas, Jennifer Johnson / Yannick Nézet-Séguin (cond) [ Sony Classical Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 24/Sep/2016 ] "Ms. Yoncheva, the fast-rising Bulgarian soprano, just 33, is poised for a major career, and this Desdemona shows why. Her luscious sound has just enough of an earthy tinge and texture to balance the shimmer of her singing." NY Times |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Aida (complete opera recorded in 1989) Metropolitan Opera / Aprile Millo, Dolora Zajick, Placido Domingo / James Levine, conductor [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / DVD - released 20/Sep/2003 ] "Levine's is a stalwart reading, less flashy than Maazel's and with a finer orchestra, although he could have turned up the tempo and temperature a little for the war declaration and the tomb scene." Gramophone |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Gotterdammerung (Complete operas recorded in 2012) Metropolitan Opera / Waltaud Meier, Iain Paterson, Jay Hunter Morris, Deborah Voigt / Fabio Luisi (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 14/Mar/2013 ] "Deborah Voigt's Brunnhilde is attractively lyrical. Jay Hunter Morris's stand-in Siegfried is a discovery, a handsome, extrovert giant...Hans-Peter Konig is a brutish Hagen." BBC Music Magazine, June 2013 **** |
Metropolitan Opera Orc & Choru
Puccini: La Boheme [ Sony Classical / 2 CD - released 7/Feb/2011 ] |
DONIZETTI
La Fille Du Regiment (complete opera recorded in 1940) Metropolitan Opera, Lily Pons, Raoul Jobin, Irra Petina & Salvatore Baccaloni, Irra Petina / Gennaro Papi (cond) [ Sony Classical / 2 CD - released 31/Oct/2011 ] Recorded live on 28th December 1940 Beloved soprano Lily Pons was at her most charming and vivacious in this performance, her house role debut as the titular heroine, Marie, and her only Met broadcast in the role. The cast for this centennial... |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rossini: Armida (complete opera recorded in 2010) Metropolitan Opera / Renee Fleming, Lawrence Brownlee, John Osborn / Riccardo Frizza (cond) [ Decca DVD / 2 DVD - released 10/Mar/2011 ] Renée Fleming continues her reign as 'Queen of the MET', starring in a bel canto rarity specially staged for her - a showcase for her extraordinary vocal virtuosity. This bel canto extravaganza is presented here on 2 DVDs. |
THE COUPERIN FAMILY
Couperin Dynasty Michael Borgstede, Yago Mahúgo, Massimo Berghella (harpsichords) Simone Pierini (fortepiano) [ Brilliant Classics / 19 CD Box Set - released 5/Jan/2024 ] Admiration for the French composer, harpsichordist and organist, Louis Couperin continues to grow steadily today, but it was not so during his lifetime. The first important edition of his work in modern times catalogues 129 pieces as authentic. |
Michael Kamen
Kamen: Band Of Brothers [ Sony Classical / CD - released 8/Oct/2001 ] |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
The World's Very Best Opera for Kids ... In English!-14 best loved arias the whole family will enjoy Michael Schade / Jean Stilwell / Allan Monk / Tracy Dahl / Daniel Taylor / Suzie Leblanc etc. [ Classical Kids / CD - released 1/Jan/2004 ] |
HANDEL / ALBINONI / VIVALDI / BACH / TELEMANN
Michala Petri plays Concertos & Sonatas Michala Petri (recorder) Keith Jarrett (harpsichord) / I Solisti Veneti, Moscow Virtuosi, Claudio Scimone, Vladimir Spivakov [ Sony Classical Masters / 6 CD Box Set - released 20/May/2011 ] "What do you get when two 'big' names join forces to record 'little' music such as these sonatas? This disc gives you your answer: it's a rare treat" (MusicWeb June 2005 on the Handel) |
Michel Camilo
Whats Up? [ Sony Classical / CD - released 13/May/2013 ] |
SILVIUS LEOPOLD WEISS
Weiss: London Manuscript Sonatas Nos.1‐26 Michel Cardin (baroque lute) [ Brilliant Classics / 12 CD Box Set - released 26/Jan/2015 ] Weiss (a near exact contemporary of Bach: 1687‐1750) was a famous lute player and composer in his, time, a highly regarded court musician at the Dresden court. He wrote extensively for his instrument. |
BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Complete Symphonies transcribed for piano by Franz Liszt Michel Dalberto, Jean-Claude Pennetier, Alain Planès [ Harmonia Mundi / 7 CD ] This box set assembles the complete Beethoven symphonies, patiently transcribed for piano over a quarter of a century and recorded for harmonia mundi by a glittering array of soloists in the late 1980s. Liszt's assiduity in this task reminds us of... |
Michelang Rossi
La Poesia Cromatica [ Sony Classical / CD - released 28/Apr/2010 ] |