W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cosí fan Tutte, Die Zauberflöte; Sigiswald Kuijken, La Petite Bande Monica Groop, Huub Claessens, Nancy Argenta, Christina Högman, Soile Isokoski, Harry van de Kamp / La Petite Bande [ Brilliant Classics / 12 CD Box Set - released 1/Mar/2019 ] "..this is an excellent way to obtain four of Mozart's greatest works, well performed, cleanly recorded and at a very modest price point." Gramophone |
LISZT / SCHUBERT / TCHAIKOVSKY / BRAHMS / CHOPIN / SHOSTAKOVICH / etc
Emil Gilels - the complete RCA and Columbia Album Collection Emil Gilels (piano) [ Sony / RCA Originals / 7 CD Box Set - released 20/Jan/2017 ] One of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, Gilels was best-known for his remarkable vitality and sensitivity to the Romantic style. |
GEORG PHILIPP TELEMANN
Telemann: Tafelmusik (complete) (Rec 2003) Musica Amphion / Pieter-Jan Belder (conductor) [ Brilliant Classics / 4 CD - released 26/Aug/2005 ] "There is plenty of variety and colour and moments...Characterisation of the various movements, whether Francophile or Vivaldian is acutely judged and the rewards are uniform - and lasting." (Musicweb) |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Brandenburg & Violin Concertos / Orchestral Suites Musica Amphion, P.J. Belder / Amsterdam Bach Soloists, Thomas Zehetmair (violin) / Netherlands Bach Ensemble [ Brilliant Classics Quintessence / 5 CD Box Set - released 25/Sep/2020 ] ."Zehetmair is by no means just a brilliant violinist; he is a very sincere musician...This is a most rewarding reissue. Even those lovers of baroque music who usually avoid modern instrument performances, should consider this disc." MusicWeb |
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) |
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. |
HERRMANN / NEWMAN / KORNGOLD / TIOMKIN / ROZSA / WAXMAN
Charles Gerhardt conducts Classic Film Scores National Philharmonic Orchestra, Charles Gerhardt, with Kiri te Kanawa (soprano) & Norma Procter (contralto) [ RCA Red Seal / Sony music Masters / 12 CD Box Set - released 13/Mar/2020 ] In the 1970s, the Classic Film Scores series introduced a new generation to the sumptuous sound of music in Hollywood's "Golden Age." |
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 |
RICHARD STRAUSS / KROMMER / ANTHEIL / STRAVINSKY / MOZART / BEETHOVEN / etc
Netherlands Wind Ensemble - Complete Philips Recordings Netherlands Wind Ensemble, Edo de Waart [ Decca Australian Eloquence / 17 CD Box Set - released 18/Apr/2022 ] Issued complete for the first time, including several albums new to CD, is the Philips catalogue of the Netherlands Wind Ensemble - an ensemble that made a defining contribution to Dutch musical life in the 1970s. ... |
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Debussy: Piano Music (complete on 6 CDs) Noriko Ogawa, piano [ BIS / 6 CD Box Set - released 1/Jan/2012 ] "This first instalment of an ongoing cycle should be collected by all Debussy enthusiasts who have so far missed out on it" (MusicWeb Feb 2008 on Vol 1) |
JOHN DOWLAND
Dowland: Complete Lute Music Nigel North (lute) [ Naxos / 4 CD - released 5/Oct/2009 ] Arguably the finest recordings of Dowland's much-loved lute music, Nigel North's Dowland Lute Edition has gained him a garland of critical accolades: 'A collector's item' (The Times on Vol 1, 8.557586), 'a remarkable performance of wonderful music'... |
SERGEY IVANOVICH TANEYEV
Taneyev: Orchestral Works Novosibirsk Academic Symphony Orchestra & Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Thomas Sanderling, with Ilya Kaler (violin) & Gnesin Academy Chorus [ Naxos / 4 CD Box Set - released 27/May/2022 ] Sergey Taneyev was a monumental figure of late 19th-century Russian music. He was a student of Rubinstein and Tchaikovsky, and became teacher to Rachmaninov and Scriabin. |
OTTORINO RESPIGHI
Respighi: The Complete Orchestral Music [8 CD set] Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma, Francesco La Vecchia [ Brilliant Classics / 8 CD Box Set - released 22/Aug/2015 ] The only edition of the orchestral works by Respighi, now available in a 8CD set! |
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH
Shostakovich Symphonies 4, 5 & 6 Oslo Philharmonic, Klaus Mäkelä [ Decca / 2 CD Box Set - released 13/Sep/2024 ] "...the account of the Sixth Symphony is beautifully controlled and paced, the Oslo strings radiant as the first movement steadily intensifies, the woodwind fabulously agile in the scherzo second, and the finale a joyous, witty romp." The Guardian |
TELEMANN / MOLTER / TORELLI / HAYDN / VIVALDI / L. MOZART / etc
Trumpet Concertos [special priced box set] Otto Sauter, Thomas Hammes, Franz Wagnermeyer, Reinhold Friedrich, Joachim Pliquett, etc (trumpets) [ Brilliant Classics / 10 CD Box Set - released 25/May/2018 ] "Many good things: music by composers generally badly served by other labels, the standard of musicianship high and sound quality generally excellent." (Bargain of the Month MusicWeb April 2011 on the original release) |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: The Complete Piano Sonatas Paul Badura-Skoda (piano) [ RCA Red Seal / Sony Classical / 12 CD Box Set - released 25/Oct/2017 ] Badura-Skoda plays Schubert sonatas - The first CD release of a landmark edition Paul Badura-Skoda is unquestionably the outstanding Schubert pianist of the 20th century, declared the Leipzig Volkszeitung in 2012. An astute interpreter, a sensuous... |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas Played on Period Instruments Paul Badura-Skoda (fortepiano) [ Arcana / 9 CD Box Set - released 28/Feb/2020 ] "his set represents a stunning bargain, especially as it seems to be retailing at around £30 to £35 from various online retailers." MusicWeb April 2020 |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Complete Sonatas / Piano Concertos / Diabelli variations Paul Lewis (piano) / BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jiri Belohlavek [ Harmonia Mundi / 14 CD Box Set - released 25/Oct/2019 ] "One of the most highly prized recording marathons of recent years… an unmissable benchmark." - Gramophone on the Sonatas |
Paul Robeson
Voice of Freedom; His Complete Columbia, RCA, HMV, and Victor Recordings [ Sony Classics / 14 CD Box Set - released 6/Sep/2024 ] This is a special edition, documenting Paul Robeson's complete major-label discography recorded 1925-1947! It contains the first release of Robeson's groundbreaking Victor recordings on CD with 16 recordings reissued for the first time. |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: L'equivoco stravagante (Complete opera) Petia Petrova, Marco di Felice, Marco Vinco / Czech Chamber Chours / Alberto Zedda [ Naxos Opera Classics / 2 CD Box Set - released 29/Jul/2002 ] "The cast is accomplished...with incisive diction and alert musicality. The one standout is the recording's Ernestina, the young Bulgarian mezzo Petia Petrova. She's a lively, vivid vocal presence, with the technique " - Opera News |