|
VERDI / PUCCINI / MOZART / DONIZETTI / LEONCAVALLO / DVORAK
Opera Gold: 50 Greatest Tracks Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, Kiri te Kanawa, Mario del Monaco, Placido Domingo, Marilyn Horne, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Renee Fleming, Jonas Kaufmann [ Decca Music Group / 3 CD Box Set - released 8/Oct/2021 ] Decca, the opera company, presents a premium collection of the most beautiful opera tracks on 3 CDs. Classic arias and preludes performed by the greatest opera stars of all time. |
|
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Chandos Anthems - complete Lynne Dawson (soprano), Ian Partridge (tenor) Patrizia Kwella (soprano) James Bowman (alto) / The Sixteen Choir & Orchestra, Harry Christophers [ Chandos Chaconne / 4 CD Box Set - released 2/Feb/1994 ] The Sixteen are a United Kingdom-based choir and period instrument orchestra; founded by Harry Christophers, they started as an unnamed group of sixteen friends in 1977, giving their first billed concert in 1979. |
|
HANS LEO HASSLER
Hassler: Complete Organ Music Manuel Tomadin (organ) [ Brilliant Classics / 11 CD Box Set - released 25/Feb/2022 ] Another labour of love from the Italian organist Manuel Tomadin, adding to his much-praised catalogue of collections by masters of the German and Italian Baroque. |
|
FRANCESCO PAOLO TOSTI
Tosti: The Song of a Life, Volume 3 Marco Severin (baritone) Delphine da Pontello (soprano) Giulia De Blasis (soprano) Alessandro Luciano (tenor) / Marco Moresco, Isabella Crisante (pian [ Brilliant Classics / 4 CD Box Set - released 1/May/2019 ] Based on 33 years of scholarship and promotion by the Istituto Nazionale Tostiano and a lifetime of studies on the part of Francesco Sanvitale, this volume lives up to its predecessors in bringing to wider attention the work of a born songsmith, at... |
|
FRANCESCO PAOLO TOSTI
Tosti: The song of a life, Complete Vocal Chamber Music, Vol 4; Maria Bagalà (soprano), Glenn Morton (piano), John Viscardi (baritone), Donata D'Annunzio Lombardi (soprano), Isabella Crisante (piano), etc [ Brilliant Classics / 5 CD Box Set - released 14/Feb/2020 ] "this is a great tribute to the legacy of the greatest composer of Italian songs...it is an invaluable treat to have them collected - I doubt there will ever be a similar project again - and at Brilliant Classics's give-away price." MusicWeb |
|
BELLINI / ROSSINi / DONIZETTI / VERDI / PUCCINI / BIZET / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Maria Callas - 100 Best Classics Maria Callas (soprano), with Richard Tucker, Luiso Villa, Tito Gobbi, Giuseppe di Stefamo, Nicolai Gedda, etc [ EMI / 6 CD Box Set - released 4/Jun/2007 ] Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her bel canto technique, wide-ranging voice and dramatic interpretations. |
|
FREDERIC CHOPIN
The Chopin Masters - 28 Great Albums Maria Joao Pires, Geza Anda, Martha Argerich, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Stefan Askenase, Daniel Barenboim, Maurizio Pogorelich, etc [ Deutsche Grammophon / 28 CD Box Set - released 4/Mar/2022 ] Deutsche Grammophon presents a 28-CD set highlighting the riches of their Chopin catalogue: including eight Chopin Competition winners and many of the most legendary Chopin artists of all time. |
|
BEETHOVEN / ELGAR / BRAHMS / SAINT-SAENS / FAURE / POPPER / etc
Maria Kliegel - Anniversary Edition Maria Kliegel (cello) / with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Camerata Transsylvanica, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland [ Naxos / 3 CD Box Set - released 11/Nov/2022 ] "Her playing has great virtuosity, but it is her phrasing especially in the Elgar, which suggests a great musical intelligence" - Classic CD |
|
SPIRITUALS / VERDI / BRAHMS / SCHUMANN / HAYDN / SCHUBERT / etc
Marian Anderson - Beyond the Music - Her complete RCA Victor recordings [15 CDs with large book] Marian Anderson (contralto) [ Sony Classical / 15 CD/Book - released 27/Aug/2021 ] "Special mention must be made of this set's presentation, which stands among the glories of the CD era not just for its musical comprehensiveness, but also for its artful design." Opera |
|
MANUEL de FALLA
De Falla Collection Marta Senn, Cecilia Angell, Fernando de La Mora, Timora Rosler, Benita Meshulam, Jutta Czapski, Klára Würtz, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venez [ Briliant Classics / 5 CD - released 17/Oct/2021 ] Regarded as the greatest Spanish composer of the twentieth century, Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) developed an interest in native Spanish music - in particular Andalusian flamenco - while studying with Felipe Pedrell in Madrid in the late 1890s. |
|
W. A. MOZART / SCHUBERT / STRAVINSKY / BEETHOVEN / RAVEL / CHOPIN / etc
Martha Argerich Martha Argerich (piano) / Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, with Daniel Barenboim, Guy Braunstein, etc [ EuroArts DVD / 6 DVD Box Set - released 18/Jun/2021 ] This special edition, released for the occasion of Martha Argerich's 80th birthday, combines some of her most impressive recordings. At the same time, it is testimony to the enormous musical and creative versatility with which she has succeeded in... |
|
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) |
|
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. |
|
W. A. MOZART
Piano Sonatas 1-18 (complete) Michael Endres (piano) [ Oehms Classics / 5 CD Box Set - released 20/Apr/2011 ] The pianistic refinement and interpretive imagination Michael Endres brings to his Mozart sonata cycle easily ranks alongside leading modern-day contenders... (ClassicsToday.com) |
|
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... |
|
JOHANN LUDWIG KREBS
Krebs: Complete Harpsichord Music Michele Benuzzi (harpsichord) [ Brilliant Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 17/Sep/2021 ] This newly recorded 6-CD set contains the complete music for harpsichord by Krebs. Such was the power and influence of Bach that it is inevitable that Krebs' style is strongly inspired by his master. |
|
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Saint-Saëns: Complete Music for Organ Michele Savino (organ) [ Brilliant Classics / 4 CD Box Set - released 1/Dec/2021 ] Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) is one of the most important French composers of the nineteenth century, his oeuvre embracing important orchestral and chamber works, as well as works for solo instruments, alongside a few operas and church music.... |
|
BRAHMS / SCHUBERT / BEETHOVEN / STRAVINSKY / TCHAIKOVSKY
Misha Dichter - The Complete RCA Victor Recordings Misha Dichter (piano) / Boston Symphony Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf [ Sony Classical / 3 CD Box Set - released 6/Sep/2024 ] It was inevitable, perhaps, that Dichter's debut release for the label would be given over to the Tchaikovsky B-flat minor concerto, the same work that catapulted the competition's first winner Van Cliburn to international stardom. |
|
EDVARD GRIEG
Grieg: The Complete Songs [6 CDs special price] Monica Groop (mezzo-soprano), Roger Vignoles, Ilmo Ranta & Love Derwinger (piano) [ BIS / 6 CD Box Set - released 1/Apr/2010 ] 'Something of a landmark in the Grieg discography… Monica Groop penetrates the very essence of the Grieg spirit with the artlessness that conceals art', wrote International Record Review |