FREDERICK DELIUS & VARIOUS COMPOSERS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Jacqueline du Pre - Recital plus Delius Cello Concerto Jacqueline du Pre (cello) with Gerald Moore (piano) Osian Ellis (harp) John Williams (guitar) / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra [ EMI Classics / CD - released 3/Jun/1995 ] Jacqueline du Pré was recognised during her brief prime as one of the supreme cellists of the 20th century, with an intense commitment and a well-honed technical mastery to back up her heaven-sent talents. |
JOHN TAVENER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tavener: Akathist of Thanksgiving James Bowman & Timothy Wilson (counter-tenors) / Westminster Abbey Choir & BBC Singers, Martin Neary [ Sony Classical / CD - released 10/Oct/1994 ] "the score is a catalogue of riches. The dark-hued, quasi Bulgarian male-voice sections, the sparkling countertenor duets, the variety of the scoring and the deeply moving recurring ''Amin'', and the unexpected quiet climax." Gramophone |
JOHANN NEPOMUK HUMMEL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Hummel: Potpourri, Op. 94 / Adagio and Rondo alla Polacca / Variations, Op. 115 / Violin Concerto in G James Ehnes (violin & viola) / London Mozart Players / Howard Shelley, piano & conductor [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 27/Aug/2004 ] "One of the most highly regarded composers during his life (1778-1837), Hummel's reputation has suffered neglect ever since...f you like Mendelssohn's concertos, the charm of this one should captivate you." - Editor's Choice - Gramophone 2004 |
RICHARD STRAUSS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Strauss, (R.): Ariadne auf Naxos (Complete opera recorded in 1988) Metropolitan Opera / Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, Tatiana Troyanos / James Levine (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon / DVD - released 29/Aug/2002 ] "This performance represents an above-average night at the Metropolitan in the late 1980s: three of its most popular stars, a generally distinguished cast, the house's musical director conducting its great orchestra in one of the works he does best." |
WHITLOCK / DAVIES / STANLEY / WESLEY / HOWELLS / BRIDGE / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: English Organ Music from the Temple Church James Vivian (1926 harrison & harrison organ) [ Signum Records / CD - released 1/Aug/2011 ] "[a] satisfying and diverse programme, tailor-made for this gloriously unabashed Romantic instrument...The recorded sound is absolutely first-rate. I loved this disc." (Gramophone) |
BEDRICH SMETANA
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Ma Vlast: complete orchestral works Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra / Theodore Kuchar [ Brilliant Clasics / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Nov/2008 ] "The performances are of a superfine brilliance, energy and affection, making it invidious to single out this or that special success or the individual triumphs of wind, brass or strings." (Gramophone) |
CARL NIELSEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Nielsen: Complete Symphonies [3 CD set] Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Theodore Kuchar [ Brilliant Classics / 3 CD - released 20/Jul/2012 ] Half a bar of Carl Nielsen and you know it's him - a characteristic of great composers down the ages, to be sure, but one peculiarly concentrated around nationalist composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Nationalist, not necessarily... |
JOHANNES BRAHMS / RICHARD STRAUSS / RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Brahms: Alto Rhapsody / Strauss: Four Last Songs / Wagner: Wesendonk Lieder Janet Baker (contralto) / London Philharmonic Orchestra & John Alldis Choir, Sir Adrian Boult [ EMI / 2 CD - released 20/Oct/2006 ] "Dignified, unfussy performances, with Boult keeping his powder dry for the big moments." (BBC Music) |
GUSTAV MAHLER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mahler: Kindertotenlieder / Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen / Das Lied von der Erde / Das Hnaben Wunderhorn / etc Janet Baker, Lucia Popp, Murray Dickie, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau / Halle & New Philharmonia Orchestras, Sir John Barbirolli, and more [ EMI / 2 CD Box Set - released 27/Aug/1999 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1901-1950) [Kindertotenlieder/Ruckert Lieder] "The spontaneous feeling of soloist and conductor of this music comes over as in a live performance and brings out the tenderness to a unique... |
MAURICE RAVEL / ERNEST CHAUSSON / MAURICE DELAGE
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Janet Baker - French Songs Janet Baker (mezzo soprano) with Melos Ensemble of London [ Decca / CD - released 20/May/1991 ] 'The performances of French mélodies included on this record are very beautiful indeed. With superb, atmospheric playing by the Melos Group, this ravishing collection must be placed among Dame Janet's most outstanding recordings." Penguin Guide |
HAMISH MacCUNN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: MacCunn: Land of the Mountain and the Flood / Excerpts from Jeanie Deans / The Lay of the Last Minstrel / etc Janice Watson (soprano) Lisa Milne (soprano) Jamie MacDougall (tenor) Peter Sidhom (bass) / BBC Scottish Orchestra & Chorus. Martyn Brabbins. [ Hyperion / CD - released 25/May/2005 ] 'Yet again Hyperion successfully rediscovers one of our neglected Victorian composers ... Admirers of Hyperion's earlier efforts need not hesitate to buy this' (Classic CD) |
DVORAK / BRUCH / TCHAIKOVSKY / BACH / BOCCHERINI / BRAHMS / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Janos Starker - The Mercury Living Presence Recordings [10 CD set] Janos Starker (cello) London Symphony Orchestra. Antal Dorati, Stanislaw Skrowaxzewski [ Mercury Living Presence / 10 CD Box Set - released 28/Sep/2015 ] This box is a collection of some of the finest recordings made by the master cellist Janos Starker. His death last year prompted warm obituaries across the world's press, and this collection celebrates his life's work. It includes key cello works in... |
EDVARD GRIEG
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Grieg: Peer Gynt Suites 1 & 2 / Lyric Suite / Sigurd Jorsalfar Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Jarvi, with Barbara Bonney & Marianne Eklof [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 21/Sep/2004 ] "This coverage of Grieg's 'music with orchestra', with many of the performances unsurpassed, would make an ideal basis for any Grieg collection." (Five Stars Penguin Guide) |
JOSEF HAYDN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Cello Concertos (with Monn - Concerto for cello, strings and harpsichord) Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello) / Freiburger Barockorchester / Petra Mallejans - director [ Harmonia Mundi Haydn Edition / CD - released 20/Apr/2009 ] "Queyras benefits from the much more alert playing of the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra: and in their account of the D minor central episode, the piece suddenly springs to life. (This) can confidently be recommended as a period-instrument choice." (BBC) |
ROBERT SCHUMANN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Schumann: Piano Music (Incls 'Papillons', 'Carnaval' & ' Piano Sonatas) Jean-Philippe Collard, Christian Zacharias, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Leif Ove Andsnes, Sviatoslav Richter, Lars Vogt [ EMI Budget Boxes / 6 CD Box Set - released 15/Oct/2010 ] Celebrating Robert Schumann's 200th Anniversary with CD sets from EMI's catalogue performed by many of the world's leading artists, orchestras and conductors. |
GIOVANNI PACINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Pacini Rediscovered Jennifer Larmore (mezzo), Majella Cullagh (soprano), Annick Massis (soprano), Bruce Ford (tenor), Geoffrey Mitchell Choir, David Parry, etc [ Opera Rara / CD - released 30/May/2006 ] Pacini himself claimed to have composed over 100 operas and, although modern estimates would be more conservative (since several of the works he listed were revisions, and some of them more strictly oratorios and cantatas than operas), even the most... |
C. P. E. BACH
Bach, (CPE): Flute Concertos Jennifer Stinton (flute), Orchestra St John's Smith Square, John Lubbock [ Collins Classics / CD - released 21/Feb/1993 ] "crisp, responsive orchestral playing, well-chosen tempos and clean, incisive ensemble. I thoroughly enjoyed this playing of some wonderfully inventive music…. helpful background notes" (Gramophone) |
MARAIS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Maris: Pieces de viole Jerome Hantai (bass viol) / Alix Verzier (bass viol) / Pierre Hantai (harpsichord) [ Virgin Veritas / 2 CD - released 22/Sep/2010 ] "This double helping of Marais (majoring on books 2 and 3) keeps things in the family. Pierre Hantaï accompanies brother Jérôme in a persuasive display of musical fraternité, interpretative égalité and fantasy-filled expressive liberté." (BBC Music) |
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia [The Barber of Seville] (Complete Opera recorded in 1992) Jerry Hadley, Bruno Praticò, Susanne Mentzer, Thomas Hampson, Samuel Ramey / Orchestra della Toscana, Gianluigi Gelmetti [ EMI Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 10/Dec/1993 ] "..an absolutely complete text (the recent critical edition by Alberto Zedda is used) shorn of the accretions of nearly 200 years, and singers of the calibre of Thomas Hampson and Samuel Ramey." Classical-Music |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE- Shostakovich: String Quartets No.1, 4 & 9 Jerusalem Quartet [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 6/Apr/2005 ] The Jerusalem Quartet was founded in 1993, and began its training in Jerusalem, under the direction of the violinist Avi Abramovitch. |