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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. |
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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 |
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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versions of his tragédie en musique Zoroastre: the first, in 1749, received a lukewarm reception and the work was withdrawn from the repertory.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... |
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PAISIELLO / BEETHOVEN / MONTEVERDI
Jonas Kaufmann: Opera Collection Jonas Kaufmann (tenor) with Cecilia Bartoli, Camilla Nylund, Vesselina Kasarova, and Dietrich Henschel [ Arthaus DVD / 3 DVD - released 26/Jul/2019 ] Experience Jonas Kaufmann, opera world's top star, in this impressive opera collection from his time at the Zurich Opera House still before his great international breakthrough. He feels closely connected to the opera house, boosted his career there... |
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MOZART / GOUNOD / GLUCK / MASSENET / ROSSINI / PUCCINI / VERDI / etc
100 Best Opera Classics Maria Callas, Roberto Alagna, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Luciano Pavarotti, Nicolai Gedda, Placido Domingo, Boris Christoff, Kiri Te Kanawa, Christa Ludwi [ EMI Classics / 6 CD Box Set - released 6/Mar/2006 ] This set offers 100 opera tracks, 6 CDs at a super special price! |
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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). |
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Seiji Ozawa Kazuyoshi Akiyama / Saito Kinen Orchestra / Berliner Philharmoniker / Marcus Roberts Trio / Anne-Sophie Mutter / Martha Argerich [ EuroArts DVD / 5 DVD Box Set ] Seiji Ozawa has dedicated most of his life to the service of music. He is not only one of Japan's best-known conductors but also the founder of the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto, better known as the Seiji Ozawa Festival. This Seiji Ozawa edition... |
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KIRSTEN FLAGSTAD
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Icon: Kirsten Flagstad - The Supreme Wagnerian Soprano [5CDs special price] Kirsten Flagstad (soprano) with various orchestras & conductors [ EMI Icon / 5 CD Box Set - released 20/Apr/2010 ] Kirsten Flagstad (1895-1962) enjoyed a successful career singing opera and operetta in Scandanavia, and was considering retirement when she was catapulted to international fame in 1935 after a sensational appearance at the Metropolitan Opera in New... |
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W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Complete Piano Sonatas Klára Würtz (piano) [ Brilliant Classics Quintessence / 5 CD Box Set - released 4/Oct/2019 ] Mozart's piano sonatas date from 1773 until 1788 - a period in which his style matured at a truly remarkable rate. The earliest sonatas are very much in the galant style of W.F and CPE Bach, and in places Scarlatti's influence can be detected. |
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J. S. BACH
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bach: Cantatas Nos.180-184 Kurt Equiluz, Jan Patrick O'Farrell, Alexander Raymann, Paul Esswood / Collegium Vocale, Concentus Musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt [ Teldec Das Alte Werk / 2 CD Box Set - released 26/Oct/1989 ] Original recording from 1984 One of the first recordings using historical instruments, with boys' choirs and boy soloists for most soprano and some alto parts. Adult soloists include the tenor Kurt Equiluz. Booklet contains translations |
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CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
Monteverdi Edition Le Nuovo Musiche, Krijn Koetsveld [ Brilliant Classics / 30 CD Box Set - released 10/Nov/2023 ] Played and sung by leading musicians in the field of Early Music: Sergio Vartolo, Le Nuove Musiche/Krijn Koetsveld and others. |
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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. |
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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 |
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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 |
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PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Complete Ballet) London Symphony Orchestra, Andre Previn [ EMI / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Dec/1986 ] "The performance is fresh and has a lively spontaneity. It is particularly good in the famous dances of Act 2, which have the orchestra on their toes.... excellent value." (Gramophone) |
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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 |
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GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Carmen (DVD + Blu-ray) l'Opera de Rouen Normandie / Deepa Johnny, Stanislas de Barbeyrac, Nicolas Courjal, Iulia Maria Dan / Ben Glassberg [ Bru Zane DVD & Blu-ray / 2 Multi-Format Box Set - released 8/Apr/2025 ] Carmen, the most famous heroine of Romantic opera, has never been so moving and rebellious as in the historical staging of 1875, whose flamboyant Spanishry is brought back to life here with the help of unpublished archive material. -... |
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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. |
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BEETHOVEN / BRAHMS / R. STRAUSS / TCHAIKOVSKY /
Lorin Maazel conducts the Cleveland Orchestra Lucia Popp (soprano) Jon Vickers (tenor) Elena Obraztsova (mezzo) Martti Talvela (bass) / The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus. Lorin Maazel [ Sony Classical / 15 CD Box Set - released 21/Mar/2025 ] Lorin Maazel burnished the Cleveland image and maintained the exalted standards set by Szell, who had elevated his ensemble to pre-eminence among the US "Big Five" orchestras. |
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MENDELSSOHN / MOZART / HAYDN / SCHUMANN / BRAHMS / WAGNER / REGER / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Joseph Keilberth: The Postwar Telefunken Recordings - 1953-1963 Ludwig Hoelscher (cello) / Berliner Philharmoniker, Bamberger Symphoniker, Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Joseph Keilberth [ Warner Classics Icon / 22 CD Box Set - released 1/May/2018 ] 20 July 2018 marked the 50th anniversary of the death of the German conductor Joseph Keilberth. His name is perhaps not so widely remembered as some of his contemporaries, but he was an important figure in the musical life of Germany in the mid-20th |