HECTOR BERLIOZ
Fantastique Berlioz [3 CD set] Simon Rattle, Renaud Capuçon, .Leonard Bernstein, Kent Nagano, Joyce DiDonato, Riccardo Muti, John Barbirolli, Louis Fremaux, Janet Baker, etc [ Erato / Warner Classics / 3 CD - released 10/Feb/2019 ] Hector Berlioz, France's greatest Romantic composer, exemplifies the spirit of his age - yet his genius was also ahead of its time. Reflecting his colourful life, his music is astonishing for its originality and ambition, and for orchestration of... |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tokyo String Quartet plays Beethoven [9 CD set] Tokyo String Quartet [ Sony Classical Masters / 9 CD Box Set - released 1/Nov/2012 ] "I doubt whether quartet playing comes much better than in this Tokyo set of the Op. 18. Quite frankly I don't think that you can go far wrong with this set: the playing is unfailingly alive, sensitive and poised." (Gramophone) |
DOUGLAS LILBURN
Complete Electro-Acoustic Works [3 CDs plus DVD] Various performers [ Atoll Records New Zealand / 4 CD/DVD - released 17/Jul/2004 ] Douglas Lilburn (1915-2001) is considered 'the father of New Zealand music'. After considerable success, he rejected composing for acoustic musical instruments and turned wholly to the creation of electronic works because he felt they would more... |
J. S. BACH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Walter Gieseking: Complete Bach Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon Walter Gieseking (piano) / Berliner Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler [ Deutsche Grammophon / 7 CD Box Set - released 10/Jul/2019 ] 'His tone is attractive (warmed by a little pedal) and subtly nuanced, his phrasing is musicianly, he gives the fugues (often long, in this book) control and cohesion; there is gentleness in the E flat major Prelude and lightness in that in G major.' |
MOZZART / SCHUBERT / BRUCKNER / R. STRAUSS / DVORAK / TCHAIKOVSKY / etc
Wolfgang Sawallisch: The Warner Classics Edition Complete Symphonic, Lieder & Choral Recordings Wolfgang Sawallisch, with Peter Schreier, Peter Zimmermann, Lucia Popp, Annie Fischer, Dennis Brain, etc [ Warner Classics / 65 CD Box Set - released 7/Jun/2024 ] For five decades Wolfgang Sawallisch (1923-2013) held a central position in the musical world. That centrality was reflected in a series of top orchestral and operatic posts and in his interpretations, free of self-regarding eccentricities. His... |
JOSEPH HAYDN
Haydn: The Creation Yeree Suh (soprano), Tilman Lichdi (tenor), Matthias Winckhler (baritone) / Le Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall [ Alia Vox SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 19/Nov/2021 ] "The orchestral side of this new recording of Haydn's oratorio "The Creation" brings many other delights, partly because Jordi Savall and his ensemble Le Concert de Nations are vigorous champions of period instruments" Times |
MASON BATES
Bates: The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (complete opera) Edwards Parks, Garrett Sorenson, Sasha Cooke, Jessica E. Jones / Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, Michael Christie [ Pentatone SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 25/Feb/2019 ] "Christie conducts with plenty of energy and verve, and the playing and choral singing are exemplary in their precision" Gramophone |
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Semiramide (complete opera) Albina Shagimuratova, Daniela Barcellona, Mirco Palazzi, Barry Banks, Gianluca Buratto / Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Sir Mark Elder [ Opera Rara / 4 CD Box Set - released 5/Oct/2018 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD NOMINATION 2019 TOP THREE - Opera |
ARRIGO BOITO
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Boito: Mefistofele (Complete opera recorded in 1995 with Libretto) Ambrosian Opera Chorus / London Symphony Orchestra / Norman Treigle (bass), Placido Domingo (tenor), Montserrat Caballe (soprano) etc... [ EMI / 2 CD - released 1/Aug/1987 ] Inspired by the Faust legend, Arrigo Boito's Mefistofele is an imaginative work which is also faithful to Goethe's original conception. |
TCHAIKOVSKY / RACHMANINOV / MUSSORGSKY / DELIBES / BARTOK / etc
Antal Doráti: The Mercury Masters - The Stereo Recordings Antal Doráti, Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra [ Australian Eloquence Mercury Living Presence / 30 CD Box Set - released 21/Jul/2023 ] "With beautiful original album covers, a generous sampling of spectacular performances, and an immediate and bold recorded sound, there is so much to enjoy in this collection. Highly recommended." Fanfare |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Violin Sonatas Arthur Grumiaux, Walter Klien, Gerard Poulet, Blandine Verlet, etc [ Philips Complete Mozart Edition Vol 15 / 7 CD Box Set - released 11/Jan/1991 ] Original Recording From 1975, 1985, 1991 |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas Artur Schnabel (piano) [ Warner Classics / 8 CD Box Set - released 1/Aug/2016 ] 50 GREATEST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME (No 15) - BBC MUSIC |
ALEXANDER BORODIN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Borodin Edition [10 CD set includes Symphonies, Chamber Works & Prince Igor] Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra / Moscow Trio / Nikolai Okhotnikov (baritone) / Marco Rapetti (piano) / etc [ Brilliant Classics / 10 CD Box Set - released 20/Oct/2012 ] "This set remains uniquely valuable for letting us hear so much of the composer's music that is otherwise scarce or simply unobtainable. For that reason, and at Brilliant's price, these recordings are an essential acquisition" (MusicWeb) |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas Boris Giltburg (piano) [ Naxos / 9 CD Box Set - released 24/Sep/2021 ] Boris Giltburg is lauded worldwide as a deeply sensitive, insightful and compelling interpreter, with critics praising his impassioned approach to performance. |
MOZART / BRAHMS / PISTON / SCHUBERT / MILHAUD / HINDEMITH / etc
The Boston Symphony Chamber Players - The complete RCA album collection 1964-68 Boston Symphony Chamber Players [ Sony / RCA Red Seal / 10 CD Box Set - released 26/Aug/2023 ] Sony Classical are pleased to present a stunning new 10 CD boxset - the complete RCA Victor Recordings of The Boston Symphony Chamber Players, presented for the first time on CD. |
DEBUSSY / RAVEL / MAHLER / SIBELIUS / BEETHOVEN / BRITTEN / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Simon Rattle - The CBSO Years City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle, with Peter Donohoe (piano), Arleen Augér (soprano), Dame Janet Baker (mezzo-soprano), etc [ Warner Classics Simon Rattle Edition / 52 CD Box Set - released 5/Nov/2015 ] The transformation that Rattle wrought in Birmingham over an unprecedented eighteen-year tenure went beyond the artistic fortunes of one particular orchestra. Indeed, the CBSO's prestige had transformed the economic prospects of the UK's second city... |
HELLENDAAL / WASSENAER / FESCH / SCHICKHARDT / SOLNITZ / GRONEMAN / HURLEBUSCH
Baroque Concerti from The Netherlands Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, Jan Willem de Vriend, Musica Ad Rhenum, Jed Went [ Brilliant Classics / 4 CD Box Set - released 1/Apr/2021 ] Excellent performances in Historically Informed Performance style by Dutch groups Combattimento Consort conducted by Jan Willem de Vriend and Musica Ad Rhenum, conducted by Jed Wentz, who is also a traverso soloist. |
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Vaughan Williams: Choral Works [Incls Serenade to Music; Five Mystical Songs & Fantasia on Christmas Carols] (4 CD set) Corydon Singers, Matthew Best, with John Mark Ainsley, Thomas Allen, Elizabeth Connell, John Gielgud, Bryn Terfel, Sarah Walker, etc [ Hyperion / 4 CD Box Set - released 20/Jun/2008 ] 'The performances are splendid, graced by such soloists as Thomas Allen and Bryn Terfel … The rapturous Serenade to Music has a cast of 16 singers fit to rival those of the original recording' (Sunday Times) |
BELLINI / DONIZETTI / CHARPENTIER / GOUNOD / HANDEL / MOZART / VERDI / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Dame Joan Sutherland - The Art of (Five CD Special) Dame Joan Sutherland with various soloists and orchestras. Richard Bonynge, cond [ Decca Records / 5 CD Box Set - released 1/Jun/2001 ] "a splendid collection… vividly fresh in these transfers" - Penguin Guide Yearbook (2000) |
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
Mendelssohn: The Great Edition Daniel Adni, Martha Argerich, Wayner Marshall, Marie-Claire Alain, Emmanuel Pahud, Maxim Vengerov, Victoria de los Angeles, Janet Baker, Sabine Meyer [ Warner Classics / 40 CD Box Set - released 16/Feb/2024 ] A child prodigy, Felix Mendelssohn is considered one of Europe's greatest composers. A virtuoso conductor and pianist, he was a respected all-round musician for whom Robert Schumann had great friendship and admiration. |