J. S. BACH
Bach: Famous Cantatas Holland Boy's Choir, Netherlands Bach Collegium, Pieter Jan Leusink [ Brilliant Classics Quintessence / 5 CD Box Set - released 25/Sep/2020 ] 'characteristic performances, marked by a great sense of authenticity' (Gramophone) |
JOHN ADAMS
John Adams - Collected Works San Francisco Symphony, Orchestra Of St. Luke's, London Sinfonietta, Sanford Sylvan (baritone), Leila Josefowicz (violin), etc [ Nonesuch Records / 40 CD Box Set - released 17/May/2024 ] Nonesuch Records releases the forty-disc John Adams Collected Works, a box set featuring recordings spanning more than four decades of the composer's career with the label. |
BEETHOVEN / SCHUBERT / DVORAK / TCHAIKOVSKY / KREISLER / etc
Ida Haendel - The Decca Legacy Ida Haendel (violin) with Ivor Newton (piano) Adela Kotowska (piano) National Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra [ Decca Eloquence / 6 CD Box Set - released 20/Oct/2020 ] "That special, spontaneous warmth of response … places Haendel's Tchaikovsky performance for Decca among the finest recordings ever made of this wonderful concerto." Gramophone, July 1999 |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Goldberg Variations (with works by Beethoven & Rzewski) Igor Levit (piano) [ Sony / 3 CD Box Set - released 5/Dec/2015 ] "Levit's musical personality is as integrated and mature as his technique. And both of these are placed at the service of the music's glory rather than his own." (Gramophone Magazine Award WINNER 2016 - Instrumental) |
PIETRO LOCATELLI
Locatelli: Complete Violin Concertos Igor Ruhadze (baroque violin) / Ensemble Violini Capricciosi [ Brilliant Classics Quintessence / 5 CD Box Set - released 22/Jan/2021 ] Igor Ruhadze studied modern violin at the Moscow Central School of Music before pursuing his growing interest in music of the Baroque period. A pioneer of historically informed performance, he co-founded the Ensemble Violini Capricciosi. |
BRITTEN / ELGAR / BEETHOVEN / HAYDN / BRAHMS / DVORAK / CHOPIN / etc
Jacqueline du Pre - The Complete Warner Recordings (special price 23 CD set) Jacqueline du Pre (cello) with various accompaniments and orchestras [ Warner Classics / 23 CD Box Set - released 3/Jun/2022 ] This new box set draws together the entirety of Jacqueline du Pré EMI Classics catalogues, assembled over her short 12-year career. The whole content has been NEWLY REMASTERED in 192Hz/24bit and from ORIGINAL TAPES. |
LUDOVICO EINAUDI
Einaudi: Waves - The Piano Collection Jeroen van Veen (piano) [ Brilliant Classics / 7 CD Box Set - released 20/Apr/2015 ] Ludovico Einaudi may well become the "Satie of the 21‐st century". His minimalist, deceptively simple piano works reach a massive audience well beyond the strict boundaries of traditional classical music. |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams: A Vaughan Williams Anthology [8 CD set] Joan Rodgers (sop) Christopher Maltman (bar) Jennifer Pike (violin) / Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmon [ Naxos / 8 CD Box Set - released 8/Apr/2022 ] Ralph Vaughan Williams is one of Britain's most illustrious composers, and this specially curated selection of works demonstrates the sheer breadth of his achievement. |
ADAM / MASSENET / BIZET / BONONCINI / GRAUN / WAGNER / LEHAR / etc
Opera Gala Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Irma Kolassi, Janine Micheau, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Richard Conrad, Lisa della Casa, Kirsten Flagstad, etc [ Decca Eloquence / 20 CD Box Set - released 20/Nov/2020 ] From Adam to Zandonai, from 1954 to 1996, 20 CDs made up of no less than 28 Decca opera recordings, most of them recorded as highlights albums, many long unavailable, newly remastered and all featuring the greatest singers of their age. |
JEAN-PHILIPPE RAMEAU
Rameau: Zoroastre 1749 Jodie Devos (Amélite), Véronique Gens (Erinice), Reinoud Van Mechelen (Zoroastre), Tassis Christoyannis (Abramane), Chœur de Chambre de Namur [ Alpha Classics / 3 CD - released 4/Nov/2022 ] Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) left two very different versions of his tragédie en musique Zoroastre: the first, in 1749, received a lukewarm reception and the work was withdrawn from the repertory. Rameau gave it a thorough revision in 1756. At... |
UMBERTO GIORDANO
Giordano: Andrea Chenier (Blu-ray) Bayerische Staatsoper, Jonas Kaufmann, George Petean, Anja Harteros / Marco Armiliato (cond) [ BSO Recordings / Blu-ray - released 18/Aug/2023 ] First performed in 1896, Andrea Chénier is rightly regarded as one of the key works of verismo. With his melodrama about the historical poet André Chénier during the upheavals of the French Revolution, the composer Umberto Giordano created an... |
UMBERTO GIORDANO
Giordano: Andrea Chénier Bayerische Staatsoper, Jonas Kaufmann (Andrea Chénier), George Petean (Carlo Gerard), Anja Harteros (Maddalena di Coigny) [ BSO Recordings / DVD - released 18/Aug/2023 ] First performed in 1896, Andrea Chénier is rightly regarded as one of the key works of verismo. With his melodrama about the historical poet André Chénier during the upheavals of the French Revolution, the composer Umberto Giordano created an... |
FRANZ LISZT
Liszt: Piano Works (nine CD set) Jorge Bolet (piano) [ Decca Budget Boxes / 9 CD Box Set - released 26/May/2001 ] All Bolet's solo Liszt recordings in one box at a special price |
DVORAK / TCHAIKOVSKY / SMETANA / STRAVINSKY / SHOSTAKOVICH / PROKOFIEV
The Karel Ancerl Edition Karel Ancerl conducting the Wiener Symphoniker, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, with Wolfgang Schneiderhan (violin) [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 9 CD Box Set - released 28/Jul/2023 ] A Czech maestro in his element: the complete Philips and Deutsche Grammophon albums of Karel Ančerl collected as a single edition to mark the 50th anniversary of his death (3 July 1973). |
GRIEG / BRAHMS / SCHUBERT / MOZART / RACHMANINOV / SCHUMANN / etc
Leif Ove Andsnes - The Warner Classics Edition 1990 - 2010 Leif Ove Andsnes (piano), with Christian Tetzlaff, Sarah Chang, Artemis Quartet & Ian Bostridge [ Warner Classics / 36 CD Box Set - released 7/Mar/2011 ] Leif Ove Andsnes is a leading pianist of his time, known for his exceptional musicianship and subtle touch, his considerable technical flair being unfailingly put at the service of his interpretations. |
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Claude Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande Julien Behr, Vannina Santoni, Alexandre Duhamel, Marie-Ange Todorovitch, etc / Les Siècles, Chœur de l'Opéra de Lille François-Xavier Roth [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 28/Jan/2022 ] 'I enjoyed the orchestral contributions of Les Siècles and the lucidity that period instruments bring to Debussy's score...there's an almost clinical clarity to their playing.' Gramophone Award Finalist 2022 - Opera |
BELA BARTOK
Bartók: String Quartets Nos. 1-6 Lindsay String Quartet [ Decca Eloquence / 3 CD Box Set - released 23/Jul/2021 ] "These players have their own kind of distinction in this music and should not be missed." Gramophone, December 1989 |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams:Complete Symphonies London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Hickox, Sir Andrew Davis [ Chandos Classics / 6 Hybrid SACD - released 27/May/2022 ] 'Impeccable playing' The Times |
ANTONIN DVORAK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Dvorak: Symphonies Nos 1-9 / Overtures / Scherzo Capriccioso London Symphony Orchestra, Istvan Kertesz [ Decca Collector's Edition / 6 CD Box Set - released 1/Jan/2002 ] "The CD transfers are of Decca's best quality, full-bodied and vivid...his readings give us fresh insights into these often inspired works...a magnificent memorial to a conductor who died sadly young" - Rosette (Highest Award). Penguin Stereo Guide |
RODRIGO / VIVALDI / FLAMENCO / TRADITIONAL
Los Romeros - The Mercury Masters Los Romeros, with San Antonio Symphony, Victor Alessandro [ Decca / Philips / Mercury / 10 CD Box Set - released 8/Dec/2023 ] Los Romeros was the first guitar quartet to achieve eminence across continents and on stages of the world. Their first recordings were made in January 1960 and released on Contemporary Records. |