RICHARD STRAUSS
Lieder (Incls Zueignung, Morgen! & Ruhe, meine Seele) Jonas Kaufmann (tenor) Helmut Deutsch (piano) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 16/Aug/2006 ] The name of Richard Strauss immediately conjures up thoughts of operas and large-scale symphonic works; but we tend to underestimate his lieder, a genre to which the composer devoted no fewer than 205 pieces! Like a glorious sunset culminating in the... |
GIOCOMO PUCCINI
The Great Puccini Jonathan Tetelman (tenor) / PKF - Prague Philharmonia, Carlo Rizzi [ Deutsche Grammophon / CD - released 17/Nov/2023 ] 'What a sound! Tetelman's tenor possesses gleaming brightness, and his open vowels and excellent Italian diction make him the sunniest-sounding tenor since Luciano Pavarotti.' Gramophone Award Finalist 2024 - Voice & Ensemble |
MAGNUS LINDBERG
Lindberg: Clarinet Concerto / Gran Duo / Chorale Kari Kriikku (clarinet) / Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra / Sakari Oramo (conductor) [ Ondine / CD - released 26/Jan/2006 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD WINNER 2006: Contemporary - "A marvellous vehicle for the amazing virtuosity of clarinettist Kari Kriikku, this is a shiny, sophisticated, nostalgic cultural artefact... a stunning disc." BBC Music Magazine |
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin Konstantin Krimmel (baritone), Daniel Heide (piano) [ Alpha Classics / CD - released 7/Jul/2023 ] "...beautifully sung, played and recorded - is among the most satisfying and quietly moving to come my way for a long time." Gramophone Award Finalist 2024 - Song |
JOHN CAGE
Cage: Choral Works Latvian Radio Choir, Sigvards Klava (conductor) [ Ondine / CD - released 19/Aug/2022 ] "one is unsurprised by the unconventionality but taken aback by the richness and variety of the final musical result. It must be said as well that the singers sound as though they are enjoying themselves enormously." Gramophone Award WINNER 2023 |
GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphony no. 2 in c minor 'Resurrection' Lisa Milne / Birgit Remmert / Budapest Festival Orchestra / Ivan Fischer [ Channel Classics SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 20/Oct/2006 ] "This Budapest band have reserves aplenty, and the cumulative effect is overwhelming. As all good performances of this work must be. I listened to it three times in three days." (Gramophone Magazine Recording of the Month Awards Issue 2006) |
RALF VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No 2 'London' [Original Version] (with Butterworth-The Banks of Green Willow) London Symphony Orchestra / Richard Hickox [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 10/May/2004 ] 2001 GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER, Orchestral and Recording of the Year |
LILI BOULANGER
Boulanger: Faust et Hélène / L: D'un soir triste / etc Lynne Dawson, soprano, Ann Murray, Bonaventura Bottone, BBC Sym., Tortelier [ Chandos Classics / CD - released 10/May/2004 ] Gramophone Magazine 2000 Winner - Choral Recording |
GEORGE BENJAMIN
Written On Skin / Duet for piano and orchestra Christopher Purves, Barbara Hannigan, Bejun Mehta, Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano) / Mahler Chamber Orchestra, George Benjamin [ Nimbus / 2 CD - released 11/Feb/2013 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST 2013: Contemporary / BBC MUSIC AWARD WINNER 2014: Premiere Award |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Motets, BWV225-230 Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner [ Soli Deo Gloria / CD - released 1/Aug/2012 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER 2013: Baroque Vocal |
JOHN PICKARD
Pickard: The Gardener of Aleppo Nash Ensemble, Martyn Brabbins (conductor) [ BIS SACD / CD - released 1/May/2020 ] GRAMOPHONE Award WINNER 2021 - Contemporary |
LEOS JANACEK
Janácek: The diary of one who disappeared & other works Nicky Spence (tenor), Julius Drake (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 28/Jun/2019 ] "Not only does Spence's voice offer a rare mix of steely strength and velvety tenderness but his bright, vibrant timbre communicates a touching, wide-eyed sense of ardent longing, tinged with melancholy." Gramophone Awards 2020 WINNER - Solo Vocal |
ANONYMOUS
The Call of the Phoenix: rare 15th Century Church music (music of Dunstaple; Frye; Plummer; Anonymous) Orlando Consort [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 12/Dec/2002 ] "This forthright style of the Orlando Consort is accompanied by immaculate tuning, rhythmic concision and clear articulation of the text." BBC Music Magazine ( Dec 2002) Performance FIVE STARS - GRAMOPHONE AWARD WINNER 2003 - Early Music |
CHARLES-VALENTIN ALKAN
Alkan: Concerto and Symphony for Solo Piano Paul Wee (piano) [ BIS SACD / Hybrid SACD - released 1/Nov/2019 ] "What is almost incredible is that the soloist Paul Wee is not a professional pianist but a highly successful international commercial London lawyer." Gramophone Awards 2020 Short List - Instrumental |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: Sacred and Profane Polyphony, Stephen Layton [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 20/Feb/2013 ] "The programme is delightful and the choir excellent… this has to be one of the strongest winners of the choral award in recent years" (Gramophone) |
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Vivaldi: La Stravaganza / 12 Violin Concertos Rachel Podger (baroque violin) / Arte dei Suonatori [ Channel Classics SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 28/Jul/2003 ] "The vitality and imagination of these concertos is quite extraordinary and the playing of Podger's band spills over with vitality - a real meeting of minds. The recording, made in a Polish church, is most impressive." Editor's Choice - Gramophone... |
HEINRICH IGNAZ FRANZ BIBER
Biber: The Rosary Sonatas Rachel Podger (baroque violin) Marcin Świątkiewicz (harpsichord/organ), Jonathan Manson (cello/viola da gamba), David Miller (theorbo/archlute) [ Channel Classics SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 1/Sep/2016 ] Gramophone Magazine award WINNER 2016 - Baroque Instrumental |
EDWARD ELGAR
Elgar: The Apostles, Op. 49 (complete oratorio) Rebecca Evans, Paul Groves, Alice Coote / Halle Choir & Orchestra, Mark Elder [ Halle / 2 CD - released 10/Dec/2012 ] "It has all the tension and excitement of live performance, rising to incandescence in the closing pages, and Mark Elder has perfect control of the large forces and dramatic pacing." BBC Music Magazine Awards 2013 RECORDING OF THE YEAR |
ANTONIN DVORAK
Dvorak: Stabat Mater Ilse Eerens, Michaela Selinger, Maximilian Schmitt & Florian Boesch / Collegium Vocale Gent - Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Philippe Herreweghe [ PHI / CD - released 22/Apr/2013 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD NOMINATION 2014 |
GEORGE BENJAMIN
Written on Skin (complete opera recorded in 2013) Royal Opera House / Christopher Purves, Barbara Hannigan, Bejun Mehta, Victoria Simmonds / George Benjamin (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 20/Aug/2014 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD WINNER 2014 - Contemporary |